That very night, after decidin' ta go inta those woods with Freck, I found myself dumped onta the floor. It was like my mattress bucked then tossed me off. At first I didn't know how I got there. I remembered a noise so loud it rattled and shook the house. That's what must have sent me sprawlin'. The next ear-splittin' bellow proved me right. Them roars was so deafenin' my ears was clangin' like church bells.

I rolled over, sat up, knelt beside my bed, and peeked real careful-like over the edge. I felt just like a soldier in a movie hidin' in a dirt ditch to escape whizzin' bullets. Through my bedroom window I seen the menacin' treeline borderin' the 40 acre vacant field. The treetops in the blackness resembled the pointed walls of an old-west army fort, or a giant wall of jagged teeth. It was one of them nights when the new moon shies, pulling clouds over its face, like a big ol' scaredy cat. My daddy and me warn't alone in this, the whole darn town of Burns gets scared ta the core by those bone chillin' screams, shouts, and strange colored lights in the night sky.

I've heard those piercin' screams, roars, and ungodly noises comin' from Howlin' Woods my whole life. I seen the multi-colored lights too, floatin' over the woods like flashin' neon drug store signs in the inky sky. No matter how many times ya experience it, it's somethin' ya never get used to. It's like them folks like n California. Ya knows an earthquake's comin' sometime, but ya still get scared. The only safe places I knows of are hidin' in bed, or under the bed, with my noggin' packed tight in Gramma's patchwork quilt.

I warn't a baby no more, so's I couldn't just run inta Daddy's room, and cower in his bed. I'd be eleven when school lets out for summer. Almost twelve and nearly a man. At times like this, though, I had ta fight the urge ta run ta Daddy for comfort. It was best ta just think about somethin' else. When my innards are shakin', I like ta think of my missin' momma and wonder where she is. Daddy said she was a butterfly, which I guessed was 'cuz she couldn't stay in one place very long. He never did properly explain it, but promised he would when I was older. So, I reasoned, she must still be out there somewhere. I was pretty sure of it.

I thought about how things might be different if my momma was here. How she wouldn't care I was almost growed up, and would hug me, and stroke my hair anyways. That's what all mommas do, right? Daddy's tell you to man up, suck it up, be brave, and never, ever let anyone catch you cryin'. Man lessons begin early in the South.

As I stared at the tar-black treeline I caught sight of a faint, green glow to the left. It didn't change nothin'. The screamin', shriekin', and bellowin' didn't stop, it just got crazier. Another glow, this time blue, appeared in the center. Whatever was makin' them sounds from hell, sure didn't like them colored lights.  Ever' time another one appeared, the woods broke out in even more fury. It sounded like a war zone in the woods, but with no explosions.

My knees begun to hurt from kneelin' too long. I crept back inta bed, covered my ears with a pill'a, and pulled the quilt way up over my head. That didn't work out very well, so I tried som'thin' else. I stuck a finger in each ear and sang out loud to myself "Three little fishies in an itty-bitty pool." It helped some, but not enough ta drown-out all the racket in the woods. I upped the volume and sung even louder, "THREE LITTLE FISHIES IN AN ITTY-BITTY POOL!"

"Wishes, are you okay under there?" My daddy must have heard my loud singin'. "Would you like some company son?"

I let the quilt slip down to the middle of my nose so's only the top of my butch cut, blond head, and blue eyes showed. Daddy rubbed a hand over my head and said, "How's my towheaded boy?" Towhead is what they call kids with my color hair, so blond it's almost white, you know.

I took the fingers outta my ears so's I could hear him better. "I'm okay Daddy," my voice was shakin', "but I'm kinda scared."

"You're not alone Wishes. Nobody hearin' those noises comin' from the woods ain't afraid some. It's just a good thing that it doesn't happen every night. This one seems louder more ferocious than usual. It's enough to set a grown man's teeth on edge."

"Does that mean you too Daddy? Are you are afraid?"

"Of course I get scared too, but it's a different kind of fear. When you grow up and have kids of your own you'll understand that everyone is afraid of some'thin' but parents are apt ta be more fearful for their children than they are for themselves.

"Do you know son, what the one good thing is about those awful shrieks and moans in the woods?"

"No."

"There has never been a time in the whole history of Burns, and even before, when whatever scary things are in there have ever ventured out of the forest. Those monstrous beasts stay in there. We don't know why. Maybe there's some kind of magical barrier that prevents them from leavin'. So it doesn't really matter how loud, or how frightenin' those screams are, you're okay as long as you stay far away. They cain't, or won't come out ta get ya."

"Promise Daddy?"

"I promise. You're safe right here."

Daddy heavily sat down on the corner of the bed makin' the springs squeak. "How 'bout we sing songs until the uproar stops?"

I nodded and Daddy tucked me back in. I made myself comfortable. He started singin' in his deep voice one of our favorite songs, "As I walked out in the streets of Laredo..."

I joined in and sang "As I walked out in Laredo one day. I spied a poor cowboy wrapped in white linen. Wrapped up in white linen and cold as the clay." Then we sang "You Are My Sunshine," "Ghost Riders in the Sky", and "Once There Was a Little Ol' Ant." I don't remember how many songs we sang, but sometime middle of the night I fell back asleep and didn't wake up until mornin'.

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When I woke up, I immediately started makin' plans to go into the woods to find that mysterious salamander. I figured that kids ought not be afraid. Besides, Freck and I deserved mommas. I didn't tell my daddy though, if'n I did, he'd surely find a way to keep me from goin'. He'd stop me even if he had to lock me up until I was full grown.

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The next day durin' recess I looked for Freck. She was with a couple of other girls, Mitzi and Sarah Jane. They was dressed almost alike 'cept Mitzi had penny-loafers with a real penny in front. Sarah Jane was wearin' patent leather Mary Janes. In my best David Niven voice I asked, "Miz Motley, might I have a word with you?" No one expected that uppity kind of talk from me. I heard it a movie and thought I'd give it a try. They giggled, but it worked. We walked far enough away, by the old black pirate stump, so's no one could overhear what we was sayin'. This was just between me and Freck, ya know.

"You remember that we were talkin' 'bout findin' the Whistlin' Salamander, right?"

"Sure Wishes," she gave me a funny look and shook her head a little, "it was just yesterday."

I wasn't certain how to approach this next part. "Did ya hear all the screams, shouts, and angry wails comin' from the woods last night?"

"Yeah. That racket was the loudest I ever did hear. I was so scar't I hid in my closet."

I was feelin' nervous. My breath got shallow, and I could feel my hands a sweatin'. "My house is the closest one to Howlin' Woods, you know. Last night it was so bad that I thought for sure that they were comin' straight out of the forest to attack us. Sure as heck, I ain't never been so afraid."

"Me neither," Freck agreed.

"Remember how we said we were goin' inta the woods...?"

"Wishes, you ain't chickenin' out are you?" She interrupted.

"No...I'm....not...chickenin' out." Maybe I was. If Freck changed her mind, I could back out without lookin' like a lily-livered weasel. I was just wonderin' how you were feelin' about it after last night and all. We are still goin' to find that salamander, right?"

"Look Wishes," she said, with that deep furrow that got darker when the freckles got scrunched together between her eyebrows, "I want more than anythin' to get my momma back. I'm not gonna let some big scary screams in the night stop me. B'sides we're goin' in the daytime, right?"

"Of course we'll go in the day. Neither of us is totally crazy."

She blew out one of them "whew" sounds.

"I said, "Good, but I've been a thinkin'..."

"Oh, oh," she interrupted again, "When you gets to thinkin' it could mean trouble."

"Come on Freck," I sorta whined, "When have I ever gotten us into trouble?"

"Well," she pointed down at my shoes, "Have you forgotten all about skiing down Hawk's Hill?"

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I remembered it all right. It seemed like pretty good idea at the time, but didn't turn out so well. We had been watchin' the Olympic skiers on TV at my house, because hers was overrun with her daddy and five older brothers. When they watch sports, any kinda sports, it gets really loud, almost as ear splittin' as a jet airplane firin' up at a Tampa air show. I didn't know how they can make sense of anythin' with all that whoopin' and hollerin' goin' on. Plus they take up all the sittin' spots, so we get stuck on the hard wood floor.

I turned to her and said, "I'll bet a million bucks we could do that."

"What do ya mean Wishes? Do what?"

"I mean we could ski down a hill. It looks purty easy as long as ya don't go too fast."

"How the heck are we supposed to do that? You know we don't get snow in Florida." She looked at me like I had spilled my marbles.

"I know that, Freck, but we get rain, lot's o' rain."

"And...?" That, you're a real wacko look, she was giving me didn't leave her face. She kind of leaned back a little too like she was tryin' to create some distance between us. Ya never knows if this particular kind of mental derangement was catchin'.

I said, "What if we strapped bars of soap to our feet and slid down Hawk's Hill?"

"Are you jokin' Wishes?"

"No, I'm as serious as a bible-thumpin' preacher at revival."

"How do you think it would work?"

"Well, we don't have snow, but when it rains real hard the grass on Hawks Hill gets very slippery. With soap on our feet we should slide real good."

It didn't occur to either of us that those Olympic athletes trained all of their lives to do what they do. They made it look simple enough. After a while we convinced ourselves that it would be fun. We believed we could do it, and that we would be great at it too. No problem. So, she got two bars of soap from her house, and I got two from mine. We waited until a day when the grass on Hawk's Hill was sopping wet with rain and strapped the soap onto our soles with picture wire. If'n you pull the wire real tight, it sinks into the bar so it doesn't interfere with your slidin'. We found some will'a sticks about shoulder high so's we could pretend to be Grand Slalom skiers. We also expected to use them to help us stand up if'n we fell.

Oh boy, did I slip. I slipped every which-a-way except downhill. Just attemptin' to stand up made me fall--a lot. I fell backward. I fell forward. I managed to fall sideways more times than I can recall. Freck was havin' similar difficulties.

Finally, I mastered the art of a shaky stand-up by pressin' my toes down into the sod. I placed my poles forward like skiers do, took off the toe brakes by rocking back on to my soles, and pushed. Boom, down I went again, right on my hinder. To my amazement Freck copied my toe grip, pushed off, and didn't fall. She went a whole twenty feet or so before tippin' over.

"Wow! Way to go, Freck!"

She didn't get that far, but it was enough to convince us it was possible after all. We were both really pumped--this could work--it really could! Obviously, she couldn't come up-hill, not with the soap bars on her feet, so I had to go down to meet up with her. I was now confident that If Freck could do it, I could too. I was wrong.

Freck was shoutin' out advice. "Lean forward. Stick your butt out. Pull up the poles. Stand up. Stand up straighter. You can do it Wishes!"

After fallin' a hun'red more times, I had to slide on my rump the last couple a feet.

"Freck," I gasped, my breath coming out all raggedy. "This ain't going to work after all. I'm sore all over and soaked clean through. Let's go home."

"No, we cain't stop now. You almos' got it. Maybe we should go together."

So, there I was feelin' bad, and wishin' with all my might to take a ride down this doggone hill. "All right, I'll try but let's not do it standin' again. Maybe we could sort of hunch over like we were ridin' in one of those Olympic bob-sleds. That way if we fall, it won't be so far."

"Hey, that's a good idea. Let's sit on our hinders and stretch our legs out in front. When I count to three, jump, and pull your legs up, and under. Grab your knees, and I'll hold on ta ya."

"One, get ready. Two, get set. Three, GO!"

"Woooweeeee!"

By good-golly-gosh it worked. We was a scootin' down that hill faster than a polecat clears out a party. We were slidin' very fast and pickin' up speed. It was a thrill and a half. We even scared up a rabbit who ran 'crost our path in front of us before hoppin' away wildly. Down by the creek I glimpsed a shadow of a man just standin' by a tree a watchin' us.

There we was laughin', shoutin', and havin' the time of our lives until it dawned on me that we didn't know how to steer, or stop. Two crazy kids, on a slick wet hill, balanced on slippery bars of soap, completely out of control, and headin' straight for Indian creek with all its huge rock boulders.

"Better stop, Wishes!" she hollered in my ear.

I wish I could. I wanted to. I was frozen in fear.  I could plainly see that we was goin' to crash. Even if I figured out a way to stop--it was just too danged late. Our speed would still carry us into the creek and onto the boulders. There was nothin' I could do.

Freck grasped the situation. She started screamin'. Lordy I couldn't help myself. I began screamin' too.

The man below made a move like he was gonna try and save us, but he was too far away to reach us in time.

"Momma! God help us Momma!" we screamed, even though neither of us had any real memories of our ma's. Yellin' for momma comes naturally when you are facin' certain death. It's instinct. That's when time slowed. Everythin' got very, very clear, but it was in slow motion. The creek. The rocks. The man runnin' toward us, and the colorful little sparkly light over my shoulder.  A tiny shriek of horror burst from the light.

Bam! We came to a sudden stop. At least our shoes stopped. Our bodies didn't get the message. We commenced flyin' off the ground and turnin' end-over-end in the air. I smacked down first because I was in front. Wham! Whomp! Right into a huge boulder. My legs split 'round it like I was climbin' onto the saddle of a horse.

I blacked out.

I didn't see what happened to Freck.

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"See Wishes," Freck reminded me. "That's what comes from your thinkin'."

A little sheepishly, I had to admit that she was right. I didn't always think ever'thin' all the way through before jumpin' in with both feet. I wondered how could anyone figure out ever'thin' before doin' it? Surprises happen, don't they?

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That got me to ponderin' about what happened after we hit the rocks. When I came to, I was in bed in a strange room. I wasn't sure where I was. It had a funny disinfectant smell like in a doctor's office. I might not have known where I was, but I knew how I felt--horrible. I hurt from head to toe. Lookin' down I saw that my entire body was covered in white clunky casts and lots 'o bandages. From what I could see, I looked like the Mummy from a monster movie.

My daddy was uncomfortably asleep in a green Naugahyde chair next to my bed. He was wearin' the clothes he always wore to work in the garage; the blue work shirt with Al embroidered in red on the pocket and dark blue trousers with grease stains that never washed all the way out. "Daddy?" He didn't move at first, so I tried again. "Daddy?"

He shook his head and his heavy eyelids struggled to open. It almost looked like they were glued shut. With effort he got them open. "Wishes," he said in a sleepy-raspy voice, "are you awake?"

"I am." Then I asked, "Where am I?"

"You are in the hospital son. You had a bad accident and they brang you here to patch you up. Do you remember what happened?"

Of course I remembered. "I smacked into a boulder right after a slide down Hawk's Hill," I told him.

"Do you know how you got here?" He asked. I think he was questionin' me to see if I had a brain injury or somethin'.

"No."

"They tell me a stranger rescued you and Freck," my daddy said. "You are both so banged up you couldn't have saved yourselves. It's a wonder you didn't drown. The odd thing is that everyone who said they saw him cain't remember what he looks like. Isn't that funny? I suppose they were too busy keepin' ya two alive that they really didn't take notice of him. I would like to know who he is though, so I can thank him for savin' you idjits.