by C. J. Hill
His stance relaxed. He believed her. “It’s not a laundry room. It’s a storage space where we keep heavy machinery. It’s off limits to campers.”
“Oh, sorry.” She forced a smile. He expected her to believe that? How many pieces of machinery had heartbeats? Then she realized what she should have known all along. Only she heard the heartbeat. Her and her oddly good hearing. He stood right next to her and didn’t hear a thing.
“Where is the laundry room, then?” she asked, taking several steps away from the building.
“At the main camp.”
“Maybe I’ll just run to the lake, then.” She didn’t wait around for more conversation. She took off in that direction, going much faster than a normal jogger would have.
For the first ten minutes of her run, Tori planned on dashing as far away from Booker as possible, calling her parents, then heading to the main camp and waiting for them to pick her up. It would take them two and a half hours to drive here, and she debated whether it would be safer to wait in the parking lot or whether she should continue down the street to meet them along the road.
But what would she tell them when she called? That she had to leave camp right now because she’d heard the heartbeat of some living thing in one of their buildings?
Her parents would immediately take her back to Ms. Jingly Bracelets.
Tori sped along the path that led down to the lake. She needed to get rid of the energy that had built up inside. Her footsteps muffled the noises in the forest around her. Good. She didn’t want to hear anything else.
When Tori reached the lake, the sun was setting, casting orange shadows into the blue-gray water. Waves carelessly lapped into an empty dock. Buoys bobbed up and down in the distance. It was the normal world again; she could think straight.
Monsters did not exist. Except for in her mind, where they ran rampant. But that wasn’t such a big deal, really. A lot of people had phobias of silly things. Mice, heights, flying in airplanes. So she’d heard a strange noise and freaked out. Sometimes that sort of thing happened in life, even to brave people.
And it wasn’t the main reason she wanted to leave camp anyway. The important thing was the advanced campers were hiding something. Something illegal, probably. For that reason alone, she shouldn’t stay here. It had nothing to do with the heartbeat, so she didn’t have to mention that part to her parents.
Tori slowed to a walk and took her cell phone out of her pocket. It searched for service, then kept searching. The light was fading now, but she kept walking along the lakeshore, slowing her breaths so she could talk without panting.
Her cell phone searched some more, then finally told her: No Service.
No service?
She stared at her phone as though it might change its mind. When it didn’t, she shoved it in her pocket. Her phone would work back at the main camp. Jesse had used his cell phone while he brought her things to cabin 27. The problem was that the main camp was two miles away and she didn’t want to go all the way back to the advanced camp to get a cart.
Tori stood by the lake for a few minutes, wondering how hard it would be to find the main camp from here. It couldn’t be that far away. She set off in that direction, checking her phone every so often. She wished she’d driven her own car to camp, but her father hadn’t wanted her to leave her new Lexus unattended in the parking lot for a month. He should have known, she thought wryly, that the car wouldn’t be there long at all.
As the sun dropped lower in the sky, her walk turned into a run, fast again, because she suddenly felt cut off from the world. She usually ran in her gated subdivision. Here, running next to the shadowy forest, she was vulnerable. Something could pop out of the trees at any time. Finally, she came upon more docks, boats, and a path that had to lead to the main camp.
It was nearly dark when she came upon a couple of guys she recognized from her dragon class. Cole and David—two tall, thin guys who Tori would have thought were cute if she hadn’t been bunking near four guys who could pass as Outback Gear models. Cole and David were walking to the main camp, flashlights in one hand, fishing poles in the other. Their flashlights cut arcs of light through the evening air.
Cole glanced at the phone in her hand and gave her a look like she should know better. “You can’t get coverage up here. They told us that at orientation. The only phones that work are at the office and the nurse’s station, but you’re not supposed to bother the nurse unless you’re gushing blood or have broken bones sticking out of your body.”
Tori gripped her phone in frustration. “But Jesse’s phone worked.”
“Who’s Jesse?” David asked.
“One of the advanced campers.”
Cole raised an eyebrow. “Advanced campers?”
Tori didn’t elaborate. Since she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone where the advanced camp was, she probably wasn’t supposed to say anything about the advanced campers, either. Which, now that she thought about it, was a bizarre rule. What was the point of hiding two cabins?
She glanced around to make sure no one else was near, then said, “Do you guys get the feeling something odd is going on at this camp?”
Cole shrugged. “Besides the fact that the food here is actually edible, not really.”
Tori didn’t laugh at his joke. She was already planning on how to use the phone in the nurse’s office. And then Tori realized that it wouldn’t matter anyway. Her parents were busy with their party. And even if Aprilynne could get away, she wouldn’t want to drive on the back roads in the dark to get to camp.
Tori was trapped here for the night.
She shoved her phone back into her pocket, disappointed. She might as well go back to her cabin before it got completely dark. She hadn’t brought a flashlight with her.
“I’ll see you guys later,” she told Cole and David and headed back, halfheartedly, in the direction she’d come.
“Where are you going?” David called after her. “Camp is the other direction.”
She didn’t answer or explain. She just broke into a run, racing the sunset.
The air was colder now. She took her hair out of the French braid so it offered some warmth to her neck. The forest around her had faded into gray shadows, and the sounds seemed amplified. She heard branches rustle. And other noises. Things she couldn’t identify.
She ran along the lakeshore until she came to the dock by the advanced camp. From there, the trail was easy enough to find. It would take her back to cabin 27. And whatever was in that small building.
Dragons don’t exist, she told herself. And even if they do exist, they don’t live in buildings in the middle of kids’ camps. This is just my vivid imagination working overtime—the one that’s going to doom me to be a writer.
When the trail opened into the camp, she slowed to a walk, blinking at what she saw. Lights blazed from both cabins. The brightness spilled out into the night with such strength that the cabins nearly looked like they were on fire. She had to look away from them, letting her eyes adjust to the brilliance. What in the world were the advanced campers doing inside? Hiding spotlights?
Jesse stood outside, hands in his pockets, halfway between cabins 26 and 27. He reminded her of one of those long-ago knights she’d read about earlier. Rugged. Strong. He watched her walk up, and she wondered how long he’d been there, silently studying her.
As Tori got closer, she could see the disbelief on his face. “You curled your hair to go running?”
She touched her hair and the waves that had dried into it from being in a French braid all afternoon. She could have explained it, but instead shrugged. “A girl likes to look her best.”
“Which I suppose is why you’re in your fourth outfit for the day.”
She had to count to make sure he was right. There was the one she arrived in, the one she wore horseback riding, the one she changed into after her shower, and this one. Yep, four. He still had on the same jeans and T-shirt he’d worn in the parking lot, although he’d added a jacket
.
He looked her over again. “No wonder your suitcases were so heavy.”
“I’m about to change into my fifth. My pajamas.” She cast a glance at the bathrooms and wondered if the other campers would think it was excessive to take two showers today. She didn’t want to get thrown in the lake, but she always showered after running. Besides, the water heater must have had a chance to reheat since her first one.
“Don’t change yet,” Jesse said. “We’ve still got to go up to the Easter grounds. We were waiting for you to show up so we could leave.”
“Sorry, I already went running.”
She tried to walk around him, but he shifted, standing in her way. “I told you that we go together every night. It’s a team competition, and you’re on my team.”
“Yeah, about that …” She took a step sideways. “I’m not really into team camaraderie and camp spirit and all of that. Besides, it’s stupid to run this late. I’d probably sprain an ankle.”
He moved, blocking her way again. Even in the dark, his eyes looked deep and intense. His pupils were so large, his eyes seemed completely black. “You didn’t have a flashlight on the way down, and you could still see fine.”
“Yeah, but that’s because it’s not all the way dark yet …” She glanced at her watch. It was almost nine o’clock, well after sunset. She looked at the sky next, expecting the moon to be full and hanging in the sky like a giant night-light. Instead, only a curving sliver sliced through the sky. “Why is it so light still?”
“Your first night is an initiation into the group,” he said. “You have to come.”
Her gaze stayed on the moon, trying to understand. True, the stars blazed white and strong, unhindered by city lights, but they weren’t bright enough to light up the forest this way.
So softly that he must have been speaking to himself, he said, “You are one of us.”
She didn’t pretend that she hadn’t heard him like she usually would have done. Instead, she turned her attention to him. “And what are you, Jesse?”
He smiled at her, and the darkness left sinister shadows across his face. “You’ll see up at the Easter grounds.”
CHAPTER 9
The panic that Tori had felt during her run began to prickle up her spine again. Casually, she took her phone out of her pocket to see if it got service down here. It didn’t. Why hadn’t she gone to the main camp when she had the chance and insisted on sleeping there?
Dirk came out of his cabin, pulling on a sweatshirt. His gaze ran over Tori, studying her every bit as intently as Jesse had. “She’s here,” he called over his shoulder, and Kody and Shang followed him out.
Kody gave her a big smile as he came toward her. Even his walk reminded her of a cowboy. “You ready for a mess of fun?”
“I already went running, so I’m tired.” She tried to sound apologetic. “I’ll just have to go with you guys tomorrow night.”
Jesse regarded her evenly. “You can make it up to the Easter grounds. It’s only three miles.”
As if three miles were nothing. And even though she wasn’t that tired—all of her fear must have dumped a lot of adrenaline into her system—there was no way she was going to run three miles in the dark to a remote place with these people. No way. “I don’t think Dr. B would approve of us running right now.”
Jesse’s eyes were still locked on hers. “Dr. B is up there waiting for us.”
He was? Somehow the thought of him up there creeped her out even more. Maybe he was the one who fed random campers to the dragon. No, not random campers. In the medieval lore, they always fed a maiden to the dragons. A virgin.
Her.
It was a ridiculous thought, she knew, and yet she couldn’t shake it, couldn’t consign it to the realm of silly phobias. These people were dangerous. She felt it.
Tori’s mouth went dry. She was so far away from the main camp. If she screamed now, no one would hear her.
She could try to fight. She knew martial arts. But they outnumbered her, and Jesse and Dirk were both black belts. In order to get away, she’d need the element of surprise and a good head start. She tried to keep her voice even. “Okay. I’ll go, but don’t expect me to be fast.”
Jesse grunted. “Be as fast as you can.” Over his shoulder, he yelled, “We’re waiting, A-team!”
Lilly and Alyssa strolled out of cabin 27, both pulling on jackets.
“I should get a jacket, too,” Tori said. If she could go to her cabin while the rest of them waited here, perhaps she could climb out the window, slip into the forest, and make her way to the main camp. Could she trust any of the staff to help her?
Before she turned to leave, Jesse took off his jacket and tossed it to her. “Here, use mine. We’re already late.” He motioned her to follow. Reluctantly, she did. The group headed down the trail that led to the field.
The colors of the forest had faded to shades of gray, but she could still see the outline of each tree. Their leaves made a jigsaw of silhouettes against the dark sky. As they went, Jesse stayed beside Tori. “The first competition is a race to the Easter grounds. The top four people score: forty points for first place, thirty for second, twenty for third, and ten for fourth. If you push someone down, your team gets negative ten points—but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, so be careful. Rosa and Bess aren’t here yet, so Team Magnus is at a disadvantage. We’ve only got Shang, you, and me. The A-team has Dirk, Kody, Lilly, and Alyssa. We need to get at least two scores for every game.” He glanced at her shoes, then let his gaze drift to her legs. “How are you at running?”
“I can hold my own,” Tori said, “when I haven’t already been running.”
He raised an eyebrow like he wasn’t sure whether to believe her. “I guess we’ll see. I’m one of the fastest, so I’ll try for the forty points. If Shang can pull third or fourth, we’ll be in good shape. Once we hit the trailhead, the race starts. Try to keep up with us. If you can’t, we’ll see you at the top.”
Tori let out a breath of relief. They wouldn’t be guarding her on the way up.
They walked past the first building, the larger one. When they went by the second building, she held her breath and listened, waiting to hear the tha-thump from inside. But nothing filtered through the night air except the sound of their footsteps and the crickets in the forest.
She could have imagined it earlier, but knew she hadn’t. Whatever had been in the building was gone now. Or perhaps not gone, just waiting for them someplace else. Like the Easter grounds.
They reached the trailhead. Tori could make out the shapes of rocks, bushes, and individual tree limbs. What was it about this place that made everything glow with a dim light of its own?
Dirk yelled, “Go!” and the group took off. Jesse and Dirk sprinted ahead, shoulder to shoulder, all legs and muscle. Somehow, they made running look effortless. The others followed en masse, going too quickly for a three-mile run. Tori’s pace was only a slow jog.
“Come on,” Kody said, straggling behind to talk to her. “I know you’re a mite faster than that. If you’re last, Lilly’s going to rub it in.”
Tori didn’t increase her speed. “I’ll deal with the shame somehow.”
Kody stayed beside her for probably a mile, encouraging her—telling her it wasn’t that far, just a “hoot and a holler away.” Any other time she would have appreciated his cheerfulness. Any other time she would have asked him exactly what a hoot and a holler was. But now she wondered about his motives. She remembered a dog catcher she’d seen once, coaxing a stray to come to him with a piece of bacon in one hand while he held a wire noose in the other. The dog catcher had spoken in that same lilting, cheerful voice.
So Tori spoke back to Kody in out-of-breath spurts, even though she wasn’t breathless yet. She kept glancing at the forest, looking both for a place to hide and anything that might jump out. The trees seemed to be watching, standing guard along the path with arms that reached out for her.
At last Kody gave up his pe
p talks. He said Dirk and Jesse were probably already at the top wondering where he was, and he’d see her when she got there. Then he shortened the distance between him and the next slowest runners, Lilly and Alyssa. The two girls were barely visible on the trail up ahead, but every once in a while they looked over their shoulders to check on her.
As soon as Kody was a fair distance away, Tori turned and sprinted in the opposite direction. She had a surprising amount of energy, considering the running she’d already done. Still, she pushed herself to go faster. Every second that the others ran up the trail, and she ran down, put that much more space between them. And hopefully when Lilly or Alyssa checked on her next, they’d assume she’d fallen behind out of sight. With any luck, they wouldn’t notice her absence until they reached the top. By then, it would be too late to catch her.
Unless Dr. B had a horse or a motorcycle up there.
She worried about that, then reminded herself that she’d hear a horse or a motorcycle before it overtook her. She could hide in the forest until it passed.
Her feet pounded along the trail. Her arms arced out in front of her as though trying to grab hold of the air and pull it toward her. Faster, she told herself, faster. The minutes passed. She was almost at the end of the trail, but she couldn’t slow down until she’d reached the carts. Could she trust any of the adults here at camp? Maybe it was better to take the cart down the road and try to make it to the nearest town, someplace with a working phone.
Whenever she finally got a hold of her parents, they would think she had a nervous breakdown fleeing from camp this way, but she didn’t care. She wanted to get away. Had to.
A breeze went through the trees, making the branches around them shudder. She could see the trailhead where the forest opened up into the field in front of the stables. Should she make a beeline to the carts, or try to follow the curve of the forest so Booker didn’t see her?
