Be Careful What You Wish For

There's a certain kind of magic to watching these meteors fall. It's one of those times that the silvery streaks seem to make anything possible. As I watch this amazing sight, I feel... mystified.

I look over my shoulder and see Amanda and Jackson sharing a telescope together. They hold hands and large smiles paint their faces as they turn to each other. I turn away before they kiss. It's something that I don't want to see.

Jealousy starts to grow in my chest as I try to focus back on the night spectacle. I pull my bare knees close to my body and try to stay warm. It has been a warm summer for August but out in the wilderness, a certain chill within me remains present.

"I love you," Amanda whispers.

"I love you too," he says.

Ugh, why couldn't they just save their lovey words for later? I mean it was bad enough that she was dating him, but she could at least pretend that she wasn't purposely betraying me. Their words continue and soon the sound of kissing lips fills the fresh air.

I roll my eyes as I look up at the sky. I see a bright flash go by and I make a wish. Please kill these people for me, I joke, I don't think that I can stand being the third wheel for much longer. I laugh silently at myself. It brings myself out of my self-pity for a bit.

I look back up at the stars, but... No... that shouldn't be able to happen. As I look up I see that the meteor that I had wished upon was starting to grow bigger and bigger. Brighter and Brighter. I stand up quickly. This isn't supposed to happen.

"Guys," I say quickly, "Are you seeing this?"

Amanda and Jackson look away from each other. Suddenly, both their faces break apart in fear. I look back to see the bright streak fall to the ground. The sound is piercing, so painful that all I can do is fall to the ground as my hands press tightly against my ears. The ground rumbles beneath me. I'm pretty sure that my eardrums have been injured.

I look over at the others on the ground. They are holding onto each other, their eyes clenched in fear. Slowly, I get up and look to where the meteor crashed. The trees in the distance seem to be torn away. Something glows in the distance.

"Holy," Amanda swears, "Kasha, what do we do?"

The two people get up and stare up at the sky, their faces terrified. Then both of them look at me as if I know what to do in a situation like this.

"I think we should call 9-11," I say slowly, still in shock.

I pull out my phone and started to type on the device. I press dial and wait for the comforting tone to follow. Nothing happens. I have no service.

"There's no way to call 9-11," Jackson states, panic starting to fill his voice, "And we're miles from the car. There's no way we're going to find it in the dark."

I sit down on the smooth rock again. We have to do something. However, the ringing in my ears is so powerful that I can hardly process a thought.

"We're not going to find our way back guys," I say as I turn towards them, "I think we should stay in the tent liked we planned. Some officials must have seen the meteorite too, they're going to send someone."

Amanda and Jackson nod their heads slowly. It seems like the reasonable thing to do. Really, what other choice do we have? We all start to get ready for bed in a stressed, quietness. I look back at the place where the meteorite has fallen as I undress. The glow has disappeared but the trees that had once been there were gone.

As I pull my shirt on, I see a figure move just by the tree line. It is tall and has long hooked hands. Its teeth dripping with some type of liquid.

I struggle to put my shirt on and scream as I run back to the tent. I turn back once to see if the figure has followed me, but there is nothing there. Jackson comes out of the tent, looking worried.

"Are you okay?" He asks manically.

"I-I," I try to speak but fear holds onto my tongue, "I think I saw someone back there."

Amanda comes out of the tent then, her face all pinched up. Together the three of us make our way to the tree line. Jackson points his flashlight at the place where I had seen the monster. There is nothing there except for the trees.

"As much as I hate the idea of sleeping here," I say worriedly, knowing that I just imagined the creature, "I don't think that I would be able to handle a trip in the dark."

Together we make our way back to the tent. As we roll into our sleeping bags we try to talk about light topics, anything to take our minds off the fact that we are in the middle of nowhere with no contact to the outside world.

Then, we hear the light sound of a footstep. All of us stopped talking. My ears try to pick up where the sound has come from as my body fills with adrenaline.

"Jackson," Amanda cries, "Please go check what that was."

Jackson looks back at his girlfriend with fear in his eyes. He wants to say no, but he feels like this is something that he has to do. As much as I wish he wouldn't go, a larger part of me hopes that he will come back and tell us that is was just a branch scraping against a rock.

He leaves the tent silently, taking the flashlight with him so that Amanda and I are cast into total darkness. We listen for his footsteps. They are loud against the rock. The footsteps stop.

"Do you think he's okay?" Amanda whispers frantically into my ear.

"Ya," I whisper back, "I think he's just playing a really mean trick on us."

I try to sound confident for Amanda but fear keeps rushing through every part of my body. We wait another minute for Jackson to come back.

He doesn't come back.

Amanda starts to nervously cry.

"Come on Jackson!" I yell, "This is the worst prank ever!"

At that moment the tent falls on top of us. Amanda lets out a high-pitched scream and grabs onto me. Every part of me is shaking. I wait for the monster that I had seen to come attack me. But monsters aren't real. I try to repeat that thought over and over in my head until I'm able to get my bearings.

"The tent just fell on us, that's all," I struggle to say. "We just have to get out of this."

I struggle out of the tent and help Amanda out with me. Then as I stand up in the pitch dark I feel something warm on the ground beneath me. I look down and scream. Jackson lays dead, his flashlight flickering as it illuminates his empty face.

Both of us scream and turn to run in the other direction. In the distance, we can see the monster staring at us. I notice that its eyes flash a startlingly bright shade of purple. Amanda and I freeze, our bodies refusing to move to safety.

The monster stands next to us now. The glow from its eyes illuminating its gruesome smile. Then it reaches out for Amanda. I try to jump in front of my friend but the monster swats me away as if I were nothing more than a fly. I fly through the air hitting the ground hard. My head is pounding and there is a large gash in my right thigh. Blood starts to cover my legs.

I look up just in time to see the monster drop my friend's broken body to the ground. I cry out as I crawl over to her. I cradle her broken face as I feel the life start to drain out of me as well. I look up at the monster and start to cry harder.

The monster crouches down over me and I know I am about to die. Instead, it kisses me on the cheek before whispering to me in a disgustingly feminine voice.

"You know, some believe that when you wish upon a star, your wish comes true."

Then I watch as the monster retreats back into the forest as I lay between my dead friends. I look up into the darkness. The sky is empty. There are no wishes.

No hope.