As though he was experiencing his birth once again, Steven woke into a world unknown to him. Overcome by confusion, fatigue, and an overwhelming ache at the front of his brain, he tried to comprehend his surroundings. He was in a medium-sized tent, perhaps big enough for six people. It was night, and he would have been able to see nothing were it not for a dim lantern rested next to him. Excluding that and the sleeping bag that he was loosely wrapped inside, there wasn’t another thing in sight.

With no recollection of where he was or why he was there, he filled himself with worry.

Is this the world’s worst prank? Did I party a little too hard? Am I the next victim in a chain of serial killings? Am I a cannibal’s supper? It didn’t take long for his thoughts to descend into bleakness. Before he became consumed by ideas of what this situation likely wasn’t, he knew he had to venture outside.

It was the middle of Autumn, at least that’s what the last time of year he remembered was.

He kicked off the sleeping bag, zipped up his jacket tight to his neck, picked up the lantern, and made his way out into the unknown; he immediately felt a chill. As he looked around, he could see the burning chars of a fire. He could see faint pillars of grey, and he could hear leaves blowing; he assumed he was in a forest. What am I doing in a forest? he thought. There were no forests near Steven’s house, and he had no reason to be in one, especially not by himself.

Unease became panic; his mind raced, filled only with a thousand and one thoughts about what could be occurring. He had no other choice but to walk.

After a few steps, he could see the outline of a figure. The poor source of light he carried didn’t do much to help, but he was sure the figure was turned away. Instead of running in the opposite direction, Steven crept forward cautiously, careful not to make the figure aware of his presence. He balled his fist.

He was within reach before his trepidation disappeared; even in the most unsociable hours of night, he could recognise his friend.

‘Ed!’ Ed’s back remained turned. ‘Hey, Ed, I’m so happy to see you. What the hell is going on?’ Still, there was no response. The fear returned. ‘Ed? Can you hear me?’

Steven saw that Ed’s body was still; only a gentle rocking of his head gave him any kind of movement. Steven held his arm out as he slowly approached him. He grabbed Ed’s shoulder.

‘Fuck!’ Ed quickly leapt around before removing one of his earphones. ‘Good grief, Steven, are you trying to kill me?’

‘Are you trying to kill me?’ said Steven. Mild laughter in his voice destroyed any residue of tension Ed felt.

‘Sorry, I was just out here having a smoke and listening to some music.’ Ed was a short man, rotund at the waist and lightweight in the mind; for what he lacked in looks and intellect, he was difficult to dislike.

Seeing Ed brought a sense of calm to Steven.

‘Why? What’s going on?’

‘Man, were you gone. Don’t you remember anything?’ Ed removed his other earphone.

‘Nothing. The last I remember is…’ Steven paused, ‘…I don’t even know.’

‘Not surprised at all, to be honest. Me, you, Dallas and Michaela bought these.’ Ed pulled a transparent bag from his pocket containing several small tablets. ‘They’re meant to be really trippy, so we came out here to the White Woods to take them, ring any bells?’ He returned the bag to his pocket.

‘Vaguely,’ said Steven, setting down the lantern on the ground. ‘Why the White Woods? What else happened?’ Steven looked above where he’d see the treetops if there were signs of daylight. Despite the void that inhabited his head, he could almost remember entering a forest as the sun was setting.

‘Because there’s nothing around for miles. We took them after we set the tent up and made a little fire. We were sitting on a log and passing a joint around, then you just fell backwards. It was funny at first, but we got worried, we thought you were dead.’ Ed took a drag of his cigarette before throwing the end into the darkness. ‘When we realised you were still breathing, we thought it’d be best to just lay you down and let you sleep it off.’

Ed lit another cigarette and passed it to Steven.

‘Fantastic,’ said Steven, with a hint of jovial sarcasm. ‘Always me who nearly dies, isn’t it?’ Steven inhaled the cigarette and wondered what the time was. ‘Where are they now, then?’

‘Well, I think they were hoping to get a bit of alone time in the tent, but that idea quickly went out of the window. They went off for a little privacy.’ Ed was familiar with being a spare part, but he was content with his own company.

‘In here? In the middle of the night?’ Steven said, as he looked up.

‘It’s about two, but yeah, what a strange pair they are. I’ll give them a call actually and get them back, it’s been a while, now.’ Ed took out his phone and called Dallas.

‘Guess who’s with me?…I know, right?…You are? That’s cool…yeah…alright…yeah, I’ll see you in a minute.’ Ed ended the call. ‘They’re on their way back, should be here shortly.’

‘What about you guys? How were those pills for you?’

‘So good,’ said Ed, as his eyes widened. ‘They hit all of us hard, I’m still flying a bit. We bought five, but we only needed one each. Good job that’s all we had or you might have actually died.’

Steven had another drag of the cigarette and gave it back to Ed.

Dallas appeared with Michaela by his side.

‘Sorry, apparently I went absent on you all,’ said Steven, making light of his inability to handle drugs.

‘It was hilarious,’ said Michaela.

‘And this is the grand return, it would seem. Glad you’re alive.’ Dallas was like the older brother of the group. He carried himself with a front of quiet confidence; they all knew there was nobody as genuinely caring as he.

‘Well, my head feels flat. Do you all mind if I grab some sleep?’ Steven felt his grasp on reality becoming looser.

‘Short and sweet,’ said Dallas.

‘I am sorry.’ Steven knew how impolite he seemed.

‘Not at all, honestly.’ Dallas placed his arm on Steven’s shoulder and nodded, ensuring his eyes met with Steven’s. ‘Do what you need to do.’

‘Yeah, off you go,’ said Ed.

‘Thanks, we’ll have a nice session in the morning.’ Steven may have struggled with consuming harder substances, but he enjoyed morning smokes with his friends. He lifted the lantern, turned, and walked towards the tent.

‘Take it easy, and don’t leave us in your sleep,’ said Michaela.

‘I’m not making any promises,’ said Steven as he stopped and turned his head. ‘Oh yeah, I only saw one sleeping bag in the tent, what are you three going to do?’

Dallas looked at Ed. ‘Somebody said they would go back to the car and get everyone else’s stuff once we set up but then somebody had a smoke and somebody lost their enthusiasm.’

‘Yeah, my bad,’ said Ed.

‘It’ll be okay.’ Dallas turned his head to look back at Steven. ‘We probably won’t sleep anyway.’

‘Fair,’ said Steven. ‘See you tomorrow.’ He entered the tent and wrapped himself up in the sleeping bag. The inside air wasn’t cold, but Steven couldn’t help but shiver.

The three stood around the remnants of where flames once burned. As soon as they heard Steven’s distinct snore, they quietly left the camp area. After walking for thirty seconds, they stopped.

‘Where are you?’ Dallas whispered.

A man emerged from the darkness. He was clothed in tatters; his long hair and beard were unkempt, and he carried an unbearable stench like he hadn’t washed in a decade. His health had visibly started to deteriorate a great time ago.

He hobbled towards Dallas.

‘Right, we left him in the tent, it’s just through there,’ said Dallas, as he pointed behind them. ‘Give us the money and we’ll leave. He’s all yours.’

The man handed Dallas a bag of cash.

Ed gave the man the remainder of his cigarette.

The man dragged himself towards the tent wearing a twisted grin and licking his blackened lips.

‘Let’s go,’ said Michaela.

As the three walked in the direction of Michaela’s car, they could hear Steven screaming for his life, but nobody else could; they were in the White Woods, and there was nothing around for miles.