The Campfire

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window." Rain poured down from the sky as a group of teenagers approached the cabin in the woods. A girl stopped dead in her tracks as she looked suspiciously through the windows. "What is wrong, Jessie?"

"This is not a good place to seek refuge!" "Why not?" asked Karl.

"I thought I saw something in there staring at us from inside! The candle burning in the window makes them look ominous," said Jessie.

"It's not like we have a choice! I am getting cold, and I am sure Tom would like to dry off before we get to the campsite." When Jessie looked at the window again, she saw the figure get closer and closer to the window, Jessie looked on with great animosity, but the shadow in the window revealed it was a person.

"Tom, you are such an ass hole!" Jessie exclaimed. Tom and Karl laughed, celebrating, scaring Jessie; yet again. They knew it would not be hard to scare her; she had always been afraid of her own shadow since the three of them were in kindergarten.

"Jessie, we are here! This is the campsite," said Tom.

Karl, Jessie, Tom, and Courtnie have always considered themselves adventurous. Courtnie did not walk the nature trail with the three of them. The rain started to fall before she could meet up with them. She had called them to let them know she would meet them the next day. Tom and Karl wasted no time; the two started to fire in the fireplace, and Jessie ensured they had enough food for the next three days. "Well, looks like mom made it up here after all; we have plenty of food for at least a week," said Jessie.

The three of them worked to make the cabin comfortable; when they finished, Jessie went into the bedroom where she and Courtnie were to share. Set it up the way she wanted the room to look and thought to herself, "If Courtney wants it different, she can fix it when she arrives tomorrow." Then Jessie walked into the living room and said, "Good night, guys. I am going to sleep, and if you get any crazy ideas about scaring me during the night, I am locking the door!" she said in an arrogant but loud voice. After she had to say, she walked back into the room and slammed the door. The two heard metal scraping as she locked the bedroom door. "What's up with her?" "I think we are scaring her too much!" said Tom. Naa!

Jessie, Tom, and Karl woke to the sound of a car pulling up; they quickly got dressed to see who had just pulled up. Jessie was the first one out the door. "Hello, Courtney! I am glad you are here. These jerks keep doing things to scare me. I am pleased you could make it. After that downpour last night, I was worried you would not make it." "Hello, Jessie. I missed you too. Where are..." When Tom and Karl stumbled out the door with only their pants on, Courtney barely got two words out of her mouth in the sentence she was trying to say.

"Hello Tom, Karl. I don't have to ask what you two are up to. Do I? It Looks like you just woke up."

"Yeah, yes. Let us help you with your bags, Courtney!" said Karl. Karl and Tom got her bags out of the trunk of her car and took them to her room. When Courtney was finished unpacking her bags, she asked Jessie if she would like to help her bring in some firewood from the wood pile. Jessie agreed, and they started to bring in some firewood as it was late fall, and it was getting colder at night.

"I believe we have enough for a couple of days. How do you like it here in the mountains?" Jessie asked.

"It's beautiful! I have never seen anything like it. The cabin sets away from the lake, and beautiful trees are everywhere. No one could find this cabin. They would have to know where it is to find it.

"Exactly! That is why Mom and Dad built this cabin here, not in a field where the cabin can't be seen from the main road but secluded for privacy," Jessie said.

"I don't know why your mother and dad trust you with these two. They act as if they don't know how to do anything but scare people." "Tom and Karl will be there if you really need them. They are jerks, but they will help you when you are in need," said Courtney.

"Jessie, do you think Tom will tell a campfire story tonight?

"Yeah, that is what all the scaring is about; Tom and Karl get a real thrill out of scaring me."

"If you would stop reacting, they would stop trying to scare you!"

"Yeah, but they catch me off guard every time!"

"I have an idea, Jessie. Why don't we prank them!"

"That is an awesome idea!" Jessie and Courtney continue their walk, discussing how they could prank Tom and Karl.

The sunset glows over the countryside showing its beautiful fall hue across the lake and everything it touches. Tom and Karl are busy setting up the campfire outside the cabin door as they prepare for the Annual storytelling contest between them. Courtney and Jessie had set up their surprise for the boys and snickered during the setup. Once they completed, they decided to make some food before the campfire stories started.

Later that evening, when the sunset, the adventurous group went to the campfire to set the mood for the stories. Courtney and Jessie brought marshmallows, chocolate, and gram crackers to make smores. She set it all down on a table near where they would sit to listen to the stories. Quickly the four of them sat in their seats. Excitedly Karl stood up to tell his story. Karl stood up and started his story. The low light made his face look ghost-like.

"Once, a guy named Sam was lost in the woods on a dark and dreary night. His only concern was getting some gas for the car he was forced to abandon just a mile down the road. Tired of walking on a highway, he found a dirt road adjacent to where he was. Sam, tired of walking, hoped there would be a house or an emergency phone somewhere near his location.

Sam walked for a long time and did not know where he was as he could not see the main road. Sam's only light was his cell phone, which did not give him much light. The more noises he heard, the more nervous he became. Frustrated at his situation, he started hearing different noises in the woods. Not the usual noises, such as an owl hooting, but something much bigger rustling around in the brush just off the dirt road. The more he heard the rustling, the more frightened he became, and the more scared Sam became, the faster he walked. Sam never knew exactly when he started running, but he was now running! Faster and faster, Sam ran, not knowing where he was going, but whatever was following him just off the road was no longer in the brush but behind him, far enough that Sam could not see what or who it was. So, he ran so fast that Sam did not know how long he could keep running.

When Sam was about to collapse from exhaustion, he saw a house further down the road. The house was a refreshing sight to the unfriendly sounds he was hearing in the woods and all around him. So, Sam continued to run until he was on the house's porch. There was no light, but the family was sleeping; it was just past midnight, and most people were in bed or watching late-night television shows. Sam knocks on the door, and after he strikes the door a few times with his fist, a man answers the door with a shotgun.

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but my car ran out of gas a few miles down the road, and I think someone is following me," he said in a shaky voice.

"Come on in, lad and tell me all about it!" the man exclaimed. The man offered Sam some tea and something to eat, but Sam was too shaken to eat. Sam told the man everything, from the car breaking down and the hole in his gas tank to walking and running down the man's driveway.

"This house is not a house, son. It's kind of a weigh station of sorts."

"What do you mean by weigh station? A weigh station for what? There are no big rigs that use the highway." Said Sam with a puzzled look on his face.

"Don't worry about what type of weigh station this is, and I will help you get back to your car. I happen to have some gas in my shed and something that will work as a temporary fix for the hole in the gas tank."

"Thank you, sir! You don't know how much I appreciate your help. If you don't mind me asking, sir, what is your name?" asked Sam.

"My name is Anthony Anderson, and I stay here ready to help people who get stranded. I will get the necessary materials to get your car running again. Wait for me here!"

"Yes, sir. The name is Sam, short for Samuel."

"Now, you wait right here and finish your tea. I know how teenagers like to look around, but you stay here by the fire and get warm!"

"Yes, Sir, right here!"

Anthony felt confident Sam would stay there, so he left the room. Sam did feel the urge to start looking around the room but remembering what Mr. Anderson said, he stayed right where the man left him.

Sam took out his phone to see what time it was and discovered it was one o'clock in the morning. Without warning, Mr. Anderson returned to the room and said," Come on, I need to get you to your car before three a.m."

"Why? What happens at three?" Sam said with a curious voice.

"Nothing you need to be concerned with; just come on, let's get going!"

Sam did not ask any more questions; he was thankful someone could help him.

"Thank you for the tea, sir," said Sam.

"You're welcome young man."

The two of them made it to Sam's car, and Anthony got out of his vehicle to start working on Sam's car. Sam began to get out of Anthony's vehicle, and before he could put his foot on the ground, Anthony slammed the door shut and said," Stay in the car until your car is ready!"

"Okay," Sam said nervously.

"You will be okay, Sam; just trust me!"

Sam reluctantly said, "Yes, sir."

The minutes seem to crawl by as Anthony disappears. Every now and again, Sam would see Anthony's head bobbing up and down, wondering what exactly he was doing.

After getting bored waiting for Anthony to finish the repairs to his car, Sam decided to start playing a game on his phone. Star shooter is Sam's favorite game on his phone, and after conquering fifteen levels on it, Anthony opened the door and said, " All done! It is safe for you to get in your car." Sam thanked Anthony and got in his car and went home. The next day, their faces turned white as a sheet after telling his friends about the ordeal.

"What is wrong?" Sam said with a curious voice.

"You saw Mr. Anderson last night, didn't you?" Sam's friend said in a shaky voice.

"Yes! I told you; he is the one who fixed my car!" Sam said in an annoying voice.

"Mr. Anderson died last year by a crazy family who runs around those woods! They say his body was so badly mangled it took dental records to identify him! You might have been next!" Sam's friend said in a nervous voice.

"Who knows what would have if the ghost of Mr. Anderson had never shown up; you may have been their next victim!" said another of Sam's friends.

"Ah, that was terrible, Karl!" said Jessie.

"You think you can do better!" Karl said.

"Well, Courtney and I produced a better story. I bet it will scare the pants off you! Courtney, if you please!" said Jessie as if she were introducing her.

Courtney begins to tell their story.

"Once, four people went on an annual camping trip. Two guys and two girls. The two guys thought they were the best in everything, and the girls had no talent! But then, one night, they started telling scary stories. Suddenly, a person with a chain saw peered out from behind a tree." A real person steps into the fire light the campfire was giving off; he has a chainsaw, starts it up, and looks as if they are ready to lunge at the four. Courtney and Jessie do not even flinch.

Just then, another person appears behind another tree and has a machete. The machete has blood on it, and the person has blood on their face as if they were eating something that has just died! Tom and Karl look jittery as if they are about to run. Incredible as it sounds, everything Courtney says in her story is coming true!

"Tom, do you see what I see?"

"Yeah!"

Courtney continues with her story. "The one with the machete is stabbing in the air, looking as if she wants to devour the four storytellers." When she says that, the actual person with the machete starts doing precisely what Courtney had just told in the story! Tom and Karl look extremely nervous.

Tom said," Courtney, this is just a story? Right!"

"Why? Scared!" said Courtney in a devious tone sounding as if she had gone insane. While Courtney had their attention, Jessie snuck around behind Tom and Karl to slip a cord around their foot, tying them down to the log they were standing next to. Both looked as if they were ready to run.

Courtney continues with her story. "The person with the chainsaw started making his way down the small embankment walking towards the four storytellers. Will the storytellers see the dawn? Only time will tell." She said in an ominous voice. Tom and Karl turned to see if the person with the chainsaw was coming toward them.

"Just then, the person with the machete started to walk down the hill as well and did not stop," said Courtney as she sounded as if a hostile spirit posed her. Closer and closer, the two of them got to the storytellers. The chainsaw was revved up as the person walked closer. The constant revving of the chainsaw motor and the other person slashing into the air made Tom and Karl more nervous with every step they took.

"Just then, as the two became uncomfortably close, two storytellers became so frightened they tried to run but couldn't!"

The person with the machete came closer and closer to Tom, and the one with the chainsaw came closer and closer to Karl. Just as the two reached Tom and Karl, they raised their weapons, which was when Tom and Karl looked at each other and screamed; then they started to run! They ran so fixed that when the cord became taught, their feet flew out from under them, and they both hit the ground with a loud thud. The two who had weapons came at Tom and Karl with the guns, but they stopped before their weapons came close to Tom and Karl. Tom and Karl had their " closed, but when they thought they should have been hit with the weapons, the two were carrying Tom and Karl opened their eyes to see their classmates standing over them. You could hear Courtney and Jessie laughing in the background so hard they couldn't catch their breath.

When Courtney and Jessie did catch their breath, they both said," Now that is a scary story!"

When Tom and Karl found out they were the center of a practical joke, they were embarrassed.

"Did we just get punk?"

"Yeah, looks like it, " said Karl.

"Thank you, Sherri and Don!" said Jessie.

"No, thank you! I have my next edition of High School Punkers!" said Sherri.

"I have to go my ride is waiting on me. Come on, Sherri, I will give you a ride, too, if you want."

"Thanks, Don. I can't wait to load it up to my website!"