Eric unlocked the trunk and pulled it open with one hand. He was too excited; he’d forgotten how fragile the world around him was. The trunk lid knocked back on its hinges. It swung forward with equal force, slamming itself shut. He sighed tiredly.

“Maybe I am part Yeti.”

Matt gave a pat to the middle of Eric’s back. He would have had to jump to reach his shoulder. “No normal person is seven feet tall.” Matt kept his flashlight aimed at the ground as he reopened the trunk. He reached inside for the tube made of a rolled-up plastic stencil. A can of spray paint on the inside, and some tape, helped it keep its shape.

“You never even played basketball.” Josh leaned in for the sheathed machete that had slid to the front. He had to focus to hook the sheath's strap through the belt loops on his jeans without missing one. His messy eyebrows scrunched and his lips flattened into a hard line. It was definitely overkill, especially with Eric around, but no one mentioned it.

“Do,” Vic started to ask, but stopped. He grabbed both his and Josh’s flashlights from the trunk, knowing Josh would forget it otherwise. “Josh, do you think playing basketball makes you taller?”

“No.” Josh took his flashlight from Vic. His palm hit the metal with a fleshy slap.

“Is that why you tried out for the team every year in high school?” Matt asked, his light moving to highlight Josh's leather boots.

“Shut up!” Josh’s flashlight clicked to life as he turned towards the house. The beam swayed with his stomping footsteps. It reflected off of the side paneling like exposed patches of bone.

“Wait!” Eric leaned over the trunk. Josh didn’t acknowledge that he’d said anything. Eric reemerged with a walkie-talkie in each hand. They were Josh’s and in being so he usually kept one to himself. Josh didn’t give any indication of turning around. “Let's at least make sure they’re on the same channel.” Eric handed the abandoned one to Vic. 

“They’re always on three, right? Vic asked. The black plastic brick hissed at him as he adjusted the frequency. A muted beep signaled the start of a transmission. Eric’s voice doubled in over the line.

“This is Yeti, come in Scaredy-Cat, over.” The same beep signaled the end of the transmission.

“Why am I Scaredy-Cat?” Vic’s face was hot and his tone pinched.

“What else would you be? Frightened bird?” Matt asked. He walked past them and headed for the house. He followed the bent path Josh had left through the tall grass of the front yard. Eric followed, turning on his own flashlight to check out the windows on the second floor.

“At least that’s original,” Vic said under his breath. He could feel the night creeping in around him as he hooked the walky-talky to the hem of his jeans. It was like molasses; suffocatingly thick and familiar. The lights disappeared into the house one by one. Eric’s backlit silhouette had to duck in through the front door. He could barely see his hand in front of his face. The darker than black outline around his fingers swam in his vision. 

He was afraid of the dark but as long as he didn’t think about it, about the shifting faceless forest they were guests in, he would be fine. The only things out there were animals. The dark was scary, sure, but so was confronting Matt. If Vic had to choose between the two, he’d pick the former.

A warm breeze rolled through the grass in waves that were heard more than seen. He took a deep breath, appreciating how much cleaner it felt in his lungs than the air from the car or their hometown.

The crunching of gravel echoed from down the road. He almost wrote it off as the wind at first. It was too even, too persistent, to be the footsteps of anything. Cold Panic shot down his spine and froze his legs in place. He clicked on his flashlight. Blinding white filled his vision before his eyes adjusted.

The road was clear. He could see down to where it turned right and back towards the gravel path they came in on. Nothing reared its head around the bend. There were no headlights. A police cruiser hadn’t followed them in. Still, the echo remained. 

It didn’t creep closer or further away. It hovered like a skipping record. 

The same earthen clatter followed the same rolling drone.

The same earthen clatter followed the same rolling drone.

The same earthen clatter followed the same rolling drone.