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Instructions

Lila crept through the dark woods, the branches catching on her skirt. "Eww," she exclaimed, peeling a slimy piece of something off her dress. "This is gross. Kayla, can we leave now?" "No, not yet." Her best friend said, shining the flashlight in Lila's face. "He was here. I'm sure of it." Kayla continued to creep through the woods, ignoring when Lila gagged behind her. "Oh, suck it up. What's more important, finding Henry or keeping your clothes clean?" Lila knew the answer to that. They had spent the last hour roaming around in the woods, looking for Kayla's younger brother, who was playing there before, when the girls had gone inside her house to get lemonade. Now, he was nowhere to be seen. "Henry?" Kayla called, the annoyance in her voice soon turning to worry. "Henry, are you out there?" "Face it, Kayla," Lila rolled her eyes, knowing Kayla wouldn't notice in the dark. "He probably went back to the house while we were running around looking for him." "No, he'd be-ugh!" Kayla shook her phone, then sighed. "My phone's dead." At first, Lila thought she was kidding. She let out a snort of laughter. "Very funny, now turn the light back on, I can't see." "I'm not joking." Kayla said, her shoulders drooped. Lila's smile slowly faded into a frown, and she took a step forward. "What do you mean, you're phone's dead? You dragged us out here, in the middle of the woods, just to get lost?" She was yelling now. "Ugh, you're so annoying. Come on." She started stomping the other way, crunching over leaves as she walked. Suddenly, a scream pierced through the air. Lila jumped, turning around. "Kayla? Kayla, did you hear that?" There was no response. "Kayla?" Lila's voice shook. "This isn't funny. Come out." She heard rustling behind her. "Who's there?" She yelled, spinning around. "I have a weapon!" She quickly reached down and tried to grab a stick, but reached for something harder instead. In the moonlight, she could just make out what it was. A cracked phone, the broken glass shards glittering in the light. Kayla's phone. Lila's hand shook as she started at the phone. "Hello?" She called out with uncertainty. Just then, a dark black shadow came crashing through the trees, and everything went black.