“Slow down! Austin! Slow down! Ow!” My head banged against the car door as we went around a sharp turn in the S-shaped canyon. Not only that, but Julia was leaning against me. We were on our way up to Mountain Ridge to camp out, for a few nights. It was me and my closest friends. Austin, my boyfriend. Layla, my best friend, Derek, Layla’s boyfriend, and Julia, a friend of Layla. Layla had been my best friend since 2nd grade, and we never were apart. We were next door neighbors, both in the 10th grade, and we had almost all the same classes together. Then, in 8th grade Julia came along. Uh, Julia. Layla met Julia and instantly became best friends with her. Layla tried to make me and Julia friends, and I pretended to like her and I still pretend to this day. I don’t think it’s her personality though. She’s nice to me and all, it’s just plain jealousy. She and Layla always do things together now. It’s not fair.
Austin was driving, Derek in the passenger seat, while Julia was in between me and Layla. I was so squished I almost passed out.
Julia is - uh - heavy. I don’t want to be mean, but she just is. She has short, light brown hair, with plain brown eyes. She was always wearing shorts, even in the winter. She was the kind of girl who is really nice to everyone, just so she can get on their good side. Her only friend is Layla. She thinks I am, but no thank you!
Austin pulled off the side of the road to an abandoned rest stop with tall trees all around us. You couldn’t see beyond trees because they were so huge! There was a small building, which I guessed were the bathrooms.
“You guys need to go to the bathroom? This is your last chance!” Austin looked in the rear view mirror.
“Nah, I can wait.” I said, while holding my head after the hit.
“Eww. There is no way I’m going in an abandoned ‘public’ restroom in the middle of nowhere!” Layla muttered.
“What about you Julia?” Derek said invitingly.
“Uh, sure.” I moved out of the way and Julia hopped out of the car. It felt great to finally get some fresh air and stretch my legs. I decided I would use the bathroom. I walked towards the tiny building and turned the corner. You wouldn’t believe what I saw. Derek and Julia, Kissing…
“Ummm, wait! It’s not what it looks like Callie! We- uh- look, you can’t tell Layla. We can’t help it, we’re in love…” They looked each other in the eyes and smiled.
“Oh, really? When were you thinking about telling Layla that her boyfriend and best friend, are ‘in love’? Also, when were you planning on realizing that you both are selfish, liars, and cheaters? You guys don’t deserve a friend like Layla. After all we’ve been through together… I can’t believe you guys would pull something like this!” I almost started crying, I held myself together though. I didn’t know how Layla would react. I just felt so bad.
“What’s going on here?” Austin came bolting around the corner. Austin is really protective and always on the lookout. He has two little sisters, and there is no chance they will ever have a love life because Austin is so cautious and protective of them. Austin has brown hair, and pretty blue eyes, like the ocean. He’s very sweet.
“Uh- hey dude.” Derek pulled away from Julia. “Nothing- uh- it’s nothing. Just tell your girlfriend to chill, she’s freaking out ‘cause Julia accidently bumped into her.” Derek spoke fast before I could interrupt and tell the truth. Derek looked at me pleadingly. Derek’s just like that, he has this look. He has a way of getting you to do whatever he wants. Derek is an unpopular jock. He has blonde hair and bright green eyes. He had a big jaw line and well, he looks like Derek Hough, the celebrity. That’s where he got his name. He was always pretty nice, and a great boyfriend to Layla, until now.
“I’m going back to the car.” I muttered. I pushed past Austin and glared at Julia as I passed her.
I got back to the car. “So Layla, you’re sure you don’t need go to the bathroom? Layla? Layla!” Layla was gone, gone. I wondered if she had heard the argument and ran off. It was dark now and it would be hard to find her. Layla isn’t the kind of person that would just leave. She has near black hair, and blue eyes. She was probably the prettiest girl in our school. She was definitely a boy magnet. She also had a great personality. Layla never talks bad about anyone, and she’s always giving compliments. She’s my best friend, I couldn’t lose her.
“Guys! Layla’s gone!” I started looking around, and Julia, Derek, and Austin came running from the bathrooms.
“What do you mean she’s gone?” Derek asked, not so politely.
“What do you think? She’s gone. G-O-N-E. You need a dictionary?” I looked at Derek as if he was some kind of idiot, which he was.
“Do you think she heard us?” Julia asked nervously.
“I don’t know… Let’s make a plan. Austin, drive the car up that dirt road a bit, calling her name. Julia, you stay here, in case she comes back. And Derek, I’ll give you an easy one.” I smirked at him.
“Ha ha, you're so funny. I’ll just look in those woods over there.” He acted like he was so brave to do so.
“So, what are you going to do?” Julia asked. I rolled my eyes at her and walked off. I looked in the bathrooms and all around that area. I went into the girl's bathroom, and there was a putrid smell. I looked inside, and of course, it was a mess.
“Layla!” I heard what sounded like Derek. He shouted.
I ran as fast as I could. I ran to where I heard his voice. Finally, I found him.
“Oh, no!” I saw Layla lying on the floor. She looked completely fine, but why hadn’t she answered us when she got out of the car?
“Layla! Are you okay? What happened?” I was bending over to her. She was as stiff as a board.
“She can’t talk.” Derek told me.
“What? Why not?” I asked him frantically.
“Well, I don’t know. I just came and kept asking her stuff, and she wouldn’t answer me. Her legs might be broken. She can move her arms and head, but her legs won’t budge. Come on, let’s take her to the car.” Derek explained.
“Alright. Careful.” We lifted Layla and slowly took her back to the car. Austin and Julia were still looking for Layla when they saw us approaching.
“What happened?” Austin and Julia bolted up to us. We explained everything to them, as we put Layla in the rusty red Honda. We started driving again for a while, and before we knew it, it was almost two o’clock in the morning.
“All right, I can’t drive anymore, let’s sleep here.” Austin pulled off to the side of the dirt road. We all fell asleep in an instant.
When I woke up, we were driving again and Layla was sitting up.
“Layla! Oh my goodness! You are okay! I was so worried about you!”
“Yea. I’m okay. I don’t know what happened. I just got out of the car because I saw a flickering light. I walked towards it and then I just collapsed and lost my voice.” Layla explained.
“Oh. Maybe you just weren't used to standing.” I said, trying not to worry her. It was really strange though. Why would she lose her voice?
We stopped for another bathroom break around 9 am. We also had a few snacks. I couldn’t believe we had just left about 8pm yesterday. It seemed like a lifetime ago. The place we stopped at was a plain desert. There was no trees, or plants, just tumbleweeds blowing around. I saw Julia walking on a dirt path.
“Wow… the scenery is beautiful up here!” Julia pulled out her camera. She was at the edge of a huge cliff, with great mountains in the distance. It was a beautiful day; blue skies, hardly any clouds. I thought we might as well just camp right here. She started snapping photographs when I saw little black things crawling up her legs. Ha! Karma for cheating. I hoped the ants would bite her until she bled. Suddenly, she jolted, and turned around. I was starting to think that this wasn’t the safest environment.
“J - Juli - Julia?” Derek quivered. All of us did, as her body collapsed, and she started bleeding from her mouth. Her eyes turned to a deep blue, like you could see right through them. I’d never seen anything like it. She scooted to the edge of the cliff, looked Derek straight in the eye, and flipped off. It seemed as if she’d did it on purpose. Then there were 4.
“Julia!!!” Derek shouted and ran towards her.
“Oh my…” Layla fainted.
“Uh…” Austin threw up as if he had eaten something bad. I nearly passed out like Layla, but I didn’t. I watched as Derek ran towards Julia. The same thing happened to him. Black spots crawling up his body. His body jerking. Blood flooding out of his mouth. Eyes turned to darkness. Then there were 3, Layla, Austin, and I. This couldn’t be happening, it just couldn’t.
Layla was still passed out, and I ran to Austin. I started shaking, and I turned pale, and puked. Austin hugged me and started crying.
“I’m going to go see if they’re okay.” Austin started.
“If they’re okay? Austin, are you crazy? You can’t. They fell to their deaths. Austin, please don’t. What if it happens to you?” I pulled him back.
“I’ll be fine.” He pulled away from me and ran off. Austin looked down the drop. He kept looking, and looking.
“Austin? Austin!” the black specks started up on his body. “Nooooo! Austin please! No. No. No!” His body jolted. I turned away, and passed out.
I woke up, hoping this was all a wicked nightmare. Layla was still passed out, and Austin was gone. It wasn’t a nightmare. It was horrid reality. My stomach dropped, just like Julia, Derek, and Austin had dropped off the cliff. I realized that those black specks weren’t ants. They were some kind of… parasite. They took over your body, and made it so you can’t control yourself. And they happened to be right on the edge of the cliff. There was blood everywhere. I needed to leave. Not leave home. I couldn’t stand it. I just couldn’t. I had watched my friends dive to their deaths. I couldn’t just leave, just like that. I went to a different area of the cliff, hoping there wasn’t any of those black specks. I looked down. Down into the depths of the ravine. It was as if the ravine had swallowed the three bodies. I glanced at what used to be Austin. All around him were his… guts with the black specks feeding and multiplying and… his h-he-head. Decapitated. I dove off the cliff. I’m so sorry Layla…