Disappeared

Gone: The Willis Family Disappears

The Willis family was a mysterious lot they appeared to be very well off financially however had no manners and were totally self-absorbed. Martha (mom) was very stylish and the way she wore clothing you would think she was a fashion model. Henry (dad) was athletic looking and it was rumored he played football in college. Taddie (girl about 15) was lanky, very awkward and looked very masculine. You could see her chasing after insects, frogs and other creatures trying to catch them all the time. Why, no one seem to know. Shane (boy about 17) was extremely handsome and was out about town on his motorcycle until all times of the night.

Henry would be gone for weeks at a time. It was assumed he was away on business. You would see Martha leave home dressed very smartly about 9 am and return not wearing the same outfit about 9 pm. Usually she was wearing expensive designer after five dresses or slacks. Most of the neighbors assumed she was in the fashion industry. Although you would never know due to they did not speak to anyone not even a wave! They would look in your direction as if you were not there. Taddie would leave the house with some type of bag, a net and a lot of small plastic containers headed to the small lake located about half a mile from their front door. She would be gone most of the day. If you saw her leave at 10 am she would not reappear until 3 or 4 pm. When she did return, she would be filthy with water-soaked leaves and branches hanging off her and soaking wet from head to toe as if she fell in or intentionally went swimming completely dressed.

Shane would be the last one to leave their home daily about 11 am and you would not hear his motorcycle again until midnight or after. Sometimes there would be a boy or girl riding on the back. The strangest thing is that you never saw other people leave their home only the Willis’s. Shane dressed like a biker with leather chaps, tight blue jeans the hard rough looking type no designer jeans for him. His boots had spikes on them so did his leather jacket.

This family had lived in the neighborhood for about 10 years. Many of the older people would tell stories about how they would watch Taddie when she was about five years old chase down huge lizards with her bare hands with no fear. She would after catching one wildly squeal with joy. Many said Martha back then wore very, very short skirts. So short you could almost see her butt. She was extremely graceful and could get in and out of her car with ease not showing her underwear in those short skirts that looked more like long tops. As usual she would look at you as though you were a small insignificant thing. When invited to join the other ladies at social gatherings she would give a huff and push the invitation away gently. After a while the women stopped asking her to join them. Many of the families in the neighborhood had girls who were members of the local Girl Scout Troop. One year Mrs. Grace, the scout leader, personally went over to the Willis’s to ask Martha to allow Taddie to join. Martha scoffed and yelled to Taddie “boy they want you in the Girt Scouts, Taddie replied in a very harsh, low pitched sarcastic tone, “I don’t play with those little pussies.” Mrs. Grace was so surprised she turned beet read and immediately exited the porch.

Now Henry who was always gone for extended periods would appear on the rare occasion no matter what time of the day or night wearing very dark sunglasses a huge hat and a dark colored cape. He seemed to be always in a huge hurry to get in the house. You would never see him take in any type of luggage or carry a briefcase. Once inside you did not see him again until it was time for him to leave again. As he would enter the house in a hurry, he would be in a bigger hurry exiting the home. One-time Tom Bradford (a former tennis pro) was able to catch Henry as he left their house and asked if he ever played tennis. Henry scoffed, his reply was very rude, “knocking a tiny ball around was for people who had absolutely nothing constructive to do with their time.” Tom turned beet red in the face and walked away mumbling to himself.

One day a package arrived, the delivery man left it by mistake at the house next door. About 4 pm Hillary their neighbor went to the Willis’s door to see if maybe Taddie was at home. When Hillary rang the doorbell she heard a deep bellowing noise like some type of wild animal was in the house. Startled by it she dropped the package on the porch and ran home. A few minutes later she observed from her porch a large hand and part of an arm covered with slimy scales on it reach out the door and retrieve the package. Mrs. Hill quietly retreated inside and never looked in the direction of the Willis home again.

A couple of weeks had passed and no one had seen any of the Willis’s. Puzzled by not seeing them Mrs. Grace called the police and felt something was wrong she had not seen her neighbors in two weeks. The police did not want to take up the matter due to many people leave their homes not noticed by neighbors and nothing would be wrong. Since the Willis’s were extremely anti-social the police dismissed it. A few days later Mrs. Grace called the police again this time to report an extreme foul odor in the neighborhood. The smell seemed to be the strongest in front of the Willis home. Now this time the police had to come and take a look! The stench was so pungent at the Willis’s front door that the police stumbled off the porch coughing and gaging. The next thing you see is a couple of large vans pull up and people in white hazmat suits escorted by the police rush out and breakdown the Willis’s front door. As soon as they entered they all stumbled backwards out of the house coughing and gaging.

The next day there was an alert sent to all the community not to go near the Willis house and if they had been inside or even on the porch since the report of the strange foul odor in the area to call the health department. The local police, some state patrol and the FBI returned to the neighborhood with more people in white hazmat suits with oxygen helmets. All you could see were people in hazmat suits walking around waving instruments in the air. Finally, a team escorted by the police went inside with several clear plastic tubs. The FBI and local police went door to door asking people questions about the Willis family. “When was the last time you have seen the Willis family? Did they look ill? Was anyone else in the home besides the Willis family?” We all answered the best we could and then we were told to pack a bag and leave our homes. We were given the number to the Red Cross and 24 hours to vacate. All of us asked why? We were told that an unidentified gas was leaking from the home and it was extremely toxic. Of course we all left immediately most of us were gone long before the 24-hour period we had been given to leave.

It took them several days to clear the home of whatever they were taking out in those plastic tubs still no sign of the Willis family. Both their cars and Shane’s motorcycle were in the driveway. The disaster team put a huge white tent over the Willis home with signs warning people to stay at least 1000 feet away and crime scene tape sectioned off their house from the neighbors. Our Highland Hills community was on the news day and night for a week. We could see on the news that our lush green lawns were all brown and the trees looked like they were melting. The Governor declared an emergency and the Highland Hills subdivision was off limits. FEMA was called in to assist those of us who lived in the subdivision. No one called or showed up to inquire about the Willis family. We were told some of our personal belongings would be available after the FBI lab completed an examination. An 800# was flashed on the TV for people to get more information. We were ordered not to return to our homes and all streets that lead to our neighborhood were blocked, patrolled by the local police and the National Guard. Huge signs were everywhere with large red letters HAZARDOUS DO NOT ENTER. We could not get within a mile of our community. FEMA put some of us who did not have family nearby in local hotels. An Emergency Disaster station was set up where we could apply to FEMA for disaster aid, get water and free meals. My family left the area and went to Montana where most of our family lived. We never inquired about what finally happened to Highland Hills or the Willis family. It was as though that part of our lives never happened.