Fear Itself

Chapter 7

Alex and the campers all tried to find the river so they could find their way back to camp. Once they found the river, they followed it North and saw their campsite on the other side. Duncan said, "OK, there's camp." Sally said, "Except, how do we get over the river?" Alex spotted a log that fell over the river and thought they could use it as a bridge. Alex said, "Look, a log fell over the river. We could use it as a bridge to get over the river." Chris said, "Bad idea. Log bridges are always traps that snap." Alex said, "That's only in the movies. I say it's safe." Alex, Ben, and the twins crossed the river on the log, but then the wood snapped and fell into the river. Then Alex, Ben, and the twins rode the tree down the river, and the other campers chased after them. Chris said, "I know just the thing to save them." Alex said, "I wish you'd hurry." Ben heard a loud noise and said, "Hey, do you guys hear something?"

Alex, Ben, and the twins looked ahead and saw a waterfall. Sally said, "We're headed right for a waterfall." Susan said, "Guys, hurry." Chris took a vine off a tree, tied it into a lasso, and spun it in the air. Then Chris launched the vine at Alex, Ben, and the twins and lassoed their log. Then Chris pulled the tree towards him and tied it down so Alex, Ben, and the twins could walk off. After they did, Chris untied the log, and it fell off the side of the waterfall. Chris said, "Told you so. Now let's find a safer way across."

Alex and the campers looked around the river for a safer way across and found a place where the water wasn't so deep, so they walked across the river. They walked back to camp once they made it across, and the counselors were glad to see them. Justin said, "Thank goodness you guys are safe. What happened to you?" Lina said, "And where's Luke?" Tina said, "We went hiking in the woods and got hopelessly lost." Timmy said, "We also found an old cabin in the woods, and Luke got his blood sucked by a vampire and became a vampire himself." Ben said, "We also ended up in the river and almost fell off a waterfall." Chris said, "Yes, but I saved them." Cleo said, "Luke might be gone, but at least you all are safe." Lina said, "Now it's time for dinner. Then we can watch the scary movie we were planning for tonight."

The campers and counselors all sat down in the mess hall and had tacos for dinner. While eating, a candelabra from one of the tables floated up in the air and flew toward the campers. Once it got near Cody and Gwen, they looked at the floating candelabra, saw it floating by itself, and started to get scared. Then a ghost appeared and said, "Boo." Then Cody and Gwen ran out of the mess hall screaming because the ghost scared them. Once they did, Ben wondered why they left panicking. Ben looked at their table and saw the spirit turn invisible again, and the candelabra set itself back on Cody and Gwen's table. It didn't scare Ben, so he returned to the counter and asked Chef Scott for more soft tacos. Chef Scott then put two soft shells on his plate, put the meat in them, and asked Ben what he wanted on them. Ben said, "I'll have cheese and lettuce on them, please." Then Chef Scott put cheese and lettuce on them, and Ben returned his tray to his table, sat down, and ate.

Once they finished eating, all the campers and counselors sat down and enjoyed the scary movie the counselors set up. Justin climbed up on the bike, connected to the projector, started to pedal, and turned on the projector so they could watch their movie. The movie scared all the campers and counselors, and once it ended, Justin ran out of energy, stopped pedaling, and the projector stopped working. Justin said, "It will be all mini clips instead of long movies next summer. Either that or we find another way to power the projector."

Since Justin was too tired to move, Alex and Emma picked him up, carried him back to his cabin, and put him in bed. Then, all the campers and counselors went to bed. While they were asleep, the boys heard a girl scream outside. Then, all the campers and counselors went out in their pajamas to see who shouted. Justin said, "Everyone's here. Did we leave the projector on?" Emma said, "The projector is pedal-powered, and there's no one on the bike." Timmy picked up the DVD case and said, "And the movie is here." Chef Scott said, "So, who made the scream if everyone was asleep and no one else was out here?" A purple light then shined on Chris, and Chris saw where it was coming from. Chris said, "I think I know."

All the campers and counselors looked behind them and saw a beautiful purple banshee. All the campers and counselors smiled at her. Cody said, "That's a ghost?" Alex said, "She's positively beautiful." Duncan said, "I think she's adorable." Lindsay said, "I don't think she's that pretty." Once the banshee knew the campers and counselors liked her, she screamed and showed them her scarier and uglier side. Then the campers and counselors shouted in fear and ran for their lives, and the banshee chased them. Gwen said, "Well, that explains the screaming we heard." The campers hid in separate places, while the counselors ran in the woods and hid in different spots. The banshee looked all over the camp but couldn't find anyone, so she figured they might have run into the forest. Once the counselors saw the banshee coming, they all went back to hiding, and the banshee looked everywhere in the woods for them but couldn't find them. Since she couldn't locate anyone to scare, she made herself vanish, and all the counselors came out from hiding. Then they went back to camp and shouted for the campers. Chef Scott said, "Kids, you can come out; it's safe." All the campers came out from hiding and re-grouped with the counselors. Justin said, "OK, campers, back to bed." All the campers and counselors returned to their cabins and went back to bed.