You know you're walking faster than is entirely prudent, but you've had enough thrills and chills for the night. Home is looking better and better. The light from your cell phone blinks out as the device shuts down completely, the battery depleted. You push on, telling yourself you are braver than you think and you will make it out of this unnatural, haunted forest alive. Without warning, the ground disappears from under you. You let out a frightened shriek as you fall, landing hard at the bottom of a muddy hole. You aren't injured, but you need a minute simply to recover your wits. You look upward and realize you aren't that far down and the hole is narrow enough for you to reach both sides at once. Still, you aren't sure you'll be able to climb out on your own.

"Well," you mutter grimly to yourself. "I guess I found a hollow, all right."

"Are you hurt?" a voice calls out. "Hang on! I'll help you!"

Moments later, you are astounded to see the face of Dan Mangan peering down at you. He pans his flashlight around, careful not to shine it directly in your eyes "Are you hurt?" he asks again. his voice pitched low in concern. 

"No," you reply with a quick shake of your head. "It's really not that much of a drop."

​With Dan's assistance, you're soon back on solid ground. 

"I've been following you," he admits once you're on your feet and brushing the mud from your hands. "As soon as I realized you weren't going to take my advice and go home, I was afraid you'd wind up in trouble at some point. You've been on one wild goose chase."

​"Yeah," you agree. "You could call it that."

---

Dan regards you for a moment longer with a look that clearly indicates his doubts about your intelligence and sanity. "Come on," he says finally. "I'll walk you out to Glen Road. It's not too far from here and then you can go home like you should've done already.