Ian and Dave gulped at the sight of the mound.
“You must now walk up to the mound and say the words ‘ugga mumma‘ three times,” the voice commanded, “Upon hearing these words, the Great Chief shall awaken and give you all his blessings.”
Ian and Dave stood motionless, unsure of their next move.
“Unless you prefer three arrows through the heart,” offered the voice. Then was heard the screaming war cries from three unseen men from somewhere in the woods.
“Well, I guess we gotta do what we gotta do,” Ian gulped and began walking towards the mound with Dave close behind.
With each step the mound became larger and the decorative spears and arrows clearer. Soon Ian and Dave were standing in front of the mound, shaken by the thought that there was someone buried underneath all that dirt.
Ian cleared his throat, then paused. “What do I say?” he asked.
“Ugga mumma,” Dave whispered into Ian’s ear.
“Oh,” Ian replied before clearing his throat a second time in preparation for the incantation.
“Ugga mumma,” he said.
Behind them was the sound of someone laughing. Ian and Dave spun around but saw nothing behind them.
“I can’t do this,” Ian whimpered as the laughing continued.
“Two more times,” reassured Dave, “and it’ll be all over.”
Ian closed his eyes.
“Ugga mumma.”
The laughing became louder as the wind began to blow harder.
“One more time,” Dave said.
“I can’t,” Ian muttered.
“Do it!” Dave whispered fiercely.
“Ugga mumma!”
The laughing stopped as lightning lit the sky followed by thunder that shook the ground along with wind that roared through the woods. Suddenly the mound collapsed as a rotting corpse sat up from under the dirt and began reaching for Ian and Dave. Ian screamed and ran off, with Dave running right behind him.
Minutes later, Ian and Dave were back at their campsite. Ian frantically threw more wood into the campfire for more light while Dave hid in his rent. They were both terrified beyond measure, unsure of what happened and uncertain about what would happen next.
Then Ian heard laughter from the woods as someone was approaching the campsite.
“Oh, man, I really got you guys good!”
“Steve?” Ian asked.
“In person,” Steve announced as he returned to the campsite. Dave stuck his head out of his tent to see what was going on.
“Where have you been?” Ian asked.
“Why, I was busy scaring you guys, of course,” Steve beamed.
Ian paused. “You mean, the voices, the fog, the lightning, the thunder, that was you?”
“All me,” Steve said.
“How’d you do that?”
Steve smiled and said, “Well, let’s just say I had a little help.”
“From who?”
As Steve stood silently with a smile on his face, there was one last flash of lightning followed by one last clap of thunder. After the commotion faded, he yawned and said, “Well, if you guys don’t mind, I’m going to go turn in. It’s been a long day.”
With that, Steve took his sleeping bag back inside his tent and fell asleep.
The End
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