Some people do well with waking up early. Morgan Monroe is not one of those people by any means at all. On the weekends she will sleep until noon against her desire. Despite her efforts she is pretty normal for a kid, but as people say, some things are not always as they appear. Her best friend is Lily and they see each other almost every day. Now, Lily is a little more outspoken and boisterous then Morgan but they bring out the best in each other either way. So before meeting Lily for today, Morgan got dressed and walked downstairs.
Morgan ate her breakfast without a single word and set off down the street for Lily’s house. Now, Morgan being a semi-average sixteen year old girl with black hair and green eyes didn’t bother to think twice about telling her parents where she was going. She was young, wild and free as some may put it, not a care in the world. She was a solid B+ student and had many friends, some of whom were boys. Lily was almost her twin in more ways than one, for she also had the black hair, but instead of green eyes she had ice blue. The girls were inseparable since the 3rd grade where they were paired as bus buddies. They shared the same likes and dislikes, worries and concerns and sometimes even the same thoughts.
Lily was sitting on her porch steps waiting for Morgan to close the distance between the two of them. They greeted each other with a warm smile and hug then walked into Lily’s house and went to her room. They chattered about the new gossip they had overheard throughout the week and picked out outfits as most teenage girls do.
“I heard Mark talking in the hall yesterday morning, and evidently Tom is having a supposed ‘haunted’ party in the woods tonight. I was thinking we could go. I mean there’s obviously nothing better to do in this boring town,” complained Lily as she collapsed onto her bed in boredom.
“Ugh did you say haunted woods? Lily I don’t think that’s a good idea… I mean it’s going to be dark and the woods aren’t safe at night especially with animals and such,” said Morgan shyly.
Lily sat upright on her bed saying, “You’re scared aren’t you! Oh come on Morgs you can’t actually believe in all that hocus pocus! That’s it I’ve decided, we are definitely going to that party tonight.”
With a sigh Morgan knew that there was no changing Lily’s mind now. She had always been that strong stubborn kind of girl that set her mind on things and wouldn’t change them if her life depended on it. For the rest of the afternoon they continued to talk about clothes and school, avoiding anything and everything supernatural. The time rolled along, the clock ticking past four and five. By five fifteen Lily started to get ready for the party putting on layers of clothes not sure of how warm it would be considering it was mid September. After she was satisfied with the way she looked she turned to Morgan and rolled her eyes. Without a word she went to her closet and picked out a long sleeved dress and tossed it at her.
The clock struck eight when the girls locked their front door. With a sly smile Lily walked down the steps and towards the woods. Morgan struggled to catch up with her quick set pace, but even a walk in the open air couldn’t clear her mind. All the little details of this night were not to her liking; the moon was full, there were small gusts of wind rustling leaves around her, and there was a slight layer of fog that clung to the ground. Before she could come to her senses and turn back she heard the faint sounds of conversations and laughing close by. The relief of other people settled her nerves and let her put on a nervous smile. As they rounded the corner, Morgan’s smile was wiped from her face. Where there should have been groups of kids laughing and having a good time there was no one.
Both girls looked from each other to the opening in the woods, shear disbelief stuck on their faces. There was no sign of any disturbances in the night, no parties, not even an animal looked like they had passed through. They walked farther along into the woods calling out for Tom or Mark, anyone as long as they knew they were not alone.
“It’s no use. There’s no one here, let’s just go home before it gets too late,” suggested Morgan.
“I guess you’re right, but I could have sworn I heard people talking before,” replied Lily.
“I heard it too but it’s probably just the wind play-“she started.
“Shhh! There it is again. Morgan, I don’t recognize that voice…I...I want to leave. Now,” interrupted Lily.
Lily started walking franticly and Morgan followed. It was starting to get really dark and these woods were unfamiliar. From the looks of it, it seemed like they were walking in circles but could they really tell? Everything looked the same around here anyway, trees, bushes and fog. Increasing amounts of fog. The white smoke-like substance was swirling up to about their knee level now.
“Lily, I don’t think this is the way we came; I’ve see that group of trees three times before, I…I think we might be lost,” stuttered Morgan.
“No! No we can’t be lost! We’ll be fine just…just keep walking we have to find a way out sooner or later,” reassured Lily.
“Hopefully sooner,” said Morgan under her breath.
The fog or whatever this mist seemed to be was getting thicker and rising higher, up to their waists now. Whispers of incomprehensible words were heard as they were carried through the tree limbs by the soft wind. The moon seemed to glow with a type of eerie light that would illuminate everything and then sink back into utter darkness. The breathing patterns of both girls started to increase and their pulse started to rise dramatically as they felt the eyes of someone or something on them. Lily went into hysteria and started to run, leaving Morgan practically blind in the deceiving woods. The rustles of leaves were becoming closer and closer. She heard a scream off in the distance and she could only assume it was Lily. Then everything was pitch black and the last thing she could do was scream.
The bright sunshine shining on her face through a small window in the cute and quaint room was what woke her up that morning. Although it was a Saturday, it did not mean there was no work to be done. Morgan arose reluctantly out of her bed and shuffled her feet to the bathroom where she proceeded to comb her hair and wash the sleep out of her eyes. After her morning routine of getting dressed and brushing her teeth she walked down the stair and into the kitchen where as always her father sat with the news paper in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, mother was at the stove top scrambling eggs and frying the bacon. It was the perfect family picture, nothing abnormal at all, yet.
As she sat down to eat her breakfast her father set down his news paper and said, ”I presume you will be at Lily’s house today considering last weekend she was here?”
“Yeah I told her I would be over right after I had breakfast,” Morgan replied.
“Alright,” her father agreed, “but be sure to be back by curfew.”
With that being said she walked out her front door and down the street towards Lily’s house. Lily was waiting for her on the steps to her porch. When she saw that she was coming she stood up and gave her a hug and a bright smile. The two girls went into Lily’s bedroom and started to talk.
“Man, I just have to tell you about this weird dream!” Morgan started.
“Ok but I have to tell you something first!” Lily said with a smile, “We’ve been invited to go to Tom’s party tonight! I think he said it was in the woods, you know the ones like right around the block?”