Jenny was cold, tired and hungry. It hadn’t been long yet, but it was late in the night by the time she was able to sneak out and she was not used to being awake for so long.

  At first, Jenny tried to track Frankenbug down like she saw trackers do on TV at one point, but she decided that they must have been lying. Nobody could follow tracks that weren't there. After the spots of blood went away, she wasn't sure about where to go. When she saw it lead to the water though, something in her stirred and she knew Frankenbug was alive.

  "Hang in there, Frankenbug. I’m coming to save you." She whispered, as she walked along the edge of the water.

  Jenny was determined to find Frankenbug. She even packed snacks, soda pop, a blanket, a flashlight and her favorite book just in case she had to camp outside. The night didn’t scare her since most of the sounds were bugs that she recognized and she knew that most gators were afraid of people and stayed in the water at night. As long as she didn’t hug too close to the shore, she would be safe.

  As she went deeper into the woods, it became too dark to see by the light of the moon alone, so she was forced to use her flashlight.

  “Frankenbug,” Jenny called out, knowing that he would recognize her voice. She wondered if Frankenbug could see in the dark. It would make sense since he was the most amazing pet she had ever seen. She hoped he wasn’t scared out there all alone. The thought was enough to make Jenny tear up and sniffle.

  “Frankenbug, it’s okay,” She called out, scanning with her flashlight and looking for anything that looked even similar to his fat, multi-legged, mound shape. He probably wouldn’t be out in the open since he was scared. If Jenny was scared, she would hide for sure, so she made sure to check inside tree roots and inside of reeds in the water.

  Movement in the water made her jump and almost scream for joy until she realized it was only a spooked gator. Still holding the flashlight in one hand, Jenny harrumphed and crossed her arms with a pout.

  “Excuse me, Jenny? Is that you?” A deep voice said from the dark behind her.

  “Uh-” Jenny felt paralyzed in fear from hearing someone else out here. At first she worried it was a monster, then she was scared it was an adult that caught her sneaking out. They knew her name.

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  “Oh don’t be scared, It’s me, Chuck. I’m friends with your Mother remember?”

  Jenny, still worried she was in trouble, shined the light on Chuck to see his face and He flinched back at the sudden light in his eyes.

  “Oh, sorry Mister Chuck.” Jenny said, pointing the flashlight back down. She decided to get it over with and asked: “Are you going to tell on me?”

  “Oh not at all,” Chuck said in a soothing voice that was so friendly, it made Jenny feel much better. “I was wondering if you could help me. I lost a friend of mine, but it’s a secret.”

  Jenny went wide eyed at the coincidence. Mister Chuck was looking for a friend he lost in the woods around here too? Did he know Frankenbug? “Really?”

  “Yeah, he was really small when I lost him, but by now he’s probably much bigger and looks different. Some people might be scared of him, but he’s not a monster. He’s really nice.”

  That had to be him. Jenny couldn’t think of anything else like Fankenbug in the world and the way Mister Chuck described his friend, it sounded like Frankenbug. “You know Frankenbug?”

  “You know him too?” Chuck said in amazement, “Oh my gosh. Does he turn into a butterfly type chrysalis every time he gets full and then changes?”

  “That’s him!” Jenny squealed in excitement, “I’m so glad you know he’s not a bad guy.”

  “Me too,” Chuck said smiling, “So will you help me find him?”

  “Yeah,” Jenny said, “I’m looking for him too. He’s probably so scared after that cop lady hurt him.”

  “He got hurt? Oh no,” Chuck said.

  “Yeah, the lady isn’t mean or anything, but Mommy and everyone thinks Frankenbug is a monster, so the cop lady shot Frankenbug and he ran away.” Jenny felt sad saying all of this out loud.

  “That’s horrible,” Chuck said, sounding super sad. “You know, I have a first-aid kit in my car, wanna help me grab it so we can make Frankenbug feel better?”

  “That’s a great idea,” Jenny said as she followed Chuck to his car. It was so nice having an adult help her and believe her. Now that they were teamed up, there was no way they wouldn’t find Frankenbug.

  When they got to the car, Chuck opened the back door, but she didn’t see any first aid kit. “There’s nothing there. Did someone take it?”

  “Oh you have to look under the seat.”

  Jenny climbed into the back and looked under the passenger seat. When she felt the cloth cover her mouth she breathed back in surprise and it was too late.

  The whole world faded from her vision at the speed of panic and by the time she realized Mister Chuck had lied to her, it was already too late to scream.