PITCHING A TENT
CHAPTER 1
“Alright, are you ready to do this?” My roommate and future fraternity brother, Jarrod, hoists his sleeping bag onto his back. Another bag, which holds a pop-up tent folded down to miraculously small proportions, is slung over his shoulder.
“Yeah, ready as I’ll ever be,” I answer, carrying my own sleeping bag on my shoulder, a mini cooler in one hand, and a bag full of snacks and essentials hanging from the other hand.
But actually no, I’m not ready at all. This is a horrible idea. I can’t believe I am going through with this camping trip.
There are only two very simple rules to follow:
1. Survive a night in the “haunted” forest.
2. Take selfies outside our tent every hour on the hour until dawn.
If we complete this mission, we’ll be initiated into the fraternity of Beta Gamma Zeta. If we fail, we’ll be stuck with toilet cleaning duties for an entire month, after which we’ll receive one final opportunity to pledge again.Parole, they call it.
I’m not an outdoorsy person, nor am I a fan of haunted houses, or haunted forests, for that matter. But I really want to join this fraternity. And it’s just one night, I tell myself. Camping in the woods couldn’t be nearly as bad as some of the hazing horror stories I’d heard from other fraternities.
Chad Johnson, the chapter president of Beta Gamma Zeta, checks the seats of his jeep to make sure we haven’t left anything behind. “Last chance to back out, ladies,” he says with a snort.
“We’ll be fine,” Jarrod says.
Chad stares him down for a second, then smiles wickedly. “Good. Call if you need anything.”
I check my phone. The wordsNo Serviceare displayed in the top corner. “Is there cell reception in these woods?”
Chad shakes his head. “Nope.”
“Then how can we—?”
“I said we’ll be fine,” Jarrod growls.
“I’ll be back here at 6 AM to pick you guys up.” Chad gets in his jeep and slams the door. Without another word, he peels out from the gravel turnabout and takes off toward the highway.
“That guy thinks he’s such hot shit,” Jarrod mutters. “Come on, Ian, let’s go. It’s a mile hike to the campsite.”
I follow behind my hulking frat brother without arguing. He’s clearly the confrontational type. I’m not sure he’s doing us any favors by getting into a pissing contest with Chad. But at least I feel better knowing we’ll be camping together. I’d never survive these woods on my own. Of that much, I am certain.
The terrain is kind of steep. We seem to be walking sideways down the grassy hilltop, one bumpy step at a time. I never feel like I can really get my footing, and my arm is already getting sore from the heavy bag I’m carrying.
The hike seems to have no effect on Jarrod, who is built like a stack of bricks on legs. I’m in pretty good shape, slim with an athletic build, but admittedly it’s been a while since I’ve worked out, and I am definitely feeling it.
“So you really think this place is haunted?” I call ahead to Jarrod, who is soon outpacing me, the distance between us growing wider.
He looks over his shoulder and slows down just a hair. “Probably.”
“Wait, what?”
“Just kidding.” Jarrod chuckles but keeps moving.
“I read that people have died out here.”
“People have died everywhere. You think we’re the first humans to walk on this land?”
I furrow my brow, surprised at how succinctly my roomie can make a point. “I...hadn’t thought of it that way.”
He shrugs. “Thousands of people have lived and died everywhere you step. Ghosts are all around, if you believe in that sort of stuff. There’s nothing special about these woods.”