“Claire, are you up here?” my friend Addie called out.
“Yeah, I’m in my room,” I replied.
Addie walked into my room and fell back onto to my bed with a sigh.
“Friday the thirteenth and we’re going to the lake, seems risky to me,” she whined; I could hear the fear in her voice.
“First of all, you’re a scaredy cat and secondly, Friday the thirteenth is just any other day,” I explained, grabbing my jacket from my closet.
“Whatever you say,” Addie responded, following me down the wooden staircase. “You’re mom knows we’re going, right?”
“Yeah, I told her earlier. I’ll just run down and let her know we’re leaving,” I said energetically.
I went downstairs and told my mother we were leaving. She nodded once and mumbled, “Be careful.”
I ran back up the stairs and told Addie we could go. We went outside. As we turned corner after corner and looked back and forth at countless street crossings, I wondered when we’d finally get there.
“So Tia, Noah and Amelia are already there, right?” Addie asked, shattering the peaceful silence.
“Tia and Noah, Amelia couldn’t go,” I responded.
“Oh, Amelia can never go anywhere,” Addie said, “It’s like she eats, sleeps and plays the piano.”
I laughed as we came up to the lake. I saw Noah and Tia standing near the old, rusty bridge. I waved, and they walked over.
“So what are we going to do?” Tia asked, toying with her light brown hair.
“I could show you guys the fort my brother and I made,” Noah said, pointing towards the woods.
“Is it in the woods? Like in the deadly and dark woods?” Addie asked, wringing her hands.
Noah stopped to think before answering. I sighed and turned to face Addie.
“Yes it is. Any other questions?” I asked, letting my annoyance tinge my words.
“Do we have to go in there? It’s not exactly safe,” Addie complained.
“Do you? No, do I? No, but I’d really like some adventure here and there,” I snapped, already loosing my temper.
This always happened. Tia said nothing, Addie complained and I was left to make the group decisions.
“It just seems idiotic,” Addie mumbled, pulling on her hair.
I glared at her before saying, “I’m going.”
Tia stepped forward and stated, “Me too.”
“Count me in,” Noah chimed in.
I beamed triumphantly. We all stared at Addie expectantly. She was silent, apparently not shaken by us.
“Addie, we’re going, with or with out you is your decision,” Tia said sternly.
“Fine, I’ll go,” Addie muttered, defeated.
I smiled as we followed Noah into the woods. He looked around a few times before venturing on. After walking for a few minutes, we came to the fort. It was actually well-crafted. The ground had been dug up and pulled away to make a distinct “L” shape. The walls were sturdy and fishnets, sodden cardboard and withering sticks sectioned off areas. I pushed though a tangle of fishnets to find a very small cave. The ceiling was supported by sticks and I could see cardboard beneath my feet. I had to crouch down to fit inside.
“Wow, this is really cool,” I said, really just talking to myself, as I stood up.
“Yeah, it took awhile to make,” Noah said from behind me.
I twirled around to see him walking around the perimeter of the fort. Addie and Tia were now fighting to get inside the tiny cave. Tia eventually won and Addie walked over, defeated yet again.
“This is nice and all, but that cave thing over there is, like, super small,” Addie said, brushing dirt off her clothes.
I stifled a laugh as Noah responded, “Well, it’s not meant for people to live their lives in. It’s used for storing stuff we find out here.
I nodded as I thought about this. Noah smiled, apparently proud.
“You guys want to follow the path?” Noah asked, pointing at a worn down dirt path.
“Sure,” Tia and I answered at once.
Addie eyed it for a minute before nodding. Noah jumped down onto the path and started walking. We all followed. The dusty path led us to a fork. Noah paused and looked at each trail in turn. They both looked man-made, but the one on the right seemed more grassy and rocky.
Of course, Noah picked the one on the right. We walked for about ten minutes before I realized the path was gone, only grass was beneath my feet.
“Noah?” I asked, biting my lip.
“Yeah,” he called out, looking over his shoulder.
“Where’s the path?” I questioned.
Noah, Addie and Tia looked down. Addie’s head snapped up as she tried to find where we lost it. Tia groaned, looking at Noah. Noah’s cheeks reddened as he looked around helplessly.
“I don’t know,” he mumbled.
We looked at him anxiously, hoping he would have an epiphany and realize he knew exactly where we were. He didn’t. He muttered something about going back. I followed as he started walking. As he turned and saw our worried faces, he sighed. He started to pretend he knew where we were, but I could tell he was lying. Trees and thorn bushes covered the sides of our makeshift path.
Suddenly Tia screamed a sickening sound and I spun around, alarmed. Tia was jumping up and down frantically. I could see something in her hair, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Noah started to laugh as I felt the realization hit me.