Temptations of the forest

It was the summer of 1989. Josh, Jack, Lilly, Isabelle, and James were on their way to a camping site to celebrate the upcoming of their junior year in college. Josh was the one who planned the whole trip from an old brochure that he found in one of his mom's kitchen cabinets. It was an old camp site called Camp Shadow Falls, not too long from where they lived. The towns people gossiped saying that the site was haunted, but Josh didn't think too much about it. He ended up booking the place for the week and borrowed his dad's camper van so him and his friends could all travel in it. At first, Lily and James didn't feel too good about it since they heard stories, but Josh, Isabelle, and Jack ended up convincing them to go.

The camp was about an hour away from Josh's house, so they all decided to meet up at 9:00 AM since the check-in was at 10:30 AM. The five of them bantered, told jokes, and finally watched out the windows in silence as the music played in the background and trees past by them in a blur as they drove further away from home. As they were pulling around the camp site, Isabelle saw something strange out into the forest. She squinted her eyes and there she realized she saw a girl standing still, staring at Isabelle, almost looking upset.

"Guys, I just saw a little girl all by herself out in the woods. Should we help her? Maybe she's lost, she's a bit far from the camp site, don't you think," Isabelle questioned the group.

"What are you talking about? I don't see anyone and who knows maybe she's just exploring," replied James.

"Why, you scared? Are all those little scary stories getting to you," she teased back. The rest of the group chuckled in amusement knowing this banter could go on for a while with them two.

"Alright guys we're here." Josh said. They all cheered and began to analyze the site from inside the van.

Josh went in to do the check-in and the rest of the group started to unload the bags from the van. As they waited for Josh to finish checking them in, James and Isabelle began talking about the little girl, bantering back and forth. Lily was annoyed so she walked a bit further from them and began to take in the scenery. There was a big field of grass with families gathered around playing all types of activities such as volleyball, cornhole, and soccer. Further ahead the lake water glistened with the rays of the sun bouncing off, making it seem like the lake was sparkling with stars in the daylight.

Although the site was beautiful, Lily's stomach was feeling unwell as she grew anxious from the scary stories she heard and Isabelle's view of the small girl. Her thoughts were soon interrupted with Josh's announcement to follow him with their stuff to their cabin.

Once they finished unpacking, they went out to view the lake. The group messed around in the water for a while, and once they grew tired, Jack and Lily mentioned to go exploring for a bit. They all agreed and decided to go up the hiking trail that was there. The group got up and began walking towards the trail. They were only 5 miles into the trail when Lily looks out and sees another trail, but it wasn't connected to their path. She tells the group to look out at it.

"When I said I wanted to explore, I meant it," said Jack. He smirked at the group as he left the camps trail and headed for the unknown one. The rest of the group followed behind him as well. The unknown trail was covered in leaves, sticks, and potholes, unlike the camps trail which was cleaned and maintained. They were walking for a while when Isabelle and James began their banter from before. Jack grew annoyed, rolled his eyes and was about to turn to scold at them when he managed to trip over his own feet, rolling his ankle, and barely catching himself against the dirty trail.