chapter 1 - Into the mouth of madness

Epilogue -

It all started back in 2002, when three fearless teenagers were dared to sneak into Camp WildWood at Terrell State Hospital.

They were boys, of course — eager, cocky, and desperate to impress a group of girls from school.

The oldest, Ben, had just turned seventeen. Dylan and Mark, sixteen-year-old twins, were right behind him. All three were star football players at Terrell High, convinced that spending a night at the abandoned camp would be a piece of cake.

They were wrong.

Chapter 1 -

The night was thick with cackling laughter and blood-curdling screams that would have sent anyone sane running for their lives.

It was ten o’clock when the boys, their bags packed, said goodbye to their friends.

The girls they were trying to impress cried, begging them not to go, calling them crazy.

Ben just chuckled as he climbed into his new Chevy truck, Dylan and Mark piling in beside him. They drove off without a care in the world.

An hour later, they reached the hospital grounds.

Ben slowed down, driving past the entrance, sizing up whether they should really go through with it.

“This place gives me the creeps, guys,” Dylan said, peering out the window. “I don’t want to do this. It doesn’t feel right.”

Ben smirked.

“You want a chance with Cassidy, don’t you? Then man up. Stay one night in a creepy old camp, and you’ll prove you’re brave enough to take her out too.”

That was all it took.

Ben parked the truck off the road — far enough not to be spotted, close enough to make a quick getaway if needed.

They grabbed their gear and headed down the cracked, weed-choked road toward the old gates.

Rust clung to the iron bars. Beyond them, the dark shapes of trees stretched into the night sky.

They slipped through the gates, glancing around nervously for guards or stray workers.

The campgrounds were about a mile in. But they soon discovered it wasn’t just a camp.

It was a cemetery too.

“This is sick, man,” Mark muttered, reading the broken sign by the cemetery gates. “Can’t we just ditch this place? We’ve got our playoff game against Forney on Friday. I don’t wanna fucking die tonight.”

Ben laughed, kicking at a rock.

“Some of these graves date back to the 1800s,” he said, his voice low and amused. “That’s insane.”

Mark and Dylan shared a look. Doubt flickered across their faces.

Just then, Dylan spotted something.

“Look, there’s a lake — and an old swing set,” he said, pointing through the trees. “Wonder how many people tried to drown themselves out there…”

His voice was a little too excited.

“Come on,” Mark said, shouldering his bag. “Let’s pitch the tent, get some sleep. We’ll explore tomorrow.”

“Or just get the hell out of here,” Dylan muttered under his breath.

The three stood there, motionless, too scared to move without one of the others going first.

“Forget sleeping,” Dylan finally said, his voice rising. “I’m not letting my guard down. I don’t even wanna be here.”

“Keep it down,” Ben chuckled. “You’re gonna wake the neighbors.” He pointed at the rows of crumbling headstones just yards away.

Dylan cursed under his breath, earning a glare from both Ben and Mark.

“Just shut up,” Mark said. “We’ll make it through the night. Then we’re out first thing in the morning.”

Finally, they found a small clearing by the edge of the woods and started setting up camp.

Not that they would get much sleep.