Matt McPhee

Pocket’s Private Journal: October 26^th, 2022 – 1:12 PM – Great Bay Forest

It took some clever zigzagging, but I finally lost the weir. It was MASSIVE. I didn’t realize how big it was when I saw it in its nest, but when it was flying after me, I felt like a rabbit being hunted by a hawk. It was as terrifying as it was cool. It would be a lot cooler if it hadn’t ripped my Neighbourhood Watch jacket when it swooped at me. It tore my rank badge right off— Now I’ll never remember what my title is…

I wish the weir was a bit more “let’s be best friends” and a little less “I’m going to take you to my nest and eat you,” because I thought that the two of us could have made a pretty good team.* Ah, well, there was no sense dwelling on a missed connection or near-death experience.

I had to figure out how to get back to Harrington so I could finally prove to the rest of The Neighbourhood Watch that I was, in fact, a responsible member of the team who could be trusted. I was hoping they would overlook the fact that I had snuck away to chase a supernatural monster without telling anyone.

I looked around and realized that it would be easier said than done to get back. The weir chased me pretty far into a section of the forest that I don’t usually go to. The pine trees were much denser, and the needles on the trees seemed to be a darker shade of green. It’s hard to describe, but the forest we normally go to around Harrington feels like our backyard, whereas this section of the forest felt like wilderness. I watched a documentary once about someone who got lost in northern Canada. He said that no matter which direction he looked, all he ever saw were more trees. That’s how I felt when I looked around, just more trees.

The thrill of finally getting a weir feather was beginning to dampen, as I realized I might be lost. I couldn’t see any landmarks that I recognized. Every direction looked exactly the same. I looked up at the sun, but realized that it was midday, so it wasn’t easy to tell which way was east or west.

I felt my breath begin to shorten, and panic started to rise in my chest. I was almost never alone this far out in the forest. When we did go out this way, we were careful to pay attention to the trail we were following so we didn’t get lost. That weir chased me so far that I really had no clue which way I had come from.

Okay, I had to focus on figuring out what to do. I couldn’t allow myself to get scared. It was hard to focus. I just kept thinking about the fact that I didn’t tell anyone I was out here. I snuck away so I could surprise them with this weir feather. Why didn’t I tell someone I was out here… Stop. I told myself I needed to focus. What would Sasheen, Murlocke, or Maisel do? Sasheen would try to find something she recognized, so she could figure out her location. How would she do that? Everything looked the same.

I had to get above the trees. That was it. I decided I needed to find somewhere high up to get a view of my surroundings, so I began climbing a nearby pine tree. It was a long but rather straightforward climb. I must have been a hundred feet up before I broke through the treeline.

I looked around and couldn’t spot anything I recognized, but then I spotted smoke from maybe a campfire or a cabin twirling upwards near me. I figured that meant that I had to be close to someone. All I would have to do is go and ask them how to get back to Harrington, and I’d be on my way. I climbed down from the tree and made my way over to where I thought the source of the smoke was coming from.

As I got closer, I saw an outline of what appeared to be a house in the distance. It turns out that within this clearing of trees, there was this whole mansion! It was all the way out there in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t know anyone lived out there, let alone in the biggest house I’d ever seen. It’s strange, I’ve lived in Harrington my whole life, you’d think someone would have mentioned a mansion before…

The lights were on inside, but I couldn’t see anyone. I figured I should ask the person who lived there how to get back to Harrington. My mom always told me not to approach strangers, but I didn’t see what other choice I had.

I took a deep breath. Maybe I had other options. Should I wait until I see someone and then decide whether or not to approach the house?

The door slowly opened. I still didn’t see anyone, but they must have seen me.

I’m going to take a closer look.

– Pocket