The People In The Woods by Robert Brown

Author:Robert Brown [Brown, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-03-06T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Nick stared at the stick figure as it turned slowly in the gentle morning breeze. No other figures hung from this tree or any other trees within view. It was obvious that the figure had been placed deliberately in front of his office window.

It was equally obvious that it was meant as a message for him.

He called Clayton. Although it took only three rings before he answered, Nick was almost weeping with impatience before he heard the man’s voice on the line.

“What’s up, Professor? I’m at work.”

“They know who I am and where I work,” Nick said breathlessly. “They hung one of those stick figures outside my office window.”

“Holy shit! How could they know that?”

“I don’t know. Wait. When we surprised them, they turned the camera on us. They recorded us. Remember how scared Matt was that the film showing him with a gun might come to light? They have an image of my face and somehow recognized me.”

“Must be students.”

“Students? I don’t think so. Students don’t know the area well. They’d never find all those ruins. I found the first one only by accident. Maybe it’s the custodial staff. They come in early. They could have put up the figure unseen.”

Clayton said nothing for a moment.

“You need to get a gun.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do. If they know where I work, they might find out where I live. I have to protect my wife and daughter! Where’s a good place to buy one?”

“Hold up there, hotshot. What you need is a handgun, something you can carry along with you, and there’s a seven-day waiting period for those.”

“Seven days? I can’t wait seven days!”

Nick couldn’t believe it. He’d always been for gun control and now this redneck state was telling him he had to wait seven days before he could protect his family?

“Look. I get off at five. Why don’t you come on over to the feed mill? We’ll work something out.”

“Oh my God. I don’t know what to do!” Nick moaned.

“We’ll work it out, Professor,” Clayton said in a soothing voice. “Watch your family. They ain’t going to strike during daytime, so we got some time.”

Clayton hung up. Nick’s mind raced. What about Elaine at school? There was a security guard. Cameras. They wouldn’t dare move in on her, not during the daytime. Right? Nick tried to reassure himself. He didn’t quite succeed.

And what about Cheryl? Nick paced the length of his office. Back and forth. Back and forth. A curious glance from a colleague passing by in the hallway made him close the door.

After his initial panic, Nick began to calm down and think it through. The stick figure had been a warning. If the cult members had wanted to hurt him or his family, they would have struck without notice. The step from violence against an animal and violence against a human was a huge one—a step that most people wouldn’t take lightly. Even if they had considered it, they would have known that it would have led to an investigation that would have curtailed their activities.

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