The Field and Bent Tree¶
The Field and Bent Tree is the overgrown field behind the Dahlonega trailer park where Gene Cartwright, a boy of about seven, was taken, and where the team found his shoe hung high in a tree.
| Type | Location |
| Aliases | Injun Rock (the head-shaped rock used as a landmark) |
| Region | Dahlonega, Georgia |
| First appearance | Appalachia 02 |
Description¶
The field lies behind the double-wide park where the Nick family lives, and a couple dozen kids play there. When the team arrived it was knee-high grass, thick with mosquitoes and biting flies, ringed with police tape and trampled by the volunteers of the manhunt (Appalachia 02).
Edward Nick's mother directed the team to the spot by landmark. From her window, a big rock that looks like a man's head, which she calls "Injun Rock," has a nose that points toward a bent tree at the wood line. Edward had been right by that tree when the family heard the screaming (Appalachia 02).
Notable places within¶
- Injun Rock. The head-shaped rock; following its nose leads to the bent tree.
- The bent tree. Gene's red, white-soled shoe was hung high in its branches, with a tuft of pale, soft, body-like hair (ends intact) caught in the laces.
History of events there¶
Kurt proposed an inverted-wedge search formation, with the people in the back rechecking the footsteps of those in front. Because the volunteers had trampled the ground, Investigate a Mystery was at -1; the Biz still rolled well enough, with a boost from Kurt, to ask two questions. His first, "What sort of creature is it?", revealed something dangling from a high branch. Huell climbed the sketchy limb (Act Under Pressure, a mixed result), passed the roll to avoid falling as the branch cracked, and ruined his suit retrieving the shoe. Kurt and Huell concluded the boy was dead (Appalachia 02).
The Biz's second question, "Where did it go?", was answered by Edward's account, relayed by his mother: something appeared from nowhere, grabbed him and ran into the woods. Andrew pointed out that this did not explain a shoe in a tree. The shoe and hair were bagged for McManley. Kurt phoned Sheriff Burke, who confirmed that the missing boy's shoe was red with a white sole, and who added that he needed to talk to his deputies about looking up when surveying a scene (Appalachia 02). See Gene's Shoe.
A different child's shoe, German in style, was later found in the hidden modern tunnel; see Child's Tennis Shoe.
Inhabitants¶
None. The surrounding trailer park is covered at Dahlonega Trailer Park. Edward Nick and the missing Gene Cartwright lived there.