The man prodded Jared in the arm. "Let's get going. Like you said, it shouldn't take long."
The man and Jared disappeared into the canopy of green, leaving the remaining three dumbfounded.
Conner stepped toward the trees. "Should we just let Jared go in there with that guy?"
Trevor shrugged. "We can follow and keep an eye on them."
"We're supposed to stay here," Adam said, "in case the goat finds its way back here."
"Yeah," Conner replied. "But that man could be a serial killer. Of goats and people. I think he's effing crazy."
"Fine. I'll wait here. You guys follow them."
Conner and Trevor walked at a quick pace to catch up to Jared and the man.
When they finally located the spot where they'd left the goat between two thin tree trunks, the animal was no-where to be seen. And they didn't see Jared or the man in the area either.
"Now what?" Conner asked.
"Um." Trevor slowly twisted in a full circle, dried leaves and sticks crunching underfoot. "You think they kept walking because the goat wasn't here?"
"I don't know. I guess. But . . . I don't know."
"Should we go back or keep walking?"
Conner shrugged. "What do you think?"
"Oh." Trevor swiped the screen to his phone. "We can call him."
Neither heard Jared's phone ringing in the distance. And when Jared didn't answer, they simply stared at each other.
"Try again," Conner said.
Still, Jared didn't answer.
"Should we run around trying to find him?" Trevor asked.
"Let's get Adam."
They weaved through the trees to the edge of the woods in a sprint. Gasping for breath, they emerged from the bushes and branches. But only Adam stood near the etched tree.
Startled, Adam rushed toward them. "What happened?"
Conner swiped the sweat from face. "They didn't come back?"
"No. You don't see Jared here, do you?"
"Dammit." He pulled his T-shirt off and mopped his head. "We didn't see them in there. What if something happened?"
Adam marched to the trees. "Let's go."
Forging their way through the branches and bushes again, the three ran to the spot between the two thin trees. They looked at one another as if they didn't know what to say. Conner stomped forward, peering into the distance. Trevor glanced around the area then spun around a second time. Adam shouted, "Jared!"
The cry of insects. The buzzing of mosquitos. The chatter of birds. The sound of limbs and leaves rustling in the light breeze.
Conner slipped his T-shirt back on. Although the absence of Jared was unnerving, he said, "Maybe we're overreacting."
"Jared!" Trevor called out. "You out there?"
A bird cooed in response. Then a squirrel scurried to the trunk of a nearby tree and scaled the bark with lightning speed.
"Hey," Adam said. "I'm guessing that son of a bitch lives close. I didn't see a car around when we were talking to him. So yeah, he probably lives close, and he took that damn goat to the field and tied him to the tree."
"You want to look for his house?" Conner asked.
"Yep." He started walking in the direction of the field. "And we should call the cops too."
"Then he'll tell them that we stole his goat."
"We didn't steal his goat. We set it free." He turned and motioned for his friends to hurry. "If Jared's not there, and you don't wanna call the cops, then we'll kick that guy's ass."
Trevor scoffed. "He'll definitely call the cops on us then."
"Oh, well." Adam moved with determination. "Let's go."
They walked with urgent steps and then burst into a jog. By the time they reached the edge of the woods, they were drenched with sweat and dirty from brushing past tree limbs and kicking up clouds of dust. Pushing through the tree line, they emerged a good twenty feet from the etched tree.
Jared was sitting on the mound of fresh soil.
"Holy crap!" Conner exclaimed.
The guys broke into a run, but Jared said, "Stop!" in a hushed tone.
Halting his stride, Adam asked, "What's wrong?"
Jared spoke calmly. "There's a rattlesnake."
The three froze as if they'd been warned a bomb was in the area. They scanned the ground, casually dancing about like a detonator could be triggered at any moment.
"Are you sure?" Trevor asked. "Where?"
"Right on the other side of my feet."
Approaching cautiously, Conner spotted blood on Jared's hand. "Why are you bleeding?"
"Shh," Jared warned. "Don't make me talk or move."
Once the guys stepped within feet of Jared, the rattlesnake came into view. Its brownish-gray body was curled into an elongated S-shape. Stretched out, it might have measured well over two feet long. Its rattle was pointed skyward, but it didn't make a sound. As if waving hello to the three, it flicked its black, forked tongue.
Conner drew in a deep breath. "Crap. How the hell—"
"The man put it there."
"Back up slowly," Adam said.
Several feet away, Trevor asked, "What do we do?"
"Maybe we can yank it by its tail and fling it away."
Conner huffed. "You want to be the one to grab its tail?"
"Uh, no."
"So what should we do, then?"
"I don't know." Adam faced them. "Look it up online."
They three searched Google, clicking on links until Adam said, "If we had a pillowcase, maybe we could catch it."
Trevor groaned. "But we don't, dumbass."
"Our shirts," Conner said.
"What?"
"We can use our shirts to make, like, a bag. Then catch it, and I don't know, let it loose somewhere."
Jared gasped and released a muffled moan of unease.
The snake slithered between his legs, taking refuge between his sneakers.
The three walked a few feet away and then removed their T-shirts. While Conner assembled the makeshift bag, Trevor and Adam searched for a Y-shaped stick. Once they gathered their supplies, they huddled to devise a plan. Approaching the snake from behind was obviously the best course of action. Then they'd lower the shirt-bag between Jared's legs, hoping to direct the rattlesnake into their trap.
Conner draped the shirt-trap onto the ends of the Y-stick. "Am I doing this, or do one of you think you'd be better at it?"
When neither responded, he said, "All right. I'll
