A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,6

decided that those would give him some cover if Donald passed by.

Jake began to relax as he made his way through the neighborhood. It was a nice day, warm and sunny. The shade of the trees, the quiet only interrupted by the occasional dog bark, the generally peaceful nature of the area, helped him feel more comfortable. He altered his path as he went, taking several side streets, finally ending up at the edge of the neighborhood. There was a path between a couple of the homes that led to an open field that bordered the backyards of the homes. Jake could cut across the open field, far away from the roads and pop out about half a mile from his house, near the edge of the Black Hole Woods.

He walked down the path, waving at the homeowner watering his lawn, and came to the open field. The field was covered in green grass and weeds with trees sprouting up at random points. On the far side of the field, the trees of Black Hole Woods appeared to form a green and brown wall. He saw a hawk slowly circling in the blue sky about the field, looking for mice or squirrels.

He took out his earbuds and started his music app on his phone, then progressed at a walk, enjoying the day. His mind began to drift back to the daydream he had about Sabrina. As usual, her beautiful face and gorgeous body began to fill his thoughts. To his surprise, images of Tina appeared as well. Considering what just happened between them, it made sense, Jake thought.

It took him about ten minutes to cross the field, coming up to the road that led to his home. Across the street towered the grove of large trees that made up the Black Hole Woods.

It was officially Anderson's Grove, named for one of the founders of the town who had planted the trees to cover a one hundred acre area. Over the years, the trees had grown tall and wide, the dark green leafs forming a large canopy in the spring and summer, shading most of the ground. However, it had taken on the name Black Hole Woods after a young man named Bruce Tilia disappeared a little over ten years ago after last being seen in the woods.

According to the two guys who had last seen him, Bruce had gone into the woods and never came out. A massive search was conducted. The police, searchers and even the sniffer dogs could not find any trace of him, except for a scent trail that led to the large pond in the middle of the woods. They sent in divers and dragged the bottom, but did not find any evidence of him; the trail simply ended at the pond. The two guys were regarded with suspicion by the police, fearing foul play, but no charges were ever filed. Talk around town mentioned a serial killer or aliens as possibilities. Since then, most people avoided the woods.

Jake had been seven when this occurred. His home was on the other side of the woods. He could remember his parents being worried and locking the doors at night. They had been adamant that he was not to go into the woods or even play outside without one of them present. They had hovered over him and his brother whenever they went outside. But after a while, when nothing else happened, things returned to normal.

Jake had never been afraid of the woods; he actually enjoyed the quiet and solitude under the trees. He found that its reputation kept most people out, so he did not have to worry about being disturbed.

Jake debated cutting through the woods, but decided to take the street. Being this close to home had him feeling confident about his situation. His music playing, he crossed the street and headed towards home. His mind returned to thoughts of Sabrina and Tina, losing track of his surroundings.

He was about a quarter of a mile from home, lost in his thoughts, when a car suddenly screeched to a halt next to him. Startled out of his revelry, he spun to face the car. As soon as he did, he recognized Donald's Lexus.

The driver's door flew open and Donald jumped out. Robert was already rounding the front of the car from the front seat while John lumbered out of the rear driver's side door. Before he could react, Jake was surrounded on three sides with the woods