I scrapped this story halfway. My lame (and pathetic) attempt at something resembling a horror/thriller story. If you really think I should continue with it, leave a comment. A positive one. Any other comments (or no comments) for that matter would be taken as a tacit approval of my correctness in this regard.
________________________________________

“Everyone!” someone said loudly. The loud chattering in the bus stopped- being replaced by silence- and twenty or so heads turned to the source of the voice.

“Listen and take note,” he- the man who was responsible for the silence- said. “We’re not at all expecting good weather. When we reach our campsite, I expect you to set up your tents as quickly as possible, without any procrastination.” He paused before continuing, “I don’t think we‘re going to have much recreational time today.” he said again.

“Thanks for the info, Mr. Gloomy.” Duane said a little too loudly.

“My name, boy,” the man said as he turned to address Duane, “is Mr. Horace, or if you find that too long, then sir. Do you understand?” he said in a different, much sterner, tone.

“Well, sir, who are you anyway?” Duane replied, rather rebelliously.

“Your coordinator, taking over from Mr. Ernst, who is on leave.” Horace said in response.

“Now,” the coordinator said, “I am now going to check whether everyone is here.”

“No need to tell us what you’re doing,” Duane muttered to his friend, Alex, as Mr. Horace proceeded to read from a list of names. With nobody absent, and the bus driver back from an unforeseen toilet break, the group were on their way.

***

“Hey Duane, nice show you put up there!” said Walter, coming up to Duane.

“Is that a complement or an insult?” he asked in reply.

“Oh, you may take that as a complement. I don’t like him as well.” Walter said, pointing to their camp coordinator.

“As far as I’m concerned,” put in Alex, “keeping our heads low is a good choice to go with at the moment.”

“Always the voice of reason, eh Alex?” Walter said cheerfully.

“He has a point.” someone said from behind them.

“Ah, I wished you agreed with me Liz...” said Walter, turning to her.

“Well, enough. I didn’t mean to start a ruckus.” Duane said while looking out of the bus window at the dark, foreboding clouds.

“A ruckus? Hardly.” Walter said one last time before returning to his seat.

The group of campers were about twenty minutes into their journey when it started pouring. A loud groan resounded throughout the bus the moment the first few drops hit the driver’s windshield. Mr. Horace looked unfazed.

“You heard what I said.” he reminded them.

“Uh, sir?” Liz said.

“What?”

“I’m curious as to the reason Mr. Ernst is not present. Is he sick or something?”

Mr. Horace looked at her sternly and answered, “Family matters.”

“Err...okay.” she said.

The whole bus was slowly drifting asleep thanks to the good combination of rain and air-conditioning.

“Alexander?” said Liz.

“Yeah?”

“It’s not exactly my business but, uh, I wanted to know why you didn’t want to join the reporting team for the school newsletter.”

“I guess you all really wanted me to join huh?”

“You guessed right. I hope you reconsider.”

“Hmm...”

“Ah, you’re not?” Liz sighed.

“I know you must think that I’m too proud to join but, well...”

“Well, what?”

But, before Alex could reply a loud voice woke up everyone- those asleep and half asleep.

“We’re here. Take your bags and assemble at the camping spot.” said Horace in his usual commanding voice. Alex quickly got up and walked away. Liz sensed he was hesitant to answer her question. Duane followed after him.

What was once a heavy downpour ten minutes ago was now a slight drizzle. It at least made organization a lot easier, at least for Horace. Within fifteen minutes everyone was up setting their tents and within an hour everyone was within them, reluctantly resting inside. Even though there was barely any rain now, “Nobody,” in the words of Mr. Horace, “is allowed to do anything until tomorrow.”

“Does that include obeying you?” Duane muttered under his breath as he heard it.



The full moon and the large campfire didn’t do much to dispel the thick darkness that surrounded them. A few boys were already sounding off the typical ghost stories.

Walter came up to Alex.

“I’m so jealous.” he said as he sat down next to him.

“Jealous?”

“Yeah, I know for sure that Liz has a crush on me, and yet she talks to you all the time. Weird.”

Alex couldn’t hold back a snicker.

“You laughing?”

“That’s quite a good joke...”

“Except it isn’t.” Walter replied, visibly annoyed.

Duane came up to them. “Mr. Horace says we can cook food now.” Duane said that with a tone of exasperation. “You guys are eating?”

“I am now.” Walter replied, getting up and heading to his tent. Alex shook his head. “I’m not hungry.” “Okay.” Duane said as he walked away.

“You still owe me an explanation, Alex.” said Liz as she came up to him a few minutes later. Alex wished he had went with Duane.

“Alright,” Alex said. “So?” Liz asked.

“It’s not my style.”

“Not your style? But I thought journalism was your thing... you were the best journalist in your last high school.” Liz replied, obviously not satisfied.

“No, it’s not that I don‘t like journalism. It’s your newspaper. It’s not my style.”

“I see.” said Liz and she turned around.

“Please don’t get upset. I didn’t mean....”

“Oh no, no ,no. It’s great, it’s fine.”

A loud shriek pierced the normal sound of the forest critters the moment Liz finished her sentence.

“What was that?” Liz asked, her face turning white. Everybody at the campsite turned to the sound of the shriek. Everyone was silent. “Alex what do you think that...” Liz turned around to ask him but he was gone. There was another shriek, this time louder than before. And another one followed it- this time from a different direction. And another from another direction. And another. And another.
A Few Hours Before...

“Jim, the dogs are acting weird again.”

“Have you given them any food?”

“Yes, but they’re not eating them.”

“Sheesh. Never mind, it’ll pass, like last time.”

“Last time a dog died.”

“Lets hope it stays at one this time, eh?”

***

“Duane, honey, please don’t take it the wrong way.”

“What other way is there to take it mom?”

“Look...we just had a fight. That’s all.”

“Had another fight. One that you said would never happen.”

“Honey, please...I didn’t mean to start it. It’s your dad again!”

“Yes, him again. I know.”

“Duane...”

“I’m getting fed up. Tired. Tired of this.”

“We’re doing our best. But know that we still both love you.”

***

“Liz, I need a favor from you.”

“What favor Nina? Is it about Alex?”

“Yes, that...maybe you can convince him?”

“Already thought about that. I’ll do my best. Wish me luck Nin!”

“Always!”

***

“Sir, we have a homicide on 11th of Berkeley. It’s Ernst Galen, sir.”

Alex opened his eyes. He felt tired. And then he remembered about last night.

“Hey Duane?” he turned to his right.

“What?” Duane replied. Obviously, he was still asleep.

“Uh, never mind. Didn’t want to disturb you.”

Alex got up as Duane grunted in reply. He unzipped the tent and felt the cold morning air against his face- mingled with a fair dose of sunshine. Cold and heat.

***

Andrew spilled his water. Indeed, everyone around him spilt something when they heard the loud shriek. Followed by another. “What is that?” Andrew said to himself, his heart pounding. He looked around. Everybody was running into their tents. Horace was running about with a bewildered look on his face, making sure everyone was in their tents.

He followed the multitude and ran as fast as he could to his tent. The moment he was inside, he zipped it and covered himself with blankets. But he realized Sean- his tent mate- was not with him.

Andrew quickly unzipped his tent and peeked outside. Nobody was outside.

“Sean!” he called out.

The rustle of the bushes nearby his tent caught his attention.

“Sean!” he yelled.

“Andrew!” came the reply from the bushes.

“Stay in your tents!” Horace called out from one of the tents he was hiding in.

He ignored Horace’s command and went after Sean.

“Sean! Where are you?” Andrew shouted.

Silence was the only thing that could be heard.

***

Alex heard a shriek. It was familiar.

Something caught his eye. Someone was running into the forest.

“What is he doing?!” Alex said under his breath.





“Sean!”

Andrew felt a hand on his shoulder. He let out a cry.

“It’s me, Alex!”

“Oh thank you. Sean’s missing.”

“I know, I saw him. Where did he go?”

“That makes the two of us!”

“Did you see which direction he went?”

“Over there.” Andrew pointed.

“Okay, I want you to head back.”

“No, I’m staying.”

“Alright, but stay close to me.”

The two of them slowly walked to the direction to which Sean ran. When they came out through the thick brush, they saw a gruesome sight. Andrew was speechless; his face turned pale and he stuttered. Alex gripped Andrew’s hand and ran -bringing Andrew along- back to the campsite.

“Mr. Horace. I think you should come take a look.” Alex said to him.

“What is it? Why aren’t you in your tents?” Horace said angrily, but then he caught sight of Andrew- who was close to fainting.

“It’s Sean, sir.” Alex said, his voice betraying nervousness.

***

Alex felt anger as he recollected what Horace said.

“Don’t tell them. They’ll panic.”

He repeated the words to himself.

Alex noticed that Andrew was up and awake- along with Horace. They were both nearby, eating their breakfast. Horace, obviously, was keeping a close watch on the youngest kid at the camp. Someone who couldn’t keep a terrible secret a secret. At least, not for long.

Alex felt hatred now. Something like this can never be kept a secret. They must know.


“Wonderful, Jim, absolutely wonderful.” Timothy said as he entered the office.

“What?” Jim asked, noticing the sarcasm.

“Three dogs dead this time. You better start some kind of charity or something ‘cause we only have one left.” Timothy said, his voice beginning to show anger now.

“Damn, Tim. Damn. What went wrong?” Jim said, trying to sound emphatic.

“Like the other one. Puked blood and died. Shit, it can’t go on any longer. They must have a disease or something...” Tim said, more to himself now than to Jim.

“Yes, yes. Tell you what, call up Gail and she what she can do.”

“Already. But she won’t be free until noon.”

“Okay. Then we wait. Look, I’m really sorry.”

***

Alex and Andrew ran back to the spot where they saw Sean, dead and decapitated. Following them closely was Horace. They reached it- but Sean’s body was gone. Horace however, shone his flashlight at the spot. The light pierced the darkness and revealed...blood. The thing that killed him must have dragged away his body.

“Don’t tell anyone.” said Horace in a shaky voice. “They’ll panic.”

***

Walter came up to Duane. Everybody was awake now, packing their bags at the order of Horace. Nobody disagreed with his command this time.

“What do you think that was?” Walter asked.

Duane shrugged and said, “Most probably some animal.”

“Animals.” corrected Walter.

“Whatever. They’re gone now.”

“I sure hope so.”

Michael came up to the two of them. “Have you guys seen Sean?” he asked. They both shook their heads. “Looking for him all day. Andrew says he hasn’t seen him. Horace says he’s somewhere around.”

“You believe him- Horace- I mean?” Walter asked.

“What is that suppose to mean? You mean he got lost or something and Horace ain’t telling?” Michael replied.
“He means,” Alex said to the three of them. The trio turned around to see what he had to say.

“Whether Sean was killed by the things last night.” finished Alex.

“Was he?” Duane asked. They were obviously looking for an answer from Alex. He-Alex- took a deep breath and said calmly, “Yes.”

“What!” Michael said in a bewildered tone.

“Calm down.” Alex said as he turned around to make sure no attention was on them.

“He’s dead?” Walter asked softly.

“Yes, and remember this: Don’t lose yourself. Keep cool. We’re leaving for the rangers’ cabin, about an hour’s walk from here.” said Alex. The three of them still couldn’t believe it. Alex noticed that.

“Look, we’re trying to make sense of it all. The best thing we can do right now is follow him,” Alex pointed to Horace, “and get out of this. Safely.” Alex told them that they could tell others if they wanted, as long as nobody told Horace that they knew what happened last night. The three nodded.

“Can’t we just phone the bus driver to come pick us up early?” Walter suggested.

“No hand phones, unfortunately.” Duane said.

“If only someone didn’t obey the rules...” Walter said disappointedly.

“Looks like everybody did.” Michael said in a strangely calm voice and walked away. Alex quickly caught up with him.

“What about his body?” Michael asked when he noticed Alex at his side.

“Taken by the creature.”

Michael didn’t say anything else. Alex knew he was in sorrow.

***

“Uh-huh? Gotcha. Good Lord. Alright.”

“What was that Jim?”

“Someone’s been murdered back at town. They want us to check on the kids camping here, because he was suppose to be with them.”

“The guy who was murdered?”

“Yeah. They asked us to keep a close watch, considering their connection.”
Duane noticed the fatigue of everyone in the group. They had been walking through the thick brush for nearly an hour. The rangers’ cabin was nowhere in sight. People were complaining. Especially considering what happened last night. The secret of Sean’s death was kept to the four people. Thankfully- at least for Horace- panic had not broken out as nobody seemed to notice Sean’s absence. He was, after all, like Andrew, just another twelve year old.

A sound of thunder was thrown into the noise of the forest. Horace’s worry was now visible. If they don’t reach there soon, rain will greatly increase their woes. Duane, however, was completely oblivious to what was going on. He was deep in thought.

***

Duane waited for both of his parents to leave before he went into their room. He made sure their car was nowhere in sight before he ventured to open a drawer in a cabinet. He slid in the key and turned it slowly.

He could see some papers. With names of lawyers on them. He picked up folded piece of paper and opened it. Duane read it slowly. He only noticed one word in it.

“Bankruptcy.” He whispered to himself.

***

Tim shook his head and spoke into the walkie-talkie.

“Jim, their not here. Judging from what I see, they’ve probably just left. Probably have taken the trail to our cabin.”

“Which one?”

“Since I didn’t meet them on the way, I guess they took the long cut.”

***

“Perfect.” Michael muttered. It was drizzling. They had now been walking for nearly two hours. And someone was soon going to utter the obvious truth.

“We’re lost!” a girl at the back yelled out.

“Don’t jump to conclusions. We don’t know yet. It doesn’t seem to be that we are off the trail.” Horace shot back.

“This is the worst outing ever.” somebody said.

It was now getting dark. The rain was slowly getting heavier. The group, although clearly aware of their predicament, were strangely silent. No complaints could be heard. Horace looked like giving up any moment. His mean, strict, cold exterior was completely stripped away- replaced by a frightened, confused one.

“Hey guys!” a voice called out from behind them. Everyone turned around, with hope on their faces. Tim came to them breathless.

“Thank God I found you.” he said.

“Where are we?” a boy asked.

“Don’t worry, you’re not lost...I, I’d suppose you’d be thinking that you were. You’re on the way to our cabin, but you just took a longer path.”

Everyone groaned.

“How long more before we reach it?” Horace said to Timothy.

“Uh, I think about an hour. We better go before it gets dark. The rain might get worse too.” Tim replied, before running in front and beckoning everyone to follow him. They all- including Horace- heeded.

Michael had been reflecting all along about what Alex said to him. About Sean. He was his cousin. His- Sean’s- parents would be grief stricken.