14

You crouch low to the ground and peer at the box, which at first glance doesn't have any distinct features. It's simply a small, square metallic box. You touch its sides and try and see behind it, and although you can't tell exactly how it's connected to the tree, you think you can see something sticking out from the back.

Feeling around the edges of the box itself, you try and work out something about what it's supposed to do. There's no visible screen, no hinges, no words that might indicate what it is or what it does. But then, after trying just about anything you can think of, you pull slightly on the front of the box—and end up accidentally sliding up a panel. Underneath, there doesn't seem to be much except a small, slowly blinking red light and a few tiny wires in a couple different colors—but when you lean down as close as you possibly can, you manage to make out some text that's printed next to the light. It seems to read:

"Transmitting signal."

It's only as you're wondering what to do now that you hear it.

A crunch.

And then:

"So what do you think?"

You spin around as chills run down your spine, the voice sounding so close that you were almost expecting someone to be standing right behind you—but there's no one in sight. You stay rooted to the ground for a few more moments as you listen, waiting for whatever might come next.

It doesn't take too long before you hear a reply:

"I don't know. I can't say for sure."

And then, almost immediately, a third voice—and you don't even need to hear beyond the first word to know exactly who's talking:

"That's okay. We just want to be thorough before we move forward."

There's no doubt: that's Mr. Clarence's voice. And from the sound of it, he's coming right this way—directly towards where you're standing over this strange device.

You're still pretty close to your tree, but you're not sure if you can make it back there in time. You think if you could just get out of sight somehow, you might be able to watch what these people are doing here—but if you can't, you might just have to settle for making an escape.