8 Short Suspense Stories

What Lies in the Night

  

The flames of the bonfire reached upward, illuminating the trees around them. Giving off an eerie glow. The four high schoolers had finished setting up camp as the last daylight was leaving the forest. They came up here almost every Friday to get away. It was perfect. There were no parents and no problems. "Who's ready for hot dogs?" Eugene asked holding them up. "Gosh," Reyna rolled her eyes, "someone's in a rush to eat." "Hey, it means we're closer to the good stuff," he said, eyeballing the marshmallow's like a hungry bear. "Whatever, pass the hot dogs," Micha held out his hand. The other three gave each other a look. Micha had been different since his dad died. His dad had died rescuing hostages from the bank. He had been inside while the robbers were taking money in another room. He decided to assist people out of the bank through a secret passage, that had been installed. Micha's dad had been shot many times. Micha had closed off after that. Never speaking and always in a bad mood. But lately he had began to lighten up. Though he had his moments. They cooked hot dogs, and Micha poured their 2 liters of soda into bright red plastic cups. As they ate, they told scary stories and joked around. They had began to feel light headed. All but one.<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Jax woke with a headache. He hadn't remembered falling asleep, or anything from the night before. But then again it was hard to think with his head pounding. Jax layed there a moment not moving or opening his eyes. "Jax, wake up!" Reyna screamed at him. He groaned, dawdling, "Fine! I'm up!" Reyna's soft brown eyes were watering when Jax stood up. Reyna was tempted to punch him, but realized he wasn't wearing his school boy outfit he had been wearing. Like she wasn't wearing the band t-shirt she had been wearing the day before. He realized it too and began to look around.Most things looked the same: only the car was gone and so was Eugene. Micha was busy cleaning up supplies. He didn't even realize Reyna and Jax coming up behind him. Reyna had been trying to explain what was happening but she was to horrified to think straight. What if something happened? Or did Eugene decide it would be a good idea to take the car and leave them? She was so lost in thought she hadn't realized until after that she had ran into Micha. "Oh, sorry," she gasped, half dazed. He nodded. Standing up you could tell that Micha had been lost in thought as well. His bright blue eyes were made of glass, his mind clearly elsewhere. Micha cleared his throat, "Guys, he left. I mean..." "I-I-I'm pretty sure he didn't leave..." came Jax's voice from behind them. When they turned around, Jax was standing over the fire, holding a piece of cloth from what looked liked a shirt. Reyna took it from his hand, gasping when she looked at it, dropping it on the cold dirt ground. It fell right side up, so when they looked at it they could see the red splattered across it. "Oh, no," Reyna whispered, "You don't think one of us did...anything." All eyes fell on her, but it was Micha that replied, "No way. None of us would do that!" "Then how come none of us remember anything from last night!" Jax yelled, his hands on his head. "Sorry..." They stood a moment in awkward silence knowing that one of them had done something. But who? Why would anyone want to hurt Eugene? He was a star, he had a little brother that looked up to him for everything, good grades, and a great family. He had been easy to talk to, and was friends with everyone. So why? "Let's go into the woods and look around for him. He's got to be somewhere." Micha said, once again breaking the awkward silence. They argued for a while but all in all Micha won. They decided they could get more looking done if they split up. Having no desire to actually say none of them trusted the other.<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> It was almost sunset. They had been looking all day and nothing. Not even a sign of the car, as though it had flown away like a bird. Reyna had all day to ponder. What she thought about made her more horrified than the fact that one of her best friends might be dead. What if I end up like her? Reyna thought to herself, What if I end up like my mom? Doing bad things? Single with two kids that I abuse like she does? Or all alone? Somewhere on the other side of the forest Micha couldn't help but wonder if his dad would be proud of him. Doubtful, after all they were stuck in the woods. He was about to call out Eugene's name but he slipped on something, almost face planting in a bunch of sticks. He swore under his breath as he got up. He rubbed himself off and turned around, shocked at what he saw.<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> They all stood over it. How had they missed it? They had passed it a thousand times and not a one of them had seen it. Then by chance Micha had gone and slipped on it. A tiny brown leather wallet covered in dried blood sat on the ground not far from their camp. "Well I feel stupid," Jax joked as though they weren't looking at their friend's blood stained wallet. This time Reyna did punch him in the arm, "Are you making jokes right now?" He looked back at the stained wallet, giving it an apologetic look, "Sorry..." They left the wallet where it was, and decided they should go back to the camp. On the way back no one said anything. They had always come up here to get away from problems, but now the forest had a hateful feeling. A dead, hateful feeling. The breeze made the trees dance, and with the sun setting it made them look as if they were mocking them. They had started the fire again, eating a little bit of the marshmallows they had left. Still no one talked, the silence was a monster, hiding in the darkness, ready to devour them. It didn't feel right without Eugene. He had been the joker of the group. The one to lighten the mood. Reyna decided to go to sleep early, not tired, but not wanting to be in the monster's silence any longer.<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>Everything was a haze. Eugene was laughing, telling jokes. Doing what he always did. Only he wasn't doing what he always did. He appeared to be high, but on what? They didn't do drugs. Hours later, Eugene walked into the woods alone, saying he needed air. The drugs were wearing off. There was a consuming darkness. Reyna could hear them yelling, but the other two were too high to do anything. Then there was silence.<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Reyna woke up, drenched in sweat. The boys had fallen asleep, and the fire had died out. The moon now illuminated the forest, giving it a haunted look. But Reyna couldn't stay in her sleeping bag any longer. She needed air. She needed to be away from him. Reyna sneaked around the boys, making sure not to step on anything that would make a loud noise. She slipped away into the night, knowing she would have to sneak back in and warn the other. But first she had to look in the one place none of them had looked. She walked a little ways down the road, before she came to a complete stop in front of the old, dead vehicle. They had passed a million times on their way up the mountain, never giving it a second glance. As she approached it she put her hand out to open the rusting door... A twig cracked behind her. Reyna's breath stifled. Embracing her fate, she turned around. Already knowing who she was going to see.