HOLLIS MCCALISTER SUMMER CAMP

by Keith McCloud

  Wow, every time I hear her talk with such determination and force in her voice, the more I feel like I am starting to become attracted to her. She is very pretty and she has confidence and a great personality to go with it. Wow, I can’t believe I am even thinking this. Especially since we are training for our lives and here I am sitting here discussing in my mind with myself how pretty someone is and starting to have feelings for her. I know, I know it’s crazy, it’s just crazy: maybe it’s cause I am nervous and worried about all of this and I need to find something to distract me from thinking about how scared I am. I don’t want to die; I want to live for a few years. I want to make it to legal age and at least get carded once and then be able to show the person carding me that I am at legal age and I can buy what I want. I want to make it to that age. I know it’s crazy, but I want to make it to forty also, because I want people to say, ‘Lordy, Lordy, look who just turned forty.’ That will be a feeling that I hate, turning forty, but it will be a feeling that I love because I have made it to forty. Haven’t even thought about getting older until now when I am facing a life-or-death situation.

  “Alright, I will carry out a couple more weapons to use. I think I should really learn how to use the knives that can fit into my pocket since you never know when I might need to pull one out and use it. Especially with those wereboons. Last time I came face-to-face with them, they were ready to tear me apart and eat me. If it wasn’t for that one who just showed up and befriended me and you guys pulling me and Max out of the cave, then I would have been killed back there and I wouldn’t even be here right now training to take them down along with their crazy masters,” I say.

  I can see Stella and Trevor look at each other like they are hiding something, especially when I said about the wereboon that befriended me. It’s like they know something about that wereboon. Could just be me thinking that, though. What would they know about the wereboon since they were not there in the cave? Maybe they have their own wereboons trained somewhere to protect the village. I haven’t seen any around, though. They could keep them locked up somewhere, though, and I just have not seen them anywhere. As a matter of fact, I have only seen the wereboons once since I have been here protecting the entrance to the part of the village where the Wasioux part begins. Why are they not trying to kill us? They could kill us. I think I will ask them that question.

  “Hey, I was just thinking, why don’t the wereboons walk around the village and try and kill us. They have the strength and power to do so, but I haven’t even seen them around the village. That seems strange to me, since they are so mean. Why are they not just ripping people’s heads off? How do they just stay at the beginning of the Wasioux entrance to their part of the village? Is that where they all are just walking around freely in their village? How are they not eating them? They are not waiting on a full moon to turn, they have already turned into something mean and nasty.”

  Stella replies, “I will explain this, Trevor. The wereboons do sometimes come into our part of the village if they are with a Wasioux. They treat them like their pets and the Wasioux protect them very well, and they in turn protect the Wasioux very well. They will only attack on the command of the Wasioux. We have an agreement with the Wasioux that wereboons are not to just be walking around the village. We tell them we will continue to give you blood on the full moon as long as you keep them out of the village by themselves. Also, if they come into the village, they have to be with someone at least fifteen years old. The kids in their village at their fifteenth birthday are given one of them as a present. They treat them as if they are like their dogs and they are very loyal to their master. They have a lot of them in their village. When you turn fifteen you have to take a class on how to handle and train your wereboon. The wereboon also goes to class with the Wasioux so they can bond with each other. I know this all sounds strange because right now it all sounds strange to me, but that is how it all works. They, years back, asked us did we want our own wereboon, and everyone in the village declined taking one. We didn’t know if they would turn around and kill us. That would have been stupid, though, because we are the Wasioux’ source of blood. There are a lot of them in their part of the village. I think they have a breeding camp there and they continue to breed more. They to me are building an army of them: why, I do not know. They need us, so I am not sure why they need so many of them. It doesn’t make sense. The way to kill them, though, is to slit their throats. I do not like killing any animals, but these things are not like animals to me. They are mean and nasty and they are trained in a snap to kill us. You were close to them in the cave so you know it’s tough to get close enough to the throat to slice it. So we will show you that part during training. We will show you exactly how to do this. Not sure how good you are when it comes to killing anything, especially an animal.”

  “I, of course, like everyone, would prefer not to have to kill anything, no matter how mean they are. It will be tough to do, but since they will be trying to kill me and you guys and the rest of the village, I will do what I have to. I am not going to lie, it will be tough for me to do, but when it is there in my face trying to eat me, I will do what I have to do to survive. If that means slicing its throat then so be it, I will be slicing its throat. I just hope that nice one who was protecting me doesn’t get in the way. I would hate to have to kill one who is innocent,” I say.

  “Let’s not worry right now about finding one of them who is harmful. They are not harmful, they are like the vampires and they are out for blood. They are out to do whatever the Wasioux command them to do. They do not care about you, just like they do not care about me or any of us in the village. If the Wasioux command them to kill us, they will kill us. That’s why we do not allow them to wander around the streets of the village, because they cannot be trusted. We don’t even like any of them to come into the village with one of the Wasioux. They could be playing around and tell one of them to attack us just for fun and they wouldn’t know what just for fun meant and they would attack us and they are trained to kill, not to just bite us and leave us alone, but to kill us. That means several bites to us. I have seen them maul people before. Not just bite them, but tear them to pieces, and that was just one of them, so several of them can really do some damage. I have even heard of stories where some of them have turned on the Wasioux and killed one of them. So please do not worry about any of them being innocent in any kind of way. Yes, according to you, one of them did help you in the cave. We don’t know for sure if they were going to continue to help you, or eventually turn on you because we pulled you out of the cave before it got bad. Again I ask you, do not feel sorry for them and worry about killing them: when we do this you will have to fight them and it will be you living, or them living,” Trevor says, and then he walks out of the room looking either upset or mad, I cannot tell.

  “What is wrong with him?” I ask.

  “The wereboons are a sensitive subject to him, and to all of us for that matter, but more so for Trevor because he and his best friend had a run-in with some wereboons one day when they were down at the creek fishing. The wereboons were acting strangely that day and normally we just let them be if we see them, and we don’t even make eye contact. Well, that day, according to Trevor, one of the wereboons seemed mad and the other wereboons were trying to like calm him down. I did ask Trevor if they knew enough to try and calm each other down, and he said yes. They were like going back and forth in their animal language. Well, Trevor’s friend Zack got tired of hearing them and then did a stupid thing and threw a stick at them and told them to shut up because the fish were not going to bite while all that noise was going on. The one who was mad came running over to them and didn’t even stop: it jumped right onto Zack and started tearing him into pieces. Trevor started yelling really loudly and we could all hear him and everyone started running towards the creek along with some Wasioux. By the time we got there the wereboon had already ripped Zack apart, and when I say ripped him apart, he ripped his whole body apart. He tore his
heart right out of his body. The Wasioux shot the wereboon with arrows and the other wereboons were there but standing back, making loud, ape-like sounds and they just kept on. The Wasioux then started a fire and burned the wereboon. The other wereboons got even louder. They eventually got quiet and the Wasioux kept apologizing. Trevor was in shock and just kept standing there staring at Zack. We were younger then. We were all around twelve years old. For over a year Trevor did nothing but stay in his house. He would not come outside. I would go visit, but he would not say anything to you. He would just sit there and stare at the walls, or he would lie down and stare at the ceiling. He did everything in his room except of course go to the restroom. He would eat in his room and the village people excused him from school because everyone felt bad for him. He was truly traumatized. They tried everything to try and help him. I mean our families and the rest of the people in our village did everything. Our doctors tried working with him and his parents, even Zack’s family would visit him every day, but nothing. Finally, after a year, they all gave up. Well, me and Anita Kay did not give up and we would go visit him probably twice a week. We would read schoolwork to him and we would dance around his room, trying to get his attention.

  Anita Kay would talk to him a lot like a psychologist, and he still would just stare at us. Well, one day when we went, we were feeling beat down and were getting nowhere, and Anita Kay said, ‘Listen, you can sit here every day like you have for over a year now mourning the loss of your friend, our friend, or you can get off your butt and help us find a way to get rid of the Wasioux and the wereboons once and for all. Now this is not going to be overnight. It’s going to take some time to come up with a plan and then be able to execute it. You need to do this for Zack and we need your help and your brain because you are really good and will be a big help for us. So stop acting like a baby now and let’s figure this out’,” Stella says. Then she says, “Trevor finally spoke and said we can’t defeat them, they are too strong and Anita Kay said we can beat them. We have to come up with a plan and then we need to stick to it. It might take us a year, it might take us two years, or it might take us ten years, but we will figure out a way to get them out of our lives. So Trevor got better and that’s when we started our quest to get rid of them. We started training daily, the three of us, and we have been training for a few years now. Like I said before, we thought we had a good plan when Cody showed up and told us he could help us. He had all the right words and he trained so well, except he would get distracted easily and then he got caught and there went our plan. So since then we were coming up with ways to get him out and everything changed when you showed up right outside the village. Then to find out you are just like him with the same blood type, we were like how can this be? How can we have two people with the same rare blood that happen to be best friends? That’s another reason Trevor wants to help so much because he lost his best friend and he will do whatever it takes to help you not lose yours.”

  “I again will not let you guys down and especially now that I know this is about Trevor’s best friend and how mean the wereboons can really be. I thought they were mean, but to hear this makes me know that they are mean. I also understand now why he is so passionate about all of this and especially the training and being able to kill a wereboon and not even have second thoughts about it. Yes, I am soft when it comes to killing an animal, heck even thinking about killing one stresses me, but it’s our lives, or their lives, and I like our lives better.”

  * * *

  CHAPTER 15: TRAINING CONTINUES

  * * *

  “S o what weapons do you want to start me on first? Are there some easier to learn than others? Maybe we can K..S start with those and we can build my way up. I am somewhat familiar with the crossbow since I have actually used one of those,” I say.

  “Okay, let’s start with the crossbow. We already have targets set up and we just need to show you where to stand at first and then we will move you around and let you try and hit the still target, and then we will move the targets around and let you try and hit the moving targets. So let’s come over here to the biggest target. As you can see, it has a pretty big bull’s-eye. This target is for beginners and, even though you have shot a crossbow, this is a good target to start on. So, first thing we need to do is load the crossbow with the arrow. We will use the big crossbow at first and then switch to a smaller one later,” Stella says.

  I walk over to the table and pick up the biggest crossbow, and when I say ‘the biggest’, this thing is really huge. The problem is that it is heavy and I couldn’t see walking around with this, or even holding it up to shoot with. Your arms would get tired of holding it the whole time. “Why would anyone want to use this big of a crossbow?” I ask.

  “Well, that crossbow is mainly for bigger people. As you see, though, the arrows for this crossbow are bigger and it can do some serious damage to someone or something. It has a lot of power and will put that arrow through things. So stand up to this line and then load the arrow into the crossbow and then see if you can hit that target,” Stella says.

  So I pick up the crossbow and aim it at the target. This crossbow also has a scope on it, which I really like when they have them. I put the target in sight and fire the arrow. There it goes across the room, and bam, it hits it with a loud noise. At that time I see the door open behind us and in walk Trevor and Anita Kay.

  “Dang, I think you hit it right on the bull’s-eye, let me go look, because it does look like you hit the bull’s-eye on your first try. It’s hard to be able to hold that crossbow because of how heavy it is, and hit the bull’s-eye on your first try.” Stella walks over to the target and looks at the arrow.

  “You not only hit into the bull’s-eye, you also hit dead square in the middle of the bull’s-eye. That was a nice shot, a very nice shot. I don’t even normally hit the center of the bull’s-eye with that big crossbow. Oh Hollis, this is our cousin Anita Kay. She is just as crazy as we are,” Stella says.

  “Nice to meet you, Anita Kay,” I say.

  “Nice to meet you also, Hollis,” Anita replies.

  “As for the crossbow, I could not do that a lot with this crossbow because it just seems so heavy and my arms would get tired of holding it and carrying it. I will have to switch to a lighter one. Can you show me a lighter one, but one that still has lots of power? I want it to stick in something good. I want it to hit like this arrow just hit.”

  “Come over here and look at these two. They are lighter and they pack a mean punch. You are pretty good with these crossbows, aren’t you?” Stella asks.

  “I am not sure about that, but for some reason it just seems to come naturally to me when I am using it. I feel like I have power and I am in control. I know it sounds stupid, but that’s how I feel when I have it. For some reason it makes me feel safe. Let’s see how I do with a little lighter one. I think the scopes on them really help me line it up. Also let’s see how I do with moving targets. That’s not going to be easy. I have never shot a crossbow at a moving target. That should be interesting,” I say.

  “Okay, let’s try this crossbow. It’s not as big and not as heavy, but it will pack a punch,” Stella says. Stella hands me the crossbow and I can feel that it is lighter, but it is nice and sturdy and feels Ike I might like it. I stand on the spot that I am supposed to stand on. I load the arrow and point the gun towards the target. I aim, point and shoot and it looks good. I think it’s a bull’s-eye again.

  “Dang, looks like you got another bull’s-eye there. The crossbow just might be the weapon for you,” Trevor says.

  “Yes, you are doing very well with the crossbow so far. We will switch to the smaller targets now and see how you do and then we will move on to the moving targets,” Stella says.

  I move over to the next line and line up. I put the arrow in and I aim and shoot and it looks good again. Yep, I think I hit the bull’s-eye.

  “Let me check the arrow. You hit the bull’s-eye again. Okay, one more time, but at that smalle
r target next to the one you just hit,” Stella says.

  I move over to the next line and I raise up the crossbow and I put another arrow in it and I aim, and this time I am taking my time because the bull’s-eye is much smaller. I have to make sure I am right on target before I shoot. I line it up and then shoot. The arrow flies across the room and bang, it hits right into the bull’s-eye.

  “Yes!” I yell out.

  “Let me see where you hit that bull’s-eye. Wow, you are dead in the center on the target,” Trevor says.

  “Okay, on the targets you have done very well so far. Now the fun comes. We will turn on the belt to start moving the targets. The targets, as you can see, are cut-outs of vampires and wereboons. In order to take them out, or I should say kill them, you need to aim for their heart. That would be aim for the hearts for both of them. That’s the only way to kill them. Now, hitting them anywhere will be a plus because it will slow them down. If you cannot get a shot at their hearts, then go for their legs, or go for their heads. Either area will be good. We need to do what we can to slow them down. So come over here and this is where you will start. We will send out four targets for the first round. You need to make sure you get the arrow set and loaded very fast. You will not have much time here today and you sure will not have any time when it is live,” Stella says.