Meanwhile, as Iva settles into her new home…
CHAPTER 2: THE SIX HIKERS
(Told through narration)
A van packed with rowdy college students and camping supplies stop to a rough halt on a dirt road near a camping reserve. The hyped young adults scramble from the van, bursting with smiling faces under the peak of daylight. All six of them make up three couples. All of them are Caucasian for the exception of one African American male, who is accompanied by a blonde girl with short hair and crimson lipstick.
Excited about their outing, they grab their backpacking gear with anxious hands from the back of the van. All of them are wearing hiking gear.
“Alright, the walk is about five minutes so let’s get a move on it,” a long-haired brunette boy informs everyone.
One of the girls takes a second to tilt her head back and inhale deeply; enjoying the aroma of clean, untouched, air. She holds her breath and closes her eyes before exhaling. She reopens her eyes and takes a moment to admire the pink clouds overhead.
“The air is so clean here,” she announces to whoever wants to listen.
Her boyfriend hears her and wraps his big arm over her neck, gently. He then kisses her on the cheek and whispers…
“Come on babe, what are you waiting for?”
She surrenders to his charm and is towed away towards the trail that leads into woods. Together all three couples emerge into the wilderness.
“Yay! Let’s go into the woods to get murdered,” one of the males says in a joking manner.
This male is short with dark hair and is accompanied by a woman of the same stature and hair color.
“You first Ronald,” the male in the front replies.
Everybody chuckles. The dark gentlemen appear slightly bothered by the jokester’s comment, but he’s not bothered enough for others to take notice. He still chuckles at the joke, awkwardly; not wanting to appear stuck-up or rude. They continued through the wilderness while talking about school and various things that go along with being a young adult.
Fifteen minutes later, they find themselves at an abandoned camping ground; far away from people. It’s nothing more than a clearing in the middle of the woods with used firewood and logs to sit on. Some of them have already begun to sweat, and some have not. They drop their packs and take a break to rest their bodies.
“Five minutes my ass,” the short boy, Ronald, says to the one in the front who led them there.
“That was one hell of a warm-up,” another male announces before pouring water on his head to cool his body temperature.
Ron stands up and starts stretching while looking at his surroundings.
“Oh my God, what’s that?” Ronald says abruptly while looking off into the woods.
Everybody immediately becomes attentive and concerned. His girlfriend hits him on the shoulder with a humorless expression.
“Cut it out,” she tells him. “You’re being an ass.”
“Stop that. You fucking asshole,” another male says.
He manages to create a few chuckles again. However, the African American man is not amused at all this time. He laughed last time out of kindness. This time he means business. His face is straighter than a plank of freshly cut wood.
“Hey bro, can you please stop that?” the dark male asks politely yet firmly.
“Yeah, cut that shit out man,” another male replies. “You could’ve stayed home. Stop joking all the fucking time.”
“Okay, my bad. Didn’t mean to scare the little children,” Ronald replies sarcastically.
Everybody begins to unpack their supplies.
Soon, all of their tents are up and solid. The leader of the backpacking crew whistles loudly while standing tall on a fallen tree side.
“Hey, guys, I think we should get a move on it. It’s a two-mile hike. I want to be back before 8. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” everyone replies.
Soon, they’re off enjoying Mother Nature’s splendor, unaware that they are constantly being watched. In a treetop, a creature of murderous lust is watching them the entire time; waiting, ever so patiently, for his time to strike. This creature is wearing a long brown cloak that helps him blend into the trees. This creature's name is The Hellhound…
Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.