Lights Out, Campers

Chapter Ten

Within ten minutes of Regina telling me Sophie was gone, the camp was in a panic. The kids in cabin eight didn't want to tell anybody until they found her. They thought they'd get in trouble or be blamed for her disappearance, but that was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to make sure Sophie was safe.

I have woken all the counsellors, forcing them to join the search. We roused the other campers, asking if any of them had seen her. Every time a camper said no, my heart dropped a little further. After searching what seemed like every inch of the grounds, we devised a plan.

We order most of the kids to stay on the campground and keep searching for her there, whilst the counsellors and a select few campers will search the surrounding woods.

I walk with Regina, Samantha, and Levi, but his warm, soothing presence does little to dampen the sick, twisting feeling in my organs. Levi and the girls call Sophie's name but are met with no response, only the sounds of crunching sticks and the buzzing of insects.

I call her name but know I won't hear anything back. I can't stop replaying my last conversation with Sophie again and again. The girl she said was waving her over. I told her not to follow her. I told her it was dangerous, but she didn't listen. Now she's gone.

It sounds ridiculous. I know it does. But I believe with my entire body that the little girl in the woods is responsible for Sophie's disappearance. But why? What did she want to show her? Where did she take her? Who is this person? Or what is she? And why are Sophie and I the only people who have seen her?

"Sophie!" I call out, desperation rapidly taking over my entire voice. Regina and Samantha are crying, calling her name every few seconds. Even Levi is looking wholly petrified. Waking up to find that a camper has completely vanished is scary enough, even without factoring in the little ghost girl.

"She has to be here somewhere," Levi says, noticing just how troubled I look. "We'll find her." I try believing him. That girl seemingly lives in these woods, so Sophie has to be here. Where else would she take her? To the afterlife? The ghost dimension. Now, that is crazy.

"I know," I respond, mustering up my best smile.

But we don't. We search and search and come up with nothing. When we accidentally stumble upon the Walker house, my stomach sinks. Is this where the little girl was leading her? Is she trying to seek revenge for what the camp did to her family? Does she want the camp to stay closed? Something about these dilapidated bricks and wood makes me incredibly uneasy. Sophie didn't just wander off on her own accord. She was lured. And this is the only place that makes sense for someone to lure her to.

Levi, Regina, and Samantha turn around and begin walking back to camp, but my feet don't move.

"You coming, Pheebs?" Levi calls. "We should get back; she might have turned up already."

"Yeah, coming!" I call back. I love his optimism. I don't know if it's real or he's just trying to make me feel better, but I'll take either one. Before I follow them, I look around the rubble, hoping to see anything that leads me to her. But it seems the same as it did on the first night. It's just a dusty pile of dirt and bricks. But I know she's here somewhere. I can feel her. Like a chemtrail stuck in the sky long after the plane has landed. Like a drawing in a cave made centuries ago. She's close, I'm sure of it.

The only thing I'm not sure about is if she's alive.

–––

Mr Foster stands by the glass doors of the dining hall as the entire camp waits for him to give his statement. There is still no sign of Sophie, but we have been told everything is fine and not to panic. We have been entirely left in the dark, terrified about a missing girl, and we're just supposed to forget about it. Even Mrs Bates was nervous, which made me spiral even further.