We marched on. I held Aaron's hand, and he squeezed it from time to time, whenever the wind would howl and send the trees rustling.

I was reminded of that camping trip we took before all of this happened.

If only we could go back-

"Did you hear that?" Aaron suddenly asked, squeezing my hand tightly.

The three of us stopped, listening.

"Hear what?" I asked.

The wind howled sharply.

"...Nothing. I guess it must have just been the wind," Aaron said.

We moved about fifty feet before he squeezed my hand again.

"There it is again!" he whispered.

"There what is? What are you hearing, Aaron?" I asked, concerned.

"...It almost sounds like... giggling," as he finished his sentence, there were three quick bursts of wind in succession.

We listened again for the sound, but heard nothing but more gusts of wind and the rain.

"Are you sure it isn't just the wind, buddy?" I asked.

He put his head down, then looked up with a puzzled and doubtful expression, "Maybe you're right..."

We hadn't walked another twenty feet before Aaron tugged on my arm this time, "I definitely heard it this time!" he almost shouted, "There's definitely something giggling!"

We listened, looking around cautiously, ready to either fight or flight.

Aaron squeezed my hand and looked up at me, worried and expectantly.

"How do you not hear it?!" he asked, baffled, "I just heard it again!"

"Aaron I..." I started, "I don't hear anything except the wind and the trees..."

Jared shook his head, "Same here..."

Aaron looked back and forth between us like we had just spoken another language, "But they're laughing so much... and so loudly too! I know I'm not just imagining it! I know it!"

Though I listened incredibly carefully, I heard nothing. Had Aaron finally gone insane?

I put my hand on his shoulder, reassuringly, "Listen, Aaron... I think you're just tired and scared... let's keep moving."

He almost looked offended at the suggestion, "There's no way you can't hear it! It's... It's coming from all around us! There must be so many of them! They-" he stopped mid sentence, his eyes had caught something and he was staring behind me, his eyes wide with fear.

I glanced back quickly in panic, but saw nothing.

"Aaron, what's wrong?" I asked.

His jaw dropped, he tried to speak but no words came out of his mouth until he shook his head, "Dad... you really don't see them?"

I turned around to look where he was looking, and so did Jared. All I saw was the shadows of the trees, rocking back and forth in the heavy wind and rain.

I turned back to Aaron, "What are you talking about?"

Aaron put his hands over his head in panic, shook his head, screamed in pure terror and then suddenly ran off, bumping into Jared as he ran past him.

When he was out of my vision, my senses suddenly came back to me...

It felt like I had just sobered up after being drugged or I had just snapped out of hypnosis or something. What the hell had happened?! What... What had gotten into me?!

"Aaron! Come back!" I yelled out and was about to go running after him... when I saw a glowing orb of light being pattered by the rain, where Aaron had been pointing, where I had seen nothing before.

"What is..." I heard Jared mutter behind me.

I felt an invisible force hold me in place. What was I looking at? I squinted... I could almost make out a vague outline in the ball of light. The ball bobbed up and down, twisted and twirled, like it was dancing in between the raindrops.

I heard it "giggle". I shuddered. So this is what Aaron had heard?

It had the same cadence of a child giggling, but it sounded all wrong, almost like the disgusting sound of an insect squirming...

My will overcame the force holding me in place, I turned away from the thing and grabbed Jared by the arm, snapping him out of his stupor.

"Aaron!" the two of us yelled as we ran the way he had gone, "Aaron! Where are you?!"

As we ran, my eyes went wild, rapidly scanning all around us as the "giggling" started to echo in all directions.