Cabin 9

Chapter 7

As soon as the movie was over, I pulled Cory aside to show her the newspaper clipping. I reached into pocket, and came up empty handed.
"It's gone!" I proclaimed.
"What's gone?" Cory replied.
"I had the newspaper clipping you found, I took it from the office" I explained.
"Avery, that's so dangerous! You could have gotten caught!" she said, sounding maddeningly like my mother.
I brushed aside her concerns.
"It's fine, I pretended I was sick" I said. I saw the puzzled look on her face, and before she started the stream of questions I interrupted.
"Someone must have taken it from my pocket" I decided.
"Yeah, and that could've been the killer. Besides, wouldn't you have felt it if someone took it from your pocket?" Cory asked.
"I don't know, maybe" I muttered. The idea of the killer taking it from me scared me a little, though. Maybe Cory was right and I should stop looking.

"Alright, we will be calling up two cabins at a time to go and use the washrooms" Ben announced as we returned to the dining hall. I collapsed on to my mattress, knowing that the younger cabins would be going first.

"Camp Malnary" a voice cackled over the speaker. I gasped.
The killer was speaking again...
"I'm not impressed" the voice teased.
"When I said I wanted Cabin 9, I didn't just mean the building. You have the rest of this night to figure it out. Take this as a warning."
The speaker cut out, and I glanced around frantically. Ben and other counsellors were running towards the door.

Then I saw it. A young boy had collapsed on the ground.
"Get the first aid kit" someone yelled.
I heard banging, and then someone yelled that the doors were locked.

Campers were streaming towards the doorway where the boy had collapsed. Counsellors were trying to break down the door, while confusion spread through the hall. For a moment I made eye contact with Lucy, and she tried to shout something, but the next moment she was gone.

The shrill sound of a whistle rang out, and everyone fell silent.
"I want everybody sitting with their cabins. Nobody talks or moves until I say so" Ben shouted, although the hall had fallen silent.

We all filed towards our mattresses and awaited Ben's announcement. The wait was long and painful, as counsellors tended to the young boy. I wondered what the killer had done to him, and I hoped he was okay. Finally, Ben spoke.

"First of all, I would like to let you know that no one is dead".
Sighs of relief ring through the camp.
"But that does not mean that we are not taking tonights events seriously. Yet again, I ask that if anyone has any information at all about what this killer wants, please talk to me or your counsellors."
Before he could say anything more, a counsellor called him over. I exchanged glances with Cory, but didn't say anything. While the rest of the campers bombarded Lucy and Kendra with questions, I slipped away.

"Ben" I said tentatively. He spun around to face me.
"Oh, weren't you locked in the camp office today?" He said. I nodded.
"Is there something you wanted to tell me?" He asked gently.
"Well, I guess I was sort of wondering, you know what the killer is up to" I said. My intentions were to know what was really going on, but I didn't want to sound too nosy.
"If you're talking about the boy, he's OK. He has diabetes, and just fainted because of low blood sugar. I can't think of any way the killer could be connected to this. It was probably just good timing on his part" Ben told me.

So the killer wasn't connected to this incident. In my head, I started debating whether or not to tell him about the article. I knew that if I thought about it too long, I would talk myself out of it, so I gathered up my courage.
"When my friends and I were locked in the office, I think we found something" I said, hoping I didn't sound too fake.
"What is that?" he asked.
"There was this newspaper clipping, in a book. It had to do with the history of the camp, I think, and it might help us" I told him. He sighed.

"Avery, no offence, but I've been hearing things like this all day. Footprints on the beach, secret clues hidden in the cabins. I'm sure it was nothing." Ben told me, turning away.
"But then why was it taken from me?" I said, hoping to grasp his attention again. It worked.
"What?" He said, looking confused.
"I took it, and then it was gone" I sighed.
"Ok, I'll look in to this, but please stop any sleuthing you and your friends may have started. The last thing I need is another camper getting hurt" he told me. After briefly describing the clipping to him, I returned to my cabin and was greeted with questioning looks.

"Cabin 9" I heard somebody say over a speaker. For a second I stopped breathing, thinking the killer is talking again. But it's just a counsellor calling us for the resumed bathroom visits. As I stood up, I saw the boys cabin doing the same. As they did so, I noticed a piece of paper flutter from Ryan's back pocket.

"Are you coming, Avery?" Cory asked, as our cabin started to leave.
"Yeah, just a second" I said distractedly, as I walked over to where the boys cabin was set up.

I zeroed in on the piece of paper that had fallen from Ryan's pocket as I got closer. When I got close, I read a few words.

No. It couldn't be!

But it was. The newspaper article sat in front of my eyes, and I realized that there was only one possible explanation for this.

Ryan was the mysterious killer.