There's Something In The Woods

Chapter 22

"Thank you." I said gratefully as Georgia passed me a cup of warm soup.

"No problem." She replied. "I figured you might be hungry."

Georgia was a kind girl, with dark blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. I found out that she enjoyed dancing and acting in her spare time. I also remembered playing a game of Go Fish with her earlier in the week.

"By the way, thanks for sticking with us." I smiled as I sipped my soup. It tasted of chicken and vegetables.

"No problem." She said again. "As if I would leave with Holly. She used to bully me in eighth grade." Georgia grinned and continued.

"Plus, I think she's an idiot." She replied matter-of-factly. "You and Nick seem to know what your doing and Nick does have that shotgun, which could come in handy." Georgia wasn't wrong there.

Then that statement got me thinking.

I got the attention of Nick, Sam, Kyle and Lucy. They too were finishing their lunch. It was time to voice my theory.

"Guys, what if Mr Emerson knew about the Wendigo?" They all gave me confused looks, so I continued.

"Well, he brought a shotgun, which was supposedly for bears, but I haven't seen any. What if he brought the shotgun for the Wendigo?"

Nick stood up and I could see the gears turning behind his eyes.

"Yeah!" He said. "Remember when we were telling scary stories around the campfire and after I had told everyone about the Wendigo, he sent us all to bed? Maybe he didn't want anyone talking about it!"

"It's not like it matters..." Lucy muttered quietly. "We're still lost and people are still missing."

"We know." Sam said reassuringly. "That's why we're going to find the others and get out of here." That brought a small smile to Lucy's lips as she collected everybody's soup cups. It was time to get moving.

Soon enough, we were back to trekking through the woods. I made small talk with Georgia and Lucy, who seemed to be good friends.

I felt a lump start to form in my throat as I wished that Ashley was here. She could be anywhere in these woods and what if we were to late to save her? What if she was already...dead?

I quickly pushed the thought away. She was OK, I told myself, but then I started gagging.

A disgusting smell lingered in the air and got stronger the more we walked.

"Do you guys smell that?" Kyle asked. "It smells like something died."

Kyle was right. It did smell like something had died.

Then Lucy gasped as we walked into another clearing.

I pushed to the front of the group to see what Lucy was so shocked about, but immediately wished I hadn't.

There, lying on the ground, was a body.

And it was definitely dead.