"Wooooowww.." Stepping out into the morning sun's rays, I couldn't help but to admire the rare sight. A beautiful, azure lake, framed by a jungle of trees, with cranes trumpeting as the fly above the lake. Truly, it may not be a rare sight to some, however the warmth provided by the sun comes scarcely to a corporate slave such as myself. As I stand here admiring the scenery, A sudden thought crosses my mind, and I can't help but to think of my boss's sour face, counting down the hours until I get back from my vacation.
"Come on James, just enjoy your vacation" After putting the dreadful thoughts of work behind me, I take stock of all my camping equipment. Nodding, I take a step away from my car and can't help but let a smile creep onto my face. This is the fruits of all my hard work, after all! One can't help to be giddy on their first day off in 3 years. Giggling like a child, I skip down the green-painted trail, unable to stop my gluttonous nose from devouring the scent of hearty earth. It's truly a perfect scene; birds chirping, trees drooping overhead, and two guys giving me a side eye...
Wait what? 'Oh no, they must think I'm weird! How did I not see them before?!'
"I-I uhhh... Ahem, excuse me!" I manage to barely say, before bolting in embarrassment. While running, I can make out their laughter, and my cheeks flush red.
*Pant* *Pant* 'God, I really need to learn how to talk to people' After running for almost 100 meters, I slow down and begin to walk, wary to not let myself start skipping again. Coming to an intersection in the path, I pull out a map of the campsite, and take a left. Continuing on for a good 15 minutes, I finally make it to my cabin. 'That was a pretty long trek' I think to myself, setting down my supplies next to the door. Fumbling over my keys, I finally find the right one and put it into the lock turning it.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
As the door opens, I'm hit with a blast of dust and cobwebs *cough* *cough* "Well... anything's better than that damned office!" I say, suppressing my frustration at the apparent lack of maintenance, or cleaning of any kind. hoisting up all of my gear and putting it in a corner of the cabin, I begin to unpack everything. In the end, it took about 30 minutes to completely unpack everything.
"Now then, what should I do first?" As I'm pondering this, I look outside my window and see a pristine trail behind the cabin. "Of course! I should start my day off with a morning hike!" I beam while grabbing for my empty bag and some bottles of water. Once I get everything, I walk outside and make my way through the brush to the backside of my cabin. I begin to walk down the path, oblivious to the abrupt change in plants and the otherworldly nature of the trees. After some time hiking down the path, I come across a particularly steep part.
"Phew, that's pretty steep. I think I'll just climb this, take a break, then head back towards my cabin." I say aloud, content with my decision. Stepping up onto the first rut, I feel it give a little bit. 'It's probably fine' I think to myself, continuing to climb.
*CRACK*
Realizing too late that I'm falling, I turn to look at the ground, only to be met with a close up of a large rock jutting out from the ground. 'How did I not see this coming?' That was my final thought, before my skull shattered.
.
.
.
BREAKING NEWS!
Local camper "James" disappears into "thin air" according to owners of azure lake camping, as shown on the CCTV footage of his cabin. The camper appears to walk behind his cabin with what is presumed to be hiking gear, before taking a step forward and disappearing entirely. Critics say that this footage is fake, however experts argue that there is no evidence of the footage being tampered with. Could this be evidence of aliens? Or perhaps It's a top-secret government experiment? Regardless, it is evident that something truly otherworldly took place this morning...