I closed my eyes and forced myself to calm down, even though I was beginning to feel light-headed from the horrifying sight. I couldn't panic. I needed to stay strong. I opened my eyes and softly called to David, trying to draw his attention away.

He darted his eyes up to me, not calming down a bit upon seeing me. In fact, his face became even more panicked and terrified. He frantically shook his head and covered his mouth, as if trying not to scream again. I could tell he was instructing me to stay away.

"Don't worry," I instructed, my voice so low it almost couldn't be heard over even the snake's soft hissing. "Just look at me. Don't panic."

David did as instructed, his body trembling and his face completely white. I glanced around and picked up a long stick on the ground, almost as long as the snake. David noticed and shook his head again. I didn't really have any plans of using it on the snake. I just felt less panicked with a weapon to wield.

I thought about screaming for help, but stopped myself. I didn't want to get the snake's attention. Actually, maybe I did. I needed to get its attention off my brother.

I stepped forward and tapped the ground in front of me, the leaves crackling as the stick connected with them. The snake didn't move, circling around in front of David as if chasing its tail. It didn't seem to have any interest in my brother. But he was still terrified. He stared at me in shock and shook his head frantically yet again. I ignored him and banged my stick against the ground again, harder this time.

That got the snake's attention. It stopped slithering around itself and raised its scaly head, looking straight at me.

I felt my stomach lurch, my heart dropping at the snake's dark, beady gaze. I forced myself to speak, thinking it'd make me feel more confident.

"That's right, look at me," I said, feeling like an idiot. But it did help a little. "Leave him alone. Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

I couldn't resist shooting my gaze up at David to see him gaping at me as if I was the biggest idiot in the world. I gave him an encouraging grin. That had partly been my goal, to stop him from being so scared as well as to stop myself.

I didn't turn my attention away from David. If it wasn't for him, I would've just slowly backed away after my initial dread and panic. But I had to calm him down and get him away as well.

"David, step up," I instructed. The snake had gone back to circling around its thick body. I thought it seemed pretty harmless, but that didn't stop my heart from jolting.

David stared at me with wide eyes. "Do it," I insisted, forcing myself to smile at him. I lifted the stick and moved it in my sweaty hands so it was pointing towards David, over the snake. It didn't notice, to my relief.

David didn't move. "I'm not going to stab you with this," I joked, shaking the stick slightly. I lowered it slowly and accidentally bumped it against the top of his curly head.

"Sorry!" I apologized as he started to yelp and then muffled it as quickly as possible, glancing fearfully at the creature in front of him. He raised his hands to his head while glaring at me. At least he wasn't staring at the snake anymore.

I stepped slightly backwards, wincing at the crackling noises from the dead materials littering the ground, and lowered the stick until it was right in front of David's face. He blinked and tried to back away, but his head was already as far against the tree trunk as possible. Luckily, I managed to pull the stick out of the way before I poked him again.

"Grab on," I called. "Do you want to be snake lunch or not?" I surprised myself with my own joke.

David vaguely registered my words and raised one arm, which was shaking so much I didn't think it was possible for him to hold on. I was very wrong. He grabbed onto the stick with such force that I almost dropped it, even though I was holding on with both hands. He grabbed onto it for dear life, which might be the case if we didn't get away from this snake.

"Now stand up," I instructed, trying to keep my voice from shaking as much as my hands.

David rose to his feet, which was much harder for him. He almost fell back down, and would've fallen backwards if he wasn't against a tree. When he got to his feet, I moved the stick slightly to the left. He was holding on so tightly that he moved with the stick. I moved in the opposite direction I wanted the stick to go, until he was standing to the opposite of the snake.

I glanced at the snake, which was still right next to him, but wasn't in front of him anymore. I glanced up at him. He had been staring at the snake the entire time, and looked like he was about to pass out. I called to him and he shot his head up. I silently instructed him to look at me, making my expression as firm as possible. I almost gave him my famous death glare when he did something annoying that he could never look away from. Even despite the situation, he looked annoyed that I was using it.

"Now run," I instructed.

To my surprise, he obeyed without hesitation. I guessed he was looking forward to doing that. I really did drop the stick then, but by some miracle, it avoided the snake, though its body slithered over the stick as it landed.

David managed to run until he was next to me. I wrapped my arms around him, almost pulling away from how cold he was and how much he was trembling. I was as well, but not nearly as much as him. It was clear he couldn't run anymore, so I half dragged, half carried him away, my adrenaline causing me to run even faster than when I had heard him scream. It was harder while carrying my kid brother, and I almost dropped him when he bumped his head against the trees and snagged his curly hair on the branches. I snagged my hair against the branches as well and felt my baseball cap being knocked off my head, but I couldn't care less. I only cared about getting my brother to safety.

I probably would've run further than I needed to if David hadn't gone limp, falling to the ground and panting even harder than me even though I had been the one doing the running. I sank to the ground next to him and ran a hand through his hair as he breathed deeply, his face still pale and his eyes still wide and glazed with shock. I wrapped my arms around him again, probably holding him as tightly as the snake would've if it found its way around him.

"Hey, calm down, Dave," I instructed, running my hand through his air. "It's okay now. You're safe. I got you away."

Then he was the one who buried his face into me, his body shaking again. I could feel tears staining my flannel, either from fear or relief. I kept talking reassuringly to him.

"Sorry, Adelaide," he said finally, pulling back. "I ruined your shirt."

"I think that's the least of your worries," I replied dryly, surprised that was the first thing he said. "Anyway, it was already ruined from running around these woods."

David looked up at me with big eyes. "Adelaide… thank you," he professed, his eyes shining with awe this time instead of tears. "You saved me."

"Oh, don't mention it," I insisted.

David shook his head. "You're right. I would've been snake lunch if it wasn't for you!"

"Well, I knew you couldn't get out of it by yourself," I teased. "Just sat there shaking and crying."

David punched me in the arm. "You probably would've done the same thing if a giant snake approached you! It wasn't a venomous snake, though. I could tell from the pupils. It had round pupils, so it probably wasn't. But I was still scared."

"You're such a dork." I rolled my eyes. "Where were you, anyway? Celeste and I lost you just as we were about to reach the end."

"I kind of… wandered off," David admitted sheepishly. "I was sick of walking through this place, and I was sick of you telling me to buzz off. So I thought I'd take a break."

"You what?" I shrieked. "You were scared of this place, so you decided to go even deeper inside it? How does that make sense? And are you crazy? No, you're an idiot. Probably both."

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "You're right, I am an idiot. You were always telling me to stay put so I didn't ruin everything for you, so I thought I'd do just that."

"Dave, you know I didn't mean…" I felt flustered. "How didn't you hear me yelling for you? I think the birds and trees could hear me."

"I guess I was too far away," said David. "I couldn't hear anything except the insects and frogs in the woods."

"And I heard your scream just fine," I noted dryly. "Well, I'm glad you're okay. And I didn't want you to get lost. Don't ever wander off again, okay?"

David nodded. "Okay, Adelaide. As long as you don't tell me to leave again."

I raised an eyebrow. "Don't push it."

Just then, we both froze as we heard loud noises through the forest. The trees rustled and seemed to shake as the noise approached us. David squealed and buried himself into me again, and I put my arm around him, beginning to feel the panic seep in again. I shifted in front of him as I heard the unknown creature makes its way towards us. I knew I should've found another weapon, but I just closed my eyes in dread, not wanting to see who it was.

"Where were you two?" I jumped, almost falling backwards onto David. He let out another squeal, but I immediately relaxed, my heart thumping.

"Celeste!" I jumped to my feet and leapt forward, almost hugging her. "I'm so glad to see you! You won't believe what we've been through."

"I heard David scream and searched all over the woods, but I couldn't find him anywhere," said Celeste. "I must've gone towards the wrong side. He must've been on the other side of the pathway." Her eyes widened upon seeing him. "Oh, there you are! You can't wander off like that. We were so worried."

"I'll never forget what just happened," said David, shuddering just from the thought. "I still feel cold and terrified. But Adelaide saved me."

I explained to Celeste how I had found David and the dread and panic that had crawled through me like the snake crawled around, and how I had managed to get myself together to save him. She listened with wide eyes.

"Adelaide, you're amazing!" she exclaimed. "And David, you're a very foolish boy."

"I know," he muttered, bowing his head.

"You were great," Celeste told me. "You might have saved your brother's life."

"Actually, the snake wasn't venomous," David spoke up. "It had round pupils, and—"

I cut him off. My relief at him being okay was wearing off now. He was such a pain. "Oh, I just did what I could. We haven't even entered camp, and we're already nearly getting injured. I can't believe it." What would it be like when we actually entered?

"Oh, it's nothing compared to camp," Celeste joked. "You'll have to save your strength and toughness for when you arrive. At least that was good training."

I glared at her, not appreciating jokes being made right now. But she looked serious.

"Well, come on," Celeste urged. "We're almost at the end."

"I want to go home," David moaned.

"I know." I sank next to him and put my arm around him. "But we'll be safe once we enter camp. Right?" I looked at Celeste.

For some reason, that made her smile. "Of course you will," she said.

She lowered our sleepaway bags and opened them, searching for something to help David. I took out my water bottle and offered it to him. Then I took out Mom's handkerchief that she had insisted on me taking and wiped his face. I dropped a bit of water onto it and ran it over his face and hair, ignoring my own scrapes and dirt.

"Come on, David," Celeste urged. "You'll feel better once we're at camp. We're going to have a big meal and go to sleep in our cabins."

"You don't want to be stuck here in the woods, do you?" I added.

That seemed to do it. He got to his feet and began to follow us. I didn't leave his side this time, even though there was only room on the pathway for one of us at a time and I had to walk halfway submerged in the prickly trees.

"We're here!" Celeste called, sounding cheerful. "Well, almost. I can see the opening."

What a way to be introduced to the camp! I thought.

"I should warn you, the other campers will be very excited to meet you," said Celeste. "A little too excited. Don't blame them. We rarely get new arrivals. It's exciting whenever we do." Arrivals? I thought.

"I want to go home," David moaned again. I supposed I couldn't blame him.

"Don't worry," assured Celeste. "Once you enter camp, you'll never want to leave."

Something about the way she said that made me shudder. I had a feeling from her tone that she was being serious. Would we really never want to leave?