As they got farther away from any houses and closer to the trees, Becca’s palms started sweating. As they entered the forest, it got noticeably darker, as though the sun weren’t welcome. The air felt thicker somehow, which Becca knew sounded ridiculous, but it really did feel different than the light, sunny air out on the street. The air took on a bitter chill, and Becca shivered, zipping up her hoodie to try to escape it. She considered getting out one of the water bottles and taking a sip, but she realized it’d be smarter to save the water for later in case they really needed it.

“Did you hear that?” Frankie asked suddenly, stopping in their tracks to peer through the trees to their right. “It sounded like a twig snapping.”

“It was probably an animal,” Becca asserted, making herself believe that it was true so she didn’t turn around and run screaming. “Lots of squirrels and rabbits and stuff around here, I’d imagine.”

“Definitely a squirrel,” Kylie said, although she didn’t sound too sure. “Let’s keep moving.”

Before long, the group was able to see the beginnings of the outline of the house, tall and looming in the shadows of the forest. Becca’s mouth opened a little bit at the sight; she’d forgotten just how huge the house was. It was closer to a mansion, really.

Surrounding the house was a wide stretch of uneven fencing, the yard within overgrown and dense. A mailbox was posted directly in front of the fence, looking weirdly out of place. Inside the fence was a particularly large and old-looking tree.

“Holy moly,” Danny said under his breath, stopping to get his first shot of the house. “I feel cold inside just looking at it.”

“See?” Frankie said, crossing their arms and looking ahead without blinking. “It really is something, right?”

It sure was. Becca noticed the paint peeling from the walls and how the shutters made the windows look like droopy eyes watching them all, daring them to come closer. There weren’t any birds singing near the house, and if there were indeed squirrels in the forest, they didn’t seem to want to come too close. From all appearances, the house was totally empty. There was no car parked in front, and no lights shone through the dark, large windows.

“So what do we do now?” Matt asked. “The Game Master didn’t provide us with anything except the location.”

“I suppose we should do a sweep of the yard to see if there are any clues around,” Becca said, trying to stand firm in her position as the leader of the pack. If she acted like she wasn’t nervous, maybe it’d help everybody else to feel less nervous themselves. “We can split up into three groups of two so nobody is alone.”