I step onto the bus that's taking us to the campsite. It's for a big end-of-year class trip my school does every year.
Silly, I know, but it's kind of a tradition at this point.
I look around the bus, seeing if I can spot any of my friends near the back.
I see Conner.
He's always sat in the back, even when I first met him back in middle school.
I make my way down the aisle and sit next to him.
"So where are the other guys?" I ask, setting my backpack down by my feet.
"They had to take the other bus. More people signed up last minute, so they had to bring two this year," he says.
"Oh."
I pause for a second.
"Well, we should all try to get on the same one on the way back."
Conner plugs his earbuds into his phone.
"Yeah, we could probably do that. But did you see we all got placed in the same cabin this year?"
"Really? That's a first," I say, trying not to be too loud.
The bus starts driving.
"Oh, by the way," Conner says before putting one earbud in, "you know Layla is coming, right?"
"What?!"
I try not to shout.
Layla was my ex-girlfriend.
We dated for almost two years.
"I thought she wasn't coming this year," I say, trying not to sound annoyed.
"She was one of the people who signed up last minute," he says. "No clue why she suddenly changed her mind. She seemed pretty adamant about not coming."
I sigh.
"Well, there goes any fun I'll be having."
Conner nudges me.
"Nah, don't worry about it. I doubt she'll even talk to you."
I nod.
"Yeah, you're probably right."
I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes.
When I open them again, the bus has stopped.
I look past Conner through the window and see we've arrived at the campsite.
The bus doors open.
"Alright, everyone out," the driver says.
"Let's go meet with the others," Conner says, grabbing his bag.
We step off the bus, and a cool breeze hits me immediately.
I look over and see the rest of our friends climbing out of the second bus.
"Hey! Over here!" Conner shouts.
Somehow, they hear him through all the noise.
I glance toward the forest surrounding the camp.
I can hear my friends talking beside me, but I can't make out what they're saying.
Something about the trees feels… off.
Almost luring.
"Hey, Joel, you listening?" Adrian asks.
"Oh—yeah. My bad. Got distracted for a sec."
I take another glance at the tree line.
Some time passes, and eventually we're back in our cabin.
Ken's sitting on his bed staring at the ceiling.
"Man… our last school trip together before graduation," he says.
"I know," Conner replies. "One more month of school after this, then we all go our separate ways."
"Come on, guys," I say as I sit down on my bed. "It's not like we're suddenly gonna stop being friends after graduation."
"Joel's right," Adrian says. "We've still got the whole summer before college anyway."
"Yeah, you're right about that," Ken says.
I flip the light switch off, and we all head to bed.
I wake up to Ken shaking my shoulders.
"Come on, dude. Get up. We gotta go before any events start."
"What are you talking about?" I mumble with a yawn.
"We talked about it on the bus yesterday. Now come on."
Before I fully wake up, I'm already being dragged outside.
The others are all waiting near the tree line.
"There he is," Conner says excitedly.
"So what exactly are we doing?" I ask.
"We're taking one last adventure," Adrian says.
"We're exploring the rest of this forest."
The group starts walking into the trees.
I follow behind them but stop right before entering the woods.
Everything inside me is screaming not to go in there.
The feeling is strong.
Almost primal.
I start breathing heavier.
I see my friends getting deeper into the trees.
Then, after one deep breath, I step into the forest.
I follow behind them as the light slowly fades the deeper we go.
The guys ahead of me joke around while we walk.
Suddenly, I bump into Ken.
"Jeez, man, why'd you stop?"
I forget about him instantly.
Because standing in front of us is a massive building.
"Woah," Adrian says. "Since when was this here?"
He steps closer, and the rest of us follow.
"This place has definitely seen better days," Conner says while wiping dirt off a window before peeking inside.
"See anything?" Ken asks.
"No. It's too dark."
I stare at the building.
"This place has to be like a hundred years old, right?"
Adrian tries the door, but it won't budge.
"Dang it," he mutters.
I watch as my friends circle around the building, their voices echoing through the woods.
Then I realize something.
The forest has gone silent.
No birds.
No bugs.
Nothing.
The air suddenly feels heavy.
"Hey guys… I think it's time we head back. I've got a bad feeling about this place."
They all turn toward me.
"You scared, Joel?" Adrian asks with a grin.
I glance over and notice Ken realizing how quiet the forest is too.
Ken slowly backs away from the building toward me.
"Yeah… I think he's right. We should head back for now. We can always come back later."
Adrian looks at Ken like he just betrayed him.
"What? Really, man? There's nothing out here. It's just us. Let's break a window and check the inside out."
Conner finally speaks up.
"If both Joel and Ken think we should leave, then we leave."
Adrian rolls his eyes.
"Fine."
We start walking away from the building.
The woods feel different now.
Less alive.
I'm walking near the back of the group when I suddenly stumble.
I look down.
My shoe came untied.
I kneel down to tie it, not even thinking to tell the others to wait.
I pull the knot tight and stand back up.
My friends are gone.
No footsteps.
No talking.
Nothing.
I call out for them, but there's no response.
Then I hear it.
Leaves crunching.
Something is walking toward me.
I spin around.
Nothing.
I hear it again.
This time behind me.
I turn quickly—
still nothing.
Then I feel it.
Breath.
Something is breathing down the back of my neck.
My body suddenly feels heavy.
I can't bring myself to turn around.
It feels like someone dropped hundreds of pounds onto my shoulders.
I start feeling light-headed.
The thing behind me keeps breathing.
Slowly moving closer toward my ear.
The forest in front of me starts to blur.
Then everything goes black.