Fumbling out of the classroom, my friends ran through the hallway screaming, “Free at last!” The exit gate flew by my eyes, and as embarrassing as it was, I realized my senior year and high school sentence was over as summer break commenced. Clark, my childhood friend—practically my brother—Quinn, the street-smart yet unsocial kid I met in sixth grade, and Kyle, the laid back, careless one of the group, were sprinting towards me. There was a slight breeze that was strong enough to blow my hair and the exposed exit hallway was packed with lively high school students awaiting their vacation. Clark, Quinn, and Kyle soon caught up to me at the end of the hallway. I waited, grinning with a sense of excitement, as they caught their breath, resting their hands on their knees. Strolling past the huge concrete sign in front of the school we discussed the camping trip we were going to for the next three days.  

Our pace slowed as we noticed my dad’s car rolling up to the curb five minutes late, per usual. Opening the automatic door, I got a whiff of the “new-car-smell”. The fabricated leather, which we installed after my mom observed cotton poking out below the previous seats, was already a bit scratched. I didn’t question my dad as to why the leather was already in this state, because I knew he would make up some confusing excuse like he always did. Clark, Quinn, and Kyle squeezed into the back of the car making a loud ruckus, while I jumped onto the passenger seat with comfort and ease. After getting settled in, my dad rested his left hand on top of the wheel and hastily started the engine with his right.

“You guys ready?” my dad exclaimed as this was our first trip in a long time. “Isn’t it fun to go camping right after school?”

“Yeah, Dad!” I responded sarcastically. Immediately turning my attention away, I asked, “Hey, do you have a flashlight for me, Quinn?”

“Uh… yeah, give me a sec,” Quinn told me before reaching into the front pocket of his stuffed backpack. 

The green of the trees were blurred by the car window and the sky was a shade of yellowish orange. Traveling deeper into the forest, Clark noticed a dilapidated wooden sign on the outskirts of the paved road: KEEP OUT!

“Hey, look at that sign!” he pointed furiously, “Isn’t this a camping ground?”

“C’mon now. You actually think that’s some sorta warning?” Kyle added. We thought nothing of it, like we did with anything. Our tight-knit group was always laid back and calm, maybe even to the extent of being lazy, which worried my dad. 

“Still, keep your head high guys. You always want to be alert when you’re camping,” my dad commented.

To pass time, Clark got out the crumpled bag of Skittles he saved for the trip. “Remember that time when we stole M&Ms from Mrs. Lank’s class? Why was I the only one who got caught?” Clark asked to sever the silence.

“Um, that was me. Kyle, Quinn, and you just ran and left me to die,” I jokingly demanded, chuckling to myself.

Clark argued with his raspy voice, “S-stop accusing me! I would never do that…”

“Sure you wouldn’t. If I were you, I would never sabotage someone during a math test by tossing an eraser across the room. Sure, you wouldn’t do that,” Kyle mumbled as he chewed on a Skittle. Clark didn’t answer, but we all knew he was trying to formulate a comeback to defend himself. 

While the ground rumbled beneath the rubber wheels, the once calmed Clark, suddenly jumped, pulling the seat belt to its maximum distance. 

“Calm down man! What’s wrong with you?” I questioned as I turned my body to face the back seats. 

“It’s that sign again!” Clark screeched, slightly panicked, “Look at the redwood tree over there on the right!” I came to realize that the sign sat in the same way as the previous one.

All of a sudden, the car screeched to a complete stop. It seemed as if there was an instantaneous reaction right after Clark spoke. Out of instinct, I yelled at my dad, frustrated, “What did you do?” Shrugging his shoulders, my dad’s face cringed with confusion. 

“The engine’s still running and I don’t think I hit anything on accident,” responded my dad. The doors clicked open and we jumped out of the car to hopefully find out what went wrong. However, when checking the rims and engine and trunk, we found nothing. With no signal and no map, the five of us stood in silence for what seemed like hours. The wind blew with power and the whooshing sounds entered my ear with great force. Only, the hooting of the owls and the chirps of the crickets were nowhere to be heard. Something seemed off. Was it the icy breeze, slowly reddening my ears?

Oblivious to the situation, I pulled my oversized hoodie over my head which kept me warm and somewhat comfortable. I stuffed my hands in the front pockets of my hoodie standing to the side while my friends curiously looked over my dad’s shoulder, who was inspecting the engine like a surgeon working on their patient. 

In a moment of tranquility, Clark, in an unexpected yet smooth transition, tried to suggest a plan, “We can all just—” 

“We can all just what?” I asked with perplexity, “Finish your sentence!” My eyes rolled back towards Clark and I stared at his face. Clark’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped while his senseless arms swayed in the wind. Tilting to the side, a loud thunk sounded as Clark’s body hit the ground. The ringing in my ears muted all other sounds. In a blurred, slow-motion view, I saw Kyle and my dad darting towards Clark, dropping to their knees, while Quinn turned away from the gruesome sight, vomiting. I stood with gaping eyes staring at the blood dripping from the gash in Clark’s neck to the dirt beneath. It didn’t look like an incision, but as if someone ripped open the skin with their nails. Panic jumbled my thoughts and shock ran through my spine. Paralyzed.

Permeating the taser-like sound in my ear, the next thing I heard: “Get in the car! Hurry!” My dad rushed towards me and picked me up as if he were a fireman saving a helpless child.

“What? Are you just gonna leave him here!?” I screamed as the wind blew directly in my petrified face. It felt like it was my dad’s fault this happened, but my mind was all over the place. Locking the doors of the car, everyone shivered, their deafening teeth chittering like construction noises. Nothing came to mind but the sight of Clark’s glassy dead eyes. I only saw pitch black. 

Tap. 

The glass window vibrated, causing a quiet sound to resonate in the car. A frail yet goopy arm poked from under the frame of the trunk window, the hand painted with a thick red coating. We all leaped forward simultaneously, Quinn and Kyle now squatting in the foot space between the front and back seats. Moving slowly, the fingers stroked the glass, squeaking with every line, and two words spelled out in the dark, lukewarm blood: KEEP OUT.

The car engine suddenly roared as the last letter was carefully drawn, the bloody hand now at the border of the glass. The car lights flickered, revealing shrubs and dead trees and the shadows corresponding. Without looking back, my dad slammed the pedal aiming to return to our house, all the while unable to spot even a single glimpse of the “thing” that attacked Clark. I tucked my legs into a fetal position and pinched my eyes closed, trembling. Goosebumps emerged on the surface of my arms and the wind blew through the tiny openings in the door. We abandoned Clark’s torn body in the midst of the forest. 

Never to return, we sped along the gravel road as the sun began to rise, arriving on the same street as before. Arriving, soulless… separated from my friend forever.