I lost my balance. Fell off the branch I was leaning on. And went tumbling to the ground.

Usually, I wouldn't have. But I was still stiff from being inside the truck for so long. I landed right on top of David. He let out a cry of surprise. His limbs kicked me in the face.

"Sorry, Dave," I apologized while helping him to his feet while he groaned and yelled at me. I grabbed my baseball cap and pulled it back over my head.

I jumped as I noticed somebody was staring down at us. A tall, burly, African-American woman with big, poofy hair down her back. I frantically brushed dirt out of my flannel shirt and denim jeans. But then I noticed that she wasn't just staring at us for falling out of the tree. There was something odd about her gaze. A mixture of shock, desperation, and relief. I began to feel uncomfortable the longer she observed us, as if carefully studying my brother and me.

"Hey… look, we're wearing the same clothes!" I said, trying to break the awkward silence. The woman was also wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, though baggier.

To my relief, the woman smiled slightly. "I guess we are. We have to dress practically for the outdoors."

My parents came over. "Excuse me. Who are you?" Mom asked.

The woman turned her gaze to them, a polite smile crossing her face. For a moment, I thought her creepy gaze was my imagination. "My name is Celeste. I'm the counselor for Camp Starlight." She said the words robotically, as if she had practiced them several times.

"See? I told you!" Dad bragged. "We are at camp!"

"But not the same camp," Mom pointed out. "We were supposed to be heading to Camp Nightstar—"

"Oh, what's the difference?" Dad demanded. "I'm relieved we even ended up at a camp after driving for so long."

"You should give your children here," Celeste said. They turned to stare at her. "They'll have a great time. And we'd love to have them. We haven't had new arrivals in so long."

Something about the way she said that made me shudder. But I was too excited by the prospect of getting to go to any camp.

"Woah, woah," Dad said. "Where is this camp? I don't see anyone."

Celeste pointed behind herself. "It's right past the woods."

"What?" Mom demanded. "All the way there?"

"It's a short walk," Celeste assured. "I already have several other children, in cabins and fields. We have lakes, a tennis field, a baseball diamond…"

"Please let us go, Mom," I pleaded. "At least it'll be something to do. I was going to go mad if I had to be in the pick-up truck for one more hour."

"I don't want to go!" David wailed. "I'd rather drive around for five more hours."

We ignored him. "I don't know," Mom said uncertainly. "How can we even be sure there is a camp here? I'm not about to go through the woods to see."

"Well, your daughter seems skilled at climbing trees," Celeste noted. "Maybe she could get a closer view and tell you what she sees."

"I'll do it!" I offered. I hadn't gotten a good look last time, but my attention had been to the ground.

"Be careful, Adelaide!" Mom warned as I walked over to the tree Celeste gestured to. "I wish you wouldn't climb trees too much. It can't be safe."

"I'll be fine, Mom," I insisted while swinging my legs up. "I'm always fine."

"Is that why you fell down just five seconds ago?" David griped. I gave him a look over my shoulder.

As I reached the top, I focused on the woods. I couldn't see anything at first. But then, the tops of cabins and surface of lakes came into view.

"What do you see, Adelaide?" Dad called.

"Houses… I mean, cabins," I called back. "And lakes. There's a tennis court—"

"Maybe you should take a picture," Mom suggested, holding her phone up to me.

"You don't believe me?" I demanded.

"I don't," David griped. "She's just making it up so she can stay here."

"Of course we do," Mom assured. "We just need to be completely sure if we're letting you stay here. It does sound rather strange."

I carefully positioned the phone and snapped a picture. I let out a cry as the phone slipped from my hand, but Mom caught it.

She carefully observed the snapshot. Dad glanced at it over her shoulder. "It does look like a camp…"

"Can we stay there?" I asked eagerly as I scaled down the tree.

"I don't know," Mom hesitated.

"You're almost in time for the campfire," Celeste added. "We roast hot dogs and tell ghost stories—"

"Come on, Mom!" I pleaded. "I don't want to be driving around in the middle of nowhere for hours for nothing."

"Neither do I," Dad griped. "I'm not driving another two hours to the right camp."

"I'll explode if I have to spend one more hour in the car!" I complained.

Celeste seemed even more insistent on us staying than me. She told Mom about how wonderful and exciting the camp was, how she hadn't had new campers in years, how thrilled the regular campers would be to see new arrivals. There was a desperate, almost pleading look in her eyes. I almost wanted to agree just to please her.

Eventually, we convinced my parents. "Oh… alright," Mom reluctantly agreed. "You two might as well go to some camp for the summer."

"What do you mean, you two?" David demanded. "I'm not going!"

"Oh, come on, Dave. It might be good for you," Dad insisted. "Out in the open air and sunshine for once, instead of staying cooped up in your room for the entire summer like usual. You won't let Adelaide stay at this camp all by herself, will you?"

"Yes, I will!" David insisted. "She can stay here all year if she wants."

"I assure you that your children will be treated with the utmost care," Celeste insisted. "Once they enter camp, it'll probably be a challenge to get them to leave." Something about the way she said that made me shudder.

Mom and Dad gave us our duffle bags and long hugs, worried about leaving us here for the entire summer. I wasn't sure how, but eventually, David ended up staying as well. I hate to be cynical, but I think my parents were eager to get rid of us.

"Give it a chance," Mom insisted, kissing his cheek. "Your sister will take good care of you. We'll be back in a few days to check up on you… maybe even by tomorrow. If you still aren't having a good time by then, we'll take you back home."

"And you can call us at any time," Dad added. "They have phones at camp, right?" He stared at Celeste.

"Oh? Oh, yes, of course we do," Celeste nodded. "How else would we get new campers?"

David whined and protested, but before we knew it, we were watching our parents drive off until the dirt road was as flat and empty as before.

"I can't believe this!" David cried. "I can't believe I'm stuck here. Why didn't I insist they take me home?"

"You did," I pointed out. "In fact, I can't remember when you stopped insisting."

"Well, I should've insisted more," David grumbled, crossing his arms. His duffle bag fell off and landed on the grass.

Celeste leaned down to pick it up. She swung it easily over her broad shoulders, before turning to me. "I know you two must be nervous, so I'll carry your bags for you," she offered, reaching her hand out.

I shook my head, clutching my bag tighter. "You really don't have to—"

"You'll need to save your energy for wrestling your way through the woods," she insisted, taking the bag from me and swinging it onto her other shoulder. I was amazed by how strong she was. She didn't even wince. "That'll be tiring enough."

"What?" David groaned. "Do we really have to go through the woods?"

"Consider it practice for the rest of camp," Celeste said. "Camp is even more tedious. If you can't make it through the woods, you won't survive camp."

"Then I won't make it through the woods!" David insisted, dropping to the ground. Then he stood up, kicking mud and grass away. "I'll stay here for the entire summer."

"That's even worse," Celeste pointed out. "At camp, there's cabins and beds to stay in."

"She's right," I added. "There's food, too. But if you'd prefer to stay here, we won't stop you. We'll go on without you."

David glared at us as we headed off to the woods. But just as we were in front of the entrance of the woods, I heard him walk after us.

A chill went down my spine as I stared up at the tall, dense trees towering over us. Casting a shadow over us. The cool evening breeze blew past, making my hair stand on end. It was colder near the woods as well. I could feel the chill emanating from the trees.

I was being ridiculous. I loved things like this. My parents always had to stop me from running towards any woods I saw. So why did I feel so uneasy?

It must just be how dark it was getting. I didn't like the dark, which David teased me about. I knew it was childish, but I preferred to be outdoors in bright daylight. I needed to get over that when I was at a camp. I wasn't going to stay huddled up in my cabin while the others were at the campfire. That was something my wimpy brother would do.

As Celeste descended into the woods, I followed her. I immediately pricked my face against the harsh tree bark. I didn't mind getting scrapes. I got them all the time. I ducked under the branches, brushing past others as they scraped against my side. I tried to stay on the path, but the trees were right next to me, as if they were closing in on us. I held my hands out, as if to ward them off. I felt as if the trees were trapping me.

I glanced backwards and noticed David hadn't entered. "Come on, dude," I called. "Don't be a wimp."

There was no reply. "You can stay there if you want," I called. "We'll just head to camp without you. You'll have to come all by yourself when it's later at night."

My words must've had an effect on him, because I heard rustling as the trees parted slightly. Then I heard his meek voice. "Adelaide?"

I didn't reply, wanting to give him a scare. To my disappointment, Celeste did. "We're here," she called, raising our bags higher above her head and snagging them on a tree branch.

I watched David scamper over, jumping at every creak and rustle. He yelped as a tree branch smacked him in the face.

I rolled my eyes. "Let's just go ahead without him. He'll probably run away screaming when he sees a squirrel."

The path got even narrower as we continued into the woods. It became darker and colder as well. I wrapped my arms around myself, wishing I was dressed heavier like David. I didn't know how Celeste could balance our bags on her shoulders while marching down the woods as if she strolling down the street without carrying anything. Then again, she probably had lots of experience.

I heard David let out a shriek. I looked to my left and saw a tiny, hideous frog staring at us with huge, bulging eyes. It was right next to David. I rolled my eyes.

"You're not scared of that tiny thing, are you?" I walked over and kicked my foot towards it. It was probably a dumb move, but it didn't react, just stared at me with its huge eyes.

"Of course not," David denied, blushing. "It just startled me."

"You're lucky if that's all you see," Celeste said solemnly. "I can't count the snakes that have come close to biting me. And actually have bitten some of us on occasion."

I couldn't tell whether she was joking or not, but I laughed at the horrified look on David's face. I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the frog. He twisted his arm away from my grip and refused to move, shivering slightly. I didn't know whether it was from fear or the cold.

I rolled my eyes. "Just stay there if you want," I told him. "We won't come to rescue you from the next animal.

"I'm tired," he whined. His eyes were fluttering open and shut.

"Should've slept on the bus," I muttered, though I hadn't either. I had a lot more energy than him.

Celeste and I walked off. I heard David shuddering even as we left, but I didn't turn back. I felt a little bad. The poor kid got scared so easily. But I wasn't going to stop every time he did.

Then I heard his footsteps as he started following us. I rolled my eyes. He'd hate to be all alone in the woods. As we continued down, I jumped over some of the lower branches. Celeste stared at me in surprise.

"You're very athletic," she noted.

"Mom and Dad say I should be a gymnast," I said. "I love sports." I pulled my baseball cap over my head as it snagged on a tree branch, grateful that it protected my hair.

I glanced up at the trees and jumped as I spotted a furry squirrel resting in one of them. I laughed. I had told David he might see one, but I'd been the one who had. I raised my hand and waved to it, but it didn't even twitch.

"We're almost near the end," Celeste whispered. "Wait until you see the real camp. Everyone's going to be so excited to see you."

I grinned. "I've been looking forward to coming here. I love the outdoors. I'm one of the best basketball and tennis players among the girls at my school."

"I figured," said Celeste. "You sure look the type. Your brother doesn't, though."

"Ignore him," I instructed. "He's always a wimp. He'd spend the entire summer in his room if it wasn't for Mom and Dad."

We both laughed. Celeste was about to step forward when I gazed around. "Speaking of, where is he?"

"Huh?" Celeste didn't look back. "Oh, I guess he decided to stop to take a break again."

I realized I hadn't heard his footsteps behind us for a while. I glanced behind and couldn't see anything, though it was so dark that I couldn't see most of the trees either.

"Uh, Celeste, could you get my flashlight out of my bag?" I suggested. "It's in the front pocket." I wished I had thought of that before.

Celeste unzipped the top of my bag without even lowering it and fumbled around with the mini flashlight. I took it from her and switched it on, shining it in to the dark, dense trees. It barely offered any light, and the tiny sliver didn't show any sign of David.

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere," said Celeste, unconcerned. "He must've stopped for another break without us noticing."

I walked further back, but I couldn't find any sight of him. I ducked under the branches, starting to get worried. I had told him to stay in the woods if he wanted, but I hadn't meant it. I waved my flashlight around, and I spotted poison ivy under a tree and a green snake that made me jump a little as it slithered behind a tree, but not my brother.

"He'll come," said Celeste, finally sounding worried. "He can't have gone far. These woods aren't big."

"They sure feel like it," I noted, pressing my hand to the scratches on my legs as I bent down. As I continued down the path, I called his name.

"David? David? Where are you?"

My voice echoed through the woods. I jumped at the sound, chills running down my spine. I yelped as I stepped on something that made a crackling noise. I shone my light down and saw dead leaves. I scolded myself. I was acting like David.

"David!" My voice was more urgent and annoyed now. I wanted him to come out. The sound of my voice echoing through the woods was so eerie. I felt as if the animals and trees could hear me. I really was acting like David. He must be rubbing off on me.

I started to get annoyed. Where was he? I joked about it, but I'd never actually leave him in the woods. I wondered if he was hiding on purpose to scare me. I narrowed my eyes. Maybe that was it. I was sure the trees on the other side of the woods could hear me with how I was yelling. If he was, I was going to beat the daylights out of him when I found him.

I called to him again, my voice sounding more angry than scared now. "This isn't funny!" I called. "Come out now. If you're hiding to scare me, I'm going to beat you up. Or put spiders in your bed again."

I was hoping that threat got him to come out, but it didn't. I forced myself to tone down my voice.

"I'm sorry about what I said," I called. "I wasn't actually going to leave you in the middle of the woods. I was just messing with you."

Still no response.

I swung my flashlight in all directions around me, starting to get worried. He'd definitely respond to one of those. He was terrified of having spiders put in his bed, and he gloated whenever I apologized to him.

I glanced up at the trees tower over me like dark, steep mountains. They seemed so huge, enclosing us, blocking out any light from the night sky. I had been trying my hardest not to focus on how dark it was, but now…

"Don't worry, Adelaide." I jumped at Celeste's voice. I had forgotten she was there. "We'll find him. Maybe he isn't on the path. That's the only reason he wouldn't hear you."

I watched as she turned right and started to enter through the dense, prickly trees. I had to admire her courage. I tried to hand her my flashlight, but she shook her head.

"I can see just fine in here," she assured. "I've been here more times than I can count. It's like I have nighttime vision."

The trees seemed to consume her as she disappeared into them. I wrapped my arms around myself, wishing again I was dressed warmer like David. I had managed to brush off the cold by trekking quickly through the forest, but now it was seeping into my skin. I shivered and lowered my head, my hair dropping over my face. The chill surrounded me like a cold blanket and increased my anxiety. Every little sound I heard made me jump.

If David could see me, he'd be making fun of me. I was acting like him. But I was worried about him. Despite how much I teased him, I couldn't get the image of him lying alone in the freezing darkness of the woods, pricked by thorns or stung by snakes. Though if that had happened, he'd have yelled loud enough for us to hear, so I didn't have to worry about that.

Right on cue, I heard a shrill, piercing scream from the depths of the wood that made my hair stand on end even more than the chill surrounding me. I could recognize that scream from a mile away. I ignored the coldness making me stand completely stiff and forced myself to burst forward into the trees, my anxiety replaced with shrill panic.

"David? Dave? Are you alright?"

My voice shook as my teeth chattered together when I yelled his name. I was almost grateful for the thorns and branches snagging onto me. At least they pierced through the coldness of my skin. I could barely see as I ran forward, my hair obscuring my face. I tripped over and landed on the floor, the prickly debris sticking to my dirt-smeared jeans and grazing my hands. I forced myself to my feet and ran forward, barely feeling my cuts and scratches. That's when I saw him.

David was shaking on the ground with his back pressed against a tree, his face pale and eyes wide, both filled with terror. My face quickly imitated the same expression, the fear and panic setting in again just as the relief began to overtake me. Just a few feet away from him was a huge, thick snake making soft hissing sounds.