Chapter 6

The Manuscript

As the sun went down, we finally got back to our tent. The walk had taken almost two hours, and we were very hungry because we hadn’t eaten since lunch. “I need some food,” Tonnison said, quickly lighting our small stove while I got out some food from our bags. Soon, the good smell of cooking filled the air. We ate our simple meal in silence. Neither of us talked about the strange place we had found or the weird sound from the forest. It seemed we both wanted to wait until after dinner to discuss these things. After eating, we washed our plates in the river and sat at the opening of our tent. The night sky was full of stars. In the village, we could see a few lights in the windows. The night air was cool, and Tonnison put a blanket around his shoulders before lighting his pipe. “What about that book we found?” Tonnison asked finally, breaking the quiet. His eyes showed he was both curious and a little worried. I reached for my bag and carefully took out the old book. In the light from our lamp, I could see that its cover was old and cracked, and the pages were yellow with age. There were some strange marks on the cover, almost too faded to see. “It looks very old,” I said, gently opening it to the first page. The writing inside was faded but I could still read it. “Why don’t you read it out loud?” Tonnison suggested, leaning forward with interest. “That way we can both hear it at the same time.” He took a puff from his pipe. “And don’t skip any parts. Every detail might be important.” I smiled a little at this. If he knew what strange stories this book contained, I thought, he wouldn’t worry about me skipping anything. Taking a deep breath, I sat back against the tent pole and began to read by the warm light of the lamp. The title page of the book said: “The House on the Borderland.” As I started to read, the night seemed to get quieter, as if even the darkness was listening to this strange story from long ago.