Chapter 1

So my friends, Greg and Ned, and I went on a camping trip last summer, hoping to end it off with a bang before we went back to our respected colleges for our senior years. The trip was going pretty well, we went hiking, followed a river up to a swimming hole where we spent the afternoon, then camped in the woods telling ghost stories under the stars while drinking and dabbling in the delicious green herb. It was the second-to-last night when things got weird.

We were hiking up this mountain trail about half an hour in when I saw a birch tree. It wasn’t anything special, but I remember noticing it because for the whole hike all we’d need around us were pines, some tall and some short, but this one birch stood there like a fish in a strawberry bush. Its white bark was peeling in places and its leaves had already started to yellow slightly signifying the impending return of cooler air. And stranger yet, it contained a carved heart halfway up the front of its trunk. Looking back it was much weirder than I felt it was at the moment, so we continued walking and I let it slip out of my mind.

We spent the next hour hiking up the mountain, sharing jokes, and telling stories from our recent year of college. Greg was telling us about how he almost broke his hand in a lab for one of his engineering classes. The safety latch holding up a pendulum was only half secured. Had it slipped with his hand in there it likely would have torn it to shreds.

“Sucks too, would’ve been my dominate one, and that would’ve made jorking it pretty hard”

We laughed, it wasn’t really that funny but the mix of fatigue from hiking and the August day’s heat made anything sound like a professional level joke.

Soon after that we reached the top and admired the view of the river and valley of pines below. But as I turned to get a 360 degree view of things I noticed that another birch tree was standing among the pines at the peak of that mountain.

“Hey… you guys, see that?” I pointed to the tree. My two friends looked at me dull and questioning.

“You mean the tree?”

I sighed in annoyance “Yeah dumbass, the tree, but the white one, doesn’t it seem out of place? I mean its bark is peeling an-” I froze. I told myself I was overreacting, but when I got closer to the birch, I noticed a heart had been carved into it, in the exact same spot as the other, the heart itself was pretty similar, like how a person tends to write a letter the same way. Except this one had the letter B inside it on the left side of the heart. I don’t know why, but I suddenly felt on edge, as if I was being watched from behind by something just out of sight. I jogged back to my friends and tried to push the feelings from my mind.

It’s just a tree.

We stayed on the peak for another 40 minutes eating the sandwiches we had made that morning and drinking some warm beers Ned was carrying in his pack. As we headed down we talked about our plans for senior year. Greg said he was gonna study abroad in New Zealand during the fall. Ned says he’s probably not gonna have much free time since he’s studying for the MCAT and working part time at the Green Haven Nursing Facility near his college. I was starting to talk about my plans to visit every bookstore in a 30 mile radius of my college when we arrived back at our campsite. It sank in suddenly that this would be our last night of the trip. We’re heading back home tomorrow evening after a final hike up Mount Woodchuck, the tallest mountain in the county.

We decided to spend that night feeding the fire, shotgunning, and reminiscing some more. Greg had just finished telling about this time he climbed to the roof of an urgent care building while plastered, and I figured it was a good time to excuse myself to take a piss. I walked a few feet into the forest to the right of them making sure to keep the fire visible at all times. I unzipped and drained the lizard onto the dark forest floor, my eyes scanning the forest to pass time, then my heart skipped a beat. A birch? It was about 10-15 feet deeper into the forest in front of me, the orange glow of the campfire danced off its flaky bark. I saw a heart on its front, a B accompanied by a “+” laid in the middle of it. It was too similar to the last tree, almost as if it was a carbon copy. Or maybe the original work. I suddenly felt cold and warm at the same time. The sensations rippled over my body in consistent pulses. The tree drew closer, like it was floating towards me, I wanted to move but I couldn’t. I was pinned by some unseen force and a personal morbid curiosity. The bark was peeling from the tree, and for a moment I thought it had left the shape of a smile right above the carving. When it was 5 feet from me, I felt my arm move to touch it.

Just a little taste, don’t be shy.

Its branches bobbed slightly in the wind, and its leaves rustled like the rippling current of a river.

My fingers were inches from the bark when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned suddenly to see Greg staring at me, his eyes looking scared and concerned.

“Dude it doesn’t take 20 minutes to pee, what are you doing?”

I looked at him blankly before blinking.

20 minutes? I’ve only been here for a few seconds. I cracked a smile to break the tension and calm his nerves

“Sorry dude, I was just taking in the scenery while I make room for more beer.”

“Uh-huh. Whatever dude, just don’t do that shit again, you scared us.”

I nodded "Yeah sorry, just give me a sec while I finish up here.”

My friend nodded and strolled back to the fire. I zipped up my fly and fastened my belt, scanning the forest once more, the birch was there. But I noticed something different, there was an S after the plus sign now.

“Sam, hurry up,these smores are going quick” Greg called from the fire.

I hustled back to the fire. When I was back in the opening again I looked back into the forest and saw the birch there, watching, it had to be watching, I don’t know how but it was. And right above the heart was that, stripped-bark smile.

I didn’t sleep much that night, and woke up multiple times to the smallest sounds. When morning finally came and my friends got up, we made our breakfast. I went to pee again, but really it was to check if that tree was still there. It wasn’t. I let out a breath of relief. It must’ve been a dream. I chuckled to myself over my foolishness and returned back to my friends.

It was the last day of the trip, tomorrow morning we’d be on our way home, how it had come so fast, I don’t know, but we intended to make the most of it. We started off with a mountain hike and ate some beef jerky while admiring the majestic view at the top. On our way back down I thought to myself with surprise that I hadn’t seen a single birch the entire time.

Next we went to these natural waterslides that had been formed into the rocks by a nearby river and spent a good part of the afternoon there sliding down into the swimming hole that formed at their bottoms. Once the sun started to get close to the tops of the pine trees we decided to make our way back to the camp to set up for dinner. We piled into the car and drove back. When we arrived back at the camp ground Greg started to get some things packed into the car to make it easier for the following morning. Ned and I worked on getting dinner ready. We feasted that night of hotdogs and marshmallows and relaxed into our chairs with full stomachs and satisfied faces. We stared up at the night sky and started talking about going back to our normal lives. It wasn’t the happiest conversation but it made me feel connected to my two friends in an honest, primitive way. I stared at them from across the firet, at their goofy grins, and cheery faces, a their white bark, and peeling smile, at th-

Just at little taste baby, come on, I won’t bite

I jumped out of my seat. My friends jumped also at the sudden movement.

“What the hell Sam? Are you ok?” Ned said quickly.

I looked past my friends into the dark system of branches and leaves. I looked for that peeling fucking bark, but it wasn’t there. I sighed. It was a tired sigh. I noticed my friends looking up at me, and giggled. I tried to smother it but it only grew, until I keeled over and fell back into my chair in a shaking giggling mess of a man.

“Sorr-sorry guys, I- I thought, I saw something" I kept laughing for a minute straight until I got control of myself, then looked up at my friends with tears in my eyes, and they looked back in worry. I brushed it off as the woods getting to me and needing some sleep, so I went to bed early.

I laid awake for a while in my sleeping bag, until I heard my friends come in to go to bed also. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep, I really wanted to avoid an awkward conversation about my earlier actions. I could tell they were eyeing me, looking for signs of anything alarming, but I just lied there waiting for them to go to bed too. Eventually they did and after an hour of listening to their snores, I fell asleep too.

When morning came, I woke to an empty tent. I heard the clatter of the skillet over the fire and the flat hum of conversation from my friends. I put on a fresh set of clothes, brushed my teeth and hair using the mini hanging mirror in the tent and then put my phone in my pocket. I unzipped the door of the tent and stepped out, the glare of the sun stunned my eyes as I walked towards my friends. When they adjusted to the light, I took in my surroundings and my blood went cold.

The campground was surrounded by a forest of birch trees.

I looked at my friends but they didn’t seem to notice this drastic change in scenery. I whispered to them.

“Hey. Guys. Let’s get out of he-”

My voice left me when I finally got a good look at my friends. Their skin was peeling like that of sunburn victims, and it had taken on a wooden texture. Even their movements were different, stiffer. Like something trying to replicate them.

They looked up at me and I saw their eyes had taken on the same color and texture as their skin. But somehow their featureless faces gave off an expression of pure ecstatic glee.

I took a step back and remembered the car. I looked around for the keys and saw them sitting on the stoop of wood next to the fire, my side of the fire.

“GOod mOoRninG SAm” Ned said to me, he had a giant toothy smile on his face. I looked back at him nervously. His voice didn't sound like his, it was rigid and cracked, and there were slight whistles mixed into his words, like the kind of sound you’d hear from a wooden flute.

“Heh, what’s up bro” I smiled nervously, taking a step towards the keys. I eyed them, and then looked at Ned, who had given up on pretending to cook and now just stared at me with his giant smile. Greg had joined his side next to him, and wielded a similar toothy grin.

I looked at them, then the keys, then back at them. They saw what I had looked at. I lunged for the keys, grabbed them and b-lined it for the car behind me and past the tent. I yanked open the door and started the engine. My friends, or whatever they were now, ran after me. I was faster than them but not by a lot. They ran wrong, their knees bending in opposite directions and far too much for a human joint. Yet their speed was still there. They got to the car right as I started to reverse and Ned grabbed onto the bumper. I screamed and drove backwards onto the road, then hit the gas and barreled forward, Ned held on for a little, then lost his grip and slipped under the car. I felt the car go over him like a speed bump and his body let out a large snapping sound.

I looked forward and realized with fear that the tree-line along the road ahead of me was narrowing inward. I hit the gas pedal down to the floor and sped forward. Just as the treeline of birches was about to become too small for my car to fit through, I drove past them and saw the pine trees return. I looked through the rearview mirror and saw with a chill the forest of birch trees staring back at me. My two friends stood there waving crookedly with their heads leaning slightly to the left. Ned’s arms looked splintered in a few places but his face didn’t give off signs of pain, but rather of glee. In between them both I saw it. The birch tree from before, with its carved heart holding the “B + S” in its middle. And as I drove away from that horrific forest of trees, I swear to this day that that tree was waving at me.

I’ve never been camping since that trip, and only ever live in cities. But once in a while I’ll have this nightmare where I hear a tapping in my head, then feel myself wake up in my room. The tapping is from my right usually, and I look there and through the glass of my window I see that peeling-bark-smile grinning right at me as a white colored branch taps the glass slowly. I scream, but no sounds come out as my body turns to wood, and the most I can make is a low haunted whistle, as roots sprout from my feet, hands, chest and eyes, and embed themselves into the room. And I heard in my head that sweet compelling voice.

Come on baby, just a taste. That’s good. Won’t this be nice? You and I forever. Together forever in my forest.

Another dry whistle leaves my mouth, until roots start growing from there too, and the last thing I hear before roots take my ears also, is the consistent patterned tapping of the birch’s branch on my window.

And then I wake up.