Matthew was sad about that. He felt a special connection to the Parks. His dad worked for the National Park system but he was rarely home, which is why Matthew loved the Parks. He felt that somehow he was able to get to know his always busy dad, whom he only saw around holidays.
After his Mom had dropped him off for the day, he went straight to hiking. He went on one of the short loop trails though 'cause he wanted time to stop and take pictures.
When he was about halfway done with the second trail, and when there was no one else in sight, he noticed a girl standing off to the side of the trail, behind a tree. She looked to be about fifteen and was clad in green and brown. Matthew admitted to himself that, even though he had perfect vision he wouldn't have seen her except for the fact that she had long wavy red hair.
He glanced away for five seconds. When he looked back, she was running farther into the forest. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then ran after the girl, leaving the trail far behind.
The girl led Matthew to a somewhat small village. He hid behind some rocks and bushes and watched as she ran into the biggest house, if that's what you could call any of them.
The houses were more of small treehouses on the ground. Some were two stories tall but most of them were only on story. Matthew pulled out his phone and took a picture.
"I've got to take a picture of this place," He whispered. Almost immediately, he felt someone grab him from behind and bind his wrists together. He was also gagged and blindfolded.
Matthew's captors led him into one of the treehouses and made him sit down on a chair. His captors then proceeded to tie rope around him and the chair. His ankles were bound to the chair legs and his wrists to the armrests. The gag and blindfold were then removed and he was able to get a good look at the room.
Matthew appeared to be in some kind of office. His chair was in front of a desk. There was also a chair behind the desk, a small bookcase on one of the walls, and a small window behind the desk made of different colored crystal.
The door opened and a tall man with red wavy hair like the girl's entered. He was quickly followed by an almost equally tall woman with long blond hair and pointed ears. The man sat down behind the desk and the Elf, for that's what the woman was, stood behind him, arms folded. The man then proceeded to question Matthew.
"What are you doing here?" The man asked gently.
"I saw someone in the forest near the trail and I decided to find out where the person was from." Matthew answered.
"Describe the person." The man said.
"Taller than me, dressed in green and brown," Matthew said, "With long wavy red hair." The man and the woman exchanged glances, then the man stood up and left the room. The Elf followed close behind.
"We'll talk about this later," Came the man's voice through the door. Shortly after that someone went upstairs and slammed a door.
Matthew wondered what his mom was going to do when he didn't show up and why on Earth he had not packed his pocket knife.
