Summary:
Shineka and Keianna get sent to Camp Green Lake. They may seem like your normal girls, but they aren't. They have an amazing secret. Shineka and Keianna have special powers inherited from their Indian ancestry, but Keianna's are much more powerful and dormant. The boys are in for a lot more than they have bargained for. And they learn that there is always more than meets the eye.
Chapter 1:
Welcome To Camp Green Lake
*Flashback*
"Mom, I'm home!" Keianna called, walking in from a night with her friends. "Why's it so dark in here?"
Keianna flipped on the light. She took off her jacket and shades, and looked around. Something wasn't right. Keianna tossed her jacket on the table beside her. She could feel it and her grandmother always told her to trust her feelings.
"Mom, where are you?" Keianna called.
She noticed a light coming from the living room. Maybe she fell asleep reading again. Keianna thought. She walked into the living room, but her mother wasn't in there. It was just him; her mother's boyfriend, Darnel. He was sitting on the couch, drinking a glass of vodka. He looked at Keianna.
"What are you doin' here?" she asked quietly, her voice dripping with disgust.
"Business," he said, wiping his hand down his face.
Keianna just looked at him. Darnel only came to the house when he was in need of drugs and money. He was in so need of some coke once that he tried to prostitute her mother. Keianna took a quick glance around the room. She never liked to leave her mother home alone with Darnel. He was a bit abusive towards them. She felt it was her responsibility to protect her mother, seeing as her half-sister, Shineka wouldn't help. They hated the fact that their mom kept seeing him and because of it, they eventually became gang members and fell in love with the streets.
"Where's my mom?" Keianna asked.
"Oh, around," he waved his hand towards her, as he downed the last of his vodka.
Keianna stared ahead blankly. She heard gunshots and her mother's screams. Keianna blinked and shook her head to clear it. Her eyes widened and she stared at Darnel. Oh my god! she thought. Darnel stood, picked up his gun, and grabbed Keianna's arm. He pulled her to him and Keianna caught a glimpse of the blood on his shirt. She stared at him with wide eyes.
"Did I ever tell you how pretty you are?" Darnel asked, reaching to touch her cheek with his gun. Keianna moved her face out of his reach and gave him a look. "I've got the perfect job for you. They like'em young."
Keianna gave Darnel a questioning look. Her eyes grew wide. She snatched her arm out of his grip and screamed 'No!'. She could smell the liquor on his breath. She took a step back, sticking her hand in her pocket.
"If you cooperate," Darnel said. "I won't hurt you like I hurt your mother."
"¡Tu bastardo!" Keianna screamed, pulling out her pocketknife.
Keianna sliced Darnel's arm and he dropped the gun. Darnel held onto his bleeding arm. Keianna kicked the gun into the family room and stabbed him in the chest.
"Bitch!" Darnel yelled as he back-handed her.
He pulled the knife out his chest and threw it onto the floor. Keianna fell onto the family room floor, inches away from the gun. She rubbed her cheek and scooted backwards towards the gun. Darnel took a few steps toward her. Keianna scooted away from him, bringing the gun with her.
"¿Donde` eres mi mama?" Keianna asked. "Where's my mom?"
"You shouldn't be worryin' about her," Darnel said, walking closer. "All you need to worry about is gettin' me my money!"
Keianna backed into the wall by the front door and pointed the gun at Darnel. He stopped and looked at her. Her hands were shaking a bit.
"STAY BACK!" she screamed. Darnel smirked and chuckled. He took another step forward. The gun became steady in her hands.
"You gonna shoot me?" Darnel asked, taking another step. "Do it."
"Stay back," Keianna said a bit too calmly. "I swear I will."
"Do it then." he said. "I want you to."
Darnel had stopped walking. Keianna kept the gun pointed at him. The door opened and Shineka walked in. She looked from Darnel to Keianna. Darnel and Keianna stared at one another. Shineka kneeled down beside Keianna.
"Give me the gun," she whispered, glancing up at Darnel.
Keianna shook her head slowly, continuing to stare at Darnel. Shineka leaned towards Keianna's ear and began to whisper to her. Keianna slowly lowered the gun. Darnel made a run toward her.
"Ahhh!" he yelled.
"No!" Keianna screamed, raising the gun and firing three shots.
"NO!" Shineka shouted as Darnel fell backwards onto the ground.
He lay motionless with blood pouring out of his chest and back. Keianna dropped the gun as she stared at the body. Shineka shook her head in her hands, continuously muttering 'no'. Keianna laced her fingers through her hair and began to cry. The last thing that was heard were police sirens.
*End Flashback*
Keianna's eyes flew open and she looked around. Where am I? she thought. Oh, yeah. I'm on a bus headin' to the middle of nowhere. Keianna sighed and glanced behind her at Shineka. Shineka glared at Keianna.
"What are you lookin' at?" she snapped. "I'm here 'cuz of you!"
"It wasn't my fault," Keianna whispered, turning around.
She leaned her head on the dirty window and closed her eyes. Everything I do affects her. she thought. Why? About ten minutes later, the bus screeched to a halt. Keianna and Shineka peered out the window. Orange. Keianna thought. Not too appealing. The guard motioned for them to follow him off the bus. They stood, grabbed their bags, and followed him off the bus. They looked around.
"Not the kinda camp I was expectin'," Keianna muttered to herself.
"This place is a dump," Shineka said, crossing her arms.
Shineka stood at a full 5'4" and had lightly tanned skin. She had red hair in dreads that stopped between her shoulder blades and hazel eyes. She had on a red Delta Sorority t-shirt, blue jean shorts and black Nikes with red laces.
Keianna stood at about 4'9 and had caramel colored skin. She had black hair with natural red and brown highlights that stopped below her shoulder blades, and brown eyes with green specks in them. She had on a camouflage cami, baggy camouflage pants and black Nike's with green laces.
A few boys whistled and made cat-calls at them, when they walked by. Keianna rolled her eyes and shook her head and Shineka grinned. Because the two of them had stopped walking for a moment, the guard grabbed their arms and pulled them with him. Shineka and Keianna snatched their arms out of his grip.
They followed him into a small, over-stuffed office. Inside was a weird looking man wearing a pink shirt and a cowboy hat. Beside him was a jar of sunflower seed shells and beside the jar was a large yellow bowl full of sunflower seeds. The man spit seeds into the jar and took the files from the guard. The guard stood behind the two girls.
"Sit down," the man said.
Keianna and Shineka looked at each other, then at the single chair. Shineka nodded towards the chair. Keianna sat down and Shineka stood behind her.
"What's with the sunflower seeds, bruh?" the guard asked.
"I gave up smokin'," the man replied, looking over the files.
The girls watched him look over the files. He looked up at them.
"Shineka Johnson and Keianna Jackson," he said. "Our first girls."
"Joy," Shineka muttered, sarcastically.
"My name is Mr. Sir," he said. "Whenever you speak to me, you will call me by my name. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Mr. Sir," Shineka gave a small smile.
Keianna was staring at her lap. She looked up at Mr. Sir, then back down at her lap and she mumbled, inaudibly,
"Yes, Mr. Sir."
"Great, another quiet one," Mr. Sir said, turning to the mini-fridge behind him. "You may be girls, but this is not a Girl Scout camp. No one's gonna baby-sit ya'. Here."
Mr. Sir held out a coke. Keianna stared up at the bottle. Yeah right. Keianna thought. Like he'd actually give us a coke. The guard grabbed the bottle and opened it, staring straight at the girls.
"That Keianna girl is a weird case," the guard said. "Something ain't right about her."
"Ain't nothin' right about girls these days," Mr. Sir said.
"She's different," the guard shook his head. "Not even halfway through the ride up here, their cuffs came off."
"Maybe they picked the locks," Mr. Sir suggested.
"No, they were still locked," the guard said. "And that Shineka girl swore she didn't do anything."
"That's 'cuz I didn't!" Shineka spoke up. The men ignored her.
"Weird," Mr. Sir said. "Makes you wonder what her mother was like."
"A nut," the guard said with a slight chuckle.
Mr. Sir grinned. Keianna narrowed her eyes at the guard. As soon as he brought the bottle to his lips, it exploded on him. Keianna grinned and Shineka burst out laughing.
"What the-" Mr. Sir jumped back. The guard looked at Keianna and her smile fell.
"I told you something ain't right about her!" he said.
The guard shook coke off his hands and walked out. Mr. Sir looked at Keianna and Shineka. Girls would only make his job harder. He grumbled something under his breath that sounded like follow me. Keianna stood, and she and Shineka followed Mr. Sir outside. A few boys were lounging in chairs outside the buildings.
"Damn girl, how you get all of that in them jeans?" a boy from B tent yelled.
Keianna rolled her eyes and Shineka flipped him off. They followed Mr. Sir into a shack. Keianna looked around at all the shelves. A boy working inside looked up to see who had entered. He smiled upon seeing the girls.
"Hey, I'm Lump," he said, handing Shineka four orange jumpsuit.
"Yeah, I don't care," Shineka said, handing Keianna two of the four suits.
Keianna looked Lump up and down. Mr. Sir grabbed two pairs of work boots and tossed them on the floor. He pulled on his pants and looked at the girls.
"Undress," he said.
"Excuse me?" Shineka demanded, crossing her arms.
"Need to make sure you aren't smuggling anything," Mr. Sir explained.
"If we were you'd know," Shineka said. "Now get out, Perv."
Shineka had one hand on her hip and was pointing at the door with the other. Mr. Sir rolled his eyes and stepped outside. Shineka looked behind her at Lump, who appeared to be working. She cleared her throat and Lump looked at her.
"Uh you, too," Shineka told him, pointing at the door.
Lump grinned and winked at her on his way out. The two girls scooted away from the door and changed. Shineka kept her shirt on and let the top half of her jumpsuit hang about her waist. Keianna also kept on her shirt, but she tied the jumpsuit sleeves around her waist. Shineka put one her boots and kicked the door open. Keianna sat on the floor and put her boots on as Mr. Sir and Lump entered. Lump took his place behind the table and Mr. Sir stood beside the table. Finishing with their boots, the two stood side by side.
"You get two sets of clothes," Mr. Sir explained, "one for work and one for relaxation. After three days, your work clothes will be washed and your second set will become your work clothes. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Mr. Sir," Shineka said. Keianna stood up.
"You are to dig one hole each day," Mr. Sir continued, "Five feet deep, five feet in diameter. Your shovel is your measuring stick. The longer it takes you to dig, the longer you'll be out in the hot sun."
Mr. Sir spit some shells on the floor and leaned on the wall. Keianna looked at the floor,
then back up at Mr. Sir.
"You need to be on the look out for lizards and rattlesnakes," he said.
"Rattlesnakes?" Keianna whispered, still looking at the floor.
"You don't bother them, they won't bother you," Mr. Sir spit more shells on the floor. "Usually. Being bit by a rattler ain't the worst thing that can happen to ya'. You won't die. Usually."
Keianna watched him. The way he spoke kind of scared her. Shineka narrowed her eyes.
"But you don't wanna get bit by a yellow spotted lizard," Mr. Sir said, spitting more shells onto the floor. "That is the worst thing that can happen to ya'. You will die. A slow and painful death. Always.
Mr. Sir stared out into space, while Keianna stared at him wide-eyed. The way he spoke of these lizards struck fear into her very core. Shineka glanced at Keianna. She looked at Mr. Sir.
"Are you tryna scare us?" she demanded.
"They're real," Lump said. "Trust me, I've seen'em."
Shineka looked at him. Keianna looked over at her sister, as a wind began to stir around her.
"Relax," Shineka whispered, running her hand through Keianna's hair. Keianna took a deep breath and exhaled. Gradually, the wind receded as her breath was slowly released.