I step onto the bus, which was bringing us to the campsite. It was for a big trip with my class for an end-of-year getaway we were having at my school. Silly, I know, but it's something my school has done every year. I look around the bus, seeing if I can spot any of my friends near the back. I see my friend Conner. He always sat in the back even when I had first met him in middle school. I make my way to the back and sit next to him. "So where are the other guys?" I ask as I set my backpack on my feet. "They had to take the other bus. More people signed up last minute, so we had to take two this year," he said. "Oh," I pause for a second. "Well, we should all try and get on the same one on the way back." Conner plugs his earbuds into his phone. "Yeah, we could probably get us all in the same one. 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 to drive. "Oh, by the way," he says right before putting his earbud in. "You know, Layla is coming, right." "What!?" I try not to shout. Layla was my ex-girlfriend. We dated for almost 2 years. "I thought she wasn't coming this year," I say, trying not to sound annoyed. "She was one of the ones 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 say as I lay my head back against my seat and close my eyes.
When I open my eyes, the bus is stopped. I look past Conner out the window and see we just arrived at the site. The bus door opens. "Alright, everyone out," the driver says. "Let's go meet with the others," he says, picking up his bags. We both walk out of the bus, and a breeze of fresh air hits me.
I look over and see the rest of our friends getting out of the other bus. "Hey, over here," Conner shouts. Somehow, they hear him amidst all the noise. I look over at the forest surrounding us. I can hear my friends all talking next to me, but I can't make out what it is they are saying. Something about the trees feels off to me, almost luring. "Hey, Joel, you listening?" Adrian says. "Oh yeah, my bad. Got distracted for a sec." I take another glance at the tree line. Some time passes, and now we're back in our cabin. Ken's sitting in his bed. "Man, our last school trip together before graduation," he says as he stares at the ceiling. "I know. One month of school after this, then we go our own paths." Conner says, "Come on, guys. It's not like we're gonna just not be friends after we graduate." I say as I sit down on my bed. "Joel's right, guys. We'll still be friends, and besides, we've got all summer before college," Adrian says. "Yeah, you're right about that," Ken chimes in.
I flip the switch, and we head to bed. I wake up to Ken shaking me. "Come on, dude. Get up. We gotta go now before any events start," he says as he's shaking my shoulders. "What are you talking about?" I say with a yawn. We "talked about it at the bus yesterday. Now come on." Next thing I knew, I was getting dragged out of the cabin. I see the others all at the tree line. "There he is," Canner says with a hint of excitement. "So what are we doing exactly?" I look at the group. "We're taking one last adventure," Adrian says. "We're exploring the rest of this forest," they start to walk into the trees. I follow behind, but I stop right before entering. Everything inside of me is telling me not to go into those woods. The feeling is strong, almost primal. I start to breathe heavily. I see my friends getting deeper into the trees, and with one deep breath, I step into the forest.
I follow behind them, the light starting to fade as we go deeper into the woods. I see the rest of the guys goofing off in front of me as we walk. Suddenly, I bump into Ken. "Jeez, man, why'd you stop?" I completely forget about it because in front of us is a massive building. "Woah," Adrian says. "Since when was this here?" He steps closer, and we all follow. "This place has definitely seen better days," Conner says, wiping away at a window before peeking in. "See anything?" Ken asks curiously. "No, it's too dark." I stare at the building. "This place has to be 100 years old, right?" Adrian tries the door, but it won't budge. "Dang it," he says under his breath
i watch as my friends circle the building their voices echoing loudly. Then, I realize the forest had gone silent. All the wildlife was gone, and the air started to feel heavy. "Hey guys, I think it's time we head back. I have a bad feeling about this place." They all look back at me. "You scared, Joel?" Adrian says with a slight grin. I look over and see Ken notices how quiet it is. Ken starts to walk back towards me and away from the building. "Yeah, I think he's right. It's time to go. We can come back another time." Adrian looks at Ken with a look of surprise and slight betrayal. "What really, man? There's nothing out here. It's just us. Let's just break the window and check out inside." Conner finally joins in. "If Joel and Ken both think we should leave for now, then we leave." Adrian rolls his eyes. "Fine." We start to walk away from the building. The woods feel different on the walk back. The surrounding trees feel less lively. I walk in the back of the group when I suddenly stumble. I look down and see my shoe came untied. I kneel down to tie it, not thinking to tell the rest of the group to wait. I pull the knot tight and stand up. My friends are gone. Footsteps, no sounds of conversation. I call out for them, but I hear no response. Then, I heard it. The sound of leaves crunching. Something was walking towards me. I quickly turn around. There was nothing there. I hear the sound behind me again, but when I look, there's still nothing. Then, I felt it. Breath. Something was breathing down my neck. My body started to feel heavy. I couldn't bring myself to turn around and face whatever it was behind me. It felt like I had extreme weight on my shoulders. I started to feel light-headed. The thing behind me still breathing but now slowly moving to my ear. The forest in front of me started to blur. Then, everything went black.