Finally it was fall break. My four friends and I decided to go on a weekend camping trip to Hoosier National Park in Bloomington, Indiana. It was a warm, beautiful Friday afternoon. The water was gleaming in the sunlight and I happened to be sick from the food we cooked on the fire the previous night. So there I was, stuck in the large family tent that Jimmy had uncovered in his attic four days ago. The tent did shield me from the sun’s powerful rays but did not let in much fresh air. All I could do was lay in my sleeping bag, hoping my friends would be back from their hike soon so they could make me some soup and get rid of the boredom that engulfed me for almost two hours now.

Then I finally heard the footsteps of someone slowly stepping on the bright colored leaves and small twigs that had begun to cover the hiking trail. As soon as I heard the complaining voice and the soft footsteps, I figured that Liz had decided to turn around and come back sooner than the others. Liz had grabbed the can of bug spray off the weathered picnic table and the sound of the hissing can filled my ears. I saw the zipper of the tent door begin to slide open and was in shock to see dozens of red, bumpy mosquito bites covering Liz from head to foot. It looked liked she had been scratching each bite from the moment she was bitten because there were red scratch marks all over her arms and face. However, her clothes were completely unscathed and looked like they came straight out of a fashion magazine. Liz stumbled over sleeping bags and threw open her bag. She grabbed a bottle of perfume and the mixture of bug spray and perfume filled my nostrils and made me want to throw up again.

From all the clamor Liz was causing inside, I didn’t even hear Jimmy approach the tent. It was now starting to get dark and the zipper to the tent door opened a little more frantically than when Liz opened it and as soon as I saw his face dripping with sweat I knew something was wrong. Danny looked at me. His eyebrows were wrinkled and his hands looked mangled as they were locked tight over his ears. He too, had large bug bites covering his entire body. They made him look puffy and swollen. Danny’s body odor filled the tent along with Liz’s scent of bug spray and perfume and all I could think about was getting out of that tent and getting some fresh air. Screams from Danny’s mouth filled my ears as I began to climb out of the tent. He sounded like a little toddler getting torn away from the toy aisle in a store. His eyes were completely bloodshot and fear was written all over his face.

It was almost completely dark when Peter finally showed up but I could clearly see the blood running form his crooked nose and onto his pale lips and the many cuts and bruises on his body. The brand new clothes Peter had bought before the camping trip were torn, and hung loose from his body. He stumbled into the tent like a drunken man and would not utter a single word but his eyes stayed wide open. The whites of his eyes shining clearly in the near dark of the somewhat crowded tent. There was something crazy going on out in the woods. A creature was creeping around in the dark, and I didn’t want to wait around to meet it face to face. I knew we needed to get out of there quick but where in the heck was Christina? How could they leave Christina alone on that now completely dark trail?

Far in the distance, I heard Christina’s painful screams. I yelled for the others to start the car and make sure we had all the essentials before pealing out of there. When Christina arrived to the edge of the trail she was on her hands and knees. Her right leg could have easily been a twig that was snapped in half. A trail of bright, red blood followed her. There were deep gashes on her arms and legs and dirt was tightly packed into her wounds. Her glasses had broken and cut into the brim of her nose. Christina’s favorite shirt was completely torn off her body but right now that did not matter. Her face was as pale as the moon and she was about to pass out. Peter picked up Christina will all the strength he had left and tossed her into the car. I was glad to be going home but fear and pain was etched all over my four friends’ bodies. The silence was nerve breaking and I couldn’t wait until we found a hospital. Our weekend camping trip had turned into a complete nightmare.