...That's What She Said

Nearly one year later, two of the heroes from the first trip return to the creepy marina with a whole new cast of friends. Upon arrival, everything seemed normal and the feeling of impending doom seemed to be absent. That is, until the wife of creepy boat guy offered half of the group a second boat... for free. She then instructs the campers to load all of their gear and supplies onto the first boat, leaving six of the ten friends with nothing but a first aid kit and a map on the second, smaller, slow in starting pontoon boat. Undeterred by this odd turn of events, the crew splits and happily headed out to sea in a race to open water.

There was an eerie heaviness to the air and it was nearly impossible to tell the ocean from the sky. As the grey haze surrounded the little boat, its occupants killed the engine to wait for the supply-laded boat to catch up. After minutes of the only sound being the light lapping of the waves against the side of the boat, the fear emerged that perhaps the others had gotten lost or that their boat had broken down. On the cusp of panic, the blue pontoon craft finally came into view and with a sigh of relief, the key to start the motor was turned... and turned again... and again. The marina hag's plan had worked and the six friends were stranded! Luckily, the brave captain of the other boat that had passed by, heard the distress calls and turned back to help. After the ropes were securely tied, the second boat was in tow.

All seemed to be going smoothly and then the little engine that couldn't cranked right back up after a mile or so. With that, the six severed ties with their friends' boat and went on their way. A few moments later, the motor stalled and it took several more painstaking tries to get back on course. This time there was no help, as the supply boat anchored near the island, the broken craft inched its way along thanks to one crafty sailor and an empty beer can... and arrived safely nearly two hours later then expected.

With only an hour of daylight left, the ten friends set up camp just in time to revel in the beauty of a perfect sunset...

A fire was started and dinner was cooked...

Campfire stories and drinking games ensued...

Then, just as everyone thought it was safe... there was a rustling sound coming from the far end of camp. There had been no approach, no warning, but suddenly there were intruders within a yard of the group. Some of the campers froze... and then there was a shout, "They've got our Doritos!"

With that, the men in the group armed themselves with flashlights and an oar and chased after the masked thieves. Moments later, they triumphantly returned with the bag of tortilla chips, only to find that the ninja-like raccoons had used one of the tents as a port-a-potty.

The evening continued with a few rounds of "I Never", s'mores, the discovery of bio luminous plankton in the water (which led to glow in the dark skinny dipping), and eventually sleep under a canopy of bright, sparkling stars. The weather was perfect and the friends laughed and shared themselves with one another... only the biting insects and too much Greek liquor caused anyone any harm. Truth be told, this wasn't much of a horror story at all... but there is a moral... and that is simply: never be the first to fall asleep...

... and try not to catch crabs.

The End.