G&T Based

Chapter 42- Marie

After the hike, we went back to the tent. Khione's dad set up a grill and began doing hamburgers and hotdogs. For the rest of the afternoon, we talked, took walks around the woods, and went fishing.

There was a small lake located on the west side of the woods. Khione's dad drove us there along with four fishing rods, and some mealworms for bait. Fishing ended up being a long and tedious process. I hated it. We would sit, for what seemed like hours, waiting for a fish to bite onto the bait.

Only once, did I get a bite. In fact, I was so excited that I forgot what to do and the fish got away. In the end, Louie caught two fish, Khione caught one, and my dad, who seemed to have a gift for fishing, caught a grand total of five fish!

The afternoon went by quite well. It wasn't until around 8:00, after dinner, when Khione pointed out the huge stratus clouds floating on the horizon like heavy blankets. We were all sitting on top of an army blanket, searching for stars. The forest was abuzz with noise. Crickets chirped from the bushes, ravens crowed from the trees, and squirrels scampered up trees.

Less than five minutes later, the first fat raindrop landed on my head. Instinctively, I looked up, allowing raindrops to hit me in the eyes. The four of us went back into the tent. After 10 minutes, the rain showed no chances of subsiding.

Finally, when we realized that the light rain had turned into a storm, Louie said that we had no choice but to retreat back to the apartments. Blinded by the rain, the four of us scrambled out of the tent. Even with sweatshirts, the rain soaked through the fabric and left us is a wet mess. Louie and my dad had no problem pulling the tent pegs out since the dirt was already softened by the rain. Khione and I ran here and there, gathering up supplies and moving them into the truck.

Mud squished against the soles of my sneakers and splashed on my sweatpants. Finally, after twenty minutes of confusion and pouring rain, the four of us made it into the car, soaked to the skin, but still in one piece.

All the supplies were sitting in the back of the pick-up trunk, covered almost entirely by mud. I sighed deeply, buckled my seatbelt, and looked out into the distance of the muddy forest as Louie drove away. Even though the roads were deserted, Louie still drove slow, making sure that the car didn't slide on the wet pavement.

By the time we got back it was half past nine and quite dark. Even though it gets dark later in the summer, the giant gray clouds overhead blocked out almost all of the moon light. My dad and Louie got the supplies out of the truck and told Khione and I to go inside.

From the main kitchen's door was a light. In the light was a figure waving at me: Faye. I sprinted away from the rain and into the kitchen, where not only Faye, but Drew were waiting for me. Faye made me a cup of hot chocolate while I told her what happened. Drew sat at a nearby table and listened.

When I finished, Faye nodded thoughtfully at me and said, "You must be tired," she said, "You should be heading off to bed. See ya in the morning."

"I'll be going too," Drew spoke, "Bye Faye. See you tomorrow morning. Good Night."

Walking back into the rain, I jogged back to my apartment. I could see in the damp darkness that Louie and my dad were almost done unloading everything into a storage room. Opening up the door with my key, I walked into the darkness. It felt wonderful to be somewhere so dry and familiar.

I took off my shoes and headed up the stairs. I felt sleepy, so sleepy that I decided that I would just go to bed. Just as I walked into my room, I heard a sound from behind me, the sound of a stair step creaking. I peered into the darkness of the hallway, but didn't see anything.

"Khione? Dad?" I asked. Nobody answered. Slowly, I walked into the hallway and flicked on the lights. Nothing happened. The lights still remained dark. My heart beating faster, I flicked the lights on and off, trying to get light. My wet clothes no longer bothered me. I no longer needed to dry. I would rather be out in the rain with Khione or my dad rather than in the dark alone. For the first time this summer, I felt scared.

Slowly, I saw the tall outline of a figure appear in my doorway. As it walked closer, I noticed that the figure was holding something. As it walked even closer, I realized who it was and frowned to myself. As the figure approached me, I noticed something.

Letting out a piercing scream, I tried to say something, I tried to get someone's attention. No. They were all too far away. I tried to scream once more, but my throat closed up and I watched, watched, as the darkness swirled around and swallowed me whole.