"Don't worry, the fire will keep them away,"

Jake said.

"But our food won't," Abby said.

She was right. We had half-eaten s'mores,

potato chips, and popcorn. It wasn't a good idea

to possess food when hungry animals were in the

vicinity.

"Toss everything into the fire," Jake

commanded.

We quickly threw our remaining snacks into

the flames, hoping to throw off the scent.

Ivy, Abby, and I glanced around us. All we

could see was darkness and the formidable,

looming trees.

When we turned back, Nash was gone.

"Nash?" I called.

There was no answer.

"Quit kidding!" Abby said.

"He's trying to prank us," Jake said. "I told

you."

"Nash?" Ivy called.

The howling grew louder.

"This isn't funny, Nash!" Ivy said, her voice

quivering.

"We'd better get to the cars," Abby said.

"And leave him here?" I asked.

"We don't even know where he is," Ivy said.

"What if something happened to him?" I

wondered. "We can't leave."

"We are better off getting our cars and going

for help," Dylan said.

How could we abandon Nash? What if he

was hurt? What if he was lost?

Dylan and Jake extinguished the fire with the

surrounding dirt. We stood in total darkness. Just

then we heard a howl again.

"Celeste, we have to go," Jake said.

"You said it yourself," I began. "It could be a

prank."

"Then where is his video camera?" Abby

said.

Dylan turned his flashlight on and pointed

the beam around the area. We couldn't see

anything but trees.

Jake pulled out his cell phone and called

Nash. We waited for the sound of ringing, but all

we heard was another howl.

"It went to voice mail," Jake finally said.

We hurried through the forest path, our

flashlights illuminating the way.

The farther away from our campfire we were,

the more nervous I became. I was upset to leave

Nash behind.

"What if it's true?" Abby said. "What if a

werewolf got him and now he's coming for us?"

We ran as fast as we could over dirt, roots,

and fallen leaves. We finally reached the entrance

to the woods where our cars were parked.

A figure was sitting inside Nash's car. We

paused. We crept toward the car, Dylan and Jake

leading the way.

The door opened and out popped Nash. I had

to admit I was relieved, until he displayed a

cheesy smirk.

The group laughed at his joke, now

comforted that we'd found our friend. Jake high-

fived him. But I wasn't so proud. I noticed beads

of sweat dotting his brow. He appeared shaky.

Dylan wasn't as quick to give Nash props,

either. "Hey, you left two guys alone in the woods

with three girls. I think the joke's on you."

"Not so fast..." Nash took my hand,

protecting his turf. "It was just a prank."

But I knew better.

We all hugged good-bye, and each couple

got into their separate vehicles.

As Nash turned on the ignition of his car, his

hands were still shaking. Nash had frightened

himself - by his ow

n story and by the timely

howling animal. I slunk into the passenger seat

and put on a brave face to mask my

disappointment in my boyfriend's cowardice.