The Lost Story: A Novel

Once upon a time, teenagers Ralph “Rafe” Hanley and Jeremy Cox go missing during a school field trip in West Virginia’s Red Crow State Forest. Search parties look for the boys, but after six months, they are considered lost forever. 

That November, Maggie, a nurse, and her boyfriend, Tom, are trekking near Goblin Falls inside Red Crow. They spot a shirtless young man climbing down a hill, with another draped across his shoulders in a fireman’s carry. Maggie recognizes them as the lost boys from the news, though the young men look far more grown than in their photos. As Jeremy lays Ralph down on the forest floor, Maggie sends Tom to get help while she checks Ralph for injuries. Maggie finds Ralph unconscious but healthy, except for long scars down his back.

The EMTs arrive and take the boys away in an ambulance. Maggie does not tell Tom about the weird thing that happened when Tom was away: Jeremy spoke to Ralph in a language that seemed not just foreign but otherworldly. As a red crow landed on a branch overhead, Jeremy gestured to Maggie to keep this a secret. The entire sequence had the air of a fairy tale.