Jan, Crask and the Faded Rose - Middle Grade - Mystery/Fantasy
Jan,
Crask, and the Faded Rose by Carmen DaVinleam
#MG
#M #F
The full manuscript is
available upon request. The first few pages are copied below.
Silvervale 1862
The trunk of the tree in front of me illuminated like the moon. Ben Maupin, who stood on the opposite side of the tree, gasped in awe. The other trees were also slowly lighting like candles in the darkness, even though sunbeams trickled through the leaves to the ground. One by one the trees brightened. “Stop cutting!” I yelled out as axes and saws sounded from the distance. The chopping stopped. Yelped cries echoed in the forest as everyone who’d been gathering lumber for the new homes and town hall stopped what they were doing.
“Ms. Lucent, what is going on?” several people called out.
Other voices echoed through the forest, but they were so far away I wasn’t sure what they’d said. I was certain it was questions like I too had. “We should remove the saw, Ben.”
Maupin nodded and we pulled the saw from the tree we’d been cutting, the light in the tree’s trunk wrapped around the tree, repaired the cut we’d made, then slithered upwards like a snake. Rainbows burst forth from the tops of the trees and wind blew all around us.
I turned to Ben. “We must pull everyone back to town.”
He nodded while staring up at the beautiful sight. “Yes, Layla we should. How far do you think this goes?” Ben looked over his shoulder as the group of cutters collected their tools.
“I don’t know, but we must find out.” I placed my palm on the repaired tree trunk, it was slightly warm, and the bark was perfect as if it had never been cut in the first place.
We gathered everyone, and raced back to town, but I knew that soon I’d be back out in these woods searching for the reason our trees had all come to life in such a way.
Present Day
Chapter One
Warm air blows in my face as I pedal my bike turning down Main Street. Crask is right behind me on her bike, too. I can hear the bookmark my best friend tied to her spokes clicking as her tires speed up so she can ride beside me.
I’m glad it’s a little after three o’clock, otherwise the summer sun would be pounding on us right now. The sun is always warmest at noon when it’s straight up and not being blocked out by the tall trees in the surrounding forest.
We live in a small town—Silvervale. When I say small, I mean the population is fewer than five hundred. It is also smack dab in the middle of over two-hundred-thousand acres of forest. Which means there is nothing for one-hundred-fifty-six-miles in any direction. It’s not a place you want to get lost. As long as you stick to the town areas, it’s completely safe. If you’re going to go into the woods, take a good compass, a map, and plenty of water—supplies I keep in my backpack at all times.
Crask and I pass up the brick building that holds our town’s high school. We’ll be headed there in three weeks to start seventh grade. I’m so excited to go. The two-story building isn’t very big. Though, it is larger than the primary school we just graduated from. There are ninety kids enrolled in Silvervale’s entire school system. Super small. Everyone knows everyone else—regardless of what grade they’re in.
“Hey, Jan?” Crask asks. Breathing heavily while she pedals. “Do you think everyone will like the fruit punch flavor, or should I have gotten more than one?” She points to the items in the basket on the front of her bike.
Crask and I are headed home from the grocery store. My mom sent me to grab some snacks for our camping trip. Crask’s mom sent her for drinks for the same reason.
I was glad the items I carried weren’t heavy. It’s harder to stay upright with weighty stuff. “It’ll be cool, Crask. Who doesn’t like fruit punch?” I smile assuring her again that her purchase is okay. Crask is a year younger than me—she’s eleven-and-half, super smart, and in the same grade I am—she really wants to be accepted. It will be her first camping trip with our town troop—the Silvervale Tigers.
I’ve been in the troop since I was five. Not everyone joins—but everyone is always welcome. Right now, we have fifteen members. Crask, being the newest, feels like she has a little more to prove.
A dark blue car heads our way. Crask hits her brakes and falls in behind me, going single file for safety.
Police Chief Maupin sees it and flags us down. “Howdy, girls!” We pop our bikes up onto the curb then slow to a stop. “Did you happen to see the driver of that vehicle?” His head bobs in the direction of the car.
“I didn’t, the windows were tinted.” I look to Crask.
“Me neither. I was too busy looking at the lines on the road to make sure I stayed away from the car,” Crask replies a little out of breath.
Chief grabs the walkie on his shoulder. “Hasnija, unknown dark blue vehicle headed toward Tully Park. I didn’t catch the license plate number.”
“I’m at the park now Chief, I’ll be on the lookout, maybe this time we’ll catch it,” the officer’s voice sounds from the radio speaker.
“Officer Tom, here. I am headed that way on the scenic route, I’ll backtrack so we don’t miss them,” Tom’s voice comes through with a static squeal at the end.
The chief squints his dark brown eyes at the noise and turns his head to the side. His shirt sleeves are rolled up and I see his Funny Guy tattoo. The chief’s out of state brother draws comics and mails them to the elementary school once a week. Chief loves the comic strip so much that he got the main character—Fun—tattooed on his forearm.
Chief grabs the keys from his belt and unlocks the jailhouse.
“Are you letting Garth out?” Crask laughs.
“If he didn’t want to spend a night in jail, he should’ve stopped lighting fireworks at eleven, like everyone else.” The chief laughs.
“Garth and his antics,” I say. “At least he’ll be out so he can bring the truck to the park tomorrow.”
Chief smiles. “I’m just glad we never have to use this place for more than a night at a time. We’ve got a fairly calm town—besides that mysterious car anyway.” He looks in the direction the car had went. The car showed up a few days ago, and even though everyone’s been on alert, no one has found out who’s driving it yet. “Speaking of which, are you kids ready for your parents to be gone all week?”
“Yes!” Crask and I both say.
“Well, I hope everyone behaves themselves,” Chief says as he opens the door to let Garth out.
Besides being somewhat of a troublemaker, Garth also drives the local ice cream truck. He spends as much time at the park as all of us kids during the summer. He’s like our unofficial babysitter. He always knows where everyone is—unless it’s Friday night. Then he’s with all the other teens over at our only fast-food joint—Silver Shakes—trying to get a date. I wonder what he’s going to do when he turns twenty and the teens who hang out there tell him he’s too old.
Garth exits the building and raises his hand to block out the afternoon sun. His brunette hair is matted since he hasn’t been able to brush it yet. “Hey kids,” he says, scratching his beard.
“Hey Garth.” We smile at him.
“I bet you’ll stop lighting fireworks next fourth of July the same time as everyone else.” Crask laughs.
Garth sticks his tongue out at her. He’s a silly guy.
“Go on and head home. I’m sure your parents are waiting,” Chief says to us.
“Okay, Chief,” we say.
Chief and Garth start chatting. Their laughter is loud as we hop our bikes off the curb.
“Be safe!” Chief Maupin yells toward us as we fly away.
“We will!” Crask and I reply as we pedal faster.
My mom had warned me about the strange car on Saturday. Crask and I had just seen it, too. I’ll have to tell mom that the officers were tracking it down when I get home. That will make her feel better about leaving. When you live in a small town, everything is news—and anything new scares your parents.
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