The Tale of John Lewis

For sparklyemobean

A/N this is my first story on wattpad so feel free to give feedback and vote for more horribly morbid stories like this one!

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The evening started of as any other for the small band of high-schoolers. The weather was nice, a warm, autumn breeze gently ruffled the ever changing leaves in a nearly hypnotic fashion. A day with out imperfection, the sky clear of all clouds as the sun shown brightly against the forest floor. Jonathan, Derrick, Erick, and Sophie seized the opportunity to set off on their annual hiking trip.

Jonathan, widely know for his upmost ambitions convinced his three accomplices to take their trip just a bit further this year. Down, down, to the deepest depths of the Forest of Eron, more commonly known as the Shrieking Forest. They were all well aware of the myth of the Shrieking Forest, but set off regardless, the challenge the woods presented was too intoxicatingly for the arrogant children to resist.

They began their perilous journey around 2 in the afternoon. Hours upon hours they spent hiking, never straying from the trail ahead. As they marched on they passed around ghost stories, tails of the undead, and of creatures of the night seeking human flesh. All was well amongst the friends, and though Sophie was no fan of their tall tales, she did nothing to prevent Derrick from telling the tale of John Lewis.

"John Lewis was locked away in a top-security prison for the convicted murder of 12 innocent civilians." Derrick foretold. His voice grew cold, lacking the normal humor his voice typically harbored.

"That's not even the worst part!" He spat. His voiced turned to merely a whisper as he explained the gruesome truth.

"All of his victims were found torn limb from limb at the sight of the crime."

"When the prosecutor asked John why he disembodied his victims, he replied simply,

'they taste better if they die in fear.'"

Silence stretched between the four of them as they hiked on, taking in his words and mulling them over. After a moment, Sophie asked,

"Wha-what become of him? Of John Lewis?" Her voice cracked.

"You mean you haven't heard!?" Derrick exclaimed, feigning shock.

"Hear- heard what?" Sophie stammered.

"He broke out. Last night." Erick uttered, causing Sophie to stop dead in her tracks. The twins burst out into fits of laughter, yelling and slapping their knees.

"We really got you!" Erick cried.

"Haha real funny Erick" Sophia spat, unamused, but as time grew on, she became unsettled, remembering the supposed jinx on John Lewis; whoever told the story was sure to die by midnight.

On and on they walked, lost in the joy of nature, but all too soon the sunlight dwindled and the conversations slowed to stop. The growing anxiety in Sophie's chest never left, if anything it grew as matters became more desperate.

That's when Jonathan busted out the map, only to discover that they were several miles of course. As the last bit of sunlight vanished from their surroundings, it became evident to the group that they were lost, and in dire need of a place to rest.

"Wait, wait, shhhhhh-" Sophie silenced. After a moment of complete and utter quiet, Jonathan hissed,

"Well what is it Soph?!"

"I-I though I might've hard something." She paused.

SNAP!

"Did you hear that?!" Sophie shouted.

"Hear what Sophie?" Derrick sighed in exasperation.

"That sound! A twig snapped, it sounded awfully close, and you know what they say about these woods-"

"Oh Sophie, you're loosing it, you bloody fool, it was probably just an animal. You and your superstitions" Erick sneered.

Sophia remained unconvinced. Soon the group had to settle in for the night, and they pitched their tent in the dark, fighting off the effects of sleep deprivation and dehydration. Luckily, Jonathan had the foresight to pack a tent, and was able to pitch it well enough using the skills he acquired after years of Boy Scouts. Sophie took the time to check in with her mother, sending her a message to assure her mother they were okay, and would be returning tomorrow. Only she didn't realize the trees were far too dense to gain a signal, and the message never sent.

Anxious, she lay down on the cold hard ground, and begged for morning to come. Eleven o'clock came and went, and Sophie lay wide awake next to her snoring companions.

SNAP, SNAP, SNAP!

Sophie bolted upright at the sound. The same erie crunching noise from earlier, a twig snapped, but by something far too heavy to be an animal, and it was louder this time; they were being watched. Sophie lifted her phone in her shaking hands and cautiously shined the light onto the canvas walls. There, just a yard beyond the tent, lay the liming figure of a abnormally tall man.

It occurred to Sophie, that mentally stable people don't tend to go for a stroll around the Forest of Eron at midnight. That when it all came back to her; the story, the jinx. Her piercing shriek echoed off the trees, and some say, that her cries can still be heard in the dead of night. Not bothering to wake her sleeping friends, Sophie ran. She ran faster than she thought humanly possible, propelled by adrenaline, her strong will to live, and the blood pounding in her ears.

The police found here near the edge of the forest that next morning, trembling all over and muttering incoherently as she rocked back and forth on her heals. Only hours later the police discovered the camp sight. They didn't find her friends, however. Only the words

YOU'RE NEXT

Spelled out in the limbs of her fallen brothers. Something snapped inside her, and from that point on she lived in a high-class mental facility, existing on the brink of insanity, and the dazed state her heavy medication left her. Even after all this time, she knew he would still come for her eventually, and when he did, she wouldn't be able to escape again.

At least, that what she told her psychologist.