Curiosity Kills the Cat by Jeremias Shae

Setting

The sun was setting. The crimson sky was turning dark as beautiful, flashing lights lights dotted it. The cool night air made me shiver. My friends and I were camping in the heart of the forest. The trees looked ominous and frightening. Their leafless branches were shaped like the claws of a beast. The holes made by bugs were like eyes, staring at us like we were their dinner.

"Hoot, hoot," an owl howled. Our teeth chattered in fear. A howling wind made a ghostly wail. Chills went down our spines.

Problem 1: Zack, Jason and I were wandering far from our campsite. We saw a deserted mansion, looking like it was haunted. As frightening as the house might be, curiosity got the better of us. As we crept into the the mansion, the doors opened with an eerie creaking sound. We walked in unsteadily, our legs feeling like jelly. After a few steps into the mansion, the old willow door slammed. "Nice one, Zack," I said. Zack was always playing pranks, being the class clown. "But it wasn't me this time," Zack said with fear in his voice. Jason grabbed the gold-pained maple bars of the door. Complication 1: "The door's stuck!" he shouted, face as pale as a sheet of paper.

Fortunately, we had all our camping tools with us, even our sleeping bags. We had brought everything along with us as we were not going to let our expensive items get stolen or our sleeping bags blown away by the wind at the campsite.

I took out a hammer from the toolbox which had all the tools we needed to set up the tent with. "Stand back," I said, determined to escape. I smashed a hole in the window and we jumped out from it. "That was a close one!" Jason sighed, relieved that the terrifying experience was over.

The doors of the mansion flew open again and this time, we zoomed off. Problem 2: After ten minutes of running, I realised I had a problem. I was far from the campsite. In fact, I did not even know where I was and to make matters worse, I was alone. The three of us had been separated while we were running for our lives. Complication 2: I took out my cell phone to call my friends, but unfortunately, there was no reception.

I was alone, cold, hungry and cut off from the outside world. I was wondering around, animals all making their mating calls. I totally freaked out. My heart was slamming against my rib cage.

"Jerry!" I heard someone call my name. I looked around, my heart in my throat, legs like jelly, face pale. I saw a shining light and I regained hope of finding my friends and getting out of here.

"Jason, Zack!" I cried out in joy. My two friends had found me. I was full of joy, but moments later, I realised our predicament. Problem 3: We were still far from our campsite. We continued wandering, with our last hope of finding our destination. Hope was completely regained again as we found a compass lying on the ground. Complication 3: However, the dust-covered device was in no working condition. I looked up in the sky, praying to God, asking for a sign.

I remembered suddenly that the brightest star in the sky showed us where North was. Our campsite was in the east. I scanned the sky, finding the northern star. I found it! "So if north is there, east must be here!" Zack said, pointing to the left.

We ran towards the east. Tears streamed down our faces, hoping that this was for real - the chance to find our campsite and go home in the morning.

Outcome: We praised God - He gave me the hint of finding our way back. We were safe under the covers of our tent. For a second while we were stuck, I began to lose hope, thinking that we would be stuck in the forest forever and to survive, we had to eat leaves and twigs.

Conclusion: I realised how important it was to remember what we had learnt at school, like how I remembered the brighest star in the sky led to the north. I also truly understand what the saying "Curiosity kills the cat" really meant. This incident was really terrifying, but at the same time, both enjoyable and educational.

The memory of this incident will be forever stuck in my mind.