“Oh my gosh, please don’t tell me you got us lost!” Vanessa looked sheepishly up from the map at Brittany. “Okay, I won’t tell you, because I haven’t. We’re just… A bit turned around is all… Off course a bit…” Brittany was fuming, and Phoebe gently put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of time to get back on track. And besides, maybe we’ll find some interesting plants along the way! Always look on the bright side.” Brittany glared daggers at her. “The only ‘bright side' is the side of Sally's stupid backpack reflecting the sun into my eyes!” Sally shied back, really not wanting to be part of this, and Brittany softened a little. “Okay, sorry, that was rude… But come on, we’ve been walking for so long and we’re not even at the campsite yet! I’m tired, I want to rest!” Phoebe smiled sympathetically. “We all do, Brittany. And we will, it’ll just take a bit longer. Worst comes to worst, we can find  somewhere to rest our legs for a bit. Come on, I know you can do this.” Brittany still looked annoyed, but Vanessa piped up. “Alright, if my orienteering is right, we should be able to take a shortcut through there and get there almost not late! Follow me!”  She began leading the group towards a particularly thick section of forest, and Brittany angrily muttered, “...why did I even agree to come on this stupid trip…” A statement that Sally had also been wondering herself, given the constant whinging…

The shadows grew thicker as the four girls walked deeper and deeper into the forest, and Sally quickly made sure her flashlight was still charged. She’d checked it several times already, but better safe than sorry. Especially when it seemed to be growing a bit darker than it should… She glanced at her watch, confirming that it was still about 2 hours before sundown, then looked up at the sky. It was almost completely blocked off by the trees, but from the glimpses she could see it looked about an hour later than it was... She nudged Phoebe. “Hey… Doesn’t it feel a little too dark out here?” Phoebe shrugged, scribbling down another flower in her field journal. “Not really? It’s a thick part of the forest, and we’re delayed, so I’d expect it to be darker than usual.” Sally bit her lip. “True… But I don’t know… Something feels off…” Phoebe chuckled. “I think it’s because we’re all tired and annoyed. Just hold out a bit longer, we’ll get back soon enough.” Sally nodded, though she still had a nagging feeling that something was wrong… But yeah, Phoebe was right, she was just tired and frustrated, she should try not to give into paranoia. In fact, it was beginning to get a bit lighter now. Maybe the sun was just behind a cloud earlier, or... Or something like that… Surely the light wasn’t coming from that moss… No, that wasn’t a thing, right? “Hey, Phoebe, are there types of bioluminescent moss in this area?” Phoebe didn’t respond. There was no response at all, in fact... Suddenly, Sally realized with a jolt of terror that there wasn’t anyone else around her anymore. “Phoebe? Vanessa? Brittany? ANYONE?! HELP!” Her voice echoed off the massive trees that were now completely blocking off the sky above her…