 I found myself in a position most teenage boys do when the death of summer approaches and the new school year begins. Bored, hot, and dreading going back to school. School was going to start again in four days and I would start my last year of high school. Being more of the shy and introverted type, I spent the last three years by myself, a shadow unseen in the never ending sea of sweaty hormonal teens. Brady had attached himself to my hip in the middle of sophomore year and in some ways I was grateful for it and others I resented him for it. Brady is a bigger guy compared to me, him being almost seven foot and muscular and me being barely six foot and skinny as a toothpick. But he was always hanging around me and making me feel included. Sure the social anxiety and my part didn't help, but it's the effort that counts in the end. If I hadn't been decent in algebra, then maybe my teacher never would have forced me to tutor him. Brady would never have come to my house and we never have become friends. I'd have just been another blurred face in the background to him. It was midday when Brady called me. The pesky vibrations and familiar ringtone woke me up from my sleep. Hello? I muffled out with a yawn and quick rub of my eyes. I know how you're always asking me to take you camping. Brady's deep voice asked from the other side of the phone. I quip back, annoyed. Dude, I've never been camping in my life and I never want to. He dismissed my comment and continued. Well, I got my stuff set up in the back of my car and we're gonna do one last fun thing before school starts again. I'm gonna be by your house in like an hour, so pack three days worth of clothes. The call then disconnected. I groaned and got out of bed, searching the house for the nearest parental figure. I found my mom reading a book on the porch swing. Hey, mom, Brady wants to take me camping for a few days. I mumbled tiredly, hoping she'd take the hint. Alright, Michael, but make sure to spray a lot of bug spray on and be back early Sunday so you can make sure all your stuff is ready for school. Have fun, pumpkin. She said with a genuine smile on her face. I couldn't resist letting that face down. I was doomed to go on a trip. I didn't want to go on. It's funny because I always seemed to be dragged along on Brady's high school shenanigans deep down. I did know I'd enjoy it though. An hour had passed and I heard the honk of Brady's car signaling it was time to go. I grabbed my half ass survival pack and put one strap around my shoulder to look edgy and made my way out the door after saying goodbye to my mother, of course. So where exactly are you taking me? I asked as we took off down my street. We're going to Seneca Camping Grounds, gonna be some real survival shit the next few days. Brady said excitedly. As long as I'm not eating alive, I guess this should be fun. I said with my palm on half my face as I gazed at the passing landscape. After an hour drive and listening to Brady's shitty taste in country music, we were at the campgrounds. A hearty dose of bug repellent and I was ready to go. After chugging a beer, we started setting up the tent, which with Brady's expertise didn't take too long. I was then given the task to find as much firewood as I could and bring it back to camp. I didn't stray too far though because even a dimwit like me knows it's pretty easy to get lost in the woods. I returned a little while later and the fire was starting to get pretty big. Not too big to burn down the forest, but big enough to keep the mosquitoes and critters at bay. We grilled some hot dogs on a stick, ate baked beans out of cans like they do in westerns and drank some more beer. The authentic camping experience. The next two and a half days were pretty nice. We talked, hiked to a waterfall and just enjoyed the great outdoors. I was feeling pretty exhausted by the end and was ready to go back to air conditioning in a nice warm shower. Before we left, however, Brady kept pushing me to go on one last hike with him. Brady had gone mad with hiking fever. Almost half the time we spent camping was hiking. It was like he was searching for something. What that was, I had no clue, but his aura radiated a sense of desperation. I couldn't really say no to the guy. I mean, he's a head and a half taller than me and is twice my size. He could turn me into sashimi if he wanted and nobody would be none the wiser. With guys like Brady, it's hard to say no. Of course, I made it my mission to annoy the hell out of him though. I mean, what are best butts for? If he was going to drag my ass halfway to Timbuktu, then the least I could do was make him regret bringing me along in the first place. Where the hell are we even going? I asked with a loud sigh. It is so hot, my skin is melting off my bones. I said, while playing with a large walking stick, I'd picked up a while back. Will you shut up already? We're almost there. He snapped at me. Where is there exactly? I questioned with air quotes. I don't know, okay? He said, turning around to face me. Wait, you're telling me we're lost in the middle of a damn forest? I said, you dragged my ass out here in sweltering summer heat where everything wants to eat me alive and you're telling me we're lost. I threw down my walking stick and stormed off. Yeah, in hindsight, that probably wasn't the smartest move on my part, but when it feels like you're roasting, you get agitated and stupid quickly. I could hear Brady chasing behind me. I didn't care though, I needed a diva moment. That moment didn't last very long though. As the tip of my foot got caught on a large hidden root on the forest floor and I face planted head first into some more tree roots. Holy shit. I heard Brady say, yeah, thanks for the help jackass. I muttered under my breath and I used the tree trunk to hoist myself back up to my feet. Brady was lost in his own train of thought though and I soon saw why. In the middle of the trunk, there was a little shelf of sorts carved into the middle of the tree. In the middle of the shelf was a small wooden box with a little golden lock on the front. The box looked in good condition too. Brady came barreling at me and hugged me. You did it, Michael. You found it. He cheered, jumping up and down. I rubbed my sore nose and then my eyes and forehead. That's great and all bud, but you led me out here on a treasure hunt? I asked, annoyed. Yep, we had quite the adventure and this here, well, this is our prize. He said, grabbing the wooden box and tucking it under his arm. Well, what is it? What's in the box? I inquired. You'll see. He said in a sing song voice, he had a big old goofy grin slapped on the middle of his face. He then looked up at the canopy and announced, it's high time we get out of here. Let's find our way back. He then started to lead back from where we'd come from. It's a miracle we made it back to camp. It didn't take too long either, about an hour and a half, I'd say. After we finished packing our things, I downed another beer to cope with the weirdness that had been the last few hours. The whole way home, Brady had his treasure sitting there on his lap. It was around four in the afternoon when we finally arrived back at my house. Brady had given me the small box and told me to keep it for a few days and we'd open it another day. I took it shrugged and staggered back into my house in desperate need of a shower and ready to relax for the final hours of summer. I was curious and I wanted to sneak a peek in the box. I tried to just pry the thing open with my bare hands, but that just resulted in a splinter. I did a delicate surgery with some nail clippers and I got the sucker out and then I resorted to looking up some lock picking videos. After watching the first five minutes of a 15 minute YouTube video, I considered myself a lock pick master and I got to work. Eventually the lid popped open and I found the contents inside. It was a wooden doll with no features, just a head connected with a joint to a torso shape with little arms and legs connected with joints to the torso. It looked like one of those tiny dolls artists use. The wood was smooth, slick, and shiny. I can't believe Brady went nuts for a tiny and useless wooden doll. I tossed it back in its box, placed it on my desk, and got my stuff ready for school. I eventually fell asleep and I had the weirdest dream. I was back in the forest at the tree where I tripped and we found the doll. The box was open and empty and back on its little tree shelf. I looked around and I saw a guy standing and staring at me. I can't remember the details of his face. All I know is that there was some random guy staring at me in the middle of the woods. I was freaked the hell out and then I realized I must have been dreaming so I forced myself to wake up. And oh I woke up alright to a dark silhouette in the front of my desk facing me. It was still dark out but there were hints of dark blue which means it must have been sometime in the early morning. I tried to move but I couldn't. All I could do was blink. I realized I was having sleep paralysis at this point. The figure and I had an intense staring contest until it eventually walked over towards my window and leapt out of it. I don't know how but I eventually drifted back to sleep. I remembered my alarm waking me up. I felt like shit. My eyes were heavy and my left foot had fallen asleep. It felt like a combination of TV static and a million tiny pins pricking my foot. What a fantastic way to start off my day. I looked out the window and it was much brighter out now. But I noticed a slight breeze flowing into my curtains. The room was a little chilly. The memory of the vivid dream and the sleep paralysis rushed back into my mind. But I had to get ready for the day. I was hoping that me walking around and getting ready would help wake my foot up but no dice. So alas I went to school with the most uncomfortable feeling in my foot. The day went as any other first day would. I went to my new classes and did some ice breaker activities and got some new syllabuses and all that crap. Brady and I had physics and math together plus we shared the same lunch period so that was nice. I told Brady about my weird dream and the sleep paralysis thing and he told me you listened to too much horror crap. He then chuckled and what box? He probably dreamed that up and thought it was real. Oh, what? This man dragged me through the woods for this dumb box and he's saying it never happened? There's no way I dreamt that up. I was about to go off on Brady. He was obviously joking, right? But the weirdest thing happened before I could. This cute little five foot something brunette just came up and kissed Brady. I was in utter shock and so was he. And then she just walked away after putting her number in his phone. What the hell was that about? I asked with my jaw hanging to the ground. Brady just blushed. Well, I got through the rest of my day without any more weird shit happening and collapsed onto my comfy bed the second I returned home. After getting a snack and lounging around for a bit, I decided to get the little homework I was assigned done. The static was still there and my foot was cold. So I put a sock on my foot looked like it always did. So I couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with it. Maybe I pinched a nerve while I was sleeping or something I thought. My eyes then gazed upon the wooden box from the previous day's adventure. I knew it. I knew it was real. I went to check on the doll. However, all that greeted me was an empty box. Great. I brought a haunted box into my house and now a demon doll is running around coming to kill me. I panicked. Brady telling me the box wasn't real had completely left my mind. I searched high and low in my entire room, then my entire house and I couldn't find the thing. I then remembered the open window and thanked whatever God there was. That little asshole left my house and my window was closed. So you know what? It could go haunt somebody else. I opened the window and I threw the box out too just to be sure. Feeling reassured, I chillaxed and I eventually fell asleep. I had the same vivid dream as the night before except it was me instead of the person I saw. And then the box showed the same wooden doll yet it felt different than the one before. I woke up once again to my alarm telling me to get up for school. The pins and needle feeling had gone away and my foot felt normal again, but it was just kind of stiff. I took the covers off and my eyes opened wide. I screamed. What's wrong, Michael? My mother said, um, it's nothing, mom. Just a spider. I killed it. So I'm all good now. I said back. My mother returned a grunt. However, everything was not good. Not good at all. My foot was made out of wood. You heard me correctly. Wood. There was even a smooth wooden grain where my skin used to be. My toes had morphed together, leaving just a foot-esque shape. I lugged my foot on the bed and I felt it. There was absolutely no feeling in my foot whatsoever. I knocked on it and a typical echo sounded back. I went on autopilot, but limping because I couldn't move my foot at all. I got dressed, put socks on and attempted to shove my wooden appendage into a shoe. It fit, thankfully, and I tied it extra tight to make sure it wouldn't fall off. Of course I didn't want to go to school. I wanted to panic, and more importantly, I wanted to beat the shit out of Brady. He obviously knew something, so that was one reason I needed to go to school. Another reason is, how do you explain to your parents that your once beautiful foot is now a hunk of wood? Before I left my room, I saw that wooden box back on my desk. Brady wasn't in algebra. In fact, the algebra teacher wasn't even there. Half of the girls in the class weren't either. I was pissed because I needed to get some information from him ASAP. It was right before the lunch bell rang, but I saw that from about an inch above my ankle down was wood. It was spreading. I dashed the second the lunch bell rang and I patrolled the hallways looking for Brady. I finally found him in the bathroom, standing there washing his face in the sink. What the hell is this? I said, taking my shoe and sock off and showing him my wooden foot. Listen, Michael. He started to explain. I needed somebody that nobody would mess. He sucked some air between his teeth. What does that mean? I said. It was an urban legend, man. I didn't think it was real, but somebody contacted me on a dark web chat room. He told me where the box was. What urban legend? I asked somewhere in the woods near Seneca campgrounds. There's a box in a tree inside is a wooden doll. And if you open the box, the previous sacrifice will turn back to normal and has the power to grant you a wish. I knew you'd be a perfect sacrifice. No friends, average grades. People won't miss you. Hell, maybe they would have thought you ran away or something. Look, the point is, after the guy left your window, I told him my wish and in exchange you would become the next wooden doll. I couldn't believe my ears. So you sacrificed me to some wood demon for a wish. You used me. I thought we were friends. What the hell did you even wish for? I said, I felt betrayed tears were welling up in my eyes. He smiled. I wished that all the girls would love me. And then I lost it. I charged towards him, but an invisible barrier stopped me. He was untouchable. I couldn't lay a hand on him. He just looked at me with this cocky ass smile on his face. So I went home. What else could I do? It's spreading faster. My whole lower half is wood now. I'm writing this from the floor. These are my last words. It's spreading to my intestines, and I know I won't be able to type soon or breathe. I can feel it spreading to my fingertips. Please, if you find a wooden box in the woods, just open it and make a wish.