Summer Camp
Written by Alonna Kilpatrick
Maura lifted her heavy bag off the ground and slung it's handle onto her shoulder, the weight of the bag almost knocking her over. She irritatedly pushed her flat brown hair out of her eyes, and readjusted her glasses. She could hear the other cabin girls' giggles as they watched her struggle. Maura shoved the laughter out of her thoughts and started towards the cabin door.
As Maura reached for the handle, Madison, one of the cabin girls who lead the taunts, stepped between Maura and the door. Madison put her hands on her hips and swung her bright blonde curls out of her face with the whip of her head.
"Poor Maura. Do you need any help with your bags, Dear?" Madison cooed, an evil smile spreading ear to ear.
"Get out of my way, Madison." Maura grumbled. She tried to go around Madison, but she still couldn't get to the door.
"Well that's not a very nice thing to say to someone who's trying to help you with your bags." Madison wore a fake expression of shock.
Maura could feel her knees bending under the weight of the bag. She knew she wouldn't be able to support the bundle much longer. If only the camp director didn't have them carry around so many supplies when they played capture the flag.
Maura had had enough, so she shot out an arm and forced madison out of her way. While madison was checking to see if her hair had gotten messed up, Maura yanked open the door and stormed out.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going, freak?" Maura could hear Madison's taunts from over her shoulder, but she knew that if she could just make it in sight of the camp director, Madison would pretend to be an innocent angel again.
Maura forced her legs to pump as she plowed her way down the opening. "Just a few more feet," Maura thought.
Finally, she could see the camp director. As soon as the director came into view, she could hear the shushing of her other cabin girls to Madison, signalling that they were now in hearing range of the director.
Maura plopped down her bag and took a seat right in front of the camp diretor, in front of all the other girls that attended the camp, awaiting instructions. Soon after her arrival, Madison and her gang appeared around the corner, and took their seats in the back of the crowd.
"Alright, let's go ahead and take roll really quick." The camp director pulled out her clipboard with a pen attached to it. "Madison Bail?"
"I'm here!" Madison chirruped, as if everyone would be relieved to know that she was.
Maura couldn't concentrate on the roll. She was too busy thinking about all of the horrible things Madison and her clique would do and say to her once they went out into the woods where no one would see them.
"Where no one would see them." Maura repeated the thought to herself. She could finally escape from all of the tortures that summer camp forced her to go through!
"Candace Smith?" One of Madison's followers.
"Right here, Mrs. Collins!" Candace waved her hand in the air as if her announcement didn't make it clear enough that she was, indeed, here.
If Maura ran fast enough, she might be able to make it to the highway before any one even noticed that she was gone, not that they would care. She already had all of her equiptment with her, and it would be enough to survive on for weeks. She wouldn't even be out in the woods that lon-
"MIss Hill? Are you paying attention?" Maura was snapped away from her fantasies of escape by the director's, well, direct question.
"Alright, now that the roll's complete, let's get the game started. Is anyone unclear of the rules? When no one responded, the director dismissed everyone to their places.
Maura immediantly pushed towards the woods. Apparently, her 'lack of shoe style' was indeed helpful, her tennis shoes providing easy access for her over tree roots and pebbles. Shew winced as she thought of what might happen to her if she had worn high heels.
As Maura broke through the tree line, she cleared all rational and irrational thoughts out of her head. All she focused on was her feet carrying her and her backpack out of range of Madison and the other cabin girls.
***
Right as Maura started to think clearly again, she realized that the sky was turning darker. Panic and adreniline started to pump through her veins as she thought of all the dangers the night time would bring her in the forest.
It had been hours of tireless trekking and there were still no signs of the highway in which her plans were based around. A coyote howled in the distance as she sat down, back against a tree.
Eaten by a coyote, mauled by a bear, or attacked by something much more dangerous and a bit more mythical. Maura mentally listed all of the horrible things that could happen to her.
As her first tear of regret fell onto the forest floor, maura had an epiphany. What is the first thing you would do in a video game to survive the night from monsters? Maura picked herself up and started to plan out in her mind how to make a decent shelter.
Maura walked around the still darkening forest and collected sticks and tree sap. When she had all that her tiny arms could carry, she went back to the tree she had been sitting in front of. She stuck the larger sticks into the ground anround the tree to make a fence, and then she pulled a tent out of her bag.
***
Once she was all settled into her tent, Maura leaned her bag against the plastic wall, and pulled out some food. She greedily shoved the small slices of cheese and crackers into her mouth. All the hard work that she had done that day made her absolutely starving.
By the time she had had her fill on food, she heard a twig crack a few yards away from the enterance of her tent. Maura's heart stopped. Then it violently restarted. Something had smelled her food, and now it was coming to get some.
Maura shakily opened her tent door a crack and peeped out. the forest was pitch black, and she could barely see anything. She stuck her head back into the tent and closed the opening. Then, she reached over and turned off her lantern, as to not turn anything's attention to her tent.
She knew it could very well be her imagination acting up on her from all the fear, but she thought she could hear a set of padding feet outside of her tent. Maura held her breath out shakily let it back out. Another coyote howl sounded in the distance.
She never should have run away from camp. She should be in her bed, secretly reading after curfew, while trying to block out the sound of Madison snoring in the bunk abouve her. She should have stayed.
Now she knew it wasn't her imagination. From behind teary eyes, Maura could see the silhouette of a wolf on the wall of her tent. She said a silent player.
She knew that she shouldn't, but she reached out and grabbed that opening of the tent and slightly pulled it back. As soon as she did, she let out a scream as a hairy face poked through the tent door and flashed it's teeth.
***
Maura knew she had returned to conciousness because a harsh light was making red spots on the back of her eyelids, much too unpleasant for a dream. When she inhaled, she got the distinct scent of a dentist office.
She felt unfamiliar clothing rub against her skin as she tried to prop herself up. When she immediantly fell back onto the hospital bed, she opened her eyes.
Maura was being wheeled down a white hallway, and loud but blurry voices were saying something about an operation. Then one of the doctors noticed she was awake.
"Oh thank goodness you're awake." Said a worried female voice. "You should be getting pretty sleepy about now even though you've just woken up. We game you some medicine to help you sleep while we fix you up."
Maura wasn't a clueless child. She knew that they had drugged her so she wouldn't feel any pain during the surgery she was on her way to.
She winced as a bolt of pain shot across her face. She put a hand to her cheek to feel a bumpy line going across your face.
The next thing she knew, she was slipping into unconciousness again. All she could think about was how happy she was that someone had found her, and how relieved she was that she was going to be okay.
Then, blackness.
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