They made the long drive up towards the mountains to make it to Blackreach.

Blackreach Forest was a large stretch of woods surrounding parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Parts of Blackreach Forest were largely believed to be haunted, such as Willows Peak as creepy things had happened there. Sightings of figures, hearing noises coming from in the woods at night, and even bodies being found in the woods. Grant and Tommy were no strangers to Blackreach Forest, but they attempted to stay away after some creepy things had happened to them. Such as the feeling of being stalked, and seeing shadows. It was June 27th, a hot summer day. They drove the hour and a half drive to an entrance to a hiking trail where they would set up base camp. Other Search and Rescue officers were on the scene as well. Grant turned the car off, and he stepped out into the hot summer air. He locked the door, and he and Tommy approached Liam, who looked shocked to see Grant.

“Grant, you’re here?” Liam said.

“Yeah, I’m here. I couldn’t get the image of that lost family out of my head. So, let’s get in there and find them,” Grant said.

“Thanks for coming, I really appreciate it,” Liam said.

“Sure. So, how much information do we have?” Grant asked.

It was there that they found out more information about the family. It was a father, his wife, and their two kids. They had heard rumors about a certain section of Blackreach being haunted, and they thought it would be a fun camping trip to take. But they never came home, and the father's sister reported them missing.

“Grant, since you are returning, just for this job, I’m reinstating your position as squad leader. Tommy, are you alright with that?” Liam asked.

“I love that idea,” Tommy said.

With Grant back in charge of Squad A he looked around for the rest of his group. He found them getting ready. All of the guys were excited to see him, even the guys in the other groups. Theo, Johnny and plenty others. The squad was Grant, Tommy, Austin, and Jordan. They all immediately began setting up a plan. Tommy mentioned that it might be best for them to team up with another group. Grant agreed and asked Liam if they could take another squad with them. He allowed it, so Grant went around looking for a group. All the squad leaders stood around with their groups talking. He asked Theo, who was the leader of Squad C, if he would be interested in teaming up with his squad. Theo agreed with the idea. So, they began getting their gear together. Flashlights, two-way radios, GPS systems and First Aid kits for immediate medical attention. Grant always carried a knife on him as well. The supervisors began handing each officer a map, with the area the missing people were supposed to be camping in circled. The squad leaders got together and talked amongst themselves. They needed to make sure they all weren't gonna take the same path. Grant said he and Theo would go right, which led more towards Willows Peak. Willows Peak was the name of a mountain and the surrounding area of the forest that was known to be the deepest part of the forest. It led to another forest that would be miles and miles of wilderness. Once each of them had a plan, they were given some last-minute information. Each member had bandanas they had to have on them to signify their role in the group. Grant had a blue one which was the color for a squad leader, he had to dig it out of his old backpack and bring it with him. Theo had one as well. Tommy had a gold one, which was to signify that they were the second in command to the leader. Glenn, a member of Theos' squad also had one. Austin had a red bandana which showed he was an experienced member. Jordan had a yellow bandana, as well as Scott who was also a member of Theos' squad. A yellow bandana showed they had less experience, you would be considered a ‘private’ if they were in the military. Then there were the rookies, which were the least experienced of them all. Rookies were officers that had been on less than five jobs. Grant and Tommy remember being rookies just two years prior. All the rookies wore green bandanas. Each squad was assigned at least two rookies so that they could get experience, but because Theos' squad was missing one guy, they assigned a third rookie to Theo's squad. So after Grant and Theo were assigned their rookies, they then set off into the woods. All the squads entered the woods and split off into different routes, with Grant and Theo leading their groups off to the right, towards Willows Peak. Walking through the woods during the day wasn't supposed to be creepy. The forest during the day is supposed to be a healing place. A walk through nature was a cure-all for anxiety or depression. It was also great exercise, and if you were out on a trail, it was a little harder to have any fear, as there were other people around. But the walk through Blackreach Forest felt creepy even during the day. It was a barren and hollow feeling. Even Grant and Tommy who spent their childhood in the woods and didn't scare easily felt slightly uneasy. It could've been due to the stories that surrounded Blackreach that made it creepy. The stories plus the few creepy experiences they had at Blackreach in the past caused paranoia. But, they couldn't let it bother them too much. They had a very important job to do.

"In a perfect world, we would hopefully find them before nightfall," Grant said, knowing the possibility of that was slim.

They walked along through the woods. Not only were they on a call and looking for missing people, but Grant and Theo had to train their rookies as well, as it was required. Even during a call, they had to train the rookies. Grant kind of took the lead of Theos' rookies as well, because Grant was a better trainer, and since he wasn’t sticking around,he figured he could try and give the rookies the best training in the short time he’d be with them. Grant moved along, stopping to give a small lesson to the rookies. Telling them what to look for. Like the distance between each footprint, to signify if the person had been running, or walking at a steady pace. Checking for bits of clothing or hair stuck on branches or bushes, overturned leaves and broken twigs. Things of that nature. They moved through the woods, at a slow but steady pace. They had to move slowly so they could look for footprints. Grant was a master at tracking people and was always able to find footprints. Liam considered Grant the best tracker he had ever met. Even the vets who had done this for thirty or more years considered Grant a better tracker than them. He just had a gift for it. He walked along slowly, looking for overturned and broken leaves, soft dirt that would absorb the print of a shoe, or broken twigs. Grant felt confident that they could find the family. Grant shared tracking tips with the rookies, giving small lessons while they walked even with a few laughs sprinkled in. They moved along through the woods, searching for a few hours and hadn't found anything. Grant began to feel annoyed, as it usually doesn't take him this long to pick up a trail. They stopped in a small area and spread out to look around. Tommy called out to Grant. Grant walked over to Tommy who was standing in front of an old sign. It was a wooden sign in front of a tree. The sign was covered by vines and bushes that had grown over it. The sign could barely be read. The only word that could be read was the word Banish. They found that to be weird, but it didn't help them in their search. They moved past it. Despite the creepy feeling they felt, the sounds of the forest were pleasant. The sounds the animals were making strangely made them feel better, knowing that there was other life out there, going about their day-to-day lives while these men searched for missing people who possibly had something terrible happen to them. The sun disappeared and dark clouds formed. Sometime after, a light rain had slowly developed. It was so quiet in the woods, even though it was light rain, they could hear it hitting the trees. The gray clouds that had formed also changed the atmosphere. It went from bright and sunny to gray and dingy. Grant stopped the group when he thought he could hear something. Everyone looked around, but there was nothing in sight but trees. Grant laughed it off, stating that the creepy stories must be making his brain play tricks on him. They came upon an old trail. The trail was no longer used, and it had been overgrown with grass and filled with leaves. Grant found a footprint in the leaves. He called for everyone's attention. They followed Grant, who was following the trail. The trail led to an area squared in by four trees. They saw stones sticking up out of the ground. As they got a little closer, they saw it was an old gravesite.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"It's kind of strange to find an old gravesite in the backwoods, don't you think?" Tommy asks.

Grant just continues to follow the trail, which stops at an old stone. They make their presence known, calling out to the missing family, but they get no response. Grant bends down to read the stone.

Hershel John Roy. Born:1841. Died:1902.

The group fans out to inspect the area, calling out for the family. Grant stands up to join them when he notices something out of the corner of his eye. He saw a man, standing up against a tree. He was a skinny, older gentleman. Grant turned around to call for his group, and in that split second Grant turned his head, the man vanished. The group followed Grant who immediately ran to the tree. He looked around the whole tree, even looking up into the branches. Grant began telling Tommy and the group about the man he saw.

"He was right here, I was just staring at him."

Grant looked up and across from them, by another tree was the same man. Grant pointed and called out for the group to look. They called out to the man.

“Hey you! Are you ok?” Tommy asked.

But the man didn't respond. The man took three steps back, and then one step to the side behind the tree. The group ran to the tree, going around each side. Again, there was no one. They began looking all around.

"No. There's no way he got away. We came around the tree from both sides. We would've seen him," Grant says.

Grant looks around confused. The weird creepy feeling overtook him, and he didn't want to stay there a second longer.

“Come on, let's keep moving,” Grant said.

Grant marked the area by hammering a nail with a piece of colored cloth on a nearby tree. They walked away from the gravesite, with Grant looking back over his shoulder, unable to shake the uneasy feeling it gave him. Tommy asked him if he was alright, as he noticed him constantly looking over his shoulder.

"Look, it's not creepy to be in a cemetery. But where this one is placed, out here in these woods. And when I saw that man, it put a feeling in my chest that I don't like," Grant says.

A call came in over the radio. Grant answered. It was other groups asking if they found anything. Grant looked over at Tommy, and they stared at each other momentarily before switching his gaze over to Theo briefly. He answered, telling them they haven't seen anything. The groups answered back, giving similar answers. The search continued, with the rain beginning to pick up. They could hear it hitting against the leaves harder than it was before. It had gotten darker as well. Each member stops, to pull out their waterproof coats they had in the backpacks. They were light coats that provided not much warmth, but would prevent them from getting as wet. They were more like waterproof windbreakers.

"If we don't pick up a trail soon, this is going to become infinitely more difficult with the rain," Grant says to the group.

The day goes on, and the group becomes increasingly aggravated, especially Grant. Once the sun begins to go down, he informs the group.

"Ok, within the next hour. We are going to stop, and set up an area to sleep," Grant says.

The sun began to go down quicker and quicker as the day was coming to an end. Grant stopped the group, and he, Tommy, and Theo grouped up to discuss areas to camp. They found a spot they all agreed on. It was off tk the side, with not too many trees. It would be a good place to stop and rest. They told the group to stay within a certain area, and they began setting up their tents. By the time the tents were set up, the daylight had decreased significantly, and it was at the point where they would need a flashlight to continue searching. So, they ended day one of their search and crawled into their tents. Grant zipped up his tent and took his boots off. It felt good to lay back in his warm and comfy tent. He radioed in and told all of the other leaders that he and Theo's squad were ending their search for the night. He then grabbed a journal he kept with him, and began to write.

Journal Entry #1

A family has gone missing out in Blackreach. I'm not too sure why they felt the need to go camping out here when they have heard all the stories and rumors that surround this place. So we have gotten called out to search for them, that's our job after all. Well, I decided that I needed to come back and help. Maria was not pleased with me, not one bit. But I can't in good conscience let this go. If something happened to the family, knowing that I could've helped find them and I didn't, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I also need to keep an eye on Tommy. I wouldn't let him come here alone. We are in an area of Blackreach known as Willows Peak. It's a deep part of Blackreach, and the easiest area to get lost in, and it was supposedly the area the family was heading in, so I figured that this would be the place we would find them in. This is the end of our first day, and we haven't found anything, which upsets me. I pride myself on being very good at finding trails, and we spent a whole day, and I didn't even find one. Well, I did find one. I found myself excited when I found the trail, hopefully, we would find one of the family members. But sadly, it didn't. Instead, it led us to something a bit more disturbing. We found an old backwoods cemetery. All old stones sticking up out of the ground with names on them. I looked up and saw a man standing against a tree. When I called out to my group, he was gone. We searched all around the tree, and he wasn't anywhere. Nor were there any footprints around the tree. I was confused, but my confusion was only heightened when I saw that same man across from us. He was up against another tree. He took a few steps back and disappeared behind the tree. We immediately rushed to the tree from both sides, and there was no one. No footprints again. There was no way someone could've gotten away from us, I was looking at the tree the whole time. We weren't far from it either. He didn't climb it, or run away from it. There wasn't even anyone standing there at all. Well, there was. But, it wasn't a human, that much is for sure. It put a feeling in my chest. I don't like feeling it, it makes me feel uneasy. I'm hoping a good night's sleep will clear my head, and I can shake the feeling. A clear head and a rested body will make tomorrow an easier day. I also hope for some better luck tomorrow, we need to find these people. A father, a mother, and two kids. They can't be out here, we have to do our jobs and find them safely.