• Three friends were hiking through a woods. Their names were James, Cody and Zach. Cody's family had recently bought the 250 acre woods along with an additional 100 acres of bare land (including their house...). It was the first time Cody and his friends had been in the woods since his parents bought the house. It was getting late, the sun would set in half an hour. The boys stopped and rested next to a hollowed out tree, overlooking a clearing in the woods.
    "I think we should start to head back to the house, it's getting late", said Zach, who was expecting his mom to pick him up shortly after sun down.
    "Yeah, let's leave, we've been in here all day", said Cody. The three teenagers started to go back from the direction that they came from. After about 20 minutes, they realized they had been in this spot before, 10 minutes ago.
    "We're going in circles", said James agravatedly. A look of worry came across each boy's face as they slowly began to realize... They were lost. They decided to just go in one direction, that way, they would reach the edge of the woods, figure out which way the house was, and follow the edge of the woods. The boys headed one way. The sun was setting, and they realized that they werent going to make it back before dark. After 5 minutes of heading in one direction, they saw a patch of faded light coming through the trees. The edge of the woods! They jogged the rest of the way, with the look of relief and excitement on their faces. When they reached it, disappointment struck on each of their faces. It was the clearing they had rested in about 40 minutes ago! The hollowed out tree staring at them with the sense of pride. Darkness surrounded them. Yet somehow, there was still light in that little clearing, it almost seemed like noon. The boys stayed in the trees, looking at the clearing in shock and disbelief.
    "What the hell! We were just here not long ago!" screamed James with the look of mixed emotions on his face. The other boys nodded in sadness.
    Suddenly, out of no where, they heard voices of little childern laughing, male and female, but mostly female.
    "Cody", said Zach. "Is your woods divided by your family and another family?" Cody shook his head "no". The three boys started to head back from the direction they came from. Then, they heard little voices whispering:
    "Just one step... Just one step into the light..." At this point, the boys were frightened, and they were in a full-blown sprint. They ran for at least 2 minutes, when they saw "the edge of the woods" (sarcasm). They ran to it only to realize that it was the clearing.
    "What the hell is going on?!" screamed Zach in a terrified voice.
    "I dont know, just stay out of the light!" The boys ran a direction they have never ran before. None of them had ever ran as fast as they were running now. When they came to one final clearing, they swore, all of them.
    "Son of a -blam!-! does this woods ever end?!" swore Cody. The boys tried to turn and run from the clearing yet again, but this time they couldnt. The clearing had surrounded them! They found themselves in the middle of a patch of trees, right in the middle of the clearing! Little children still laughing and saying "Just one step into the light!", which had now become a chant. The look of fear and disbelief over each boy's face.
    "This cant be happening!" shouted James in sheer horror. Suddenly, the three boys had been pushed from the patch of trees by someone from behind, but all the boys were facing opposite directions. There the boys lay, in the lighted clearing in the tall grass. Each one of them stood up, as the chanting and laughter of the little children stopped. They looked at one another, confused and terrified.
    "Let's get out of here!" said Cody, still in shock. But before anyone could take a step, the laughter and chanting started again, and the boys were engulfed by the tall grass and sunken into the ground. Their screams were never heard...

    THE END