- Ooooh, spooky!
Username: Karmel
Link to roll call post: [Here]
Link to previous form: [Here]
Prompt response:
Hinata jolted awake in a fashion that was anything but peaceful. His feet were tangled up in the sheets, and when he tried to get up he got caught and fell to the floor with a loud thud. The boy on the top of his bunk startled awake with a ‘Whossat’ and all this caused the third boy to jump to attention with an unholy screech. The poor fourth cabin mate heard the scream and, in his resulting awakened fear, smacked his head on the top bunk on the other side of the room.
A head poked over the edge, staring down at Hinata with sleep-ridden eyes. “What’s going on?”
“I heard something,” Hinata said with a shrug.
Suddenly, a bang sounded directly outside their cabin door. They immediately leaped out of their beds and grouped together in the center. Because there was protection in larger numbers, right? But they definitely weren’t hiding, nope. Total misunderstanding. It’s common to cling to another camper’s shirt. No one dared to speak in the silence that followed. The red glowing numbers on the alarm clock counted the minutes slowly long past lights out as each boy strained their ears to hear anything more.
“It was probably a raccoon,” one boy reasoned, mostly to assure himself.
Hinata raised a questioning eyebrow, “That was an awfully big sound for a raccoon. Anyway, that wasn’t the noise I heard first. Something weird is going on. Should we check it out?”
Blank stares met him full force. Hinata took a deep breath and pulled on his Kamp cap. He strode purposefully over to the corner where some odd items rested against the wall. These objects were obviously supposed to be cleaned out of the cabin before new arrivals came but apparently someone missed the memo. Lucky for them, this treasure trove of trinkets provided just what they needed: weapons and armor. Hinata plucked a broom from the corner and handed it to one boy and gave the second a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign to use as a shield. He took two marshmallow spears for himself like wielding dual blades, smiling in his cleverness and swinging them around his fingers.
The fourth bow looked between the three of them, then back at the pile of trinkets. “But what do I get?”
A silver bucket was placed on his head. Hinata righted it so the boy could peak his eyes out from underneath the rim. “It’s a helmet! You’ll be safe in this.”
The broom bearer hefted the object to test the weight and nodded to himself. A sturdy sword indeed. This will do. Together they approached the door, creeping forward like an army about to enter battle. The wet sign shield kid stood at the front protecting them from immediate harm. Bucket helmet took up the rear trying to hide the quaking in his slippers. Hinata and his sword friend were on either side brandishing their weapons in obvious defiance to the possible threat.
Hinata looked them all in the eyes, “On my count of three we open the door and charge.” Shaky nods showed their agreement.
“One,” he breathed.
The group shuffled closer. Despite their slow movements they sure made a lot of noise.
“Two.”
A small hand reached for the door handle. Sweat formed on their brows and their breathing grew harsher in anticipation.
“Three!”
All at once the door was forced open into the night and the boys, in their haste, almost didn’t see the looming figure right in front of them. They put the breaks on their feet and stopped, piling up on each other from behind. Hinata felt the breath leave his lungs and he was sandwiched between campers. One boy let out his second scream for the night.
“Whoa, jeez kid calm down. That’s my eardrum,” came a familiar voice.
Peaking out behind the other campers, Hinata saw the counselor Beni holding a plant of food with one hand and covering his right ear with the other. One by one the boys relaxed, loosening their grips on their weapons. They were quite the sight to behold. All dressed in a disarray of pajamas, one with a household object as a hat.
“What are you guys up to? You know it’s past bedtime.”
Hinata brushed himself off and approached the counselor. “We heard a noise, sir.”
“Oh, that? I just stubbed my toe on the way back to my cabin.”
One boy snorted behind Hinata in amusement. Hinata, however, put his hand on his chin in careful thought. “But I heard something before that… something from the forest?”
Beni looked at the kid and smiled, teeth glinting in the light of the moon. He leaned over casting a shadow across the boys. “Like a ghost?”
The screaming boy did not indeed scream, for he had moved past that. Instead, upon Beni’s question, started to bawl. Hinata was glad that kid never signed up for the hike.