July 16th, 1995

When I woke up this morning, it was a little chilly. The sun is barely visible on the horizon. As the day progresses, the heat intensifies.

When I got out of my tent, I saw Ryan had already set up a campfire and was cooking breakfast. I was amazed at how eager he was to start the day. I joined him and we discussed our plans for the day.

I asked him what he would do if he got ten thousand dollars. Ryan said he would use it to buy a house and start a business. He said he wanted to fulfil his dream of becoming an entrepreneur. We both laughed at the thought of it.

Oscar and Miles joined us for breakfast later. Oscar said last night he didn't sleep well because of strange noises outside his tent. Ryan said it might be a wild animal which made Oscar scared, but Ryan laughed and explained it was probably just a raccoon. Oscar felt better after that and the two of them joined us for a tasty breakfast.

After we finished, we examined the campsite map and decided to take a look at the lake. We all grabbed our equipment and hiked to our destination.

As we walked, I looked around at the cabins around us. It was so old and shabby, it was clear that nobody had lived there for years. I wondered who lived there and what had happened to them. I shivered, feeling a chill in the air.

Finally, we're at the lake. I felt a wave of relief wash over me, feeling the sun on my skin. I took a deep breath of fresh air, forgetting the eerie feeling I had from the abandoned cabins.

We began researching and Ryan documented 12 staff members who died from drowning after running from a sudden forest fire.

He continued that the fire had taken over the entire landscape in no time. The staff was not able to escape the raging fire and had to evacuate the place. They were all found dead near a lake nearby.

However, after the incident, the children disappeared. A search was conducted but no trace of the children was found. Local authorities suspect they were kidnapped in the chaos. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Miles asked him about the director. He replied that the director had been taken away by the police for questioning. The investigation was ongoing and there was no further information at the time.

During Ryan's speech, he spots something in a lake. He dives in and grabs an old wet shoe which makes him smile widely. When I asked him why he smiled, he said this shoe belonged to one of the missing children. Because he recognized the missing photo of the child wearing it.

Ryan told us it was the first clue we got and it was our first day here. We all cheered as Ryan held up the shoe. We all knew this could be the breakthrough we needed. And a first step to earning $100000 in cash.

We all ran towards the shoe, and Ryan asked us to wander around the area for more clues. We spread out and searched for anything connected to the shoe. After hours of searching, we found nothing.

We cannot give up, as we still need to search all campsites. Oscar suggested splitting it into two. Ryan with Oscar and Miles with me. The plan was Oscar and Ryan would search through the woods while I and Miles looked around the cabins.

We quickly got to work, splitting up and beginning our search. Miles and I ventured into the cabins. Each cabin was a mess, with broken furniture and empty cans scattered around the floor. Dirty bed sheets were spread out on the bunks.

But there was this one cabin that was different from the others. Inside, we found a strange symbol drawn on the wall and this god-awful smell evaporating from the air. Miles couldn't take the smell and left the cabin immediately, puking out his breakfast.

I searched the cabin for clues but found nothing to explain the symbol or the smell. I decided to leave the cabin and try to figure out what it meant elsewhere.

But before I did, I took a picture of the symbol and noted the exact location of the cabin. I wanted to make sure I could find it again if I needed to.

It was almost nightfall and me and Miles had to go to our site. Once we got there, we spotted Oscar bandaging Ryan's arm. We asked them what had happened and Ryan explained that he had been bitten by a snake.

Oscar used his first aid kit to clean and bandage the wound. We all agreed it was time to return to the cabin and rest. So, this night Ryan didn't get to cook and none of us knew how to cook so we ate some marshmallows.

Even after dinner, I'm still hungry. As a result of all the searching, I am still holding on to the photo I have. I asked Ryan about it, but he didn't know either.

What does this symbol mean?

Chapter end