Chapter 2~Into the Fray

And so our Ghost Hunt begins...

Don walked over to Andréa; slowly, quietly.  One of the special skills bestowed to him upon her birth was the act of scaring her.  Even though they were sitting around a campfire in the middle of the wilderness, Faye and Alex noticed his actions and went back to their conversation and work, respectively.  There was nothing out of the usual here. 

Don would scare Andréa, she would jump and try to hit him back, and he would just laugh and walk away.  It happened every time.  There was no trying to dispute it or trying to come up with something different.  It just was.  And just like clockwork, he scared the bejesus out of her.  However, maybe it was the spooky scenery, or just the plain old dark, but soon Andréa was reduced to tears. 

“You…know I hate it when you do that!” she wailed.  He had genuinely scared her this time, and she showed her dissatisfaction by hitting him, to no avail.

  

            There was indeed something odd about this so-called spooky place, and everyone noticed it. Even Connor, the usual realist of the group, was alert and making sure nothing happened to anyone.  The clearing was a circle, and all around them was a ring of dirt where nothing would grow.  It was called the devil’s tramping ground.  Here, even the trees seemed full of malice as they rustled with the wind.  The reports of spooky and unexplainable things happening here had initially excited the group, but now they were unsure of their adventure.  Moreover, Josh and Lynn had decided they didn’t want to come with the group on this particular adventure. That meant it was Faye, Don, Renee, Alex, Andréa and Connor.  They shivered around the campfire as marshmallows and wire hangers were passed around.  Even the stars couldn’t be seen that night; the clouds overcast even the moon.  The place just seemed…evil. 

            “So…we should tell scary stories.” Faye beamed at them. She loved this sort of thing.

            Andréa gulped.  This was what she wanted to avoid. Making anything remotely creepy even more so.  And here Faye was, doing just that.

            “I know one!” chimed in Don.  He gave his famous malicious laugh and started on a story about a frog.  The ending was kind of lame, and everyone, even Andréa exploded in fits of laughter.  That helped to lighten the mood.  But one could not have expected what would happen next.

            From the edge of the wood there seemed to be a shadow.  Alex saw it first, but thought it was just his eyes playing tricks on him.  He had been pulling all-nighters recently, working on writing music and the like, so he thought his eyes must be deceiving him.  The next to notice was Connor.  He held up a hand, motioning for everyone to stop talking.  The group looked at him, then to where he was pointing. 

            “So I guess I’m not just seeing things” Alex commented lightly. 

            “Well, time to go!” Don said brightly. “I’ll be damned if I’m getting eaten by whatever that is. See yah!”    

            He got up to go, and Renee and Connor followed him.  Faye, Alex and Andréa sat in silence; Faye with wonder and amusement, Alex with mild curiosity, Andréa paralyzed with fear.  The shadow was moving now.  It started slowly moving around the circle.  With a start, Andréa realized something.  This was something evil, and they needed to leave immediately.  She had always heard stories of shadows on this particular path, but she did not want to see any of it. 

            Slowly she got up.  She motioned for Alex and Faye to follow her. They grabbed their belongings (which weren’t much"a duffel bag and a backpack"the marshmallows were left forgotten) and when the shadow reached the opposite side of the exiting path, they ran.

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            “well that was fun and exciting!” Faye exclaimed as soon as they reached Don’s beat up car.  Everyone else was waiting inside for them to get there. 

            “Took you long enough! Come on, I’m hungry! We’re going to Taco Bell!”  Don barked as the three took their places in that back seat, squishing Connor in the process.

            Faye looked at Andréa.  “You okay sweetie?” she asked.  Andréa’s face was pale.

            “Feel…a little sick.  Let’s just go get food. Maybe I’ll feel better with some water.”

            “Alright then! Away to Taco Bell we go!!” yelled Faye. 

            Then the Disney music started, people started singing, and all memory of the evil place they left behind disappeared.  The only thing before them was the moment; it was what they lived for.  And it was what they would continue living for; each other.  They weren’t afraid of ghosts, because right now, all that mattered was getting Prince Eric to “Kiss the Girl”.