Regan Landman

Longberg
EN 102 Fri. 9:30-12:30
March 18, 2016
Camp Mystery and Camp History

The rising sun slowly pours its light into the cabin. The smell of pine trees, wood and dirt
surround me as I slowly start to wake up. I grab all my bathroom supplies and slip on my flipflops and slowly open the door to head to the bathroom. The door makes an awful, loud creaking
sound as I step outside. I look behind me to see if any of the campers had woken up to the
screeching door. Luckily, none of them seem to have been disturbed. I start making the walk to
the bathrooms that takes me 10 minutes to walk all as I have to walk across the river that runs
along the back of the cabins and up the tall hill that seems even taller in the barely lit morning. I
stop on the bridge and breathe in the fresh air and the smell of the flowers around me. On my
way there I meet up with another counselor, Jordan.
Hey Jordan! Hows your morning going? I ask cheerily.
How can you possibly be so cheerful this early in the morning? You are something else,
Annabelle. Replied Jordan. Hes not a morning person by any means and it shows in his
oversized black sweatshirt, grey baggy sweatpants messy brown hair, and dark circles around his
dark brownlight blue eyes. Today is the second full day that the campers will spend here this
summer, and I know from past experience that most of them will not have a good night tonight
because they have never been away from their parents for more than one night at a time. Luckily,
I have an older group of girls that had been to this camp before, so I was in the clear. Jordan, on
the other hand, wasnt.

I guess Im just a morning person. Have fun tonight! I yell to him as we go our separate
ways to the bathrooms. After I finish my shower, dry my hair, and brush my teeth, I head back to
the cabin to see if the campers are awake yet. I hope that they are still sound asleep so I can get
some reading done.
After about half an hour of reading I look at the clock on the floor next to my bed and see
that it says 8 am. I groan, knowing that I have to start waking the kids up so they can start their
day. Today the kids are doing their swim tests, so all the counselors have the day to themselves.
After all the kids are awake, fed and alert, Jessica, the other counselor in my cabin, and I lead
them to the lake on the other side of camp.
We run into Jordan on our way to the lake and our campers start mingling. Jordan, Jessica
and I start talking about the nightly bonfire ghost stories were going to tell the campers tonight.
Once we get to the lake, the three of us say bye to the campers and head back to the mess hall to
grab a snack.
Im so bored, does anybody have any ideas on what to do? asks Jessica in between
sighs.
We could explore the abandoned building in the woods behind the cabins! suggests
Jordan as he walks over to the table where Jessica and I were sitting. I personally love
adventures, so I instantly agree. Jessica agrees after a lot of persuasion and a promise of letting
her skip the campfire tomorrow night so that she can catch up on her beauty sleep. We throw
away our wrappers and head over to the woods.

Some say the building houses the spirit of the original owner of the camp who
mysteriously died on the grounds soon after the camp first opened. Not one of the counselors
believes this to be true, but its fun to try and scare the new campers.
We push open the door that makes an ear-splitting screech that could have been heard all
the way across the camp. We all turn our flashlights on and start looking around the wood
building. A hole as big as a car tire in the vaulted ceiling lets a lot of light shine on the dusty
shovels, fishing rods, and old metal buckets, making it a bit less eerie. As I look in a far corner of
the building I hear a strange noise, almost like two pieces of metal sliding against each other. Not
even a minute later I smell burning metal and head over to the front of the building to start
investigating.
When I hear the same noise again, it sounds like its coming from a few feet behind me. I
tiptoe over to where I think I hear the noise then use my flashlight to see if the light reflects off
of any metal. I skim the light over a bunch of old papers and old crates, but no metal. As I look
around I see Jessica and Jordan by the door looking up at the rafters to see if anybody was hiding
up there. I start looking through the papers to see if there is anything about the camp or the story
of the building. I spend five minutes looking through old newspapers from the 1800s when the
camp was first built when I come across a newspaper that has my face printed on the front page. I
open the paper and start reading the article discussing the woman in the picture. The article is
about the founder of the camp and how she had meant for the camp to be a place where her
family could take all of their friends for a summer vacation. I remember my mom saying how
much this camp means to her and her family, but I figured that it was because all of her family
members had been counselors there.

Jessica, Jordan! Come look at what I found! I yell to them. When they get to where I
am standing, I turn around and instead of seeing two people, I see three. I scream as loud as I can
until Jessica slaps her hand over my mouth while Jordan tries to contain my flailing arms.
Do you guys not see the kid standing behind you? How are you guys not freaking out
right now? Will someone please tell me what is going on? I try to yell, but it only comes out as a
muffled cry. Once I calm down, I beg for Jessica and Jordan to explain.
Who are you talking about? There are only three of us in the building. Nobody else is
here. Says Jordan quietly. I start to shake with fear.
I know I saw a fourth person. I know it! Im not just making this up! I yell as I sit on an
old box. Jessica kneels down next to me and wraps me in a tight embrace.
Lets get you back to the cabin so you can calm down a bit says Jordan in a soft
calming voice as he picks me up bridal style and starts walking towards the cabins.
Jessica, can you please grab the paper I was holding? Its right next to the box. I ask in
a small, shaky voice. She grabs the paper and we all start making our way back to the cabins.
After we get back to my cabin and Jordan puts me down on my bunk, I start reading the
old newspaper. The woman in the picture I saw earlier has my last name written in the caption
below it, so I pull out my computer and start researching my family history. After 20 minutes I
find a copy of my family tree online so I try to find the picture I saw earlier. Minutes later I find
the picture. It turns out that the woman in the paper was the original owner of the camp and
drowned in the lake not even a month after it opened. I put the paper down and I lay down on my
bunk and start thinking about my ancestor as I slowly drift off to sleep, dreaming about the camp
and the woman who looks exactly like me.