A town named Winter

Jake

I swagger off after the other boys to gather firewood in the surrounding woods. We are only about ten paces deep when Ryan opens his mouth.

"We paid for this trip. Why the hell is Todd putting us to work like dogs? Fetching sticks and shit."

Kevin, always the logical one, spoke up.

"We are all pitching in so we can set up camp before the sun goes all the way down. Did you really expect Todd to do all the work?"

Ryan just shrugs and continues picking up dead, broken branches. We continue like this for a few moments in silence. I'm usually the first one to break any calm, quiet atmosphere, but I'm too busy plotting now. I packed some extra items in my bag in order to make this an adventure nobody involved will ever forget.

After all three of us have a large armful of wood each, we head back to camp by following the voices. We breach the edge of the wood line before the clearing and notice the tent is almost set up and the girls were still out. We dump the firewood off by Todd and sit back and relax.

After a handful of minutes, Amy comes through the trees followed closely behind by Stephanie and then Alex. They come to join us by the already burning fire. Meghan and Adam had just finished with the tent a moment prior and have been quietly chatting while holding each other close. Must be in the honeymoon stage still. Everyone is eating and talking the night away. They all seem to be getting along pretty well. I decide this is my time to stir up some horror in the air before my plan I'll execute starting tomorrow night.

"Hey, do you guys want to hear a scary story about this ghost town we are heading to?"

Just like I was hoping, this gave me everyone's full attention. I'll plant the seeds tonight and watch them take root.

"I read online that the people from Winter didn't just walk out and disappear. Everyone always compares in to Roanoke, but something much darker happened here. They say there's something evil in these woods that was birthed in that very town."

I take a moment to let what I said to sink in. The blonde, Stephanie, already looks spooked. She's holding onto Amy's arm in a vice like grip. Alex looks off. I can't tell, but it seems like she's not surprised or maybe not scared. Meghan and Adam are looking a bit uncomfortable. Todd isn't even paying attention. He's off a bit by himself reading with the aid of his head lamp. I'll get the girls at least with my pranks.

"One day a little boy went missing. Next, was a little girl. One by one, the children of the town started disappearing with no explanation until they were all gone. The town people started panicking and pointing fingers. The most suspicious was the old woman at the edge of town. She had no family and stayed to herself mostly. Rumors started flying and she was eventually blamed for their deaths without any sort of proof. The men of the town burned down her house and smoked her out. They then dragged her by the hair out into the woods with the whole town following behind. They prepared a noose just for her in those branches in the dark woods. With her last breath she cursed the town. She swore she would return and bring their home to ruin. They hung her up and watched her life slowly fade away. The townspeople never found the children and the hag kept her promise. Her curse on the town called out to the evil spirits in the woods. The tree still holding the corpse of the old woman decayed and from the blackened trunk gave birth to a demon. She brought reckoning to the town. Making husbands kill their wives and then themselves. They say the demon still lurks in Winter. Are you guys ready to meet him?"

As I finish my gruesome tale, I observe the people surrounding the now low embers of the dying fire. Stephanie looked the most shook up. Amy looks scared too, but obviously trying to hide it. Meghan is practically sitting in Adam's lap but I think it's more for his benefit than her's.

"Don't you think you've scared the ladies enough? How about we calm it down tonight" Kevin suggested.

"That's a good idea. We have a long hike tomorrow and we all need to get as much sleep as possible. Lets call it a night" Todd pitched in.

He got up and walked over to us and fed more food to the fire. I guess he intends to keep it going all night to keep the area warm. We all pile into the tent one by one with our mummy sleeping bags. I'll sleep tight dreaming about all the fun I'll have in the next few days.