BY HMONGTALES STAFF
(California) A few years back, I went camping with my friends for the very first time. We decided on a campground deep in the Mendocino National Forest in California. When we arrived at the location, my friends and I decided that we were going to camp at the campground furthest away from people. We drove down the road until we arrived at the last camping spot. At this spot, the nearest people to us were about a 10-minute drive away. Since we were so far from everyone else, we knew we could be as loud as we liked. We unpacked our gear and started our camping party.
Later that day, one of my friends made a campfire and realized we didn’t have enough firewood to keep the fire burning into the night. So he asked if some of us could go and gather firewood. So a few of us volunteered and headed into the forest.
I found a few dry sticks and brought them back to camp. As everyone was returning from firewood duty, I noticed one of my friends, Andrew, dragging a piece of log back to the campsite. I walked over to him and said, “You know you’re not supposed to drag wood in the forest, right? A ghost will probably follow that trail you made and come to our campsite.” Andrew replied with cockiness, “I don’t believe in that crap. I’ve done it multiple times, and nothing ever happens. I’d never seen a ghost, and nothing followed me back.” We laughed it off, and I helped him carry the log to the campsite.
A few hours passed, and it was now nighttime. The campsite was now pitch black, and the only light source was from the firepit. Finally, some friends called it a night and headed to their tents. One of the girls, Amber, asked me to walk her to her tent because she was afraid of the dark.
After walking Amber to her tent, I decided to head back to the firepit to hang out with the friends who were still awake. Unfortunately, I was walking in the dark, and the only light source was from the firepit out in the distance (I didn’t have a flashlight, and a smartphone wasn’t a thing yet). My vision was terrible, and I couldn’t see more than 15 feet in front of me. My only sense of direction was to head toward the fire because that was the only thing I could see.
As I got closer to the firepit, I called out to my friend Andrew, whom I was supposed to share a tent with. I couldn’t see him because of my horrible eyesight, but I heard him reply from the firepit area. I took a few more steps forward, got close enough to where I could see, and realized that nobody was there. A bit confused, I looked in the direction where Andrew had set up his tent earlier and spotted movements there.
When I walked over, I saw Andrew moving his sleeping bag into another friend, Billy’s tent. I asked Andrew, “How did you get here so fast from the firepit?” He replied, “I ran over here.” Billy was standing nearby and asked if I saw Andrew by the firepit. I replied, “No, I didn’t. I couldn’t see that far.” He looked me dead in the eyes and said, “Are you sure you spoke to Andrew? Because he was with me the whole time.” Confused, I replied, “What do you mean? Wasn’t he at the firepit just a moment ago?” Billy replied, “No, when you got up to walk Amber to her tent, we both decided it was time for bed, so we left back to our tents.”
To make matters worse, Andrew finally spoke up and said, “It wasn’t me. I didn’t talk to you by the firepit. Billy and I have both left already. When we saw you walking back towards the firepit and saw that you were talking to someone, we both wondered who you were talking to. You really freaked us out. That’s why I’ll be sleeping in Billy’s tent tonight.”
After hearing this, a sudden rush of fear came across my mind. I didn’t know what to make of it. If Billy and Andrew were telling the truth, who spoke to me in Andrew’s voice?
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