Took by Mary Downing Hahn Page B

toward her through the trees—dark and formless, like a wisp of fog or smoke. I couldn’t tell what it was—an old woman, a little girl, an animal—something small and dangerous, I could sense it. Behind it was something else, something worse, a shadowy, bony thing, taller than a man.
    â€œErica!” I shouted. “Stop, don’t go near it! Run!”
    My sister turned to me. “Daniel! What are you doing here?”
    The shadow, or whatever it was, vanished, but I grabbed Erica and started pulling her away. “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you see? There was something there!”
    â€œLet me go!” she screamed. “Let me go!”
    â€œNo. You’re coming home, right now!”
    â€œMy doll,” she cried, “my doll.”
    Little Erica lay on the ground where my sister had dropped her, her face in the leaves.
    â€œI have to get her!” Erica twisted and turned, kicking me, flailing her arms. “She wants her! She’ll take her!”
    â€œWho wants her?” I yelled. “Who’ll take her?”
    Erica didn’t answer, but she struggled even harder to get away from me, crying and screaming. Holding her was like holding a cat that doesn’t want to be held. She didn’t have claws or sharp teeth, but she managed to bite me twice and scratch my face.
    But I didn’t let her go. And I didn’t pick up the doll.
    Out of the woods at last, I saw Mom and Dad getting out of the van. When they saw me hauling Erica through the weeds, they hurried toward us.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Dad shouted. “Are you all right?”
    With a burst of strength, Erica broke away and ran to Mom and began a sobbing account of what happened. “I was playing in the woods,” she cried, “and all of a sudden Daniel grabbed me and started dragging me home. He said I wasn’t allowed to be in the woods. He made me leave Little Erica there—she’s lying on the ground all by herself.”
    Dad and Mom looked at each other. “You take care of Daniel,” Mom said to him. “I’ll get Erica into the house. She’s hysterical.”
    â€œNo.” Erica began struggling again. “I have to get Little Erica. I can’t leave her there!”
    â€œIt’s almost dark,” Dad said. “We’ll get the doll tomorrow.”
    â€œNo, no! I’ll never see her again.” Erica thrashed about wildly, more like a cat than before.
    â€œTake her to the house, Ted,” Mom cried. “I can’t hold her!”
    Dad got a firm grip on Erica, picked her up, and carried her toward the house. Her shrieks finally stopped when the back door closed behind Dad.
    Mom turned to me. “What’s this about? Why wouldn’t you let her get the doll?”
    â€œThere was something in the woods, something dark and scary.” Words tumbled out of my mouth. I didn’t think about what I was saying. I didn’t try to stop myself. “I had to get her away from it.”
    Mom looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “What are you talking about?”
    â€œI don’t know. I saw it. I was scared. I thought it was going to grab Erica. She was just standing there, like she was paralyzed or something.”
    Mom put her hands on my shoulders and gave me a little shake. “Daniel, how often do I need to tell you? No one is going to take you or Erica. No one is going to disappear.”
    I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. I wanted to believe Mom. I hadn’t seen anything in the woods. Neither had Erica. It was all my imagination. Selene Estes had disappeared, but she hadn’t been taken by Bloody Bones. He was a legend, he wasn’t real. I couldn’t have seen him.
    But no matter what I told myself, I knew I’d seen something. I couldn’t explain it. I didn’t know what it was, but it had been there.
    After Erica cried herself to sleep, I talked Dad