One of the boys that went looking for their lost friend only noticed the missing girl because she was his date. The others swore that she was sitting right there, at the end of the log, when they heard the two returning. How she managed to slip by them without them noticing they couldn’t figure, because they were all chatting amongst themselves, eager to get back to the evenings festivities. They didn’t hear or see her leave, and they only took their eyes off of her for a second, that second being watching the two return.
The sun had fully set by then, and the woods, once looking friendly and full of life, took on a more mysterious and foreboding look in the ensuing darkness. The others called out to her, called out to him, and got no response either way. Two of them had brought flashlights, and they pulled them out and began beaming light into the woods, only to see nothing but trees, underbrush, twigs and leaves.
After a few minutes of useless calling, they decided to split into teams and search the woods. They would leave behind two couples who were experiencing a terminal case of lip lock, and hadn’t noticed any of what was going on. One girl wondered if this was safe. One boy assured her that it would be. Another boy said that she was probably in the woods relieving herself as well, and would like to see that. The girls decided to team up, three of them, to save their friend from embarrassment. They divided the flashlights between them, and three boys went one way, and three girls went the other.
After spending about ten minutes of fruitless searching they returned to the campfire to tell their stories. Only when they returned there were two more missing, one from each group.
And then there were eight.
Arid Testimony 