Camp Bell

Chapter 5 - Halloween special part 1

The campers all traipsed back to the mess hall lead by a paranoid Gwen. The almost drowning of a fellow camper and visiting counsellor hadn't affected anyone but her and David. As they took the short walk for the lakeside to the mess hall, any camper who was walking too near a small dip in the path or lagging too far behind or running too far ahead sent Happy Gwen into a mild panic until they were back with the group. Of course, New Neil and Nikki were making Happy Gwen constantly panic as they ran ahead, tackling each other into the dirt and throwing stones.

David, despite having almost drowned and being unlike a camper who would shake off the near-death experience with another was behaving surprisingly well. He was keeping near to Jaded David, his eyes shining and talking a million miles a minute about himself and how amazing he thought Jaded David was. Max who was walking just behind them with his opposite noticed how mad Jaded David was getting. They saw how his face was starting to turn red and how his eyebrows were furrowing until he had a look of pure anger set on his face. As the mess hall came into view he finally snapped.

"Will you just shut the fuck up?" He yelled at David making his opposite whimper and shrink in his boots. "Yes, I saved your dumb ass and yes managed to swim out into a fucking lake and save two fucking morons who went and got themselves caught in a current but that's no reason for this fucking hero worship. I would never have had to save your moronic butt if you and Ocean Kid learned to swim beyond what babies learn in preschool! DO STOP BEING SO FUCKING ANNOYING AND LEAVE ME IN PEACE" And Jaded David stormed off, his anger fueled walk leaving deep footprints in the soil.

David gave another whimper and Max could see him rearranging his face into a brave mask to hide the close to tears state Jaded David had put him into.

"You know, he's right," Max said as he walked over to David and hit the back of his legs with a slap that he would prefer to be on his back but due to his age and height was impossible at this time, "You were being pretty annoying," David looked down at the small camper, his eyes glassy with hidden tears. He sniffed.

"But I just wanted to thank him," He protested, his bottom lip quivering a little.

'Yeah well you did, several times." Girl Max said as she joined in with the conversation. "And maybe if you stopped being such a baby and learned to man up a bit then this would never happen in the first place. I mean really, if you're that unsure about nature then how did you ever become a camp counsellor in the first place?" And she and Max walked into the mess hall where Happy Gwen and all the other campers had disappeared to.

David stood outside long enough for the smell of food to start wafting out of the mess hall. Maybe if I prove that I really am a good counsellor then David will be my friend. David thought, he looked around and thought back to what they did in Camp Campbell to show who the best camper was, what they did in the ceremony with The Order of The Sparrow on the day that he first learned to love Camp Campbell. That's it!. David thought as he came to a conclusion. I'll go into the forest and get a branch from the sleepy pine tree, or whatever tree is the equivalent here. And David strolled into the mess hall to ask Happy Gwen about which tree.

In the mess hall, Max and his opposite were busy attempting to start a food fight. Nikki and New Neil were helping quite willingly and Shy Nerf and Neil didn't have any qualms about flinging whatever mush the Camp Bell Quartermaster had prepared at Nikkii with three 'I's and Snobby Preston. Max barely acknowledged David walking in, quietly talking to Happy Gwen and them walking out and by the time David ran back into the mess hall with his clothes ripped in places and a stick in his hands Max was having too much fun pouring what seemed to be curdled milk into Ocean Kid's helmet and rubbing meat into Nikkii with three 'I's hair which produced a beautiful symphony of her screams and wails of 'A lady would never look like this, I'm a vegan you pig.' to add to Snobby Prestons loud complaints that Shy Nerf and Neil had gotten mush and sauce on his designer clothes.

Max only noticed how bedraggled David looked when the Opposite Quartermaster (A well groomed old man in a pressed black suit who despite his appearance had the same manners and demeanor as the Quartermaster back at Camp Campbell and for some reason was working at a summer camp) dragged him over to Happy Gwen as the leader of the food fight and the reason that the inside of the mess hall looked more like a piece of contemporary art than a dining room.

"Ok, what the fuck is up with you?" Max asked when he saw the rips in David's clothing and the mixed look of terror and happiness on his face.

"Well, for your information Max, I just went and got a branch from the necrosis pine tree so I can prove the David that I am indeed a good camp counsellor." David replied after he gave Max his patented 'language' look. "And shame on you for starting a food fight, we're guests here and we should treat their home the same as we treat ours."

"Eh, I start food fights back at Camp Campbell all the time." Max responded with a shrug, "Is your quest for the dumb branch why you look so fucked up and scared?"

'Ah no," David admitted, "And yes, I think I might have awoken a spirit when I got the branch."

Max looked at David with an expression that read 'this fucking moron' to everyone in the room except the two councillors in front of him. He then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, "David, ghosts don't exist."

"They do," Happy Gwen interjected. "Or the one here does at least. Mrs Bell, the founder and leader of our fine camp said so, she won this land in a potato sack race against a Cherokee tribe and said that one of the Cherokees who was mad that she won, died here and vowed on their deathbed to one day bring misery to our camp." She looked terrified and brought her hands up to cover her face. "Mrs Bell said Adahy vowed he would get his tribe's land back and make the people who lived here sorry they took it from them in the first place."

"Yeah well, I don't believe in ghosts." Max said, "That story seems like another racist thing your camp founder did and then set up some made up stories and traditions around like Mr Campbell did with The Order of The Sparrow, this Adahy is nothing more than a stupid hoax that your camp founder made up to scare gullible idiots like you." And he turned around and walked back to Girl Max, Neil, Nikki, Shy Nerf and New Neil who were still fighting against the rest of the campers and putting more food in Nikkii with three 'I's hair.

Outside thunder boomed and lightning crashed overhead and a thick rain started to fall as a storm settled over Camp Bell.

  Ok, so as it's October I'm doing a Halloween special, it should be about 3 chapters long but that may change and I'll try to make sure they all come out in October. I should note that I'm a white, female who has never lived in America for longer than a month so if I get any facts about Native American culture wrong I'm not trying to be offensive or racist in any way I'm just ignorant.