I laid in my uncomfortable bed, staring at the ceiling. It was the first day of summer camp. Not really a summer camp if you ask me, it felt like more of an orphanage. My dad and his snobby girlfriend had basically abandoned me for the summer, and as they went to a resort in Tahiti, I was at this camp in this old house in the middle of nowhere. I reached for the locket around my neck, and opened it to see my mom, young and healthy. I sighed softly, and clutched the locket until I was fast asleep.
I woke to the sound of birds silently chirping outside my window. Everyone else was still asleep, so I decided to take a shower before everyone else woke up. But as I walked to the showers, I could hear running water.
“Hello?” I called softly so I didn’t wake anyone else up.
The running water stopped and a girl my age stepped out of the shower in her bathrobe.
“I didn’t think anyone else was up,” she said casually. “Please don’t tell. They don’t like anyone being up before seven.”
“I won’t,” I said honestly, for I was up too.
“I’m Alice Sanderson,” she said as she held out her hand.
“Griffin Rorbach.” I shook her outstretched hand.
“Well, I won’t keep you from your shower, Griffin,” she said as she left the bathroom.
I was disconcerted, but I composed myself and took a shower. When I got out, I attempted to fraternize with Alice. This was easier than I thought. As soon as I walked into the room, she said, “Let’s take a walk around the camp. There’s a nice trail just through the trees.”
I hesitated, but then said, “Sure.”
“Alright then,” said Alice. “Get dressed then we’ll go.”
I did just that, and we went outside.
“So how many years have you gone to this camp?” I asked.
“This is my second year. I’m assuming this is your first.”
I nodded then asked, “Do you like it here?”
She replied, “No. This camp gave me a weird feeling since the moment I stepped foot on the property. There’s something off about this place, and we’re going to find out what it is.”
I was surprised, “We?”
“Yes, we,” Alice said very guilelessly.
I wasn’t sure what to say to this, so we walked the rest of the way in silence. As we rounded a corner, something caught my eye. Alice noticed this too and we walked slowly towards the object through the trees. I gave a furor of terror as a cadaver came into view. It was the body of a girl about the age of Alice and I. We stared in silence, and then we heard a noise coming from the trees. I was petrified with terror. Just as a dark figure appeared not twenty feet away from us, Alice grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a tree. The figure looked up, and I had to force myself not to look in its malignant eyes. The eerie creature floated deucedly towards us, but then stopped and hovered over the corpse. It lowered itself till it was just above the body, then truculently devoured the carrion. I had to hold my nose to avoid the malodorous stench. And just like that, the creature was gone.
Alice and I ran back to the cabin to warn the others, but when we got back, everyone was gone. We frantically looked around but found no one. We tried to use our cellphones to contact our parents, but they wouldn’t turn on. We tried the landline but all that came through was static.
“Griffin,” Alice said, “It saw us.
“It? What exactly was it?”
“I don’t know, but it saw us.”
My heart pounded so loudly I couldn’t hear myself think. Sweat droplets beaded on my forehead.
“Griffin?” Alice said. “Griffin? Griffin!”
I woke with a start. A camp counselor had seen I was having a nightmare and had shaken me awake. After I assured her I was fine I feverishly got out of bed and went to the showers. Alice wasn’t there. In a panic I ran out of the cabin to the trail. Alice wasn’t there. I rounded the corner where we saw the dead body. Alice wasn’t there. I looked all over the camp, but Alice wasn’t there. Eventually I went back to the cabin and sat on the porch stairs. I reached for the locket around my neck, but when I opened it, I saw something that sent chills down my spine. The picture of my mother was replaced with a picture of Alice, but it was moving. I looked closer, and I saw she seemed to be pounding on the picture, trying to escape. I watched in horror as the dark figure from the woods floated slowly behind her, then they both disappeared.