A mystery story for kids

Into the Woods

Part 1

As I took my contingent of cavalry and rode to the side, their advancing stopped. Both armies stand there in dead silence, a brass horn sounds, marking the beginning of the battle. From all over the plain, unit after unit of Frenchmen ride towards my lowered pikes. The ground shook form the footsteps of so many men, and from thunderous charges of their cavalry. My horsemen shot out and charged straight into theirs, and all the horses got bogged down in a massive slaughterhouse. All across the snow pools of crimson stained the earth and numb bodies struggled to survive against everyone else. My private armada of horse men lowered their lances at my signal, and we thundered into a mass of ragtag peasant with pitch forks. This was going to be so easy, for what can peasants to against do against trained horsemen? As I hacked, I thought. Just then, a huge stone hammer thudded straight into the back of my head, knocking me off my horse and making me see spots. Just then, the world turns dark. Around that time, the remaining French surrendered, dispirited from the casualties. But that day, no one say the body of Sir William�

Part 2: The Old Lady�s cabin

Thud, Thud, Thud. The pounding in my head is like a hammer, and as I try sitting up the pain is so intense I cannot bear it. I look at my surroundings: a small, cramped room. All over the place there are crates and jars, and a small crackling fire which lit the room with an orange glow. Sitting on many wooden crates and a creaky old table were an assortment of interesting candles. One would puff out green smoke every few seconds, another�s fire burned black, and many others with other traits like blue smoke. Just as I thought of who the person that brought me here was, an old lady walked in. She was about 50 and had dirty blonde hair. Her clothes were all black, and she had kind eyes. She said that her name was Circe, and bustled in my room, dragging a big pot of soup with her. Then, she took a wooden ladle and shoveled stew into the bowl. When done with that, she handed me the bowl of beef stew. Inside greasy chunks of beef floated with peas, carrots, corn, and garlic. As I slurped it up, I felt more alive, and returned to it with a renewed vigor. Not long after I finished, I felt sleepy, so I went to go to the bathroom. On the way there, I knocked over a tall rusty metal box. Inside a loud growl emitted and from behind me a croaky �No!!� said an old woman. As I looked back, I glimpsed a green creature morph into Circe. As I turned around again, Circe was already waddling over to carry the crate. I shudder as I picture the ugly face in my mind again. Slowly, I stroll back to my room and plunk down into bed.

Three Hours Later

It was pitch black, but troubling thoughts about the old lady kept me up. Who really is this �nice� lady? As I quieted down, I heard footsteps outside my door, and I pretended to be asleep. Slowly, a slim beam of light from an opening in the doorway shines into my room, and I see a big, green, glazed over eye. �Good, now I can continue without any disturbances. �Circe says. When she closed the door, curiosity got the best of me. Now I could find out who she really is. I quietly slid out of my bed, and crept towards the door. At the door, I opened a tiny slit to see it the old lady was looking. She wasn�t, so I slipped out of the door and hid behind the counter in this narrow, wooden hallway. Tensely I slid my feet across the floor, trying to be as silent as I possibly can. As I walked, a creak sounded. As quickly as lightning, Circe drew out a serrated knife and snickered. She turned around and saw nobody, so continued walking. Luckily, I was ready for that and quickly hid behind a crate. I peeked over the side to see if she was looking back, and was relieved that she had kept on walking. Now, Circe was a witch. This time, she unexpectedly turned around, and saw the ends of my shoe. �My, My, My, what do we have here? �Circe cackles. You won�t be able to escape now, she says while advancing with her knife�

William�s City �I declare Sir William dead!� Pope benedict announced, holding a yellowed paper. All around the courtyard, resounding gasps echoed across the square. One woman even went as far as fainting. Then, one clear voice rang out. �I will prove you wrong!� shouted Mark, �With a band of men, I will bring him back!� �Now, now there, we won�t need to be running off to try saving a dead person,� Pope Benedict says in an aggravatingly calm voice.

Part 3: The discovery AS she strolls over she laughs one more time. �HeHeHe! I have you now, bothersome scoundrel,� As she walks over she only sees a rabbit scrabbling at the floor. �WHAT!!�The witch shrieks, for she knew that she saw the foot. As she started coming over, I hid in a cabinet and shoved the rabbit outside. If the witch had not been in such a rush, she would have discovered me. She carefully unlocks a door and strides inside. I waited, then inched towards the locked door. As I put my ear to the door, I hear parts of a conversation. �Kill him�sacrif- enter lif-�the witch says. �No! Wait later the- ki- bet fo me.� A deeper voice says. �Fine!� the witch replies. Just then, I recognized that they were talking about me. As I silently ran towards the exit, I found that the door was locked. From behind, I heard the door opening�

Part 4: A Rescue William�s City �Come with me, I know that William is alive!� Mark whispered �Sure, why not, for I�m always up to some adventure.� rumbled Joe. �Finally, everyone we need.� Mark said. Mark now had a loyal band willing to search for William. Under the cover of night, they crept out of the city and headed for the forest. As they neared the forest, the band lit torches, and headed into the dark forest. Slowly, they explored murky trails. An owl hooted, and the band stiffened �What was that?� Joe asked, in a loud voice. ssssssss �Shhhh! be quiet Joe, someone or thing might hear us,� whispered Robin. Deeper into the forest they went until they suddenly heard a scream. �HEEEEEEEEEELP!�

Old Lady�s Cabin Quickly, I sprinted to my room. As I ran into my room, the witch came out, muttering. I calmed myself and slowed my breathing. Like a statue, I unmoving stay in bed. Not soon after, the witch came to check on me, like I predicted once again, her green eyes peered at me through a crack, and then disappeared. As the witch woke me up with the sizzling of eggs, I groggily got out of bed and sluggishly trudged towards the breakfast table. As I walked in through the doorway, I saw a plate filled with eggs and bacon.

Marks Band Part 5 During the night They band ran off, to see what all the screaming was about. AS someone peered in, he saw a bright pink razorback boar imitating a human. Disappointed, they left and started walking again. Dark, cluttered clumps grew everywhere. Since everyone was exhausted from tramping all over the place, they decided to stop. Joe set up a fire, and Mark and Robin went to hunt. Soon, Mark and Robin came back dragging along a fine, velvet- furred buck. The buck was skinned, and the hind legs cut for soup. The front was smoked to save for later, and the rest was speared and roasted on a fire. Someone shouted with delight, for they had found wild rice, cabbage and potatoes. They added these to the soup, and after a few minutes the soup was bubbling. Matthew filled everyone�s bowl to the brim with soup. AS everyone finished, the speared meat was cooked. As they took it out of the fire, another swordsman took out his sword and cut the meat into big chunks. After eating so much that no one could touch another morsel, everyone retired to their tents.

Old ladies Cabin Part 6 I didn�t dare thinking of escaping, in case of the witch�s supernatural powers. I strolled around, filled with nervous energy. Just then, the witch called out. You can go outside if you want. AS I sprinted outside, I ran to safety. Sadly, after not far, a stone wall loomed into my path, blocking all means of escape. When I came back, I saw the amazing collection of plants the witch had in her front yard. There were daises of every color, shape and size, exotic plants that had long, spiny tendrils, and so many more. There I spent hours studying the different types of flowers and plants, and sniffing them. For the rest of the day I stood outside, randomly doing things to twiddle away time. At night, I lay in my bed awake, and waited for the witch to check on me. Sure enough, a crack in the door opened once again and a I saw a green eye peer at me to make sure I was asleep.

William�s Band Part 7 Everyone woke up early, for no one wanted to be the last to wake up. In the end, everyone was awake except for a loudly snoring Joe. Robin took a stick and wacked Joe on the rump, causing him to fly upwards screaming. The band ate a light breakfast of smoked deer, then gathered up the supplies and left. After almost an hour of walking, the trees grew so densely that the band was walking in darkness, so they had to light torches. Hour after hour passed, and near the end of the day the band still had no clue where William was. By now, everyone was agitated after walking for so long and not finding anything. They set up camp in a cave, and Mark went hunting again. A few minutes later he came back again, this time with a boar. They speared this and stuck it over a fire, roasting it. After an hour, the succulent pig was barbequed and ready. Everybody took out knives and cut up the boar, each one eating their fill. Afterwards, four people were sent to guard the cave.

Witch�s House Part 8 As the witch checked in William and left, he swiftly slid out of bed then onto the floor. He waited almost five minutes, then cautiously peeked out the door, and saw nobody. He then crept towards the usually locked door and listened through the keyhole. �I�m going to kill the annoying knight and be done with it. Then, I am finally going to be immortal, after years and years of murdering. HEHEHE!� she cackles. �Fine with me, you can kill him however you want.� Hearing this, I quickly crept to the door and tried the doorknob. Amazingly, it was unlocked. Finally, I had outwitted the witch! I ran outside then continued running towards the stone wall. Somehow, I knew that I would be able to get over the wall and escape. Not far behind me, I could hear barking. Then, I heard the thudding of its heavy paws as it got closer. As I looked back, I saw a huge devilish dog that was panting heavily. It had glowing green eyes and huge teeth the size of my arm. On the dark horizon, I saw the wall nearing me. Mark�s Band

In the middle of the night, and ear piercing scream woke everyone up. Robin stood up with his bow already nocked, and slowly inspected the walls for monsters. Just then, there was a resounding crack of breaking bones, and Robin discovered Fiske, a sentry missing. Quickly, Robin announced,� Fiske is obviously dead, for he must have been dragged away by some sort of animal and his neck is most likely broken. I say that we should just get out of the cave and not waste anymore lives trying to save Fiske.� Defeated, the band set off once again on the dusty road. As they walked, Joe suddenly started convulsing, and his eyes turned a glowing, pupiless red. In a sinister voice, he said,� The devil has warned you to leave.� Just like that, he burst into flames and turned into a pile of smoking ashes. The world started spinning and each member of the band was transported back into their house. William Part 9 I ran and ran; not daring to look back, for the dog was so close I could feel its hot breath on my neck. I was running so hard the world was a blur. Behind me, I heard a loud growl, and I could almost feel the razor sharp claws digging into my back. I dodged a thick tree trunk, but the dog was not as lucky. It charged straight into the tree, causing it to collapse him. I stopped, breathing heavily. As I looked at the dog, it suddenly leapt into action and lunged at me, narrowly dodging it. I started running again. As I neared the wall, I skidded to a stop, but the dog�s momentum carried it right through the wall, leaving a convenient hole. I took a sharp spike from the wall, and when the dog charged at me, killed it. As I walked out the wall, I saw a gravestone with my name on it. As I looked around, I saw a man with a lantern. I yelled,� Hey!�, and saw Mark�s face. �Mark!� As I got closer, I saw that his eyes glowing green, and a serrated knife in his hand.