The Secret in the Woods

Emma lived in a small house on a busy street. One day, a man came to her door. It was her friend, Saul. He lived on the same street.

“I’m going on holiday. Could you look after my dog Shadow for me?” he asked. Emma liked dogs. She said yes.

Shadow was big and black. He was a nice, happy dog. Things started well. Shadow liked to go walking with Emma, and he enjoyed playing in her garden.

But one day, Shadow did something strange. They were at the park and, for ten minutes, they played together with Shadow’s ball. Then, he stopped playing and he looked at something.

“What are you looking at?” Emma asked. She could see nothing.

Then, the dog ran into the woods.

“Shadow! Come back!” said Emma.

She went into the woods too and she looked for him. She couldn’t find him but she didn’t stop looking.

She walked for twenty minutes. Then, she saw an old hut. Shadow was outside the hut. Emma said his name, but he didn’t come to her.

“Shadow, is there a problem?” Emma asked. The dog was afraid, she could see that.

The door of the hut was open and Emma looked in. She couldn’t see any people inside. But there were lots of old things – plates, cups, books.

She walked slowly inside. On a table, she found something strange – a small, brown book. It was very old. She opened it slowly. The book had lots of strange notes about the woods. On the last page, it said, “They are watching. We can’t leave.”

Emma thought hard. Who wrote this? Why was this person afraid?

She closed the book.

Emma heard a noise and she looked up, very afraid. Who was there? Were they watching her?

Then she saw Shadow at the door to the hut. “Oh, it was you!” Emma said. “I don’t like it here, in this strange place. Let’s go home.”

They walked back to her house.

At home, Emma looked on the internet for more information. She found some information about her town. Many years ago, people went missing. Some people said, “It was an accident.” Others said, “Those people went missing because they were in a secret group.”

This group of people lived in the woods. But there was no more information about them on the internet.

Emma wanted to find out more. The next day, she went back to the hut and she looked inside it again. She found something very strange. On the floor, there was a small key. What did this key open? Was it important?

Emma felt excited! “What will I find this time?” she thought.

Emma looked in every part of the hut. She found a cupboard on the wall. She used the key in the door and it worked! The cupboard door opened!

Inside, she found some photographs. One photo showed a man next to a big, old tree. Emma knew that face – who was it? Wait! It was her grandfather, David Grey!

She never knew him because he died a long time ago but there was a photo of him at her mother’s house. He went missing one day and his family never saw him again.

This was exciting! Now, Emma could answer her family’s questions:

• Where did David go?
• Why did he go missing?
• Where was he now?

Emma thought for a moment. Was her grandfather part of the secret group?

In the cupboard, there was also a letter. It was from her grandfather! At the bottom of the letter, there was a drawing of the plant. The letter said:

Emma felt sad about her grandfather but she also wanted to find this special plant.

She took Shadow with her and they went to the old tree. Under it, there was a plant with black and white leaves. “This is it, I think,” she thought.

Emma and Shadow went home. Emma phoned her friend, Johnny. It was very dangerous for her, she knew, but she had to do it. Her friend was a journalist.

She told him about the plant and the secret group. Johnny wrote everything down.

Two days later, the story was in the newspaper! The pharmaceutical companies wanted to stop it but it was too late. Now, everybody knew about the plant.

One day, she saw Shadow again. “Thank you, Shadow,” she said. “You took me to the hut. I only found out about the plant and about my grandfather because of you.”

Where was Emma’s grandfather and the other people in the secret group? Where did they go? Were they hiding in the woods or were they dead? Emma never found out.

Emma was very sad about that. But hospitals in all part of the country started using the plant and it healed many people.

Emma felt very proud of her grandfather and his friends. She never forgot them. But sometimes, she walked in the woods and she had a strange feeling. Was someone was watching her?