New, spooky shorts! True Boos!

The story you're about to read is based on a real event. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Locations have been changed to protect the curious.

Who Goes There?

"I didn't realize there was so much driving involved in camping," Seth remarked, looking out of the passenger window of the truck, at the seemingly endless evergreen forest.

"We did say it was a backwoods camping trip," Teddi reminded him.

"And I said there'd be travel involved," added Erebus.

"I guess I didn't plan for time travel versus distance travel," Seth replied.

"Time travel?" inquired Erebus.

"Two hundred miles in a plane takes less time than in a truck," explained Seth.

"They wouldn't let me put the truck on the plane," said Erebus.

"Too bad," mused Seth, staring at the trees.

Erebus threw a grin at Teddi, seated between him and Seth, and she grinned back, shaking her blonde head.

The trio continued through the dense, Pacific Northwest forest like this for another hour before turning onto a disused, dirt fire road, and driving for almost another full hour until Erebus took an even more narrow dirt side road off the fire road, and the trees parted as if by magic, revealing a lovely vista of mountain meadows, and a serene little lake.

Erebus announced they'd reached the spot where they would make camp for the next two days.

Seth collapsed on a mossy spot, near the picturesque lake, while Erebus and Teddi built the camp around him.

"Now, this is more like it," sighed Seth, lying back against a tartan blanket draped over a mossy log, gazing at the crackling fire around which the trio of friends sat. "I could sleep right here."

"Probably not a good idea," cautioned Erebus. "Remember that puma we heard while we, while I was collecting kindling?"

"And this is bear country," added Teddi.

"And coyotes might come through here, but they're less likely to attack," mused Erebus.

"Pumas, coyotes, and bears?" asked Seth.

"Oh, my," teased Teddi.

"I'll be in the truck," said Seth, pushing away from the log. "Thanks for the fish and s'mores. Me and the plastic bag of domestic wine bid you good night."

Later that night, Teddi sat up in her sleeping bag, looking around. The interior of the back end of the truck glowed with pale blue ambient light from a battery powered penlight taped to the center of the canopy. Erebus and Seth were sleeping, the gentle slapping sounds from the lake and cricket chirps making the whole scene peaceful enough. She was about to lie down again when there was a distinct snap of a small branch from the forest side of the truck. All of her attention was laser focused on the back of the truck, waiting. After several moments, when whatever it was decided the breaking branch hadn't been heard by the occupants of the truck, footsteps approached the vehicle.

Teddi's head turned to follow where the footsteps walked, certain this wasn't any of the predators they'd teased Seth with. None of those predators would care that they broke a branch. They'd have kept walking. Well, she reasoned, a puma might pause, but she wouldn't hear a puma taking a stroll around and around the truck. Once or twice Teddi thought she heard pawing, or fumbling at the truck doors, and at the tailgate and canopy, but the vehicle was locked up tight, and whatever it was gave up.

She didn't intend to sleep, but she did doze off. And in the morning she told the guys about what happened. They would have teased her, if it weren't for the footprints that circled the truck, around and around. Bare, human footprints. And dirty handprints on the handles, doors, and windows.

"What was the name of that hotel we passed, coming up here?" asked Seth.

"Hot Springs Hideaway," said Teddi. "Sounds cozy. Had a lot of cars parked there."

"Sounds crowded," observed Erebus. "I'll drive. Everything loaded?"

Seth shook out the tartan blanket, tossing it into the back of the truck. "Loaded!"

"Fire out?" asked Erebus.

"Yep," said Teddi, as she slowly poured a bucket of lake water into the shallow fire pit they'd extinguished before turning in that night. "Just to be safe," she told him, tossing the pail to Seth, who chucked it into the back of the truck then closed and locked the tailgate and canopy.

"Hot springs, here we come," enthused Erebus, and the trio hastened to climb into the truck, leaving the serene little campsite to who, or whatever, called it home.

(Thank you to Erebus and Seth for camping out with me, and special thanks to Bailey for being our professional dresser!)

Tags:   SL Second Life virtual screenshot camp fire friend scary spooky story eerie danger true creepy

© All Rights Reserved

The story you're about to read is based on a real event. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Locations have been changed to protect the curious.

A Secret Shack

"Why are we walking so much?" complained Seth.

"Because it's a hiking trip," explained Erebus.

"You said it was a backpacking campout," countered Seth.

"Backpacking is hiking," enjoined Teddi.

"Using tricky language isn't fair," grumbled Seth. "And you said it'd be safer than the other time. How is this safer? We had the truck before."

"We'll have something else, this time," Erebus assured him, leading the way uphill on a well-worn footpath, through thick evergreens.

"An underground bunker with armed guards?" asked Seth, stopping beside Erebus at the top of the small hill.

"No. Lots of company," said Erebus.

Spread before them was a tiny cove covered with pale sand, and tanned bodies. Two or three dozen adults played volleyball, built sand sculptures, swam in the surf, or basked on the beach.

"We died on the way up that hill, and this is heaven," declared Seth.

"No, it's a private beach," clarified Erebus, pointing at a sign that read;
PRIVATE BEACH - ADULTS ONLY - CHECK IN HERE and just to the right of the sign was a comfortable looking booth where a man in board shorts with SECURITY printed on them waved them over.

"Daddy got me a beach!" Seth happily declared to Teddi.

"Don't...don't call me, daddy," said Erebus, sighing unhappily when Seth gave him a bearhug before bounding over to the security booth.

"Aww, it's so cute when he's happy," teased Teddi, patting Erebus' shoulder. "You're such a good daddy."

Erebus groaned. "I'm just trying to make up for the last trip."

"This should do it," observed Teddi, watching Seth take selfies with the amused, muscular guard.

Seth left Erebus and Teddi to set up their tents in the tidy little campground nestled in the forest on a bluff that overlooked the beach, which was accessed by descending a zigzagging wooden staircase. After they were satisfied with their campsite, Erebus and Teddi strolled down to the beach where they discovered a bohemian bar constructed from driftwood, as well as a couple musicians playing acoustic versions of beach-centric songs. Erebus and Teddi settled back on umbrella-shaded beach chairs with their colorful drinks, and watched Seth dashing around like a Golden Retriever, and they threw amused looks at each other.

As the sun set and the cove darkened, small bonfires were lighted, and the fun continued late into the night. Erebus and Teddi retired to their tents after midnight, and Seth crawled into his tent shortly before sunrise, which is why Teddi had to arrange a breakfast-in-bed tray for him. They chatted about what they wanted to do that day, and Seth immediately voted for the beach.

"I was hoping to take a little hike. The woods are so beautiful," put in Teddi.

"And the beach is so ... beachy," Seth pointed out.

"Why don't we do both?" Erebus offered a compromise. "We can hit the beach until lunch, come back to the campsite, and after we eat, we go for a walk? It'll be cooler in the woods."

"And these aren't proper hiking trails," Teddi told Seth. "They're just walking paths, nothing strenuous, and plenty of other people taking strolls."

"Well ... okay," capitulated Seth. "But after the stroll, back to the beach, right?"

"Back to the beach," agreed Teddi, grinning.

Later in the afternoon, while the three friends strolled along the well maintained path, Seth admitted this was a nice idea.

"Now, this is what I call hiking," proclaimed Seth. "I'm not even breaking a sweat."

"Where does the trail end?" asked Teddi.

"It doesn't," replied Erebus. "It just loops back around to where we started, so you can't get lost."

"Good thing," commented Seth. "I couldn't trailblaze my way out of a, Teddi?"

"Is that a simile, or a metaphor?" asked Erebus, chuckling.

"Neither, I was saying, Teddi," clarified Seth, bringing Erebus to a stop on the trail.

Erebus turned around to discover Seth had already stopped several feet back, and beyond him, he could see Teddi poking through the brush on the right side of the footpath. He walked back along the path, Seth following as he passed, until they reached Teddi.

She looked up at them, grinning. "I found a game trail!"

"What kind of game can you play out here?" asked Seth.

"I bet the two of you are related, somehow," drily observed Erebus.

"Animal trail," explained Teddi. "Deer, rabbits, all kinds of animals create these paths, usually to watering holes, or meadows." She pushed aside the bushes a little, pointing out the moderately worn, thin trail meandering into the woods.

"Cool," said Erebus. "Good eyes."

"And I have learned something for my scrapbook," added Seth, taking a picture of the game trail.

"Let's see where it goes!" suggested Teddi.

"Because getting lost and eaten by a wolverine sounds like so much fun," put in Seth.

"There aren't any wolverines around here," stated Teddi.

"Maybe a bear," offered Erebus.

"That's not helping," Teddi told Erebus. "C'mon, just a little ways?" she wheedled.

"We'll get lost," said Seth.

"It's broad daylight, and the trail is obvious," countered Teddi.

"To you, but what if you're the one who's eaten by the bear? How do we find our way out?" asked Seth, motioning at Erebus and himself.

"Okay, how about this; you and Erebus wait here while I take a quick peek?" suggested Teddi.

"Okay," agreed Seth.

"Not agreed," disagreed Erebus, giving Seth a faux punch to the shoulder. "She can't go wandering around out there, alone."

"Because she might run into a bear?" asked Seth.

"Because she might run into a man," defined Erebus.

"Ouch," said Seth, putting a hand over his heart.

"I think he means, not a nice man, like you two," inserted Teddi.

"Aww," crooned Seth, wrapping an arm around Teddi's shoulders.

"Seth can stay here, and I'll go with you," Erebus told Teddi.

"But then Seth will be alone, and what if he runs into a bad man?" worried Teddi.

"Ooo, do you think I might?" enthused Seth. Erebus and Teddi both gave him simultaneous faux shoulder punches to both shoulders. "Ow," complained Seth.

In the end, the two men followed Teddi on her game trail quest to find where the animals were going, and they'd only walked about 15 minutes before Teddi came to a sudden stop, turning to the two men with a "shush" finger to her lips before anybody said anything, then pointing into the woods.
A few yards from the game trail stood a small, nondescript shack. Covered thickly with fir needles and a few fallen branches, the roof nevertheless seemed intact. Wooden shutters covered all the visible windows, suggesting the glass was probably unbroken. Some sort of plant life was poking up between the wooden steps, and the overall appearance was that of abandonment.

"Think anybody's living there?" whispered Seth.

"Looks deserted," whispered Erebus.

"Yeah, for a long time, I think," whispered Teddi. "Hey, let's check it out!"

"Are you crazy?" both men whisper loudly, grabbing either of her arms as she takes a step toward the shack.

"So much ow at the masculine appropriation of my limbs," complained Teddi, and they released her.

"Sorry," they both apologized.

"But it's crazy to go over there," added Seth. "Maybe a homeless person is living there."

"If someone is living there, they're not homeless," Teddi pointed out. "I'll knock first, but I don't think anybody's been near it for a while. Look around, nothing's disturbed. This game trail is more walked on than anything close to the shack."

"What if it's booby-trapped?" asked Erebus.

"After this much time, an animal probably would have tripped anything external, and I'll be careful, going in," Teddi assured him. "You guys can stay here. This isn't going to take long."

"You're not going over there by yourself!" exclaimed Erebus.

"And I'm not staying out here by myself!" exclaimed Seth.

"Great! Then, we all agree we're going to check out the shack together." Teddi smiled and started cautiously for the shack while Erebus and Seth exchanged looks.

"Did she just trick us?" asked Seth.

"No, we just changed our minds," Erebus assured him. "Come on."

The the three friends approached the small shack like it was a grenade that might go off. When Teddi stepped on the first wooden step, and it gave out a long, loud creak, they all jumped back, waiting for -- something to happen. Nothing did. Teddi cautiously climbed the few steps, and with equal caution, crossed the porch to the front door. Standing to the side of the door, while the guys waited on ground level, she knocked on the door. The knock seemed to echo into the quiet depths of the surrounding forest.

"Get down," Teddi told them, as she crouched beside the door.

"Why?" asked Seth.

"In case the door has a shotgun booby-trap," she explained.

"Get down, up against the porch," Erebus instructed Seth, pointing. And the two men huddled low, against the porch.

"Here goes," warned Teddi, as she turned the handle of the door, which was more difficult than expected, due to corrosion, but the knob finally turned, the door swung inward -- and nothing happened. "Huh," remarked Teddi, rising and peeking inside. "Coast is clear," she told them. "The place is almost empty."

The trio slowly entered the dim, dusty interior of the shack. Surprisingly, except for a thick layer of undisturbed dust, and some cobwebs in corners, the space was tidy and well preserved. There was a small desk in one corner of the single room, but nothing in the few drawers.

"Well, as far as weird adventures you get us into, I'll take this one," proclaimed Seth. "Dust and cobwebs I can handle. Now, how about that beach?" he asked, clapping his hands together, and rubbing them like a stereotypical evil guy with nefarious plans.

"Beach blanket bingo it is," agreed Teddi, starting to follow them toward the door, when a small dark shape on the floor caught her eye. "Hang on." She went into the farthest corner from the door, crouching, and fiddling with something.

"What have you got?" asked Erebus, leaving Seth in the open doorway and joining Teddi.

"Padlock," she told him. "Looks like a trapdoor."

"Too bad it's locked," observed Seth. "Let's get to that beach."

"People always think about the locks, not the screws," said Erebus, producing a small pocket knife. He set work unscrewing the bolts holding the plate with the loop through which the padlock was threaded.

"Neither of you have seen Evil Dead, I'm guessing?" asked Seth. "Nothing good comes out of trapdoors in backwoods shacks."

"You're not at all curious to know what's down there?" asked Teddi.

"Not in the slightest. Either it was dangerous, because there's a lock on it. Or it was valuable, because there's a lock on it."

"This cabin's been empty for years," observed Teddi. "If there was something dangerous down there, it's dead. If there's something valuable down there, nobody's come back to get it, so I call finders keepers."

"What if it's a zombie?" queried Seth, his worry growing with each screw Erebus freed. "Or a demon?"

"If it's a demon, shouldn't there be crosses holding this shut?" argued Teddi, smiling.

"Could be a holy padlock," countered Seth. "Maybe it was dipped in holy water, or blessed by a priest."

"Let's hope it's a zombie," put in Erebus, setting aside the last screw. "Everybody ready to run?"

"Ready!" replied Teddi, with an eager grin.

"Like I have a choice," complained Seth.

Erebus slowly lifted the heavy trapdoor, its rusted hinges complaining at being used after however long it had been since it was locked. The dark rectangle showed nothing until Erebus used his mobile phone to illuminate the area. Dust filtered down the short shaft, revealing a wooden ladder in the shaft.

"I'll go first." Erebus volunteered before Teddi could climb in. Teddi made a disappointed sound, but allowed the tall man to climb down first. His head was barely a foot below the surface when he reached the bottom. "There's a door down here. Just a deadbolt on it. Hang on." There was a squeaking sound, then a sharp clack. "Got it open. Going inside."

"Me too!" Teddi started into the the hole.

"Hang on," Erebus stopped her. "Let me make sure there's room in here, and that this hole isn't going to collapse on us, okay?"

"Fine," grumbled Teddi, standing on the ladder, waiting. She looked over at Seth, still standing in the doorway. "Aren't you coming?"

"Oh, hell no," he retorted.

"What the hell?" came a query from Erebus, his voice sounding strange.

"What's wrong?" asked Teddi. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just, this room. It's ... weird. Seems solid enough, though."

"I'm coming down," announced Teddi, descending the ladder and stepping through the door into -- a living room! "It's a living room!" she exclaimed, looking around at the mobile phone lighted room.

The space was as large as the shack above it, also heavily laden with dust, clearly untouched for years. If the space had been above ground, or in a modern daylight basement, it would have appeared perfectly ordinary, with its wallpaper, carpeting, sofa and easy chair, and even a radio and television on a stand. But here, under this shack in the forest, it was creepy.

"Wait, go back a little," directed Teddi, as Erebus was shining the flashlight around. "What's over there? Against that wall?"

Erebus slowly panned the light back to 3 shapes on the floor. "Looks like ... mattresses, I think?"

"What's down there?" came Seth's voice, clearly from right above the access shaft.

"It's a living room," Teddi told him.

"What?"

"You heard me, a living room. Like, for a regular house," she explained. "But there are mattresses down here, too. Three of them." As she spoke, she and Erebus moved closer to the mattresses.

"Sounds like someone was living out here," remarked Seth. "Must have put the padlock on the trapdoor so their stuff wasn't stolen."

"Maybe," allowed Erebus. "What's that stuff on top of the mattresses?" he asked Teddi, who crouched beside the uncovered mattresses.

"Cloth," she replied. "It's not bedding." She brushed at one of the piles. "Clothes!" she exclaimed. "It's a nightgown! And there's one on the next bed, too. And pajamas on the last bed! These are all kids' pajamas!"

"Oh, crap," said Erebus. "Do you think --?"

"They're brand new," interrupted Teddi. "They still have tags on them, and they're just laid out. Like they were set up for someone to wear."

"Creepy," said Seth, from directly behind Erebus, causing the man to jump, and the light flashed around for a moment.

"Don't DO that!" cried Erebus.

"Erebus, shine the light down here," commanded Teddi, pointing at the first nightgown. "There's something stuck on the front of it." She brushed at the area. "It's a nametag. You know, like when you're at a party, so people know who you are. This one says, Aurora."

"What about the others?" asked Erebus.

Teddi moved to the other mattresses, brushing away the dust. "Sneewittchen," she read, slowly sounding it out. "That can't be a name." She moved to the last mattress. "Rip VW," she read.

"Death of a Volkswagen?" asked Seth.

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Teddi, jumping up. "Fairytales!"

"What?" asked Erebus.

"Look at the nightgowns!" Teddi grabbed his hand, directing the light. "The first is pink, and the name is, Aurora. That's the Grimm fairytale, The Sleeping Beauty! The next one is a yellow gown with blue trim!"

"Sneaky Witch?" asked Seth.

"No, Sneewittchen. That must be the name of another princess."

"And the dead VW?"

"Rip VW," she told him. "Rip van Winkle, the guy who slept for a hundred years! Don't you see? These are all fairytales about people sleeping! I'm not sure about Sneewittchen, but it must be another sleeping princess"

"But, why the kids' jammies?" asked Erebus.

Teddi slowly looked around the room. "I don't know. I can't tell if anything ever happened here, but I think somebody was planning something. Something horrible."

"And we are leaving now, right?" asked Seth, backing toward the open door.

"We are leaving so fast," agreed Teddi. "We need to report this." She laid a hand on Erebus' arm. "Please take pictures of everything. I want to make sure they believe us, and just in case someone moves anything before the cops get here, I want them to see this."

The three friends closed everything up again then fled the silent, anonymous shack.
They reported what they'd found to the beach security guard, and he contacted local authorities.
The little cove lost its appeal to them, and the friends returned home.
They followed the story about the mysterious shack in the woods, and they were happy that their names were kept out of it. They also noticed that the resort so close to it wasn't named.
Police determined that, although the setting was suspicious, nothing seemed to have happened there. No children were reported missing in the area.
They also cleared up the mystery of the name, Sneewittchen. Apparently, that was Snow White's original name.

Teddi closed her laptop and looked across the table of their favorite bar, at her friends. "Let's hope something terrible happened to whoever set up that shack, and that's why it was never used."

Erebus raised his glass. "To bad things happening to bad people."

"Here, here," agreed Seth.

And three glass clinked together.

(Special thanks to Bailey for my outfit and hair! I look cute while I'm terrified thanks to her! lol)

Tags:   SL Second Life virtual screenshot spooky creepy true story camping hiking friend eerie chilling summer shack woods scary

© All Rights Reserved

The story you're about to read is based on a real event. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Locations have been changed to protect the curious.


The three friends sat at the roadside diner table, simultaneously yawning.

"Okay, that's it," announced Erebus. "I'm going to be the voice of reason and say we throw in the towel for the night."

"C'mon it's -- only -- sixty-ish mi-- miles," Teddi's argument devolved into another huge yawn. "Yeah, okay, I'll find a campground."

"No, no, no," Seth complained. "Not out here, in the middle of banjoland nowhere. That never works out for us."

"It's not like we're going to find a Hilton, honey," Teddi commiserated.

A redhead in the booth behind them piped up. "Maybe not a Hilton, but there's a little place about two miles up Highway 2 that's not bad." She left her booth, coming around to the end of their table. "It's cheap, but it's clean. My sister, Bonnie works the front desk." She pointed at the name plate on her waitress uniform. "I'm Connie. You tell her I sent you and told her to give you the best rooms she's got." She gave them a big smile and a little wave. "Be safe out there." Then she left the diner.

"We can just grab a campsite and crash for a few hours then head out again," Erebus reasoned.

"But showers, and big beds, and cable--"

"Oh, my," Teddi interrupted Seth's whine.

"Meanie," Seth pouted.

"No, I was talking about the nearest campground. We should definitely check it out! Look!" Teddi enthused, holding out her phone toward the guys. "It's by a lake, and it looks super clean, and there's a museum!" Her eyes twinkled.

"One of those little roadside attraction things?" asked Erebus, taking her phone and flipping through the images. "That could be fun."

"Save me from quaint--" Seth began.

"But Seth's right. Let's grab a place where we can shower and fall asleep watching reruns," Erebus interrupted, handing the phone back to Teddi.

"Two against one, and the lady pays for dinner," Seth celebrated.

"Boys suck," Teddi pouted, leaving the table to pay at the cash register.

"Some do, some don't," Seth agreed, smiling at Erebus. "So, why did Daddy vote my way?"

"I'm not your daddy, and I saw what kind of museum it has," Erebus replied, lowering his voice. "It's for Native American artifacts."

Seth frowned. "You have a problem with Native American artifacts?" He gasped comically, and his eyebrows raised. "Daddy, are you racist?"

Erebus eyed him with a helter-skelter stare. "The artifacts are from the area," he explained. "Because there's a legend that there was an Indian burial ground somewhere by the lake."

"I promise to be a good boy for the rest of the night," Seth promised, crossing his heart. "You're my hero."

"You're making him soft," Teddi complained, hearing the last thing Seth said, as she returned to the table. "Let's go get the two of you tucked into your comfy hotel rooms. I sure hope they have courtesy blow dryers for you." She sauntered away and the two men followed, smiling.

Only a few minutes later, Seth exclaimed, "There's the sign!" He pointed to the right side of the dark road and Erebus slowed the car, turning off the road.

"Why isn't the sign on?" Erebus wondered. "I almost missed it."

"They might have forgotten," Teddi suggested. "Sometime you think you do a thing, but you didn't do a thing. We can let them know when we check in."

"Oh, well this isn't too bad," Seth observed, as they rolled into the sparsely occupied lot of a small, but tidy, single story hotel. "Looks like they might have a lighting issue in general," he joked, pointing at the sign over the office that said, HIGHWAY 2 HOTEL, but the O and T were burned out.

After parking at the office, they exited the car, stretching. "Just get two rooms," Erebus called after Teddi, who was bouncing toward the office. "We need to save money."

In reply, without looking back, Teddi waved two fingers above her head to indicate she heard him. The office turned out to be more brightly lighted than it appeared from outside, due to the blinds being closed, and Teddi was glancing around the clean little space when a redhead came out of the back office.

"Connie?" she questioned, surprised.

The redhead beamed as Erebus and Seth entered the office. "Hello. No, my name is, Bonnie, but it sounds like you met my twin sister. And from the way you're all looking at me, I'm betting she didn't tell you we're twins." She laughed lightly. "I don't know if she does that because she doesn't think it matters, or she likes playing jokes on folks."

"You're right, she didn't tell us," Erebus agreed.

"Connie said we should mention that she sent us--" Seth began.

"And I'm supposed to give you the best rooms I've got, right?" Bonnie laughed again. "Well, all the rooms are identical so I guess they're all the best I've got. The good thing about that is, they're all pretty nice." She pointed at an open register. "Go ahead and sign in. How many rooms do you need?"

"Two," Erebus told her, and Teddi held up two fingers.

Each of them took turns signing in. "And who gets the keys?" Bonnie asked.

"One for me, and one for them," Teddi chirped.

"Here you go," Bonnie slid a key to Teddi and one to Seth. "Now comes the tricky part, I hope you nice folks carry cash or checks, because our machine is down. Some kind of weird power problem in the area.

"Oh, I was going to mention, your road sign is off," Teddi told her, looking in her wallet for cash.

"It's on," Bonnie said. "It's just the power glitch. Boyd, down at Public Works, said they'd see about it tomorrow. Probably got all the customers I'm going to get tonight, anyway."

After paying Bonnie with communal cash, the trio bid her good night and parked the car in front of the room where Teddi was staying, the guys had the room right next door. They all looked inside Teddi's room and the consensus was that it was spartan, but clean, and just fine for an overnighter. They agreed upon a time to hit the road, parting company for the night.

Teddi showered (briefly noting there was no bathroom door and assuming that, since it was a single room, who was going to be embarrassed), changed into a t-shirt and gym shorts, settling in to watch late night talk shows until she fell asleep, grinning now and then at the comical banter of the guys, in their room. She hoped they didn't annoy the other people occupying rooms on the opposite side of theirs. As things quieted down and Teddi settled back to sleep, something disturbing happened.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

She turned her head, looking at the dark rectangle of the bathroom doorway.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

She sighed, getting up and slipping on her flip flops, going into the bathroom to check on the leak.

Drip. Drip. Drip. It was in the shower, the tile walls amplifying the sound. She fiddled with knobs, the shower head, and nearly asked Erebus to come take a look, but the silence from their room suggested they were already asleep. She finally folded the towel she'd used into a thick square, setting it under where the drops were landing. The drips became plips and she was satisfied they wouldn't wake her. She went back to bed.

Splat. Splat. Splat.

Teddi woke and glanced at her phone. It was just past midnight. She'd dozed off during a late show, and for some reason, the TV was off. She fiddled with the remote, but it wouldn't turn on. She sighed and got up, going into the bathroom.

Splat. Splat. Splat. The towel in the shower was completely waterlogged, the drops raining into a towel swamp. Splat. Splat. Splat.

"You win," she told the shower, changing into sweatpants and a sweatshirt, taking one of the pillows, her phone, and her purse, and going out to the car. She quietly got into the back seat, closing the door so that it made the faintest click, locked it, then made herself comfortable for the night.

Whispering. The sound of shoes on concrete.

Teddi woke up, reaching down to her phone, on the floorboards, poking it and seeing it was nearly two A.M. What had wakened her? Then she heard it, whispers, and footsteps clearly trying to be sneaky. The only reason she'd heard them was because her windows were cracked to prevent the glass from fogging up, revealing the car had an occupant. She slowly raised her head from the pillow, looking out the side windows then catching movement between the car and her hotel room door.

Bonnie was standing outside the door whispering with two large men. Each man carried a duffel bag, and one held out a fat manila envelope to Bonnie. She took the envelope then used a master key to unlock the door to the room where Teddi was supposed to be sleeping, walking away!

Peeking over the back seat, Teddi watched the men enter her room, and a moment later they hurried out, chasing down Bonnie, whispering loudly to her while she tried to quiet them. Teddi heard part of what Bonnie told the men.

"--must be with those guys," as she gestured toward the room shared by Erebus and Seth.

The men seemed aggravated, and the trio went into Bonnie's office.

Teddi turned off the interior light of the car before cautiously opening a door, slipping out, leaving it ajar, and sneaking to the room where Erebus and Seth slept. She tapped on the door, getting no response. She texted Seth, Bad men here. We need to RUN! And after a moment she heard Whitney Houston, inside the room, belt out, "And Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii eeIiiiii will always love youuuuu!"

"Are you serious?" came Erebus' sleepy, annoyed voice. "Put that thing on vibrate!"

"It's from Teddi," Seth told him, clearly yawning.

Teddi began frantically tapping on the door again, trying to keep it quiet enough not to alert Bonnie, or the men with her.

"What's it say -- who's at the door? Where are you going?" Erebus' questions followed what was happening inside the room and Seth suddenly yanked open the door, Teddi shoving him back inside, closing and locking the door behind her.

"Look at my face! No time to explain. Grab your stuff and we need to run!" she told them.

Nearly an hour later, huddled together in an office in the nearest small town, the three friends sipped coffee, watching as officers passed the window, glancing in at them, talking, dispersing, returning, and finally the sheriff entered the room.

"Well, we believe your story," he said to Teddi.

"Did you get them?" she asked.

"No, there was nobody there when we got there," he told her. They had a generator hooked up for the lights, and they were stealing cable, that's why you had TV to watch, but there were only two rooms set up for tourists.

"But, all the cars," Seth remarked.

"Yeah, we're running the plates," said the sheriff. "None of the other rooms were occupied."

"What about Bonnie, and her sister, Connie, the waitress from the diner?" asked Erebus.

"Sorry, but that diner's run by Jim and Cathy Nelson, nice folks," the sheriff told Erebus. Cathy remembers a redhead dropping in now and then, dressed like a waitress, and just figured she worked in town and stopped in on her way to or from work. Never regular enough to get familiar with her, y'know."

"So, she and her sister set us up for -- what? A robbery?" Seth suggested.

"I don't think there were two women," the sheriff said. "I think this one woman, whatever her name really is, pretended to be Connie, then Bonnie. You were set up, but I don't think it was for robbery," he didn't finish, glancing at Teddi.

"Oh, my god! You think they were going to kidnap Mommy?" exclaimed Seth.

"Mommy?" the sheriff asked.

"Inside joke," said Erebus, slipping an arm around Teddi's shoulders.

"They went to Ms. Beres' room, probably paid to go in --" the sheriff broke off. "I don't know what they planned, but it's a good thing you weren't in there when they showed up," he told Teddi. "The three of you can go. We've got your information. I'll be in touch, when we have anything to tell you."

After the sheriff left, Teddi looked at Erebus. "I guess that sign was right after all."

"What?" asked Erebus.

"With the burned out O and T...that made it the HWY 2 HEL." They all looked around at each other.


Time passed, the redhead and the men were never found. The cars belonged to people who'd been reported missing, but no one ever found their bodies.
So, be careful out there. And if someone suggests a nice place to stay, just off the main highway, have another cup of coffee, and keep driving.

(Thank you to Bailey for making me look cute, and scared, and thank you to Erebus and Seth for helping me with the horror.)
Taken at Teddi Towne, where summer is truly endless. Tourists are welcome.
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hawaiian%20Islands/196/236/21

Tags:   SL Second Life virtual screenshot scary true creepy eerie story police friend danger hotel

© All Rights Reserved

The story you're about to read is based on a real event. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Locations have been changed to protect the curious.

Almost Hitched

Seth opened the door of his apartment, saw Erebus and Teddi standing there, and he closed the door in their faces. When they knocked on the door again, Seth opened the door, again.

"No," said Seth, closing the door in their faces, again.

"Aww, c'mon, Seth! You're part of the group!" wheedled Teddi, knocking again.

Seth opened the door. "I will never go camping with either of you again. It's like you're jinxed."

"But this isn't camping," said Teddi. "It's glamping."

Seth squinted at her. "Is that pervy-talk? Because I'm not saying count me out, I just need more specifics."

Teddi giggled. "No, it's short for 'glamorous camping'. And if that's not you, I don't know what is."

Well, I am glamorous," admitted Seth.

Teddi nodded, sharply elbowing Erebus, and giving him "a look."

"You are definitely glamorous," sighed Erebus.

"But I do not do tents," declared Seth.

"No tents," promised Teddi, crossing her heart.

A day later, Erebus was stopping his SUV in front of a gated checkpoint over which hung a sign; ALLURING ACRES.

"Well, that's promising," admitted Seth.

"Enjoy yourselves," said the guard, pressing a switch, opening the electronic gates, allowing Erebus to drive inside.

"You brought me to a trailer park?" Seth accused Teddi, glaring out the window at the half circle of trailers facing a picturesque little lake, or long, oversized pond. "Turn around." Teddi turns in the front passenger seat, looking back at him. "No, I mean, turn this car around and take me someplace nice."

"Seth, relax, take a deep breath, and look again," she told him, as they pulled up to the trailer they'd been assigned to.

Seth looked petulant, but he took a deep breath, looked outside, and forgot to exhale for a moment, then he almost squealed. "Oh, my god! Look at it! Look at the lights! Look at the bar! Look at the spa!" He looked at Teddi and she could have sworn he had tears in his big blue
eyes. "There's a spa, Mommy."

"No," scolded Erebus. "Do not call her, mommy."

"Yes, Daddy," said Seth happily, bounding out of the SUV before Erebus could correct him.

"He only does that because you let him get away with it, you know," Erebus told Teddi. "You spoil him."

"That's because he's our only child," quipped Teddi, sliding out of the SUV.

"He's not -- " But Erebus can't finish his contradiction because the door closes between them, and he sighs again, getting out.

Alluring Acres lived up to its name. The trailers were sumptuous, with tip-outs that made the living room and bedroom areas almost as large as rooms you'd find in houses. Between the trailers, gauzy curtains hung from frameworks where dining spaces glowed under fairy lights.

Canoes were pulled up on the grassy bank of the lake, the surface of which was unmarred, save for a line of buoys anchored across the midway point. A sign on the banks noted that swimming and canoeing beyond the buoys was prohibited because the far side of the lake was private property.

Behind the trailers was a boardwalk, and all along this wooden walkway were lined a bar, a spa, a bath house, a restaurant, and an indoor arcade.

"I'm sorry I doubted you for even a second," Seth apologized to Teddi and Erebus that evening, as he lounged on a comfortable sofa which encircled a lovely little raised fire tray. "Glamping was made for me." Raising his fruit-and-umbrella filled cocktail glass to them, he toasted, "To the best --" pausing at a look from Erebus, he grinned. "Friends I ever had," he finished, taking a long sip from his drink then sighing happily.

"Looks like somebody's set up camp on the other side of the lake," observed Teddi, from where she lounged on the circular sofa.

On the far side of the little lake, a campfire flickered beside a domed tent that glowed from within. Nothing else was obvious due to distance and darkness.

"Looks lonely," commented Seth.

"Looks like my kind of camping," remarked Erebus.

"So, you'll be sleeping out here, on the ground, not in the cushy trailer with the super soft beds?" asked Teddi.

"Didn't say that," replied Erebus, causing Teddi and Seth to grin at each other.

The following morning, all of the various campers rose at whatever time they felt was right for them. With the restaurant only a few yards away, they could have breakfast at their whims. The arcade and grassy beach entertained kids, and all was right with their world, aside from a few
missing items from some of the outdoor spaces between the trailers.

Teddi joined the guys, who were lounging on the beach. "That's the sixth guest I talked to who had something missing this morning," she announced, settling into the empty chair they'd saved for her. "I think we officially have a camp thief."

"I told you I didn't misplace my sunglasses," Seth remarked, sipping his massive, fruit-laden drink. "Thank goodness they were my outdoor pair. If they were my Ray-Ban Meta Skylers, I'd be shrieking." He gently petted the frame of the sunglasses he sported like they were a fuzzy pet.

"It's only some small stuff, but the Camp Director suggested that everyone keep their things locked up until they figure out what or who's doing it," Teddi continued.

"What's doing it?" asked Seth.

"They don't know yet," said Teddi.

"No, you said 'what.' What did you mean by that? If it's not a who, what else could it be?" Seth gasped, lowering his sunglasses as he gaped at her. "Mommy, did you bring me to a haunted glamp?"

"The camp's not haunted, and don't call her, mommy," scolded Erebus.

"Not ghosts, critters," grinned Teddi. "Raccoons, bears, that sort of thing."

"Oh, that's all?" Seth settled back on his lounge chair. "I handle bears all the time." He sipped his drink while Teddi and Erebus exchanged grins. "Ahoy, boy! Hotness on the horizon!" whispered Seth.

Teddi and Erebus followed his gaze, and it was easy enough to spot what caught his attention. A lean, muscular young man was crossing the beach accompanied by a Victoria's Secret-worthy young woman. They both sported cutoff jeans shorts, and the young woman wore a bikini top that
accentuated more than it concealed.

"Huh?" Erebus was startled when a beach towel landed on his lap. He looked over at Teddi.

"For the drool, sweetie," she said demurely.

Shade suddenly covered them, their view of the attractive couple blocked out by the prodigious width of the Camp Director who brought the trio good news. A raccoon was caught trying to get into the kitchen of the restaurant, and they were sure it was the culprit. They managed to get
it into a portable kennel and planned to release it some distance from the camp. He moved on to spread the good news.

"Well, mystery solved, gang. What are our plans, now?" asked Erebus.

"Arcade?" suggested Teddi.

"Spa?" suggested Seth, at the same time. He and Teddi stuck out their tongues at each other.

"Hi!" a perky female voice drew their attention aside, and they discovered the attractive young couple approaching them. They'd clearly been to the restaurant because the young woman waving with her left hand held a pancake-wrapped breakfast sausage on a stick, in her right hand.

"Hello," Erebus greeted.

The young man with her stepped forward. "Sorry about interrupting. I'm Chris, that's my sister, Tammy." Everyone introduced themselves. "We're camping over there." He pointed toward the tent on the far side of the small lake. "Harry lets us hang out when we're in the area. He's a great
guy," he explained, referring to the Camp Director.

"People who stay here are usually families, or old folks," Tammy cheerfully chirped. "When I saw you guys I told Chris we had to say hi. We hardly ever get to meet people our age, who aren't local."

"I love the country," Erebus told her. "I could live out here for the rest of my life."

"Could you?" asked Tammy, head tilting.

"Hey, we were just about to go over to the arcade," Teddi interposed. "You two want to hang out for a while? We'll tell you why you'd hate the city, and you can tell us why we'd hate the country."

Chris looked at Tammy and she nodded. "Sure, we don't have anything else to do right now."

"But ... spa," whined Seth.

"He okay?" asked Tammy, nibbling her breakfast.

"No, not at all," said Erebus, getting up.

"Honey, you hit the spa and I'll be there after I beat Erebus at every game he thinks he's good at, okay?" Teddi leaned over, kissed Seth's cheek, then hopped out of her lounge chair, strolling away with Erebus, Tammy, and Chris.

Later, when Teddi joined Seth in the natural hot spring baths, she told him all about how nice Tammy and Chris were, and that they'd been invited to their campsite that evening for hot dogs and s'mores.

"Mommy, you will have to drag me from paradise, and I promise you, I will kick and scream like a toddler," Seth promised from under his cucumber eye covers.

"Daddy's right, I do spoil you," Teddi commented, flipping water at Seth.

"Game on!" cried Seth, flinging the cucumber slices to the left and right as he pounced on Teddi, who shrieked, before their wrestling match turned into a waterfight free-for-all.

"So, right about now, Seth's having a ginger oil massage," Teddi finished explaining Seth's absence as she and Erebus roasted hotdogs over the campfire at Chris and Tammy's campsite. She yawned. "'Scuse me."

"I thought ginger oil was only used for cooking," said Tammy.

"Oh, no, the massage therapist is a hottie ginger guy who uses oil," Teddi clarified. "This cocoa is great, by the way," she complimented Tammy.

"I think things just taste better when they're made from scratch," Tammy told her.

"Hey, is that a trailer?" asked Erebus, peering into the dense undergrowth near the campsite. "I've been trying to make it out, and I can't tell if it's a camper shell, or a horse trailer, maybe?" He yawned. "'Scuse me."

"That's Daddy's honeymoon trailer," Tammy explained.

"Oh? Did your parents camp here on their honeymoon? That's sweet," Teddi observed, covering another yawn.

"It's where he stays when he gets hitched," Chris said, watching Teddi.

"Trailer hitched," Teddi giggled.

"Teddi!" Erebus scolded through a yawn. "That's not funny."

"Oh, it's okay," Tammy assured him. "Daddy does get hitched a lot. That's a fact."

"He's going to love you," Chris told Teddi, as she yawned again.

"Is he joining us?" Teddi asked, blinking to clear the fog settling over her vision.

"He's already here," Tammy chirped. "He's just waiting in the trailer until it's time."

"Time for -- what?" Erebus yawned, his eyes going from his cup of cocoa to Teddi's.

"Time for bed, I think," Teddi said. "Can't keep my eyes open." She started to rise, toppling over into Chris' arms. "Whoops! Lost my footing." She yawned again.

Erebus rose from his camp chair, staggering. "Let her go," he ordered Chris, brandishing the hotdog.

Chris smirked. "What are you going to do with that? Feed me?"

"Nah," said Erebus, jamming the hotdog into the campfire, setting it alight. "Gonna brand you," and he swiftly jabbed the flaming dog against Chris' bare chest, causing Chris to holler in pain, dropping Teddi.

Erebus reached for Teddi, but Chris tackled him to the rocky shore, punching him repeatedly. Erebus was groggy, realizing he and Teddi were drugged. Teddi crawled over to the two men fighting, stabbing Chris in the backside with the short tines of her hotdog skewer.

"Argh!" hollered Chris, kicking Teddi away from him.

"Daddy!" screamed Tammy, running toward the mostly-hidden trailer as Chris stood up, delivering a kick to Erebus' side.

There was a mostly unintelligible scream as Seth, who'd decided to join his friends only to find them being attacked, came running into the firelight. Surprised by the raucous arrival, Chris turned and got a face full of Fox Labs 5.3 pepper spray Seth kept on his keychain. Chris gurgled, clutching at his eyes, stumbling backward and falling into the fire. He screamed in pain, rolling out of the fire, and rolling around on the ground.

"Come on! Come on!" Seth urged, dragging Teddi by one arm and shoving Erebus with his foot. "These psychos are psycho!" He originally thought he could get them back around the lake, but a guttural growl and heavy steps made him glance aside.

There was something that looked like the back end of an Airstream trailer tucked into the dense undergrowth, and something was coming out of the side, long-limbed, large, seeming misshapen somehow.

"Chris!" shrilled Tammy, rushing to her brother to help him extinguish the flames.

Seth slapped Erebus hard. "Wake up, Daddy! I need your help!" He shoved Erebus toward a rowboat on the beach then dragged Teddi into the water, splashing her face. "Game on!" he shouted at her, and she flailed drunkenly at him, which he used to push her into the boat.

"Daddy! He's taking your bride!" screamed Tammy, charging Seth.

He waited until he was a few feet away then sprayed her liberally in the eyes and open mouth. "Gen Z," he remarked, shaking his head as she collapsed, shrieking.

There was something crashing through the undergrowth, toward the beach, and Seth didn't think it was wise to look back. When Erebus helped him clear the boat from the beach, he shoved him into it, climbed in, settled, and started to row. This made him face the beach they'd just left, and the weird, distorted shadows around the edges of the campsite made him pull at the oars like Nessie just rose from the deep, seeking human sushi.

A crowd of glampers gathered on the opposite beach, wondering what all the screams, shouts, and profanity was about. They helped Seth beach the rowboat and get Erebus and Teddi onto the beach, some calling cops, others calling for fire and medical aid. Sitting between his friends, a hand on each of their shoulders, Seth stared across the lake as Chris and Tammy staggered into the shadows, and one of the shadows seemed to embrace them with freakishly long arms.

The following weekend, the trio was at Seth's place, Teddi and Seth cuddled together on his sofa under a down comforter watching Queen B&B (a sitcom about drag queens operating a B&B), Erebus bringing them a giant bowl of popcorn to share.

"The police still haven't found Chris, Tammy, or their dad," said Erebus, relaxing in an armchair with his separate bowl of popcorn. "And they've found eleven graves, so far, in the barn."

"My gosh!" squeaked Seth.

"A whole family of serial killers," said Teddi, with a grimace.

"The detective I spoke with seemed to think only their dad was the killer. The kids would drug the victims, always female, and feed them to their dad," said Erebus, watching the show and munching popcorn, apparently not seeing the slow turn Teddi and Seth gave him.

"Feed them?" echoed Teddi.

Erebus nodded. "All the male corpses were intact, necks broken like twigs. But there were obvious human-like chew marks on the female bodies. The teeth were apparently huge, possibly filed to points, but they seem sure they're human."

Teddi looked at Seth. "You're a hero, Seth. You saved our lives!" She suddenly hugged him tightly and gave him several kisses on the cheek.

"Oh, eww, Mommy cooties!" Seth faux protested.

"Oh, yeah, we'd definitely be in that barn if it wasn't for you, Seth," Erebus agreed, stretching his legs out on the ottoman. "You did real good, Son." He ate more popcorn, still watching the show.

Teddi and Seth looked at each other with open mouths, then they both grinned and hunkered under the comforter, watching the show.

(Thank you to Erebus and Seth for agreeing to be scared, and special thanks to Bailey for the way I look, even though you mostly can't see my cute outfit as Seth hustles us to safety, and the trailer, and the swampy foresty stuff.)

Tags:   Second Life SL virtual screenshot scary spooky eerie true creepy danger camping friend

© All Rights Reserved

The story you're about to read is based on a real event. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Locations have been changed to protect the curious.

Blues In the Night

"But I've been planning this hike for a month," Teddi complained, plopping on her sofa beside Seth, who was applying polish to his toenails.

"Dearest heart, land lightly!" Seth cautioned her. 'There is art in progress."

"I am so sorry, baby girl. You know I'd rather be in the woods with you, but I can't get off," Erebus apologized again.

"And that sentence, taken out of context, sounds so stalker-adjacent," remarked Seth conversationally, blowing on his toes.

"Seth, be a man and volunteer to go with me in Erebus' place," Teddi ordered Seth.

"Definitely a man, definitely not going with you on your freaky forest tour," Seth declined. "These feet are for delicate nibbles, not monster chomps."

"There aren't any monsters in Dash Point," argued Teddi.

"Then why are they dashing around, if you get my point?" countered Seth. "Besides, I have a date. Why do you think I'm primping?"

"You've always got a date," Teddi debated. "Why can't you pass on this one?"

"Because 1, I will not be tart-shamed and 2, I don't wanna. I will not be dragged by my frillies into some terrifying near-death experience, again." Seth held up a hand when Teddi began to open her mouth. "End of conversation."

Erebus leaned over the couch, kissing Teddi's cheek. "Next weekend, baby girl, even if I have to call out sick, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, watching him leave her apartment. Then, her eyes fell on Seth. "Well, if nobody's going to go hiking with me, I'm going to a movie. So, pack up your toes and go back to your place."

"But, I'm still drying," Seth complained, waving at his feet. "I'll just lock up when I leave, okay?"

"I should say, no, but okay," Teddi elbowed him. "You suck for being such a baby. I'm going to bring you back a souvenir binky."

Ignoring Seth making "baby sucking on binky" noises after her, Teddi grabbed her purse, keys, and swept out of the cozy apartment. Once she was inside her little Isa Cabrio she looked in the rear view mirror, smiling at all the camping supplies she'd loaded earlier, in anticipation of the overnight hike with Erebus.

"Who needs boys?" she asked herself, slipping on her large, pink sunglasses. "Girl power!" And she drove out of the parking lot, heading for the Dash Point Coastal Trail, Cyndi Lauper singing about girls wanting to have fun, on the radio.

The trail was everything Teddi hoped for; deep woods on one side, the roar of the Pacific on the other side, and wide, smooth trails that didn't tax her as she packed in. And, as a bonus, portable toilets every hundred yards or so, none of them close enough to the campsites to make them smelly, but near enough for a midnight run.

As the long afternoon wore on to early evening, she began looking for campsite. Other hikers had the same idea, many already setting up their various tents and kindling fires in the designated pits. She observed that AmazeOne must have had a sale on blue tents, because almost every other campsite that was occupied seemed to have an identical, blue-domed tent.

Eventually, she found a small site on the inland woods side of the trail rather than the strand of trees separating the trail from the ocean. While she wanted to camp on the ocean side, she decided the strong winds might rattle around her tent enough to disturb her sleep, so she opted for a tidy little spot just big enough for tiny, inflatable pink tent, and a cozy fire, setting up for the night.

After a dinner of PB&J sandwiches and water, Teddi snuggled into her tent to listen to an old, Sherlock Holmes radio play. Pausing the play for a moment, she unzipped the breathable mesh doorway to check on the status of the fire, planning to bank it for the night. A blue glow caught her eye and she could make out the hump of another of the dome tents she'd already spotted, possibly 3 campsites away from hers. Lit from within by a moderately powerful lantern, the tent looked like a fat, radioactive sapphire. Banking the embers of her fire, she scooted back inside her tent for some more of Holmes and Watson, but received a call from Erebus.

Teddi: Hello?
Erebus: Sorry I ruined your plans for today.
Teddi: Don't worry about it. We can hike next week. (she was grinning because that would make TWO hikes in a row! win-win)
Erebus: Want me to drop by? I can bring pizza.
Teddi: I already ate, and I'm actually in bed. Probably be asleep soon.
Erebus: On a weekend? You feeling okay?
Teddi: Just being lazy, y'know.
Erebus: Well, you have sweet dreams, baby girl. Call me tomorrow?
Teddi: As soon as I get home. (she clapped a hand over her mouth)
Erebus: Home?
Teddi: Yeah, from dreamland. (she giggled) Talk to you tomorrow.
Erebus: Good night, goofy.

The call disconnected, Teddi fell back on her blanket with a loud sigh. "You are SO bad at lying," she scolded herself.

She unzipped the door again, peeking out at her fire. The embers were red, dimming under ashes, and she threw a glance toward the tent, noting the light was out now. Oddly, with the light out, it looked as if the tent was closer, maybe 2 campsites from her. She shrugged at the trick of the light, zipping in again, settling back for some more radio mystery.

Teddi woke, surprised, because she didn't realize she'd dozed off. Holmes and Watson were silent, the radio play having ended, and she had her system set to ask if it should continue, just in case she fell asleep, so her battery wasn't wasted. Yawning mightily, she considered rolling over and going back to sleep, but she reminded herself to check the embers so she crawled out of the tent, stretching and taking a deep lungful of ocean air -- and holding it.

There was a tent in the campsite beside hers, separated by a fallen log sporting a nursery of huckleberry bushes.

She slowly exhaled, surprised that the late arrivals hadn't awakened her earlier. She checked the embers, and they were buried deep under ash, slowly dying. She covered them with more ash, just to be sure they didn't spark. Since she was up anyway, Teddi grabbed her flashlight and walked down the path to the portable toilet, gratified to find it clean, and ocean-breeze-scrubbed of lingering odors. Returning to her campsite, she slowed, realizing that the tent in the space next to her was one of the blue domed ones, which wasn't odd, but the tent that had occupied the farther space was gone.

Careful not to shine the light on the tent, so she didn't disturb the occupant, she walked back to her tent wondering if the tent in the space beside her was a new arrival, or if the people in the farther site simply moved closer to her. But why would they do that? She supposed there could be a number of reasons, the ground might be uneven in the other spots, and that was supposing that these weren't entirely different campers. But if they were, where had the others gone?

She shrugged it off, crawling back inside her tent, zipping the flap and settling back onto her blanket and inflatable pillow, hand laying on her purse. She wasn't particularly worried about the tent next door, it was just odd, but there were a lot of campers in the area so it wasn't as if somebody could get away with any antics. She was about to close her eyes and let the booming of the ocean lull her to sleep when -- something bumped her tent.

She sat up, listening. The ocean's roar permeated the air, so it was difficult to hear smaller sounds, like footsteps, or twigs breaking, that kind of thing, but she was sure that something outside the tent just bumped into it from the front side. Her right hand inside her purse, she used her left hand to slowly unzip the flap, but before it was even halfway open her eyes widened. Everything was blue! She quickly realized that a blue domed tent was sitting right up against her tent! It was either the side or the back of the tent since there was no opening.

"What the Woodsy Owl?" she exclaimed.

A light came on inside the blue tent, shining on the wall separating Teddi from whoever was inside the other tent. The silhouette of hands appeared, pressing against the plastic, seeming to reach for Teddi. At the same time, a strange sort of moaning came from the tent, low, almost plaintive, as if whatever made the noise wanted something, badly. She'd had enough.

"Hey, Blue Tent Boy, I want you to listen very closely. Can you identify this sound?" Teddi's right hand came out of her purse with a handgun, and she flipped off the safety, chambering a round. "What you just heard is the sound of a SIG-Sauer P232 .380 ready to fire." The light inside the tent went out, and the moaning stopped. "I am going to close the zipper on my tent, now. And in 30 seconds I'm going to open it again. If you are outside my tent, I will start shooting. If you are in any of the campsites near me, I will start shooting. I have several magazines with me, and I do not mind wasting ammo because I will shoot until I hit something. Closing my zipper, now. 30 seconds, and counting."

Teddi waited, watching the time on her phone, hearing nothing outside her tent beyond the crash of the ocean waves. When the time was up, she slowly unzipped the flap, prepared to start shooting, as promised.

The tent was gone.

Climbing out of her tent with her handgun and a flashlight, she scanned the area around her. The spaces near her were empty, the woods seemed unoccupied, and when she went out to the trail, shining her light in both directions, nothing moved.

"Huh," she observed, immediately breaking camp, packing up, and hiking out of the area, reaching her car as the sun rose.

"What is the first rule of hiking?" asked Erebus, after Teddi told him the story.

They were sitting on the deck outside her apartment, sipping sodas.

"Don't hike alone," she replied. "But you guys totally bailed on me."

He waggled a finger at her. "Ah, ah, ah. First rule?"

Teddi gave an exaggerated sigh. "Don't hike alone."

"And what do you have to do to make up for that, and for lying to me?"

"Homecooked meals for one week," she grumbled.

"Mama just loves it when you come to dinner." Erebus grinned, leaning back on the lounger.

"She pinches my cheeks," Teddi groused.

"My mama cooks like an award winning chef. Her meals aren't the punishment," Erebus clarified.

"My poor cheeks," Teddi sighed, ignoring Erebus' smirk.


(Thank you to Erebus and Seth for agreeing to be jerks who abandoned me -giggles- and special thanks to Bailey for the super cute camping clothes, hair, and pose.)

Tags:   SL Second Life virtual screenshot danger thriller creepy eerie camping camp blonde girl scary fear stalker

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