CYOA Wednesday 2025 #2 [Beyond the Woods 2]

This fantasy CYOA story continues today. Synopsis below:

When Derek, Jade, and Clara go camping, they stumble upon a portal to another dimension filled with strange creatures and sexy seductresses.

S’mores was the winning option with 64% of the votes, so let’s continue:

Read the second segment below:

2 – A Hum in the Night

“Well, we have a delicious vegetable soup…” Derek replied with a grin.

“Soup?” Jade frowned. “You’re kidding, right? I don’t want to eat soup tonight!”

“I thought about that, which is why I also packed some tuna sandwiches.”

“Oh, my God! You’re being so annoying right now! Get to the good stuff already!”

“Yeah, you better do what she says before she gets cranky…” Clara intervened.

“I’m not cranky!” Jade grumbled.

“Not yet.”

“Okay, okay…” Derek clapped his hands and smiled. “You can have your s’mores. I brought the goods!”

“Huh? What happened to avoiding chocolate-related catastrophes?” Clara raised a curious eyebrow at him.

“I was just messing around. Camping isn’t the same without s’mores. Everybody knows that.”

From his personal bag, he pulled out a rainbow of ingredients that mirrored the vibrant personalities surrounding him. First, he pulled out a generous stash of graham crackers, their golden edges glistening in the firelight like tiny treasure chests waiting to be filled. Next, he revealed a thick bar of chocolate, its glossy surface catching the flickering flames and reflecting shades of amber and mahogany.

“Behold this beauty!” Derek exclaimed, holding it up as if he had unearthed a rare jewel. “And for the pièce de résistance…” He fished out a bag filled with marshmallows, their soft, pillowy forms promising delights beyonds compare.

Jade’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she reached for them, her fingers brushing against his before she tried to snatch the bag from him. “You know what’s coming next!” she squealed, handing him the mismatched marshmallow skewers. “Roast them to perfection, please.”

“Yeah, don’t set them on fire like she did!” Clara teased.

“That was an accident!” Jade huffed as Derek skewered one marshmallow onto the end of the stick. The moment it met the air near the flames, it began to expand, puffing up like clouds drifting across the nocturnal sky. Clara joined him, watching with glee as the marshmallows turned golden brown.

As they roasted their sweets under the starlit sky, Jade’s thoughts turned to Sofia once again. She should have been there with them like in previous escapades and it was all because of him!

“That son of a bitch!” she muttered.

“What?” Clara asked, barely listening to her words over the crackling fire.

“I’m talking about Max. I still can’t believe he cheated on our girl like that!”

“I can…” Derek shrugged.

“What?”

“I had my suspicions from the start. I could tell he wasn’t a nice guy and that she was going to get burned. Unfortunately, I was right.”

“And you didn’t say a thing?” Jade shook her head.

“Oh, I tried, but Sofia was head over heels and refused to listen. I’m convinced that deep in her heart she believed he was the one. You know as well as I do that you can’t argue with that logic.”

“Yeah, he’s right,” Clara said. “Her big heart betrayed her this time. That’s what you get when you try to see the good in people all the time.”

“Look at you, getting so cynical!” Derek stretched his arms and yawned. “When did that happen?”

“I’m only being realistic. Excessive optimism will only get you so far when the world is full of sharks and wolves.”

“And conniving, cheating bastards who prefer bimbo escorts to real women! She didn’t deserve that.”

“You’re right, she didn’t!” Clara agreed. It still happened, so now all we can do is let her grieve and hope she finds peace to join us again soon.”

“Yeah. So… about that toast…”

“Right… I’d almost forgotten!” Derek retorted.

“Let’s do this right,” Jade said, her voice brightening as she reached into the cooler for the drinks she had packed. She pulled out a bottle of sparkling cider, its glass glistening with condensation in the warm evening air. The twinkling stars overhead seemed to echo the tiny bubbles that danced within the golden liquid. “For Sofia!” she announced, pouring generous amounts into three identical cups.

Clara held her cup high, her eyes gleaming like the stars above. “To Sofia! May she find strength and healing, and may we never let her forget how much she is loved.”

“And may no pathetic excuse for a man ever come between us again!” Derek added.

The night went on, the warmth of the fire wrapping around them, embers stealing upward into the obsidian sky. They clinked their cups together, ate the s’mores and juicy marshmallows and enjoyed themselves. Despite their shared heartache, they were at peace with Nature.

But then, Clara heard it – a strange sound that sliced through the tranquility, making the tiny strands of hair on the back of her neck stand to attention. It was faint at first, like a distant echo carried by the wind. She glanced up, eyes darting across the wooded perimeter surrounding their campfire, shadows playing tricks on her mind. “Did you guys hear that?” she asked.

Jade paused mid-sip, lowering her cup while peering into the darkness. “What are you talking about?”

“There’s a buzzing in the night… some sort of hum…” Clara held up a hand for silence and pointed to her right, just beyond the reach of their firelight. Derek followed her movement with his eyes, ears perked up to pinpoint the origin of the mysterious sound.

“What do you think it is?” Jade murmured. They were all hearing it now.

“Cicadas, perhaps?” Derek hazarded a guess.

“Cicadas don’t sound like that…” Clara bit her tongue. “It’s so bizarre… like it’s almost mechanical.”

“Maybe there’s someone else in the woods with us this time around…” Derek continued.

“Hmm… or it’s something else entirely different. We should check it out.”

“Or we could wait for a bit to see if it goes away…” Jade emptied her cup. “It’s dark and we have a cozy spot here. Let’s not do anything foolish, okay?”

“She has a point, you know?” Derek nodded.

“Aren’t you curious?” Clara got up, peering into the blackness. The hum was getting louder… at least in her ears.

“Of course I am but leaving the safety of the camp may not be such a good idea…”

“And if I go on my own?”

“Come on, Clara! I can’t let you do that. If you insist on investigating, then I have to go with you to make sure you’re safe.”

“You’re such a gentleman… thank you!”

“Wait… are you really going to do this? We were having such a nice moment here!” Jade looked at her friend as if she had suffered the worst betrayal of all.

“You don’t need to go if you don’t want to. Why don’t you look after the campsite?”

“I’d rather not be left alone if I can help it.”

“Girls, make up your mind or I’m staying put!” Derek grabbed a flashlight and turned it on, the bright white light illuminating his quizzical expression. “Are we going or not?”

To decide what happens next, head over to my Patreon (you can join for free), and vote on the poll there until next Sunday. 

If you’re new to these CYOA stories, here are the basic rules:

1) You can only choose one option;

2) If there’s a tie at the end of the poll, and the competing options can be combined somehow, I’ll do that. If not, I get the deciding vote to keep the tale going.

3) The process continues every Wednesday until the story runs its natural course.

Have fun.