There's Only Five Of Us On This Camping Trip. We Keep Counting Six

By not_neccesarily

1. There were bright flashes of red in the sky. It's as if someone was waving around a flare light from space - faint but noticeable. We all made UFO jokes and laughed as we nailed our tents into the ground. I knew for sure that there were five of us. We have all been friends since early middle school and were celebrating our high school graduation with this getaway camping trip. The flashes of red must've stopped randomly as we made conversation while fixing up our tents.

2.Dave managed to put his tent together the fastest and told us he was going to find some branches for the fire. I remember how he had worked with me at the local gas station last year. We used to do the night shift together and it had made working at a desolate gas station much more fun than it was supposed to be. There was also Eric in the corner still reading his tent manual, fidgeting with his signature round glasses. I wasn't as close with Eric as I was with the others but I still remember sitting with him in math class and copying his homework one time. Ava was also there talking with Sally, my cousin. Both had decided to team up and work on one tent at a time. I also have clear memories of them - hanging around at school in our usual places. In fact, I even knew Ava's younger brother as he used to beg to go with us wherever we went.

3. I bring all this up because I'm sure that there were five of us including me and that I knew everyone in the group.

4. So Dave had went to get some branches as we pulled out some foldable chairs and set them up around the fire pit. I remember feeling uneasy as the sun set and darkness began to consume the forest. The shadows of trees elongated around us as the minutes ticked by. Eric went to get a flashlight from his bag while we wondered what was taking Dave so long. He appeared soon after, the harsh rustling sounds of the bushes signifying his return. We were all buried in our chairs at this point, covered by our jackets. The temperature had dropped quickly and a slight breeze was beginning to pick up.

5. "Jeez, you guys weren't even bothered to pull out a chair for me", Dave said as he arranged all the branches in the pit.

6. We had set up five chairs around the fire. I tried to rationalise the situation but no matter how hard I focused, my head felt like it was underwater. I had perfect clarity up until that moment but when I tried to focus on why five chairs were occupied when Dave hadn't sat down yet my head seemed to just stop working as if something was reaching in and pulling out my thoughts. Instinctually, I felt even more uneasy now and I had placed why.

The whole forest had gone dead silent.

7. I looked around at the faces of the others and could tell that they had felt the same. Eric was fidgeting with his fingers, trying to scan around the group and spot the extra person but it was futile. I scanned every face, each etched in worry and frowning in frustration except for-

8. "It's... alright I'll get the chair myself" Dave said, breaking the silence and somewhat alleviating the tension. I got up and offered to help him. He looked into my eyes and nodded knowingly. We headed away from the fire pit towards the tents but I kept my eyes glued on our group.

9. "How many people are here?" I whispered to Dave as he looked around and realised that we had indeed only packed five chairs. In fact every person had brought with them their own chair. They were heavy to carry and we wouldn't bring any extra needlessly.

10. "There's five right? I mean there's five chairs", Dave replied. His voice wavered as he spoke.