"Oh man… I'm already hating this trip," Charlie spoke up, kicking a small rock near the campfire. "It's not about you though. It's Jenna and her friends. They invited us, right?"
Darren nodded.
Charlie continued, his voice a little annoyed. "So why the hell would they ask us to stay here and watch the tents while they go out looking for food and having fun?"
He gestured toward the campsite. "It's not like our tents need someone guarding them."
"Okay… maybe they just—" Darren sighed. "Maybe they're worried someone might steal our stuff."
"For real?" Charlie shot back instantly. "You actually think that?"
He laughed and shook his head. "What would someone even do with our tents?"
Charlie waved it off and started walking toward his own tent. "Sorry. It's not your fault anyway."
He ducked inside the tent a moment later.
Darren stayed where he was.
He stared at the small campfire burning quietly in front of him, then slowly lifted his gaze toward the dark forest surrounding the campsite.
The image of the deer still lingered in his mind.
The way it had stared.
The police hat.
The birds that had suddenly taken off into the sky.
Was it something?
Normally, Darren wouldn't worry about things like this.
But the fact that Jenna and her friends still hadn't returned this late made him start thinking.
What if something happened to them?
That thought crept quietly into his mind, refusing to leave.
And then he remembered something else.
Last night, he had a dream.
A nightmare.
He was standing alone in the woods at night.
It didn't even feel like himself. Everything was too quiet. There were no birds. No wind. No sounds at all.
Except for one thing.
Branches snapping somewhere in the darkness.
Not far from him.
Like something was moving through the trees.
Watching him.
He knew it was just a dream.
But it had felt so real.
Maybe it's just because this is my first camping trip, Darren thought. Maybe I was nervous and my brain just turned it into a nightmare.
He shook his head slightly.
I've been watching way too many horror movies. This is real life.
"Hey! Darren! You good? We're back!"
A female voice called out from the distance.
Darren turned quickly.
Relief washed over him.
Jenna and the others were finally coming back through the trees.
Charlie stepped out of the tent at the same time.
"Sorry it took us so long…" Jenna said, holding a small bucket full of fish. "Um… the fish were just really hard to catch."
"It's about time," Charlie replied.
He scratched the back of his neck before continuing.
"Actually… we wanted to ask something. Why invite us out here if you were just going to leave us watching the tents? It's kind of boring."
"Oh—no," Jenna said quickly. "We didn't mean it like that. It was just a thought. Like Stacy—"
She gestured toward the girl beside her.
"—she said the forest can be kind of scary. There could be criminals or something who might steal our tents."
"And our clothes," Stacy added casually.
Charlie and Darren exchanged a look.
Charlie sighed. "You know what? Forget it. We're all here—that's what matters."
He waved a hand toward the fire. "Let's just start roasting the fish and do something."
A few minutes later, everyone was sitting around the campfire.
The fish they caught were already roasting over the flames.
"Wow, this is actually really good," Stacy said after taking a bite.
Darren tried some as well. It tasted alright.
But he wasn't really paying attention to the food.
His eyes slowly drifted toward Jenna.
She wasn't sitting with the group.
Instead, she was sitting alone beside her tent, staring quietly up at the darkening sky. She wasn't on her phone. She wasn't talking to anyone.
She just sat there.
Thinking.
That's when Darren noticed something.
Jenna used to be cheerful. Always smiling.
Everyone at school talked about her.
How pretty she was. How nice she was. How she always seemed happy.
So why did she look so… sad now?
"Jenna," Darren called quietly. "Are you okay?"
"Oh—um… uh…" Jenna responded quickly, almost startled. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."
She forced a small smile.
"I was just thinking about school work. Grade 11 is… no joke." She sighed lightly. "Remember that group project Mrs. Taylor assigned us? That thing's been stressing me out."
Darren nodded slowly.
"Okay," he said. "If you need anything… just tell us."
Jenna nodded.
Yeah… maybe it's nothing, Darren thought. She's probably just worried.
Suddenly, a sound broke the silence.
A loud gurgle echoed from Stacy's stomach.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Stacy froze, glancing awkwardly from side to side.
James raised an eyebrow and handed her another piece of fish.
"Still hungry? I've got more."
"Uh—no," Stacy replied quickly as she stood up, one hand resting on her stomach. "I… uh…"
She sighed.
"I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."
She turned and began walking away from the campfire, heading toward the dark woods beyond the tents.
Darren watched her as she disappeared into the shadows.
Something about it didn't feel right.
Again, Darren told himself not to worry too much.
But he was.
And he couldn't stop it.
He hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
"Stacy."
She turned back.
"You sure you want to go alone?" Darren asked. "It's really dark out there. Maybe someone should go with you."
A few heads turned toward him.
"I could go with you," Darren added quickly.
Everyone looked at him.
He immediately realized how that sounded.
"I mean—not like that," he said quickly. "Maybe Ava could go. Or anyone, really. Just so you're not alone."
Stacy noticed the worried look in his eyes.
She gave a small, reassuring smile.
"I'm okay," she said. "I'll be fine."
Then she turned and walked deeper into the trees.
Darren looked down at the ground.
He felt a little embarrassed.
But it was better than saying nothing.
Ah man… maybe it's really nothing. I should stop worrying. It's ruining the fun.
The group slowly went back to what they were doing.
They continued roasting the fish over the fire. Someone brought out marshmallows, and before long they were laughing and talking again—about school, random stories, and whatever came to mind.
For a while, things felt normal again.
But Stacy still hadn't come back.
At first no one mentioned it.
Then people began quietly wondering if that was normal.
"Man, this fish is so good," Charlie said while chewing. "Where did you guys catch it?"
"Oh… um…" Jenna answered from across the fire. "From the stream about a mile that way."
She smiled faintly. "It's good, right?"
"Yeah," Charlie said, taking another bite.
Then suddenly—
Something felt wrong in his mouth.
It wasn't the fish.
Something stiff pressed against his teeth.
What the…
Charlie stood up suddenly.
"Sorry—excuse me. I'll be right back."
He stepped into his tent and quickly spit the food into a tissue.
For a moment he didn't even want to look at it.
It's probably nothing.
But then something caught his eye.
A small white piece was mixed in with the food.
He separated it carefully.
His eyes widened.
A barcode.
Part of a price label.
$3..1…
The rest of the text was smudged, but one word was still readable.
Fish.
Charlie frowned.
Wait…
They said they caught these.
Then he heard footsteps approaching the tent.
Charlie quickly looked toward the entrance and stepped back outside.
Darren was standing there, his expression tense.
The others were watching too.
Ava spoke quietly from behind them.
"It's Stacy…"
Her voice trembled as she held her phone tightly in her hand. The screen's faint glow lit her face, and her expression looked tense—almost afraid.
"She still hasn't come back."
A pause.
"I think something's wrong."
Ava swallowed.
Then she showed them the screen.
A single message from Stacy.
Come her.