With a forward flip Kiawe jumped into the water off the dock. The splash caused the kids near Kiawe in the water to cover their faces but even the couple girls who sat on the dock turned away while laughing. Kiawe emerged from the water with a smile.

"How was that?" he asked. A few of the other kids gave him compliments on his jump and splash.

"Better than Hilbert's," said Gordie.

"Man..." said Hilbert. Everyone else laughed.

The lake was always fun for the campers, but they were only allowed to swim at certain times on certain days. Since the Bear and Mongoose cabins had won the obstacle race, they were allowed to swim during the normal free time so long as a counselor was present. The counselor who volunteered to watch the campers was Mable, a young woman who only started working at the camp the year prior. She was well-liked among the kids and enjoyed her job. She stood along the lake's shoreline and watched the kids who swam. The ones who weren't in the water were also on the lakeside either wearing their normal clothes, as they didn't plan on swimming, or bathing suits soaking wet.

Jasmine and Misty were two girls who sat on towels while overlooking the lake. They were having a conversation that was interrupted with Viola coming up to them and suddenly taking their photo. The girls were surprised but quickly laughed with Viola. Near them were more people sitting on their own or with someone having conversations about nothing important.

In the water the campers were splashing at each other. Hilbert turned to the girls sitting on the dock. A young redhead named Mela and an older brunette named Roxanne. Neither had on proper swim wear so they kept their pant legs rolled up and their feet in the water. Hilbert asked them to jump in but when they said no and explained their reasoning, Hilbert playfully splashed them with water which caused them to kick water back at him. Everyone in the water went back to splashing each other.

Once they all calmed down, Gordie felt something brush against his leg. There wasn't anyone close enough to him to have done it and when he looked in the water he couldn't see anything. Granted the water itself wasn't that clear. At most, when only Gordie's head was out of the water, he could see just down to his calf. Gordie ignored the feeling and went back to whatever conversation was happening.

A few minutes later he felt the same touch. This time when he looked down he saw something that was thin, long, and had a purplish color move past his leg. Glancing back up he thought he should say something to the other campers.

"Hey-" was all he could say before he felt his leg get grabbed by something. He splashed around him causing everyone in the water to look in his direction. Even some of the kids on land put their eyes on him. "Something...!"

Gordie tried to speak again but was suddenly pulled underwater. No one moved at the sight, until Hilbert, who was the closest to Gordie, took a breath and went beneath the water's surface. Mable, who had been watching, ran down the dock ready to jump in. She began to take her boots off, when Gordie appeared and swam frantically to the dock. Anyone in his way in the water had to quickly move to not collide. Despite his size and the dock being a couple feet high, Gordie was able to quickly lift himself out of the water. Mable and the two campers on the dock had to back up or move to the side to give Gordie room.

The blonde boy stood hunched over breathing heavily. Everyone took their eyes off him when Hilbert emerged from the water. They turned back when Gordie began to speak.

"Something...grabbed me..."

"What?" asked Mable.

"I didn't see anything," said Hilbert. "I-Whoa!"

Hilbert's face went from confused to fearful and his body jerked downwards. His arm came up waving to signal he needed assistance. Again Mable went to remove her boots before hearing Hilbert start to laugh. Everyone saw him correct his body's position and reach into the water. He pulled out a long piece of seaweed and waved it around.

"Yo, Gordie, I caught the evil lake monster that grabbed at you!" he laughed.

"It was just seaweed?" asked Kiawe with a chuckle. Soon everyone in the water began to laugh.

"What? But...I..."

"Are you alright?" asked Mable. She placed a caring hand on Gordie's shoulder and the boy took a deep breath before exhaling.

"Yeah, I guess. Can...I go back to camp?"

"If you think you're okay, then that's fine," said Mable. She turned back to the water. "Who's Gordie's cabin buddy?"

"Kiawe is," said Calem.

"Kiawe, go back with Gordie."

Kiawe was visibly upset with having to leave the lake so early, but he didn't voice his opinions. He only swam up to the dock and got out. While Kiawe was fit and considered himself fairly strong, climbing onto the dock from underneath was a lot harder than it looked. The two boys made their way to the end of the dock where their towels and clothes were. They grabbed their stuff and headed towards the trail that led back to camp. Gordie ignored any laughter he heard.

"I'm gonna go take a quick shower," said Kiawe once the two were back in the main campground.

"Alright, I'll meet you at the cabin," said Gordie. The two bumped fists and split up. On his way back to his cabin, Gordie was approached by Brendan.

"Yo, Gordie. Does this belong to you?" Brendan asked. Gordie looked down at Brendan's hand to see the metal disk Brendan had found the night before.

"Uh, no. What is it?"

"No idea. Just found it randomly. Been trying to find who it belongs to."

"Why not take it to the counselors?"

"Because if I do that they'll take it whether they find who it belongs to or not," Brendan slipped the disk's chain around his neck. "But if I don't tell them then I can keep it if the owner doesn't speak up."

Gordie shrugged. "I guess."

The boys parted ways and Gordie made it to his cabin without anymore interruptions. Inside he began to dry himself off as best he could before changing out of his swimsuit into dry clothes. Before he put on his new pants he noticed a cut on his leg on the side of his calf. It was a couple inches long and almost as thin as a paper cut. Before seeing it Gordie didn't remember feeling it. But now he could and it was painful. He winced as he brought his leg up onto his bed to get a better look. It was just deep enough for blood to slowly ooze out. Gordie got a handkerchief from his footlocker and wiped his leg. He slipped on a pair of shorts and left the cabin to head to the bathrooms.

"This sucks!" said Serena. She was sitting in her cabin with all of her bunkmates sitting on their respective beds. "We could have had a relaxing time in the lake, but no. Someone had to mess up the race for everyone."

Serena turned to a young girl with black hair a couple beds down from her own. Liza, who had to walk the balance beam, perked up at Serena's glare.

"Had you not fallen off the beam we would've won."

"Sorry," said Liza. She could only look down as she brought her knees to her chest. Part of her was embarrassed at being scolded and another part was guilty that she messed up the race. A third part, as small as it was, was feeling intimidated.

"Oh, come on, Serena. It's not that bad. Plus the race was pretty fun right?" said Nemona.

"Whatever," Serena sighed. Had any other girl said something Serena would have likely berated them. But Nemona was different. She was always positive and never dropped her smile. Serena hated it. Nemona acknowledged Serena's authority and was respectful of it, however she was never bullied by the blonde. Unlike most of the other girls, barring a certain bluehead.

Dawn sat on her bed like the other girls, but she didn't look at anyone else or ever say anything. A book was in her hands and her attention was held on it so tightly she could be all alone in the cabin and it would be no different.

"Don't you have anything to say?" Serena asked Dawn. The younger girl didn't respond. The cabin's leader stood up and walked over to Dawn's bed. "I'm talking to you."

Still Dawn kept on reading. Serena scowled before snatching the book from Dawn making the girl finally look at her. At first Dawn just seemed shocked as if she hadn't notice Serena even approach her. But quickly her face matched Serena's.

"Give it back!" said Dawn.

"Next time I speak to you, you answer me, got it?"

Dawn got to her feet and stepped up to Serena with her hands balled. "I said give it back!"

"Or what?" Serena stepped forward so she peered down at Dawn. The two stared at each other before Dawn made a move. She swung upwards to Serena's face, striking the tall girl in the chin. The punch made Serena step back, but her legs were wobbly and she fell. Dawn was quick to pounce and strike her some more. Serena let out some grunts and groans but managed to reach up and grab Dawn's hair with one hand and tried to push her off with the other. In their struggle, the two girls somehow rolled to the center of the cabin all while hitting each other and yelling.

Four of the girls got up from their beds and went to pull them apart. May and Leaf pulled Dawn off and Nemona and Janine held Serena back to keep her from going after Dawn.

"Are you two insane?" yelled Janine. Neither Serena nor Dawn replied to her.

"You bitch!" said Serena as she stared at Dawn. Serena tried to pull herself out of Janine and Nemona's grips, but was unsuccessful. Dawn however was calm and soon Leaf and May had no reason to hold her. Dawn went back to her bed and grabbed her book off the floor and get back onto her bed to read again.

When Serena was eventually let go, Janine and Nemona stood ready to grab her again in case she tried to start another fight. But Serena only swore under her breath before turning around and leaving the cabin without a word. A couple girls followed her, but the rest stayed in their beds. No one said anything, but they did take some glances at Dawn. The bluehead never looked up from her book.

"Yo, did you guys hear what happened in the Tortoise cabin?" Hilbert asked as he sat at the cafeteria table with the rest of his cabin. A couple of them began to smile as they knew what he was talking about, but not all.

"No, what happened?" asked Falkner.

"Serena got into a fight with that new girl. Dawn, I think?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah!"

Falkner glanced over at the table that normally sat all the girls in Tortoise cabin. Despite it being lunch, there was only about half of the girls at the table. At the far end, sitting alone, was Dawn. The other four girls were mid conversation and none of them even acknowledged their own cabin mate. Falkner turned back to his own table.

"Who won?"

"I heard Dawn did."

"What?" said Calem. "No way."

"Serena has almost a full head on Dawn, how would she lose?" added Kiawe.

"Hey, I just heard it second hand from Hilda."

"How would she know? She's not even in their cabin."

"I'm just saying what I know."

Some of the boys scoffed at Hilbert's unreliable information and went back to eating. Calem chuckled at the interaction before looking over his table at all of his cabin mates. They were all there except for one.

"Where's Hugh?" Calem asked the table. Most of the boys only shrugged and looked around as if they would find him.

"I think he left already," said Elio at the far end of the table. Beside him was enough room for someone to sit, yet the spot was empty.

"What do you mean he left?" asked Calem loudly. Elio jumped at Calem suddenly raising his voice.

"Uh, well he finished eating then he got up and left."

"God damn it..." said Calem.

"Oooh, someone's going to be in trouble..." said Hilbert with a laugh. His stifled his laugh to small giggles when Calem glared at him. Calem quickly finished his meal before getting up and telling his cabin where he'll be.

"If anyone asks you, Hugh is with me."

"Got it," said someone at the table. Calem didn't look at them so he wasn't sure who said it.

Calem walked around the camp grounds being careful not to run into any counselors. It took almost ten minutes of searching before he found Hugh sitting by the lake.

"I thought I said you had to tell someone where you're going?" said Calem. Hugh jumped up at the sudden words but relaxed when he was it was someone he recognized. He sat back down without saying anything. Calem walked up and stood beside him. "You know no one's allowed to come to the lake without a counselor present."

"So?"

Calem looked down at Hugh, who only stared out at the lake. Neither said anything else for a few minutes until Calem looked up in the sky, shielding his eyes with his hand, to get an idea of what time it was.

"Lunch is almost over, we're going to have to be back at the camp."

Hugh glared up at Calem and the two locked eyes. Calem could feel only negative emotions coming from the younger boy. Without a word Hugh stood up and the two started walking back to camp. They were side by side but Calem walked a foot ahead.

"God I hate hiking..." said Serena.

"It wasn't that bad," said a short girl with long brown hair tied in a couple curls that ran over each other.

"Shauna, it was a two hour hike there then back with barely ten minutes of rest between them."

The girl, Shauna, only shrugged. Serena lifted her leg behind her and grabbed her ankle to stretch before doing the same to the other leg. She turned to all the girls in her cabin.

"Let's just go back to the cabin."

"Good, I need to shower," said Leaf causing some other girls to agree. Before the girls could start heading back to their cabin, Gardenia, their cabin counselor, picked up her radio that every counselor carried.

"Attention, I have a code One-Twelve. I repeat, code One-Twelve," said a male voice from the radio. Gardenia brought the radio to her mouth.

"Roark, can you repeat that?" she said.

"I have a code one-twelve...We're approaching camp...from the east...need medical," The counselor Roark was running as he talked and from his breathing he had been running for a while. Gardenia told her cabin to stay in the main camp ground and ran off towards the camps head office.

"What does a one-twelve mean?" asked Liza.

"I don't know," said Serena. "I know that one means it involves a camper, but I have no clue about twelve."

A couple of the girls began to speculate what it could be with each new proposal more outlandish than the last.

"I hope nothing bad happened," said Shauna.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Someone in Brock's cabin probably just twisted their ankle or something and needed to be carried back," said Janine. Most of the girls laughed at the thought of a boy getting such a mild injury. Serena laughed a little differently and she imagined herself getting carried through the woods as opposed to having to hike it all on her own.

All of the girls' speculation about what the code meant was answered when Roark finally showed up to the camp with his campers, the Frog cabin, right behind him. Like Janine said, someone was injured and they needed to be carried. However it wasn't a simple ankle twisting. Four of the boys from the Frog cabin carried Brendan, whose pants and shirt had numerous tears all over. As the boys ran past on their way to the camp's office, where sick and injured campers normally went, Brendan could be heard groaning and crying. His face and arms and exposed torso and legs had cuts of many sizes with blood flowing from each one. The campers that held him also had his blood on them as well.

At the end of the group was Brock and the two campers that didn't hold Brendan, Lucas and Barry. They stopped next to the group of girls as Roark and the other five boys kept on for the office.

"Brock, what happened?" asked Serena. Despite the girls laughing not a minute before, not a single one had so much as a smile on their face after seeing the injured boy. Brock turned to and approached the group of girls.

"Brendan got attacked by something," he said. His voice was shaky.

"By what?"

"We don't know. We were hiking back like normal when suddenly Brendan slipped and rolled down a hill through some bushes. He called up and said he was fine but then he started screaming. By the time we got to him whatever it was was gone and he was like that."

Serena noticed Brock had some blood on his arms and shirt. "An animal attack..."

All the girls were shocked. Even Dawn, while not saying anything, looked at Brock in reaction to the news of Brendan's injury.

"Alright, everyone listen up," said Brock. He stood at the head of his cabin with everyone sitting on their beds. Everyone was preparing to go to sleep. The only real light for the cabin was coming from the lantern in Brock's hand. "The counselors have a new rule. Everyone must be with their cabin mate at all times. Even during any free time."

Everyone in the cabin groaned.

"That's so unfair!" yelled the youngest member of the cabin, Benga.

"I know. I don't like it either, but that's what they said. I guess after Brendan's attack they don't want anyone to be alone."

"But who are you going to be mates with?" asked another member of the cabin, Brawly.

"I'll just stick with whoever, I guess. Long as I'm with any pair the counselor's probably won't get mad."

No one had anymore questions for Brock and he didn't have anything else to say. He turned off the lantern, placed it in his locker, and got into bed.

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~~~Sikoh