Lights Out, Campers

Chapter Eleven

Then

Over the next few days, most of the boys settled in well at the camp. Drayton, Brian, Michael, and David had worked hard to make friends outside of their cabin and began to feel at home amongst their peers. Jeffrey, on the other hand, was somewhat of a lone wolf. He never tried to socialise. He didn't engage in the activities and never made conversation. But for some reason, he constantly had people flocking to him. The boys respected him, and the girls were obsessed with him.

The boys in his cabin didn't think it was fair. They had to work hard for people to notice them, whilst Jeffrey sat back and attracted the other kids like magnets. But for reasons unbeknownst to everyone else, Jeffrey didn't seem interested in their advances. He didn't want to join the self-proclaimed "popular" guys; he was more interested in the four boys in his cabin.

The others seemed thrilled about that. The famous Jeffrey Martins was choosing to give them the time of day. Doing so made the other campers give them the time of day, and before they knew it, they were Camp Black Lake's top dogs, and that was enough for them to keep Jeffrey around.

But Drayton was suspicious. Why would Jeffrey choose these four boys to be his friends? They didn't seem like the type of people Jeffrey would hang around with. They were too innocent. The worst thing any of them had ever done was slip a chocolate bar into their pocket and walk out of their local corner store. Jeffrey seemed experienced. Drayton wouldn't be surprised if he were in some sort of gang back home.

The others were blind to it, but Drayton knew Jeffrey didn't like them. He didn't think Jeffrey was capable of liking anyone. He thought there was another reason Jeffrey was allowing them in his presence.

And Drayton was correct. Jeffrey didn't particularly care for the boys in his cabin. In fact, he looked down on them. He thought they were timid and pathetic. And that is precisely why he has decided to stick around them. The boys would do anything to be on his good side because it meant their peers respected them. That meant that they were mouldable. They were puppets willing to do whatever Jeffrey wanted.

Jeffrey had a plan for this summer, and the four boys in his cabin would play a crucial role in it.

But he had to make sure they were willing. He had to make sure they wouldn't mess up his plot. Jeffrey decided to test the limits of the boys in his cabin. To see just how easily they would follow his lead. He had an idea to scare the girls in the cabin next to theirs. Tapping on the windows. Knocking on the door. Scratching the wooden walls. Things plucked straight out of a horror movie. It sounded simple enough. A harmless prank. But what would the boys do if he took it too far? How would they act? Would they turn on him? Or would they remain loyal, too scared to lose their status?

So, after a while of subtle scares and many squeals from the girls, Jeffrey picked up a rock lying on the grass and threw it as hard as he could at the window. The glass shattered on impact as the noises from inside grew into something different. They were no longer playful squeals but blood-curdling screams. There was sheer terror in that cabin, and Jeffrey laughed.

He didn't find it particularly funny, but when he laughed, so did the other boys. All except Drayton. But it was enough for Jeffrey to know that these kids would do anything he wanted. It put him at ease, knowing he had found boys desperate enough to belong that they would help him cause chaos.

And that is exactly what Jeffrey had planned. Not senseless chaos, but strategic, justified chaos.

Retribution.

Jeffrey had known of the Walker family for a long time. It's an old campfire tale. A family taken over by Satan. Their devotion to the wicked. It wasn't until recently that Jeffrey realised it was not just a campfire tale. The Walkers are evil.

So, before Jeffrey leaves this camp, he will ensure the Walkers are dead.

And Drayton, Michael, David, and Brian will help him.