"Probably when we ran," Conner said.
"Duh." Resting his hands on his head, Trevor exhaled heavily. "I'll check the dock again. Or I gotta go find it."
"Not now," Jared said. "You can't go back to the party."
Conner studied Trevor's worried expression. "If it's not on the dock, we'll look for it in the morning. We can call it until we hear it ringing. Or use the phone tracker. It won't be hard to find."
"Yeah, I guess so," Trevor replied. "Hopefully that dude doesn't have it." He pivoted, then returned to his room.
Laying down, Conner closed his eyes and listened to the cicadas screeching in the night. He heard the ruffle of a blanket and then Jared's weight on the other twin bed.
"I think that little fight destroyed the buzz I had going," he said.
"Mine too," Jared muttered. "It was still fun, though."
Conner laughed. "Hanging out or almost getting into a fight?"
"Both. But I knew there wouldn't be a fight. We've never let that happen to any one of us."
Turning onto his side, Conner watched Jared shift his position under the blanket. "If one of us is in threatened, we all step in."
"Always and forever."
Conner awoke to the sound of Mrs. Wheeler calling out, "Breakfast!"
Downstairs, he and Jared loaded their plates with scrambled eggs, ham, and hash browns. Not a minute later, Trevor and Adam joined them at the dining room table.
"I located my phone," Trevor said. "It's in that damn field."
"We'll get it," Conner replied. "After we eat."
When Adam's parents asked about the party, all four downplayed the evening as if it had been a boring waste of their time. They discussed Mr. Wheeler's plan to rent a boat for the afternoon. When they finished eating, they immediately headed out the door in search of Trevor's phone.
Once they finally reached the dirt path, Trevor said, "It looks a lot different during the day."
The other three agreed.
"Obviously the tracker doesn't tell me exactly where my phone is. So, someone needs to call me."
Adam tapped his cell and then lifted it to his ear. "It's ringing."
They stopped and listened. Nothing.
Adam called again.
They stopped and listened. Nothing.
Jared called Trevor's phone.
"I hear it," Trevor shouted.
They paused to listen and then rushed forward.
Conner called Trevor's phone.
"Over there." Trevor pointed.
They waded through the tall golden-green grass at the edge of the clearing. Not far from the tree-stump seats, Trevor picked up his phone and wiped the dirt from the screen.
"Yes!" He smiled when the screen lit up. "My parents would not be happy if they had to buy me a new iPhone."
A celebratory slapping of Trevor's shoulder and butt followed as though they'd just won a hard-fought basketball game.
When they set out to leave, they heard the sound of an animal in the distance. The animal cried out again.
"Is that a damn sheep?" Adam asked.
Trevor shrugged. "Maybe there's a farm or something close by."
The wavering bleat resonated across the field.
Jared pointed. "I think it's a goat."
Squinting at the shape, Conner replied, "Oh, yeah. I see it. What the hell is a goat doing out here?"
"Maybe it's lost," Adam said as he stepped in the direction of the animal. "Let's take a look."
"What? Why?" Trevor asked.
"If there's a farm," Adam said, "we can lead it back to its home."
"Really?"
"Yeah. What else do we have to do?"
The four stomped through the overgrown field toward a lone tree. As they neared the goat, they discovered that it was tethered to the tree by a rope.
"Goats eat grass, right?" Conner asked. "Maybe this goat is, like, supposed to chow down on the field."
The goat nervously twitched and waved its tail as they edged closer. It was dark brown with splotches of white. A narrow, black patch ran the length of its muzzle. Its black-tipped ears fluttered at the whine of a loud insect close by. Then it froze, eyeing the strangers.
"Those are some crazy horns." Adam slipped his phone out of his pocket and aimed the camera.
Jared shook his head. "You're really gonna film this?"
"Why not?"
"It's just a goat, man."
Adam lowered the phone. "There's better stuff to film anyway."
The horns were long and curved at the ends in what seemed like an abnormally severe angle.
Directly in front of the goat, they abruptly stopped in their tracks.
The goat stood on a heap of fresh dirt. Four symbols were etched into the trunk of the tree. The length of blue nylon rope had been wrapped with black ribbon.
"What the hell?!" Trevor exclaimed.
Conner asked, "Uh, did we hang out with Satanists last night?"
Adam spun on his heels, scanning the field. He knelt in front of the goat and scratched its head. "We need to set it free."
"What?" Jared asked.
"Before someone does some voodoo-sacrifice crap with it."
"I don't know about that."
Conner agreed. "We don't know what the hell is going on here."
"Open your eyes," Adam said as he stood. "Those symbols in the tree." He stepped up to the trunk. "Look at this crap. It's like air, water, and elements or whatever."
"Then what?" Trevor asked. "Take it home with us?"
"No. We can walk it somewhere and let it loose. Then it'll have a chance of surviving instead of being sacrificed in some bloody ritual."
Conner tugged on the rope. "Hmm. Well, the knot is really strong."
He studied the etchings in the tree. Adam was right, they did resemble symbols. One of the markings definitely looked like fire. Another was obviously meant to represent a snake. The other two, he wasn't sure about.
The goat barely moved an inch while the guys meandered around.
Adam snapped the ribbon, then inspected the rope. "This is pretty thin nylon, so it won't be too difficult to cut." He slipped the cabin key out of his jeans pocket. "I can separate the braids with the end of this. And then use the jagged edges of the key to cut through it."
"Oh, sure," Trevor replied. "Piece of cake."
"It might take a few minutes, but we can do it." He slid the key between the strands
