Wondering Woods

- Chapter Three -

"I have the camera so I should go first; if we ever watch this video, we can see everything clearly," Addison said.

"Okay, whatever you want," agreed Carson. The door opened slowly with a loud creak. All four of them took a long, deep breath in unison. Addison took the first step on the old, wooden floor. There was only a couple things on the first floor: a couple rusting metal cans, broken furniture, and a large book.

Haley cracked open the book, "There is nothing written in here! Wait..." On the last page of the book, it read:
           quidam mortem

"What does this mean?" wondered Addison as she pointed the camera at the pharse.

"It's in Latin. I used to study it at my old college. I never payed attention though," said Carson. "I have no clue what it means."

"Oh my gosh. Who ever lives or lived here wrote this everywhere," said Noella. The pharse was writen on the wall, the floor, the back of the door, and other strange places. "This is so creepy. Why would someone even want to live out here?"

"So no one can find them," said Addison. Noella's eyes widened.

"I would use my translator app on my phone, but I have no service," whined Haley.

"Hey girls come upstairs," yelled Carson. "I found something, come quick." All three girls sprinted up the stairs only to find their names written on a wall.

"What is this? Is someone stalking us?" asked Noella. "This is sick. Carson your named is here, too. But its crossed out. What the heck does that mean?" Just as she finished her sentence, they heard the door slam downstairs. They all exchanged worried looks, and quickly hid in the nearest spot they could. The sound of heavy footsteps dragged across the hallow floor and up the stairs. Addison found a crack to keep the video rolling, but she began to cry because she feared the worst. The footsteps got closer and closer to Carson. The sound stopped, but then the sound of stratching started. All four of them covered their ears to avoid the horrible sound. It stopped suddenly and the heavy footsteps continued out of the room and down the stairs, followed by the sound of a slamming door.

"Guys I got the whole thing on camera, come out and watch it," sniffled Addison. Everyone cautiously got up out of their hiding spots.

"Oh my gosh," said Haley and Noella as they started to cry. Written on the wall was, "GET OUT OR DIE, IF YOU HAVEN'T DIED ALREADY." All four of them started sprinting down the stairs, ran outside the house, and didn't stop stop until they noticed it was getting dark outside.

"What are we going to do? We are lost, tired, hungry, and are being hunted! Could this night possibly get any worse," cried Addison.

"Addison can I please have the camera? I want to see what this guy looks like," asked Haley.

"No not right now. I want to get out of these woods first," snipped Addison.

"You guys! I see a house near by," yelled Carson. "Maybe we can ask the people that live there if they can help us or something."

"Why would we ever do that?! You're insane," said Addison. "We could have just died in that house we just found."

"It's the only choice we have right now," said Noella.

"Fine," pouted Addison. They made their way over to the house and rang the door bell. A short woman wearing an apron answered the door, followed by an overpowering scent of lavender.

"Well hello there! What do y'all need," asked the very sweet southern woman.

"Well, its a very long story, but we need a ride home," asked Haley.

"I don't have my car right now because its getting fixed, but you are welcome to use my phone to call your parents," offered the woman.

"Thanks," Addison said. Upon entering the house, they noticed the interior did not match the exterior of the home. It was decorated in a way that could make anybody feel at home and safe.

"The phone is right here and the bathroom is down the hall if you need to use the shower or the toilet," said the lady. "My name is Erica by the way."

"Thanks again by the way. You have no idea what this means to us Erica," stated Carson. "My name is Carson, that is Haley, Addison, and Noella."

"Well nice to meet y'all," said Erica kindly.

Later that night, when everyone was showered and Carson had called his roommate to come pick them up since none of their parents had answered. "Sorry about your dog, Carson, that we couldn't find him," said Haley.

"It's okay. At least I found you guys. I was scared when I was alone."

"Carson, what time is your roommate coming?" asked Erica.

"He said in about 3 hours," answered Carson. "he's on a date right now."

"Well you guys are welcome to sleep over here tonight if you have to, I've got two extra rooms here," offered Erica.

"Thanks! We might just have to," chuckled Haley.