Elijah Henderson

I sobbed harder, thinking all I wanted was to make it out alive.

but the voices of my neighbor only made it scarier.

They kept repeating the same thing again and again.

That's when I realized overthinking was a waste of time.

Staying here would only lead me into danger, so I decided to head toward the villagers' houses.

From there, my lonely journey began not with hope, but filled with fear.

Even as my eyes searched for a way out, my legs were shaking.

Every step I took sent my mind racing with thoughts.

I never imagined that the people I trusted would leave me here alone.

I still couldn't understand what had happened to them.

Why had they abandoned me?

Suddenly, I felt something heavy under my foot.

With no idea what it was, but filled with intense fear, I shined my flashlight on the ground.

I couldn't believe what I saw.

It was the person who had joined us along the way, the one who had helped us set up the tent, lying there, lifeless.

I only remember closing my eyes at that moment.

The next morning, I woke up in a cottage of a forest ranger who had found me in the woods.

I was surrounded by village people.

I tried to explain everything, what had happened with my neighbors, how we had teamed up as four people, and the lifeless person I had seen.

I told them that was why I fainted.