It was July 6, 2017. It was a beautiful sunny day - not a cloud in the sky had lingered. Me and my friends were set out for the road trip that would make our year.

We were in an Honda Accord bound for a town a few miles off the Oregon state. Midway out, we were caught in a storm and our car got stuck in mud. When the storm cleared, we were in a dense fog. A small wind was coming down from the north, cooling the air. From the grey clouds I could see the beams of sunlight piercing the clouds below and become lost in the murky fog. I guessed the visibility at about 40 feet from our Honda Accord.

I thought I would stand the cold to get into that fascinating world. My day dream was interrupted by Sarah. ''Hey, we're not going any place. When we took off the van was on our right, now it's on the left.''

''So, try to push the car the other way'' Ryan said. ''You gotta make up for the rain and incline.''

''Somebody relieve me,'' Alex huffed, ''this weather's rough, my arm's killing me.''

The mud had, in fact, become a quicksand-esque sludge, which made it difficult for us to retrieve our car from the mud.

The wind increased and seemed stronger by the minute.

''Looks like we won't do much hinking today. Storm's coming up. Looks like it anyhow. We'd better get back to town.'' Ryan said. We saw a van pass by and we waved our hands. ''Help! Help!'' We yelled, but the van did not veer from its course. ''We're lost. Damn those fools. We're lost. We'll starve and freeze to death.'' Sarah wailed. ''Look, we're not lost yet, there's a tent over there,'' I pointed out. ''We'll set up camp there and get help.''

Out of nowhere a thick fog rolled across the forest blanketing us in the stuffy, moist atmosphere of an undiscovered tomb. Not a bird chirped, not a breeze howled, not a bush rustled. Silence hung on the fog. For the first time in my life I was really scared. While I was sitting there I felt a big, icy hand grab me around the chest and squeeze. My stomach froze; my heart skipped and cold chills ran down my legs. We were exhausted.

Alex began to whimper. ''We're dead. We died in that storm. Oh God, why did it happen to me?''

''No, no, we're fine; nothing to worry about; calm down. We'll be back to Oregon in a few hours.'' Sarah tried to calm Alex.

The fog showed no signs of lifting. Visibility was limited to 25 feet. There wasn't a whisper of wind.

Drake, usually quiet, perked upright, saying ''shhh I hear a car or something.''

We all listened for the noise he had heard. The misty air became filled with the odor of old, pungent blood. My stomach heaved and I gasped for breath. Just then, about 40 feet away, we heard a menacing, giggling sound.

''What in the hell was that?'' Drake asked.

''Whatever it was, it wasn't any car, that's for sure.'' Sarah said.

Out of the fog we saw what looked like a long tall man, about 6 feet high, slowly standing straight up out of the water in a small pond about 15 feet away from the car. On top of his head was a purple top-hat, with a reddish-pink ribbon. It appeared several more times, getting closer to the car.

''I've never seen anything like that in my life. What do you think it was?'' I whispered.

''Maybe it's just a tall man playing a prank?'' Sarah answered.

''People playing pranks don't move like they have rubber bones,'' Alex said.

''I remember some Adult Swim cartoon show that had a character that looked and sounded just like that, maybe it's him?'' I suggested.

Everyone looked at me in silence. We had all been thinking the same thing. I was just the first to say it.

The silence was broken once again by something out of the fog. I can only describe it as a high-pitched giggle. We panicked. All five of us took off our seatbelts and went outside of the car. 'Keep together and try for the town!' I yelled.

Our fear was indescribable. In back of us I could hear whatever it was, giggling and making some kind of whipping sound. Darkness was closing in - the rain began once more and it was freezing. Every so often we would call make to make sure the group was all right. I don't know how long it was before we heard a scream. It lasted maybe half a minute. Then I heard Alex call ''it's got Sarah! Hey! Help me! It's got Sarah! It's got Sarah! I've got to get outta here...'' His voice was cut off by a short, abrupt cry.

''Alex..Sarah...Hey! Where is everybody?'' I yelled back, only to be met with silence. The only sounds now were of the rain, wind and thunder. I had an eerie feeling - running in a storn, not knowing how many miles were ahead of me between the forest and civilization, what was out there waiting for me. I wanted to sink into the grey silence. I felt all alone, peaceful and quiet. It would have been so easy just to surrender to the grey mist, but something inside me kept going. The pain in my legs was like fire but I kept up the mechanical strides. I knew I had to keep going.

When at last I realized where I was again, Ryan was gone. ''Drake, what happened to Ryan. He was here a minute ago?''

''I don't know. He was just here.''

Both of us split up to look for him, but there was no trace of him. After a while we had to give up. Then Drake grimaced and fainted. I went over and wrapped his arm around my neck. ''Cramps,'' he said. We walked like this for what must have been a couple of hours. I hoped we were going in the right direction. It was pitch dark. The wind was picking up again at a hurricane-force intensity.

I was ready to give up. Drake was becoming heavier by the minute and I had no hope. Just as I was ready to faint the lightning flashed and I saw the silhouette of a clearing. I began to take stronger strides. We were saved. ''Come on Drake,'' I said, ''we'll be O.K., boy. The clearing's just over the next hill. I've got to keep up. Come on baby...let's go.''

I was close to the clearing when I giant gust of wind yanked Drake from me and I fell face-first into the ground. When I came to, I couldn't see him anywhere. Then lightning flashed and I saw him ahead of me. He was upright and running to the clearing.

By then, it was just me and Drake stumbling together. We tried to keep as tightly knit as possible, with Drake being no further than 6 feet away from me.

Right next to Drake that slender, purple-coated figure was in plain view. I could see the yellow-tinted glasses, and two large brown eyes. His mouth opened, displaying a large gap between his two front upper teeth, from the coroner of his mouth, there seemed to be what looked like a blob of viscous drool. I screamed and ducked for cover, before I began running. My insides were shaking uncontrollably. I do not know what happened after that.

This time I also could see that he was holding some kind of cane high up in the air. He bolted right towards Drake and lunged at him. I did not look back. I could only hear Drake's screams accompanied by a repetitive, wet crushing sound.

After we were outside the car, we became split up in the fog. From behind I could hear the screams of my comrades one by one. I got a closer look at the thing just before my last friend was killed. He was skinny, with sunset-yellow round glasses and his skin was smooth looking. He looked a lot like Willy Wonka, except more elongated and with gapped teeth with a near-constant sickening smile. There appeared to be what looked like a black cane with a ball on top when he appeared for the last time. Also, as best I am able to recall, his suit was purple as well with a pale yellow blouse. The way he moved was not human. It's hard to explain, but he moved like how Mr Fantastic from the Fantastic 4 moved. It was unnerving. My insides were shaking.

At that moment I could have swore I was dead, but I awoke in some kind of clearing, so exhausted I could barely walk.

Voices talked to me. I felt warm and secure. I was at peace. I knew I was dead. I couldn't believe it when I felt grass under my face and the silence of my peaceful ''death'' that was shattered by a pounding in my chest and harsh hail. I tried to walk but kept falling on my knees. I tried to find help. I could see the lights of the town in the distance but I didn't know where I was. The cold night wind was making me shiver so I looked for a warm place. I finally came to a tower of some sort. I climbed all the way up the ladder and passed out on the floor of the little cabin. I must have slept for about two hours but it seemed like two years. All night long I kept hearing voices.

I was waked by the morning Sun hitting my face through a window of the tower. I ached all over from running. I got up and looked out the window. The events of the previous day seemed like a bad dream. I headed for the ladder. My legs wouldn't support me and I fell down the ladder to land face down on the ground below. I was crawling across the ground when a group of boys came up to me. ''Say, Mister, you must be one of the hikers lost yesterday.'' ''Yeah. I've got to get help.'' I said.

I fainted when I got to the hospital and awoke the next day. I immediately whimpered ''I've got to get help...please.''

The next thing I remember was that I couldn't eat because my body was aching so badly. The director of the Search and Rescue units came in to see me that morning. He was a mild-mannered, friendly southerner. I remember him well because of his kind face. I told him exactly what happened, what I had witnessed.

''Did they find any of the others?'' I asked him.

''No,'' he replied. ''We've had planes out all mornin' and we've been combin' the forests n the mountains but we ain't found nothin' yet.''

''Do you believe me, about what happened and all?'' I asked.

''You know, son,'' he drawled, ''the world has a lot of secrets. There are a lot of things we don't know about. People don't believe these things because they're afraid to. Yes, I believe you. But there's not much else I can do.''

He asked me some more questions and then he left. Some reporters interviewed me later that day. After they had gone I wondered if I really believed what had happened. I thought it must have happened because the boys were dead. And I knew that thing that got them was real.

It is true; the world has some terrible secrets, and now I know how she manages to keep them.

After this I had a nervous breakdown lasting 3 months before I could resume my life. A week after, I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).