It all began as Elio and his friends decided to go camping.
And it was a disastrous decision.
At least for Elio.
It was Saturday, and Elio was packing a small backpack with only stuff he would really need, like bug spray and such things. His mom called from downstairs, "Sweetie, your friends are here!" Elio sighed and swung the backpack over his back, taking the camping bag into his other hand, and hurried down the stairs to be greeted by the sight of his mom standing by the open door and speaking with Maxwell, one of his friends.
Maxwell smiled down at him as he arrived at the foot of the staircase. "Hi Elio." He grinned and waved at him; Elio smiled back and put on his shoes, followed by the jacket his mom gave him. "How are the others?" Elio asked Maxwell, who was the oldest of their friend group with his 20 years; naturally, he was something like an older brother to them all. Maxwell chuckled. "They're doing as fine as always." Elio sighed. "Why did I agree to this camping trip again?"
Maxwell laughed and patted his back, making Elio stumble a bit. "How should I know?" Elio rolled his eyes and ducked under his mom's attempt to kiss his cheek and followed Maxwell outside, waving to his mom. "Bye, Mom, love you!" He called and jumped into Maxwell's car, into the passenger seat, of course, since he was the only one of them with just a little bit of a sense of direction.
In the backseat, his other three friends sat. Dean, of course, sat in the middle, since he was the smallest and leanest of them all and fit there just perfectly. Jule and Amie sat on his two sides; they were currently debating about whether marshmallows belonged on burned toast. Elio didn't know why and certainly didn't want to know.
Maxwell sat down in the driver's seat and pulled out of the driveway of Elio's home. Elio waved to his mom one last time before Maxwell drove down the narrow road leading into the forest, which directly bordered their small town in Scotland.
Jule piped up from the backseat, "Maxieeee, can we listen to some music pleaseee?" They whined and looked at Maxwell with their best puppy eyes. Maxwell rolled his eyes but laughed. "Alrighty, let's bring some mood into this sad bunch of people." He laughed and turned up the radio, the car instantly filling with heavy metal rock music.
Elio sighed but didn't protest; he rather looked out the window to stare into the trees he saw way too often. He'd like to see something else besides just trees and trees and, surprise! even more trees, but their town was tiny and far away from the next big city, so they didn't have much contact with the outside world, and Elio's parents were never people to travel much. In fact, in their town, Elio often felt like the only one wanting to see something else, always aching for a place he wasn't sure existed.
He was ripped out of his daydreaming as Amie poked into his shoulder from her seat behind him. "Oi, daydreamer, pass the chips over here." Elio chuckled and tossed her the bag of chips that lay beside him. "Don't make the car messy; I wouldn't want to be bodyslammed by Max." He chuckled with a side glance towards Maxwell, who was driving.
Maxwell hummed along with the song and tapped on the steering wheel; Elio chuckled quietly and focused back on the passing trees and occasional hills.
-
They arrived half an hour later at the little clearing they had declared their camping spot; it lay near the road and was secured from rain by the giant trees and their leaves. Maxwell parked the car, and they began building up their sleeping bags and tents. Elio fought with one of the tents until Jule came by and they decided to help him. Together they managed to set it up and high-fived.
After all the tents were set up, Amie and Dean went off to gather some firewood. Elio, Maxwell, and Jule prepared their meal meanwhile.
As Dean and Amie came back, they looked rather excited. Amie was bouncing up and down on her feet, and Dean's eyes sparkled, like they always did when he had seen something of interest. "Guys! Guys! Back in the forest, there is some cool old building!" Amie squeaked and tugged at Maxwell's shirt. Elio raised an eyebrow. "An abandoned building?" he asked. Dean shook his head. "No, it looks strange; I've never seen such architecture!" He gleamed with excitement.
Elio exchanged glances with Maxwell and Jule, then Jule spoke up: "Uh, are you planning on showing us...?" They asked, and Amie nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, yes, yes! Come on!" She grabbed Jule by the hand and tugged them along, Dean leading with excited strides, and Maxwell shrugged his broad shoulders and laughed. "Well, seems like we're exploring now!" Then he followed their friends.
Elio sighed, but he ran after Maxwell and the others.
Still, he had a horrible feeling, deep down, that something terrible would happen.