As I sat down in a crappy folding chair for the stupid meeting, my emotions were still all over the place. What right did Forrest have to act that way? No one speaks to me that way and gets away with it! He probably thought he was being all tough and whatnot. Whatever. I was totally holding back. The only thing that prevented me from completely rearranging his face was the fact that we were friends once and he and the others had treated me well, an experience completely foreign to me now.
I ran my hands roughly through my dark hair and glowered at the stage, pulling my fringe down as far as I could over my eyes. On my left, Dylan cleared his throat and asked, seemingly nonchalantly, though I could tell he was just desperate to relieve the tension, “So, does the moon really just obscure Gotums?”
I turned my black gaze on him. “Yes.” He blinked once, then looked away, focusing on the stage like it was something totally fascinating. I sighed, then said “It’s been that way ever since I got back from Camp Woodlands ten years ago. As soon as it happened, things started going downhill for Gotums.” And for me…
Dylan acknowledged my peacemaking attempt and nodded, probably making a mental note of it in the oversized brain of his.
On my right, Mary (or Maria, as she begged me to call her) swiveled on her chair so Dylan was visible in her line of sight and said “Plotovesus also became prosperous about the same time.” I was impressed. I didn’t know she even knew a word as long as prosperous.
Dylan tapped his index finger against his chin. “Sounds like there’s definitely a connection.” He leaned around me and spoke to Forrest, who sat to Maria’s right. Smart move, keeping us apart. “I know your memory loss occurred then, Forrest, but maybe we can try and pinpoint the exact moment. Your last memory might help us figure out what triggered all of this.”
Forrest shrugged. “Sorry, but I honestly don’t remember a thing about this camp.” He frowned after he spoke and slapped at his forehead, as if there was insect buzzing around his face. I didn’t see anything. Well, this just proves that he is, in fact, completely and utterly insane.
Why was I ever friends with him again? Oh yeah, because he used to be FUN! Obviously, it’s been a really long time since ‘Forrest’ and ‘fun’ had ever been in the same sentence together.
Dylan sat back, defeated, as the head counselor stepped up to the microphone. “Well, at least think about it.” Forrest nodded and turned his attention to the stage, still frowning.
A screech sounded from the microphone as the head counselor tapped on it and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his shorts pocket. I snickered. The guy’s like thirty five years old and he still wears his shorts to camp. Says a lot about this place, really. But somehow I knew that, behind the shorts of the counselor and the seemingly innocent nature of dorms etcetera, there was most definitely something weird going on at Camp Woodlands.
“…and we’d love to thank you all for coming back to our beloved Camp Woodlands for it’s ten year anniversary!” The head counselor beamed and the rest of the campers cheered, except for the four of us.
“Now, I’ll just go over the list of rules and then we can go and have some supper!”
I sat up straighter in my chair. “Now this is interesting.”
“Rule number one: No smoking or drinking on campgrounds.”
Damn, I don’t do either of those…
“Rule number two: ensure that your cabins are kept tidy and there are no breakages.”
That was better…
“Rule number three: No leaving your cabins after lights out.”
Well, guess what I’m doing tonight…
“And finally, rule number four: Absolutely no going into the woods surrounding the camp grounds after dark.”
Hmmmm, now that was more like it! At least I know what I can so instead of those totally gay camp activities. I mean, making kites? Seriously! I was kind of disappointed that the meeting wasn’t more eventful or mysterious, but it looked like we were going to have to wait a little longer for our answers.
Supper and the hours before lights out were just as uneventful. Mostly Forrest and I avoiding each other, with me shooting him angry looks and Maria and Dylan trying to make desperate conversation to relieve the tension.
Finally, we all retreated to our respective beds (bunk beds. I mean really?) and settled down for the night.
Well, some of us settled down.
I slipped out of the cabin as soon as I was sure the others were asleep, not bothering to put on shoes or a jacket. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as cold as I had expected. I was used to Gotums weather, which was cold all year round, thanks to the large moon that obscured the sun like a permanent eclipse.
Even though it was forbidden, I started to head into the woods surrounding our cabin, my pyjama bottoms soaking up the water on the grass. The coolness and darkness were comforting, making me feel like something was still normal in this crazy place.
A twig snapped behind me and I immediately spun around, preparing myself for an attack. I was somewhat relieved when I realized it was just the head counselor.
“You know you’re not supposed to be out here, Chloe.” It was an entirely innocent sounding statement, and a true one, but I couldn’t help but notice an underlying tone that sounded a little creepier. No, check that, a LOT creepier.
I folded my arms and stuck my chin out, narrowing my eyes into threatening slits with practiced ease. “Yeah, I know that. What, do you think I’m stupid? I’m here because I want to be.”
He met my gaze coolly and took a step towards me. “Is that true now, Chloe?” As he stepped out of the shadows of the trees, his eyes caught the moonlight. There was something wrong with them. They were not the eyes of a human.
I let out a strangled gasp and instinctively brought my hands up to protect myself, though I doubt it would have done any good. There was no way I was going to move after that shock.
“You may have already guessed, Chloe, but I’m not really from around here.”
“Then why the hell are you here?” I was in serious danger of hyperventilating. “Why are any of us here?”
He was moving closer to me, the shadows distorting his facial features, making him look almost demonic.
“You’re here because we needed you” he said, never taking his eyes off my face. “You and your friends were the only ones affected, or at least, affected visibly.”
“Needed us? Affected?!” I may be terrified, but I refuse to be clueless anymore. That’s what annoyed me about Forrest. He acted like he was the only one who didn’t know what was going on here. He just mopes about his cluelessness without even thinking of us. Why couldn’t he see that we were all in the dark? Ironic, considering my present situation. Why was he so different now? Why were we so different now?! Affected....
My Gotums-tough-girl side was telling me to put up my fists and rip this creepy guy a new one, won’t that teach him to mess with us. But another part of me, a much larger part, was terrified. I backed up slowly, hoping to put some distance between me and this crazy crackhead. However, I hadn’t gone more than a few steps when I felt something hard and rough against my back. Damn tree…
Before I could even muster up the courage to run, his hands were wrapped around my arms, preventing me from escaping. It hurt. My heart was pounding so hard, I was sure I’d crack a rib. I’d always been so careful to keep myself from getting into situations like this, and expert at getting out of them when they did arise. But that fight with Forrest earlier today had thrown my judgment.
That’s what emotions get you. Screwed.
His face was barely an inch from mine, his hot breath made me want to gag. “Get out of my face” I whispered hoarsely, trying to sound like I wasn’t on the verge of collapsing with terror.
The head counselor smiled like he hadn’t heard me. “Actually, that’s not quite right. We needed everyone else here, but you, Chloe…” He trailed off and brushed the hair from my face, revealing my bruised eye. I winced, both from the tenderness of the bruise and the feeling of his fingers on my face. This was so wrong, I shouldn’t be here!
“…I wanted you.” He smiled again, broadly, though it didn’t quite reach his horribly empty eyes, and it was so twisted and unearthly that I did something that caused the tough, untouchable image I’d worked so hard to create to crumble.
I screamed.
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