Cartboy Goes to Camp (10 page)

 

Night Hunting

Dear Future Person Who Might Have My Life in Their Hands:

Ryan sat up and faced Vinny, Scot, Perth, and me. “Don't move. The four of you. Do not take a single step.”

Then he called over his shoulder toward the cabin. “Hey, Billy. C'mere. We have some … visitors.”

Billy lumbered onto the cabin steps and flashed his toothless grin. “You mean treshpashers. How 'bout I teach 'em a lessssson?”

Billy's meaty foot stepped toward us, so we turned around and ran.

All the way to our cabin. Without stopping.

The second we got inside, we collapsed onto our bunks. Scot had barely reached his bed before he grabbed the bottle of Purell.

He started slathering the Purell not just on his hands, but his
arms
too. As if it would wash away Ryan and Billy and the whole situation. “I'll never get those tickets to One Direction now,” he said.

Perth dropped onto the bed next to mine. “There goes my three-speed bike. And the mood ring. And the Rainbow Loom. Not to mention the Double Stuf Oreos…”

“Front row. I would have been twenty feet from Harry. And Liam. And Zayn…”

Perth grabbed his stomach. “Uhhgh. This is not helping the digestive system.”

FAARRT.

The whole time Scot and Perth were talking, Vinny stayed quiet. I could tell he was thinking about what to do next. Finally he looked up at me. “I hate to give up the hunt, Hal. But let's face it. Ryan is in that hammock
all day
.”

“True.” I took a deep breath. “But … he's not there at night.”

“What are you saying, Hal? That we dig in the middle of the night?”

“We could.”

Perth sat straight up. “That's crazy. First of all, we'd have to sneak past Theo. Just the thought of it gives me indigestion.”

FAAAAARRRT.

“Besides,” said Vinny, “we'd have to dig in the dark.”

I sat back on my bed and let out a big sigh. Vinny was right. Digging in the dark was a really dumb idea.

I was about to give up on the treasure too. But right at that second, I looked over at my cart. It was sitting in the corner of the cabin. Folded up. As if it were waiting for me to take it to school next year. To torture me even more.

I stood up, faced the guys, and cleared my throat. “Vinny. The first day of camp, what did you say about going home with the treasure?”

“That I wasn't leaving without it.”

“And Scot, you just said how badly you want those concert tickets.”

“True.”

“And Perth. Just think: Pepto-Bismol. By the case. By the truckload, even.”

“Unhhhnnh,” said Perth from the bottom bunk next to mine.

Vinny ran his fingers along his rolled-up map. “We
do
know the treasure's exact location now. I mean, it's almost like we have to see if it's there.”

“Okay, then it's settled,” I said. “We leave at midnight. When Ryan, Billy, Theo, and the whole camp will be sound asleep.”

Just then, the wind knocked a tree branch into the side of our cabin. “I don't know about tonight, Hal,” said Vinny. “Sounds like the wind is really picking up out there. I think there's a storm coming.”

“Well, then, I guess we better dig fast.”

One thing we figured out pretty quickly is that even if it's midnight, sneaking past a camp counselor is not easy. Especially one who tosses and turns. And
talks nonstop
in his sleep.

After about five false starts, we finally crept past Theo and out the door.

“Remember, everyone: complete silence,” I whispered when we got outside the cabin.

FART.

“C'mon, Perth. I know you can do it.”

WHOOOOSH.

“Okay, but what was that?”

“Nothing. Just the wind.”

“I think the storm is gonna be bad…”

“Let's just get to the hammock.”

The truth is, I was having a pretty hard time keeping quiet myself. Seeing as how I kept
tripping.
Thanks to my dad's flashlight.

Not only did it weigh about twenty pounds. But it also kept blinking on and off. Knowing my dad, he must have thought fresh batteries were a “needless extravagance.”

Finally we reached the hammock and started to dig. Perth managed to quiet down. But I had to admit, it was spooky out there. Majorly spooky.

The wind was
howling
and rain had started to fall.

WHOOOOSH!

A gust of wind whipped a branch across my face.

BANG!

Ryan's hammock flew up and knocked something over.

BOOM. CREAK. GRRRR!

“What was that?” Scot's voice was trembling in the dark. “It s-sounded like a human. Or a wounded animal. Or a wounded human…”

“Or a bear,” whispered Vinny.

Perth shone his flashlight on Vinny. “D-did you say b-bear?”

“I'm just saying, it's possible,” whispered Vinny. “I mean, based on the story of ‘The Jamestown Boy Who Disappeared.'”

“What b-boy?” asked Perth.

“Legend has it that a boy disappeared near Camp Jamestown back in the 1700s. He was last seen near the edge of the woods, close to the pond.”

Vinny smacked his shovel into the ground and lifted a pile of dirt. “They sent out a search party, but all they found was a patch of brown fur near the woods. Since the Powhatans believed bears had special powers, it was thought the bear took the boy in retaliation for when the settlers stole the Powhatans' food.”

“Vinny, that's impossible,” I started to say. But just then, my flashlight went out. And wouldn't go back on.

It was so dark, I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. The pitch black made every noise seem ten times louder.

“Let's just keep digging,” I said. “C'mon, guys. We are so close. We're ninety percent there.”

We dug and dug. But the storm only got worse. The rain beat against our faces, and the wind whipped dirt everywhere.

And then came a noise so deep and low, it went straight to our bones.

GRHHHHHHHRRRRRGRRR …

We looked toward the woods. There, right next to a giant pine tree, was a
huge
shadow. It had a head and arms that looked like they were reaching out to
grab
us.

It was impossible to tell what it was.

And Scot and Perth didn't stay around long enough to find out. They each let out a short scream:

“Ahh!”

“Ahh!”

Then they were gone. Headed back to Cabin 2 as fast as their legs could carry them.

“Should we go after them?” I whispered to Vinny.

“It's no use,” he whispered back.

“I guess it's down to us,” I said.

My flashlight flicked back on and shone in Vinny's face. He looked wet. Dirty. And completely exhausted.

I could tell it was time to call off the dig for the night. And that if we had one more setback, Vinny would be out too.

 

Pie

Dear Buddy from Space with Potential Advanced Kid-Saving Technology:

Vinny and I trudged back to Cabin 2 and passed out the second our heads hit our pillows. I'm pretty sure I know how much sleep we got before the gourd blew for breakfast.

D
OO
D
O
D
O
LO
O
o
oo!

About three minutes.

My eyes were stuck shut, and so were Vinny's. But somehow we put our feet on the floor and walked out the door. Somehow, we also managed to follow Theo across the clearing and to the dining hall.

“For some reason,” Theo said on the way, “I couldn't wake up Scot and Perth. They must be exhausted from all the practice for Pioneer Day.”

“That must be it,” I said, trying to pull my eyelids open.

We sat as far from Ryan and Billy as we could. But even though there were twenty kids between us, Vinny and I could still see the two of them talking.

“They must be wondering where all those holes under the hammock came from,” Vinny whispered into my ear.

“Let's not wait to find out.”

We hightailed it out of the dining room and into the clearing. Partly to avoid any questions from Ryan and Billy.

And partly because we had a lot to do. Pioneer Day was just a few days away. We needed to get in as much practice as we could.

Vinny and I made a list of every activity we really needed to improve on.