Hiking trip of no return

Chapter 7

Phoebe snuck through part of the forest before reaching the camp grounds. She looked down the gravel paths. She saw that Taylor and the other campers were looking at something. Phoebe walked onto the trail and hid behind one of the camp buildings nearby. "Oh no!" Uncle Thomas said as he had a shocked look on his face. Phoebe snuck to another building and hid behind it. The campers from Phoebe's cabin came rushing out to their counsellor. Taylor was not happy to see them. "Please, don't get angry with us. It was Phoebe's fault. She was worried about you." One of her friends said. Hearing this, Phoebe came out of her hiding place and joined her group. "Sorry counsellor Taylor. She's right. I was worried. I was also worried about my brother Tyson. I thought that he was attacked or something." She adduced with a tear falling out of her eye. Tyson and his cabin came running. "Whoa, what happened?" Greg asked when he saw the campers and counsellors surrounding a building.

"My cabin has been wrecked. I am so mad." The head counsellor spoke as he looked at the damage at his cabin. "You know, I thought I heard an animal running up the trail to the top of the mountain." Nate mentioned as he looked at the bear tracks that ran up the gravel trail. "Maybe the trip towards the top of the mountain should be cancelled until that wild animal is caught." One of Phoebe's friends uttered as she was scared that the animal could be still out there. "Nonsense, the hiking trip towards the top of the mountain should continue as normal. I'm sure that the bear has been scared away from the camp grounds. For those of you who have completed the scavenger hunt, you could sit at the picnic tables." The head counsellor announced as he tried to get the campers to follow him. Phoebe pulled Tyson's arm. They both hid behind a bush. "Campers head to the picnic table area please." The head counsellor repeated as the campers and counsellors followed him. After a few seconds, Tyson, and Phoebe both poked their heads out of the bush. They went to look at the damage. Pieces of red painted wood and splinters lay on the grass. Pieces of the white picket fence were trampled on as they were on the gravel trail. "What could've done this?" Phoebe queried as she looked at the pieces of white picket fence. Tyson noticed a track on the gravel trail. "Phoebe, come take a look at this." He affirmed while observing the track. "That's one big animal." Phoebe observed while standing. "This must be a bear track. I don't think they would want to come here unless there was any food or garbage." Tyson said as he turned his head to look at the hole left in the cabin. "Did Uncle Thomas say something about a bear?" Phoebe questioned as she looked at her brother. "Yes, there were bear tracks going that way." Tyson disclosed as he pointed to where the tracks lead. "I think something strange is going on here. Maybe we should run away from camp." Phoebe suggested. "No way, we don't know what's going on here." Tyson contended.

"Phoebe, Tyson, come to the picnic tables." Ian shouted. "I think that something wants us for supper." Phoebe whispered as she ran to the picnic table area. Tyson walked to the picnic table area while walking. "Tyson, you better not be right next to that cabin. It's now off limits." Ian said with an angry expression on his face. "I wasn't right next to the cabin. I was just trying to find my sister. She's still scared after hearing that crashing noise." He lied. "Alright, but that's still no excuse for not following Uncle Thomas's orders seriously. Now come on, were going to be eating supper soon." Ian spoke while walking alongside Tyson. "Are you kidding? Are we going to be having supper this early?" He grilled Ian with a confused expression on his face. "No, we're going to wait for the cabins to finish their scavenger hunt. Then the head counsellor is going to be giving us an important announcement." Tyson joined his group at the picnic table. "Ian, can I see you for a minute?" Uncle Thomas asked while standing next to zip line. "I don't have an appetite just yet." Lee whispered. "My sister is a little scared now. She thinks that we should run away." Tyson muttered to his friends. "I'm so scared, that I want to be hiding underneath the bunk beds back at the cabin." A camper from Phoebe's group said nervously. "Don't worry. We are just going to be sitting here until Uncle Thomas is going to sort things out. Besides, the red cabin is falling apart. It's one of the oldest buildings at camp." Taylor asserted as she sat down beside Phoebe. Suddenly, one of Taylor's eyes turned yellow. Phoebe blinked and Taylor's eye was normal again. One by one, the campers from the other cabins came to sit down at the picnic table. Uncle Thomas gazed upon the cabins. He couldn't keep his eyes off of Tyson's group as he noticed that they were whispering among each other. The head counsellor whispered something into Ian's ear, and he went back to join his campers.

"What are you guys whispering about?" The counsellor questioned with a friendly tone of voice. Nobody from the group answered. "Listen, those bear tracks you saw weren't real. They were made last summer. The red cabin the head counsellor was sleeping in is falling apart. It's one of the oldest buildings around camp. I do have some exciting news for you. We're going to be having a small camp made pizza for supper tonight. How about that?" Ian rallied with a smile. Tyson and his group cheered. One by one the campers and counsellors came to sit down at the table. They were hungry after finishing the scavenger hunt. One camper from another cabin came to talk with them. "So did you guys finish the scavenger hunt?" "We sure did. We were even the first cabin to finish the scavenger hunt." Greg answered. "How did you like it?" He asked. "We liked it, but it was a bit too easy to find the items on the list." Tyson replied. "Well, I'm a camper from Kyle's group. And he tells me that there's another cabin who won the hiking trip." He spoke. Uncle Thomas blew the whistle. "Have a nice supper." He said before running back to join his group. "Attention campers, and counsellors. I know that some of you might have heard the sound of a cabin getting crashed into. It's nothing to be worried about." The campers and counsellors looked at each other. "It was my cabin that was falling apart. It's the oldest building on the camp grounds." The campers started to talk and whisper among themselves. Uncle Thomas blew the whistle again. "Now campers, I have a special announcement to make. There's another cabin that won the hiking trip. I will tell everyone who that winner is tomorrow." Uncle Thomas continued. "Cabin number four, it's your turn to come and get your supper." The group got up and walked to the camp's kitchen. Tyson and his group was the ninth cabin to get their supper. Phoebe and her group was the third cabin to get their meal. "I hope we're going to be the cabin that's going to win the chance of hiking up the mountain." Taylor said enthusiastically. She took her whole pizza in her hand. It was cheese and tomato sauce smeared on a piece of cooked dough. She took an enormous bite out of the pizza. It was almost as if an animal took a bite. Phoebe took some normal bites out of her pizza. The pizza was served with a side of spaghetti, and some slices of baked apple.

Ian also took some giant bites out of his pizza. Tyson quickly glanced and saw a fang growing on his mouth. Tyson opened his mouth in horror. "What? Are you okay?" Ian grilled as he saw that he was staring at him. "I think you have something in your teeth." Nate chimed in. "No way." The counsellor said. Ian took another bite out of his pizza. This one was a lot smaller than the last bite. Tyson glanced again and turned to eat his pizza. He felt confused. There were no fangs growing in Ian's mouth. Everybody enjoyed their meals. "Attention campers and counsellors, come to the campfire circle. There's going to be a special story tonight." The head counsellor exclaimed with a booming tone of voice. Tyson finished his side of spaghetti and ate the first slice out of his baked apple. It was delicious. The taste of cinnamon and apple filled the camper's mouths. Most of the campers had never eaten baked apple before. Uncle Thomas quickly finished his meal and gave his tray to the kitchen window. He then walked to the campfire circle. Tyson and his group cleaned up the empty dirty trays of the other campers and counsellors. Phoebe helped them. She only had three trays delivered to the kitchen window. "Cabin number one let's go to the campfire. I want to hear tonight's story." Ian shouted enthusiastically. The campers from cabin number one got up from their seats. They followed Ian down the gravel road to the campfire circle. "This story is going to be a scary one. " Ian said excitedly. "Now I want to listen. This is just like my first year at camp. The head counsellor is going to tell us a spooky story." Fred said. "Maybe we were just imagining things. I think this camp is right back on track. Come on, let's run to the campfire circle." Nate stated. When he, Fred, and Lee started running, they heard their counsellor shouting not to run. "I know how much excited you campers are, but you guys should not be running. It is against the rules after all." Ian said who was only two steps away from the nearest sitting rock. Tyson and his friends sat on the rocks nearby. "I wonder what kind of story that the head counsellor is going to tell us." Greg asked as he sat down." One that will keep you shivering for the rest of this evening." Uncle Thomas responded with a creepy tone of voice.