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The Sighting
by Joyann Dwire

Eddie nudged Cathie closer to the corner of the barn. The kids knew it was impolite to listen to other people's conversations, but the topic captured their attention.

"I'm telling you, Tom. If it wasn't Bigfoot, it was something just as big. It broke trees in half like they were nothing." Mr. McAfree was having trouble convincing their dad. "But it was the scream that got to me. It was the most inhuman thing I've ever heard."

Mr. McAfree got into his pickup truck and rolled down the window for one last warning.

"You mind what I said, now. Be careful up by the dam."

Dad stepped away from the truck, still laughing as Mr. McAfree drove off.

Eddie and Cathie looked at each other with their eyes wide.

"Let's go see for ourselves," Eddie said.

Cathie hesitated before answering. She didn't want to be outdone by her little brother, but she wasn't so sure she wanted to see Bigfoot.

"Come on," Eddie insisted. "We'll get Marie to go along."

Their older sister was fifteen and wasn't afraid of anything, or at least that's what she wanted people to think. Eddie played on this pride to talk Marie into going along for the adventure.

"This is silly," Marie insisted as they walked up the hill toward the dam. "There's no such thing as Bigfoot."

She did her best to sound bored with the idea, but her eyes darted back and forth, watching for any sign of danger.

Eddie and Cathie walked ahead until they reached the darkest and scariest part of the road just before the dam. The trees on both sides of the road grew close together, and the underbrush was so thick it was impossible to walk through. Cathie hung back to walk with Marie.

Suddenly there was a loud crack. The kids froze in horror.

Eddie felt a lump in his throat, but curiosity got the better of him. He could barely make out a large, dark shape.

The squeal made him jump straight into the air. It was just as Mr. McAfree had described it?a howl, a growl, a moan, and a scream all wrapped into one.

"Run!" Eddie yelled.

Both Eddie and Cathie grabbed one of Marie's arms and practically dragged her down the road. Eddie was sure the thing was snapping oak trees in half as it chased them, but he didn't look back until they reached a curve in the road.

When there was no sign of pursuit, they slowed down, but none of them spoke. Convinced that they'd had an encounter with Bigfoot, they walked home quietly.

When they reached their driveway, they noticed Mr. King's pickup. He was standing by the corncrib talking to Dad. They tried to slip into the house unnoticed, but Dad motioned for them to come over. Reluctantly, they obeyed.

"Were you kids walking up by the dam?" he asked.

They nodded slowly.

"You didn't see anything up there, did you?" Mr. King asked. "My prize pig broke out of the barn two days ago," Mr. King said. "You wouldn't think a six-hundred-pound boar would be so hard to find, but no one seems to have seen him."

The kids' eyes got as wide as saucers.

Dad laughed. "Maybe you should go see Fred McAfree. Something tells me he saw your pig."

Grade 6 Story Elements CCSS: CCRA.R.5, RL.6.5

How do the kids resolve their conflict?

They stay in the barn because they are too afraid.
They discover that the creature by the dam is a pig.
They get Mr. McAfree to take them to see Bigfoot.
They walk to the dam and see Bigfoot by the trees.

Question Info

Story Elements Question

Grade 6 Story Elements CCSS: CCRA.R.5, RL.6.5