"Maybe it's a branch that's dangling from the tree," Zeke suggested, narrowing his eyes to get a better look. "I mean, it kind of looks weird because of the fog, but I think it's only a play on light and shadow that makes it so eerie."

"Sure." Atem nodded. "We'll go with that."

Before we could better see the object, the fog thickened and rose further up the tree to not only blanket the ground but most of the branches as well.

I immediately glanced at my notebook. The urge to flip through its pages called to me, but fear kept me from doing so. Nothing prepared me for what I might read. My anxiety level had risen to boiling point and any little thing would send it over the edge.

"You poured out your brew?" Felicity stared at the dark, muddy puddle beneath my feet. "Good call." And she returned to the spot before the fire, hugging herself as the wind picked up.

Atem placed the camera on the tripod and aimed it toward the growing fog lit up by the light of the moon that made its way through the clouds and the intertwined trees. With the other camera, he aimed it at me, making sure Zeke was in the shot.

"So, Zeke, what kind of surprise do you have for Ima?"

Zeke's dimples deepened in his cheeks as he smiled at me. "I wrote a song for you."

I couldn't help but smile at his charming attempts. "Oh, my goodness. Really?!" Atem sneered at me from behind the camera. I ignored him and grabbed Zeke in a big, appreciative hug. "That's awesome. Thank you."

"You want to hear it?" His eyes widened with excitement.

"Seriously?" Felicity smacked her lips.

"Or we can wait," he suggested. "Actually, do you wanna take a walk? There's something I wanted to talk to you about, but not in public."

My mind shuffled through the different scenarios he would need to tell me that was so important to walk around the creepy forest alone. "Uh, right now?"

Felicity rushed forward. "Oh, maybe you can go get your phones from the glove box."

"Why?" I shrugged. "Why would I need my phone when you got yours?"

"Just in case, you know?" She rocked back and forth from one foot to the other, digging the toes of her tennis shoes into the top layer of dirt. "Zeke's phone is shit, and what if mine stops receiving a signal?"

"She has a point," Atem chimed in, nodding. "The car is right up the way by the ranger's station. Like ten minutes. Doors are unlocked."

I looked at Zeke and shrugged again. "Okay, sure. Let's take a trip to the car. Having another working phone or two on us is never a bad idea."

We headed off toward the old wooden ranger station, walking side by side and ignoring the distant rolling fog. The crunch of an extra pair of footsteps on dead foliage followed. I turned to see the camera inches from my face again. "Atem, we need privacy."

"I thought you wanted me to film everything."

"That was before I axed the Ayahuasca ceremony." I pointed to the muddy remains of a puddle near the fire pit. "It's over."

"You better not leave me here by myself, idiot," Felicity yelled, phone still in hand. The light from her screen illuminated her grimace.

Atem smacked his lips and rolled his eyes. "I'll get us some snacks. I'm getting hungry, anyway." He turned back toward camp, and we continued our relaxed trek to the car.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, which was nothing new. Zeke's phone's flashlight lit our path. The soft crunch of pine needles from the spruce trees and dried leaves from the sporadic birch tree beneath our feet made the trek somewhat cozy. It was easier to zone out and allow my mind to think of all the things we refused to say.

There was never anything to talk about unless we were discussing my misery or his music. My gloom had become boring, stagnant, the same. And there was one thing I knew about boredom; It did not attract people.

The silence was more of a sign that he wanted to break up with me, but didn't have the guts. I kind of suspected that to be the case for a while. Even I considered a break, but never got around to talking about it or executing it. I figured it would end up being more messy than helpful, and messy is something you don't want to deal with while grieving. But the night was silent, and the fog rolled in. There was no perfect time to bring it up other than now. If he didn't have the guts to do it, maybe I could make it easier for him.

"We should take a break," I started.

"Huh?" He paused, eyes wide and confused. "What? Why?"

"Well, I figured you've been unhappy for a while." I nodded, trying to make the process as clean as possible. The less padding I put around it, the easier and smoother it should be. "I mean, we started going out less than five months ago and maybe spent quality time together one month out of the five."

"No, I was just busy with school and band and stuff." His sudden panic took the form of fidgeting and shuffling his body weight from one foot to the other. "I'm sorry if I seem distant. My parents had me checking out colleges and stuff for after I graduate. You know, I don't have much time to figure that out. I mean, you have another year and a half, but me—"

"Okay, okay." I put my hands up to stop him, ashamed that I even brought it up. "I just thought that's what you wanted to tell me. Forget I even said anything." I searched my mind for a change of subject. "What's with Felicity lately? She seems so cranky."

"Cranky?" He scoffed nervously. "Sounds like Felicity to me." He chuckled, and when I didn't react, he continued, "Honestly, she's been butting heads with her mom or something. She just got her driver's license but suddenly hates driving."

"Really?" I frowned. "She was always bugging you or Atem to help her practice every day after school."

He shook his head. "I don't know. She didn't even want to share driving duty on the two-hour drive up here. It's her dad's Chrysler, and she still wouldn't get behind the wheel."

We continued walking. The car appeared ahead of us. The ranger station porch light lit up most of the car and the surrounding area.

And there was the silence again.

I don't know why I expected anything else. I wasn't even sure what I really wanted from Zeke. Did I want to be with him or not? Did he truly want to be with me, or did he not want to appear like the bad guy in an ugly breakup? Usually, that was the case around school. Whenever a couple publicly broke up, it was usually the guy's fault, or at least that was the story that floated around campus.

"Actually, I just wanted to get away from them for a few minutes." He gave me a look, a familiar glance I only see when his mind is in the deep, dark and dirtiest of places. He smiled, trying to show me his sex appeal, but I only saw the nervousness in his uneven grin. Maybe he was trying to change the subject and get my mind off of breaking up. Who knows, maybe he wanted to keep his mind from it too.

"So, you were trying to get me alone, huh?" I played along, gliding the kinky strands of stray hairs into a loose ponytail at the back of my head, suddenly becoming more self-conscious. I looked down at my baggy sweater and tight jeans, and although I didn't feel very attractive, the thought of having Zeke wrapped around my body for a few wild minutes was way too enticing.

I was no stranger to Zeke's bedroom gaze, and I definitely was no stranger to his touch, preferring those special times over any of the monotony. I've found pleasure in his music, watching him during band practice with The Garbles, and even cuddling and public displays of affection, but the actual pleasure came from his skilled caresses. His magic fingers always had a way of taking my mind off my misery.

He opened the car door for me and waited until I crawled into the backseat before he closed it and went around to the other side. He slid in next to me, enclosing us in our own cramped and grimy but private space. His arm slithered around my shoulder as he pulled me closer. He stared into my eyes. The warm light from the Ranger's station made his gaze bright and welcoming. "You weren't really wanting to break up, were you?"

I frowned, pouting my lower lip like he would do when feigning sadness. "Absolutely not," I lied. He hadn't been interested in me or my issues, and neither had I with his. We were so surface level that it was almost sickening. We never spent over thirty minutes talking and our conversations never got too deep. I couldn't really pinpoint why he would want to stay in a relationship with me other than the few times we rolled around in bed as a distraction from the monotony.

Even now, I welcomed the distraction. I accepted his hand on my body, exploring my every inch and curve. I embraced his warmth and his closeness, no matter how superficial.

He only became interested in me after seeing me cry every day after Clay's funeral. But even now, I didn't want to think about the things that brought on those ugly, bad, painful emotions.

I wanted a distraction, a bit of fun, and a lot of pleasure.

The porch light from the ranger station reflected in his blue eyes as he stared at me. He didn't have to do anything other than lick his lips to moisten them, and my mouth was on his.

My palms caressed the hard muscle under his shirt, and I was his. My lips tasted his, and when he moaned, I did the same. He did my favorite thing and cradled my face in both of his delicate hands, making me feel as if I was the center of attention. I was. It felt like nothing else mattered, and it didn't.

My hands explored his body, chest, arms, abs, feeling the warmth of his smooth skin under his shirt and the map of his muscles on my fingertips. For a split second, I imagined all the Prescott High girls and even some boys throwing envious eyes my way, wishing they were in my position. His gentle hands slid under my shirt. They were magic, playing my most sensitive parts like the strings of a guitar.

I guided his hand down from beneath my shirt to the parts that ached for his magic fingers the most. When they glided below the rim of my pants and found their mark, my head went back and he positioned himself halfway on top of me, leaning me back lengthwise along the seat. His body weighed me down onto the pleather, and I welcomed every ounce and inch.

As we shifted, half-filled bottles rattled around on the floor by our feet. I didn't mind the cold, tacky seats, and the cramped space as I nestled back awkwardly to give Zeke and his magic fingers better access.

His lips were on my neck, soft and wet, grazing the slope and then back up again to devour my lips. Our tongues touched and tangled, and the taste of sweet roasted chestnuts lingered even if it was only my brain relaying the flavor.

I allowed his deep, woodsy scent to overpower my senses and pull me deeper and deeper into his thrilling and tantalizing bliss. And as he went deeper, we pressed our lips to one another's, stifling our moans.

I ignored the oncoming headache that threatened to ruin our moment. The only thing that mattered was his body weight on top of me and his enchanted fingers. Already grateful for the approaching high, I anchored onto him by digging my fingernails into his back and allowing a sigh to take me over the edge, breathing and panting into his neck.

I lay there dazed, trying to come back down to Earth as he did the same, giving me a moment to recalibrate. As my other senses returned, I realized how stuffy and cramped the space was and had the urge to readjust.

He chuckled against the corner of my lips. "Nice talk, huh?"

I jokingly smacked his arm, simultaneously pushing him back to a sitting position. The car rocked as he pulled me up and I fixed my clothes. He, too, adjusted himself, not fretting over the lack of reciprocation.

"Thanks for listening." I grinned, giving him a flirty look. "I really needed to get that off my chest."

He chuckled when I did, and at that moment, I appreciated his efforts. I could still sense the distance in our body language once our euphoria subsided, but I respected his trying.

My name echoing in the distance startled me, and I swiped my hand across the foggy window to see Atem and Felicity running toward the car. The way they moved, and the nervous looks on their faces, concerned me.

I opened the door without a second thought. "What's wrong?"

"We need to get the hell out of here." Felicity's makeup smudged near the corner of her eye, and she glanced behind her as if she was being chased.

"What happened? And why do you have that?" I pointed to my notebook in her grip.

"Something crazy is happening in these woods," she went on. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to catch her breath and speak at the same time. "I'm ready to get the hell out of here. There." She shoved the open notebook in my face. "Read that."

"Just tell me what happened." I refused to subject myself to whatever weirdness was in that notebook. I looked at Atem, since Felicity refused to speak.

Atem gripped the camera in his hand at his side instead of aiming it at me like I expected out of someone who loved capturing drama. "Just read it," he urged, pointing to a specific paragraph in the notebook.

My eyes scanned the page and my throat tightened even before I spoke. "'As passion flowed between the two in the car's backseat, they're filled with a brief sense of pleasure, unaware that the figure is watching their every move, awaiting the opportune time to strike.'" I looked up with wide eyes. "Oh, my god."

"Right?" Atem looked around at the surrounding space. Paranoid, I followed suit, watching the tree line, and waiting for something or someone to emerge.

Felicity shoved the notebook into my hands. "Were you guys fucking?" The look in her eyes, the disgust and disgrace.

"That's none of your business." I closed the book with a slam, refusing to be nice and save face.

"You were, weren't you?" She nodded, sure that the notebook had already exposed us and our deeds. But the look on her face, was that judgement or jealousy? "That story... what is it?" She nodded at the notebook in my hand.

"I told you, it's a book of my stories, notes, and ideas." After opening the book, I pressed my finger to the page. "I don't know where these words came from. I don't remember writing them. But it's pretty creepy that it's suggesting someone is watching us, planning to hurt us."

"I'm ready to go home." Felicity crossed her arms over her chest. A fierce, no-nonsense look on her face I've never witnessed. "Like now, Zeke." It was more than obvious she had enough of the trip.

"Okay, okay." He stepped out of the car. "Let's go get our stuff."

"Fuck that crap," Felicity insisted, opening the front passenger side door. "Let's all go. In this car. Now. There's nothing important over there. No more important than our lives."

"My camera and equipment," Atem whined. "I'm not leaving my equipment. You know how many hours at The Burger Joint I had to work to earn enough to get that stuff?"

"And we can't just leave your dad's ride out here," Zeke reminded her, gesturing back toward the second campsite where they parked it.

"You know what?" Felicity sat down in the seat, preparing to stay planted in Atem's car. "You go ahead and get a chainsaw to the ass for your equipment and that piece of junk 'ride.' I'm not getting out of this car."

"We can drive over there, right?" I looked at Atem, nodding so he would agree. "We can drop off Zeke and Felicity at their car and then get the hell out of here?" As of now, I wasn't going to argue with anyone that wanted to leave the creepy forest.

"Good idea!" Atem rushed to get into the driver's seat. He handed Felicity the camera, and she cradled it on her lap. With me and Zeke in the backseat, Atem carefully backed the car out of the dirt parking space and crept it along the narrow path toward our camp.

The narrow road didn't seem fit for two-way traffic, however, it was wide enough to accommodate a lone car traveling in one direction.

As we pulled up to our campsite with the yellow and orange flames of the blazing fire roaring in the center, the second camera was still on the tripod recording the woods across the road, where the thumping continued to echo beyond the fog.

Atem put the car in park but kept the engine running. "Help me grab the stuff, guys." Just as he opened the door, a strong, icy wind swarmed the car and pelted it with dust and debris from the trail. He slammed the door shut to keep the cloud of dust from entering. "What the hell? What was that?"

Puzzled, we all stared at the growing dense fog just on the other side of the dirt road. And beyond it, the hazy silhouette of the thick trees swayed as their branches danced a rhythmic choreography that was nothing other than bizarre.

"Do you guys see that?" Felicity sat forward to get a better look. "What the hell is going on?"

From deep within the thick wall of fog, the quickening and approaching march of heavy footsteps stomped and pummeled the earth. The sound grew louder as it got closer, doubling, even tripling in quantity.

A low, haunting moan emitted from the fog, shaking my very soul. I couldn't find the words to express my fear, as terror entered my body in a gasp. Without a second thought, Atem locked the doors with a press of a button. The sudden click startled me, but in no time, we were back on the road and leaving the camp to the wind.

The end. Kidding! 

Read on to the next chapter of Tattered Paige, and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments.