• Chapter Three:
    It was decided, we would all come back to the entrance of the woods at midnight. It was very convenient that all of our parents were going on a two week business trip. I had taken home Johnny’s backpack.
    Before we left, Marlo said, “Mom and Dad said that they would be gone when we got home, so they won’t know a thing about Johnny.”
    “Oh yeah,” I commented, “And you all are staying at my place, remember?”
    Everyone murmured in agreement.
    Toby said, “We’ll all stop at our places then meet at Shay’s, then at midnight, we go.”
    “Why are we leaving at midnight?” Sami asked.
    I responded, “So no one will realize what is going on.”
    Then, we all split off, then I went home to Mom and Dad rushing around the house, probably packing. They gave quick ‘welcome home’ waves as they passed each other and me in the hall.
    Finally they finished, and Mom looked at me, “Why do you have Johnny’s backpack?”
    “Oh,” I said, surprised, looking at the backpack, “well, in gym, he hurt his back by being slammed into the wall by a group of kids. Since they are all coming over tonight, I offered to take it here.”
    Mom nodded, then smiled, “That’s nice, when will all of them be over again?”
    “About seven p.m., why?” I asked.
    Mom still smiled, “Oh, just checking, your father and I will be gone by then, though. It’s sad, we haven’t seen your little friends in awhile.”
    I rolled my eyes, “Mom, I’m sure they won’t mind. Besides, you need to go, your flights in an hour.”
    Mom checked her watch and screamed, “Oh God!” she raced down the hallway, “Nigel! Hurry up!”
    I plopped myself on the couch an turned on the TV. I had to look like I wasn’t up to anything. And everyone’s not going to be here for another thirty minutes. Then, I got a text message. I pulled out my phone. It was from Marlo. It read, ‘What do we need 2 bring??’
    I sent back ‘Any kind of camping supplies’.
    Mom and Dad came into the living room, luggage packed in their hands. I turned around when I heard the sound of plastic wheels rolling on wooden floors.
    “Bye Mom, Dad,” I said, “and yes, I’ll be fine.” Mom went to talk, but I cut her off, “And if I have any problems, I call the neighbors. Trust me, we’ve done this before.”
    Mom smiled, struggling to hold luggage, “Ok, honey.”
    “We love you,” Dad said, “now come on, Monica, we need to go, now.”
    Mom and Dad rushed out the door, and I was left alone. Keeping the TV on, I rushed off, grabbing Johnny’s backpack, and I went downstairs. My family used to camp a lot, so I knew that we had stuff like that. I had dumped Johnny’s school stuff on my bed so I could use it because it was bigger than my backpack. As I rushed downstairs, I kept thinking, we’re coming for you, Johnny. I was really anxious, everyone would be here in ten minutes.
    I hit the jackpot, I found a whole giant container filled with flashlights, a foldable tent, a compass, stuff to store food, anything for camping and hiking. Perfect. I stuffed all that I could in Johnny’s backpack. As I finished, the doorbell rang. Toby, Marlo, and Sami were here. I rushed upstairs and open the door.
    “Hey guys,” I greeted them as they came in. They each had a bulging backpack on their shoulders.
    “Hey Shay,” they all said, throwing their backpacks on the couch. I laughed as I set Johnny’s backpack with theirs.
    “You’re using Jonny’s backpack?” Sami asked.
    “His is a bit bigger,” I said.
    Toby sat down on the couch, “What do we do for the next six hours?”
    “Yeah,” Marlo looked at me, “Can’t we just leave now? It’ll give us a head start on finding Johnny.”
    I looked at everyone, “Don’t we need to pack food?” I asked them.
    “Packed,” the three of them answered together.
    “Oh, well I got a tent, just in case it takes a while to find Johnny,” I said, “So, what about blankets or sleeping bags?”
    “Packed them,” Sami and Marlo said.
    “I brought two giant blankets.” Toby said.
    I sighed, looking at everyone, “I guess we can go, I hope you all brought your phones, just in case we get lost. Let’s go, people.”
    Everyone grabbed their backpacks and I lead them out the door. We had to walk without flashlights so no one could see us. It was pitch black out, so I bet no one that looked out their house could see the four of us. It took an hour until we were at the entrance of the woods. The first thing everyone did was throw down the six backpacks we had brought. Marlo, who was the tall twig of the group, plopped down on the ground.
    “Man, them backpacks are heavy,” she whined. I rolled my eyes, grabbed her hand, and pulled her up. She yelped, “What the heck!”
    I laughed, “You’re really skinny, so you’re easy to pick up.”
    Toby sighed, “So, we’re actually doing this? We’re going in the woods where no one escape?”
    “We have to, Toby,” I said, “Johnny’s in there. As his best friends, we need to try to find him.” I paused, “And if we can’t find him in a week, we go to the police. Ok?”
    Everyone murmured in agreement. I sighed heavily, grabbed two of the lighter backpacks, then walked to the closest tree, then stopped.
    I turned to Sami, Marlo, and Toby, “Are you guys coming or what?” I asked them with a smiled. They got up, picked up the rest of the backpacks, and followed me into the woods. When we first went in, I seriously thought that there was a chance that we couldn’t find Johnny, or all of us will get out alive.
    The woods was very thick, I could barely see through where I shined my flashlight. Everyone clung to each other so we couldn’t get lost. Four light circles moved quickly across the woods, from the trees to the mossy ground. We were all trying to find a place to set up camp, I guess.
    “God, this is thick,” I heard Sami mutter, “I just hope Johnny’s ok.”
    I sighed, “I think he is.”
    Then, we heard a rustling noise in the bushes and trees, everyone clung to each other even more.
    “Shay,” Marlo whispered, “what was that? I’m freaking out right now.”
    I gulped, “Me too.” The noise came again, “Oh crap!” I shined my flashlight at one tree, “I think it came from over there.”
    It did, I saw a figure there at the roots of the tree. It was spread across the roots. Everyone else shot their flashlights where I did. We even all gasped. It was a girl, passed out. She had dirty blonde hair, dirty blonde meaning it was dark but blonde, and it was dirty too, spread out, on her face, and on the ground. She was wearing a dirty white t-shirt, jeans ripped at the knees, and dirty purple Converse sneakers.
    I walked closer to the girl, “Excuse me,” I poked her, “are you hurt?”
    Then, the girl’s eyes blinked up, they were bright green, “Oh God! Finally!” She tried standing up, but she seemed too weak, “Thank you! Someone finally found me!”
    I helped her up, “What’s your name?”
    “Tahlia,” the girl said, "Tahlia Johnson." she got up and I saw tears rolled down her eyes, "Please, let me come with you all. I've been in these woods alone for weeks! Please, please," I looked back at Marlo, Sami, and Toby. They all nodded.
    "Sure, you can stay with us," I smiled, and Tahlia lunged at me, I realized she was hugging me.
    "Thank you!" Tahlia cried. She followed me to the rest of the group, and we venture out futher into the woods, but this time, with an extra person.