It was September 28, 2017. I was in the car with my sister and Faith heading to Roxy’s house. Since I still haven't gotten my license yet I had to ask my sister Niki to drive us. Niki was nodding her head to the music that was playing from the radio. Her Jet black hair bounced with every nod of her head. She’s gotten better at driving since she left for college a few months ago. 

I guess practice does make perfect or at least semi-perfect. I looked out the car window. It was early morning so there was no one else driving. It took us 15 minutes until we finally got to Roxy’s house. Which is less of a traditional house and more of an oversized cabin. The logs were a worn-out dark oak, with a balcony perched above the front door. A gravel pathway leads to the deck sitting below the door. The door was also a dark oak, but it looked new and polished. A midnight black railing sat on the deck making sure no small child could runoff. Sage green vines spiraled around the railing, with little lavender flowers on every other vine.  I hopped out and turned to close my door as Faith climbed out of the car.

She’s the smallest girl in our year.  About 5’0 with golden hair that barely reaches her shoulders. Her black-rimmed hat lightly sitting on her head, with her blue sweater tucked into her black bleached shorts. I started to get goosebumps as the cold started to settle around us. Faith looked at me with a light smile and muttered “ Wrong day to wear shorts” Considering that it's fall in Massachusetts, I agree, it was a bad day to wear shorts. Which is what I tell her every time but she does it anyway. “Don’t worry once we get into Roxy’s house it will be warmer” I assured her with a soft tone. Nikki grabbed the microphone that was connected to a speaker on the outside of the car to say:

“Hey, Sum sum make sure you call once you're done okay?” Faith snickered at the nickname Sum sum. I ignored her and faced Niki “ I told you to stop calling me that it's embarrassing” she leaned back into the driver's seat with a smug grin on her face “ Yeah, I know, that’s why I still use it.”  Before I could say anything back, Nikki said bye and drove off. I know she’s my sister but Jeez she makes it hard to like her. I turned and started to walk with Faith to the front door. Before I was even able to knock on the door, there were already footsteps coming from inside of the house.

 I didn't have enough time to process the noise. The next thing I knew Roxy burst open the door. A warm blast and the smell of pine hit our faces then soon an arm grabbed us and pulled us inside. “Hey Rox, chill man! Jeez. '' I said through my laughter. Roxy was very extra when it came to her friends coming over now was one of those times.

Roxy’s hair was about as red as a tomato. You could easily call her Ginny Weasly. She was practically identical! The only difference is she always wore her hair in a ponytail, we haven’t really seen her hair down ever! She wore the Volleyball hoodie she got from our school. It had black sleeves with a white body and a black hood and “BirchWood High Volleyball'' in bold letters on it with a pair of ripped (or what she calls well-loved) blue jeans.

 “ Nope, not happening!” She ran across the worn-out spruce floor and grabbed an old leather book. “Check this out!” she shoved it towards me and Faith. “An old crusty-looking book?” I asked her. She rolled her emerald eyes. “Not just any kind of crusty old book. I found it while walking the dogs out back” I opened the book and most of the writing was barely legible. Most of the words were either smudged or had really bad water damage. Faith looked up at Roxy and asked “ So why exactly are you showing us this?”.  Roxy turned to look at us while walking backwards towards the backdoor. “I'll tell you on our way over there.” Roxy turned around and grabbed her house keys off the couch. “ What do you mean ​over there​?” Faith asking Roxy for an answer was pretty much pointless considering Roxy was already halfway out the door. I looked at Faith to see if she had anything to say about the situation

.

She just looked back at me and shrugged and started to walk towards Roxy grabbing my arm as she walked by me. “Let's go before she hurts herself” Faith sighed. We walked out onto Roxy’s porch and down the stairs off to the side. We followed her into the woods. As you’d assume the woods are kinda creepy. They're spaced out and slowly get denser the more you walk away from the house. It looks like something from a 90’s horror movie

Doesn’t help how many ghost stories people tell about the woods. If you've heard one you've heard them all. Always about the Salem witch trials and that the ghost of the witches that haunt the forest. But I always knew it was just a way to keep kids from going into the woods and getting lost. Faith went from grabbing my arm to clinging onto it. She has a love-hate relationship with the forest. She loves the vibe of a forest but she hates the stories about them. It makes her paranoid. “How far is this place anyway?” I questioned Roxy. Roxy hopped on a rock and grabbed onto a tree next to it. “Hmm i'd say four more minutes of walking and it should be there”. “I don't like the fact you used the word should.” Faith sighed as she rubbed her eyes. After more walking, we got to a small clearing in the woods with an old shack.

Roxy walked ahead of us and turned around spreading out her arms as she did so. “Ladies, we've now made it to our location!” She started walking towards the shack or what was left of it. The roof was falling apart, the windows were broken and there was a tree growing into the house. It looked like a chimney. Point blank the place looked unstable. I went to grab Roxy by the hood of her jacket. She tilted her head back to look at me. “Yes?” She turned the rest of her body to face me. “So you wanted us to explore an old shack that's falling apart?” Then it hit me. I placed

my hands on my forehead. “Please don't tell me you found that book here.” Faith adjusted her hat as she slowly approached the shack examining it. “ Yeah, I think she did. I can see a bookshelf and I think there's a book missing.” Roxy looked at me with a lazy smile and shrugged. 'It was right there, can you blame me for being curious?’ I rolled my eyes. “Yes,” I lightly tapped her on the head “ yes I can.” 

I walked closer to what was left of the building. The roof had already caved in, forming a big hole in the middle with some shingles barely hanging on. The walls had been almost completely covered by moss. Looks like mother nature wanted this shack back. “ Why is it that whenever something happens it is normally you” I looked back at Roxy. She walked by me and tilted her head back slightly“ What can I say? I attract mischief” I wouldn't say Roxy attracted mischief more as she invites it. I walked to an opening in the shack. It looks like what used to be a door frame. I took a deep breath and pushed my hair out of my face with some of the curls hitting me back in the face. The inside was unsettling, to say the least. The wooden planks were covered in grass and what wood was left didn't look stable enough to be stepped on