They find Zack

The search for Zack went on. As the day progressed, more and more volunteers arrived to lend aid. It was about four in the afternoon when the first sign of the lost boy was found.

“ZACK!” shouted Brandon. The search for his friend was starting to wear on the football star.

“ZACK!” Jennifer echoed. Nothing.

“ZACK! BABY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?” Heather cried.

If Brandon was worn out, then Heather Ravers was downright exhausted. The girl couldn’t help but think that if she had been even just a little bit more assertive in her pursuit of Zack, then he’d be safe in her arms.

“Hey, what’s this?” Colin said, picking up something from under a bush.

“THAT’S ONE OF ZACK’S SHOES! ZACK!” Heather cried.

“Chief, we just found one of the boy’s shoes. We’re about a mile from the old logging town, gonna head our way there, but we’ll need some help looking through all those old buildings,” Jennifer informed her boss.

“We’re on our way. Gonna go get the vehicles, so we’ll be there about the same time you get there. Keep an eye open, some of those buildings are only held up by the vines,” Chief Jenson warned her.

“Okay Chief. See you there.”

About half an hour later, fifty vehicles filled with 120 volunteers descended on one of the ruined towns that once stood near Silver Lake. As soon as the vehicles were parked, the search for Zack was resumed.

In the early days of the Silver Lake community, logging camps were set up to capitalize on the area’s number one natural resource: the trees. Abandoned for nearly a century, the logging camp that was the scene of an intense search-and-rescue used to be the home of over three hundred loggers and their families. Many of the buildings were just toppled over piles of wood, while others looked like people could still be living in them. Some of the more intact buildings had curtains in the windows and a few had roofs on them. It was near one of these roofed buildings where Zack was found.

“MMAWRRR!” came from one of the intact rooftops.

Jennifer looked up just in time to see the snarling face of a mountain lion staring down at a small team of rangers. Three quick shots from her pistol sent the beast scurrying for cover.

“WHAT THE HELL, WHITE?” Chief Jenson shouted furiously.

“Mountain lion, chief. It was about to jump on some of our people,” she informed him.

“Okay people, heads up. It may have a den in one of these buildings. If it was female, she’ll fight to the de…”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Ashley’s scream filled the air, putting all remaining nearby animals to hoof and wing.

On the ground behind the building where Jennifer shot at the mountain lion, a small group had gathered. Several teens could be heard crying as Chief Jenson cut his way through the crowd. When he got to the center of it, he found Zack’s lifeless body lying on the ground at the base of an old wood shed. The boy’s once beautiful form was covered in the typical marks of animal predation and his eyes stared coldly into oblivion. Heather cradled his head in her lap and wept while she ran her fingers through his blood-matted hair.

“This is Chief Jensen, Head Ranger, Silver Lake Park, call off the search, we found the boy.”