Secrets Under the Moonlight

Chapter One: Anticipation

The crackle of the fire behind me was a comforting sound, it signified the start of another summer.  Camp ArrowWood had been a part of my life for just about as long as I could remember.  It was the place my parents met thirty years ago, and I wanted it to be a part of my children's life someday.

The gentle sound of voices and the low tones of a guitar carried through the trees, but I was enjoying the quiet of my secret spot along the side of the lake.  The water lapped at the dock nearby as the moon cast a glowing silhouette against the water.

There was something magical that I couldn't describe or replicate that happened here.  I'd felt it as a camper, and now as a counselor, it kept me coming back every year.

"Hey, man." My best friend, Ryan, stuck his head over the log I'd been leaning against and smiled. 

"Yes?" I'd warned him that I tended to wander off by myself the night before camp, needing to center myself for the busy months ahead.  Once the campers descended, my days were long and full of laughter, but they were exhausting.  The calming waters of the lake helped get me recharged and ready to go.

"You gonna come back soon, or you gonna sit out here and brood some more?"

I rolled my eyes as I turned back to the lake. "I'm not brooding, I'm just relaxing.  You should try it sometime."

"Nah, sounds boring as shit.  There are a few of the ladies asking about you," he teased in a high voice.  I could just imagine the accompanying eyebrow wiggle.  Ryan was constantly obsessed with his next conquest, but I'd always known that I'd meet my 'one' at Camp ArrowWood.  It'd happened to my parents, and I knew this place held my future too.

The last three years since I'd been a counselor I'd eagerly awaited the first day of camp to see if maybe this was the year that I met her, but it never panned out.  I knew that camp relationships were messy, so until I felt that spark, I was content to wait.

"I'm heading back, don't stay out here too late.  They're gonna put out the bonfire soon."

"Ry, I'll be fine.  I know these woods like the back of my hand." I held up my trusty flashlight and waved it in his direction.

He kicked at the underbrush behind me, waiting for me to go back with him.  Ryan loved camp so far, but he didn't understand why I felt such a connection to it.  Hopefully, it could work it's magic on him and he'd relax a little once the campers got here.

We were co-leading one of the boys cabins for the graduated seniors.  I already knew a few of them would be back next year as my co-workers.  That was the amazing part about the training program, lifelong campers continued to instill their love of ArrowWood into the next generation.

"See you later, man."

"Goodnight, Ry."

Taking a deep breath, I listened to his retreating footsteps and looked back out at the lake.  I squinted as I saw movement along the edge of the floating dock and saw the water ripple as the silhouette of something disturbed the surface.  Pushing myself up to stand, I walked towards the wooden structure, watching the water closely. 

As I reached the end of the dock, my blood ran cold.  There was a pair of flip flops and a towel abandoned next to the post at the end. Someone was in the water.

Flicking on the beam of my flashlight, I scanned the water around me, wondering who was stupid enough to swim after dark alone.

My heart beat loudly in my ears as I continued to scan the surface with my light, hoping to see something.  Whoever was out here was about to get an earful.  I couldn't believe one of the staff members was stupid enough to come out here to swim alone.  That was drowning 101.  Never go in the lake at night.