Missing in Paradise
by Larry Verstraete
Publication date:
November 3, 2014
Publisher:
Rebelight Publishing Inc.
Four months after Gramp’s mysterious death, Nate helps out at
Gram’s garage sale. An eerie feeling, as if Gramps were reaching beyond the
grave to send Nate a message, leads Nate to a box full of clues. A missing
plane. A secret to keep. A map highlighting the route where Gramps died and the
message, “Shipment #35-Gold.” Nate and his best friend, Simon, are convinced
that Gramps was on a treasure hunt when he died. They’re just as convinced that
Gram’s shifty next door neighbour, Fortier, is after the gold too. Nate and
Simon sneak away on a Greyhound bus for the small town of Paradise where Nate
is sure treasure awaits. Can they find the gold before Fortier gets his
thieving hands on a treasure that rightfully belongs to Gramps?
Larry Verstraete is an award winning author of 13 non-fiction
books for young people. This is his first work of fiction.
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The crunch of twigs woke
me up. Framed in the bright moonlight, a dark shadow lumbered past the
shelter. I sat up. My heart hammered against my ribs. My stomach
churned. I check my glow-in-the-dark watch. One a.m.
Something snorted – an
animal searching for food? A foul stench arose, along with grunts and
heavy thuds along the ground. A bear. It had to be a bear!
Simon rolled over, still
asleep. I couldn’t see the animal, but I heard it thrash closer and
closer. I patted the ground quietly to locate the plastic bag with its
enticing peanut butter sandwiches, but couldn’t find it.
Don’t breathe.
Don’t move. Pray it goes away.
Ages later, the heavy
footsteps ebbed. Once more, the forest grew calm. Again I heard
Simon’s soft breathing. Certain the animal had gone, I relaxed. I
dozed fitfully with an ear on the forest, wary of sounds that signaled the creature’s
return.
I slipped into a dream.
I run
through blinding light down a rutted road. When the glare lifts, I follow
a narrow trail choked with weeds and roots. I enter a clearing surrounded by
thick forest and dotted with wooden buildings built of thick vertical planks.
I am not alone. Dozens of men mill around me. One man leads the
group, taller than the others, his stride confident and strong. I can’t see his
face clearly, not at first, but I know who he is. There is no mistaking the
broad should, the square jaw, the patch of stubborn hair sticking straight up.
Larry Verstraete, a retired teacher, has authored thirteen
non-fiction books for young people and won multiple awards including the 2012
McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award and the 2010 Silver Birch
Non-fiction Award. Missing in Paradise is his first work of fiction.
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