I hide in the dirt, under a log and bushes. My feet hurt but I don’t dare move.

I can’t let them find me.

I try to steady my breathing to not be heard by the seekers. I adjust my foot when a scream pierces the soundless night sky. I get up slowly, my joints aching from crouching for so long. I turn in a circle, listening. When another scream is lurched into the dark, I register it’s a girl and start running towards it, not sure of what else to do.

I find myself running alongside Penny and Jake. We don’t speak, only run towards the scream somewhere in the woods.

The screaming has stopped. We stop too and someone finally speaks.

“Where’s everyone else?” Jack asks through heavy breaths. I register that we’re missing two people.

“We’re missing Luke and Ashley. The screams…I think it was Ashley.” I say.

“Has anyone seen her?” Penny asks, her voice thick with fear.

We shake our heads, no.

“Then we look.” Jack states, his eyes narrow. I can tell he’s trying to be a leader, to not be afraid.

We silently start in the direction we had been running, spreading out and walking slowly. Searching for our missing friends, I thought my mind would be racing but I can’t think at all.

“Over here!” Penny yells to us.

When I get closer to Penny, she’s standing over something, someone, Luke.

“What is-“ Jack starts to say but stops when he sees Luke lying in the dirt, his head and shirt soaked in blood.