I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could, wishing I had tennis shoes on instead of the low flats that were standard issue in The House. The further I ran, the more I believed I was going the wrong direction. If there were a town center, or downtown area of Judaculla, it was not to be found out here in the forest. This gave me an unsettling feeling that the entrance would be on the other side of town.

The trees were thick and intimidating. The more I ran, the denser the forest became. When my legs began to feel like rubber and my breath was too much for me to catch, I slowed to a walk. A few minutes later, I plopped down on the trunk of a fallen tree.

Although I had been on several hiking and camping trips with my father, this was the first time I’d felt so uncomfortable in the woods. On my trek into this forest, I had observed no evidence of another human being. Nothing had been disturbed. There were no footprints, no debris left behind by campers. There was even an absence of animal tracks. It was as if they knew better than to be found in this part of the forest. At the same time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me. No. The feeling that a bunch of people were watching me. The light was getting gray, which caused the woods to seem even creepier.

I opened the canvas bag, thinking I should examine what I’d been given before it got too dark for me to see any of the supplies Sarabeth had put together for me. I smiled when I found a flashlight. It was one of those self-powering kinds. I shook the flashlight back and forth a few dozen times, then flipped the switch on and was impressed by the intensity of the light that emitted.

My next course of action was to secure a shelter for the night. I hiked a few minutes deeper into the forest and stopped when I discovered a clump of low bushes. Digging through my supplies, I found a trash can liner. Using my teeth and fingernails, I carefully tore the seams of the liner open and unfolded it, transforming it into a plastic tarp. It wasn’t huge, but I could fold the tarp, lie on part of it, and tie the opposite corners to one of the bushes. This should help keep the dampness off me. After I set up my shelter, I climbed inside with my bag of supplies. Taking inventory, I was happy to see a small pocketknife, some green twine, and a black headband similar to the emerald one I’d made with Calla on a night that seemed years ago. I quickly pulled the headband on to protect my ears from the chilly night air.