Always

Chapter 22

"Of course." I whispered. "But weren't we going to do the scary stories first?" "Oh yeeeaah," He drew out. "I forgot about that." He paused for a second then spoke to Sam, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Hey Sam," He called out. Sam looked his way questioningly. "What's up brother?" "Aren't we doing scary stories tonight?" Colby shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, it's dark, we're in the middle of the woods...we could already be part of a scary movie." "COLBY!" Corey yelled out. Colby started laughing. Corey's voice went a little whiny. "Why do you have to say stuff like that? Why would you do that?" "I just meant that the setting is right for this kind of thing." "Come on brother, it'll be fun!" Jake called out. "As long as we're all together, we'll be fine." Corey just shook his head. "I almost forgot about that. I picked out some good ones too and saved them on my phone. Hold on let me find them." He pulled out his phone and started looking through it. Colby nudged me. "Thanks for reminding me." He said, look at me. The flames from the fire were dancing in his eyes, giving his intense blue gaze a golden glow. I was struck again, by just how gorgeous he was. "Y/N?" I shook my head. "What?" "Where did you go? You're just staring at me." I blushed. "Sorry, I zoned out." "Okay, are you guys ready? These are really creepy." Sam said, making a wicked smiling face. With the fire casting shadows on his face, he really did look like some sort of demon when he did that. I shivered. I usually loved scary stories but being here, in the middle of nowhere, with this creepy ass setting...I was getting a little freaked out already. I scooted my chair closer to Colby. He looked my way and smile, leaning towards me and holding his hand out for me to hold. I took it and we balanced our arms on the arms of the chairs. It made me feel a little better, but I still couldn't stop myself from glancing around at the dark forest surrounding us. I noticed that Corey, Devyn, and Kat were doing the same. Kat caught my eyes and she giggled nervously. Sam started speaking, using a sinister tone to tell the story. ""It was a night similar to this one. The moon shining bright, and not a cloud in the sky. This young guy and his girlfriend were on a road trip through California when they found a relatively empty campsite. They set up camp, made dinner, and went to bed. In the middle of the night, they were awoken by someone whistling outside their tent to the tune of "When the Saints Come Marching In." "Oh Hell No," Corey said." Colby shushed him and Sam continued, but Corey's eyes were wide as he looked behind him into the forest. "They laid in utter silence, hoping the singing person would go away. But then the whistling turned to chanting: "When you sleep here, you disrespect me, and when you disrespect me, you disrespect my king."  The guy knew they needed to get out. They quietly climbed from their tent into their truck and drove to a motel in the neighboring town. The next morning they drove back to the campsite to retrieve the belongings they'd left behind. They were in shock to see that their tent had been slashed to shreds, and their things scattered, as well as burned in the now burned out fire. They began packing up what was left and found a note taped to their cooler. It was written in what they hoped was red paint, but it seemed a little to dark for that. "Sorry I missed you. See you later." They started freaking out and headed out to leave. They paused at a site adjacent to where they had slept, where a family had been staying. The family told them that the singing had continued for another 2-3 hours after they'd left. There were screams, bangs, and more chanting. It was one of the creepiest things they'd ever experienced and they never went camping again." Sam finished the first story and sat back in his chair. "What'd you guys think? Pretty creepy right?" Everyone jumped because we heard "When the Saints go Marching In" being whistled. "Damn it Jake!" Tara cried, slapping his arm. "Don't do that! I was scared." That broke the tension a little and we all laughed...well, except Corey. Devyn was rolling with laughter, because Corey had jumped up out of his chair and was already at the tent. "Jaaaaake." He started walking slowly back to the fire. "Brother...no." Corey shook his head, forcefully. Jake laughed, his dimples popping out. "Sorry brother." Corey sat back down and we all looked to Sam, waiting for the next one. He leaned forwards, the fire illuminating his face again. Chill bumps popped up on my arms, and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I felt like someone was watching us. I glanced around but there was nothing but blackness, with the glow from the fire barely lighting up the nearby trees. Sam started speaking again, his voice low and sinister. "Four friends and their girlfriends," "Sh*t, that's just like us." Jake said quietly." Sam smiled but kept going. "decide to camp in the Misty Forest place in the state park. It was rumored a mysterious mist would suddenly appear and anyone caught in it would disappear never to be seen again. The friends hiked to the spot, an odd clearing in the forest where nothing would grow. They set up their tents, built a campfire and waited. Around three o'clock in the morning, the campers gave up. Two of the couples slept in tents. The other two settled in sleeping bags around the roaring fire.