Return of courage Part 1

[Friday, night]

"Why?" Owen said hoping to bury himself in the floor out of fear. "Why are we doing this again???"

"It was fun last time!" Sean said with a smile on his face with an endless silent forest behind.

"No no no no no no no no no no no no," Owen repeated. "I don't want to go back in!"

He attempted to retreat, hoping that he could escape back to the safety of his home. The forest that he was faced with was too dark to see into. The first step entered you into the silent darkness with no way of returning.

"Come on, Owen," Ethan said. "It could be fun."

The group stood by the forest as they helped Owen stand back up, regaining the feeling in his legs.

"A-alright…" Owen said. "Let's decide the pairs…"

Just like they did before, it was a test of courage. At a different forest and with a slightly changed cast. Instead of Chaley being here, she was replaced with Simon, Claire and Matt. Other than that, the usual 6, Owen, Ethan, Sean, Ruby, Kaylee and Lily, returned to face the forest, and Bella is here.

"Alright, same as before!" Kaylee announced. "Pick a number from the box!"

"I got a 1…" Owen said, "Why must I go first...?"

"Don't worry, dude!" Matt said whacking him on the back. "I'll protect you!"

"Phew, I'm glad someone reliable got the other 1," Owen said causing Matt to get embarrassed.

"Well, I don't know about reliable… but you are too kind,"

"3 for me," Ruby said.

"I got 3," Simon said contempt with the results as it meant he wasn't with Kaylee.

"Kaylee? Want to go next?" Ethan said hoping that he wouldn't get the same one. Unlike last year, where he tried to rig it in his favour, this time he rigged it against his favour. Although it was likely they would get the same number, there was the possibility that maybe his rigging worked for once.

"I got 5," Kaylee said.

"Phew," Ethan wiped the sweat off his head and put his hand in the box. He knew not to pick a 5. How he would know which ones were a 5 was simple. He was the one who wrote the numbers. Each piece of paper isn't cut properly, giving Ethan a small indication of what number is on what.

"I got 2!" Ethan screamed trying not to give away that he was happy.

"Seems like I got the other 5," Claire said. "I'm looking forward to this… it should be fun!"

"Y-yeah…" Kaylee responded as normal as she could hoping to ignore the dreed that she suddenly felt.

"Which means," Bella said approaching the box. "There are only three left."

Bella stuck her hand in and felt around, figuring out the trick Ethan was using. She could tell the papers were cut differently as it was a trick she would also use herself. However, what was on the paper is a mystery. It seems as instead of creating pairs, Ethan went for a method that wouldn't be caught. One only he would know the answer to. Each one meant something to him meaning that he knew what it was. Was it the one with curved edges that was the remaining 2? Or was it the one that is cut normally? Her brother's method made it impossible for her to cheat, relying on nothing but luck.

Bella yanked her hand our as quickly as she could, not looking at it. She slowly opened her eyes to see the number 2.

"Phew…" Just like her brother, she let out a sigh of relief. It was easier for her to be with someone she knew rather than Sean or Lily.

"I guess that means we are the last pair," Sean said.

"OH!" they all responded.

"Aren't the couple lucky?" Owen said causing them to get embarrassed but not deny it.

"ALRIGHT LET'S GO!" Kaylee announced starting the event.

[Pair 1 - Matt & Owen]

"This certainly is scary," Matt said as Owen cowered behind him almost crying into his coat.

"There is no such thing as ghosts..." he said causing Matt to burst out laughing.

"I never figured you were afraid of ghosts?"

"Well, it's not really ghosts... it's more of getting killed and the pain of the silence and terror of walking around a dark area. I mean… the real killer is the noises and feeling your heart trying to escape your body… We could be around a serial killer and not know it. Who is to say a 'gut feeling' actually exists."

"Uh-huh… Well said…"

Matt and Owen continued to walk along the path Ethan laid out. The sound of rustling leaves in the wind made Owen even more paranoid, jumping at every twig snap and stomp. Matt found amusement in this and even started to scare Owen on purpose.

"WHA!" he screamed causing Owen to jump out of his skin.

"JESUS!" Owen said clutching his heart. "PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!"

"Hahahaha… It was funny, Sean would have done something similar." Matt said.

"Y-yeah… probably. What do you think of Sean and Lily?" Owen asked not because he was curious but because he wanted to distract himself.

"Lily? She seems nice. I'm glad that Sean has found someone who makes him happy. Our mum is always saying about getting grandkids. She'll get her wish soon."

"Yeah right, this is Sean we are talking about."

"Hahaha…" Matt let out a loud laugh calming the area around them. "I'm glad Sean has good friends like you,"

Owen looked up at Matt who was smiling and walking forward without fear. They continued to walk down the path in silence, with the only thing scaring Owen being Matt himself.

"WHA!"

"STOP THAT!"

To be continued in the next part