Down the Road

This is a warning for anyone who lives near the unnamed woods.

I walk by it now and then

looking for something to prove or disprove the stories.

And today I found something.

There was a paperboy at the edge of Wirkshire Rd.

He was heading toward the woods.

I rushed to stop him, but

it was too late.

When I got there, he was gone.

Is anybody out there?

Nah, still nothing.

We'll meet you back at the station.

Yeah, it's taking too many resources.

Tonight's the last night, so we're heading back.

Poor kid.

Alright. Go get Marc, we're taking him back.

Yeah,

I'll be down.

Oh, Charlie.

Can you believe this weather?

Said it was gonna be pouring

and there's barely a cloud in the sky.

Oh, by the way, Charlie, remember

I've got the cereal on the table

as well as the soup cans.

So, uh, be sure and take care of that.

Shouldn't go hungry.

Hey, Charlie.

Oh, Danny.

Oh, I'm so glad to see you. Here

You can help.

Can you help me with this luggage?

Uh. But I...

Whoa, Danny!

Look at your beard.

Oh my golly

it has grown so much.

Oh, wow. Let me get the rest of it.

Here's the other one.

Um. But...

But Charlie's right there.

Oh, yeah, Charlie.

Thank you. Charlie...

I want you to remember

I put those emergency numbers on the table,

and the number where your dad and I will be

is there with them. Okay?

Yeah, right here.

You can just stick them anywhere in there.

Okay, come on, come on, come on.

Thanks, Danny.

Charlie, I'll be back on Monday. I'll see you then. Bye.

Charlie,

don't go in the woods. Okay?

Danny, you too.

Bye.

What was that all about?

She's gonna be in Seattle for the week.

Some big business convention.

My dad's already there.

Oh yeah, my family's out for a bit too.

Hey, so get this.

It's been raining for a month now, right?

Nonstop rain for an entire month.

The day I take my camera out to film it, it just stops.

I don't know, Charlie. Something weird's happening in Clearwood.

I mean, do you remember that one time like 4 years ago?

Sunny skies, then BAM!

Solid rain for a month.

By the way,

what time are you going to Jake's party this weekend?

I um... I don't think I'm gonna go.

What do you mean you're not gonna go?

He invited like half the senior class.

And...

I bet Rachel's gonna be there.

You don't wanna miss that, do you?

Look...

Yesterday was the last day, Danny. They've stopped.

Some good luck charm this turned out to be.

You know,

he could still show up.

Then why don't I believe it.

What changed?

We used to film cool stuff,

like all the time back in 9th grade.

I mean, I still take my camera around everywhere.

But it's like nothing inspires me anymore.

Hey, what's that?

Uh... I'm sorry.

What happened, Danny? I mean...

Is it over?

Is he really gone?

Just feels like the whole world has been tipped to one side.

Nothing feels right anymore.

Hey. Charlie?

Hey, Danny?

What's up?

I think I found something.

So let me get this straight.

You think that the footprints are not from the search party,

but from someone else instead?

And this guy, whoever he is,

came from within the woods sometime after everyone left.

Right.

Which is why

only his footprints were visible

since the rain washed away everyone else's tracks yesterday.

Maybe it was a UMAL guy.

You-mal?

Urban Myths and Legends.

That's the site that Kevin...

That's the site that he used to go to for weird stuff like this.

Urban Myths and Legends...

U-M-A-L, right?

Dot com?

Yeah.

Clearwood.

“The Midnight Caller”.

“The Howler at the Lake”.

“The Legend of Wirkshire Rd.”

Whoa, it's the old woods.

Forgot they used to look like that.

Whoa, you're calling them?

Wait. Maybe I can film this.

Would you mind...

Would you mind picking up the phone again and redialing?

This is UMAL.

How may I help YOU?

Hi. I had a question about one of your stories.

Sure. What city is it under?

Clearwood.

Let me see. Clearwood... Clearwood...

Oh that's that small town! I remember.

You callin' about the Howler, right?

Hold on a second.

We get lots of calls about the Howler. Thank you, thank you...

Truth be told,

it's just a couple of cats doin' who knows what down there.

I mean, who knows what

down there. Know what I'm sayin'?

I'm not calling about the Howler, um...

Calling about Wirkshire Rd.

Oh.

You hear about that Kevin kid?

Yeah.

Well what is it you wanna know?

Do you guys visit the road often?

We, we do.

We do frequently visit our locations.

But your,

your town's so far out there we probably don't visit it much.

Okay, but I mean recently,

like um, yesterday or something.

Sure, let me, let me check the last time we

made a visit.

Nah, we haven't been in your town

in about 5 years.

Listen though...

There was an audio recording

we were asked to put up on the site about a year ago.

You might, you might wanna check that out.

Is that all you wanna know?

Yeah, um, I guess that's it.

Well then thank you.

Thank you, for calling Urban Myths and Legends.

Feel free to call anytime.

Dude, dude, dude!

Can't you see I'm working here?!

Man!

I guess we should check out the recording.

This is a warning for anyone who lives near the unnamed woods.

I walk by it now and then

looking for something to prove or disprove the stories.

And today...

I found something.

For the record, today's date is June 23.

June 23?

That's the day Kevin disappeared.

There was a paperboy

at the edge of Wirkshire Rd.

He was heading toward the woods.

I rushed to stop him, but

it was too late.

When I got there, he was gone.