This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/SydneySapphire on 2026-07-29 14:21:47+00:00.

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Life is good.

That’s what my mom always told me. She believed that life would repay you with goodness so long as you gave it back to others. I’m not sure she was right. I’ve never been sure.

“Get in the car, Conner!” Jeanie shouted. She waved at me in annoyance, trying to hurry me. Her brown rimmed glasses shone in the sunlight.

We’d been planning this trip for weeks. A full weekend with friends in Grenwich National Park. Jeanie reserved the tent spot. Parker was bringing the beer, and his girlfriend, Sue, was bringing the tents. All I had to do was contribute ten bucks to the beer fund and bring my sleeping bag.

My mom kissed my cheek before I left, hugging me tightly. “Have fun, okay? I’ll check the mail tomorrow to see if an acceptance letter came in. I’m sure one will show up.”

She smiled brightly, but my stomach was in knots. I applied to three occupational therapy programs after finals ended, and now, all I could do was wait. It was killing me. The anticipation, the fear… It shouldn’t be so hard to help people.

Jeanie lay on the horn, and I laughed. “I’m COMING!” I shouted, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and grabbing my duffle bag.

I ran out the door, slamming my hand onto Jeanie’s car. “Lay off the horn, asshole. This is a neighborhood.”

She smirked, always eager for mischief. I got into the passenger seat and kissed her cheek.

“Don’t kiss me, Conner. We made out once, and I learned my lesson.”

I chuckled to myself, knowing that Jeanie and I weren’t going to rekindle anything. But man, I do love to make fun of her about it. She and I had drunkenly made out once, but that was all.

Jeanie and I drove happily, blasting music out of her bright blue jeep. The wind whipped our faces, and the smell of summer filled our minds. Jeanie laughed over the sound of the music; tendrils of her long brown hair thrashed wildly.

When we reached Grenwich National Park, Parker and Sue were already there. They were making out viciously on the hood of Parker’s car. If we’d come any later, they wouldn’t have been clothed.

“God,” Jeanie hissed. “If I knew when I introduced them that they’d be this sickening as a couple, I wouldn’t have done it.”

Too engrossed with each other to notice us, I gave Jeanie a devious look. She nodded. I slammed on the horn. The two of them tore away from each other, and Parker immediately flipped us off.

Jeanie and I laughed hysterically.

Parker walked to the jeep and helped us unload.

“You bring three tents?” I asked Sue.

She nodded. “Of course, but you and Jeanie can always share.” She winked.

Jeanie rolled her eyes. “I think I’d rather die.”

Parker snorted. “Calm down, grumpy. It was a joke.”

Sue popped her trunk and dispersed the tent packs, making sure to load down Parker like a camel. She’d brought way too much stuff, but she’s her boyfriend’s problem. He gets to carry her crap. He gave me a help me look, and I begrudgingly took her stupidly heavy makeup bag.

And the four of us began to hike through the dense woods.

Grenwich is a nice place. I’ve grown up here my whole life. I know Grenwich like the back of my hand. The roads are practically traced lines of my palm like map markings, leading to the place I’d always called home.

Safe. Good. Calm.

After we’d hiked about an hour, we came upon the reserved spot. A red sign was staked into the ground. Jeanie’s last name was freshly stuck to the bottom.

“Praise God,” Sue said, chunking her one backpack onto the ground.

Jeanie stifled a laugh while poor Parker unloaded himself, removing at least four bags from his shoulders and around his neck. A thick red whelp was forming on his neck where a strap had dug into him.

“Geeze,” I mumbled to Parker and gestured at his bruising.

He stopped me, not wanting Sue to hear.

The group of us began to pitch our tents, fighting with the ground to stake the metal pegs into the soil. The ground was hard, dry, and aching for water.

As I staked my final metal peg into the ground, the peg fell right through the soil, swallowed by darkness below. Earth fell away, revealing a tunnel into endless night. A few pieces of dirt slipped into the darkness, descending into the hole.

“Check this out,” I said lowly.

Parker heard me and stepped away from his tent to come look. “Damn,” he whispered.

He pulled a glow stick out of his bag, cracked it, and dropped it into the hole. The glow stick fell quickly, slipping into the pitch-black. The glow slowly grew smaller. A flicker. A pinprick. Then, it was gone. I grimaced and quickly began to dig up the other pegs. I didn’t want to be sleeping anywhere near that unending tunnel.

“You’re being dramatic,” Parker said with a scoff.

“Am I?” I asked sarcastically.

Jeanie and Sue looked up from their tents.

“What is going on?” Jeanie asked, walking towards us.

Sue followed, nearly stepping into the hole. Parker pulled her back.

“Crap,” Jeanie said, poking a foot toward it. “What the fuck do you think made that?”

“A gopher,” Parker replied nonchalantly.

Jeanie shook her head. “I don’t think so. That is very deep, don’t you think?” she asked, looking up at me for confirmation.

I shrugged. “All I know is that I don’t want my tent anywhere near it. I’m happily moving over there,” I replied, pointing toward the last cleared spot by the pine trees.

Everyone else chuckled.

“You guys want to go down by the lake?” Jeanie asked. “I booked this spot because it has the easiest access to the lake.”

Sue and Parker agreed, but I shook my head.

“I’ll stay here and set up my tent… again,” I grumbled.

“I can stay back with you,” Parker said, patting my shoulder. “But that means I’d need Parker Payment…”

“Stay away from me, you sick fuck!” I hissed, backing away from him.

He chased after me anyway, cornering me between the tall grass and the massive hole. Sue and Jeanie laughed wildly, holding their stomachs as Parker tortured me. I had no choice but to face him now.

Parker Payment was something he’d come up with when we were young. Anytime he did something he considered chivalrous or in need of recognition, he requested Parker Payment. It sounds horrific, but if he catches you, he pulls your head into a chokehold and kisses your head before giving you the most painful noogie of your life. It doesn’t help that Parker is absolutely massive. He’s six foot five, fast, and incredibly strong. Parker Payment is nothing more than friendly hazing, but I hated it more than anything.

I tried to run past him, but he snatched me up, pulled me into the crook of his arm, and noogied me until I tapped out. When he let me go, I coughed, still smelling the scent of his BO and intense cologne.

“I hate you, man…” I wheezed, trying to catch my breath.

He laughed, smiling proudly to himself.

“I never even agreed to you staying!” I laughed, crossing my arms over my chest.

He smirked. “Then, you simply got a noogie to grow on. It’ll give you luck for those acceptance letters.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“Listen, are we going to the lake or not?” Sue asked, tapping her foot.

“I’m coming,” Parker replied. “You sure you’re gonna be okay by yourself, Conner?”

I waved my hand at him, urging him to leave me be. “Yes! Just go, dude! Go enjoy the lake. I’ll be just fine.”

The three of them grabbed a water bottle and sauntered off toward the path to the lake. Meanwhile, I started on my tent again. By the time I finished fighting with the cheaply built piece of shit, it was growing dark. Nervously, I looked toward the lake. Part of me wanted to rush down the path to find them, but another part told me to stay put.

I chose to trust my gut.

I made a fire from the wood Jeanie brought from her jeep, arranging it perfectly. Then I walked into her tent to find her lighter. I couldn’t find it. I flung open the tent and sat down in front of the cold fire, knowing I’d have to wait for Jeanie to come back. She’d probably put the tiny lighter into the most inconspicuous pocket.

I rubbed through my hair, waiting patiently for my friends to return, but they never did.

When the moon kissed the sky, and the stars prayed to the earth, the frogs began to croak, singing their sweet symphonies into the night. The crickets chirped, and the locusts hummed. Fireflies glistened through the trees, beckoning me into the darkness of their realm.

Begrudgingly, I fought off my gut feeling and decided to go look for them. I grabbed my backpack from my tent and headed down the dark path. With trembling hands, I pulled my flashlight out of my bag. I’d always been a chicken. I didn’t like the dark, and it didn’t matter how old I got. I’d never feel safe at night.

Vines snaked along the bases of the trees, growing heartily stronger until they’d swallow the trunk. Mushrooms grew wildly along the path, and pieces and parts of sticks lay matted within furry lichens.

I followed the path, seeing their footprints along the way. Somehow, it gave me a sense of safety. Knowing that their steps guided mine felt comforting, in a way. As I walked, my flashlight began to flicker.

“No…” I groaned, slamming it into my palm.

Then, it went out, leaving me in the shadows and vicious thoughts of the forest’s mind.

I looked ahead. Only the moon was my guide now; perhaps she’d spur me onward. But alas, clouds shifted over her glowing face. The tufts of white feathers and glowing sweets swallowed the moon whole, drifting onto her like fingers slipping down her cheek. I stared up at the clouds above, seeing the eerie shape of a ha...

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