Chapter 17
Gabriel
They were halfway through the second-to-last session of camp when it happened.
It was Wednesday night, and they were having pork chops and mashed potatoes for dinner.
The mess hall was loud and cheerful, the campers mingling and having a good time, the counselors exhausted and trying to relax, the senior staff hoping that the summer would wrap up well.
Drew didn’t always join for dinner at the camp, but he had joined today, and Gabriel was glad.
They hadn’t directly told Gabriel’s parents that they were involved, and they were discreet around camp, but Gabriel had a feeling that at least his mother suspected.
She was perceptive, and it was hard for a mother not to notice when her child was in love.
The day had been normal. It had been busy, which was expected. The full routine of camp had become second nature to Gabriel. He was used to falling into Drew’s arms at the end of the night, exhausted and spent. Some days, he felt like he was living in a dream, only half awake.
There had been no other incidents at the camp related to the haunting, and Gabriel was beginning to think that their séance had helped. He had been skeptical of its success during the séance, but now he was hopeful.
He stood up to get himself more coffee when it happened: the lights in the mess hall went out.
Several of the younger campers screamed. Gabriel almost dropped his coffee mug in surprise, but steadied himself and whipped out his phone. He turned on the flashlight. Several counselors did the same.
“Don’t panic,” his father called, standing up. “I’m sure everything is fine. Everyone, stay with your tables, and I’ll check the breaker.”
The campers cheered, and Gabriel exchanged a worried look with Drew.
His dad hadn’t made it to the door when the lights turned back on.
One of the older campers hooted in relief, and there was some clapping. Before the celebration could really catch on, the lights shut off again, plunging the hall into darkness.
Gabriel’s stomach twisted in nerves. Haunting, he thought. Ghosts.
And then, the lights started to flicker. It didn’t seem random or like something caused by a power outage. It seemed deliberate, almost like the lights were sending a message.
Gabriel swore under his breath. “Dad, stay here, I’ll look at it,” he said. He was faster and could reach the electrical room more quickly. He touched Drew’s shoulder. “Come on.”
Before he left the mess hall, he raised his voice and shouted, “Everyone, stay with your cabins. Counselors, do a head count, please.”
As he passed his father, he grabbed Don’s arm and said, “Make sure everyone is accounted for. I’m going to find Hank, and we’ll see what we can do. If someone is pulling a prank, we’re going to find them.”
He had a sickening feeling that they wouldn’t find someone pulling a prank. He figured they wouldn’t find anyone, because whoever was doing this wasn’t part of the physical realm.
Drew followed him out of the mess hall. They both slowed when they saw that it wasn’t just the lights in the mess that were flickering.
All of the lights in the Citadel were turning off and on in the same pattern.
Whoever, or whatever, was messing with them was controlling all of the electricity to the camp’s main building.
They called for Hank, and couldn’t find him.
“Let’s go,” Gabriel said.
They hurried to a door marked “staff only,” which led to a staircase. The lights flickered there, too, eerie and frightening.
“The breaker room is downstairs in the basement,” Gabriel whispered. “Let’s be quiet. If there’s someone down here, we don’t want them to hear us.”
He gripped Drew’s hand. He wasn’t scared of the supernatural, but if there was something malicious going on at camp, he knew he needed to be cautious.
And he didn’t want Drew to get hurt. He felt protective of Drew, even though Drew was older.
Gabriel had more experience with the supernatural and the spiritual, and he wanted to shield Drew from anything that could hurt him.
He decided then that if something bad happened, he would put himself between Drew and any harm.
They reached the basement, which was mostly used for storage. The lights still flickered. The electrical room was beyond a back closet. They would have to navigate around boxes and old furniture to get there.
“Be careful,” Gabriel whispered into Drew’s ear, “and follow my lead.”
“Are you sure about this?” Drew whispered back, holding Gabriel close. “Should we have a weapon or something?”
Gabriel looked around and saw some old hockey sticks. In the blinking lights, he carefully grabbed two and handed one to Drew. “This’ll have to work,” he said.
They advanced through the basement, their steps completely silent. They were halfway to the electrical closet when the lights shut off and stayed off. Gabriel froze, and Drew bumped into him.
“Sorry,” Drew whispered.
Gabriel squeezed his hand. “It’s okay. Let’s be still and listen for a second.”
They didn’t move, and Gabriel strained his ears to hear if there was any sound. If there was someone in the basement with them, or someone in the electrical closet, they would have to go past Gabriel and Drew to get out. He was suddenly seized by cold fear at the thought of it, and clung to Drew.
Drew wrapped an arm around Gabriel’s shoulders. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Gabriel said, shivering, and glad for Drew’s warmth and solidity. “Just got scared for a second.”
They waited several more seconds and didn’t hear anyone or anything. “Let’s go,” Gabriel said, swallowing his fear.
They crossed the rest of the basement and reached the electrical closet. Gabriel took a deep breath, counted to three, and then yanked the door open.
He turned on his phone’s flashlight and shined it inside, half expecting a poltergeist to jump out at him.
The closet was empty.
He let out a breath and swore quietly. “Nothing here.”
“Look at the breakers,” Drew said. “None of them are flipped.”
“And the lights are still off.”
“Who’s down there?” Another voice shouted, and Gabriel and Drew both jumped. Drew shoved Gabriel behind him and raised his hockey stick.
“Who is it?” Drew shouted, his voice harsher than Gabriel had ever heard it before. Gabriel peeked out from behind Drew. So much for protecting Drew.
There were heavy footsteps on the stairs, and then a flashlight beam cut through the darkness of the basement.
“If you’re messing with the lights,” a gruff voice called, “get your asses out here!”
Gabriel relaxed so quickly he felt like a popped balloon. “Hank!” he shouted. “It’s me, Gabriel. I came down from the mess hall to check on the lights. Now stop shining the damn light in my eyes!”
Hank the Crank, the maintenance manager of the camp, pointed his flashlight at the ground. “You find anything?” he said. “I came down here to see if some kids were messing with the lights.”
“That’s what we did, too,” Gabriel said, stepping out from behind Drew, who hadn’t lowered his hockey stick. “But no one is down here. And they’d have had to go past us to get out.”
Hank stalked across the basement. It was almost impossible to see him in the darkness. He reached the electrical closet, and Gabriel and Drew stepped aside to let him in.
The old man grumbled to himself while he looked at the breaker. He fiddled with something, flipped a large switch, and then the lights turned back on.
“There,” he said. “We’ve got power again.”
“All of the power was off?” Gabriel asked.
“Looks like it,” Hank the Crank confirmed. He looked extra cantankerous as he sized up Gabriel and Drew. “You sure you didn’t see anyone?”
“It was pitch-black,” Drew said, “but we also didn’t hear anyone.”
“Like I said,” Gabriel added, “they would’ve had to go past us to get out, and I guess past you on the stairs.”
Hank harrumphed. “It must’ve been some kids. It was black as tar upstairs, and my eyes aren’t what they used to be. They could’ve snuck past me.”
“Or,” Gabriel whispered, feeling a combination of dread and excitement building in his gut, “it really is a ghost.”