• So, this weekend, I graduated from college. Me and my buddies decided to do a little road trip to celebrate us being free men. I was walking home that night, from an evening of partying and goodbyes. I turned my head and saw a little figure approached me, it was Mia, one of my best friends. I had always towered over her, so we always had this little joke between us.

    "Hey there shortstuff." I said to her.

    "Hey Andy," my she said, rolling her eyes. "Where the you want to go for our celebration?"

    "I don't know, we're college graduates, let's make this the night of our lives." I told her.

    She began to think for a moment. After a few seconds, her face lit up. "How does New York sound?" I'll admit, I was a little stunned. We lived in Southern California, and New York was ******** faraway. "Come on.." she moaned. "2,500 miles, with your best friends, in a car, getting drunk and all that."

    And the more I thought about it, the more fun it sounded. "Sure." I said, smiling.

    "Cool. Let's leave Sunday."

    "Sunday? That's two days away.."

    "Don't be a b***h Andy," she said, smiling.

    Laughing, I remarked "Fine. I'll see you then." She smiled again and headed back down the street.

    As I continued to my apartment, I thought about the day. It would be a hell of a lot of fun, but something just didn't feel right about it. I can't explain it, but it was just a feeling that told me to stay the ******** away. I had no idea what it was, but as I entered my apartment, I shrugged it off. I would be with my best friends for almost 2 days, in a car together, living it up.

    That night, I had a weird dream. I can't really explain it, but it was a bunch of flashes of my running through these trees or shrubs, like woods type of area. The dream seemed to continue on Saturday night, and it ended with me drowning. I was a little weary when Mia called me, asking me if I was ready to go.

    "Yeah..." I mumbled, still reeling from the strange dream. "Yeah..I'll be down in a few." I hung up the phone and put it in my pocket. I had packed my bags the night before so all I had to do was get dressed. I really just threw on whatever, I didn't really feel like myself. Strangely, I just wanted this trip to be over as soon as possible.

    I headed down stairs and Mia was waiting for me inside her new BMW, a graduation present. "Isn't it awesome?" she squealed. I just nodded and got in the backseat. Inside were my two friends, Gregg and Razel. They smiled at me but I didn't pay them much attention. I felt sick to my stomach.

    Mia got back in the car and turned to me. "Andy, are you alright?"

    "Yeah, I just have a stomach thing. I'll be fine." I said. Mia just shrugged and her and Razel got talking. I don't really know what about but I drifted off to sleep. I woke up to what I can only guess was a few hours later. No one was in the car, but I could see the hood was up. I opened the door and found us to be surrounded by trees. We were in the woods somewhere. I found Gregg fumbling around in the engine.

    "What happened?" I asked, feeling a little better then before I went to sleep.

    "Hell if I know, the engine just went out." Gregg quietly told me, he was too focused on the engine or whatever to talk. Mia and Razel were sitting on the ground. R Razel was a little taller then Mia, and, like Mia, was always dressed stylish. I walked over to her and took a seat beside them. "Shouldn't be sitting here, you might ruin those new pants." I said jokingly.

    "Good to see your feeling better." She remarked as she got up.

    "Sort of.." I shook my head. "Where are we?"

    Mia scoffed. "No idea."

    Great. What was supposed to be fun was turning out to be really shitty. I thought for a couple minutes, thinking of a way to get out of here. I had nothing. We needed to find someone to get us out of here. Unfortunately, we all had no way of calling someone to come get us. We had no signal and no clue as to where we were. As the time passed, I got increasingly nervous. What if we were never found? What if we are all stranded out here? As I continued to think of a way, I saw some movement in the brushes ahead.

    I got up quickly and tried to see what it was. For a brief moment I saw what appeared to be a woman. I didn't get much details, but she appeared to have some tattered clothes and a scared expression. That was all I got before she disappeared in the brush. I quickly got up. "Ma'am?" I yelled to her. There was a pause and then a lot of shuffling in the brush. She was running away.

    I ran after her. Not sure why, was it because I felt I needed to help her, or was it because she could know where we are? ********, I could even do both, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't on my mind as I jumped through shrubs trying to get to her. As I emerged from a bush, I couldn't see her for a moment. Sadness began to take me, but I saw her in the distance, running through some trees and jumping over little roots.

    I began to chase after her. I couldn't stop, I was compelled to follow her. And I chased for a long time, after a while I actually fell from exhaustion, and couldn't get up for a few minutes. When I did finally manage to get up, she was nowhere in sight. I couldn't even hear her footsteps. Discouraged, I began to turn back, but I stopped. I hadn't been here before. I have a good memory, and usually spot little things that help me keep track of where I am in a place I've never been to, but this was a lot different. It's as if the few moments of me laying in the dirt had transported me into another place.

    "********.." I said to myself, feeling my heart pound faster. "********, ******** ******** ********." I repeated, began to slowly freak out. I turned left and right. Backwards and front. Where the HELL am I?! I had no way of knowing.

    I began to just head south of where I fell, I figured that would be the best option. "Greg! Razel! Mia?! Guys, can you hear me?!" I screamed. This was the only idea I had in my head. If I couldn't find them, maybe they can find me. But it was hard to talk. I ran for what seemed like miles and now I was trying to scream a lot? That wouldn't happen. Not for a while at least.

    I sat down on a nearby rock, clutching my side. I've never been much of a runner, so I was surprised at how far I thought I had ran. I tried to regain my breath and my emotions, but I heard more movement from the brush. I shot my head up in the direction.

    "Guys?" I said quietly, hoping I would see familiar faces. At least then I wouldn't be so terrified anymore. I continued to stare in the distance, and the girl I chased emerged. She didn't look so scared anymore. Actually, she looked determined. ******** determined.

    She started to move closer to me, but not how you would normally walk. It was horrifying. It was a sort of twitch walk. When she moved closer, her body would make these erratic movements and then return to normal. I stood up, doubting I'd be able to run. But the fear had such a tight grip on me. The adrenaline started to pulse through me. I'd been led into a trap of some sort.

    I turned and ran. Ran faster then I've ever gone before. Running in the woods isn't ******** easy. I nearly lost my footing half a dozen times, tripping over something unknown. And all the time I felt like she was right on my back. I don't know why I ran after her in the first place, now all I knew is I had to get away. After a while I didn't think I'd be able to go on anymore, but my foot jumped in front of me. I stepped in mud. My body tumbled forward and I was plunged into darkness, and it got freezing.

    For a few moments, everything is confusing. It was just dark and cold, but then my head emerged from the unknown and I found I was surrounded in murky water. I turned my head and found that I had slipped and fell down a small hill into this lake.

    I started to panic, I never knew how to swim. I began to panic and thrash my arms around. I would get a few brief flashes of land and I saw 3 figures heading toward the lake. Then I heard a barely audible "Andy!" I recognized the voice at once, it was Mia.

    "Andy..why...running off like..that.." I heard in bits and pieces. I saw their hands come to try to pull me out, and I reached for them, but then I was sucked downward for a moment. I turned my head in the murky water and saw the girl I had been chasing behind me. She was impossibly laughing in the water, and she had a grip of my foot, trying to pull me down.

    I kicked at her but nothing happened, I went up for a brief moment, and my fingers just touched theirs, the last thing I felt before I was pulled further into the icy depths below.

    They still haven't found me. I don't think they ever will. All of my friends told the police I ran into the forest, and jumped into the lake myself. The girl was never there. Was it just me? Was it really all in my head?