This is our last chance. Dylan thought, as they entered Mr. H's office.
"Alright! The inner sanctum!"
"We're only in here to charge our phones. No fooling around."
Oh darn. Ryan the mood killer. "Aww, no fun." He plugs the phones into the wall. Giving a sigh of relief the outlet works.
He can't help but feel hurt Ryan's dismissive attitude. Would he much rather be elsewhere? Why does Ryan find his presence so unbearable? Can't Ryan tell that he's interested? Well, he hadn't noticed all summer. And seemed very closed off.
I can be the one to talk.
Dylan still remains determined to breach Ryan's formidable armor. "Podcasts, huh?" he inquires with an amused expression.
Ryan gives a slight nod and half-smile in acknowledgment. "Cool, cool. The one you're listening to now about Hackett's Quarry... what is it called?"
"Well- it's not really about Hackett's Quarry but uh... Bizzare yet Bonafide?"
"So like ghosts and shit?"
"Yeah, like the weird and the wonderful- you know? Investigating mysteries and seeing if they're... well, bonafide, Those words make it obvious what Dylan is thinking and Ryan gives him a knowing look. "You were going to make a boner joke, weren't you."
"I have no idea, what you're talking about. So..." Dylan begins, gesturing to the back of the room. "Should we snoop around and try to see what Mr. H is hiding in his private den of sin?"
"I'll feel a little weird going through his stuff like that."
"Well... I won't so...I mean what type of secrets could an owner of a summer camp full of impressionable young kids have?" The words are out before he can even catch himself at the next thought that escapes from his lips - one indirectly accusing Chris of something quite big - "Sorry- I know, I know... not Mr. H, he's cool."
He picked up the picture Chris had displayed on his desk and carefully studied their contented expressions, It was of Chris and his two children, Kaylee and Caleb.
"Weird kids, huh?"
"I like them."
"No- yeah yeah, me too. They're...uhh.. pretty reclusive."
Dylan's face brightened as he approached Mr. H's chair, eagerly planning to spin in it - until his feet made contact with a portion of the floor that seemed strangely different from the rest. Looking down, Dylan was bewildered by the sight of a trap door beneath him.
"Yo Ryan, check this out!" He exclaimed, and Ryan immediately moved over to get an even closer look.
"What...is that a trap door?" Ryan inquired, bending over curiously to investigate it further. "What is something like this doing here?" Dylan murmured in wonderment, reaching for the small handle before glancing at Ryan doubtfully as he asked "Probably goes down to the cellar?"
Dylan stands up with a mischievous smile and bumps Ryan's hip to get his attention. "Okay that.. or maybe," Dylan teases before revealing his crazy idea, "Secret sex dungeon. I mean those counselors who never showed up...? Secret. Sex. Dungeon."
"It probably just leads down to the basement."
"Want to find out? You could probably squeeze through." He eyes Ryan up and down. Dylan was skinny but Ryan was proper skinny.
"Why don't you?"
"On second thought, I'd rather not find out what Mr H is into." He shut the trap door and he quickly plops down onto the chair, spinning around. It was like his chair at home. "Wow... I could definitely get used to this.."
"You'd better hope Mr. H doesn't realize that you're taking his precious baby for a spin." Ryan warned him, voice full of sarcasm.
Dylan scoffed and twirled the chair around faster in response. "He won't know! How would he know?"
"Just be careful."
"What do you think I'm going to do? Hurt myself?"
"No. I don't want you to break it."
"Oh come on, I'm just having some fun," he says as he puts his feet on the desk and leans further and further back. Just as he feels a hint of resistance, it gives way with an enormous thud, sending him tumbling to the floor. Cursing.
"Are you alright?" Ryan comes over to help him up. Dylan can't help but wince in embarrassment.
"Yeah." He rubs his shoulder, his back now to Ryan as Ryan picks up the chair to right it. Dylan's attention is quickly caught by the gun mounted on the wall. "Hey, what's the gun for?"
"Oh uh...Chris-" He stops himself with a huff and a slight shake of his head. "Mr. H told me it's for.. uhh.. bears..?"
"Bears? Here?"
"Yeah yeah... He says they don't really come around because.. you know he has the gun to.."
"Yeah?" Dylan's teasing laugh twists in his throat as his gaze darts to the gun. Curiosity pushing him forward, he reaches out towards it.
"Just... just leave it alone." Ryan snaps sharply, causing Dylan to quickly jerk backwards and raise his hands in surrender, though a smile still twitches at the edges of his lips.
"What, you're afraid I'll shoot my eye out."
"No. That you'll shoot your whole head off. Guns are no joke."
"What if we find ourselves in a serious game situation?"
"Like a hunters hunting humans scenario?"
"It is hunting season. Or what if you know, bears try to crash?"
"Well, we'll know where it is if we need it."
Dylan goes over to the door next to the gun. It's locked. "Hey, toss me the keys will you?"
Ryan reluctantly does. They slip right through Dylan's grasp and land on the floor with a thunk. The smile fades from his face but he quickly recovers with a joke.
"I beefed it. What, I don't do sports." He unlocks it and steps into Chris's private quarters. In front of his was a wardrobe. "Check this out. Mr H fashion icon." Does he wear anything apart from khaki's?
"Mr H knows what he likes."
"Hey..." He doesn't expect the back of the wardrobe to be this thick as he presses he hand against it. He notices a door knob. A trapdoor and now a secret door behind a closet? His instincts were telling him he was not about to find Narnia.
"Whoa..." It was a room full of monitors. "Has Mr. H been spying on us?"
"What? No. Most of these are pointing away from the camp. It's not like he's spying on us or the kids. There probably for keeping an eye out on the kids, if they went wondering off in the 're trail camera's.
"What are trail cameras?"
"People use them to track local wildlife or catch weird shit."
"Like Bigfoot?"
"Yeah."
"Ok?" Dylan laughs skeptically. "Maybe he listens to that podcast you listen to."
"Yeah. That's probably it."
"But why go through so much trouble hiding it in a closet through a secret door?"
"It's not exactly hidden. It's just behind stuff."
"That's what a secret is, Ryan. It's weird. It's major league weird."
"If it bother's you that much, why don't you ask him tomorrow? I'm sure that won't be an awkward conversation, like at all."
"I will."
"Alright. Leaving the secret lair."
"You just called it a secret lair." As Ryan left, he looked at the monitors. But nothing was catching his attention. "Ok, these are boring." Suddenly there was a flash of movement on one of the screens. "What was that?" The camera goes out. "Probably nothing." He passed by a stack of letters on top of a box before he made his was out of the secret lair. They were addressed to Max Brinly and Laura Kearney.
Undelivered mail.
"Huh. Must not have gotten the memo."
He made his way out of the wardrobe, having to duck awkwardly. He makes a quick stop to Chris's bathroom to search the medicine cabinet. Only aspirin and ibuprofen. He had hoped to find something stronger to get blitzed out of his mind later. The marijuana he smoked earlier was wearing off already.
"No fun stuff."
"Leave it alone." Must Ryan always scold him like a disobedient child? Maybe it was for the best.
"Old habits die hard."
"What was that?"
"Nothing." He exited the door he came through. Ryan was standing back by the phones.
"Do you think the phones are charged up yet?" Ryan asks and Dylan looks over Ryan's shoulder and shakes his head slowly.
"Maybe. But we should give them an extra few minutes, right?" He blew out a breath "so, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Not...exactly."
"Boyfriend?" He asked more cautiously.
"Free agent."
"Yeah, that's...me too." He looks at the phones. "Cool. Dunzo. Let's get this party started."
Before they decided on truth or dare, Emma suggested a party game of her own. Since Dylan played match maker with Nick and Abi, which was supposed to be her job, it was only fair to get Dylan and Ryan to kiss. They desperately needed it. Or Kaitlyn and Ryan.
"Oh, never have I ever." Jacob suggested first.
"That's been done like way too many times." Emma groaned. And she didn't want to do what Jacob wanted. And it was her turn to play match maker and she needed the perfect game. "I was thinking more along the lines of. . seven minutes in heaven."
"What?" Abi laughs nervously. "Don't- Don't you need a closet for that? Or something?"
"Or something."
"You've got to be joking." Dylan replied. "No way. I've been out of the closet for a while now, I don't need to go back into one. "
"Well, what do you have in mind?" Kaitlyn asked. She was sitting next to him on his right.
"How about the ultimate game of secrets and lies? Truth or dare. But Dylan style. Ok, so house rules are...someone asks truth or dare and then you choose and then you do. No if's ands or buts."
"So just regular truth or dare."
"Yes."
"So we can like, make people kiss?"
"If you choose dare, yeah. As long as everyone consents, of course."
Who knew it would go south from there. Resulting in the group splitting up, hearts being broken. But unbeknownst to them, hurt feelings were going to be the least of their problems.
Something had attacked Nick and Abi in the woods.