Bonfire Tales

Creak!

"A man once sat in his chair by the fire, reading a book in peace, or so he thought," William stated. "Creak, a sound, faint, distant, but still heard. Crack, something snapping, or being trampled on," he finished.

"Creak. Just the house settling, nothing more...right?" Christian added. "Crack. Just some small animals outdoors....right?" he finished.

"The man stands up, removing his attention from his book, and peeks out the window. A clear night is all he sees with the full moon shining in the sky. Laughing at his nervousness, he returns his attention back to his book," said Sidd.

"Creak! The man simply chuckles at the sound. Crack! How could he be afraid of some sounds.....right?" added Chris.

"Whoosh! Sounds like it's breezy outside tonight. Thump! A sound from within the house? The man stared into the fire, trying to calm his dysfunctional nerves," Dave said.

The girls all sat around the fire shaking their heads at the story that seemed silly to them. "I hope you boys are having fun scaring yourselves," Charly said with an eyeroll.

Dan glanced at Charly and the others just before continuing, "Creak! Crack! Whoosh! Thump, thump, thump!" With every word his voice increased in volume.

Charly looked over at the girls who sat on the sides of her and shrugged but continued to listen. After all, they all knew the story had a scary ending considering they were sitting around a campfire telling creepy stories.

"Closer...the sounds are getting closer, he thinks. He shuts the book and closes his eyes. Trying to take his mind off of the strange sounds, he begins to think of something other than his wild imaginations. Was it really his imagination, Scarlett," Darell said, looking at the redhead next to Charly.

Before Scarlett could answer, William yelled, "CREAK!" "THUMP!" Christian yelled. "CRACK!" Sidd yelled as well. "THUMP!" yelled Chris. "WHOOSH!" Dave added to the yelling. Every time one of the boys yelled, every girl jumped in fear.

"THUMP....THUMP.....THUMP...... a pause? The man moved quietly, slowly, towards the door with a nervous walk. THUMP...a step back.....THUMP.... it's getting closer," Dan said eerily.

"THUMP! He stares at the door, trying and wishing he could see through it. THUMP! The man slowly reaches for the doorknob, hand shaking, no longer able to take not knowing," added Darell.

"CREAK! A loose floorboard, near the door, right outside the door. THUMP! The man slowly, really slowly, opens the door," Christian stated. Sitting in silence, Scarlett let out a high pitched shriek when she felt someone grab her shoulders.

"A scream.... Then...Silence...not a creak, crack, thump, or whoosh. Just...dead...silence," Dan stated.

"So...what happened to the guy? Is he dead or missing?" Carol, the blonde, asked. All of the boys shrugged their shoulders as they laughed at Scarlett's angry glares.

"I hope this was fun for you guys," Scarlett spat. The boys all nodded with smiles on their faces.

Just as everyone went to their tents, the girls had something up their sleeves as payback. As the boys stayed in Dan's tent to play board games and hang out before going to their own tents. As the boys hung out in Dan's tent they heard twigs snapping. Seconds later they saw a shadow fly past the tent, making the hairs on their necks stand.

"Should we go out and see?" asked Darell. "Did you not hear the story you just told the girls, we'll go missing if we go out there," Chris whispered. "So, what do we do? Just sit here like status?" William asked in a whisper. "I'm pretty sure it's nothing but the girls playing a trick on us for scaring Scarlett. Relax," Christian stated in a normal voice. "He'll be the first one to die," Dan said jokingly. The guys laughed it off, just to be on edge again when they heard another twig snap. "We should confront them about this. It's childish," Chris stated. The boys all nodded and walked to the girls' tent.

"Can you girls come out for a second? We know the game you're playing. We get it, we scared Scarlett a little more than planned," Christian stated. There wasn't a response nor any movement from inside the girls' tent, so Dan and Darell looked in the tent, only to find it empty. "Not here," Darell said curiously.

The sun was nearly set, so where were the girls? "Maybe they're by the waterfall?" William suggested. "What are you guys doing by our tent?" Scarlett asked. The boys noticed that Scarlett, Charly, and Trish, the third guest, were soaking from head to toe.

"When did you guys leave?" asked Chris. "Right after the kind of scary story you told. We changed in our tents and went for a dive. Why what's wrong?" Trish stated. "So you guys weren't just walking around?" asked Sidd. The girls all shook their heads and sat around the fire to keep warm. The boys took their no as the final answer and called it a night.

Throughout the night, everyone heard twigs snapping, yet they all thought it was one of their trip mates pulling everyone's leg. The next morning everyone but Dan joined them around the fire. "Where's Dan?" Trish asked. Everyone shrugged their shoulders and ate their breakfast.

Hours and hours went by, yet no Dan showed up. "Guys this isn't funny anymore. Where the hell is Dan?" Trish asked impatiently.

"You should have been the last person with him. You two share a tent since you're dating," Scarlett said with her mouth full. "He wasn't in the tent when I woke up. Neither was he in the woods or by the waterfall. Plus he would have left a note if he went for a jog or walk," Trish answered, worried.

The guys all noticed how the girls were worried, so the thought of them being behind the prank was out of the question. So....where's Dan? Christian walked towards a tree to take a leak, yet instead he found a shoe by a nearby tree. Dan's shoe. "Guys...something happened to Dan," Christian said as he picked up the shoe and showed it to everyone.

"What if that story has some truth to it and it got Dan? What if he went out to see what the noise was and got got?" Darell asked as he paced. The girls started to see the guys worry more and more.

Trish and Scarlett found it hard to hold their laughter back as they let out stifled laughs. After Trish and Scarlett laughed, Charly and another voice joined in. In utter confusion, the boys followed the fourth laugh and saw Dan standing behind a nearby tree. Christian chunked Dan's shoe at him and heaved a heavy sigh.

"You should have seen your faces. That was hilarious as heck," Scarlett let out through stifled laughs. "I had to side with the girls on this one. I couldn't pass up this prank," Dan spoke as he hugged Trish. The other guys shook their heads in disbelief and joined in on the laughter. "I will admit, that was pretty fucking scary," Chris said with a smile.