I woke up suddenly at the sound of an owl hooting too loudly.

Wriggling my hands out of the sleeping-bag, I turned to my side and tried to catch some sleep again.

No! That stupid bird had spoiled my sleep.

Dejectedly I opened the chain of my sleeping-bag and freed my limbs. Stretching my sore body, I unzipped the firm tent door and breathed in the fresh, earthly smell of the forest air.

Coming out of the small tent I was stunned by the eerie stillness of my surroundings. I looked around at the row of tents surrounding the small campfire which was glowing with dying flames.

Something struck me. The door of Judy’s tent was open. Where had she gone at that wee hour?

I looked at the radium dial of my clock.

12:30 am.

Cautiously I crept up to the entrance of the tent, flipped back the door and peered inside.

It was pitch dark.

I flashed my torch in all directions. Her backpack, her hiking gear, all lay scattered around. Her sleeping bag, her muffler, everything lay in a state of chaos.

That certainly wasn’t normal.
There seemed to be some kind of a scuffle in the tent.

“J-U-D-E-E-E-E,” I screamed.

My voice echoed through the forest, coming back to me like a fog of darkness.

I tried calling her. But there was no network.

“Jayden, Judy is missing,” I burst into Jayden’s tent.

To my utter horror, it was a mess too. No sign of Jayden.

My knees shook.

I ran from one tent to another, in my panic. All four of them were empty.

“J-A-Y-D-E-N, J-U-D-Y, T-A-M-A-R-A, E-L-L-I-O-T,” I screamed.

My pleas were met by a stoic silence.

I dropped to the ground, numb. All my fellow campers had gone missing. Where to find them? What to do?

I felt my eyes stinging. I was remembering one particular incident which hadn’t held its significance then. But as I looked back, the words of a frail, old lady, from one of the neighbouring villages, were ringing in my ears.

“The forest has eyes. Beware,” she had warned, waving her walking stick at us.

My friends and I had ignored her as some senile woman. But now as I reflected on the events, my worst fears were coming true.

Someone or something had kidnapped my friends.

My first reaction was to run back to the nearest town and search for help. But what if they were in some serious trouble?

I couldn’t just gamble on their life, ever.

I had to go search for them, even if it meant me going into the forest, all alone.

466 words...
TO be continued...

Thanks MaryFahey for introducing me to this genre mystery