The Camp of Elements

Talking On The Trail

The girls and I are walking down the trail to the main grass field, my feet kicking up dust as we walk. Ally seems nervous, she keep glancing around, like everything she sees is going to attack her. I wander over to her side, I place my hand on her shoulder, she jumps in fright. I laugh slightly, she frowns.

"That wasn't funny." Ally says, crossing her arms. Dinah and Camila are talking in front of us and Normani is trying to memorize the pathway by staring intently at it with her hands folded in front of her.

"Hey," I take my hand off her shoulder and put both of them in the air in surrender. "I wasn't trying to be funny." I runs my fingers through my thick hair, I then set my arms at my side, loosely.

Dinah leans back, looking at us. "Nobody tries to be funny, but you can't help it with that face." She comments. Normani looks up from the path and covers her mouth; stifling a laugh. I roll my eyes and turn back towards Ally.

"Anyway," I say abruptly, throwing a playful glare at Dinah. She grins. "I noticed you were on edge. You okay?"

Ally nods, she smiles slightly and took a breath. "Yeah, I'm good. I've just," her voice trails off as she stares into space. But as soon as she started, she stops and continues talking. "I've just heard stories."

"Stories?" I ask, completely aware of the confusion plastered on my face.

"Yeah, but I'm sure it's nothing." Ally brushes it off. She then notices Normani walking alone, she hurries over to her.

I stroll alone for a few seconds before a dark blur rushes past me and to my side. I whip my head towards the thing that just rushed past me, my heart beating quickly. Relief floods through my veins when my eyes land on Camila. She grins at me, I return the smile.

"Hi, Lauren." Camila says, lifting her eyes to met mine. Her orbs are so inviting, they remind me of autumn and winter combined. I want to stare into them forever; I quickly shake that thought from my mind and smile. I couldn't possibly want to stare at something my whole life, could I?

"Hey, Camila." I respond, she smiles again.

"Have you ever been to this camp before?" She asks, I shake my head no.

"No, I haven't. Have you?" I question, suddenly curious.

"No," Camila admits, shrugging. "I haven't."

"Same." Dinah comments, I look over to her. She shrugs and continues to walk like nothing happened. I chuckle to myself.

"Hey," Normani says, walking over to us. "Do you guys know where we're going?"

"Yeah," Dinah adds, she scoffs, scratching her arm gently. "Of course. We're going to the mess hall for dinner."

"But where is the mess hall?" Normani asks, Dinah stops dead in her tracks.

Ally pads up behind her, she says, "It's up the hill to the left then down the second trail to the right. Come on, I'll show you."  I glance at Camila who shrugs then at Dinah who also shrugs. Normani is already following Ally; Camila, Dinah, and I follow.

I sneak up to Ally. I see out of the corner of my eye Camila looking at me. I feel my cheeks start to burn. This is not a good sign. I place my hand on Ally's shoulder to notify her that I'm next to her. "So, you've been here before?" I ask Ally.

"Yes, but I was very young. I still remember I was in cabin 4." Ally admits, I nod; showing her that I'm paying attention. "But, I had to leave early. The camp was kicking everyone out, no one really knows why. It was never announced to the public but everyone has their theories."

"What kind of theories?" I ask, being interesting in the ominous things Ally has been saying.

"Bad ones," She shudders. "I'd rather not say."

"Like," I implore, Ally casts me a glance but allows me to continue. "Bad sprits?"

Ally quickly nods and starts to guide us up the hill, I fall behind and Normani takes my spot next to Ally. Ally seems like a bundle of sunshine but she seems afraid of what could lurk here. It's probably nothing.

I walk alone for a while. My mind racing to keep up with my thoughts. When I got here, nothing seemed scary or spooky except the weird noises walking to my cabin. Why does everything feel like a threat now? I abandon the thought and continue to follow Ally up the steep, grassy hill. It's beautiful day, not one cloud in the sky; but the air has that chill to it, the wind has that scream to it, the trees have a sway to them. Nothing seems friendly. I abandon this thought as well.

I suddenly feel hands grip my shoulders and pull me backwards into a surface. "Boo!" Someone yells. I jump in fright. Melodic laughter follows my jump. It's Camila. I am quickly aware that the surface I bumped into was Camila's torso; I pull away. When I pull away, she lets go of my shoulders and we walk at a normal pace together.

"Did I scare you?" She asks.

"What?" I say, playing it off. "Nah, you didn't."

Camila starts to pout. She lets her arms fall to her sides and her lower lip turns down. I try not to stare for too long at it. "Lauren!" She complains.

"What?" I ask, lifting my eyes and smiling slightly.

"Stop lying!"

"Fine!" I groan, my words breathy. Camila grins at my sarcasm.

I noticed a tall cabin-like building. It has posts in front of its double doors. The walls are made the same way the cabin walls are. It must be the mess hall. I then notice a sign stuck in the dirt that says 'Dining Cabin' in engraved letters. Yep, it's the mess hall. Ally pushes the doors open. Inside is rows and rows of wooden picnic tables. Each one has a number sticking up on it. I count the tables until my eyes reach 13. Our table is at the very back, near the kitchen windows.

My cabin mates and I move over to our table. I sit down next to Camila who is sitting by Dinah. Normani and Ally sit on the other side of the table. A tall man with thinning gray hair walks out of the kitchen. He has wire glasses perched on the end of his nose. I really want to go up to him and push them up.

"Who's ready to feast?" The man yells. Everyone in the mess hall cheers.

The summer might not be so bad after all.

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A/N: If you liked this chapter, please press that star! Thank you so much and have a great day!

~StrangeBlob