'More Than An Adventure' by John Behan.

MORE THAN AN ADVENTURE.

This is the story of five boys in the late 1960s who craved adventure in their lives. The boys were all aged between fourteen and fifteen years old. They all lived in the small quite town of Beckville. The population never reached more than five thousand residents, Beckville was the type of town where people lived from generation to generation, and everyone mostly knew everyone else. The boys had been friends all their young lives, they were Bobby Maxwell, Paul Sotto, John Bergen, Bruce Killeen, and Rex Cordrite. The boys did not know at the time, on a hot sunny day in August, that the adventure they all wanted and dreamt about was about to happen in no more than six hours time. The boys would set out on a path in life that would affect every one of them forever. When it was all over nothing would be the same again, not for the boys, and not for the residents of this quite backwater town.

SUMMER 1967 AUGUST

It had so far been the hottest summer for years, even the old people remarked on the unusual heat wave that engulfed the state. Every thing and everybody suffered and sweltered in the muggy uncomfortable heat. The vegetation all round was burnt crispy by the unrelenting sun. Tall trees seemed to gasp for water to revitalise them. The birds flew only when they had to, cattle and every type of animal jealously hugged whatever shade they could get. Many territorial fights broke out when interlopers tried to muscle in on territory. The five boys were excited and full of energy, the energy that springs from youth and refuses to recognise any impediment to fast healthy bodies. The boys zoomed around town on their bicycles gathering up all the things they would need for their camp out. This was the night that the boys would be out on their own under the stars. A whole week loomed, of being together seeking fun and adventure without adult supervision. Parents permission had come far easily than the boys expected, and this added to their feeling of starting out as grown ups. Now they sat outside old man Newton’s store and ate ice creams. The time had lazily moved on to quarter to six. The boys finished their ice creams, and then decided to go home for their last meal, before meeting at seven o clock to start to the old quarry two miles out side of town. This location was perfect as it gave the boys a sense of being all alone, while at the same time keeping them close enough to home.

THE CAMP SITE AT THE EDGE OF THE QUARRY

The boys had three tents all set up. There were two tents, which would accommodate two boys each in comfort. Bobby and Paul in one, and John and Rex in the other and one tent just big enough to hold Bruce. The boys had picked a place on the edge of the quarry near a forest of wild trees and thorny bushes. This choice gave great shade from the hot sun during daytime when the temperature soared.

Just after eleven o clock the five boys lay on their backs on the still warm ground. They stared up at the sky and gazed in wonder at the millions of small lights winking from the wonders of space. They imagined themselves on a space ship travelling to all the places out in space, and speculated if they would find alien life out there somewhere. The boys laughed at some of the ideas, which sprang forward from fertile imaginations. By one o clock in the morning the night air was becoming cool and damp, the boys decided to call it a night. Everything was quite except for the odd animal sounds that permeated every night in the forest. Some times small animals could be heard scurrying past the tents as the small animals went in search of food in the dark of the night. By three o clock the boys were all fast asleep every bit as peaceful as their surroundings. A loud terrible scream that none of the boys had ever heard in their lives shattered the peaceful night as the boys woke up and tried not to be afraid. A scramble ensued to light up the tents as the boys became more awake. Bobby and Paul ran into the tent to John and Rex, Paul carried a flashlight, so did Rex, now the two man tent held four of the boys and with the two flashlights on the tent was lit up as bright as daytime. The boys tried to keep calm as they asked each other about the origin of the scream, no one wanted to mention ghosts or night monsters although it was very much on everyone’s mind. As they tried to figure out what to do, Rex asked where Bruce was, no one had thought of Bruce in the initial confusion. Now the boys nervously went outside the tent. Rex and Bobby shone their flashlights all around their immediate surroundings but there was nothing there. The boys uneasily made their way to Bruce’s one man tent. There was no sound from within the tent as the boys called out in semi loud whispers for Bruce to come out to them. It fell to Rex to pluck the courage to open the entrance flap to Bruce’s tent. No one seemed to notice at the time that the tent entrance was open. Rex and the boys peered into the tents interior, there was no sign of Bruce, apart from his sleeping bag being in some disarray, and Bruce not being present, and that horrible scream that had shattered the stillness and quite of the night you wouldn’t think anything was amiss. John was the first to speak and the boys instantly agreed with his opinion that Bruce had been playing a prank at their expense. Never the less the boys called out to Bruce and played they’re flashlights all around the perimeter of the tents looking for him. After a quarter of an hour of fruitless calling to Bruce that the joke had run its course and he should end it now, the boys decided to bed down for the rest of the night. This time all four crowded into one tent. No one mentioned it but everyone was thinking the same thing. It was pretty dark out there and Bruce was not the bravest of the Indians in the camp. He should have been back long before now, laughing at his great joke, and threatening to tell everyone’s parents how he had scared the living daylights out of them. By half five in the morning it was starting to get bright. None of the boys had slept after the fright during the night. At different times the boys had been frightened by night time animal sounds. The same sounds they had gone to sleep with now had taken on a menacing sound. The boy’s imaginations had magnified every little harmless sound into some thing very harmful and dangerous. By six o clock the boys felt brave enough to leave the safety offered by the flimsy tent. It had not occurred to any of the boys that the tent offered no real protection to them in the event of a serious threat.

THE NEXT DAY

The boys had looked into Bruce’s tent fully expecting to see him curled up fast asleep in his sleeping bag with a big smile on his face, contented that he had spoiled everyone else’s night. But Bruce was not in his tent, nor was he any where around the campsite. Now the boys sat around a fire and ate sausages and bacon, they slowly drank their coffee. John was the first to bring up the question as to what the hell Bruce was playing at. The boys decided after breakfast to organise a search party to look for any Sign of Bruce. Rex was annoyed the night before had bothered him the worst, he was in bad humour and it did not look good for Bruce when he rejoined the group. But no one said any thing about the punishing breathing Rex was promising to give Bruce on his return to the group, the truth was that they all thought the same about the previous nights joke and felt exactly as Rex did. At eight o clock the boys started their search. Each one went out from camp in a different direction for a distance of two hundred yards. This way the boys felt sure that at least one of them would run into Bruce, and then it would be pay back time. At nine o clock Paul returned from his search, and joined the other boys who had finished their search before him. Paul filled his cup with the last of the coffee, and asked the obvious question, had there been any sign of Bruce? The negative reply Paul got from the others infuriated him beyond belief. Rex suggested that after they finished their coffee they had better pair up in twos and widen their search area. Every one cursed at the thought of spending more time looking for that ratfink Bruce. By now the searching was cutting into Adventure, exploring, fishing and the pleasure of just plain laziness, doing nothing just for the sake of doing nothing. Rex suggested a one mile search and not one inch further, the rest of the boys in full agreement, still cursed but as Paul said this was a kind of adventure in itself with the promise of retribution at the end for everybody. So at ten o clock, with the sun shining bright and warm, the boys set out in two pairs, in two different directions. Bobby asked Rex for the millionth time if they had gone a mile yet. The sun by now was hot and unmerciful, Bobby was tired, and the search had been a lot tougher than he had imagined it would be. For Rex it wasn’t any easier, but he finally agreed that they had probably gone the best part of a mile. The two boys sat down in the shade offered by a large tree. After resting awhile they made their way back to the camp. No more than a half mile away from them John and Paul were doing the same thing. Neither group had seen or heard a sign of Bruce, the heat by now was killing in its intensity and drained the strength from the boys. It was as they sat around their camp talking, that Rex solved Bruce’s disappearance. It was all so simple that they had not even considered it. Rex said he realised on his way back to camp after searching for Bruce that they would not find him. Bruce for all intends and purposes was at home, that’s why there was no sign of him around the camp area, Rex surmised that Bruce had been fed up on his own in his one man tent, and had quite simply taken it into his head to go home. But not before trying to scare the life out of the rest of the boys. Every one agreed that this was Bruce’s way of doing things he was just not bothered at going home without making one big fuss and leaving the rest of his friends with what appeared to be a mystery on there hands. With the search for Bruce now officially over and the reason for his sudden absence revealed the boys decided to carry on with their adventure without him. When they had finished their camp out and went home like conquering heroes to their parents Bruce would be green with envy, and everyone would know that he had cried of the camp out for his own selfish reasons. As most of the day was gone the boys went fishing hoping to catch some fish and eat them for supper. Bruce was forgotten about and no one mentioned him it was like he never existed. That evening the boys feasted on the fish they had caught in abundance at the old creak river. It seemed that every time a line was cast in to the water, a big fish just threw himself onto the fishhook. The boy’s spirits had much improved by the evening time. The morning had been forgotten in the exuberance of being young free and well fed. Tomorrow they would attempt to scale old craggy height. Old craggy height was a local mountain that had been climbed by generations of young boys proving their manhood, nearly like a local right of passage. No matter what adventure the boys had, it would mean nothing without a successful assent of old craggy that would be the first question any one would ask including the boys parents. The boys found some comfort in the knowledge that Bruce had missed his chance to do the climb with them. They knew that he would have to come to old craggy sometime and make the climb, only now he wouldn’t have his friends with him while he did it. That thought made the boys happy, a kind of revenge by default. That night four boys lay on the ground and stared up into the sky at all the stars bright like so many lights and dreamed about what it would feel like to be in space.

NIGHTIME

Every thing was silent through the hours of darkness. Although animal nightlife was well, and loud, as various creatures went about their business of living and feeding through the early hours. The boys all slept soundly and peacefully. Bobby dreamt of morning time, as he was hungry and so looking forward to sausages and bacon for breakfast. Paul dreamt of Bruce and decided that he didn’t wish to be Bruce’s friend anymore for pulling out of the camp. It was the way Bruce did it that made up Paul’s mind, a coward and not a good friend running of like that. Paul made up his mind that he would tell Bruce the very first chance he got when the camp out was over. John did not dream of anything he just slept. Rex dreamt of Tina Gorrelli, a cheerleader at the local school and everybody’s idea of real beauty. Someday Rex would pluck up the courage to ask Tina out on a date.

The night passed by peacefully, and in the morning the sun rose early, chasing the nighttime shadows away.

THE NEXT DAY

After a hearty breakfast the boys set out for old craggy height. There was an air of excitement as each boy relished the challenge ahead of them. After two hours walking the boys stood at long last at the bottom of old craggy. It seemed from the bottom that old craggy was the biggest mountain in the whole world. The boys set of on their climb. The first hundred yards was covered easily enough. But thereafter the climb became progressively steeper. Old craggy was not going to make it easy for the climbers. It took over six hard hours in the broiling sun before the boys sat atop old craggy. There were cuts and some bruises, but every one of the boys had a big triumphant smile on his face. They had done it, and now they had as their reward a view all around for miles. The scenery was beautiful. This was a sight that would never be forgotten. The boys stayed on top of old craggy for hours, and it was only when the sun was starting to set that the boys reluctantly decided to make their way back down. Rex suggested that they stay the night and the boys had only gone a small way down old craggy when they turned around and made their way back to the top. This night they would sleep under the stars with no tents or sleeping bags to climb into. Luckily for the boys John, who had an instictive gift for being organised, had made each boy bring water and cold food so no one would be hungry or thirsty. That night the boys looked up in wonder at a meteorite shower. It was the most beautiful sight that any of the boys had ever beholden in their lives. It appeared that thousands of lights of different colours had put on a display just for them. Paul remarked that they were lucky that Rex had suggested that they stay the night on old craggy, otherwise they would never had seen all this. Everyone agreed and Rex got acknowledged for having a great idea. Rex was chuffed, but tried not to show it. The boys eventually settled down and slept under the stars, each one felt as if he was a God. The freedom was brilliant for them, and they were so glad that they had decided on the camp out all those months ago.

FOLLOWING MORNING

Early the next morning the boys woke up to the sun shining, it was already nice and warm and the weather promised another blistering hot day. The boys sat around talking, and shooting the breeze for an hour or two, and then they decided to make their way down from the top of old craggy before the sun really got hot. Everyone was hungry and looking forward to eating when they got back to camp. Descending from old craggy took only half the time it had taken to make the climb up to the top. The boys were grateful for now hunger made them feel weak, and the last thing they would welcome would be a difficult climb back to ground level. When the boys finally reached their camp, they immediately made coffee and breakfast. When they had eaten, all of them could feel new energy coarse through their bodies. After breakfast the boys tried to figure what they should do for the rest of the day. Finally they decided to investigate the surrounding countryside and forest. It was a happy four boys who left camp and walked along the forest path. The trees helped to keep the air cool and shielded them from the ever-present sun. For what seemed like hours the boys walked through the forest. In some places the growth was so thick that the going was nearly impossible, only the determination of the boys to keep going made progress possible. After a particularly hard passage through some trees and thorn bushes, the boys were happy to notice the going got easier. For some time now the boys had been making their own path through the forest. It felt as if no one had ever walked here before this day. Rex spotted the old shack first, the rest of the boys when they seen the shack just stared in disbelief. The boys couldn’t believe that here was some proof before their eyes that some one had lived here at one time. From the look of the shack, that would have been a very long time ago. The boys explored the shack and debated moving their campsite to this new location. After some talking on the subject the verdict was not to move camp, but to promise that they would come back here again. This would be their secret place; it would be an ideal place to hang out in the future. Rex was not long in pointing out how good a place it would be to bring their future girlfriends. The boys noticed that the sun was starting to sink low in the sky; it was time to make their way back to camp, before it grew dark. Nobody admitted this would not somehow, be as inviting a place in the nighttime. As it was darkness was nearly upon them by the time they made it back to camp. The boys lit a big fire and spent the next hour cooking their evening meal. Afterwards they sat around talking over the day’s events and their new discovery. They marvelled at how long it was since people had lived in the shack, and wondered what the people would have been like. Paul thought the old shack dated from Indian times long ago when the country was being explored and settled by immigrants. The boys spoke on the topic until the stars were shining bright, and tiredness started to make its presence felt. The day had been long and tiring, but nevertheless everyone agreed it had been a very rewarding day. The boys turned in for the night. No one seemed to notice when Paul said he would spend the night in Bruce’s tent, as he felt he would be more comfortable in there. All the boys wanted to do was sleep, and dream of what the next day would be like. An hour after the boys had bedded down for the night, and were fast asleep; the stars seemed to go out as dark heavy clouds moved silently across the night sky.

NIGHT TIME

At first the rain made light relaxing patter patter sounds on the canvas of the tents. But as the rainfall intensified the sound on the canvas sounded like cannon fire. Still none of the boys woke up, it took a giant peal of rolling thunder accompanied by a bright series of lightening flashes to accomplish this. When woken the boys ran around frightened in the interior of the dark tents. Between the sound of the pouring rain and the thunder the boys struggled to hear and speak to each other. By the time they had managed to calm down and switch on their flashlights, there were only three of the boys together. Rex had not run into the tent to join them so Bobby had run into the other tent looking for him. When he returned to Paul, and John, Bobby looked worried, he couldn’t find any trace of Rex. It was John who remembered first that Rex had mentioned he was going to sleep in Bruce’s tent. Bobby ducked out once more into the stormy night. This time when he returned his face was ashen, and he looked frightened out of his wits. Rex wasn’t in Bruce’s tent either. The boys by now were scared, and all of them wondered where the hell Rex might be. John suggested that Rex might have only gone out side to the edge of the forest to answer the call of nature. But no one really believed that was the case although they hoped it was. The boys wondered if they should look for Rex, but where? It was so dark now that there would be little chance of seeing anything even with the help of the flashlights. John and Paul prevailed on Bobby to check the tents once more, so with more than a little courage Bobby went out once more into the by now threatening night to look for Rex. He returned a couple of minutes later and confirmed once more that Rex was not in either tent. There was one more thing, Bobby told Paul and John that he had shined the flashlight along the ground outside the tent that Rex had been in and thought he could see what looked like a drag mark on the ground. John on hearing this sobbed out loud and tears of fright fell down his cheeks uncontrollably. Paul felt weak in his knees and suddenly had an overwhelming need to be sick. Bobby shook and tried hard to fight the urge to turn and run out blindly into the night, run anywhere and in any direction, anywhere but here, where any sense of security had disappeared like a puff of smoke in a gale force wind. It was a very frightened group of boys who sat in the tent cowering at any slightest noise. But by now the storm raging outside was deafening, the shadows cast by the trees when they were lit up by lightening scared the boys into seeing all kinds of threatening lethal things. It seemed to take a lifetime for daylight to arrive. The boys had by now managed to control the worst excess of their fear, but scared they were, very scared. With voices barely above a whisper the boys decided to make for home straight away, by the most direct route. Now the boys regretted that they had not brought their bicycles with them. It would have been a most comfortable feeling to race home at top speed. With the wind howling and the rain pouring down in a torrent it looked as if the darkness of the night was fighting to stop daylight from arriving at all. The boys readied themselves and then with a collective deep breath they left the tent and started their journey.

THE JOURNEY HOME

Within minutes of starting out the boys were soaked to the skin. Their flimsy summer wear offered no protection against the raging elements. The boys made their way through the forest, walking a path that had been hammered by countless people who had walked here over the years. The forest trees, which had been such an asset when the sun was beating down from a crystal clear blue sky, now, offered no such protection to the boys. It seemed that if anything the rain fell heaver here amongst the trees. Bobby who had been walking with his shoulders hunched, and his head slouched forward, suddenly shot straight up to attention. He had just been caught a full force slap in the head by a tree branch. As he straightened, Bobby cursed John, who walking just in front had let the branch swing forward so hard. As Bobby focused his eyes, he realised that John was nowhere to be seen. Bobby stopped so abruptly that Paul walking behind collided into him. Both boys stumbled and fought to steady themselves. As they stared in disbelief, they tried hard not to panic and run blindly away. John lay impaled on a bed of sharp stakes at the bottom of a mantrap. It had been covered with foliage and John would not have had any chance to spot it before falling in to the deadly pit. John was killed instantaneously on impact with the sharpened stakes. The sight was too much for Bobby and Paul, and as the boys broke into a panicked run, a loud peal of thunder caused utter blind panic. Bobby ran as fast as he ever had before in his life. He did not stop until a sharp pain in his side and chest forced him to rest against a rain soaked tree. As he struggled to control his breathing and ease the pain he felt, Bobby realised that he had become separated from Paul. Total fear, gave Bobby extra strength and he half ran, and half stumbled forward with only one thought on his mind, and that was get to safety. Bobby had every intention of putting as much distance between himself and whatever evil had been stalking them. For now Bobby knew in his heart that some monster was intent on killing all of them. Bobby never seen the bough of the big tree as he struck it with his body full force. Bobby fell from the path through thick bramble bushes, the thorns on the branches tore cruelly at every bit of exposed flesh. His hands, neck, and face were torn to ribbons with a thousand cuts. Bobby ended up in the middle of the thick growth of bush. He felt like screaming with pain, but not a word left his open mouth. Somewhere deep in the recess of his mind the instinct for survival had taken over. Even here there was no shelter from the rain, soaked and cold his whole body shaking uncontrolably Bobby prayed as hard as he could for God to save him, he had, had enough and knew he could not last much more on his own. As the first signs of pneumonia took hold, Bobby nearly died of fright as he noticed that no more than two or three feet from where he laid a pair of legs, from the knees down to the feet could be seen. Whoever or whatever it was did not move, just stood as if for an eternity. A loud peal of thunder spread across the dark angry sky. Bobby had to bite his lip in order not to cry out or move and in doing so give his position away. If spotted now, Bobby knew he would be a dead man. Eventually the focus of all Bobby’s attention started to move slowly away further down the forest path. Just as Bobby made up his mind to crawl out of the bramble bush, the shadowy figure reappeared walking along the path, stopping every few feet, and as Bobby lifted up his head ever so slightly he could see a figure wearing a rimmed hat sniff the air like an animal. The man [by now Bobby knew the figure was a man] wandered further down the path until he was out of Bobbie’s line of sight. Bobby did not wish to press his already fragile luck by raising himself further in the bush to look after the figure so he laid his head down on the wet foliage of the forest floor and felt light as a feather as unconscious overtook him and sent him to blissful sleep. While Bobby became just another inanimate figure in the wilderness of trees and thorny bushes, the shadowy man hunter passed several times back and forth along the pathway, never once did he seem to suspect that his quarry lay helpless and weak as a new born deer no more than a few feet away. The figure finally satisfied that there was nothing to hunt here moved of deeper down the forest path silently as a ghost. When Bobby woke up he had to shake his head several times to chase away the grogginess that made it impossible to think straight or more importantly to focus his eyes. Bobby realised after a few minutes that it was dark, nighttime, and slowly he remembered where he was. The rain still poured down and the cold passed through Bobby’s body, chilling him to the very bone. In the pitch dark of the night Bobby inched forward bit by bit to extricate himself as quietly as he could from the thorny bush. It proved to be no easy job, and the thorns did not release Bobby until they had inflicted a lot more fresh cuts to any skin that lay exposed to them. But finally Bobby made it to the edge of the forest path. Bobby lay at the edge of the path trying to make up his mind what would be the best route to take to make it home. As he laid there a loud crash of thunder accompanied by lightening lit up the surroundings. For one terrifying moment Bobby thought that the hunter was standing there waiting for him, but then as more lightening struck wildly across the sky Bobby realised it was his imagination playing tricks on him. Bobby knew that to have any chance of surviving and making it home safely he would have to somehow control the fear that threatened every second to overwhelm him and send him into insanity. After taking a few deep breaths and summoning strength that he did not know he possessed Bobby managed to calm down and think rationally. A plan slowly began to form in Bobby’s mind; he finally decided that his best chance of survival lay in the most frightening route. Bobby would have to leave the pathway, and make his way as best and quietly as he could through the thick forest. The trees would offer cover and increase his chances of making it out. A brief thought of Paul’s fate, was instantly dismissed. It was time to think and look out for himself, if he made it, then he would have the luxury of thinking of how Paul was. Right now it was time to look out for himself. For the rest of the long hours of darkness Bobby carefully edged himself forward. Every couple of steps Bobby would stop and listen for any sign of a threat. By the first light of dawn Bobby stepped through some bushes and felt the asphalt of the main road under his feet. For the first time Bobby felt he was really going to make it to safety. Bobby slumped onto the road totally exhausted, and didn’t hear the pick up truck slowing to a stop beside him. The man driving the pick up ran to Bobby’s aid. Bobby had made it to safety. The next thing Bobby knew he was lying safe and comfortable in a hospital bed. In the room Bobby could see his parents, who looked very worried, and two police officers. Coaxed slowly by the officers, and reassured that no one would be able to harm him here in the safety of the hospital, Bobby haltingly relayed his story. Bobby did not notice the look on the police officers faces, as they understood the full horror of the boy’s experience. Now they knew for sure that one boy was dead, and three more were missing. Out there in the wilderness some one was hunting the boys with every intention of committing murder. One of the officers left the room. Out in the hall he radioed his head quarters and passed on the frightening news that a mad man was on the loose. It was now at this minute that the police launched a full-scale response. A massive force of police descended into the woods. The hunter had now become the hunted and the odds were stacked in favour of the police and their tracker dogs.

THE SEARCH

The search had only begun and was only one hour old when a volley of gunfire brought the searchers to a broken crumpled body. The man who had terrorised the boys so much lay dead, shot down by two police officers. The officers had just broken cover from some trees when a man had walked towards them. When the man seen the police he stood startled and surprised for one second. Then the man brought what looked like a rifle to bear, the officers taking no chances opened fire instantly cutting the man down. Beside the body the police could now see, not a rifle but a wood mans axe. The head of the axe was bloodied and there appeared to be matter of some sort stuck to the blood. The police could only fear the worst for the boys they were looking for. More surprisingly the dead man was well known to everybody in town. Indeed he was a much respected local man. This only served to add to the horror, as the one telling question was on every ones lips, how could this man have been responsible for bringing so much devastation, and pain to his friends and neighbours in Beckville. People he knew for years, there could be no doubt that he would have known the boys and their families. A dark depression descended on to the police searchers. Now with heavy hearts the search for the boys was resumed, while some officers were detailed to stay with the body. After fruitless hours of searching, the officers found the remains of Bruce. It was not a pretty sight that greeted the officer’s eyes, and several were ill. There wasn’t an officer who did not become upset. Tears threatened many of them. But after calling on the radio to report the find, and leaving some officers to guard the remains, the searchers moved on. The dark clouds finally brought the rain, and this added to the general misery of the searchers. At long last darkness ended the search, no one else had been found and it would be morning before the search resumed. It did not take long for the police to find what remained of John. Another family would receive the worst possible news about their son. Now the police had to find Paul and Rex. The next day the search resumed the tracker dogs picked up the scent and led the officers to some bushes. It was here that Rex was found; again the sight was terrible to behold. Rex had been dismembered and his death could only have been awful. The news of the find and location was radioed on to those who organised and managed the search. The order was for all the police officers to remain where they were until the detectives in charge of the murder investigation arrived. For two hours the searchers kicked their heels until finally the detectives arrived. As the detectives went about their grisly work, thee searchers moved on. Yard by yard, they covered and searched the forest. At the end of this the second day, there was only one boy unaccounted for, Paul was still missing. The police however were hopeful that Paul was still alive; Bobby had clearly stated that Paul had been alive when he had last seen him. As it was the sight of John in the pit that had started the boys panic and separation, the police figured that no one had been directly posing a threat to them. There was every chance that somewhere out there a young frightened boy was very much alive. But the search ended with no sign of Paul. The next day the police retraced their steps to ensure that they had not missed Paul on their first search. But the next day ended just as disappointing as the previous days search. The weather had turned bad and rain poured down from the clouds. That night when the search ended, there was an utter determination to find Paul the next day. The searchers knew that if Paul had not found some kind of protection from the elements, he would most likely die. It was twelve o clock in the day when the policeman coordinating the search received a call from an officer who was at the hospital with Bobby. At the mention of the old house in the forest that the boys had stumbled upon, hope was revived that Paul may have found his way back there. It took four hard long hours before the searchers found the old hut, and there inside they found Paul, cold, and in shock but very much alive. With so many officers to carry him, it was not long before Paul was on his way to hospital. For his parents and family it was good and most welcome news that Paul had been found alive. For the parents of Rex, John, and Bruce, there were only years ahead of utter heartbreak.

THE AFTERMATH

Bobby and Paul were released from hospital, there injuries treated and healed. But in the inner recess of their minds the horror would live on. Nothing would ever erase that. No one could believe that Mark Travers, a respected member of the community for many years, could have brought such mayhem on them. He had received the news that his only boy eighteen years old had been killed in action in Vietnam. His wife had passed away earlier that same year and it was too much to bear. His explosion of terror and murder was the product of a man who had gone insane. He was buried with his wife in the local graveyard. No one from the town attended, except for a couple of officials and the local minister. When the extent of what had happened got out the news made local, state, and then national news. The reverberations went through the whole country causing massive shock. For years to come people travelled to the place of so much horror. The curious asked many questions of local people, opening wounds that refused to heal. John Travers had achieved something that no one had ever managed to do. He put Beckville on the national map for all the wrong reasons.

"John Behan writes because he enjoys it so much..."