1) “Somebody’s watching us.”
“Nobody’s watching us, stop saying that!”
“You can feel it too or you wouldn’t be snapping at me!”
They ended up glaring at each other – as if that helped anything. The protagonist swallowed and rubbed their eyes, squinting through the trees for any signs of life. “If this is some kind of a joke, I’m never speaking to any of you again.”
2) “Did you just scream…over a leaf?”
“I thought I saw something.” Or, rather, that something saw them, but they didn’t know how to describe it. Being seen so clearly that it pierced through them, assessed them, and left them stripped to the bone.
“Maybe it’s the Blair Witch.”
“Oh, shut the fuck up.”
The swearing gave their friend paused, studying the protagonist. “You’re really scared, aren’t you?”
It was the first time they’d asked seriously. The protagonist swallowed, and nodded.
3) “Maybe we should go see what it is.”
“Are you goddamn crazy? Go to sleep. We’re not leaving this tent unless you want to die.” And if there were strange shadows looming on the edges of the canvas, flickering in the torchlight, well they were trees. They refused to let it be anything else.