Mystery Road by Kevin Lucia

Choices are like roads, taking us to destinations both planned and unexpected, but lofty thoughts like that are of no concern to young Kevin Ellison, who only cares about his dreams of basketball glory.

One day, however, while riding his bicycle to shoot baskets with his best friend, he comes across a side-road he doesn't recognize, curving away into the woods.

Intrigued, he rides down this unmarked road and encounters something both wonderful and quietly terrible, something that forever changes his understanding of the world...