Camp Pine Cove

Welcome back to camp

Winn slammed the trunk of her car down, the impact echoing through the forest. She could almost taste the cool mountain breeze as the pine overcame her senses, she shouldered her duffle bag and started up the trail into the woods. After five or so minutes of walking the dense trees opened up to a neat clearing down a hill to where she's lived every summer since third grade. She felt the freshly cut grass as she took her shoes off, walking into the long house she knocked on the door. "Hello?" A head poked out from the corner "Winn? Wow it's so good to see you! You're early" Chris walked out from behind the corner, he wore Roman armor today with his normal jeans. His usual stubble was turning into a beard and his eye bags had eye bags. "Hi Chris, yeah I wanted to get here to get ready". The older man nodded "Well Sammie is already here, I think Q is coming in about an hour" "They're about thirty minutes away" Josh walked past her, nose in his tablet. She smiled at him waving at Chris and exiting quickly.

Winn couldn't help but bring her gaze to the sky, the heavy grey clouds seemed like they were going to burst, the weight proving too much to keep locked in the heavens. She smiled and tasted the light tanginess of fresh rain on her tongue. Feeling the drops pelt her skin melodically she found the giant tree where the green cabin was built around, climbing the ladder she heaved herself onto the deck knocking on the oak door. "Just a minute!" she heard Sammie's light footsteps race to the door as it was thrown open "Winn!" she smiled and sprang into a hug "It's been so long my dude! I didn't know you were going to be a counselor, that's pretty sweet" Winn smiled as they stepped into the warm cabin "Yeah I just got the letter actually, I guess Q is going to be here too" Sammie grinned "Nice, that's super cool" Winn nodded and looked around Sammie's cabin, "You have a nice thing going on here, it's really clean actually what the heck?" Sammie stood a little taller, "I've been here since my school got out, i've cleaned everything up and even added a couple new things" she gestured to the cryptid map on the wall, and new books stacked on the table. Winn smiled "Wow really getting into this stuff huh?" Sammie met her with a crazed look. "Oh Winn you poor innocent soul, you have no idea" Winn closed her eyes as the sound of the rain hitting the roof almost put her to sleep, "Well, I'm going to get my cabin sorted out, see you around!" Sammie waved as Winn climbed down the ladder.

She was soaked by the time she got to her cabin and coughing when the door was closed behind her. She dug blindly through her bag for her phone looking for a light, the dim stream of light hardly made a dent in the rooms thick darkness, but she managed to find the cabin generator and turn it on. Winn left her bag in the corner as she threw the broom closet door open finding a broom, mop, bucket, and feather duster. "Well, better than nothing". She set to work, with only minimal screaming at the spider nest and grunting as the furniture hasn't been touched since last year. After two hours there was a knocking on the door, Winn set her broom down and jogged to the front door pulling against the old rusted springs. "Q!" She wrapped her friend in a hug, they chuckled "Hey Winn" she stood aside as Q walked in, followed by a drenched and uncomfortable Sammie. "Sammie told me you were cleaning so I brought my speaker and a case of coke", they set both down sitting in an old chair, dust thrown into the air like a pinata breaking. "Holy crap Winn!" Sammie laughed cracking open a coke, they both chuckled as Q sprung up out of the dust trap. "I haven't gotten there yet! I was dealing with the spider colony!" Sammie paled "Spiders? Winn I don't do spiders" Q punched her arm playfully "We know Sam, but Winn got em right?" She shrugged "Eh yeah kinda" Sammie opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it. Q plugged their phone in and scrolled through a playlist selecting some indie band "Q you sleep in a tent? How are you going to charge your phone?" Q gave Winn a smug look "I got a solar power backpack, I just wear it around all day and plug my phone into it night, boom done" Sammie rolled her eyes "They bought the bag specifically for that reason" Winn shrugged "Well it is pretty genius, is it just us?" Q nodded and Sammie rubbed the back of her neck "Well I don't know any of the other people" Winn lit up. "I do! They're all my friends, I'll introduce you, although I don't think they're coming for a few days" Winn hopped up and grabbed a coke as well "Guess what I brought!" She dug through her bag pulling out a box of cards against humanity. "Help me finish up and we can play" Q and Sammie exchanged a glance "Deal"

The trio sat in the mess hall enjoying Leona's cooking and on their third game now. Q had won the first two and Winn won the last one, they laughed as it was getting dark and they were alone. Winn leaned back closing her eyes disappearing into the dark inky blackness. Sammie had finally won and they were packing up to go to the tree house. They stuffed their belongings carelessly into their bags and pushed the mess hall doors open, Winn laughed as the twigs cracked underfoot, the air was humid and tasted like fresh rain, she could hear the crickets and breathed the wet earth leaking into their air. She felt her friend's warm presence and saw their smiles but something distracted her. Crack, crack crack crack "Did you hear that?" Sammie and Q stopped, "Hear what?" Crack crack crack The footsteps stopped. Sammie met their eyes wide with fear, she stared into Winn, her lips moving ever so slightly she might have missed it "Run". The three took off into the woods, the cracking getting louder. Step after step Crack crack crack. The sounds of their ragged breaths Crack crack. Winn ran wide eyed, a stolen glance at Q told her she wasn't alone Crack crack crack crack. Winn thought her heart would ram so hard into her chest it'd fly out and she'd have to scramble to catch it. Crack crack crack crack. Sammie's voice pierced the air "There's the ladder climb!" She was the first one up scaling it like a monkey, Q was right behind her and Winn clutched the first rung, she felt a hand on her shoulder pulling her back, she screamed "Q!" more hands tore at her shirt scraping against her back and clinging onto her clothes. Q reached for her hand right as she was torn from the ladder into the mass of bodies. Her screams muffled by fabric and limbs, grabbing grabbing, cutting into her skin. They were dragging her back deeper and deeper into the woods. She clawed at the dirt finding anything to hold onto as she was being pulled deeper and deeper. Latching on to a dead tree root she yelled for Sammie. Someone crushed her hand and she let go, arms wrapped beneath hers securing them tightly in their grasp, the last thing she could see before a hood was thrown over her face was Q running after her as fast as they could.