The Pale One Written By: Emily Evans It was a chilly November day when I was inside playing Minecraft. It was early Saturday morning, so I had no place to go. It was unusually dark outside, but I wasn't startled. We had to turn back the clocks. About two hours of nonstop mining and crafting went by, until I heard my dog emerging from her crate. I heard my mom telling my sister to wake up. My Minecraft reign was over. My mom had called me upstairs for breakfast, bacon and eggs. I had eaten my fill when my friends came knocking on my door. Their faces beamed as they told tale of a different kind of woods at the top of the hill. My nerves pulled me back, but my spirit was hungry for adventure. Reluctantly, I pulled away from the safety and warmth of my humble abode, and ventured out. The wind roared in my ears as our quintet trekked up the hill. Even though we only lived five minutes away, it felt as if the hike lasted forever. We stood at the end of the road, facing the somewhat cryptic forest. Something didn't feel right about these woods. To add, as if on cue, an army of wooly worms fled the forest as if they were running away from something. Petyon was the first one to dash in. Then Emily, then Shannon, then Kayleigh, then me. As soon as we walked into the forest, it seemed as if the trees closed in behind us. This is how my journey began. Chapter 1: Lost, lost, lost "Ugh, we're lost." Petyon studied her compass as we climbed over steep rocks and shallow riverbeds. The five of us had split into 2 separate groups. It was me, Shannon, and Petyon. Then it was Kayleigh, and Emily. "Ooooo!" Shannon exclaimed. "Fish!" She pointed to a creek with about 7 minnows swimming about. "Shannon!" Petyon said. "Honestly, not to be mean I'm just saying, this is no time to talk about fish." "We're lost in the middle of the woods and… hey, y'know what?" Petyon started to grin. "We can catch the fish and eat them!" Shannon and I screamed at the same time, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" "Are you CRAZY?!" I yelled. "They probably have some kind of fungal infection, or a parasite squirming around in their insides, or, or…" Petyon looked a sickly shade of green. "Forget the fish," She shook her head. "I'm not so hungry anymore." Shannon leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Was that what you intended to do? 'Cause it sure worked." I nodded my head. We had soon reached at large oak tree, with branches that seemed to touch the clouds. Shannon looked around. "They said they would meet us here, right?" She turned to Petyon. "Umm, yeah." Petyon was either trying to start a fire, or sharpening an arrowhead. I leaned over, "What are you up to?" Petyon held up a perfectly sharpned arrowhead made of flint. Surely, it could penetrate even the toughest of animal hide. "Wow," I stared in awe at Petyon's weapon. "Where did you get the flint?" Before Petyon could answer, we heard a rustle in the bushes. I stood up and squinted to see what was coming our way. I didn't see one ghostly figure but two, coming straight towards us. Chapter 2: Survive the night
I started to back up toward the tree. Shannon hid behind the tree. Petyon stood in front of both of us, pointing the arrowhead straight at our intruders. I too found the nerve to inch a little closer. "W-who's there?" I stuttered. "Oh, geez Emmy. Don't be such a pansy." I heard a voice tease. As soon as the two figures emerged from the bushes, I recognized them almost instantaneously. It was Kayleigh, who also was my sister, and Emily. "We got the supplies." Emily said. "Whoa, whoa, whoa wait." I chimed in. "Supplies? Why? We're only going to be in here for a couple of hours, right?" I gave my friends nervous glances, waiting for them to tell me that this was a joke. "Emily, didn't you hear me before?" Petyon stared at me as if I was saying that two plus two equals forty three. "I said that we were lost. This isn't just a scenario where we find a way out in an hour or so, we might be stuck here for a while." Everyone else looked nervously at the ground, twiddling their thumbs. I let out a shaky sigh. I was trying very hard to not start bawling like a big baby. "Okay." I started with a positive attitude. "So, what kind of supplies do we have here?" Hugs, just hugs, are all I need I do not cry, I do not bleed But my heart is like a noble steed, looking and searching for hugs. Alas, I am a slender man Everybody thinks I have a plan To hurt them, to kill them, to do whatever I can But honestly, I just need a hug. For now, I am ten feet tall Grown men compared to me look small My hands are thin and my arms are long Perfect for giving hugs. "Ode for hugs" Chapter 3: Are trees comfy? With a huff, Emily set down a bright green nylon sack. It looked as it if was stuffed to the brim with stuff. I peeked inside. "Can I open it?" I turned to Emily. "Sure, we needed to open it anyway." She replied. As soon as I opened it, supplies came pouring out. I spotted some sticks, bags of various berries, pieces of stone, and some flint. I became nervous when I saw the berries. "Do you know weather or not these are edible?" I said as I picked up a berry and inspected it. "I'm pretty sure." Kayleigh said. "We checked your wilderness guide and it said that these are safe to eat." Petyon quickly scurried over and took the flint and sticks. She said nothing as she snapped vines off a couple of trees. Then, she walked away into the forest. She turned her back towards us and make a signal with her hand telling us to come along with her. We went along with her. We had soon reached a clearing in the forest. Enormous Oak trees shrouded us. "This looks like a good spot." Petyon said, patting the ground. "Good spot for what?" I asked, curious. "For camp!" Petyon said. "We have to set up camp for the night." "On the ground?" Emily asked. "Do you even know how many dangerous creatures lurk out at night?" She stared straight at Petyon. "We wouldn't even survive one night." END OF PART ONE