The Last Turn at Hollow Creek

The Shortcut
It was the last weekend before school started, and 12-year-old Eli, Mira, Jayden, and Sophia wanted to do something fun—one last adventure before summer ended.

Mira had the idea.

“My cousin said there’s an old trail behind Hollow Creek Road. It’s supposed to lead to an abandoned campground,” she said. “No one’s been there in years. Wanna go?”

“Abandoned?” Eli raised an eyebrow. “That usually means don’t go.”

“Or it means we’ll be the first to explore it,” said Jayden, already stuffing snacks into his backpack.

Sophia didn’t say much. She was the quiet one. But when she nodded, that was it. They were going.

They grabbed flashlights, trail mix, their phones, and set off on their bikes by 3 p.m.

That was their first mistake.

Hollow Creek Road
Hollow Creek Road looked like something from an old horror movie.

Trees leaned over the gravel road like they were whispering to each other. The sunlight barely reached through the branches, and the wind made weird whistling noises in the leaves.

Halfway down the road, they saw the sign.

It was nailed to a tree, crooked and scratched up:

"LAST TURN AHEAD. DON’T ENTER AFTER DARK."

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mira laughed nervously.

Jayden kicked at the sign. “Probably just to keep people out. Classic ‘haunted trail’ trick.”

They turned anyway.

That was their second mistake.

The Forest That Didn’t Want Them
The trail started off fine. Quiet. Peaceful.

But about 10 minutes in, things got weird.

The forest got too quiet.

No squirrels. No birds. Even the air felt wrong. Like it had stopped moving.

Sophia stopped walking and said, “Do you guys hear that?”

“Hear what?” Eli asked.

And then they all realized—it was their footsteps.

But not just theirs.

There was one more set. Behind them.

Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.

They spun around.

No one there.

They laughed it off. "Just echoes," Jayden said. But no one believed that.

Especially not Sophia.

The Campground
By 4:15, they found the old campground.

It was exactly how Mira described it: empty cabins, a rusty firepit, and a creepy old bell tower with a broken rope.

But the weirdest part?

Everything looked clean.

No dust. No leaves. No bugs.

Like someone had just been there.

Or was still there.

“I don’t like this,” Eli whispered.

Jayden shrugged. “Let’s check out the cabins.”

That was the third mistake.

Something in the Cabin
They entered the first cabin.

It smelled like mold and rotting wood.

On the wall was a chalkboard. Still had writing on it:

Camp Schedule

Wake-up — 7:00 a.m.
Breakfast — 8:00 a.m.
Lights Out — 9:00 p.m.
No Leaving After Dark

Then, below it, in big letters:

“THE FOREST TAKES WHO STAYS.”

The air suddenly felt heavy. Like something had closed the door… even though none of them touched it.

Jayden tried to open it.

Locked.

“What the—?”

Then the window slammed shut by itself.

Mira screamed.

Something was moving in the ceiling.

Like claws.

Scraping.

Run
They didn’t wait. Jayden kicked the door until it burst open, and they ran into the woods, not even caring which way they came from.

But the path was gone.

Where the trail had been before, there were now just trees. Thick and twisted and way too close together.

“It was right here! I swear!” Eli said.

Sophia was crying quietly. “It doesn’t want us to leave.”

“What?” Mira asked.

Sophia looked up, eyes wide. “The woods. They brought us here. They don’t want us to go.”

Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.

That sound again.

Right behind them.

The Shadows
They ran until the sky started turning orange.

And then… they saw it.

A figure. Tall. Thin. Almost stick-like. Standing in the distance between the trees.

They froze.

It didn’t move.

Until Jayden whispered, “Is that a person?”

The figure twitched—its neck bent sideways.

Then it vanished.

And suddenly… there were more.

Dozens.

Standing still.

All around them.

Watching.

Then Mira said the words that made everyone panic:

“They look like scarecrows.”

But these scarecrows didn’t have poles.

They moved.

The Bell
Eli remembered something from the chalkboard:
“No leaving after dark.”

“But it didn’t say anything about ringing the bell,” he said.

“The tower!” Mira pointed.

They made a run for it, ducking branches, dodging roots, ignoring the whispering wind that now seemed to say their names.

Sophia tripped.

A scarecrow grabbed her foot.

Its fingers were like branches—snapping, dry, and cold.

Jayden tackled it, pulling her free.

They made it to the tower.

Eli grabbed the rope—rotted and thin—and yanked with all his strength.

BONGGGGGG.

The sound echoed through the woods.

And all the shadows screamed.

The Escape
The forest shifted.

Literally—trees moved, creaking and groaning like they were alive.

And then, there it was.

The trail.

Back where it had been before.

They didn’t think, didn’t talk—they just ran.

Jayden tripped once, but Sophia helped him up.

Mira twisted her ankle but kept going.

They didn’t stop until they reached their bikes.

And even then, they didn’t stop pedaling until Hollow Creek Road was far behind them.

The sun was down.

But they made it.

Don’t Go Back
Back home, their phones said it was 2 a.m.

They had been gone for nearly 10 hours.

But to them… it felt like 2.

None of them could sleep that night.

The next day, they all made a promise.

Never go back to Hollow Creek.

Never talk about what they saw.

And never, ever take shortcuts through the woods again.

But Eli still hears the bell sometimes.

Especially at night.

When the wind dies down.

And the forest holds its breath.