Darren stepped outside — and froze.
The camp was empty. No one was there. The air was unnaturally still, the kind of silence that pressed against your ears.
The sun hung low in the sky, glowing orange through the trees. It was already evening.
But there was no Jenna. No Mia. No Sofia. No David.
No one.
"Gosh…" Darren muttered, panic creeping into his voice.
He had no idea what was happening. The camp was completely silent, not a single voice or sound anywhere.
He hurried to Jenna's hut — empty. The door creaked softly as he pushed it open, revealing nothing but shadows.
Maybe they haven't returned yet, he told himself. But Charlie… where did he go?
Darren stepped outside again, his heartbeat quickening. The forest loomed quietly at the edge of the camp, the wind brushing against the leaves like faint whispers.
"Charlie?" he called out, walking toward the tree line.
No answer.
The deeper he went, the heavier the air felt. That strange feeling — the one he'd had since arriving — returned stronger than before. Goosebumps prickled across his arms. The air seemed colder now, the wind curling around his neck like icy fingers.
He turned in slow circles, scanning the forest. No one.
"What's going on…" he whispered.
"Darren?"
The voice came suddenly, right behind him. Darren spun around — and nearly jumped out of his skin.
Charlie stood there, blinking in confusion.
"I went out to take a piss," Charlie said casually. "You good?"
Darren let out a shaky breath of relief. "Oh, thank God. I thought I lost you."
He jogged up to him quickly, almost laughing from the release of tension.
"What do you mean, lost me?" Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Wait… where's Jenna and her friends?" Darren asked, scanning the woods again.
"My question exactly," Charlie replied. "It's been a while. Are they okay?"
They both turned toward the path Jenna's group had taken earlier. The sun was dipping low now, painting the sky orange and red through the trees.
Then — movement.
Figures appeared between the trees, heading toward them.
It was them. Jenna, Mia, Sofia, and David — finally back.
"Guess this is all the fish we could find," Jenna said, holding up a small bucket.
Darren exhaled in relief. "Jenna, you guys were gone for so long. We were starting to get worried."
"I know," she said, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Sorry. It took longer than expected — these fish are harder to catch than I thought."
Charlie leaned closer, peering into the bucket. The fish shimmered faintly in the fading light — silvery scales, almost too perfect.
He frowned. Wait… I've seen these before.
They looked exactly like the ones from the local supermarket. He'd eaten the same kind just yesterday. Aren't these ocean fish?
They can't live in rivers… right?
Charlie blinked, shaking his head. Probably nothing.
"Let's get the campfire started," Jenna said cheerfully, lifting the bucket higher.
Later that night, the sun had vanished completely beyond the trees. Darkness settled over the camp, broken only by the flickering orange glow of the campfire.
Everyone sat in a loose circle, the firelight dancing across their faces as they roasted the fish they'd caught. The crackle of burning wood filled the silence between conversations.
Charlie poked at his fish with a stick, watching the flames lick its edges. "You guys were gone for so long," he said finally. "I expected fish, but… where did you even find these?"
Sofia looked up a little too quickly. "These? Oh—uh, we found them in the canal," she said. "There were lots of them that way."
Charlie nodded slowly, but the way she hesitated made him frown. Canal fish? He couldn't tell if they were being honest or not. Maybe he was just overthinking. Guess these kinds can live in freshwater too… right?
The group ate quietly for a while. The fish tasted fine — maybe too fine, like something from a restaurant instead of a muddy canal. Eventually, the conversation turned lighter. They roasted marshmallows, laughed about school, and tried to forget the strangeness of the empty campground.
"Oh, it's so good," Sofia said, biting into a perfectly golden marshmallow.
Then—
Growl…
The sudden stomach noise made everyone pause. All eyes turned toward Mia.
Her face went red. Oh no. Please not now, she thought.
David smirked. "Hey, pretty, you still hungry? You can have my marshmallows if you want."
Mia waved her hands quickly.
"No, no thanks. I just—uh—I need to go. Like, right now. To the bathroom—well, there isn't one, so… yeah."
Darren chuckled awkwardly but then stopped when he saw Mia's face — she looked genuinely uncomfortable. She grabbed a flashlight from the table and stood up.
"Wait up," Darren said, standing as well. "It's really dark out there. You sure you don't want someone to go with you? I mean—should I?"
He hesitated, feeling a knot of worry in his chest. It's just a dream, he reminded himself. Just dreams. But something about this place still felt… off. Ever since they arrived, there'd been this crawling feeling at the back of his neck.
David stood up too, his expression sharp. "Dude, who do you think you are? She's not a kid. And this kind of thing—yeah, she probably wants privacy." He gave a mocking grin. "If she needed anyone, it'd be one of the girls."
Darren clenched his jaw. David's tone was rude — but he wasn't entirely wrong.
Maybe I'm just being overcautious, Darren thought. It's fine.
Mia nodded quickly. "It's okay, really. I'll be fine on my own."
She lifted the flashlight and gave a small, awkward smile before heading toward the woods. The shadows swallowed her within seconds.
The crackle of the fire filled the quiet that followed. No one spoke.
The only sound was the faint rustle of leaves — and the soft hum of the canal nearby.
The flames had burned lower now, their light dimming to a deep red glow beneath the wood. A soft trail of smoke drifted upward into the trees. No one had said much since Mia went into the woods.
Almost fifteen minutes had passed since Mia left.
Darren stared at the dark path she'd taken, his fingers fidgeting near the edge of his plate. "It's been a while," he said quietly. "Should we… go check on her?"
Jenna looked up from her marshmallow. "It's okay. Mia usually takes her time — even at school. She's probably fine."
Sofia nodded. "Yeah, she always takes forever in the bathroom."
David gave a small laugh. "See? Nothing to worry about."
But Darren couldn't shake the unease. Fifteen minutes? The forest looked endless, and the darkness beyond the firelight was thicker now, like something solid pressing in.
He sighed and looked down — just in time to see Charlie blinking at him.
That look.
Charlie tilted his head slightly, eyebrows raising just once. The signal was clear.
We need to talk.
Charlie stood up and stretched, pretending to yawn. "Well," he said casually, "I gotta take a piss."
Darren got the message immediately. "I'll go with you," he said, standing as well. "We'll be right back."
The group nodded absently, more focused on the fire than them. Darren and Charlie grabbed flashlights and started walking toward the other side of the camp — the opposite direction from where Mia had gone.
Once they were far enough from the campfire's glow, Charlie finally spoke.
"Dude," he said quietly. "Don't you think this is a little weird?"
Darren frowned. "Weird how?"
Charlie sighed, glancing back toward the orange flicker of the fire in the distance. "They invited us here, right? We came. Then they left us all morning, came back in the evening with fish. Just fish. And…" He hesitated, lowering his voice. "I'm telling you, I've seen those exact fish before. They're saltwater fish, man. I literally buy them from my local supermarket."
He shrugged. "I could be wrong, but… they look exactly the same."
Darren blinked. "Wait—so you're saying… what, exactly?"
"I'm saying it doesn't add up," Charlie said, eyes narrowing. "Why would ocean fish be in a canal miles inland? Doesn't make sense. I mean, what do you think?"
Darren rubbed the back of his neck. He could feel that same cold unease creeping in again. This would be the perfect moment to tell Charlie about the dreams — about the hand in the lake, the man in the woods, the feeling that something wasn't right here.
But the words stuck in his throat. It all sounded ridiculous when he thought about saying it out loud.
"I dunno," he said finally. "Yeah, it's weird, but maybe it's nothing. Come on, let's—"
"Wait."
Darren froze. His flashlight had caught something on the ground a few feet ahead — a dull glint of metal against the dirt. He stepped closer, crouching.
"What is it?" Charlie asked, moving up beside him.
Darren brushed away a layer of leaves and lifted the object. "A hat," he muttered. The material was scuffed, but as his light fell across the front, the badge emblem came into view.
"A police hat," he said quietly.
Charlie's eyes widened. "Wait — police? As in… the ones we saw earlier?"
Darren stared at the hat for a long moment, the weight of it heavy in his hand. "I… I don't know."
"What would the police be doing here?" Charlie asked.
Darren didn't answer. The question hung in the cold air.
Then, suddenly, a sound cut through the darkness.
It wasn't far — maybe from the direction Mia had gone.
A scream.
High-pitched. Broken. Not human.
"What the hell was that?" Charlie hissed, flashlight trembling in his hand.
The sound echoed again — a guttural, animal-like cry that tore through the trees and disappeared as quickly as it came.
For a second, no one moved. No one breathed.
Then Charlie whispered, barely audible, "That came from where Mia went…"
Darren's pulse pounded in his ears. The campfire flickered faintly in the distance, a thin glow through the trees.
"We need to tell the others," he whispered.