I still hear those footsteps..........

Based on a True Story by Kaizaaki

📧 kaizaakiyoshi@gmail.com

Hello, I’m back with another story from my life. Let’s jump straight in.

Back in 2015, my friend Jack and I were on a school trip in Los Angeles with some other friends. We were around 17 or 18, heading out to a huge forest to camp. Everyone was hyped. The vibes were good. But the moment we reached the campsite... something felt off. I can’t explain it, but the air? The place? It was giving off sus energy. Like, real uneasy. Still, we ignored it and got to work setting up camp.

Jack and I were teamed up, and we finished our tent setup before anyone else. We chilled for a bit, ate our dinner, and got ready for the night. There were about 10 camps, two kids in each. Things were calm. Silent. Until they weren't.

Lying there in the tent, I suddenly heard footsteps outside. Crunching leaves. Moving slowly. My eyes shot open. I whispered to Jack, “Did you hear that?” He brushed it off, saying maybe it was a teacher or some kid going out for a nature call. I wanted to believe that, but the steps kept going. Slow. Purposeful. Too close. Too consistent. My gut told me—this wasn’t a student.

I asked Jack for his emergency knife. My hands were shaking as I carefully made a tiny hole in the tent fabric to peek out. And there he was.

A man. Dressed in a black hoodie, dirty clothes, his face hidden. Just... walking around. Silently circling camps. Not saying a word. I froze. My mouth went dry. Jack noticed my face and whispered, “What’s wrong?” I just looked at him and whispered back, “Someone is walking around the camp… and it’s not one of us.”

Jack peeked through the hole, too, and I could hear his breathing get heavy. We were both frozen. The only sounds were our racing hearts. After a minute, he whispered, “What should we do?”

I told him, “We should call the police or at least tell our teacher.” But when I pulled out my phone—of course—no signal. I looked at him. “No signal… we’re screwed.” Jack said, “What if he comes in?” I nodded. We couldn’t just sit there. I said, “Let’s wait till he moves away from our camp. Then we’ll sneak out and warn others.”

When the guy finally walked further out, Jack and I crawled out of the tent. Every leaf under us sounded like it echoed for miles. We were almost at the next camp when we heard quick footsteps—he was coming back. Fast.

Panicking, we slipped into the nearest camp. Inside were two girls: Sara and Nikii. They were dead silent, their eyes wide. I whispered, “You heard him too?” They nodded. Sara said, “He’s been walking around for half an hour.” Nikii looked more scared than all of us combined.

I asked, “What should we do?” Sara said, “Stay in. Don’t move.” But I argued, “If he comes in, we’ll have nowhere to run.” They agreed.

So we waited again until he moved away, then grabbed some stuff and made a run for the west side of the forest. When we felt safe, we stopped to catch our breath. I asked, “Now what?” Nikii said, “Call the police.” Jack reminded us—no signal. Sara looked at me and said, “What if he catches us?” I said, “We can’t leave the others. We have to check on them.”

Jack suggested splitting up. I agreed. Jack and Sara would stay, and I’d go back with Nikii to check on the rest. We made sure to mark our path so we could find our way back.

We reached the main camp, but it looked deserted. Quiet. Too quiet. We went to the teacher’s tent and—she was asleep. Like what?! We woke her up and explained everything. She didn’t hesitate—grabbed her gun, gathered all the students by calling names one by one.

Everyone was shaking. The teacher asked if anyone had seen the guy—and almost everyone nodded yes. She told us to pack up fast. That’s when I realized Jack and Sara were missing.

I told the teacher immediately. She gave me a torch and told me to go get them. But when we got to where they were... they weren’t there. Gone.

We rushed back and told her. She tried to call the cops—still no signal. She said, “We’re not leaving anyone behind.” So, we started searching. The entire group combed the forest for 40 to 50 minutes. Nothing.

Eventually, she told us to head back to the camp and get on the bus. We waited another hour. No sign of Jack and Sara.

The bus driver was getting impatient. We finally started driving back. I sat in the last seat, staring out the window. And that’s when I saw him.

That same guy. Standing at the edge of the forest. Just... watching us. His face still hidden, but I knew it was him. My blood ran cold. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

Once we got back on the road, we finally got a signal. The teacher called the cops immediately. They searched for hours. Days even. But they never found Jack or Sara. Or that man.

We were safe, yeah. But that trip? It changed me. I still hope Jack and Sara are okay, wherever they are. sadly at that time I was so terrified I didn't take pics .But some nights... I still hear those footsteps.

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🖤 This is a real story. Not a movie script.
📧 kaizaakiyoshi@gmail.com