Then who was it - a short story

Nightfall approached as Jake and Christie were struggling to find their way back to the campsite after a long and gruelling hike. Bob, their other friend, was back in the campsite and couldn't make it to the hike because of an injury.

Bob was getting worried about Jake and Christie's whereabouts as the food had cooled down and they still hadn't returned.

"Jake? Christie? Where are you?", he called out. Only the owls responded.

Amidst the dark and dense forest, Bob - even in excruciating pain - decides to venture out to find them.

"Jake? Christie?", he called out again. Silence prevailed. He felt a chill on the side of his neck. He couldn't resist turning around and checking about it. All he could see was a shadowy figure moving. Ignoring it, he moved ahead.

Darkness prevailed, the flashlight was out of battery, the map was lost. Petrified, every moment, Jake and Christie were thinking about getting back to the campsite.

"Our flashlight is out of battery and we've lost our map. " said Christie with tears rolling out of her eyes.

"Christie!" Jake exclaimed. "It is not the time to cry. Think about something that we could do to survive this night."

All of a sudden, the two of them saw a horrifying figure swiftly going through the woods.

What... was that? Questioned Jake in a Shaky tone.

Cursing themselves, every second, Jake and his companion moved ahead quaking in their boots.

Limping through the woods, The whereabouts of his comerades were concerning Bob every moment. Convincing himself, Bob dragged his bleeding foot and went searching for Jake and Christie. Christie's hysterical weeping called to Bob's attention. He limped over to her as fast as he could to console her. He called out to Jake to help him but he got no response. Bob looked around but all he could see was the dense dark forest, and for a brief fleeting moment, a dark figure. He rubbed his eyes only to see it disappear. He didn't think much of it and went back to tending Christie. He went in the search of Jake who they thought was possibly lost, but was that actually the case?

Amidst a forest with mysterious, horrifying looking trees, Bob and Christie were finding there way to the camp because Christie needed rest. Eventually, they found the way and got back to the camp. He asked Christie to rest as she looked exhausted. He again ventured out to find Jake.

Walking in the middle of the woods, he saw a disheveled Jake with his face towards some undergrowth.

"Turn around Jake!" Exclaimed Bob furiously. "You shouldn't have left Christie alone in the forest"

His eyes, almost felt like they would camouflage in the background if taken out. His face was pale white and eyes completely black. The horrifying scene made Bob scream at the top of his voice. It was so loud that it was heard all around the hill. Bob limped as fast as he could for saving his life. Looking back while going, he could see possessed Jake walking behind him.

The light was on, reading a book in her tent, Christie was trying to engage herself unaware of what was happening. She didn't worry about her mate, Jake. It should be known as he abandoned her amidst the forest, but, was it actually what had happened?

Bob felt some droplets of water falling on him. In a flash, he realised that it was drizzling. It was assured that it would pour and be a tough night. He looked back to see if the malevolent force in the form of Jake was behind him. To his relief he didn't see anything behind. He turned around just to see.....

Christie was now concerned. She couldn't sleep even if she tried to. She was thinking about Bob and Jake the whole time. She stepped out to see if her friends were back. She could hear someone calling her name out. She looked around only to see the wet soil and the trees. She ignored the call and went back inside the tent.

Bob was extremely terrified to see Jake in front of him. He started running backwards.

"What happened "? Interrogated Jake.

"Go away from me" shouted Bob.

"Let's get back to the camp. It is about to rain." Jake said.

"I don't believe you!" Exclaimed Bob.

"Trust me. I won't do anything. Where is Christie though?" Replied Jake.

"Back at the camp" said Bob

Trusting Jake, he went to the camp with him. They reached the camp. Bob called out to Christie. She came out and was thrilled to see Jake and Bob. She was talking to Bob while he noticed that Jake had no shadow even though he was next to the camp light. He told Christie about it and both of them ran instantly. Running through the woods, They somehow found the way to go downhill and reached there in a matter of an hour. The sun was rising and they were extremely delighted. There happiness though, was short as they realised that they had lost Jake.

They returned home to make a call to Jake's Mother who they thought would be worried about him. The call was made.

"Hello."

"Yes, this is Maria speaking, how may I help you?"

"Hi, is this jake's mom?"

"Yes it is, what happened ?"

"Ma'am, we're sorry to say, but we've lost Jake during the hike."

"Is this Christie?"

"Yes"

"Are you trying a prank of some sort?"

"No, Why?"

"He was ill the whole week and has been lying in bed. He didn't go to any hike. Bye!"

The call hung up. Bob and Christie realised many things, but most importantly, they realised that the so called "Jake" on the hike was not their Jake.

"Then who was it?"