On Our Side of the Forest (Short Story Compilation)

Let's Go Camping

Let’s Go Camping

The dawn crept into nighttime as the stars glittered in the sky around me. I woke up from my dirt nap to roam the forest yet again. I let out a haunting yawn as the nightlife roared awake. We were the things left to go bump in the night in the forest.
    “Hey Rags! We didn’t see you much yesterday!” I waved to the forest spirit that spoke to me. She was always so kind when I came across her, but she was free. Her realms were limitless, so she often roamed the world in her travels!
    “I ended up sleeping most of the night away last night! I was recouping from that party the other night!” She laughed as we thought back on the event.
    “It was a party to die for! Mortals have no idea how the dead play!” I laughed, it was so true! Life was amazing, but my death has been wild! I’m not saying anyone should jump to this! Live and enjoy what you have, everything is different once you cross over, but I have amazing friends!
    “Hell yes, it was! We must do it again sometime!” I yawned one more time as my bones came to life. I could feel the cold air blow through my exposed corpse, but I was living!
    “I think there is something in the works! By the way, did you hear that we have visitors in the forest tonight?” I listened to her chilling voice explain that campers had decided to find their way into our forest! They wanted to see if this place was as haunted as the legends! I laughed with her as I thought of it! Every time campers came here, we tried to give them the scare of their lives! If you come looking for ghosts then we will speak to you!
    “Are we gonna scare them? I was hoping you would wake up?” We began to walk through the forest together to find them. Spirits of all types were roaming around like a bustling city, but the mortals would rarely see this. We showed them what we wanted.
    “Of course we are!” We had finally managed our way to find their crackling fire blazing. Tents were set in a circle as a group of friends chatted around the fire! They joked and laughed at the possibility of ghosts in the woods, and their camera recorded everything!
    “Are you ready?” We watched them for a while before I let out a chilling screech from the woods. They stirred in their seats.
    “Let’s do this!” I laughed as they frantically searched around for my sounds, I walked closer to them, but they could not see me. Claire, the forest spirit, blew out their campfire and I shook at their tents! We had them clustered and quaking in their boots! Eerie screams and calls echoed through the night as the spirits took notice of what we were doing. Soon they were swarmed with spirits showing them who haunts these woods!
    It wasn’t long before they took off into the night without their gear! We always made sure to scare them back to their cars to ensure their safety! We loved playing with the mortals, but we did not want them to join us until it was time! Tires squealed in the gravel as they sped away! It would be a long time before they ever set foot back here! One day, they would chase what they experienced tonight, until then we would stay their secret!
    “They always leave their cameras when we scare them away!” I picked it up and watched back the footage!
    “It’s for the best, we give experiences, not a reason to flock to us! Who will believe someone without proof?” We laughed with each other. What a great way to wake up for the night!