I hadn't seen Autumn since earlier today, when her insanity had been confirmed.  She wasn't there to make us dinner.  She was nowhere in sight. Aunt Ellie said she went to her room, but she wasn't there.  I wondered if I was the only one that was becoming a little suspicious . . .  Not much, just a little.  I was glad I didn't have to see her, but . . .

     "I guess I'll have to make dinner tonight."  Aunt Ellie sighed.

     By the time we had finished eating and washed the dishes, darkness had fallen. 

"How about we go and make a campfire, eh?  When I was your age, that was my favorite thing to do here.  Roast marshmallows, tell scary stories . . ."  Aunt Ellie made eye contact with each of us, searching (and probably hoping) for someone to show the slightest bit of excitement. When nobody did, she turned around and grabbed a bag of marshmallows from the pantry that had been empty when we'd first arrived.  "It'll be fun, come on!" 

We each grabbed a flashlight and headed out the door.

     Just as we'd reached the front porch, Aunt Ellie stopped and gasped.  "I almost forgot!  The mosquitoes are quite the annoyance this time of year, especially here."  She reached down for a can of mosquito repellent that sat beside the doormat and sprayed her arms and legs.  "The lake brings more of em in than in most places."  She then passed the can to Emma, who passed it to Staci, who passed it to Will, who passed it to me.  Finally, we headed down to the fire pit to start our campfire.

     Aunt Ellie told us to gather firewood, but to not go too far. We split up in two directions, Will and I going one, Emma and Staci going the other.

     I found a few good pieces, but then paused for a moment to take in my surroundings.  When I turned off my flashlight, I couldn't really see much except for the reflection of the moon and stars on the lake, and shadows of trees against the dark sky.  But, you could definitely hear.  There were crickets chirping, owls cooing, along with some other birds, the occasional squeak of a bat, and of course, the waterfall in the distance.  There were also a few other sounds I didn't recognize. 

It all just sounded so beautiful!  Nature is truly amazing.  I looked up and gazed upon the sky, mesmerized by the flickers of light twinkling about in the midnight blueish-black background.

     All of a sudden, I got that feeling like someone was watching me again; a pair of eyes burning on my back.  I heard a twig snap, and then a bush rustle, but I didn't even bother to look behind me.  Calm down, it's probably just Will, I told myself.

     I felt better when Will tapped my shoulder and pulled me out of my thoughts.  "You okay, bud?"

     "Yeah, just enjoying nature."  I said with a small smile.  See? It was only Will.  Stop being so paranoid!

     "The sky looks so cool tonight."  He said, looking up at what I had been fascinated by just seconds ago.

     "It does."  I noticed that he had an arms-full of wood.  I turned my flashlight back on.  "Let's head back, I think we have enough."

     Aunt Ellie was putting some of Emma and Staci's wood into the pit when we'd arrived.  Then, when she finished, she collected most of ours, and did the same.  Once the fire was lit, we took our seats on the logs surrounding it.

     I sat between Will and Emma, and Staci sat on the end next to her best friend.  Aunt Ellie sat across from us.  "Nobody wants to sit by Aunt Ellie, huh?"  She faked a sad expression.

     Just as I was about to go sit next to her (because, I kinda have to, she's my Aunt, and it's the polite thing to do), Will and Staci got up and stole my chance.  I was left alone with Emma.  Yes!  I was so happy, I couldn't help but smile.

     "Thank you, sweethearts."  Aunt Ellie gave her new Bench Buddies, who sat on either side of her, each a pat on their back.

     Aunt Ellie passed around rods and handfuls of marshmallows, and we began our campfire.

     We started off by telling tales of when we were younger, and the stories gradually got spookier as we went.  On some of the really creepy stories, Emma got scared and snuggled up next to me.  I would just hold her hand tight, and she would calm down eventually.  Everything seemed perfect.

     But then the next day came along.