The Dare

Chapter 5

I don't notice I'm running until I'm already in the woods, surrounded by darkness and trees and nobody else. Space. All I need is a little space. I can still feel everyone's eyes on me, eyes hungry with excitement and wanting to see someone brave the asylum. I'm not scared of the dare, it's just a building.

The scary part was the spotlight, the burning hot spotlight setting my skin on fire while everyone stared at me. I'm not one for the attention, especially from a large group of strangers.

Breathing heavily I slow my legs to a walk and start taking deep breaths. I can hear my heartbeat pulsing in my ears that pushes to the adrenaline in my fingertips. My palms practically drip with clamminess, and nausea builds in my abdomen.

After several long deep breaths, my heart calms down so I can only hear the crickets and toads enjoying their night. The woods are dark, and I'm not sure where I am. This fact, shockingly, is still not as scary as being stared at by those excitement junkies back at the fire.

The October moon is bright as it shines through the trees and gives me enough light to see through the woods, even if it's just barely. It's pretty and peaceful. I allow my head to fully surface from under the waves to let myself fully feel the cool air that smells of dying leaves.

A small giggle, followed by hushing voices, cuts through the air causing me to flinch. I bend my knees as I crouch my way to a tree and lean against it, I do not want to be seen by whoever is out here having a little mini party.

I hear more hushed whispers, but I can't make out the words; or where the noises are coming from. Part of me thinks they don't want to be found either, otherwise they wouldn't be going through the trouble of whispering. I peer around until I make out a flash of color, a green jacket. The person wearing the jacket isn't too far away, but the dim light makes it hard to make out who it is.

Whoever is wearing the jacket gets spun around in a flourishing mannerer before being pinned to a tree, there's more giggling and what I can only assume to be canoodling. My skin grows hot, I suddenly feel like I'm seeing things I'm not supposed to see. I turn around to walk away and there it goes. A snap. I stepped on a goddamn stick.

My whole body freezes up, seriously? What kind of idiot steps on a stick. The whispering stops and everything goes silent, even the toads don't have commentary. I hear a girl's voice, one I haven't heard before, breaking the silence.

"Who's there." It's not asked as a question, more of a demand. Oh God, oh God, oh God. She sounds angry, frustration lacing her sharp tone. I hold my breath as I step out from the tree I was hiding behind, having a gut-wrenching feeling that if I don't respond I would definitely be toast. My eyes adjust so I can see two girls standing before me, faces still red from the canoodling, and I feel like I'm slapped with a brick.

"Hi...Hazel." My tongue feels heavy. I'm not sure what else to say, I feel like a moron for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and for invading their privacy.

"Who do you think you are?" The other girl snaps at me, her eyes burning with frustration and anger pulling her face into a scowl. She's a pretty girl, with cocoa skin and ringlet curly hair; but the anger on her face scares me.

"I-I'm sorry. I was trying to get away from all the people at the fire-" She cuts me off by snapping her fingers and I'm shocked at the amount of anxiety in my body, she's probably about my height but her whole demeanor makes me feel shorter than Avery.

"I don't remember asking what you were doing, I asked who the hell you think you are." I don't know what to say, is there a good response to this? Hazel says nothing this whole time, her eyes just glazed over in fear and obvious discomfort. "What makes you feel so entitled to feel like you can sneak up on people in the woods-" This time I cut her off, feeling the need to defend my situation.