“Does everyone have their flashlights and water?” Samantha asked. Samantha acted more mature and nurse-like than any of us. Everyone nodded. Twigs snapped under our weight as we started our trek through the woods.

Katie was wrapped around Axel, scared. He had one arm around her, holding the flashlight in. Samantha stayed near the back, Axel and Katie walking in the middle. My bravery got me to the front.

Isabella walked beside me, guardian Katie on her left side. We stuck together, making sure not to leave anyone behind. A sudden noise stopped us. “Guys, was I the only one who heard that?” Axel questioned nervously. Nobody spoke as we looked around.

A twig snapped in the distance. Suddenly, a strong wind forces us to close our eyes. We edged closer together to stop ourselves from being blown away. A thud sounded behind us and the wind died down. Our surroundings made it seem like nothing had happened. I looked back and saw Samantha sprawled on the ground.

Her glossy eyes seemed to reflect everything. Her bag of supplies was strewn near a bush, and the rise and fall of her chest was gone. Her leg was missing. Cut clean from the body. Isabella ran off and began to vomit. Katie grabbed the bag and jerked it open.

All her supplies were gone. We had nothing to help her, although we knew she was already dead. Anger swarmed my brain. “Whoever did this better not mess with me!” I screamed. The group looked at me as Axel soothed Isabella. Katie was staring past me, her lip trembling.

Everyone was gazing past me. Axel pointed his shaky finger. I jerked around quickly. A pale boy around our age was leaning against a tree. His nails looked sharp and pointy while his dark, brown hair covered his eyes. He seemed friendly, but blood stained his shirt.

“Who are you?” Katie questioned, fear slowly edging away from her voice. I shushed her. The boy continued to stare. A mischievous grin crossed his face. Silence suffocated us. The sun was slowly going down. “We should start heading back before it gets too dark.” Katie warned.

“Please, don’t go.” the boy hissed. I gave him a stern look. Suspicion prickled my neck. “Well, we have places to be.” I told him. I nudged Axel, and we all turned around. As soon as we were out of the woods, Isabella threw up. “Whoever he was, I don’t like him.” Isabella mumbled for us to hear.

Suddenly, a tree fell and nearly crushed Axel. “Axel watch out!” Another tree collapsed, adrenaline forcing us to run back. We stopped after a few minutes. Isabella was gasping for breath. “What do we do now?” I glanced around, noticing one of us was missing.

“We’re missing someone!” I exclaimed. They looked around worriedly. Katie’s eyes began to tear up. “Where’s Axel!?” Tears streamed down Katie’s cheeks. Axel had been crushed. Isabella falls to the ground on her knees. “This is all my fault.” I gently touched her shoulder.

She looked up at me and tried to smile. We all grouped up and started to form a plan. “If we’re going to get out alive, we’ll have to think fast.” Katie said. I nodded in agreement. “I say we all run different directions and meet up at the store right down the road from the woods!” We all stared at Isabella. She didn’t say another word.

“I can’t think of anything better.” I said, shrugging. We headed off into different directions. Katie and Isabella went together, letting their fear guide them. As I stepped through the matted leaves, I realized a second pair of footsteps beside me. I spun around, but nobody was there. I shrugged it off.

<><><><><>

I had covered two miles. I was beginning to think I was lost. “Do you need help my dear friend?” I stopped immediately. Standing before me was the boy that had killed Axel and Samantha. My eyes went wide with shock as he floated over in front of me. “What do you want?” I demanded, anger replacing my fear.

He chuckled. “You know you like me.” he flirted. I recalled this morning, when we saw this strange boy watching our group. He knew what I was thinking. “Don’t be afraid. I only killed them because…” He suddenly stopped.

He hesitated, and I wondered whether I should run or not. He looked at me and smiled. “Sorry about that!” he said cheerfully. He acted as if he hadn’t just killed my friends. I rolled my eyes and trudged on.A pull causes me to fall onto a rock. Pain shot up my spine, but I realized he had saved me.

A venomous snake was coiled asleep in front of me. “You should watch where you’re going, Olivia.” he warned. I stared at him. “How do you know my name?” he shrugged like it was obvious. “Word gets around at that place you call school.” I shook my head, but I couldn’t help but smirk at his stupidity. “You have a lot to learn.” I told him.

Confusion crossed his face, making me laugh. “What happened to the murderous teen?” He started to understand and chuckled. As loud as I could, I called for Isabella and Katie. They arrived after ten minutes.

Both of them were worried. “He’s not as cruel as he seems.” I reassured them. Katie didn’t like it. “He killed Axel and Samantha. How could you forgive him so easily?” I stared into his eyes, warning him not to react. “Things like this just happen. Trust me.” I said, turning back. Isabella shuddered.

I turned back around to face the boy. “I never got your name.” I told him. He hesitated. “My name is Michael. Michael Shrider.” I smiled. “Michael can get us out of here!” Isabella suddenly squealed. I thought about it for a second. I looked at Michael nodding in agreement. “Well, let’s hit the road!”