> "Everything is exactly as it should be."
"The best memories are made with friends."
— Field journal, undated. 1985.
—
That morning began with brushing.
I stepped into the hall and found Sam frozen mid-step, toothbrush in hand, eyes fixed on the bathroom.
I followed his gaze.
Ray stood at the sink, back to us, scrubbing his teeth in slow, mechanical strokes...up, down, up, down, as if he'd been at it for hours.
Sam turned to me, brow knotted.
"I just saw him outside," Sam whispered.
"What?"
He pointed toward the back door. "On the porch. He waved at me."
We both looked at the window.
No one was there.
Sam didn't say anything else, but I've known him longer than the others, and if Sam says he saw it, he did.
---
I didn't sleep well the night before, but I must've drifted off again. When I woke, pale light slipped through the wooden slats. My limbs were stiff. My breath, slow.
Someone was beside me.
I turned, expecting one of the others to have crashed on the spare mattress.
It was Ray.
Lying inches from me, his body twisted into the same position I'd just been in. One arm under the pillow, one leg bent over the blanket. Eyes closed. Lips parted slightly.
His chest rose and fell in perfect sync with mine.
I lurched out of bed, knocking over a glass of water.
Ray's eyes fluttered open. He raised his head and smiled in a detached manner.
"Don't forget the hike tomorrow," he murmured, his voice hazy with sleep.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I snapped.
He blinked. Said nothing.
I stood quickly, cold sweat crawling down my neck.
I left the room, my heart pounding, and kept walking until the fear lessened, until I almost felt like myself again.
Then I bumped into Elise.
She held something in her hands, a crumpled photo, dusty at the edges, creased down the middle. She looked shaken.
"Found this behind a loose board in the living room," she whispered.
I took it from her carefully. It was one of our old group shots from the last trip.
Ray had set the camera timer and we'd all posed on the forest trail with mismatched backpacks and plastic water bottles. Sam flipped off his phone.
Lexi wore sunglasses too big for her face.
Jared was caught mid-laugh.
Everyone looked younger,
and happy.
But behind them, barely noticeable, half-hidden in the foliage… there was Ray. Bloodied. Crumpled awkwardly like a discarded puppet, half-buried in leaves. His skin was gray. One eye opened.
My fingers tightened around the photo.
"Elise… this wasn't there before."
She nodded. "I know."
Before I could say more, a scream rang out.
Sharp. Wet, and panicked.
Lexi.
We bolted toward it, nearly slipping on the wooden floor.
-----
She was on the ground, back against the wall, her feet were caked in mud, legs trembling, hair sticking to her face with sweat. She was crying..deep, gasping sobs that made her whole chest quake.
Elise dropped to the floor and pulled her close.
"Shhh. I've got you. You're safe. You're okay. What happened?"
Lexi clung to her like a child. "I—I couldn't breathe. There was dirt—in my mouth—and it was dark and I was underground and I... And something was watching me."
She gagged a little.
I crouched beside her, adrenaline making my hands feel far away. "Lexi… your feet."
She looked down, saw the mud, and broke into a fresh wave of sobs.
"How did you get mud on them?"
"I don't know how. I woke up like this. I swear I didn't go outside."
She buried her face in Elise's shoulder and cried harder.
Elise hushed her, gently rocking her side to side.
That's when I noticed Jared at the doorway, He hadn't moved since we got there, his face blank. As though he wasn't sure what role he was supposed to play anymore.
Then Ray walked in, grinning like nothing was wrong.
"Sam broke his ankle on that trail and we had to carry him back. He wouldn't stop singing that dumb Britney Spears song."
No one responded.
He stepped into the center of the room, still smiling. "Lexi, remember that crazy ghost story you told last night? About a guy who buried himself alive to escape the devil?"
He laughed a little.
Lexi went still in Elise's arms.
Jared stepped forward. "What the hell, man?"
"We should all go hiking again," Ray didn't stop. "Just like last week. Jared can carry the snacks since he always eats them before we reach the trail."
Ray's eyes drifted around the room like he was somewhere else entirely. His eyes didn't land. They wandered.
"You'll bury it deep," he added, still smiling. "Just like before."
Then he walked out.
A heavy silence followed. I looked around and saw the question in everyone's eyes.
Finally, Jared spoke, low and tense.
"What the fuck is wrong with him?"
---
I returned to the cabin later that evening.
The light was different when I stepped through the door..softer.
I blinked against the cabin's warm glow. Sam looked up from the kitchen counter, where he was slicing something, and smiled at me.
"Thanks, man. For what you said earlier… it really helped."
I froze, halfway through removing my jacket.
"What I said?"
I opened my mouth to ask more—
But Jared suddenly appeared beside me, holding a deck of cards.
"Yo," he said brightly, and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "We're doing card games before the fire. I'm making up weird rules. You in?"
I hesitated. Then nodded.
Because I wasn't sure what questions to ask anymore
---