Several minutes later, the nylon split in two. The goat jolted and then staggered forward like it was set to run.
"See?" Adam seized the end of the one-foot length of rope. "We just saved a goat from some voodoo freaks."
"Where are we gonna take it?" Jared asked.
"I don't know." Adam surveyed the area. "Maybe into the trees."
Trevor groaned. "Fine. Let's get this over with."
They led the goat into the woods, walking slowly at first. Then they walked more quickly to increase the distance from the etched tree.
"C'mon, Billy," Adam said. "Pretty soon you'll be free to explore the world on your own. Just stay away from creepy, voodoo freaks."
Conner chuckled. "Billy?"
Nearly ten minutes later, they decided that they had walked far enough to let the goat go. Each gave Billy a gentle pat and then wished him luck. Satisfied with their accomplishment, they said goodbye to the goat and then retraced their path back to the field.
"Teamwork. Now Billy's free," Adam said with a broad smile. He glanced around, then he nudged Trevor off-balance. "These woods aren't too bad at all. I seriously doubt I would have gotten poison ivy on my dick."
They all laughed.
Minutes later, they reached the edge of the woods and stepped past the etched tree, then froze.
An older man stood on the mound of fresh soil. He glared at them with the immediately recognizable intensity of a man about to explode with anger. "What the hell did you do with my goat?"
EIGHTEEN
Conner stared at the guy and gave his best I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about look.
Jared exchanged glances with his friends.
Trevor crossed his arms, standing his ground as if preparing for a heated discussion.
Adam asked, "What goat?"
"What goat? My goat," the man replied. He appeared to be in his forties—maybe younger despite the prominent weather-worn creases on his tanned face. There was no softness in his gaze. His eyes were dark as though his anger had drained the color from his pupils. "The goat that was here just a while ago, until you did something with it."
He knelt and inspected the severed rope attached to the tree.
"Sorry, mister." Adam tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "We don't know anything about a goat."
The man groaned as he stood with effort, as though one leg was weaker than the other. "A bunch of stupid kids."
Trevor stepped away. "C'mon, guys. Let's go."
"You ain't going nowhere!" the man shouted. "You kids know what larceny is? It's theft. You can be arrested and charged with theft of a man's animal. Fines and jail. Did you know that?"
Adam cocked his head. "You don't have any proof. And what the hell would we do with a goat?"
"Teenagers do some stupid shit."
"Sorry you lost your animal," Conner said. "But we just came out here to find our friend's phone."
"In the woods? How'd you lose it in the woods?"
Trevor said, "We hung out with some friends last night. And I dropped my phone, so we tracked it this morning and came to get it."
The man bellowed, "Bullshit!"
"Honest," Jared replied.
"You're a bunch of liars. I know who you're talking about, these friends you mentioned. They don't hang out in the woods." He pointed toward the clearing in the field. "They hang out over there, drinking booze and smoking marijuana."
"Well, yeah," Conner interjected. "But we walked in the woods too. Just fooling around, you know?"
The man leaned against the tree and folded his arms. "Yeah, I know. Gotta be careful in the woods, though. You might get poison ivy on your dick."
The guys cast their gazes from one another and back to the man.
"Or there might be some of those voodoo freaks hiding out in the trees. I hope Billy doesn't run into any of them." He tugged the sleeves of his dirty, white button-up to his elbows. "You don't want that to happen to Billy, right?"
“You were following us?” Trevor asked, clearly irritated. “You knew we took the goat into the woods.”
The man tapped his temple. "Now you're using your brain."
"Uh." Adam shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Okay, okay. Sorry, man. We took the goat to set it free." He pointed at the tree. "Look at those symbols. That's, like, some crazy ritual stuff."
"You don't know what those symbols are for."
"Well, no. But why'd you have the goat tied up like that? The whole thing looked suspicious."
"Suspicious?"
"We're sorry," Conner said. "We were doing a good thing. You know, so it wasn't sacrificed or whatever."
The man laughed. "You guys messed with my property. So now there's gonna be hell to pay." He pulled a cell phone from his back pocket. "I'm calling the cops."
"No. Wait," Trevor muttered. "Don't call the cops. What do you want us to do?"
"Go get my damn goat."
Adam exclaimed, "Seriously?"
"You idiots set the goat free. You idiots go catch it and bring it back to me."
"What are you gonna do with it?" Adam stepped back, closer to his friends to form a united front. "You know what animal cruelty is? It's a crime. You can be arrested and charged with animal abuse. You can go to jail. Did you know that?"
"Except I haven't committed a crime, smartass. You guys did, by stealing my animal and setting it free." The man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth and spit at the corner of his mouth. "So, unless you wanna go to jail, get your asses in there"—he inhaled deeply and then screamed like a madman—and find my fucking goat!"
Jared flinched. "Let's just go find it and bring it back."
"See? He's got a good head on his shoulders," the man said. "What about you guys?"
"I don't think we should," Adam said. "We saved that goat."
The man gestured to the trees. "You know what? Your friend and I will go look for it. You guys stay here in case it comes back."
Apprehensive, Conner looked at Jared. "You don't have to."
"It's okay," Jared said. "You guys
