Chapter 3 #2
I inched past massive construction vehicles and parked near the visitor’s center. With a mere five minutes to spare, I rushed across the gravel, swallowing down bile. The front door stuck, so I put my shoulder into pushing it open. The door flew into the wall, and the bell attached chimed.
Christie, the director of the program, hollered from above, “We’re in here!”
Great. The second floor of an old building without the AC running.
Trudging up the stairs, the air grew thick, and a musty smell unique to the ancient structures in Kirksville gagged me.
The second floor was one big meeting room, and the program coordinator stood in the center surrounded by the other summer counselors.
Mona looked up from her clipboard and gave me a guilty smile. “Hey, Sarah.”
“Hey,” I gave her a lazy wave. If I wanted to carpool with her, I’d need to get up a whole lot earlier.
“I got you an iced coffee,” she said as she gestured toward a beat-up, white refrigerator in the corner.
I immediately perked up. Slamming the cold caffeinated beverage, I listened to the others chat quietly before Christie called out, “Okay, let’s jump right in. Break into groups of four, and let’s get to know each other!” She clapped, smiling at us as she handed out activity packets.
“A scavenger hunt?” Carter asked, ruffling his blond hair.
“Yes!” Christie said, lifting a big tote from behind a folding table. “And here are your official Camp College Bound swag packs. I’ll be downstairs finalizing paperwork when you’re done. Now get going!”
Mona flipped through the paper quickly, then nodded. “Right. Let’s go.” Without waiting for a response, she was jogging down the stairs. Meg, a fellow BAE sister, rushed after her, but Carter and I took our time.
“I didn’t know you’d be working here.” He gave me a funny look before pushing a pair of sunglasses over his blue eyes.
“Yeah. Had to find some way to pay the bills. It helps that this looks good for future teaching opportunities.” I shrugged and picked up the pace to catch up with the rest of our team. Sweat rolled down my cleavage, and my thighs were already stinging from rubbing together.
It’s going to be a long summer. I’m definitely not an outside kid.
“So, your parents really cut you off? That’s brutal.”
I internally sighed. Some people had no sense of decorum.
“Yeah. They seemed to have a problem with me getting an MIP on the same night my sorority sister drunkenly fell off the roof and died.” I gave him a blank look.
“It sucks, but luckily, I can work.” Speeding up, I tried to outrun the awkward conversation.
“I can’t imagine.”
“Yep. It’s not fun. What are you doing here?”
Carter kept up with my short strides without breaking a sweat. “I’m a counselor every summer. My parents say it’s good for me to make an honest buck.”
There it is.
I’d been confused why a fellow trust fund kid was sweating it up for just above minimum wage.
“This is my last summer having to do this shit.” He smiled, all charm and bullshit.
We reached the edge of the parking lot, and Mona waved a hot pink index card in the air. “We have ten index cards to collect from around the area the program operates in. I think we should split up and get the rest faster.”
“Why are we in a hurry?” Meg asked, digging through her Camp College Bound tote bag. “Oh! A whistle.” She fished out a purple lanyard with a metal whistle on the end and put it around her neck before testing it with one short, shrill blow.
Carter took a step back and glared at her. “What the hell, Meg?”
“Sorry,” she said, a healthy blush spreading across her cheeks.
Mona waved her off. “Okay, so I’ll take the first three. All three tasks are on the main hiking trail.” She smiled at me and said, “Can you do the two down by the lake?”
I nodded, taking a quick look at the task list.
7. Count the kayaks and note their condition
8. Count the life vests and note the sizes and condition
“Easy peasy.” I checked the crude map at the back of the packet and walked in the general direction of the shed that housed all the water equipment.
I reached the gravel road and followed it down to the lake, pointedly ignoring the construction workers taking a break next to the visitor center. They were building on an event space to accommodate the growing interest in the area. It was part of the reason the AC wasn’t running.
The hum of the bugs lessened the farther I got from the trees, replaced by the gentle lapping of the lake against the shore. I may not have loved the great outdoors, but even I could admit it was a pretty sight.
My phone vibrated, and I cautiously smiled when my mom’s modelesque face flashed on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Hi, sweetheart. Quick question.”
I frowned. “Okay?”
“Do you remember the name of that mechanic Olivia knows?”
Squinting out at the shining water, I swallowed my disappointment. I was twenty-one and, for some reason, needed my mom to acknowledge what a big deal it was for me to be working my first real job.
“Uh, Jacob Kane. He works at Marshall’s Automotive.”
“Thank you! A light came on, and your dad is out of town at a conference. I thought I might try to surprise him by taking care of it myself.”
“Great. Glad I could help.”
A car drove past me, the crunching gravel catching Mom’s attention. “Where are you?”
“I actually started—”
“Oh, shoot! Sorry, sweetheart. I’ve got to go if I’m going to make Pilates. Love you!”
The line went dead before I could even say goodbye. Staring down at the black screen, I tried to understand the heavy feeling in my gut.
It’s not like I expected her to tell me she was proud of me.
I mean, she didn’t tell me she was proud when I graduated at the top of my class, or when I’d been accepted into the Master of Arts in Education program, so why would she tell me she was proud of me for working a seasonal job?
I thought she might say, “Have a nice day” or “Let me know how it goes.”
Tears welled in my eyes, making everything a little blurry. Mom had a knack for making me weepy at the most inopportune times. Or maybe it was my fault. At some point, I needed to take responsibility for letting my family wreck me emotionally with a pleasant phone call.
My phone buzzed again, and I hesitated to look. Sniffing, I wiped under my eyes and opened the text from Olivia.
Olivia Mohr
Left you a basket of goodies on your bed! Good luck today! Call me when you’re off
Included was a picture of a wicker basket stuffed with summer staples like sunblock, aloe vera, and bug spray, as well as an anti-chafe stick. Peeking out from the back was an assortment of face masks, bath bombs, and a paperback novel complete with a hot man’s abs.
I sobbed out a laugh, thanking the friendship gods for Olivia. The girl had a sixth sense of when I needed her the most.
Thanks! Will do
Standing on the edge of the grass, I took a deep breath and looked around for the shed. The map was essentially a series of geometric shapes and squiggly lines—not exactly helpful.
“Where is this thing?”
I followed a groove in the grass toward the water and finally saw a rickety shack down the shore with a hot pink index card taped to the door. The closer I got, the more creeped out I was.
“I just know there are a million spiders in there,” I muttered, flicking a mosquito off my arm.
The Aquatic Shack, as the map had it labeled, was tucked between two enormous trees. Branches hung overgrown along the roof, providing shade to the beat-up structure.
Stopping at the door, I ripped off the card and dropped it in my bag. Glancing behind me, I couldn’t see any of the other counselors, only a guy running along the lake. A quick peek at the map, and I realized Christie had us running all over the park.
“Quit being a coward,” I whispered to myself.
I twisted the knob, but the door didn’t open. Pushing a little harder, the wood groaned but still stayed firmly shut.
“What the hell?”
Wedging my shoulder against the faded, stripped wood, I counted to three and threw all two hundred plus pounds into the door.
It flung open, and I flew into a rack of kayaks.
My hip slammed into the wooden frame, and I tumbled to the dirty floor, skinning my palms and knees on the rough wooden planks.
I slowly rolled to my side, sitting with a loud thud. Blood trickled down my shins, and I dreaded the thought of having to check for splinters.
Brushing the loose, sweaty hair that had fallen from my ponytail off my face, I looked around the cramped space.
Two kayaks lay next to me on the floor, while three remained hanging on the wall.
Twenty or so life vests hung on rusty hooks behind me.
Next to the open door was a small window with glass so filthy it let in very little light.
“Not creepy at all.”
Setting my tote bag in my lap, I dug through it searching for something to write with, but, of course, there wasn’t a marker, pen, or pencil in sight. I sighed and slowly stood.
Pictures will have to do.
I took pictures of all the items on my to-do list and put all the kayaks back on the rack. As I turned to leave the Aquatic Shack, the door slammed shut.
“Hey!” I shouted, banging my fist against the door.
A shadowy figure moved past the dirty window, and I jumped back.
The sound of footsteps on gravel circled the shack.
I took a step into the middle of the room and followed them.
A loud thump hit the wall with the rusty hooks, shaking it, sending life vests to the floor.
I yelped, my hand digging through my bag for anything that might be used as a weapon.
Kind bar, bottle of water, ChapStick, tiny notebook, whistle, my tiny purse, hand sanitizer—
Unless my mystery visitor had a nut allergy or was a hemophiliac and could be taken out by a bunch of paper cuts, I was shit out of luck.
“Whoever you are, this isn’t funny!” I shouted, my voice shaky but loud.
Another thud, but this time behind the kayaks. In a surprising show of craftsmanship, the kayaks stayed put.
“Stop it!” I shrieked, wishing I had the pepper spray the university gave out during Homecoming last year.
A high-pitched scraping followed the outside wall next to the door, intensifying when it reached the doorframe.
My throat tight, I shrilly yelled, “I mean it! Fuck off!” My heart raced wildly against my ribs, and I struggled to take a complete breath. Sweat poured down my face, stinging my eyes, but there was no way I was blinking. I would stare at the door, willing it to stay closed until my eyes drowned.
Whoever was outside the door started to pound on it, hitting the wood until it creaked like it was seconds away from splintering.
Now that my wide eyes had adjusted to the darkness, the light coming through the cracks surrounding the door was ultra-bright.
The halo shook with each strike. Spots clouded my vision, but I fought the urge to shut them.
If I can just keep them open, the door will stay shut. Right?
There was a deep shout that sounded miles away, with the hammering on the door drowning it out. After one last crack, there was the crunch of gravel away from the Aquatic Shack.
The sound of my panting filled the small space.
Even as I strained to listen for movement, all I could hear was my blood pumping and my lungs struggling to find air.
I waited, preparing for what I didn’t know.
Minutes passed as I stood there, sweat dripping into my cuts, soaking my bra under my boobs, pooling under my belly, and along my thigh crease.
At least the hangover isn’t my biggest problem anymore.
On shaky legs, I took infinitesimal steps toward the door. I was in no hurry to leave the hot-ass shack, but I knew I couldn’t stay in there forever. Eventually, I needed to head back to the welcome center and beat the shit out of whoever thought it was funny to fuck with me in the woods.
I turned the handle, and just like before, the door didn’t open.
“You’ve got to be kidding me—trapped in a fucking death hut.”
Locked in the murder shanty, I checked my phone and silently cheered to see I had a signal. The phone rang and rang, but before Mona answered, I heard her voice outside the shack.
“Mona?” I yelled, my voice raw from all my panicked shrieking.
“Sarah?” Mona hollered back. “Why is there an ax in the door?”
“The fuck?” Carter grunted closer to the door. “Backup, I’m going to try to unwedge this thing.”
I took a step back, and sure enough, Mr. Gym Bro wiggled the ax until it came out, and the door swung open.
Bright light flooded the room, and I had to shut my eyes. “Thank God.” Blinking rapidly, my vision adjusted, and I rushed out into Mona’s open arms.
“What happened to you?” She held me close, gently stroking my head and back.
“I came in here to take inventory like the list said, and someone locked me in and scared the shit out of me.” I leaned back and looked into Mona’s dark brown eyes. “They were banging on the walls, and—I thought I was going to die.”
Carter let out a low whistle and said, “They scratched up the outside pretty damn good.”
“Boo!” someone yelled as they jumped out from behind the giant tree, then they started laughing.
“Asshole,” Carter said, slapping his fraternity brother’s chest. “You really scared her.”
Duncan gave me a guilty smile, running a hand over his short hair. “Sorry, Sarah. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“I hate you,” I growled, shoving past him as I stomped toward the welcome center. “I’m telling Christie.”
“Aw, come on. It was just a little joke.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the huge gouges that ran the length of the front wall. “Real fucking funny.”
Mona pushed him, making him trip over his big clown feet. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t!” he begged, jogging to catch up with us. “I need this job.”
I shared a look with Mona. “Fine. We won’t tell, but you have to finish our list.”
Duncan glared at us. “That will take all morning.”
“Then I suggest you get started,” Mona said, handing over the master clipboard. “No shortcuts. If you mess this up, I’ll tell Christie everything.”
Carter glanced back at the messed-up door and sighed. “I’ll help you, man. You’re going to have to fix that door.”
The two guys ran off toward the north side of the park.
“Fucking losers,” Mona said, checking her phone. “I say we give them an hour and then tell Christie anyway.”
“But you said—”
Mona raised a hand. “I lied. That asshole thought it was funny to torture you. The least he deserves is getting fired. We don’t need a psychopath like that working with the kids.”
As we walked back to the welcome center, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched.