Summer Nightmares

Two

Miles Dunne

Let me just set the scene.

If you would've told me that I'd be left behind everything, everyone and feel 'not enough' at the dinner table, run and cry in my room for hours in the goddamn dark, I would've slammed the door right in your face because this just can't be true.

If you would've told me that I'd be dropped off at a camp full of strangers with a possibility that half of them might be serial killers, the first thing in the morning, I would've rolled my eyes and laughed at you.

If you would've told me that Kai Young, the guy sitting next to me would spill watermelon juice all over me even if we had just met and still I'd have to share a cabin with him the whole frickin' summer, I would've glared at you and told you, 'These things happen in those teen movies, man! There is no way this shit can happen to me."

Well, it did happen.

"Miles, I'm sorry!" Kai looked over at me and apologized the moment I came out of one of the cabins after changing into a Star Wars t-shirt.

"It's okay," I nodded at him, "Do you go around dropping food on strangers?" I blurted out without thinking.

He looked at me and smiled faintly. "Maybe."

I shook my head in fake disappointment and walked to the cafeteria where the other kids were, listening to Ms. Warren, the camp's owner. She gave a disapproving look trying to guilt trip us or something. I smiled at her innocently and turned around to Kai.

"I don't think she likes us," I whispered.

"I think she wants to kill us," he whispered back.

I grinned.

Ms. Warren cleared her throat and gave us a death glare.

I gasped, dramatically.

"I'm thinking we should probably sit down," I said and Kai chuckled.

Looking around, there were only 20 kids in the cafeteria because again, what teenager would love to spend their summer trying to survive from mosquito bites? I wouldn't.

I glanced at the girl next to me half listening to what Ms. Warren was saying and I didn't realize I was starting until she looked at me.

"What?" She asked and I noticed a cigarette turned behind her right ear. It was barely visible through her brown hair that fell all over her face like dominoes.

"I was- I'm Miles," I blurted out like the stupid kid I was.

She looked at me in confusion.

"Sydney," she mumbled after a few seconds, still staring at me in a haze.

"What?" I asked, breaking the silence. She shook her head in a 'no' and her gaze went back to where Ms. Warren was standing.

"The boys and girls will be staying in the same cabins and sharing different rooms that'll be locked at night, so no sneaking out and making out incidents should take place."

Her words had me wondering if she was stupid enough to trust 20 something teenagers sharing cabins or stupid enough to think that locked doors were enough to stop the kids from making out. Turns out she was both.

"Oh, and also, quick rules reveal kids, we have a strict no-phone policy and don't summon ghosts in the cabins without our permission!" She gave a light smile and I stared at her blankly, my brain still processing the no-phone part.

The kids got up to give their phones to a counselor who was writing their names on a piece of paper and putting it with their phones so we knew after the summer camp which one was ours. They handed us enamel pins indicating different groups. I looked at mine as they handed it to me. It was a black cat holding Saturn and a smile flashed on my face. It was really something.

I looked over at Kai who had the same pin in his hands and he showed it to me, smiling through his eyes.

"This is so pretty, right?" His eyes glistened and I nodded happily.

Sydney walked to us with a freckled girl with dark tanned skin and waved at us. The freckled girl grinned at us. She was holding a guitar in her hands and Sydney seemed to be holding both of their bags.

"Hi! I'm Regina Spring!" She said, and Kai and I introduced ourselves. Sydney looked at me and I gave her a we-know-you look so she kept quiet.

"So, which one of you knows what we have to do now?" Regina asked. We had been standing there for 5 minutes dripping in sweat, waiting for our counselors.

"Oh my God kids, we're so sorry we couldn't come sooner," a boy in his 20s said, trying to control his breath that was uneven because he legit ran to us.

"Yeah, I'm Emily and this is Miguel." A girl said, flashing us a smile but half the time she was staring at Sydney.

Emily and Miguel showed us our cabin. The porch had two four oak wood chairs. It was on the high ground so we had to climb up three stairs before stepping on the wooden floor that creaked beneath our step. The cabin had four rooms, each with bunk beds on either side. It was pretty old and the roof looked like it could collapse any minute.

I stepped on the ladder of the bunk bed on the right side of the cabin and got on the bed with my shoes on. If mom would've been here, she would've killed me for lying on the bed with my sneakers on, but she's not here, so it doesn't even matter, I thought and closed my eyes. The bed creaked loudly.

"Don't fall on me, man!" Kai mumbled and I looked down to see he had taken the spot below me. I gave him a small nod and looked up at the ceiling.

The light cracking through the cracks between the wooden ceiling was falling on my face so I turned my head to the other bunk bed and saw Sydney lying on her bed, staring at me, quietly as she played around with a cigarette in her hand.

"Kids, I didn't bring you to the cabin to sleep!" Miguel shouted, "We're taking you to the lake in 5 minutes."

The lake was big enough to drown Kai if he ever dropped something on me again considering the fact that this was the second time I had to change into another t-shirt. Careless kid.

This summer was going to be the most dramatic one I'd ever had. I punched Kai on his shoulder playfully and he chased me down back to the cabin. And though I didn't like meeting people ever since I lost myself, I was, still, enchanted to meet the three kids standing in front of me.