Chapter 1: Back to Camp Everwood
Hi; I'm Angelica Pickles. I'm 13 years old and smarter than you. It's just a simple fact, get over it. I'm the older cousin of Dil Pickles, and I blame him for what's being going on recently. Weirdo... Freak... Anyway, moving on...
We, as in, Dil's older brother, Tommy and friends, are back at Camp Everwood. The same Camp Everwood that we found to be haunted last time. Well, we're back. Oh joy.
What's that? What's so bad about Camp Everwood? EVERYTHING! No hot water in the showers, everything is dirty, wild animals in the woods... The only good thing is that there aren't any ghosts around anymore.
But there is something else.
See, it all started when we first got here. We hadn't even gotten out of the van yet (it's more like a bus) when everything started to go wrong...
I sat on the right side, sort of in the middle, with my ipod on full blast, headphones in place. I groaned, annoyed, as we hit a bump on the dirt road. We were getting close. I peered out the window. Ugh. Trees, trees, and more trees. Borrring!
I guess if you liked trees, the place could be almost beautiful. But I don't. Or at least, not enough, anyway. It's not like they can DO anything! I mentally made a list of the things I saw to pass the time... Rosebushes, pine trees, was that a deer? Probably; squirrel, Blue bird... Ah! Finally! Camp!
"Welcome back to Camp Everwood!" Betty Deville announced. I rolled my eyes at her enthusiasm. Hmm... Maybe Chance would put on another play? If he did, I'd definitely get the leading role. Obviously.
As I picked up my bag and stood up, I glanced out the window, and saw a younger girl, about 9, maybe 10, wearing a black T-shirt and some old, dirty blue jeans. Ick. Her skin was pale, and her hair was black, but it looked almost dark, dark blue, and reached just past her shoulders. Her eyes, when she looked up, were an amber color.
Dil saw her, too. He seemed to go in a trance. I shook my head. Oh, well. They were a perfect match, anyway. Both weirdoes in every way. She probably liked all the things Dil liked, the kinds of things I would never even glance at twice, like aliens, monsters, and ghosts. Turns out, I was right. Of course.
If only I'd been wrong for once.
But we all know that's not possible. I was the third out of the van. I watched as Dil, Tommy, Lil, Phil, Chuckie, Kimi, and even Susie walked over to greet her. She was the only other kid there at the moment. I felt betrayed.
Nonetheless, I ignored the attention they were directing towards her, and looked around. Cabins, the theatre, the showers, ect. The theatre looked like it hadn't even been washed since we were here last, and the gift shop was still old and covered in grime. Same old Camp Everwood. And to think something as crazy as ghosts had been living here before. I went to the cabin I had stayed in then, and began to take my stuff out.
My laptop, my cell phone, my hairbrush, clothes, extra batteries, flashlight... Everything else I could need... Yes, it was all there. After all, I AM the one who packed! I made my bed, placing my lavender colored sheets and blankets and white, extra fluffy pillows in the perfect spots.
I settled in on my bed, ipod still blasting in my ears, and opened the laptop. I went straight to Ask Angelica, my own personal advice website.
Dear Angelica,
My dog died last night. She was very close to me, and I don't know how to handle the loss. What should I do?
Love, Depressed Animal Fanatic
I smirked. Way too easy.
Dear Depressed,
Dig deep inside your soul; Look around you, and ask yourself: What should I do? Then wait, and you will find your answer.
Yours truly, Angelica
Okay, maybe it wasn't the best advice in the world, but who cared? I don't like dogs, anyway. Why should I worry about other people's problems when I had plenty of my own? Just then, Susie, Kimi, and Lil came in with the girl I'd seen earlier. I sighed impatiently. And problem #1 just walked in wearing a black T-shirt.
"Hi, you're Angelica, right? Your friends told me about you,"
"Yeah, I'm Angelica, all right. Who're you?"
"My name's Serenity; Serenity Amity Venatrix," She smiled, and held out her hand. I just stared at her. She seriously had the palest skin I'd ever seen! After a moment, she pulled her hand away. "Er, well, I see you're... Busy..." I rolled my eyes.
"However could you tell? I'm handing out my famous advice to those in need; so, scram!" I made a shooing motion, and turned my attention back to Ask Angelica. But there were no other letters. Everyone was out having fun at the mall with no problems while I was stuck in this dump? No fair!
Serenity, meanwhile, sat on the bed next to me so she could look over my shoulder at the screen. I slammed the laptop shut in frustration, and glared at her. She just shrugged, and got up, only to climb up and check out the top bunk. She gave a satisfied smile, and jumped back down. I growled, smoothing out the ruffles on my blanket where her feet had been.
"You're not going to step all over my bed with your filthy feet every day, are you?" I asked, crossing my arms. She shrugged again.
"Lookin' that way, isn't it?" And with that, she ran out to go get her bags. I stared after her in shock, mouth hanging slightly open. The others were grinning as they followed her out. I contemplated sending myself a letter on Ask Angelica. I shook my head.
I slowly got up, and looked around the room. All the beds, besides mine now, had only mattresses, and the frames were all made of polished wood, though it still didn't seem sanitary to me. The floor was covered in cracks and small holes, and I was almost afraid to walk on it. It might break, not that I'm heavy or anything...
After a moment, I left the cabin. Serenity would be back with her bags, and I didn't feel like dealing with a second Dil at the moment. Unfortunately, Dil himself ran up to me with a huge grin. Ugh. Talk about speak of the devil! And I'd only thought of him!
"That Serenity sure is something, isn't she? Well, later Angelica!" And with that, he was gone. I stifled a groan. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad... Serenity would keep Dil and the others busy, and I wouldn't have to put up with them. Don't get me wrong, she was definitely still going to be on my "freak" list. Hopefully, she'd just stay that way.
An ear-piercing shriek split the air, due to Chance's whistle. Having been rather close to the gift shop, where he was standing, my ears were ringing for quite some time. Everyone gathered around to hear what he had to say.
"Hello, and welcome to Camp Everwood, I'm Chance, and this is Ellie..." I yawned, and zoned out for a moment. When I came back to my senses, Chance was saying, "...And even though last year's play turned out spectacular, this year, I thought I'd mix it up a little. Instead of a play, we'll have a talent show!"
"Oh, good; I'll be able to showcase my many talents besides acting!" I exclaimed dreamily, imagining crowds of fans screaming my name as I stood on an enormous stage, brilliant, rainbow colored lights dancing over the stage and crowds...
"...ANGELICA!" Susie shouted, her hand waving wildly in front of my face. "Angelica, snap out of it!"
"What? Oh, sorry," I felt heat rush to my face, and reached up to touch my cheek. It was burning hot.
"Well, what talent are you going to use?"
"Hmm... I don't know; I'm good at so many things," I replied thoughtfully. What talent WAS I going to use? I had so many! And yet so modest... The world would be a better place if more people were like me.
"I'm going to sing, if that's okay with you,"
"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be?"
"Just checking,"
~~~~Serenity's POV~~~~
I watched the blonde girl, Angelica, talking with her friend, Susie. I didn't know what it was, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Before Bean had gone, freed by the knowledge of how and where the other settlers had died, he had told me he'd sensed something like this as well.
Whether this bad vibe was coming from Angelica or not, she obviously didn't seem to like me that much. I didn't mind, as she wasn't really the kind of person I would normally hang out with anyway, but I just couldn't help it. So I resolved to try to befriend her. It might not help, but it couldn't hurt, either. What harm ever came from making a friend?
As soon as I saw him, I'd known Dil was someone I could get along with. Bean had told me about him, having been his best friend before he crossed over, and he just seemed fun to be around. Just like my friends from before... Before... Well, I'd better not say. I've had a tough past, and I don't think letting the whole world know would be very good for my health, if you know what I mean. You would if you knew what I was...
But again, that's not something I can safely say just yet. All I can tell you is that I've been hiding here for awhile, somewhere around a year and a half, maybe two. Yep, it was two. I'd stayed away from the campers whenever possible, letting Bean keep an eye on them instead. The last thing I needed was to be found out. News spreads faster than you might think about these things. I might tell Dil and the others later on, if I find them trustworthy enough.
~~~Angelica's POV~~~
I turned around and noticed Serenity staring at me with a strange look on her face. It vanished instantly, and she smiled and waved enthusiastically. I frowned and looked away. After a moment, the feeling of being watched went away, and I relaxed.
But not for long.
It was soon clear that Serenity was the ultimate camper. Not only that, she was the weirdest camper I'd ever met, and being related to Dil, that was saying something. She got a bull's-eye almost every time in archery, caught the biggest fish out of all of us when we went fishing, and turned out to be an excellent swimmer. She was also great at hiking, seemingly untiring. In short, she was perfect. Too perfect.
And I wasn't happy about it.
She kept trying to be all friendly with me, congratulating me and trying to help when I had things perfectly under control. Normally, I would have been flattered by all the compliments, but not now. Now it infuriated me, and I didn't know why.
I mean, how annoying can one girl be? In all the world, she had to be the worst for it. Everything she did was strange. Something was wrong with her, and I decided then and there that I was going to find out what it was, no matter how long it took me, or what I had to do. Well... Okay, so there was a deadline. When we left camp. I doubt she'd decided to come live with any of us, even if she was mental.
If she wanted to keep secrets, then so be it. Nothing can be kept from me forever! I was going to get to the bottom of this if it killed me. Oh, that wasn't a good way of putting it... Actually, that was a perfect way of putting it! Anyway, I vowed to myself that I was going to figure it out.
Let the games begin.