Lost

“Nooooo… we are supposed to go this way, I have hiked this trail a time or two and I know your suggestion would get us lost” 

Martha, the oldest of the friend group, was quick to shut down Sierra’s idea to walk down the other path on a known hiking trail. 

“But you haven’t taken this trail yet so it would be fun for all of us to experience something new together” 

Sierra's idea resonated through all four friends trying to decide which way to go. There was Quin, Daisy and of course Sierra and Martha. They all got up very early this morning, at 5:30 to hike up the hill. The hill is very well known to the locals and Martha has hiked the hill a couple of times and recommended they do it together. Everyone was quick to say yes, as they hadn’t done something together in a really long time. The hike was going well until the group came to two trails. Martha insisted they take the trail that is the most well known and walked everyday, however, Sierra was ready for a different adventure.

“C’mon you guys this will be fun and if it's not next time we will take the normal route” Sierra pleaded to the girls and Quin was the first one to crack a smile. 

“Alright I’m in for this trail” 

Daisy looked to Martha before nodding her head and agreeing to go on Sierras trail. 

“Oh alright, but if we get lost I get to say I told you so ”  

Martha smiled before giggling along with the rest of the girls as they started down the trail. The trail was really rough and had a lot of weeds and tricks along the path since it is not run down daily by the hikers. As they went further down the path the girls started walking in two lines side by side so it would be easier to walk down the path that was narrower than the previous one. The trail started to get darker as the trees got thicker but there were little places where the rising sun peeked through the canopy of leaves. 

“See isn't this fun we are taking a whole new adventure” 

The other girls grumbled along but agreed. It was fun taking a new trail and not knowing where it went. The girls made small talk as they trekked through the forest only stopping for a small water break here and there. As they came along a particular rough spot Quin tripped over a boulder, where her shoelace got stuck on. The girls rushed to see if she was alright but Quin was quick to tell them she was fine, ignoring the throbbing in her ankle. She got up like a champ and the girls each gave her a worried smile before they were back on the trail and laughing again. 

Daisy picked up a large stick and was using it as a walking stick, while Martha picked leaves off of a variety of trees so she could use them in her scrapbook. Quin was walking slower because of her ankle but she liked it because it gave her time to really look at what was around her. Sierra, the adventurer of the bunch, was skipping down a path on the trail to look for new things waiting for the rest to catch up to her again. 

The girls were all having fun but their early morning was starting to take a toll on them. Tiredness started to nag at them and the energy they had was starting to diminish. As their energy came down together, it was surprisingly Sierra that brought up a break. 

“Since we are all getting tired, let's find a sunny spot and we can all rest our legs and lay down for a few minutes and then we can get back on the trail” 

The girls all agreed, eager to take a break and soak up some sun. The gloomy forest was not doing anything to ease the wave of exhaustion. It took five more minutes of walking down the trail before the girls could see an opening on the right of them. They agreed to cut through the forest to reach the spot of warmth and before you knew it the four girls were trampling through the thick underbrush and tree branches. 

It took longer than they expected to reach the sunny spot. It seemed only a couple feet away but as they thought they were getting close it seemed like the spot was further than they thought. Eventually the girls made it to the sunny area and out of the trees, but now they were even more worn out than before. 

“Maybe we can lay here for a little to get our energy back and when it gets a little warmer we can go back on the trail” 

Daisy offered up an idea ready to lay down on one of the rocks and not get back up for a couple hours. The girls all agreed with the same idea in mind. 

“Once we are ready we can always head back and do the other trail, that trail is sunny and Martha knows it really well” 

Sierra felt the most exhausted of all. All the skipping she did earlier down the trail was finally catching up to her. 

“Oh so now you want to do my trail, we should have just done it in the first place” 

Martha was quick to stop Sierra. 

“No no no no no… you wanted to come down this trail so we have to reach the end before we turn back, that is how bikes work” 

“I know but you were right we don’t know this trail and we don’t even know how long it is, and we are already tired. We can go back and finish your trail, because you know that trail” 

Sierra felt really guilty for leading the group down this trail. They had already been hiking for a couple of hours and they have not yet come anywhere close to the end. 

“Why don’t we walk for another hour or so and if we don’t reach the end of the trail we’ll turn back and hike the other one, it is significantly shorter than this so we can do that one and finish it easily” 

Quin, always the peacemaker of the group just wanted everyone to get along, partly because she hated them arguing and the other part was because her ankle was starting to hurt more by the hour and she just wanted all this hiking business to end. 

“Ok let's get back to the trail, we are coming up on the 4 hour mark and if we want to possibly do the other hike we should finish this trail. We should be coming to the peak soon, this is a really long hike compared to the other hike” 

The girls all agreed, grabbing their bags and water before marching through the trees and bush to get back to the trail. However, it seemed like they were just walking and walking, yet never finding the trail. 

“Wasn’t the trail like 30 feet away, I swear we would have passed it like ten minutes ago” 

Panic was heard in Daisys’ voice. 

“It was, it was like right here, there is no way it is further, the forest only gets dense if we move forward” 

Sierra felt the panic as well, she wasn’t sure what was going on but she knew that at the moment they were lost. 

All of the girls tried to hide the panic and fear that was bubbling in their stomach but the more and more they looked and couldn't find the trail the harder it was to hide their emotions. 

“My phone cannot find service right now so I don’t know what is wrong but right now at least it is still early and bright. Maybe other hikers take this trial daily. The path that we were on was pretty run down so someone must be walking it frequently” 

Martha was trying to be logical and calm to get them out of the situation but even she knew there was something wrong. They lost their path and had no way of finding a way to get out of here. She felt trapped by the situation and she hated the feeling of helplessness. 

“Are we lost” 

Quin was not afraid to admit being lost scared her to death. 

“We are” 

Sierra felt like this was all her fault. She was the one to suggest that they take the trail. 

“Lets try walking back the way we came we are bound to find the way home” 

Martha piped up again, determined to get them out. 

The girls all agreed following Martha down what they thought was the right path. They were wrong. They were so wrong. They were heading into denser forest away from civilization and further into the depths of forest. 

As the sun started to go down and the exhaustion of the girls was hitting even harder they knew they were in big trouble. 

“Maybe we should turn around and try that way, maybe we went the wrong way in the first place” 

Sierra felt even more guilty now that it was getting dark. 

Once again the girls trekked backwards but the forest never seemed to let up, it seemed like they were going in circles. 

“What was that” 

Quin was hanging onto Daisys' arm, her lip quivering as an unknown noise sounded through the forest. 

“It’s alright Quin it was just the wind and the trees” 

Daisy tried to console Quin but she was just as scared as she was. 

“Ok let's find a place to camp out, someone won't be able to find us if we keep moving” 

The girls all agreed and found a space to huddle together for the night. The girls tried to ignore the voices of the trees and the howls of the wind but terror consumed them. 

They were never seen again.