Chapter I

Micah was walking down to the market to get some produce for his mother when he noticed a poster stapled to a pole. In the bold, yellow, text it read “NORTH”. A poster proclaiming to be home to the most delightful summer experience. Camping, Fishing, you name it - they had it. Intrigued by this poster, Micah gave them a call. To his surprise, he got a busy signal. This seemed odd, but Micah thought this would give him and his friends the ultimate summer vacation. Micah then pulled out his phone and proceeded to call Jim, Henry, and Nathan. Jim’s phone buzzed on the counter. It kept buzzing. He quickly grabbed the phone and saw Micah was calling him. “Hey!” he said to Micah. “What’s up?” he continued. “Hey man, I just saw a poster at the market today advertising a place called North, was wondering if you’d be interested in going with me. I’m also going to ask Henry and Nathan,” Micah replied to Jim. “North? I think I’ve heard of that place before. Rumors even said that land has an ancient curse on it,” said Jim. “I’d love to go; I’ve heard about that place a lot. It looks and sounds like a lot of fun.” he continued. “Sweet, that sounds great. It says it starts August… wait. That can’t be… right?” Micah said. “It says the event starts August 32nd… there is no such thing.” he continued. “32nd of August? No, maybe they meant the 31st. Surely it’s not the 32nd,” Jim replied. “Hey, look, I have to get going, but count me in man. I’ll be there on the “32nd” ha-ha.” Jim finished saying, as the phone call ended. Micah held the poster in his hand in awe, wondering how such a big mistake could’ve been made, and how he never noticed it in the first place. Regardless, he called Henry and Nathan and proceeded to plan out everything before he went to bed.

Nine hours later. Phones began to ring at the office. "Thank you for calling NORTH, how can we assist you?" asked an office manager. "This is Nathan Arnold, my friend Micah Rolf tried reaching you guys yesterday night but there was no response. I'm looking to book a cabin for the event you had advertised in the poster," said Nathan. "Yes, we apologize for that. We had a bit of a situation unfold that took down our power lines last night. A pretty bad storm, you know?" the office manager replied. "So you would like to book a cabin for how many?" they continued. "It's a party of four," Nathan replied. "Alright, we have a beautiful little cabin located at the entrance to the woods. We can get that to you for, well, no cost actually." they continued. "Really? Wow, that's awesome! So we can use it for the entire event?" Nathan asked. "Yes, for the entire span of the event it is registered to you," they replied. "Thank you so much! Have a great day." Nathan finished saying before hanging up the phone. "Hey, Jimmy, tell Micah I just got us a cabin by the woods for the event. No tents needed." Nathan told Jim. "Are you serious? How did you manage that one Nathan? The last I heard, all you had in your bank account was a pile of half-eaten chocolate bars!" Jim said as everyone then laughed. "I mean, you're not wrong Jimmy. I don't even know how we got a free cabin, kind of sounds sketchy to me." Nathan replied. "All that matters is that we got it in the first place." Henry chimed in. "Yeah, just think, a nice cabin for us to snooze in... maybe even b..." Micah attempted to say before Nathan chuckled. "So do we have a list of what we need guys?" Nathan asked the group. "Yeah, I packed it all in the Bronco, Nathan," Henry replied. "Are you sure we have everything? Camping knives, rope, fishing rods?" Micah questioned. "Oh, fishing rods! How could I forget!" Henry said on his way to the garage. "Make sure we have our phones too," Jimmy added to the conversation. "Alright, everything is packed. Officially this time." Henry said coming back into the house. "Micah!" called out Micah's mother. "Sunscreen mom, I know, trust me. I know," said Micah. "That's right Micah, have fun guys," she replied. The group went out to the garage and jumped into the Bronco. It was the most pristine vehicle out of any in the group. The latest fourth-generation Bronco in the most gorgeous red color they had ever seen. The engine roared as Micah turned the SUV on. "Now that, my friends, is a pristine machine. Isn't she a beauty or what?" Micah said. "When I'm older I'm buying one too. Such a badass piece of machine." Henry added. "Alright gentleman. Alpine - here we come!" said Micah. Then everyone shouted "Cheers!"

Six hours later. Tires came to a screeching halt as a large, dark, figure bolted in front of the vehicle. Everyone except Micah was sleeping. Nathan, startled by the sudden stop, woke up. "Micah? Is everything ok?" Nathan asked Micah, to which Micah replied "Yeah, everything is fine... I almost hit a deer, that's all." meanwhile, Micah knew in his mind that thing - whatever it might've been, it was not a deer. Nothing he had ever seen before. Micah shrugged it off, however, and continued down the gravel road to the campsite. "Excuse me, sir. I made a reservation last night for Micah Rolf." Micah told the guard at the gate. "Micah Rolf? Alright, let me check here." the guard said as he began to look through his book. "Ok, Micah. It looks like they have you staying at site 18B. Drive through the gate, take a left, head down path B, and count to 18. You'll know when you are there." the guard replied to Micah. "Thank you," Micah said. "Are you sure this is a good idea? The more I think about this, the more I worry about this," said Jim. "You're right Jim, this is sounding pretty sketchy to me. Cabin 18B? Like, I don't even see how there can be a cabin 18B. We have driven so far out with no cabin in sight." Henry replied to Jim. "...No cabin yet. What on earth is that?" Nathan pointed out a run-down-looking cabin in the distance by the woods. Just then a small, mossy, sign whipped past them. "Site 18B," Micah said quietly. "Well if this isn't enough to make you crap your pants the color of these trees, I don't know what is," Nathan told the group. Micah parked by the porch of this cabin. Upon walking up to the door, Micah noticed the cabin had a bent door handle and some rotten wood. It was very noticeable that this cabin had gone untouched for years. "Home sweet home," Jim said jokingly. Henry handed out the equipment they brought into the cabin. There were only three rooms and a lounge. Micah took the main room, Henry took the lounge, Jim took the room to the right, and Nathan bunkered down on the second-floor balcony. "Hey, if everyone is settled. I think it would be a good idea to do some fishing before we lose daylight. Does anyone want to?" Micah asked the group. Everyone humbly agreed, grabbed their rods, and made their way through the grassland to the lake across from the cabin.