Hello, sorry for the delay in my usual speedy updating. But chill out. I have other stories to worry about besides this one now. But here we go.
"So, he really told everyone not to tell their friends?" Kaldur asked. He was referring to the dead camper that had been found at the archery range earlier in the day. "That seems like information that would be good to know."
"Something is wrong with this situation. We have no phones, no communication with the League, and the people in charge are covering up the evidence." Dick said. "There is definitely something going on here."
"We need to get the word out somehow. We could always sneak out." M'gann said.
"I do not know if that is a good idea. Can we really leave the other campers unprotected?" Kaldur, ever the leader, asked.
"Good point." Connor said. "If we leave, who knows how many will be gone by the time we get back."
"It's not like we've been doing a super job so far." Artemis chimed in. She was feeling a little better, though the most recent death had scared her. She could have been found that way too.
The team members were at the cafeteria eating lunch with their cabins, having simultaneous conversations with each other and their cabin mates. It was an interesting situation, one that they often found themselves in at camp.
"So are you feeling ok, Artemis?" One of the girls asked. Artemis was pretty sure her name was Ivy.
"Oh. Yeah, I feel a lot better. It must have been one of those twenty-four hour bugs." Artemis shrugged. "Guys, we need to figure something out fast. By the end of the week, there could be no one left."
"I'm glad you're feeling better." Ivy continued. "I just hope I don't catch it. Or you, Megan. You were around her a lot." M'gann and Artemis exchanged looks. M'gann wasn't susceptible to most Earth diseases. At least, most bacteria and viruses seemed harmless to her.
"Thanks...Ivy." Artemis said.
"What do you think we should do, Kaldur?" Connor asked.
"I am unsure. If we do manage to leave and contact the league, we are leaving this place unprotected." Kaldur said. "But if we do not do something soon, more will most likely die."
"Excuse me, campers!" Once more, Sam's annoying megaphone voice filtered across the cafeteria. "Due to the storm last night, the phone lines are down. three of the five roads leading to camp have been washed out by the swollen river, and two are blocked by downed power lines and fallen trees. However, I have the full assurance of the power company that at least one road will be back up by the end of the week. Unfortunately, due to the multitude of other roads that need attention before us, the roads to camp will be closed until the end of the week." Sam ignored the loud mutterings of the campers as he sat back down.
"Yeah, that's not suspicious." Artemis said. "The roads are mysteriously closed and the phone lines cut right before undeniable evidence of murder is found."
"I can still fly out." M'gann said. "And I don't think there's any way that that fence can hold any of us in."
"I can't believe this! After the roads are fixed and I get home, my father is going to hear about this!" Ivy exclaimed. Campers at the boys' tables were also upset.
The boy sitting next to Connor, Nick, had a lot to say. "I didn't even want to go to summer camp. But my mom thought it'd be good for me. Well, I can guarantee this camp will never see another summer! My whole family is lawyers and we're going to shut this place down!"
"I'm sure there's an explanation for everything." Connor said to diffuse the tension.
"Yeah, this place has terrible safety standards!" Nick emphasized. "I mean, people are dying because of the owner's negligence!"
"I don't think it's an option to stay here anymore. It sounds like even if they wanted to, no one can leave but us." Connor thought to Kaldur. He shot a glance towards Wally's table. "Hey, where's Dick?"
"He was here a minute ago!" Wally said defensively.
"Come on, Wally! You're supposed to be watching him!" Raquel exclaimed. "You know how he is."
"Next time, you try to keep track of Batman's protege." Wally said. "I'm the fastest boy alive and not even I can keep up with him."
"Hey, guys. I can still hear you, you know." Dick's voice was slightly annoyed. "I just thought I would check on something."
"What could you possibly be doing? And when did you even manage to sneak away?" Zatanna asked.
"I left right after Sam's speech about the roads. I just wanted to take a look at something I noticed earlier."
"What is that?" Kaldur asked.
"I noticed something odd about the fence when we were looking for Artemis." Dick replied. "It seemed like it was...wrong somehow. But then again, it was raining pretty hard. I'll be able to tell in about ten minutes."
"Well, it's going to have to wait. Lunch is over in ten minutes and if we get in trouble with the counselor again, even you won't be able to sneak away." Wally said.
"Fine. I'm coming. I'll look later."
"Everyone, please be careful today. Something is happening here that puts us all at risk." Kaldur said. "But if there are any more...accidents, as Sam puts it, one of us will have to leave to contact the League."
"Okay." Everyone agreed.
"Words cannot describe how much I do not want to this." Zatanna said. "That lake looks gross."
"It's a lake. It's not going to have the clearest water." Raquel said. "Besides, we get to hang out with Kaldur and Connor's cabin today. I could use a break from being around only girls all day long."
"This is the third day we've been here. How can you already be sick of being around a cabin of girls?" Zatanna asked as they approached the water.
"Whatever." Raquel smiled. "Here come the guys."
"Ok, everyone. When you're in the lake, please don't stray past the shallows if you can't swim. Also, stay in the marked areas. Anything past the post is too dangerous to swim in due to debris." The lifeguard said. "I don't care if you're the next Michael Phelps. Do. Not. Go. Past. The. Post. Ok, go have fun."
"Hey, Kaldur. Hey, Connor." Zatanna waved. The boys waved back and came over.
"Hey." Connor said, never one for many words.
"Hello Zatanna, Raquel." Kaldur said in his usual formal manner.
"Oh, I'm-" Raquel was cut off by another girl from her cabin. Her name escaped Raquel however.
"Hi, my name is Emily. I love your tattoos." She giggled.
"Thank you. My name is Kaldur." Kaldur said, always polite to strangers. "It is very nice to meet you."
"Come on, I want you to meet my friends!" Emily shot Raquel a triumphant look as she pulled Kaldur away into the water. Kaldur also looked at Raquel as Emily dragged him into the water. Raquel could have sworn he looked scared. The Atlantean wasn't exactly knowledgeable when it came to teenage girls and flirting. He probably didn't even realize that's what Emily was doing. Or he was too polite to ask her to stop. Either way, Raquel wasn't happy.
"Well, isn't he the popular one?" Zatanna said with a grin. Connor chuckled. "It will be good for him to meet some girls."
"Yeah. Awesome." Raquel said. "Hey, I need to ask Amanda...something." She finished lamely. Zatanna and Connor watched her walk away, incidentally in the opposite direction of where Amanda was sunbathing.
"Quick question: Why on Earth do they use these horrendous bows for archery here?" Artemis asked as she tested the string of the bow she had been assigned. "I'm going to have to over-compensate for crooked arrows, too."
"Oh, do you like archery?" Sarah, their counselor, asked cheerily.
"You could say that." M'gann said in an equally cheery voice.
"I love this activity, but I'm not very good at it." Sarah said.
"Ok, everyone. I'm the archery counselor, Mark." The older boy picked up a bow and approached the shooting line. "Anyone that can best my shot wins a free camp t-shirt." He readied an arrowing and aimed at the furthest target. The arrow landed close to the center, about two and a half inches away from the center. Some of the other girls groaned, whispering about their lacking skills. Others just stared wide-eyed.
"Ok, everyone! Get in line!" Sarah called happily. "No one's ever bested Mark, but I have a good feeling about this group."
"He's good. But I'm better." Artemis whispered to M'gann. They were the last two in line. Some of the other girls managed to hit the closer targets, and one even managed to hit the very furthest corner of the far target. Of course, two girls couldn't even get the arrow to leave the bow. Finally, it was M'gann's turn. M'gann was a decent archer, having been taught a few tips by Artemis. But she wasn't as skilled at compensating for cheap materials and her arrow landed about an inch from Mark's.
"Oh, very close. But not quite." Mark said proudly. He was confident that his two year record was safe as the girl with the long blonde hair stepped up to the line. Artemis prepared an arrow and sighted down the shaft. She inhaled deeply and adjusted for wind and the cheap bow.
*thunk*
An arrow with bright green fletching was buried dead-center in the target. The clearing that housed the archery range was dead silent for a moment.
"Wow!" Sarah cried. "That was amazing! I've never seen anyone shoot that well!"
"Oh, I doubt I could do it again." Artemis said sweetly.
"Either way, congratulations." Mark was blushing, but he handed over the free shirt.
"Artemis, your wrist..."
"Aw, crap." Artemis looked at her wrist. Part of the scab had opened up under the think white bandage Wally had wrapped it in. Artemis was reminded of how gently he had held her wrist in that moment, but then pushed the thought away.
Raquel stood on the bank of the off-limits part of the lake. It was choked with weeds and bushes, so she was hidden. Even from there she could hear the girls giggling over Kaldur. Was she jealous? Hell, yes. She was incredibly jealous. Kaldur was reserved, so she gave him space. That's what she though he wanted. But one look from the flirtatious bimbo and he was a changed person. All smiley and talkative and so...un-Kaldur.
Raquel noticed a small ripple in the water. She stepped forward to take a better look, and a feeling of dread filled her as the ripple bubbled up again. Suddenly she breathed a sigh of relief. It was a fish. Raquel laughed slightly.
Then she screamed, only to be cut off by hitting the water when someone tackled her from behind. Whomever it was pushed her down despite her struggling, and she couldn't see anything but a light blur through the dark murky water. Water wasn't her element, and her attacker was obviously a strong swimmer. Suddenly she couldn't feel him anymore, and she tried to kick to the surface. Then Raquel felt a hand close around her ankle, and she was jerked down as she released some precious air. Raquel kicked but couldn't get away before her attacker tangled her ankles into something. It felt like fishing line or a net. Either way, she was stuck and running out of air. All of this happened within thirty seconds.
Raquel's lungs started burn as her air ran out. She reached down and tried to free herself, but she couldn't see. Whatever had her caught was too tangled.
"So where are you from?" Emily asked.
"I'm from-Wait, where's Raquel?" Kaldur looked around. She wasn't anywhere in the water and she wasn't on the shore. Where was she?
"I don't know. I...I haven't seen her, actually." Zatanna said.
"She would not just leave without telling someone." Kaldur looked around again. Then he thought he heard a splash.
Raquel tried one more time to kick free from the fishing line, but she failed. A strange calm over took her as she stopped struggling. The air she lost in the fight had sealed her fate.
And then he was there. Her oxygen-starved brain screamed at her to get away. But she couldn't. She couldn't do anything.
"OW!" M'gann cried.
"What's wrong?" Artemis rushed over. They were still at the archery range. Artemis had, at Sarah's enthusiastic request, been helping the others with their archery.
"I think I was stung by a bee." M'gann blushed. "It just scared me."
"Is this the first time you've ever been stung?" Artemis asked as she inspected the small bump.
"Yes. It hurts."
"You'll be fine. It happens all the time." Artemis said. "Just keep an eye on it."
"Raquel, open your eyes." Kaldur's voice filtered through the confusion in Raquel's mind. She spasmed and coughed up some water. "Welcome back." Kaldur's kind green eyes stared down at hers. Raquel groaned.
"What happened?" She tried to sit up but Kaldur gently pushed her back down.
"You were drowning. Your ankle was tangled in some old fishing line. You had just gone unconscious when I got your leg untangled." Kaldur answered.
"I think you should rest a bit, and then relax in the cabin for awhile." The lifeguard said. "Just stay calm."
"Yeah, ok." Raquel said. She shifted on the ground into a more comfortable position on her back. Kaldur sat next to her.
"Come on, let's go back in the water." Emily said to Kaldur. "She needs to rest."
"No, thank you. I will stay with my friend." Kaldur said kindly. Emily's smile faltered, but returned as she went off after a different boy. Kaldur turned to Raquel. "What happened? I know that you would not have gone into that part of the lake alone."
"You wouldn't believe me." Raquel said.
"Yes, I would."
"Someone pushed me in, held me under, and tangled me into the fishing line." Raquel said. "And in the process managed to really piss me off." Kaldur chuckled.
"Yes, that is never a good idea." Then he was serious. "Are you truly alright?"
"How did you know I was in trouble?" Raquel sat up. "No one else did, and you couldn't see me."
"Water is my home. And I noticed you were missing, and then I sensed that something was wrong."
"We need the League." Raquel said in a low voice.
"I know. But right now, you need to relax. We will tell the others later." Kaldur pushed her back down. "Rest." Raquel laid back.
"Thank you. For saving my life. I was always a little afraid of drowning."
"You're welcome."
Ok, leave a review, a suggestion, or even a prediction. But don't be shy.
~orangekangaroo