"hunt down the traitor, and bring them back to me alive-" i giggle, interrupting the ghost story. the group look at me, confused and i shake my head, trying to stop the bubbles of laughter that have taken over me. everyone else beeaks down into laughter too. some even dropping marshmallows in surprise of my outburst. "what- what happened?" my friend looks up, turning off the torch that creepily illuminated the bottom half of her face.

"nothing- it was just funny to me-" is my reply after id calmed down the laughing. a snap of a twig makes the group jump simultaneously and turn towards the noise.

the fire crackles. the trees rustle. owls hoot.

the midnight sky holds stars gently in its grasp, suspending them in the air and providing us some light as we squint to see the visitor.

the bush sways. the leaves crunch. the visitor groans.

i stand and walk over to the bush. as if on queue, the visitor emerges. crimson covers almost their entire body. patches of hair had been plastered to their head with crust. sweat and what seems like blood mix together at their hairline. they limp in and fall face first into the ground. as the fire illuminates their body, i can just about make out words scrawled onto their flesh through holes in their clothes. etched into their skin was one word.

"traitor"

i dont even realise that my friends had backed away, huddling in a group while i kneel next to the one dubbed traitor. they mumble something over and over again. it is almost inaudible and the words, muttered so many times began to merge into one.

"pleshelpmey"

i frown, trying to decipher the sentence. when it dawns on me, i look up to my friends - a look of shock etched into my face. "they want us to help them," my voice shakes but as i stand, it gets stronger. "we need to help them." i look to my friends for help but they stand - petrified.

a twig snaps. voices reverberate around the forest. torches flash.

a gruff voice yells "hunt down the traitor, and bring them back to me. alive."