“Do you guys hear a motor running?” asked Carrie as she stopped munching her apple and listened.  The other girls stopped and listened also. Faintly, in the distance they thought they heard what sounded like a tractor driving around.  They packed up their stuff and continued up the trail in the direction of the sound.  After a few minutes they came to a fork in the trail.  On the left, the trail continued the same, but to the right a faint two-track road wound off into a darker, thicker area of the forest.  Casey and Candace wanted to follow the road. Carrie didn’t, because their parent’s had told them to stay on the trail. Casey insisted the road was the same as the trail and as long as they stayed on it they wouldn’t get lost.  The sound of the motor had stopped but Candace thought the sound had come from the direction the road went.  Finally, after some convincing, Carrie agreed to go with her sisters on the road.  As they walked along the track, the sunlight dimmed the further they went into the thick dense trees and brush.  Everything was shadowy and quiet.  No birds were singing. No wind was blowing.  A twig snapped a short distance away making the girls gasp and stop in a huddle.

     “What was that?” whispered Carrie.

     “I don’t see anything,” said Candace as she peeked over her shoulder.

Casey was rummaging through her backpack. “Hold on, I’m getting the flashlight.” she turned it on and shined it all around them.

     “Maybe we should go back?” suggested Carrie.

     “Oh, don’t be such a baby.  It was probably just a rabbit,” said Casey putting her pack back on.

     “I’m not a baby!” stated Carrie firmly.

     “Come on, let’s keep going.  It looks like it gets lighter up ahead,” said Candace walking on up the track 

      They walked on for quite a ways when they suddenly came out into a clearing. It had several large piles of dirt and a bulldozer parked on one side.

     “Get down!” Casey hissed as she grabbed Candace and ducked behind a large fallen tree trunk.  Carrie dove in right behind them.  They sat for what seemed like an eternity, with the sound of their hearts pounding in their ears.