back to staring into the fire. He nodded very gently a few times, as if pondering what to say next.
“I don’t know if any of you guys ever heard this—they keep real quiet about it around here—but maybe forty years ago a canoe tipped over in that lake at night. It was one of those quick-rising storms like we had a few days ago, and these guys—they were just a little older than we are—got swamped by a wave. Or by something. Or some
one
. I think it was Maynard. They were way out in the deepest section, fishing for bass. A couple of hundred yards from any shoreline.
“Nobody wore life jackets back then. And these guys couldn’t swim. Nobody even knew they were out there; it was before this was a camp. It was just a lake in the woods.
“So, needless to say, they all disappeared. The canoe washed up on the shore, but nobody ever found a trace of those guys. Not a sneaker or a skull or anything.”
Riley swallowed hard. Barry caught his eye and looked down.
“So I’m standing there last night, minding my own business, and I see this
very
faint blue light coming toward me from the lake. It’s three separate lights actually, but they’re not lighting anything up, you know? Just these forms floating toward me above the surface of the water. And as they get closer, I see that it’s three people, and they’re moving really slowly, but they’re frantically stroking with their arms and churning their legs, as if they’re trying to sprint as hard as they can, but they’re barely getting anywhere.
“But they
do
keep moving toward me, clawing at the air. And as they’re getting closer, I can tell that they’re kids—kids our age—and they’re choking and gasping but not making a sound.
“It’s those drowning guys, desperately trying to get away from the lake and failing. They get twenty yards from shore, and then they vanish. I see the blue lights sinking under the water and a bigger
violet
light rising from below. And when I get a clear look at it, it’s a guy with a giant hole ripped through his throat.”
Barry bit down on his lip and slowly shook his head. He started to speak, then stopped. He looked around the circle, first at Eldon, then at Kirby, Diego, and Riley.
“Yeah, Maynard. And those three kids,” he said, his voice dropping again to a whisper. “They must be stuck there, constantly trying to save themselves and never quite making it. Forty years those kids’ve been struggling. Can you imagine that?”
Riley’s mouth was hanging open and his lips were dry from the heat. He licked them and shivered, then inched closer to the fire. Nobody said anything for a long time.
“Think Big Joe ate ’em?” Eldon asked.
Barry shut his eyes quickly and nodded. “Why not? They were dead, right? Might as well make a meal out of ’em. They had no use for their bodies.”
“Not even a trace of them, huh?” Diego asked.
“Not even a trace.” Barry stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “Any of you guys want to wander down there later … Well, maybe it’s a once-a-year thing. Who knows? I ain’t going back, but … that lake is a powerful place.”
Riley nodded. No one seemed eager to go down there, and he certainly didn’t need to. He yawned. He was tired. They all were. But nobody moved. They stood by the fire for another half hour, just watching as it burned down to the embers.
CAMP OLYMPIA BULLETIN
Special Editi
on
Dinnertime
Friday, August 13
DAWKINS NAMED CAMP MVP
All-Stars Selected in Major Sports
Johnny Rios, Danny Avila, Lionel Robertson, Tony Maniglia, and Vinnie Kazmerski have each nabbed spots on two all-star teams along with the camp’s Most Valuable Player, Kelvin Dawkins of Cabin 4.
Dawkins led his team to the basketball and water-polo titles. Earlier in camp, he won his section of the swim-marathon qualifier, helped his cabin to victory in the tug-of-war, and was a high finisher in free-throw shooting.
The Stars
Softball
Basketball
Water Polo
1B: B.
“I don’t know if any of you guys ever heard this—they keep real quiet about it around here—but maybe forty years ago a canoe tipped over in that lake at night. It was one of those quick-rising storms like we had a few days ago, and these guys—they were just a little older than we are—got swamped by a wave. Or by something. Or some
one
. I think it was Maynard. They were way out in the deepest section, fishing for bass. A couple of hundred yards from any shoreline.
“Nobody wore life jackets back then. And these guys couldn’t swim. Nobody even knew they were out there; it was before this was a camp. It was just a lake in the woods.
“So, needless to say, they all disappeared. The canoe washed up on the shore, but nobody ever found a trace of those guys. Not a sneaker or a skull or anything.”
Riley swallowed hard. Barry caught his eye and looked down.
“So I’m standing there last night, minding my own business, and I see this
very
faint blue light coming toward me from the lake. It’s three separate lights actually, but they’re not lighting anything up, you know? Just these forms floating toward me above the surface of the water. And as they get closer, I see that it’s three people, and they’re moving really slowly, but they’re frantically stroking with their arms and churning their legs, as if they’re trying to sprint as hard as they can, but they’re barely getting anywhere.
“But they
do
keep moving toward me, clawing at the air. And as they’re getting closer, I can tell that they’re kids—kids our age—and they’re choking and gasping but not making a sound.
“It’s those drowning guys, desperately trying to get away from the lake and failing. They get twenty yards from shore, and then they vanish. I see the blue lights sinking under the water and a bigger
violet
light rising from below. And when I get a clear look at it, it’s a guy with a giant hole ripped through his throat.”
Barry bit down on his lip and slowly shook his head. He started to speak, then stopped. He looked around the circle, first at Eldon, then at Kirby, Diego, and Riley.
“Yeah, Maynard. And those three kids,” he said, his voice dropping again to a whisper. “They must be stuck there, constantly trying to save themselves and never quite making it. Forty years those kids’ve been struggling. Can you imagine that?”
Riley’s mouth was hanging open and his lips were dry from the heat. He licked them and shivered, then inched closer to the fire. Nobody said anything for a long time.
“Think Big Joe ate ’em?” Eldon asked.
Barry shut his eyes quickly and nodded. “Why not? They were dead, right? Might as well make a meal out of ’em. They had no use for their bodies.”
“Not even a trace of them, huh?” Diego asked.
“Not even a trace.” Barry stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “Any of you guys want to wander down there later … Well, maybe it’s a once-a-year thing. Who knows? I ain’t going back, but … that lake is a powerful place.”
Riley nodded. No one seemed eager to go down there, and he certainly didn’t need to. He yawned. He was tired. They all were. But nobody moved. They stood by the fire for another half hour, just watching as it burned down to the embers.
CAMP OLYMPIA BULLETIN
Special Editi
on
Dinnertime
Friday, August 13
DAWKINS NAMED CAMP MVP
All-Stars Selected in Major Sports
Johnny Rios, Danny Avila, Lionel Robertson, Tony Maniglia, and Vinnie Kazmerski have each nabbed spots on two all-star teams along with the camp’s Most Valuable Player, Kelvin Dawkins of Cabin 4.
Dawkins led his team to the basketball and water-polo titles. Earlier in camp, he won his section of the swim-marathon qualifier, helped his cabin to victory in the tug-of-war, and was a high finisher in free-throw shooting.
The Stars
Softball
Basketball
Water Polo
1B: B.
Similar Books
