Chapter Seven

"Hey, guys, thanks for waiting on us. Sorry it took some time, the wound was still a bit tender." Haley said with a shy smile. Josh gave her a small one. "That's alright, we had just finished scavenging for breakfast, we caught fish this time, so I hope you're hungry." He suggested, and she nodded immediately as her stomach started to rumble.

Everyone gathered around the fire as they waited for the fish to cook. "So...anyone up for exploring today?" Jake piped up a bit, causing everyone to look at him before turning to look at Haley. She looked up from watching the grass dancing with the wind to see everyone looking at, and blushed at the attention. "Um, we can if we want to, that is. My shoulder is feeling a bit better." She lied through her teeth.

Leah looked at her with doubt, but Josh smiled.

"Alright then, guess we're exploring. Where do we go after breakfast?" He asked them. Jake grinned mischievously. "How does the nearby village sound?" Dread filled through Haley at those words.

Everyone walked through the dense forest as they followed an overgrown trail Jake had found. Haley bit her lip nervously at the thought of that abandoned village, but she also didn't want to be alone any more than necessary, so she went with them despite her shoulder.

The further they walked, the thinner the trees grew, and the animal wildlife became quiet. It was as if the forest had suddenly grown silent as though it knew where they were heading to and Haley shivered as a slight chill flew through her entire body and Josh made his way to her side.

"Are you okay, Haley?" He asked her in concern. "I'm fine, but this village...after last night." She stated with a whisper. He didn't know how to answer to her, so he kept quiet. "I'm scared. I know I should've said something before, but I didn't want to leave this trip. I am truly scared, Josh. There's this demon out there and it wants to hurt us for trespassing. Just from camping alone. I can't imagine what could happen when we go through its village, despite it being abandoned. " She admitted to him softly.

Josh had to admit, what Haley said made sense. And she had the proof with the three long jagged red scars on the back of her right shoulder, but once Jake got an idea stuck inside his head, he knew there was no stopping his friend from doing what he wanted.

He stood in front of her and gently laid both of his hands on her shoulders and stared deeply into her eyes before taking a breath. "How does this sound, I promise to be with you every step of the way, that way nothing could touch you with me there and if nothing happens, then that's a good thing. " He promised her. But fear still stayed.

"But what if something bad does happen?" She asked him. Silence took Josh as he tried to think of an answer. "Then I guess we'll fight it together and keep living." He said, trying to cheer her up. She looked at him for a bit before she rolled her eyes.

"How can we even fight something when we can't see them in the first place?" She huffed at his stunned expression and shoved past him to meet up with Leah. It took about another half hour before they could finally begin to see some rotting rooftops of the old cabins of the village. Jake grinned in excitement and leaned into Leah. "We have arrived." He said in his spookiest tone, causing Leah to giggle at him in amusement.

THE ABANDONED VILLAGE

Haley looked around, lifting her dress here and there to keep away from a branch in curiosity. It's everything it's supposed to look like, an abandoned village. All the cabins were rotten to the core, henges were falling apart, and dirty hay was almost everywhere, but the thing that made Haley nervous the most was that one small house at the edge of the village beside the building that looked like an old church. It looked lonely, dark, and jaded all rolled into one. It's as if the building itself was stuck in time, and it couldn't let go of it.

The wind pushed a roll of hay across the ground in front of the group. Leah giggled nervously. "So, what should we explore first?" She asked them. Jake looked around a bit before he noticed the church, and he lit up instantly.

"Let's check out the church over there." He said, pointing to it, and looking at Josh and Haley. "Well, guys?" He said, raising an eyebrow at them. Josh looked over at Haley in concern. He walked over to her and leaned his head in so that his mouth aligned with her ear. "I promise I'll stick close to you as much as possible." He whispered and backed away to look at her.

She was unsure, that much he could see, but there was trust in her as well, and she trusted. That made his heart swell. He watched her mule over the church a bit before she finally nodded, and Jake grinned before he grabbed Leah's hand. "Let's get to it!" He said cheerfully.

Haley giggled a bit at their antics when she felt something take hold of her and saw that it was Josh. Seeing that he wanted to stick true to his word caused her to smile at him, and they went ahead and followed their friends.