Our Summer

The Bonfire

"So who's at Cabin 17?" I asked Daevd as we walked down the path. He sighed and kicked a small rock.

"I don't think that's too important Andrew. Besides, I reccomend that you see if you like anybody during this bonfire. If they're in Cabin 17, I'll tell you. Ok?" He whispered.

"Ok. Why are we whispering?" I whispered back. He started laughing, earning attention from Noel.

"I dunno. But we're here." He announced, walking into a clearing. Since it was a clear night, stars dotted the lake. The only light came from the fireflies and the fire illuminating the surrounding Elm trees.

Of course there was phone screens too, but hey.

"Is everyone from Cabins 12 to 20 here?" A voice asked. A ton of people responded with a yes and all the phone screens disappeared.

I zoned out through most of the welcome back speech. At least until I heard, "Alright, enough about this cheesy shit. Everyone get with your cabinmates and sit by the bonfire. It's storytime."

I looked around to see Ted walking towards me. I didn't get to do anything, he just grabbed me by the shoulders and walked us both to the group.

Daevd and Noel were sitting next to each other, Daevd with his head on Noel's shoulder and Noel's arm around Daevd. I quirked an eyebrow to Ted. He just gave me a look saying "Don't ask or they'll kill you"

"Who's first?" A girl with freckles and blue eyes asked.

"I think it's only fair if the elders go first. Give the newbies an example of what to expect." A boy with yellow contacts replied. Everyone turned to look at the rangers. Age determines if you're a ranger?

Freckles frowned, "Well then Ella should start."

The girl next to her glared, but complied. "Alright, but don't pee your pants."

"A few years ago a couple were sleeping together, when he woke up to her saying 'What are you doing?' She sometimes talked in her sleep, but it sounded so coherent and urgent that it jolted the boyfriend awake and he asked what she was talking about. She then woke up and said she thought she saw someone at the end of the bed. Thinking it was just a dream, or semi-awake hallucination, they thought nothing of it and went back to sleep. About an hour later, he woke up and saw someone standing on the bed, with the sheets wrapped up and twisted to their neck. He didn’t know what do but the first thing that came out of his mouth was 'What are you doing?' The girlfriend then woke him up. He had been dreaming the exact same thing that she did, and said the exact same thing."

It was silent for a moment. Everyone's faces were serious and shadowed from the light, making everyone look like they were doing a picture for 13 Reasons Why.

"Pfft, that wasn't scary at all." A young boy laughed. Freckles gave him a look of pure murder.

"Well why don't you try then, Mr. Dan?" She snapped. His face paled.

"Uh... I couldn't possibly put you all at the risk of paranoia, so no." He replied shortly, looking satisfied with his answer. I rolled my eyes, accidentally making eye contact with semi-familiar bright green eyes. I felt myself smile. She gave me a small smile.

"Well then does anyone else want to go?" The blonde volleyball girl asked. Everyone was silent, "Everyone has to share a story at least twice before the end of the summer."

At this a few kids jumped up to share some stories. I zoned out of two stories before Ted discreetly hit my back, making me pay attention to the last one.

A young boy with green eyes cleared his throat, " I lived in a house from hell for four years, from age 4 to almost 8. There was constantly something happening. Doors flying open and shut, voices, footsteps. Nothing ever stayed where you put it. I was alone there a lot because both my parents worked and I was constantly terrified. One of the most gut-level disturbing things though was the little girl in my bathroom. Every time I walked past my bathroom door, I saw a little girl with blond curled hair and a rose-colored dress. She just stood there, staring, looking like a photograph from 1905. I started keeping the door closed so I could walk by without seeing her, but she was always there when I opened it. Once I stepped in past her, I couldn't see her anymore but I could feel her there. She scared me, but I felt really sorry for her because she was trapped there, just like me, but probably forever. As the years went by and things in the house continued to get worse, she started seeming... darker. I started feeling like she wasn't really a little girl. I knew there was something ugly in the house and I felt like it was presenting this sympathetic image to me. Then I started thinking I was completely losing my mind. Eventually we moved out and I could not have been happier. I distanced myself from it mentally as much as I could. Then, this past summer, I took my uncle on a road trip to pack up a few things I'd left in the house (my parents hadn't managed to sell it, and still haven't). The minute we got on the property, my uncle seemed uncomfortable. When we came around the bend in the long, steep driveway, he went completely white. I could tell something was wrong, but he insisted he was OK, so we got to work. After a while he asked to use the bathroom and I directed him to mine. Not 20 seconds after he left, he came running back in, gasping for breath, andand slammed the bedroom door behind him. He started babbling about a little blond girl who isn't really a little girl. All of a sudden he went dead still, looked me in the eye, and very solemnly said "She's not happy. With you. You left, and you weren't supposed to". We threw whatever we could grab in two trips in my car (after I walked him to another bathroom and waited outside the door) and got the hell out at top speed."

Everyone was silent as the boy shivered with fear, nearly going into hysterics. An older guy, probably his brother, attempted to comfort him.

The Bonfire proceeded and we ate smores, then the younger people went back to their cabins while the rest of us played Volleyball.

My team ended up against the girls from earlier. Fucking dammit... maybe they forgot what I look like?

One of them cracked her knuckles with a malicious grin, "Oh this is gonna be fun..."

Oh no...

"Cabin 17, right?" Ted asked as he spiked it over. I felt my face flame up. ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!? THEM??

"And Cabin 15." Freckles cut in as she saved it by diving to bump it. Ok, not as bad then.

It didn't take long for there to be a volley. As soon as Noel set it over, it was intense. Almost all of us were hit by the ball after the volley ended. Personally, it hit my stomach.

Right when we were about to win, an announcement went off, telling everyone to head back to their cabins.

"Anybody?" Noel asked as we walked down the trail.

"Yeah, I think so." I answered. Ted overheard.

"Who?" He asked.

"Ella." I answered, deciding to play with them a bit. Daevd took a sharp breath.

"She's in Cabin 15. And my sister." He told me. My mouth formed a small 'o'.

"Change of plans then. Get with Esmeralda." Noel told me.

"Noel, don't-" Daevd started, grabbing his arm.

"No. He needs a challenge, and who better than her?" He asked, not looking away from me.

"Noel, that is being a bit harsh." Ted interjected. Noel broke eye contact with me and was about to go off on him before I stopped them.

"It's fine. I accept."

Here's where the stories are from

https://thoughtcatalog.com/christine-stockton/2018/06/ghost-stories/

(It's story #13)

https://jezebel.com/10-of-the-spookiest-scary-stories-youll-ever-read-1452658773

(Should be the first one, but there's a lot more interesting stories there if you like creepy stories)

I did change some bits of the ghost stories, but those are the originals