Camp YouTent

Oops

Squeak

Drew pries open The Box to retrieve his walkie talkies and a TacLight flashlight. He passes out walkie talkies but Kurtis hands his back. "I don't want the Blanche one. I want Dorothy," he says to Drew. "But that one's the blue ranger, your favorite!" Drew says in frustration. "Ok, but Blanche is totally not the blue ranger, she's more of a pink, or even the red!" Kurtis replies, almost whining. "Ugh fine you can have mine, but I want Dorothy next time," Danny says as he shoves his walkie talkie towards Kurtis. "Yes!" Kurtis says to himself as he fist pumps the air in front of him.

They walk towards the door and Drew cracks it open, checking to see if a counselor is patrolling around. They see nothing and quickly sneak into the forest a few yards from their door. Drew switches on his TacLight as he follows the river down towards the lake.

Drew was expecting the woods to be quiet, but it was surprisingly loud with wildlife and flowing water. The extra noise is why it took him longer than it should have to realize Kurtis and Danny weren't behind him. He turns and runs back, eventually finding them. "Hey! What the heck, guys? Is someone hurt or something?" Drew asks after catching his breath for a moment. "Oh god, dude, I'm freaking out here," Kurtis says. Kurtis is sitting on the ground with his knees pulled up to his face which he was holding in his hands. Danny kneels next to him, his hand on Kurtis' shoulder and a look of frustration painting his features "Dude, please. I know you're scared but I am also freaking out. Can you please hurry up?" Danny says to Kurtis.

"Okay, guys. Let's calm down. Kurtis, what are you so scared of? We were here literally 30 minutes ago," Drew said. Kurtis was quiet for a bit until he said sheepishly "I. Ok, look. I don't believe in ghosts but that stupid story is freaking me out. Earlier I didn't care because there were a bunch of people around but you were walking so fast and I thought I heard like a twig snap or something and- " Danny interrupted Kurtis to say "Seriously? That lame ass ghost story? Jesus Christ." Drew blinks in surprise at Danny's calloused response. They had had small fights before but it was usually Danny who was the cool headed one, not Drew. But he shakes that surprise off to focus on consoling Kurtis.

"Ok, Ok. I'm sorry for going too fast, Kurtis. I'll slow down. And Danny, can we please take it down a notch?" he says.

"Ugh, yes, I'm sorry." Danny said to Drew. He then turns to Kurtis and says, in a more gentle tone, "I'm sorry, Kurtis. I-" But Kurtis interrupts him saying, "It's okay, I'm being a wuss. I totally get it. You don't have to explain so let's just hurry up; I'm getting some majorly bad vibes." Kurtis takes another moment to collect himself before taking a deep breath and getting up. "Ok lets go," he said, though more to himself than to his friends.

Drew continues to lead them along the river, slower this time, as Kurtis clung to Danny a couple steps behind him. They eventually reach the mouth of the river where Danny quickly runs down the shore line to where they had been just an hour ago. Drew and Kurtis quickly followed, eventually catching up to him after he'd stopped and crouched near some trees.

"I found it!" Danny yelled out. He jumped up and quickly put it on before turning to his friends with a huge grin. "Thank you guys. Thank you!" He said as he walked over and hugged them. They hugged him back, saying "Of course," and "No problem, any time."

Danny held them tight for a moment longer, still spewing thank yous. He pulled back with a sniffle and quickly rubbed his eyes with his forearm then looked at his friends once more. He smiled and said, "Okay, let's get back before counselor Higa kicks our asses."

Just as the boys were about to turn back around, a rustling sounded from the bushes. Kurtis gasped and ran behind Danny and Drew, who pointed the TacLight in the direction of the noise. He held the light there, barely breathing, waiting for something to jump out. Drew thought back to Kurtis sitting on the ground, shaking at the thought of a ghost, and suddenly understood exactly what he had felt in that moment.

"Can you see anything?" Danny whispered. "Um, I'm not sure," Drew said, squinting into the gray night. "Guys? Maybe we should head back now," Kurtis said, his shaking hand tightening around Drew's arm.

They heard more rustling and Drew moved the light across the tree line looking for the source. "It was probably just an animal. I think," Danny said. "Let's just go back before anyone realizes we're missing."

Drew hadn't registered his friend's comment nor did he notice the slight warble that had snuck its way into Danny's voice. His attention was instead focused on a shadow near the shore of the lake. He moved the TacLight's beam to the spot he was looking at. God, he hoped it was just a rock.

"Shit!" Danny shouts, breaking into a sprint into the water towards the still mass. "What the fuck, holy shit. What are we going to do?" Kurtis mumbled, grabbing onto Drews arm in an attempt to ground himself. "It's okay, they're probably fine," Drew said. But he knew. He knew when he saw the body face down in the lake. He knew by the panicked tone of Danny's voice. And he knew when Danny just stood there in the water instead of trying to save them. A cold sweat broke across the back of his neck as his breath picked up.

What was going on? Why was this happening to them? Who is that?

Drew reached for Kurtis' hand blindly, unable to turn his eyes from Danny's still form.

More rustling. This time, though, Drews hands were trembling and his heartbeat was making his vision shake, so when he turned, the TacLight flung out of his hands, shutting off as it hit the ground. But for just a moment he could see. Eyes. A nose. Short red hair.

It was a person.

Drew drops, blindly patting the ground, desperately feeling for the TacLight as he tries to block out the panicked gasps coming from Kurtis. But he knew it was too late when he heard the figure bolt into the treeline. Finally he finds it and turns it on just as Danny gets back to shore. "Guys he's dead, that was-" Danny choked on his words.

"We need to get the fuck out of here, now," Drew said before breaking into a sprint towards the mouth of the river. He hears his friends behind him only for a moment before the sound of blood rushing past his eardrums drowns them out. He couldn't think. He couldn't even feel his feet hitting the ground. All he knew was that he needed to get himself and his friends back to the safety of their cabin as quickly as possible. He ran up the riverside, periodically checking to make sure Kurtis and Danny were still behind him, until he saw the light of camp lamps shining through the trees like a beacon.

They ran to their cabin and ripped the door open, not caring who heard. Kurtis took a few steps inside before collapsing to the ground, his palms pressed into the wooden floor boards beneath him. Danny leaned against the cabin wall. His hands came to his mouth. His eyes, wider than ever before, stared through tears brimming on the edge of his eyelids. Drew just stared at them both.

What was he supposed to do? What could he do?

"Who the fuck was that?" Kurtis finally yelled, his voice breaking. "Scott," Danny said. "And you're sure he was dead?" Kurtis asked, turning to Danny. Danny nodded, slowly. "How?!" Kurtis yelled. "I don't know!" Danny yelled. "Danny, it's okay," Drew said. Danny turned to him. "No it isn't, Drew! Scott is dead! And someone else was out there," he said.

Drew felt his heart in his ears again as the face he saw in the woods flashed in his mind. His throat felt tight. "I think that someone was Shane. The liaison," he said. Silence. "What?" Danny said. "I'm not one hundred percent sure but... I know what I saw. I don't know who else it could be," Drew said. "I agree with Drew," Kurtis said. "We could be wrong, but it really did look like him." "Why would he be out there, though? Why run off?" Danny asked. Drew's hands shook. He brought his eyes slowly to his friends'.

"Because he killed Scott."