Those of you who don’t like spooky stories, I advice you to not read this. But, those of you who do, enjoy.
Becky and her boyfriend Josh were looking forward to a weekend away from it all. Their plan was to go camping in the Hachi forest with their friends Carol and Bernie. Neither couple had been to those woods before but heard that it was beautiful. Some people told them though that the forest was haunted, but they didn’t believe it. They planned to go anyway.
When the four of them arrived in the area, a local scruffy man/ sales clerk at a convenient store had told them about a legend. He said that in the mid 1800’s a boy and his mother were captured, tortured, and killed in those woods by some criminals. He said that the boys father was out hunting for their meal and arrived back to a gruesome scene. From that day on the father vowed to find those who killed his family and do the same to them. So, over time some people that entered the forest had gone missing, some were found brutally murdered, and others just left because they were scared after one day of visiting.
“You don’t really believe those woods are haunted do you, besides, that guy would be dead by now,” Josh said to the man.
“Well, let’s just say that I wouldn’t spend the night in there like many do,” the man rang up and bagged the items.
As Carol and Becky walked out of the store, Carol stopped and looked at Becky, “do you think any of that story is true?”
“Carol, every small town with woods around it is going to have a story or two to tell. It doesn’t mean that it really happened,” Josh said as he walked past her.
“Yeah sweetie, and besides, we’re here to protect you if anything crazy does happen,” Bernie winked at Carol.
“Come on Carol we’re going to have fun,” Becky said and walked over to the SUV.
Carol glanced back at the convenient store and saw the clerk wave to her. He alone gave her a creepy feeling while she was there. She then hurried over to the back door of the SUV and climbed inside. Carol tried to put those spooky thoughts behind her as she buckled her seatbelt. When Bernie climbed inside, he leaned over and gave Carol a kiss on the cheek to cheer her up. Josh finished pumping the gas and then they were back on the road.
There was an area in the forest that was designated for camping but Josh wanted to be away from anyone who might be camping. So he drove down the road about three more miles and then turned onto what looked like a path for all-terrain vehicles.
“Josh, I don’t think this is a road,” Becky looked at how close the tree branches were to their SUV.
“It isn’t and that’s how I know that no one else will be camping here unless they are on a four-wheeler.”
Bernie was in the back seat smiling. He knew what Josh was up to on this trip. Carol looked at Bernie and nudged his arm.
“What? what did you do that for?” Bernie asked.
Carol pulled Bernie’s shirt sleeve so that he would lean toward her. She whispered to him, “you have that goofy grin on your face, stop it before Becky get’s suspicious.”
Bernie stopped smiling and nodded at Carol before he looked back out the window. Becky was mostly focused on Joshes driving on this wooded and bumpy path. It wasn’t long though before they found an open spot in the woods. There were still plenty of trees around but enough space for a couple of tents and a fire pit.
Josh pulled over and glanced around, “what do you think?”
“It looks good to me,” Becky said.
As Josh put the car in park, Bernie swung open his back door and said, “let’s get this party started.”
By this time it was already after one in the afternoon. The guys set up the two tents while Becky and Carol gathered up some kindling and wood for a fire. While the ladies were away from the campsite, Bernie heard a strange sound. He stopped what he was doing and listened.
“Did you hear that?” Bernie whispered to Josh.
Josh stood still and listened but heard nothing, “I don’t hear anything.”
Bernie looked around the perimeter of their site but didn’t see anything, “I swear I heard a deep growl.”
“Yeah, it was probably your stomach. I know that I’m hungry,” Josh laughed.
“No, it wasn’t my stomach,” Bernie looked around some more.
When the ladies got back, Becky dropped a couple of thick branches to the ground.
Carol tossed her armful of sticks down where the fire pit could be, “okay guys, build us a fire so we can get some lunch started.”
Bernie looked down at the wood that the ladies brought back, “that certainly isn’t going to last us very long.”
“Well, it should be enough for now right?” Carol asked.
“We’ll grab the ax and look for more after we eat,” Josh said and opened up his and Becky’s folding chairs.
Carol smirked at Bernie in a playful manner and then walked over to the cooler. She dug out a bottle of water for herself and a can of beer for Bernie. Josh set up the kindling and wood that the ladies brought and lit some crumpled up paper on fire. Before long, they had a hot enough fire to cook some burgers on and enjoy.
Please join me again with chapter 2 of: It’s In The Forest.
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