Chapter 3 - Victoria's Past

"Hey Vic! Did she really go?", said a frightened Sasha, a close friend of Victoria, who came to bring them back to the camp, but became scared when she didn't see Lyra. "Did she really take up the challenge? How could she?! I thought she would have a bit of sense in her, and actually reject it! But to leave alone like that?! Has she really gone nuts?", Sasha went on blabbering, without waiting for Victoria to answer. The gravity of the situation had overwhelmed her. Victoria sat on the ground, unable to move. She was to shocked of Lyra's bold decision that she sat at that spot for hours - she was rooted to that spot, oblivious of all the other things that were happening around her. The ground was cold, she had been there since the late afternoon. Her thoughts were filled with the memories of the time she had endured at that house

   Ahh, yes, that house, the house where she took shelter as a kid. She had come there once, long ago, when she was a kid and her grandparents used to live close to that place. She had wandered astray one day, despite her parents warnings about it. Being a kid, the excitement of exploring new places got the better of her, and off she went to explore the forest. She was confident that she could find her way back home, "Because, grandpa always takes me out for a walk here", thought young Victoria, who was all but 7 at that time. The trees that grew there, the wild flowers which seemed to bloom at their own will, the birds that flew past her, all amazed her... and in her amazement, she wandered a bit farther than the usual walks that she had with her grandpa.

   She hadn't realised it yet, but she strayed farther and farther, till she stepped on a few dry leaves. The crunch of the dry leaves awoke her from that beautiful dream she was indulged in and made her look around at her surroundings. It seemed unfamiliar now, the broad path that led her home was no longer visible... The trees no longer seemed like trees. They appeared as spooky figures with creepy smiles. Their barks distorted into a ghastly figure. The cold autumn breeze smelled of swamps and musky wood, creating a smell that was both repulsive and comforong in a weird manner. But to young Victoria,thry only added another sense of fear. She became scared. She started remembering the stories her mom would tell her of monsters who would eat up little kids who disobeyed their parents and those made her even more scared. She imagined them, staring at her, waiting for her in the shadows, that were formed by the crooked trees. Perhaps they were sharpening their forks and knives, ready to eat her alive. She began hyperventilating. Tears filled up her eyes and her legs trembled. "M-mommy..? D-daddy..? Grandp-pa..? Grandm-ma..? A-anyone..? Wh-Where a-are y-you all?? Pl-please, s-sa-save m-m-me... ", cried young Victoria in between sobs. But there was no one who could hear her pleas... Perhaps, only the shadows could hear her. She began to cry... She looked about her to see if the monsters were still lurking around. Her tear-filled eyes made it difficult to see. Just then, thunder roared in the distance, making it seem like the monsters of her imagination were screaming... She tried to run away, trying to get away from the monsters that waited for her... That's when she-

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"Vic, are you there? Are you alright?", Sasha yelled, shaking Victoria, who seemed to be in a trance. That brought Vic back to her senses. " H-huh? Wh-what h-happened?", said Victoria, still shocked of the entire thing. "What do you mean what happened? I've been calling to you for a while now. You haven't even answered once. You scared me there, you know that?", said Sasha, who seemed to be doing better than Vic. " Oh, I'm sorry, I just... I was just lost in my thoughts there. Sorry to have worried you", said Vic, stabilising herself now. "Forget it, let's go back Vic, the whole atmosphere is so unsettling here. Let's go back to the camp where it warm. We can't do anything about Lyra now, let's just wait for her there. Moreover, the sun's almost set", answered Sasha, helping Victoria up on her feet. " Alright, let's go back", said Victoria who was now able to stand with Sasha's support. And so, they started their way back to the camp.

   "By the way, Sasha, did those guys back at camp do anything to follow Lyra?" "No, those guys are just as scared as us. They didn't have the heart to go after her. Seriously, all our classmates are scaredy cats, with the exception of Lyra. I wonder how she's doing." "Yea, we are.", agreed Victoria. " Say, weren't you on bad terms with her? Why are you worried about her now?", asked Sasha, rather confused of Victoria's actions. "Well, that's true. But I'm not that heartless, you know. I just wanted to scare her. I didn't mean for it to go this far.", replied Victoria, regretting her decisions. " Well, we can't do any thing now...", Sasha replied back.

   "You're finally back! I was so worried. I thought you'd be gone till midnight! Can't you see that the stars have already started to fille the night sky? ", a cheerful voice sounded. Victoria and Sasha turned towards the direction of the voice. It came from Jane, a 15 year old cheerful girl, who was about the same age as Lyra. They were the youngest in their class, and that naturally made them friends. "Wait, where's Lyra? I thought you had gone to bring her back!", said Jane, rather worried now. She had come rather late to the camp, due to some work she had at home, and was unaware of the things that happened at camp. " Tell me, where is she?", Her voice began to tremble as worry and anxiousness filled her heart. "I went to pick them up, but only Vic was there", Sasha answered. "Then, what about Lyra?", asked Jane, now on the verge of panicking. " She went to that house", came the reply from Victoria. "Y-you mean, t-that old a-abandoned house?", said Jane in between sobs. "Yeah", Sasha replied rather gravely. Jane gasped for breath when she heard the answer. Her legs gave her away, and she fell backwards. Her breath became shaky. "We have to get her back. We don't know what might happen to her there." She paused,her eyes wide with fear. "Wh-what if she- what if she... she.." Her voice faded, as bad thoughts filled her head. And she grabbed onto Sasha's jacket for support.

   Just then, they heard a cracking sound near them....

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