I knew the trip was cursed the moment Kai said, "Touch grass for once," and pulled us out of the city like we'd all agreed to become wholesome people overnight. But here I was, two hours into this forced nature experience, my Jordans completely destroyed by mud, and my phone battery mocking me at 23%.
The whole thing was Kai's idea—some bullshit about "disconnecting" and "experiencing nature" before we all scattered to different cities for summer internships. Priya had been the one to actually organize it, sending out a group chat with hiking trail recommendations and a packing list that was way too thorough. And then she'd invited Levi.
Nobody had said anything when his name popped up in the chat, but I could feel the collective eye-roll through the screen. Levi was Priya's lab partner from some biology class, and apparently, she felt bad that he never did anything social. So now we were stuck with him, this nervous kid who looked like a strong breeze might knock him over, trailing behind our group like he wasn't sure he was actually invited.
'Great bonding experience, I thought bitterly as another root nearly sent me sprawling.
"Yo, Ethan, you're literally wheezing like my grandma," Zara called back, not even trying to hide her smirk. She had this habit of bouncing on her heels when she was enjoying someone else's misery. "Maybe hit the gym instead of hitting ranked all day?"
"Maybe I wouldn't be dying if someone—" I shot a look at Kai, who was somehow still looking fresh despite leading us on this death march, "—had mentioned we'd be hiking Mount fucking Everest."
"It's literally a nature trail, bro," Kai laughed, adjusting his perfectly organized backpack. Of course Mr. Pre-Med had come prepared with proper hiking boots, moisture-wicking everything, and probably a first aid kit that could handle open-heart surgery. He had this way of making everyone else feel incompetent just by being prepared. "We've been walking for like an hour."
"An hour too long," Diego muttered from behind me. At least someone else was suffering. Diego kept wiping his forehead with the same red bandana.
The group had spread out along the trail—Kai leading like some wilderness influencer, followed by Amara who was somehow making hiking look aesthetic for her Instagram story, pausing every few minutes to frame shots with her hands. Then came Zara, who kept making jokes about everything, her laugh too loud for the quiet forest. I was dying in the middle, with Diego complaining quietly to himself behind me, and Priya bringing up the rear while texting someone, probably her boyfriend back at Columbia. She had this habit of chewing her bottom lip when she was concentrating on her phone, barely watching where she was going.
And there was Levi. Always fucking Levi, trailing behind everyone else like a lost puppy, occasionally trying to contribute to conversations that would die the moment he opened his mouth. He walked with his shoulders hunched forward, like he was trying to take up less space in the world.
'Why did Priya even invite him?' I wondered for the hundredth time. 'We barely know this kid.'
"At least the weather's nice," Amara said, lowering her phone. I swear she timed it perfectly because the second those words left her lips, I felt the first drop of rain hit my forehead.
"You've got to be kidding me," I groaned.
"Amara, you absolute jinx," Zara laughed, pulling out her phone. "This is going straight to TikTok."
The rain went from zero to Noah's deluge in about thirty seconds. One moment we were dealing with a light drizzle, the next moment it was like someone dumped an ocean on our heads.
"Holy shit!" Diego yelled over the sudden roar of water, his bandana now plastered to his forehead. "Where did this come from?"
Kai was frantically checking his weather app, which was probably useless since we'd lost proper signal about twenty minutes ago. "This wasn't supposed to happen! It said sunny all weekend!"
"Weather apps are trash, bro," Zara shouted, but she'd stopped filming because her phone was getting soaked. "We need to find shelter or we're gonna catch pneumonia or some shit."
The trail had turned into a muddy river in minutes. Priya stumbled, nearly dropping her phone, and even Amara's aesthetic hiking vibes were ruined as her carefully chosen outfit got drenched.
"There!" Levi's voice cracked as he pointed through the rain. For once, he'd actually contributed something useful. "Is that a building?"
Through the wall of rain and wind, I could make out something massive looming between the trees. At first, I thought it was just a weird rock formation, but as we got closer, stumbling and slipping through the mud, it became clear we were looking at a structure.
Not just any structure. A mansion. Like, genuinely massive, with multiple wings sprawling out in different directions, towers, and more windows than I could count. The whole thing was dark stone and looked old as hell—probably built when people still used horses or whatever.
"What the..." Diego trailed off behind me.
"Who builds something like this in the middle of nowhere?" Amara asked, trying to wipe rain from her phone screen.
"Someone with serious old money," Priya said, finally looking up from her phone. She had this clipped way of speaking when she was analyzing something, all business. "This looks like it cost more than my parents' house. Times ten."
We approached what looked like the main entrance—massive iron gates hanging open, the hinges rusted into strange spiral patterns that looked almost deliberate. The gates led to a circular driveway with a fountain in the center that wasn't working, though I could swear I heard the faint trickle of water beneath the rain's roar.
The mansion loomed above us, all Gothic architecture and intimidating vibes. Up close, I could see intricate carvings in the stone around the windows—symbols or maybe just decorative flourishes, it was hard to tell through the downpour.
"Guys, maybe we shouldn't—" Levi started, but Zara cut him off.
"Shouldn't what? Die of hypothermia? Look at this place, someone's clearly home. We can ask for help."
The front porch was huge, with stone columns and enough coverage to keep most of the rain off us. We huddled together under the overhang, shivering and dripping water all over the aged stone floor.
"This is so weird," Priya muttered, wrapping her arms around herself. Her practical nature was showing through—she was the type to see problems before anyone else. "Who builds such a massive place, so far away from civilization?"
"Don't be dramatic," Kai said, but even he looked uneasy as he stared up at the mansion's dark windows. "It's probably just some rich family's estate. They might even have a phone we can use since ours aren't working."
"In the middle of fucking nowhere?" I asked. "With no roads leading to it except that hiking trail?"
'This doesn't make sense', I thought. 'Nothing about this makes sense. Who lives out here?'
The wind whipped rain under the porch overhang, making us all press closer to the massive wooden doors. The cold was cutting through our wet clothes like knives.
"Guys, I'm literally freezing my ass off," Zara said through chattering teeth. "Can we at least try to get inside? Just until this storm passes?"
"We can't just break into someone's house," Levi said quietly. For once, someone agreed with him.
"He's right," Amara added, her voice uncertain. "Isn't this what they call 'breaking and entering'? Can't we get arrested for this?"
"It's not breaking in if the door's unlocked," Diego pointed out, reaching for the ornate brass handle. "And I'd rather risk talking to whoever lives here than get soaked out here and freeze. If it's locked, we'll knock and ask for help like normal people."
The handle turned easily. Too easily, like it had been waiting for us.
Diego pushed the door open, and it swung inward with a long, low creak that sounded like something straight out of a horror movie. Beyond the threshold was darkness, but not complete darkness—I could make out the faint glow of light somewhere deeper inside, warm and flickering.
"Hello?" Amara called out, her voice smaller than usual. "Is anyone home? We're sorry to bother you, but we got caught in the storm!"
Her voice echoed weirdly in the darkness, like the space beyond the door was enormous and empty at the same time. Somewhere inside, I could swear I heard music—faint, scratchy, like an old record player.
'My heart's pounding', I realized. 'Why is my heart pounding? We're just asking for help. This is normal. People help stranded hikers all the time.'
But nothing about this felt normal.
"No one's answering," Kai said after a moment. "Maybe they can't hear us over the storm."
We hesitated for maybe ten seconds before another gust of wind drove freezing rain under the porch, soaking us all over again.
"Fuck it," Zara said, and walked through the door first. "I'm not dying out here for politeness."