Chapter 1: Missing

A genuine smile that meant that she was okay was something I ignored, I thought she was really okay, never knew that she was thinking of something bad that day. A one night camping at an abandoned forest that resides beside the road, full of trees and healthy herbs as medicine, the forest was known for its wide range of land and beautiful nature along with good habitat for animals but along with its incomparable beauty, it also has its rumors and mysteries which we ignored. We thought of the forests as a relieving place for us to rest and run away from our problems, never thought it would costs us our lives.

June 21, a day after my older sisters graduation on senior high school, looking for a place to discover and have fun with and all we could thought of is the forest that was forbidden to enter but was famous in our town, no one knows why, our curiosity and eyes were focused there.

"What about the creepy but beautiful forest in our town, the famous Arlo Forest, we should difinetly go there". Aubrielle Pierce, a childhood friend of my older sister suggested it and Quin invited me to hang out with them since our parents wasn't home until the week after, we decided to take advantage of the situation, however, Quin was reluctant so I immediately went with Aubri's idea so that she would be forced to come along, Quin was the type of person who is very careful and responsible which was the complete opposite of Aubri, that was why I liked Aubri more than her, Quin and I were really never close, it was always awkward with her whenever we see each other at school or at family celebrations, she was always the favorite of our parents so we were always separated, she was the good and honored child while I was the ignorant and unwanted child who wanted more to live with grandparents rather than being with the parents, since its a small town, everyone knew each other and at such a young age, people always compared me to her, our age gap was only 1 year apart.

Upon arriving at the forest, Quin parked the car at the side of the road while I quickly went outside and ignored her worried naggings, taking pictures and admiring the tall trees, I immediately noticed its natural beauty, wondering why it was forbidden to enter. As we enter and walk slowly, carrying our bags full of camping things, I looked back and saw the entrance we walked was suddenly gone and was covered by the tall trees and growing plant, the path we took was fading slowly but I ignored it, I was more interested in what I will see deep in the forest but we made sure to leave traces of the path to guide us back to the road, Aubri was drawing x marks on tree's we walk pass by.

With a long walk and distance from the road, rain started to pour and had no choice but to camp already and can't go any further, luckily, we had time to prepare the tent before the night came. Time passed by, the rain stopped and it was already 8:40 pm, the campfire, foods and tent was ready and the sound of crickets, rivers and howling sound of the wind was all we can hear which made it more creepier but we replaced our fear with laugh to forget the unwanted thinking of ghosts.

To relieve our problems and awkwardness to each other, Aubri bought out a bottle of gin from her bag which she had stolen from her mothers expensive collection of different kinds of alcohol, Aubri's family was really wealthy, it was our first time to drink alcohol, it tasted really bad and it made our lungs feel a burning sensation, couldn't get used to its taste so I didn't continue drinking it. Aubri was already drunk and asleep, with the influence of the alcohol Quin asked me a question.

"Nel, do you hate me?". She asked as she forced her consciousness to stay awake which could be seen in her eyes so I answered.

"No, I don't hate you but I don't like the people around me". I said and then she smiled staring at the dark. I didn't want to answer any more questions so I just invited them to sleep but she refused.

"Are you sure?", I asked.

"Yeah".

I looked back for a last glance and I saw a tear coming out of her eyes feeling sad as continued to drink but I left her alone, I didn't know how to console a person.

It was the last conversation I had with her and was the only memory I could remember, for some reason I woke up in the morning feeling sore with a head and body ache and a lot of wounds embedding in my head, I was all alone in the forest and couldn't find the people I was with.

"QUIN!!!!".

"AUBRI!!!!".

I shouted and shouted but it felt like I was only talking to the trees, only the silence of the forest answered me.