Lights Out, Campers

Chapter Seven

Then

Camp Black Lake buzzed with excitement. Cars, full of eager and neurotic children and parents, pull into the parking lot. Dozens and dozens of kids awkwardly introduced themselves to one another, knowing that for the next two months, they would be all each other had. Friendships would bloom and blossom, some would die, but most would be forgotten when they all went home–a relationship frozen in time, only unfrozen this time next year. But those relationships haven't been made yet, and the five boys who would destroy the camp and ruin a myriad of family's lives have not yet laid eyes on each other.

Drayton is shown to his cabin by an overachieving counsellor. Drayton had looked upon him with slight disgust. He didn't understand why this grown adult was so exhilarated to spend his summer with children. His cabin was small, with space for only five beds. He was slightly relieved at the sight; having thought he would be sleeping on bunks with fifty kids crammed into a room. He was the first one here, so he carefully selected the bed that would be his for the summer. One tucked away at the edge of the cabin, the furthest from the door but the closest to the window. If he ever wanted to slip out in the middle of the night, it would be easy for him to do so.

The next boy to walk into the cabin was Brian, who was desperately trying to wipe the tears from his cheek and conceal his puffy eyes. This would be the longest Brian has spent away from his family. When his little sister, Mia, got sick, he vowed he would never leave her side, and that whatever day god decided to bring her home, he would be there. Instead, his parents insisted on him coming to Camp Black Lake. Being older, and not as naive, they knew she didn't have long left. It would be pointless for Brian to waste away his youth praying for relief from an unavoidable situation. They wanted him to have a life spent outside of hospital rooms. Drayton could see his tear-stained cheeks but said nothing. Drayton wouldn't cry, but he didn't want to be here either, so he understood Brian's reaction.

Michael and David walked in together. Unlike Drayton and Brian, those two couldn't be more excited. They wore matching Camp Black Lake shirts, making it very obvious this wasn't their first time here. They talked to each other as if the other two boys weren't in the room. It rubbed Drayton the wrong way. Michael and David both came from rich families, where dropping your children off with people who would take care of them for you was the norm. It freed up time for the mother to see her friends and get her hair done in peace, whilst the father slept around with his many mistresses. When the two boys finally finished their conversation, they greeted Drayton and Brian with open arms. Maybe they weren't as bad as Drayton initially thought.

The boys settled in, and come to find out, they all got along like a house on fire. Soon, Brian forgot about his troubles at home, and Drayton secretly thanked his parents for forcing him to come here. Drayton was a lonely kid, his family being the only relationships he had maintained. They were enlivened to spend the summer together and they all had the ignorant perception that a lifelong friendship was born. That was when Jeffrey walked through the doors.

Jeffrey looked older. It was hard to believe he would be put in a room with a group of fourteen-year-olds, but Jeffrey was the same age, he had just developed quicker. Even though it was unclear whether that was by chance or by choice. Jeffrey had a tattoo that the sleeve on his left arm was doing a poor job of concealing, and his breath reeked of cigarette smoke. He was domineering. It was in the way he walked and the way he looked at the four boys. They were intimidated. The boys knew from the start that Jeffrey was a bad seed. But they didn't realise Jeffrey would be the reason all but one of them would never go home again.