Anika Marklod

After what felt like forever we finally arrived at our destination, but we were stupid, we arrived at a creepy place where we wanted to camp, but the dumbasses I came with didn't think about THE TIME! it was literally 1:12am. they are  so stupid...

I looked around in disbelief. The place was eerily quiet, the moon casting a dim light on the trees and bushes that surrounded us.

"Are you guys out of your mind? We can't set up camp here at this hour. It's dark and creepy, not to mention we're exhausted. And who knows what kind of critters are lurking around in the forest at this time at night."

They all got out of the car with their phones with the flashlights on, since I was sitting next to Kyle he was now standing next to, I don't know how to feel about it really, but I know I felt safe even in the creepy dark place.

"AMY are you still asleep?!" I heard Arson waking her um, I chuckled a bit but again... HOW ARE WE CAMPING HERE?

Amy stirred, waking up from her brief nap. "H-huh? What's going on?"

Arson smiled. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead. We've arrived."

"Wait, what?" Amy mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Wait... we're camping here?"

"Guys, relax you've got an adult here, plus it's fine I did it with my friends from college before." Arson said while pointing at himself with a confident smile.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Oh, great, so now the guy who can barely make cereal without burning down the kitchen is going to lead our camping escapade?"

Arson shot him a playful glare. "Hey, I'll have you know I made instant noodles last week, and only one bowl caught fire."

"Only one, huh? Impressive," Kyle said sarcastically.

Kaity who was leaning into the car finally talked. "Guys I feel like we forgot something, the atmosphere is quitter than the usual don't you  think?"

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Quiet? What do you mean, Kaitlyn? There's crickets and owls and... well, nature noises." She winced at the dark forest surroundings.

Kaitlyn shook her head. "No, not that. I mean, like, the vibes. It's hard to explain, but something feels off..."

"OH! Jason is still asleep in the car guys. No wonder I wasn't losing my mind." said Arson while pointing at the car with his thumb.

I chuckled, it indeed was calmer than the usual, I glanced at Kyle, he kept zoning out a lot today, he was just staring at the ground, while the others were taking out the huge tent and already talking about setting it.

"Kyle?" I nudged him, to which he flinched and quickly backed away, but soon his expression was back to the soft smile.

"Hmm?" he lifted the flashlight of his phone to my direction, I frowned a bit because it was too bright.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly, I could already here Jason's loud voice, guess they waked him up to help them set the tent but it was faint because all my focus was on Kyle now.

Kyle rubbed the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about the light."

He switched off the flashlight, plunging us back into near-darkness, the faint glow from the others' phones barely illuminating our faces. The sounds of the forest grew louder now, crickets chirping and distant rustling of leaves.

I could discern the faint outlines of Kyle's features in the dim light. There was something in his expression that seemed a bit off, a hint of exhaustion or maybe something else. But he quickly regained his composure.

"Let's help set up before Jason decides to 'accidentally' throw the tent into the bushes." He chuckled lightly, trying to shrug off whatever was on his mind.

That look... I knew that look... I knew it very well. I was just about to follow him suddenly  a white flashing memory flashed throw my mind. "You abounded me...." I saw the same guy again... the bloody hands, the rainy streets, it was as if... as if I saw it right in front of me here, right here when Kyle looked at me.

My head hurt so much, my eyes closed shut tightly and both my hands went to my ears trying to block that sound. "YOU ABOUNDED ME!" The voice got even louder.

Kyle's eyes widened as he noticed my distress. "Ani! What's happening? Hey, look at me!"

The others who were setting up the tent looked back at the commotion. My body was trembling slightly, and the memory had taken over my thoughts completely.

I looked at Kyle, for a second I saw his face, but it was dark... as soon as my eyes met his deep eyes, It flashed back again, I saw that guy in my dreams, he was holding me tightly by my shoulders and the voices got extremely loud now. "YOU LIED!"

"YOU PROMISED!" I couldn't take it anymore, I didn't see Kyle anymore, the person in front of me... it was that person... that person who's fingers were almost digging into my shoulders. "LIAR!"

Meanwhile, Kyle was trying to get my attention by waving his hand. "Ani, focus. It's not real, snap out of it!"

Suddenly everything went black...                           

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~~~

When I opened my eyes... I didn't know where am I everything was very blurry, did I faint? As my eyes finally adjusted to the light I saw more clearly, I felt someone's hand on my shoulder, it was Amy, they were... huh? we were already inside the tent, for how long was I unconscious?

"She's awake guys." Amy suddenly spoke, but her voice was very muffled and fainted, I could barely hear it. 

"Hey Ani... are you alright?" I felt Kyle's soft hand on my forehead, it was his bandaged hand... I just thought to myself... wasn't it supposed to be healed by now? 

I blinked a bit then nodded remembering Kyle's voice. He let out a sigh of relief and pulled his hand away. 

Amy gave me a worried glance, leaning closer. "Are you feeling okay? You've been unconscious for a good ten minutes. We were all worried as heck."

"W-what exactly happened?" I asked in a bit of a hoarse voice.

They just glanced at each other. No one said anything though. 

"Ani, you zoned out," Kaitlyn finally spoke. "Suddenly you were muttering something about someone abandoning... and you started having a full-on panic attack."

Jason who was sipping on a can of soda suddenly talked too. "Yeah, you started freaking out when Kyle touched you, you even scratched his arm."

I gasped, feeling a wave of guilt wash over me. "I-I did? I didn't mean to. I..."

Kyle interrupted, giving me a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Ani. You weren't yourself. Plus, it was an accident. I'm fine, I promise."

I slowly sat up, still feeling a bit disoriented. The memory, or whatever it was that caused my breakdown, still felt all too real. The others were watching me intently, their expressions a mix of concern and confusion.

Arson spoke up, his voice laced with concern. "You scared us half to death, Ani. We were considering taking you to the nearest hospital. Is this something that happens often?"

I shook my head, still feeling a bit shaken. "No, it's... it's the first time something like this happened to me. I don't know what triggered it."

Amy reached out and patted my shoulder. "Maybe it's because you've been pushing yourself too hard lately. You look exhausted. Have you been getting enough rest?"

I shrugged, feeling a mix of frustration and confusion. "I-I don't know. I've been having these... dreams. Or memories. Memories that I'm not so sure are mine."

Kyle Miller 

I knew it, my concerns were right, she was afraid if me... it was all my fault, I can't imagine... for how long did she have to deal with this? I am stupid, I shouldn't have talked to her, I should've just stayed silent... it was traumatizing, If she remembered what happened... she won't live a peaceful life again... What have I done... This is selfish... I've only been thinking about myself, my own needs, not her feelings, she wasn't going to forgive me, but now she will never forgive me... never... 

Jason snapped his fingers next to my ear, which startled me. "Hey, where is your head at bro?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to Jason. "Oh, uh, sorry. I was just... thinking."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Thinking? You looked lost in another world there, bro. Everything okay?"

I tried to brush it off with a scoff. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, that's all."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Alright, man. Come on you must be hungry."

I looked up, huh? when did they set down everything.

I looked around at the setup. They had laid out the food and drinks they brought for a quick meal. Everyone was already eating. I realized I hadn't eaten anything in hours. But for some reason... I didn't even want to smell food at all, I looked at my phone screen it said 2:00am, I was supposed to take my medicine four hours ago... 

Arson offered me a plate with some food. "Here, take this. You should eat something."

Despite feeling slightly off, I managed a small smile. "Thanks, but I'm not really hungry. I'm going to grab some water from the car." I got up, quickly excusing myself before he could offer anything more.

Making sure no one was following me, I made my way to the car, darkness enveloping me. 

I quickly took out my meds from my bag, I don't even know how many pills I shoved into my mouth, it was maybe 3 or 5... I had to do this, there was no freaking way I was going to have my 'episodes' in front of them all.

I let out a sigh of contentment from the relief of finally having the medicine. I leaned against the car, my eyes scanning the surrounding area, the trees, the full moon and the stars around it, it looked as if they all were celebrating the full moon, with their soft shin.

I placed a hand on my chest, I could feel it starting to hurt, good thing I took the meds... I could still feel a bit of a sting from where Ani had scratched me... it wasn't that  bad but she accidentally opened well.... on of my... self caused wounds...

I am sorry...