Summer's End

Chapter 24

Celeste. There's no one next to you.
Those merely seven words echoed in Celeste's mind. She gazed at Remy and Emilio with brooding eyes.

No they're playing with me. My roommates are real. They have to be. Right?

She silently mulled over the reasons.

"You guys are joking right?" She ultimately queried them. Celeste glanced at the still roommates beside her. "Well speak up guys. Don't just stand there."

As she chastised the supposed roommates, worry flickered over Remy's eyes.

"What's wrong with her? Is she going crazy" She spoke softly to Emilio.

Emilio raised his shoulders. "Let me talk to her."

He put an arm over Celeste shoulder. "Celeste. Are you doing okay? Do you need to rest or some water? Or-" Emilio stopped when Celeste abruptly burst out laughing.

"Emil-Emili-" Her steady laughter constricted her airway passages.

She patted her chest to calm herself down. When she could finally speak without a few giggles, she said, "Stop lying. Obviously this is just a funny joke. Ha ha. Now just say hi to my cabin friends."

Emilio exasperatedly dropped his arm. He sarcastically used his pointer and thumb to widen his eyes. "There is no one next to you. Literally no one." He waved his arm in front of the vacant space.

"We should've told you this a while ago, Celeste." Tiara piped up. Celeste was baffled.

"What are you even saying?" She brusquely questioned.

Mel sighed. Janet pouted with remorse. Dior maliciously grinned.

"I'll tell her" Dior offered, proudly. She didn't wait for them to retaliate.

"So obviously we don't exist. We're just figments of your imagination. You're going crazy." She drawled out the word crazy mockingly.

"Oh shut up Dior."
"Stop scaring her."
"Quit lying to the girl."
A series of bickering erupted. Celeste reprimanded them to stop.

Remy and Emilio observed attentively at Celeste talking to herself.

"Just one of you tell me!" Celeste barked at them.

The girls all at once hushed.

"Maybe we should tell you in the cabin, so you don't look insane talking to yourself out here." Janet gestured to Remy and Emilio dumbfounded expressions.

"She already looks insane all by herself." Dior snickered.

They all gave her the stink eye. Celeste realized Janet was right. Remy and Emilio probably already thought she was going insane.

"Remy, Emilio? I'm gonna go now. Bye." Celeste didn't wait for them to respond and speed walked away.

"Wait! Celeste!" Remy cried out to her friend.

"Let her go for now. Maybe she'll get some sleep like I considered." He concluded. A gloom look casted over Remy's face.

                              ******
Once they were settled in the cabin Tiara began.

"So first off what Dior said was a lie. We're not just a figment of your imagination. We're....." She hesitated.

"Ghosts." Mel added for her.

"Ghosts?" Celeste softly repeated. She couldn't believe what they were saying. It was already too much.

Janet regraded Celeste's doubt.
"Look we know it's crazy. Let us clarify, okay?"

Celeste nodded.

Janet went on. "We died at this camp 25 years ago, 1995 to be precise. We were murdered by this man named Felix Duncan. He used to be a counselor here. Anyways he was crazy. Like bat shit crazy. He murdered a lot of people..." She shivered as if the memory still disturbed her.

Tiara placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'll go on for her." She decided.

"So after he killed us, we discovered that we couldn't leave this camp. Like at all. We tried to go past the entrance but everytime we did, we landed right back at camp."

"Yeah." Dior joined in. "We watched annoying people come in and out as they please. While we're still trapped in this stupid place." She bitterly said.

"But what about the other people that died?" Celeste wanted to know. "What happened to them?"

"Some of them are still stuck here too. About 20 of us I would say. They gave up a long time ago. Mel, Dior, Janet, and I are too stubborn to." Tiara slightly laughed to herself at the last part.

Celeste took all the information in. She understood a fair amount now but there was still one thing she wanted to ask.

"So if you're ghosts or whatever, how did you know everything about Lake if he arrived at this camp the same day as me?"

In unison the girls all glanced at each other. Tiara turned to Mel and Mel peeked at Janet. Janet did the same to Dior, who grimaced.

"What is it?" Celeste asked them.

"About that he didn't arrive the same day as you.... Lake died too. With all of us."