Chapter 20: The Counselors

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I was running through the forest. My arms and legs scratched up and bloody from the branches and thorns. I could hear loud footsteps behind me. Twigs and leaves snapping underneath my bare feet and their shoes. I kept running, not knowing where I was heading. Just trying to get away from whatever was chasing me. I could hear my name all around me. My head would turn to the voices, but when I looked, there was no one there.

Before I knew it, I made it to the lake. Standing at the end of the wooden dock, I turned around and found myself facing a dozen figures wearing hockey masks. Their masks glowed ghostly white, and looked as if they were floating above the ground.

One of them approached me in dark clothes. I assumed it was Jason. But when he takes off the mask...It's Kenneth. Grinning down at me with his stupid shit eating grin. Then he takes one step closer to me. I take a step backwards, nearly losing my footing at the edge of the dock. I turn back to Kenneth, staring up at him.

"Can't run anymore, you crybaby...Renascuntur ab inferis. Surge," he says, holding the Necronomicon in his hands. The sockets seemed to glow from the book while billowing red smoke poured out of its mouth. Then, Kenneth shoves me hard in the chest, and I fall backwards-

I fell off the couch with a loud thud, startling me awake and gasping. I looked around the room, confused to where I was, then realized that I had slept on the couch in the living room of my dad's cabin. The sun was barely peeking through the trees outside. I blinked my watery eyes and stood up, looking around the room.

The Necronomicon didn't return. I didn't see it watching me as I slept...or see a ring of fire around me. The Necronomicon was not going to come back. It had a new owner: Kenneth. I sighed in frustration, running my fingers through my messy hair, slowly turning around in circles in a tired, panicked state.

I needed to get the Necronomicon back before Kenneth did something completely stupid with it. Of all people to be in possession of the book, why did it have to be Kenneth? I stopped spinning, taking a deep shaky breath and exhaling unevenly. I couldn't start panicking now. I needed to stay calm and collected. The book was in, I assumed, Latin or something ancient; and I doubt Kenneth took ancient Latin back in high school or college. The idea seemed to calm me down and I was able to breathe normally again.

I ate a quiet breakfast of cereal and a banana, then washed my anxiety meds down with a glass of 2 percent milk; before grabbing yesterday's clothes from the couch and slipping them back on. While I tied my mom's hiking boots, I tried thinking up of a way of getting the Necronomicon back.

I guess the only thing for me to do was to go down there, sneak into the cabin he was staying in, and steal the book back. That was my best shot. If that didn't work, my plan B would be to confront the asshole and demand he returned the book back to me...but, I'd rather just not see him at all after this.

I stood up and walked over to the closet. My dad's old baseball cap hung on one of the hooks on the inside of the closet door. I grabbed it off the hook and placed it on my head. I didn't want to get heat stroke again, so I was going to avoid that sun like a vampire.

My face, arms and legs were layered in sunscreen and bug repellent. I had a backpack with four water bottles in it and a few snacks. In my back pocket was my good ol' paint trowel, the same one that left a scratch on one of my dad's windows. I took a big, shaky breath and exhaled. A hoard of butterflies flapped inside my stomach, but tried ignoring them as I went through a list inside my head:

Shirt, shorts, water bottles, snacks, my mom's hiking shoes, anxiety meds, map, suntan lotion, cabin keys, car keys, and my dad's old baseball cap. I was ready to go. Opening the door and heading down the steps, my eyes gazed out across the lake, searching for a tall dark figure in a hockey mask. I hoped his search was going better than mine was. I wished I could just say his name and he would appear in front of me.

"Jason..." I whispered his name, as if seeing if my wish would come true. The lake glittered in the early morning light. The trees swayed gently in the breeze, but Jason didn't appear in their shadows. With a disappointed sigh, I began to make my way into the forest.

...

The map was not much help since it was a bunch of squiggles and lines. Crudely drawn, like a five year old did it. Staring down at the map while trudging around the bushes and trees. Possibly lost again. I took a break under a tree, drank some water and took a bite out of a granola bar. You'd think this camp would be easy to find. Was there a trail I couldn't see?

I wish Jason was with me. Not just to help me find the camp...

Why is it always so difficult for me to find this camp?

Placing my water bottle back into my backpack, I continued my way along the lake. If I followed the lake, I could find the camp. Eventually I somehow got turned around and was going in circles. Damn this map. Damn my bad sense of direction. I leaned against a rock and chewed the rest of my granola bar as I stared down at the map. Was I looking at it upside down? I turned it around. No...that would make the trees upside down. Were they trees? Maybe they were boulders-

"Hey! What the hell are you doing out here? Didn't you read the sign?" A voice interrupted my thoughts from behind me. I nearly choked on my snack as I turned around. It was that ranger who found me the first time I got lost. He didn't seem too happy to find me here again. He stopped ten feet from me and placed his hands on his hips. "Oh...it's you again...Did you get lost again?" the ranger asked me. I hesitated.

"Erm...yes?" was what came out of my mouth. I didn't want to admit I was lost...but, he believed I was a camp counselor, so he could take me back to the camp. The ranger sighed and motioned his hand for me to follow him. "Come on. Follow me. I'll take you to the camp," he said, as if he had better things to do, which I doubt he did. I didn't argue with him and just followed right behind him.

The ranger's footsteps were loud and noisy. Unlike Jason's which were quiet, and didn't leave any footprints. Jason's body, although large, would move through the forest like water, like he was a part of the forest itself. While the ranger just plowed through, slapping at mosquitos and breaking branches that came close to his face. Not respectable to nature.

Up ahead, the sign: Camp Crystal Lake appeared, but the ranger didn't stop, he kept walking past the sign. "Erm...I think I can find the camp from here," I said, but the ranger didn't laugh at my dry humor or say anything. Just kept walking. The Camp Leader was standing near one of the cabins, staring down at his clipboard, muttering something to himself. The ranger came up to the Camp Counselor Leader.

"Found one of your counselors lost in the woods. You need to keep a better eye on your counselors...don't want anyone writing up a report to sheriff Carson," he threatened to the Camp Counselor Leader. The Leader didn't seem all that happy hearing that and kept his eyes down on his clipboard. The ranger exhaled out of his nose and puffed up his chest, making himself look bigger.

"I'll be around...keeping a close eye," he said in his sinister voice before walking away. The Leader's shoulders seemed to relax when the ranger was gone. His eyebrows knitted together as he stared down at his clipboard in his hands. Did he ever look up from it?

"Nice of you to finally join us," he told me sarcastically as he wrote something down on his clipboard. He shook his head as if he were disappointed in me. I couldn't see his face because of that stupid wide brimmed hat he wore. His whistle flashed in the sun around his neck. "We don't have a lot of time. We need you cleaning the cabins. We will break for lunch at noon...Where's your shirt?" he asked me, not even looking up at me. I looked down at my shirt I was wearing.

"I'm...wearing my shirt?" I told him in confusion. He continued writing.

"No, the Camp Counselor shirt. The one I gave you the other day. Don't tell me you already forgot it..." When I didn't answer him, he sighed in annoyance and shook his head again, muttering something to himself. He reached down to the right of him and pulled out a shirt from a box nearby and extended it out to me. It was that same golden rod color as everyone else.

"Lucky you. You got the last one. Just slip it over your head and we can get on with today's schedule," he said.

I didn't take the shirt from him. "I am not here to be a counselor. I am just here to speak with Kenneth," I said, but the Camp Counselor Leader didn't seem to hear me as he gently shook the shirt at me to take it from his hand.

"Go ahead and take it, I need to be over at the canoe house right now," He said impatiently, still looking at his clipboard. I still wouldn't take the shirt from him. I was not here to wear a stupid yellow shirt and clean up cabins, I was here for a book that could set this whole place on fire and call upon an army of zombies. I was here to save the world. Why was everyone still insisting that I was a camp counselor?

"I've told you already. I'm not a counselor-"

"What's going on over here?" asked a different voice from behind the Camp Counselor Leader. A whole group of camp counselors began walking up to us, all wearing red shorts with white trim and those same golden rod yellow shirts. They all stood around us, forming a half circle. I recognized Victoria as she gave me a cold glare and crossed her arms across her chest. The guy who spoke was a dark skinned man, possibly a year or two older than me with short curly black hair. He placed his hands on his hips, but his face didn't seem upset, just curious.

"Is something the matter, Darnoll?" he asked. The Leader, now named Darnoll, nodded his head. "Yeah, this new recruit is wasting my time," he explained. The guy turned his head to me. "This true?" he asked me. I shook my head. "No, I'm just here to-" I started, but then one of the girls pointed right at me. "Oh my gosh, no way! It's you! You're here too!" she squealed excitedly. I stared at her blankly.

"Erm...I uh...I have no idea what you are talking about," I admitted truthfully. One by one, everyone in the group stared at me, then their eyes seemed to glint in recognition. "Oh my god...you're right! No way!" another guy said. "What the hell? We're all here?" a different girl said. "Holy shit, Kenneth was right!" the first guy finally said, which caught my attention.

"Kenneth? Is he here? I need to speak with him," I tried saying, but no one heard me. Except for Victoria. "Why do you need to see my boyfriend? He wants nothing to do with you," she sneered angrily, baring her teeth like a wild cat. I gave her a glare back, but the dark skinned guy blocked my view from her and gave me a friendly smile.

"Its been so long! I can't believe you are here!" he said.

I stopped glaring and gave him a confused look. "I...You must be mistaking me for someone else. I have no idea who any of you are," I admitted to him. They guy's smile disappeared. "What? You don't remember us?" he asked me. I shook my head. He pointed to himself. "Matt! The one with the braces and the terrible afro? I used to push you on the tire swing over by the lake," he said. I tilted my head slightly.

"Tire swing? By the lake?" I asked him. He nodded his head and gestured to himself and the whole group near him. "Yeah! We all went to this camp fifteen years ago! I think you were the youngest out of everyone here. You were ten. I was twelve. You were an amazing artist," Matt explained.

Before I could ask any more questions, Camp Leader Darnoll interrupted the conversation. "We don't have time for reunions or going down memory lane. We have a camp to clean up and be ready before Friday. Now, take the shirt." he said to me again.

"I'm not a couns-" I started again.

"Just take the shirt. Join us," said one of the girls with brown hair.

"One of uth. One of uth. One of uth," a guy in the back with a lisp started chanting. As if possessed, the rest of the group began to chant the same thing. "One of us. One of us. One of us. One of us." Victoria didnt join in on the chanting. She just glared at me with those black rimmed eyes.

I sighed in defeat. No one was listening to me. No matter how many times I said I wasn't a camp counselor, they would ignore what I said and insist that I was. I was outnumbered. There was no way I could get away with this. I needed to play their game, and play counselor. "Ok ok. You guys can stop now...I'll wear the shirt," I grumbled.

"Glad to see you finally coming to your senses," the Leader said as he tossed me the yellow shirt with the words Camp Crystal Lake Counselor printed on it. The chanting stopped once I began slipping the yellow shirt over my shirt I was already wearing. It'll only be for a while. Once I find the book, I can burn this damn shirt, I kept telling myself.

"Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake," said Matt.

...

The Camp Leader...I already forgot his name. Darney? Donnie? Anyway, he lead me over to the Arts and Crafts cabin, since everyone said that they remembered me being an amazing artist here. I think they wanted me to clean the cabin because it was the most disgusting out of all the other things to clean at this camp.

It was a mess inside. Boxes were stacked all over inside the cabin. Paint and glitter was spattered on the floors and walls. Some kind of green goo was frozen mid drip from the ceiling. Dust coated everything. The wooden cabinet inside had something that smelled of death and decay. Old paper Mache crafts lined the windows, while paper with paintings of animals hung from colorful string above our heads. Scraps of paper, wood shavings, and googly eyes decorated the floor.

"You have today and tomorrow to get this cabin ready for the kids. Lunch will be ready in two hours." With that, Camp Leader...Dormey? Was that even a name?...left me in front of the cabin. Once he was gone, I left the Arts and Crafts Cabin and began sneaking around the other cabins and looking into the windows. For the last two weeks, the counselors have been here at the camp, getting it ready for the kids, so that meant they were staying here overnight. All I had to do was figure out which cabin was Kenneth's...which was not an easy feat.

The cabin windows were still dirty and hard to look into. I wiped some dirt off one cabin. Inside were bunk beds, duffel bags and backpacks. The layout of the inside looked just like Jason's cabin. I could see books piled up next to the bunkbed at the floor. Already I knew this wasn't Kenneth's cabin. Kenneth didn't care for reading. I doubt he even knew how to read.

I checked the next cabin. Nail polish, mascara and other beauty products covered the surface of the dresser. Pink duffel bags were open with bikinis and summer dresses. Not that one either. I checked the next cabin. This one had clothes strewn all over the place. The bed was not made, and there were a few magazines I couldn't quite read, but it did give me the feeling that this one was possibly Kenneth's cabin.

I moved away from the window and tried opening the door. The doorknob didn't turn. I cursed under my breath. Shit, the cabin was locked. Shrugging off my backpack and unzipping it, I began to rummage through it. I have never picked a lock before, but it couldn't be that hard. I've seen people do it in movies all the time. Mostly with a paperclip, but I didn't have one on me, so I had to deal with my trusty ol' paint trowel.

I placed the tip of the paint trowel in the keyhole and began wiggling it around. No dice. Maybe I could go around the back and get into one of the windows, I thought to myself. The windows didn't look that hard to get into. I went around the back and scanned the windows. One of them was open and had a screen to keep out the bugs. I could pop the screen out and slip through. I got my paint trowel and began running the sharp edge under the screen. It popped out successfully.

The screen fell into the grass at my feet. I stared up at the wide square opening of the window. Now all I had to do was hoist myself up and look around. I looked around before placing my hands on the dusty windowsill and hoisting myself up.

Once I was inside, I began to look around for any sign of a book. A pungent smell immediately entered my nose, causing me to retch. I held my breath and my nose before quickly pulling aside the blankets, digging through the duffel bag and backpack, and finally peeking in the wooden drawers.

After four minutes of searching and holding my breath, I came to the conclusion that the book wasn't here...and was possibly not Kenneth's cabin. There were no signs of blood or scorch marks where flames might have suddenly been set off. I could cross this cabin off my list. I leaned my head out the window and gasped for fresh air. Jeezus Christ it stank in there! I was ready to leave that cabin-

"Hey! What are you doing back here?" yelled a voice. My whole body stiffened where I was at the window. My right leg inside the cabin, my left leg left dangling outside the cabin.

Shit. I got caught.

I quickly jumped out of the window. Maybe they were yelling at someone else. "Stop right there! Don't move," said the voice right behind me. Shit. Shit. Shit. I slowly turned around to face the person who caught me, hiding the paint trowel behind my back. It was the Camp Leader again. Donald? Dorian? Dammit. I needed to remember his name.

"I...Th-the screen popped out. I was just putting it back," I lied.

The Camp Leader gave me a look. He was actually looking up from his clipboard this time, his arms crossed over his chest. "Why aren't you at the Arts and Crafts cabin where I left you?" he asked me, giving me the impression that he didn't believe a word I was telling him.

"Bathroom?" I said. "Got distracted by the screen and tried fixing it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "...I'll show you where the bathroom is," he said, uncrossing his arms and leading me the other way. I took a huge sigh of relief and placed the trowel in my back pocket. After a while of walking across the campground, he stopped in front of the bathrooms, which was a literal outhouse. Just one small hut with one working toilet. I walked in, locking the door behind me, and stood in the disgusting outhouse; pretending to use the bathroom. After a few minutes, I flushed the toilet and walked out.

The Camp Leader escorted me back to the Arts and Crafts cabin, making sure I didn't wander off again. He made me go first, walking up the wooden stairs and back into the Arts and Crafts cabin that smelled like something had died in here, and then something ate that dead thing and died shortly after.

"When I come back, I want to find you here cleaning. Don't go wandering of to find other things to fix. You are assigned to this spot," he told me. I nodded my head. "Yessir," I muttered. He closed the door behind me, leaving me alone with the dusty old child crafts and stacked boxes...and the dead thing...which I found out was a dead possum...which was the first thing I got rid of.

Removing the paper mache creations carefully from the windows, I opened them up to air out the place. Once that was done, I began sweeping the dust and dirt from the old wooden floors and out the door.

When I began walking backwards to start sweeping dust in a new area, I accidentally knocked over one of the towers of stacked boxes; causing them all to come tumbling down. "Shit shit! shit!" I cried out as the lids opened up, causing old crafts made by kids long ago to come scattering out of them and across the wooden floors.

I quickly dropped the broom and went down on my knees, picking up the colorful artworks. There were tie dyed t-shirts, animals and monsters made out of plastic milk cartons and cardboard, painted rocks, masks made out of paper plates, and carved wooden figures. One of the figures made me stop to examine it more closely.

It was a carving of a bear. Out of all the other animals, this one was very well done. It couldn't have been done by an eleven year old kid. I turned the bear over to see the kid's name. The name Jason was on the bottom of the bear's feet. My heart skipped a beat seeing his name under the bear carving.

Jason? My Jason? I thought, immediately feeling embarrassed for saying that he was mine. Jason really did come to this camp years ago. Did that mean we both came to camp here? Is that how he knew me? Were we friends here fifteen years ago? I guess I would have to ask Jason when I saw him again. I stuffed the bear carving in my pocket before collecting the rest of the artwork and carefully placing them back into the boxes.

A loud whistle shrilled through the camp, causing me to jump. "Lunch break!" yelled the Camp Leader. Getting up from the wooden floor, I made my way out of the Arts and Crafts Cabin and down the wooden steps towards the lunch tables in the center of the camp.

Set out on one of the lunch tables were paper plates, napkins and plastic forks and knives. Red and blue solo cups next to huge liters of Mountain Dew, Sunkist, Sprite and Coca Cola. Pizza boxes stacked in order of popularity: Pepperoni, Bacon and Sausage, Ham and Pineapple, and Cheese. A pile of hotdogs sat on a huge plate next to the bag of hotdog buns with the condiments: Ketchup, mustard, and relish.

"Dig in. I'll be checking the generator and making sure its still running smoothly," the Camp Leader said as he grabbed a slice of Pineapple and ham pizza and took a bite before leaving. Everyone quickly grabbed a paper plate each and began piling up their plates as fast as they could. I stayed back and waited my turn. I didn't want to lose a hand trying to get in there.

Once a majority of them was done filling up their plates, they headed to the other tables and began devouring their food. I grabbed a plate and picked out whatever was left. Once I had what I wanted, I walked over to the furthest lunch table and ate by myself.

"So you seriously don't remember any of us?" asked a voice in front of me. I looked up and found Matt sitting across from me, placing his plate down in front of him. I kept my eyes down on my food, silently munching away, and nodding my head. I didn't really want to talk to the other counselors. I was not here to make new friends or chat.

"Maybe if I reintroduce everyone to you, you'll start remembering," Matt offered. I just shrugged my shoulders. I couldn't care less, but I couldn't get away from him now. I was stuck here for the time being. I looked up at him and waited for him to "reintroduce" all the counselors here. Matt reintroduced himself again.

"I'm Matt. We didn't really hang around during camp a lot, but I remember you always in the Arts and Crafts cabin. You were always painting." he told me. I just sat there across from him, staring at him blankly. Matt pointed over to a kid at the table to the right of him.

"That's Edwin in the black hoodie. He was always playing video games." Edwin was an overweight Hispanic guy playing on his DS. Edwin didn't even look up from his game to acknowledge us. He was too absorbed in his game. Matt pointed over to the strawberry blonde girl with freckles all over her face and arms. "That's Lauren. She loved being in the Arts and Crafts cabin too. She won second place in the Art Conest. You obviously won first." Lauren turned her head to the sound of her name and gave me a cold look, as if I called her something horrible in front of everyone; before turning her head away from me, eating her pizza.

The girl who first recognized me, came over and sat down next to me. She was a robust girl with long dark brown hair and thick glasses. She leaned towards my ear and whispered: "Don't be offended by Lauren's cold demeanor. She's bipolar," she said to me. I turned to her and she smiled, adjusting her glasses on her face. "Hi. I'm Mari! We were besties! We made each other friendship bracelets in the Arts and Crafts cabin!" she said.

"If you tell Mari you have a boyfriend she will fuck him behind your back," said another girl with dark purple hair and black eyeliner at the lunch table across from us. Her camp counselor shirt had no short sleeves. It looked like she ripped the short sleeves off to look like a muscle tank. Mari glared at the purple haired girl. "Shut the fuck up, Sasha, I do not!" she snapped angrily. Sasha gave Mari the middle finger.

"Tell that to all my ex boyfriends," she snarled at her.

Matt pretended not to hear them and continued introducing me to the others. "That's Aaron over there," Matt said, pointing over to the white chubby kid with the sandy brown hair. Aaron looked up and gave a sheepish wave. "Hi...we uthed to play with my Thtar Warths acthion figureths here," he told me. I nodded my head silently, but nothing was ringing a bell with what everyone was telling me.

"And last but not least, this here's Vic-" he stopped when he realized that Victoria was not there with them. "Where's Victoria?" he asked.

"Moth likely the's fucking Kenneth at hith cabin," said Aaron with his lisp as he rolled his eyes and turned his attention to his phone. My ears perked up at the mention of Kenneth and his cabin. "Where is his cabin?" I asked. Matt pointed over to the far left.

"His cabin is over near the archery range. He likes using the targets for knife throwing. He got in trouble a few times for bringing his knives here. Darnoll has tried confiscating them from him, but he somehow keeps getting them back. He's going to accidently hurt a kid with those damn things. I just know it."

My scars from my past with Kenneth seemed to burn like fire on my back. I fidgeted nervously where I sat, but quickly covered it up by stuffing a hotdog into my mouth. Everyone went back to eating and gossiping about Kenneth and Victoria.

Eventually, Camp Leader...Darnoll, that's his name, came back and blew his whistle, indicating that lunch was over and it was time to get back to cleaning. Everyone got up and began walking in opposite directions towards their assigned places where they were cleaning. I pretended to head back to the Arts and Crafts cabin. Once I was out of Camp Leader Darnoll's eyesight, I made my way over towards Kenneth's cabin.

To steal back the Necronomicon.

...