5 - Chapter Two - The Pumpkin Patch

TWO
THE PUMPKIN PATCH

   Peter looked at his phone. It read 9:57. He quickened his stride, peering closer at the house at the end of the small road he walked down, trying to tell if it was really green. Randy had said it would be easy to find because it was green, but he had neglected to consider that it would be dark, and the house was not lit well.
   When he got right next to it he peered at the shingling, holding up his phone to light it. Green. He put his phone in his pocket, adjusted the pack on his back, and hurried around to the backyard.
   “Hey,” Randy said as he came into view.
   Doug stood nearby, holding a flashlight. “You have any trouble getting out of the house?” he asked.
   “Nah,” Peter said. “I told my mom and dad I was having a sleep over at your place and I’d just go to school with you guys in the morning. That’s why I brought my school books with me. I’ll just head home when we’re done and say one of you got sick or something so I came home.”
   “Or you could just spend the night here afterwards,” Randy said.
   “How are you going to explain that to mom and dad?” Doug asked. “He’s just going to come to breakfast with us tomorrow morning? ‘Hey mom, this stranger you’ve never met before had a sleepover without your permission.’ That would go over awesome.”
   Randy shrugged and then turned to Peter. “You ready then?”
   Peter put his backpack down, leaning it against the side of the Wise boy’s house and then nodded.
   Randy turned and headed across the back lawn and into the field beyond. Peter and Doug followed. Although it was dark enough to make it hard to see a house’s color, there was enough moonlight that they could see well enough to make their way. They crossed over the field and then headed into the woods beyond.
   “How far is it from here?” Peter asked.
   “About ten minutes,” Peter replied.
   Peter nodded and then followed along quietly for a moment, carefully picking his way through the brambles and trees. The moonlight there was did not make it into the woods as well, and although not pitch black, it definitely made the going a bit harder, particularly considering that they were in a forest now. The forest was not very heavy, but there were still fallen logs to climb over and brambles to push through. The last thing Peter wanted was a broken leg tonight.
   “So, what’s the plan?” he asked. “Just hide out? I mean, what if the guy doesn’t show up ‘til two in the morning or something?”
   “Then we wait,” Randy said. “I mean, we have to catch the guy and see him well enough to describe him. That’s where it gets a bit…um…well, dangerous.”
   “What do you mean?” Peter asked.
   “Well,” Randy said. “If it’s too dark, we’re going to have to shine some light on him to tell who it is. But, obviously, that means he’s going to see us and probably come after us.”
   Peter stopped for a moment. “What? You mean jump out at him, shine the flashlight in his face, and then run?”
   Randy stopped and turned, giving Peter an apologetic look. “Yeah. If it’s too dark, that may be our only choice.”
   “I’m thinking,” Doug said, “that if we have time and are waiting for him, we should set ourselves up so we’re in a good spot where he’ll likely walk past, but where we’re kind of hidden and hard to get to. Then just turn the flashlight on at the right moment and then run. We can scout out a good hiding place first too that isn’t too far to get away from him quick.”