There were bright flashes of red in the sky. It's as if someone was waving around a flare light from space - faint but noticeable. We all made UFO jokes and laughed as we nailed our tents into the ground. I knew for sure that there were five of us. We have all been friends since early middle school and were celebrating our high school graduation with this getaway camping trip. The flashes of red must've stopped randomly as we made conversation while fixing up our tents.

Dave managed to put his tent together the fastest and told us he was going to find some branches for the fire. I remember how he had worked with me at the local gas station last year. We used to do the night shift together and it had made working at a desolate gas station much more fun than it was supposed to be. There was also Eric in the corner still reading his tent manual, fidgeting with his signature round glasses. I wasn't as close with Eric as I was with the others but I still remember sitting with him in math class and copying his homework one time. Ava was also there talking with Sally, my cousin. Both had decided to team up and work on one tent at a time. I also have clear memories of them - hanging around at school in our usual places. In fact, I even knew Ava's younger brother as he used to beg to go with us wherever we went.

I bring all this up because I'm sure that there were five of us including me and that I knew everyone in the group.

So Dave had went to get some branches as we pulled out some foldable chairs and set them up around the fire pit. I remember feeling uneasy as the sun set and darkness began to consume the forest. The shadows of trees elongated around us as the minutes ticked by. Eric went to get a flashlight from his bag while we wondered what was taking Dave so long. He appeared soon after, the harsh rustling sounds of the bushes signifying his return. We were all buried in our chairs at this point, covered by our jackets. The temperature had dropped quickly and a slight breeze was beginning to pick up.

"Jeez, you guys weren't even bothered to pull out a chair for me", Dave said as he arranged all the branches in the pit.

We had set up five chairs around the fire. I tried to rationalise the situation but no matter how hard I focused, my head felt like it was underwater. I had perfect clarity up until that moment but when I tried to focus on why five chairs were occupied when Dave hadn't sat down yet my head seemed to just stop working as if something was reaching in and pulling out my thoughts. Instinctually, I felt even more uneasy now and I had placed why.

The whole forest had gone dead silent.

I looked around at the faces of the others and could tell that they had felt the same. Eric was fidgeting with his fingers, trying to scan around the group and spot the extra person but it was futile. I scanned every face, each etched in worry and frowning in frustration except for-

"It's... alright I'll get the chair myself" Dave said, breaking the silence and somewhat alleviating the tension. I got up and offered to help him. He looked into my eyes and nodded knowingly. We headed away from the fire pit towards the tents but I kept my eyes glued on our group.

"How many people are here?" I whispered to Dave as he looked around and realised that we had indeed only packed five chairs. In fact every person had brought with them their own chair. They were heavy to carry and we wouldn't bring any extra needlessly.

"There's five right? I mean there's five chairs", Dave replied. His voice wavered as he spoke.

"No I just think maybe one of us forgot our chair", I said. My mind was struggling to address the issue head on and now sought to find rational excuses instead. I didn't quite feel in control of my thoughts. It felt like swimming in a dream and if I tried to force myself to think about who the sixth person was, my head would begin to throb

"Yeah that sounds about right actually", Dave said, relaxing and heading back to the group.

When we walked back to the fire pit and circle of chairs, two chairs were empty. One for me and one for Dave. Everything was adding up now even though we all agreed it wasn't before. Sally suggested we were all probably tired after the long hike to get here and probably just needed some sleep. She could have been right. We were all sleep deprived from waking up very early today to make it on time. Ava brought out the drinks. The whole six pack was emptied.

We all moved closer to the crackling fire for warmth as we took sips from our cans and reminisced on memories of last year. Ava was in the middle of telling us about that one time she was home alone with weird things happening in her house when I got these sudden chills despite the pleasant warmth of the fire. What felt cozy and safe moments ago felt wrong now all because I realised that there was a crucial detail I missed.

"Who started the fire?", I asked, completely interrupting Ava in the middle of her story and breaking everyone else's immersion. Everyone looked momentarily annoyed until they realised they had no answer. Once again I scanned the faces staring back at me. All barely illuminated by the light from the fire. All familiar and pale from fear.

"Wasn't it you Dave?" Eric asked.

Dave shook his head.

"I think the person standing behind Jenny did it" Sally said, looking over at me. I whipped my head around so quickly it hurt. My heart was pounding in my ears. There was nothing behind me except for the encompassing darkness of the woods. Staring at those tall dark trees behind me made me feel exposed. I felt like a lost bird in a vast field.

"Wait I mean... I... I don't know" Sally said. Her eyes had gone wide and she was shaking visibly. She continued to look around frantically as Ava moved over to her placing her hands on her shoulders and trying to calm her down.

"I think we should leave this place" Ava stuttered.

"Yeah something just doesn't feel right but I can't put my finger on it", Dave said

"But it's so dark out in the forest now, we'd probably get lost if we leave now" Someone else said

"Yeah I think we should stay the night and leave as soon as we can tomorrow" Eric agreed

I tried to protest but realised Eric was right. The woods harbored an oppressive darkness within which navigation would be near impossible.

"Let's not sleep in our separate tents just to be safe" Sally said. We all agreed. We only brought one person tents with us but we could squeeze two if we tried.

That way no one would be alone at night.

Following this conversation we all got up and made our pairs. I went with Dave and Sally like always went with Ava. Eric kept complaining that he didn't have a pair but we reassured him he did. He wouldn't accept it. I feel like at some point we all realised that there were only five of us and suddenly we were all huddling up in the middle of the clearing.

"Why do we keep thinking there are six of us here" Eric asked. Sweat was dripping down his face despite the cold. We had nearly left him all alone on his own under the assumption that there was another person. My stomach turned as I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to mentally recap everyone here. My head throbbed but I kept pushing it.

"There's me, Dave, Eric, Ava, Sally and..." I was pointing at each of them as I said the name. I retched and emptied the contents of my stomach on the ground when I got past Sally. The left side of my head felt like there was a knife stuck in it. My vision was blurry. Dave held me up to stop me from collapsing and we all wordlessly started to move towards the tents as someone put the fire out.

Dave helped me into a tent while the four outside discussed what to do. I could only focus on snippets of the conversation as the excruciating pain beating against my skull came and went in waves. Sally had the brilliant idea of arranging three tents together so their openings faced together at right angles in a sort of 'u' shape so we could sleep as close as possible and also limit the entrance to our tents. Dave was about to go to help as they worked outside but I clutched his hand and asked him to stay with me.

The tents took some time to arrange. I started to feel a bit better once everyone got settled into their tents. A quick head count confirmed there were five of us. Eric would have to sleep in his tent alone but he was more comfortable with it since all the tents were very close now. Looking back now I think he was just trying to put a brave face on for us. I regret that moment deeply - letting him sleep in his tent alone. He was always less integrated in our group and knew that none of us would pair with him. Just before going to bed, we all agreed to leave as soon as the sun rose in the morning.

I remember taking one last look outside the tent into the forest before trying to fall asleep. The wind had picked up and the tree branches were swaying gently. Beyond our clearing was just pure darkness. It felt like the trees were closing in on me. With the faint moonlight illuminating our clearing, I turned my head to look over at the two tents we had left out and saw someone standing next to them.

Despite the circumstances, sleep came quickly and easily.

*

Ava's shrill scream woke me up in the middle of the night. Dave and I ripped our tent door open to find Sally and Ava looking into Eric's tent. We pushed them aside.

Eric's sleeping bag was rolled up. He was still inside it. His head in the center, face contorted in utter agony. The rest of his body rolled around it with the blue fabric now dripping with dark blood. Dave zipped up the door of the tent. Ava was in shock. Her eyes had become glassy and unfocused. Sally was shaking her repeatedly, tears streaming down her face. Dave picked up his torch and yelled at us to get up and run.

We left the campsite behind and entered the trail we had come from. The five of us huddled together, Dave leading in the front as he cast his weak flashlight over the path so we could see it. All we had to help us get through this two hour trail was a small white circle of light. Even the moon failed to illuminate our surroundings through the dense foliage.

Ava tripped and fell, twisting her ankle. We came to a stop. Someone said they knew how to splint it so we could keep going. They dragged her into the woods instead. It happened too quickly for any of us to process. Sally was about to run after Ava when Dave held her back. She struggled and managed to free herself running into the trees to follow the echoes of Ava's screams. I was about to run after her but Dave held me by the shoulders and shook me hard.

"We need to get out of here Jenny, please", He said.

I hesitated but jolted into motion again when Sally's voice was cut off abruptly. She had been calling out Ava's name as she ran after her. Dave and I continued to run down the trail, trying to get to our car so we could get out of here. There was nothing we could do. At some point there were three of us running on the trail, Dave and I shoulder to shoulder while someone followed us closely behind.

"Dave, who's behind us", I gasped. My heart was threatening to burst through my ribcage and my legs burned. He turned to look at me. Confusion transformed into fear on his face and then into rage.

"You keep running", He told me as he produced a pocket knife from his pants. He handed me the car keys which I nearly dropped. Then he turned around suddenly and jumped at whoever was behind us. I continued to run in fear as the sounds of a struggle grew behind me.

I tripped and tumbled through the trail for what felt like hours. I didn't allow myself to stop. I almost cried when the trail ended and I walked out into the familiar car park. Not wasting a second, I ran to the car and started it up, accelerating out of that forest and onto the highway within mere seconds.

*

I'm typing this post out at a rest stop. My phone has finally regained service and I've called 911 to try and explain the situation. I don't think they believe my version of events but they sent a car my way regardless. As I wait, the sun is finally starting to rise. After I hit the post button on this I'm gonna check why the person in my backseat has been so silent the whole time.

X