Bible Camp Read Free

his chance for
revenge.”
    The clearing had become as still as
stone, the day’s heat roasting the flesh of those standing there.
Not a sound could be heard, not even the buzzing of insects or the
singing of forest birds.
    Then Ken snickered. “You almost had me
there, old man, trying to scare us off.”
    “ I’m not trying to do any such thing,”
Tucker said with heat in his voice. “I’m just letting you know why
the camp has been closed. The old church kept it that way out of
respect, but then you all come along and buy the place and decide
to change everything. Nothing good is going to come of it, I tell
you.”
    “ Come on, Mary,” Ken said, turning
away and pulling his girlfriend along. “We’ve got work to
do.”
    Mary gave a last sorrowful glance to
the old man, then she disappeared as she was pulled around the bend
in the trail.
    Tucker stared in their wake for a few
more moments, then he turned back to the house.
    As he neared the entrance, a large
shadow moved within, causing the old man to stop just outside the
door.
    “ Don’t you worry about anything,” the
old man said. “I won’t let them harm you any.”
     
    ***
     
    “ I’m starting to remember,” Mary said
as she and Ken made their way along the path.
    “ What’s that?” he asked as if he
wasn’t much listening to her words.
    “ My older brother used to talk about
it,” Mary said. “The fire the old man was telling us about. There
was a kid killed. His name was Tommy something. They called him
Tank.”
    “ Tank?” Ken let out a laugh. “Why’d
they call him that?”
    “ Apparently he was a big kid,” Mary
said. “My brother said they used to make fun of him, he was so big.
Said it was too bad Tommy didn’t make it to high school because he
would have been perfect as a football player.”
    “ Really?” Ken said. “Yeah, I guess
somebody like that would be good for a defensive
tackle.”
    Before further words could be shared,
they came out in the circular gravel lot where the vehicles were
parked. Abby still sat on a stump while reading, but every few
seconds she would glare over the top of her book to where Gloria
was rooting around in the back of the Jeep, loud pop music blaring
from the speakers within. Of Lance and Russ there was no
sign.
    “ Where are the stupid twins?” Ken
asked no one in particular.
    Abby slammed her book closed and
thrust it down onto her knees. “Looking around the cabins, like you
told them, and making a bunch of noise while doing it. Between
their hysterics and the ditzy chick here with her music, there’s
been no lack of noise.”
    Letting out a laugh, Ken dropped
Mary’s hand and moved up to the Jeep, slapping the side of the
vehicle.
    Gloria let out a squeal and sprang out
of the Jeep. Glaring at Ken, she did not look happy.
    “ What was that all about?” she
asked.
    Ken kept on smiling. “Just keeping you
on your toes.”
    At that point a scream came from
behind one of the cabins, and a moment later Russ came rumbling
into view as if the devil himself were right behind him.
    The big youth ran around behind Ken as
if hiding, then pointed back the way he had come.
    Laughter was heard first, then the
grinning face of Lance, who approached his friends with something
furry on the end of a stick held out towards them.
    “ What is that?” Mary asked.
    Russ stuttered and kept pointing.
“It’s a c-c-cat.”
    “ A cat?” Abby sprang to her feet. “It
better not be.”
    “ It’s not a cat,” Lance said with
another chuckle. He slung out the end of the stick to one side,
propelling the small dead animal into the nearby woods.
    Gloria looked stricken and backed away
to stand near Mary and the others while Abby stormed past Lance and
stared into the weeds where the dead critter lay.
    Lance tossed the stick to one side and
said, “See? It’s just a raccoon.”
    Abby turned on him with hate in her
eyes. “And you killed it?”
    Backing away, the tall, skinny youth
held up his hands