Chapter Three

She huffed in irritation but nodded. "But, of course, it's by the river, and the trees have apples and other fruit on them, so we wouldn't have to worry about food running out, and it's dry here so yes, it's a perfect place to set up camp." Leah explained in to them a bit slowly. In response to that statement, everyone took off their packs and immediately started unpacking.

It was a bit of a process, but thankfully her mum had taught her a long time ago on how to set up a tent, so it only took her a little over twenty minutes to get it up right and piled in her blanket and pillows in a neat pile directly in the middle with her diary tucked underneath it, and she smiled in satisfaction.

She got out of her tent and saw that the others were just about almost finished with getting their tents done, and she giggled when Jake had tripped over a rope, cursing at it afterward. "You alright there, man?" Josh asked his friend, amused.

Jake righted himself and fixed back his hair and waved at them. "I'm fine, thanks." He said, and got back into it. Figuring it was going to take a few more minutes to get it done, she went back to her tent and got a large thin string and a hook. Once back out, she turned to Josh.

"I'm going to the river to hunt for some fish for dinner, when you're done, want to help me bring in some fruits as well?" She asked him. He looked up from tying in some ropes into the ground and grinned at her. "Sure, that sounds good to me." He said to her.

Haley smiled at him and turned towards Leah. "I'll be at the river, Leah; do you need my help with anything?" She suggested. Leah looked up for a second. "Sure, can you grab my rug sack and fill it up please? Water is almost gone." She asked her. Haley nodded. "Can do." She said, and grabbed her friend's rug sack. "Can you grab mine while you're down there?" Jake asked her. Haley looked at her hands thoughtfully before she shrugged and grabbed the rest of the rug sacks.

She walked away from the camp site as she made her way toward the river. She walked along the bend to try and find a calmer side of the river, she'd rather not be dragged into it should she manage to real in a large fish.

It took her about a few minutes walk, but she managed to find a decent spot. Not too fast, not too slow. Absolutely perfect for fishing. She set down her stuff and started filling up both rug sacks with water before she put together her fishing pole.

Finding a nice rock nearby, she wielded the pole in the air, so the hook could go a nice decent into the deeper parts of the river and wedged the pole in between some smaller rocks, so it wouldn't slip out of her hands. She took out her diary from a pants pocket, she had managed to take it without everyone seeing it, and propelled herself against the large rock and started writing.

Dear Diary,

We had finally set up camp, and I'm currently by this river hunting for some fish for dinner. Progress ha been made with Joshua, or rather Josh as he asked me to call him. I'm not sure if he knows that I like him or nor, but God, please help me get the courage to tell him. No one else in the village could compare as well.

In my mind, Josh has been nothing if not a gentleman since we started this trip. To be honest, this trip is going a bit too well for me to be comfortable with. The signs had started when we first found the clearing, we're staying in. Both Josh and Jake were nervous to be there, I would say they were perhaps scared. No, they were terrified, she was certain of that fact.

The fact they were scared of the forest they were in made her wonder why they came in the first place. Was it because they were going? Or were they curious of what might be in the forest? She wouldn't know unless she asked. Josh said they would tell us tonight after dinner. Well, it's goodbye for now, Me. I'll see you later.

Love, Haley

She sighed in thought and leaned back against the rock from writing. She took a look at her fishing pole and noticed no change in it, and decided to close her eyes and enjoy the breeze drifting through her hair.

"Haley." A voice whispered around her, causing Haley to jump in surprise. But when she saw nothing, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Hello? Is someone there?" She called out.

She turned around abruptly when she heard a branch break and saw that it was just Josh and sighed in relief. He looked at her with surprise at such a reaction. "Woah, you alright? You looked like you just saw something." He asked her.

She looked around the forest, paranoid. She could have sworn someone said her name.

She shook her head, hoping to get rid of any cobwebs, and gave Josh a smile. "I'm alright, I drifted off a bit while waiting for the fish. Is everyone done setting up camp?" She asked him and sat back down by the rock. He nodded and sat next to her. "Yeah, I reckon that Leah and Jake will be getting the fire place put together while we get dinner set up for the night." He told her.

She sighed in relief and relaxed her body. "No fish yet?" He asked her softly. She shook her head no. He sighed and looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "Well then, what do you want to do while we wait for the fish to bite?" He asked her. "Well, perhaps we could get to know one another more." She suggested softly, blushing.

He hummed a bit to himself in thought. "Alright, do you want to go first with the questions, or should I?" He asked her. She wondered for a bit, but decided that he should go first. "Alright then, favorite color?" He said, smiling at her. Haley just grinned at him. "Purple, I love how pretty it makes the flowers out here." She spoke softly. He just nodded. "Alright, hmm, any people you live with, mom, dad, or both?" She looked at him in surprise with the question. "Um, it's just my mum and I at the moment. My dad passed away. He was a coal miner before we moved to this village, whatever money we had, we used to settle down. It's terrible really, considering I'm slowly starting to forget what his voice sounds like. But I know he was an honorable guy from what mum told me when she wasn't grieving over him." She explained her story, her eyes reflecting that part of herself in a way that had Josh smiling at her sadly.

"I'm sorry to bring up bad memories, Haley, I didn't mean to." He told her quietly. She just gave him a watery smile. "It's alright, it happened a long time ago now that the pain of his death is starting to lessen as each day passes. It's one of the reasons why I was looking forward to this trip." She mentioned.

Josh started leaning in a little bit to get comfortable. "Was there another reason to be on this trip?" He whispered as he looked at her, her blushing cheeks darkening.

Haley gulped a little at the closeness. "Um, uh, do us see...if you..." Splash! She hurriedly gripped her fishing pole when it almost slid into the river and sighed. She stood on her feet along with Josh.

"Well, it looks like the fish aren't in the mood to bite today, so let's gather some fruits for dinner." She suggested, and Josh nodded and helped carry the rug sacks as they went back to camp.

It took them about a few minutes to reach camp, and the sun was just now starting to set when they approached Leah and Jake. Haley noticed how close they seem to be getting and grinned. They were all gathered around the homemade fire pit, they had just finished eating the fruit they gathered for everyone. "So, Jake, what's the story behind this place? Why were you and Josh afraid of it?" Haley asked him, curious.

He leaned a bit closer. "Are you sure you want to know the story?" He asked. The fire illuminated his face in the dark, making him seem intimidating. Both Haley and Leah nodded. "Alright then, get comfortable, it's a bit creepy. It started a long time ago before the village was formed nearby. This village had recently been built and people were still just showing up until one time, this one man regretted ever moving here..."