“Get it! Get it! Get it!”
“Oh hush, would you? I’m trying! It’s not my fault I’m short!” yelled Rihanna.
“Well maybe if you did more yoga like me, you’d be taller!” said Rhodes smugly.
“If you’re so perfect then why don’t you try and reach the stinking pedal??” Rihanna retorted.
“Sorry, I have a soccer game this weekend, and I can’t risk injuring my ankle.”
“Blah, blah, blah, I can’t hurt my ankle, I’m too special…”
“Exactly”, said Rhodes bouncing on the lap of the snoring bus driver, Mr. Chudley, who was in the driver’s seat. Rhodes’s twin, Rihanna, was leaning forward trying to lift Mr. Chudley’s foot off the gas pedal of the bus in an effort to stop the bus. Seeing as they were the only passengers on the bus, it was up to them to stop the vehicle. Their parents would kill them if they knew they had gotten hurt at Camp Bear Paw. They’d never send them there again. Instead they’d have to spend the rest of the summer with Aunt Deborah and her 32 cats. Imagine the horror!
“Rhody, what’s going on up there? I can’t believe we haven’t crashed already.”
“Rhinny -”
“Don’t call me that!”
“Rihanna, my dear, sweet, twin sister, your big bro is trying to drive.”
“One, that doesn’t sound very reassuring, and two, just because you are taller, that doesn’t mean you are older. I am older.”
“By 3.14 seconds!”
“That’s pi.”
“I love pie! Stop making me hungry!” Rhodes whined as he heard his stomach growl. “Besides, driving this old bus is the same as playing my video game, except this is in reality mode and I can’t reach the gas pedal. Which reminds me, what exactly are you doing down there?”
“I’m trying to move this big foot off the gas pedal and transfer it to the brake pedal.”
“Bigfoot isn’t real.”
“Stop being a smart alec,” chided Rihanna.
“Ah, so you finally admit I’m smart!”
“Shush and keep driving! I don’t want to die before my sweet sixteen!”
“At least I can have our room all to myself, and I can finally get rid of that hideous Justin Bieber poster of yours.”
“DON’T YOU DARE, RHODES EUGENE TAYLOR!” yelled Rihanna.
“Just be glad I haven’t kicked you yet!” said Rhodes smirking.
“ARGH!”
The twins didn’t know exactly where they were going, but they knew they had to stop fast. Rihanna knew they had to do something before they were either dead, or they had to make a left hand turn. No one in her family was good at left hand turns - not her mother, her father, her older sister, or her twin brother. She doubted she was any good either. They had been driving over the speed limit for quite some time now, and it was a miracle that they hadn’t run over anyone yet.
“What’s the update, Re?”
“Well, I’m putting his left foot on the brake pedal because I can’t move his right foot right now. Seriously, this guy needs to stop falling asleep on the road!”
“Hey, you may want to hurry up because I think I see the ‘Welcome’ sign for camp! Let’s celebrate good times, c’mon!”
“Almost...there!! And I got it! Now I just have to kick this guy’s right foot off the gas pedal, or this car Is never gonna stop. Here I go!” wheezed Rihanna. Her scrawny arms couldn’t handle much more weight lifting, but maybe her foot could.
After three attempts, Rihanna kicked Mr. Chudley’s foot off the gas pedal and the bus slowly skidded to a stop. The bus stopped right in front of the ‘Welcome’ sign. How lucky was that! They had driven a car and didn’t get killed in the process. Rhodes opened the bus doors, climbed over his twin, and hopped off the bus.
“OMG! I can’t believe we’re alive!”
“Rhodes.”
Rhodes cheered as he started doing the moonwalk in circles.
“Rhodes!”
“Yeah, what? Oh, Rihanna, can you come out?”
“One sec, I’m trying. My head is stuck. Wait. I got it. Never mind. My foot is stuck now,” breathed Rihanna. Her face was flushed and her ponytail was askew.
“Here, sis, grab my hand and I’ll help you come out.” Rhodes extended his hand as far as he could and locked hands with his twin. As he tried to pull her toward him, Mr. Chudley suddenly jerked awake and looked around. As soon as his eyes focused on Rhodes and Rihanna, his pupils turned a fiery red color. Rhodes saw the change and for a moment, he was intimidated. In that split-second, he stopped pulling Rihanna. She was almost out, when Mr. Chudley pulled her back, slammed his foot on the gas pedal and sped away, knocking Rhodes back in the grass with mud splattered on his face.
Rhodes began to yell after his sister, but to no avail. AS he lay in the muddy grass, all he could hear were distant screams and then silence. When he glanced around, the dark forest seemed to loom over him. There was no light except for the faint light of the moon hidden behind the clouds. Even at the age of eleven, Rhodes was still afraid of the dark, and the situation he was in did nothing to lessen that fear.
Confused, Rhodes decided to take another look at the “Welcome” sign. He hadn’t seen any cabins around and at camp, there was usually a lot of light, yet now it was nearly pitch black. Squinting up, he could barely make out the words “Caution: Do NOT Enter”. How on earth could he have thought that it was a welcome sign?
Filled with panic, Rhodes began to scream. As he took a breath to scream again, a needle pierced his neck. Then...