The Woods

The Woods is a horror drama novel currently being written by Hazel Baumgartner. It is considered part of the Baumgartnerverse.

## Synopsis

The Woods follows Tom Carlini, the second of three children in the Carlini Family, as he struggles over his entire lifetime with the disastrous loss of his younger sister, Harmony Carlini, who disappears off the family's property in northern California on July 13, 1992 under mysterious circumstances. The Woods uses nonlinear storytelling and time-jumps to reveal new details to the reader as they become relevant instead of in chronological order.

# ***WARNING: HERE BE SPOILERS***

### Chapter One: A Little Slice Of Paradise

In 2020, Tom tells his therapist that he's been having dreams about his missing sister, Harmony. He tells her that Netflix is planning on making an episode of a documentary series about her 1992 disappearance, and that they reached out to him but he declined to take part in the project. He also reveals that his brother Jason and he believed at the time that her disappearance was at the hands of a sasquatch. Later at home, Tom reminisces about growing up in the forest of northern California in the late '80s and early '90s with his siblings.

### Chapter Two: July 13th, 1992

In 1992, Nathan Carlini leaves the house for work, where he will be gone for about a week, carrying Harmony Carlini. She runs after his truck down the driveway waving, as she has done dozens of times before, but never makes it back tot he house. When Jason and Tom wake up, they assume she's still asleep. It's not until Alice tries to find Harmony to tell her to do her chores that they realize that she is missing.

In 2001, Tom and Jason argue about comic books over the phone. Tom gets another call from Alice, who informs him that his father has been killed in a hunting accident. Nathan Carlini is buried at the northern California property alongside Harmony's empty grave. After this, Tom and Jason return to their homes in Kansas City, Missouri and Fort Worth, Texas respectively.

### Chapter Three: Missing

In 1992, Sheriff Callahan helps Alice file a missing persons report. He interrogates Tom and Jason, then he and Officer Davis take the boys out onto the property to search for Harmony. Tom and Officer Davis search Harm's Kingdom, then expands their search down the trail to the Swimming Hole.

In 2020, Tom calls his mother, who is suffering from a severe dementia episode after having a stroke. They discuss plans for their upcoming mother's day trip, where Jason and Tom are both planning on bringing their families, picking up Alice, and taking her up to the family property. Alice does not remember that Harmony is dead, and asks if she is coming along.

### Chapter Four: A Loss In The Family

In 2020, Tom and Doctor Meyer discuss the upcoming mother's day trip. Tom reveals his fear that Alice's current lucidity is a sign that she will die soon.

Meanwhile in 1992, the search for Harmony continues but proves fruitless. With time dragging on and a lot of woods left unsearched, Sheriff Callahan calls in backup from the California Highway Patrol, including a helicopter.

In 2001, Tom and Isabel travel back out to California for Nathan's funeral.

### Chapter Five: Into The Woods

In 1964, a logger named Jimbo Jonas is attacked and killed by the Sasquatch. In 2002, Tom, Jason, Isabel, and Elise travel back to the family property to bury Nathan, paying their respects to Harmony as well. In 2020, Tom, Isabel, and their girls travel to California to visit Alice, but have an accident on the way when their car strikes a large, unidentified creature.

### Chapter Six: A Damn Big Something

In 1991, Tom and Jason venture back out into the woods and discover a footprint left by a large humanoid creature. In 2020, Tom and Isabel try to make sense of what they just encountered.

### Chapter Seven: Sticks And Stones

In 1991, Tom and Jason document their evidence of the monster and make a plan for if they encounter it. In 2020, Tom, Isabel, Jason, and Elise are attacked in the house by the Sasquatch. Jason ventures outside to retrieve his firearm and is carried off.

### Chapter Eight: Chicken The Animal And Chicken The Food

In 1990, Alice discovers two chickens missing, prompting her to teach Tom how to slaughter the other chickens for food. In 2020, Tom retrieves his brother's firearm and tells the others that his brother is missing. They call on an old ally for help. In 1992, Tom and Jason find themselves trapped in the woods.

### Chapter Nine: The First Forty-Eight Hours

In 2002, Tom encounters Sheriff Callahan. In 1992, Tom and Jason race back to the safety of the house and discover a clue to Harmony's fate. In 2020, Sheriff Callahan comes to the rescue.

### Chapter Ten: The Shasta County Monster

In 2020, Sheriff Callahan ferries the children away to safety, then helps devise a plan to kill the monster and save Jason. In 1992, Tom and Jason have a terrifying encounter. In 2002, the monster haunts the younger generation of Carlinis as they try to reconnect in the hunting cabin.

### Chapter Eleven: What Became Of Harmony Carlini

In 1992, the boys lead Sheriff Callahan, Deputy Davis, and their father back along their exploration path to show them their discovery. In 2020, Callahan, Tom, Elise, and Isobel hatch a plan to rescue Jason. In 2002, Isobel and Elise become firsthand witnesses to the thing lurking on the property.

### Chapter Twelve: The Beast In The Shadows

In 2002, Tom, Isobel, Elise, and Jason try to survive the night trapped in the hunting cabin. In 1992, Harmony Carlini's remains are discovered in the ravine.

### Chapter Thirteen: Hunters And The Hunted

In 2020, Tom, Isobel, and Elise try to lure the sasquatch into standing still long enough for Callahan to implant it with a GPS tracker.