I stumble into the cabin, slamming the door behind me and sliding down onto the floor.
Conner had been the one to open the door.
"You okay? What happened?" he asks.
I try to think of a response.
"A bear was chasing me."
There's no way he believes that.
"You sure, dude? You look like you saw something more than just a bear."
Ken and Adrian both walk over at this point.
Ken looks at me.
I know what he's thinking.
"Was it what broke the branch?" he asks.
"I'm not sure, but it's possible."
Ken looks worried after I say that.
"Well, whatever happened, it's over now," Adrian says, filling the silence.
"He's right," Conner says. "There's nothing more we can do about it right now. Best thing to do would be tell a counselor in the morning."
We all agree.
I walk toward my bed when I notice it.
My phone.
It's in the exact same spot where I left it before I went out to the bonfire.
But that's thing had my phone. How is it here?
I try not to panic, but my mind won't let go of the fact that I saw that puppet holding my phone, yet somehow it's back exactly where I left it.
I pick up the phone.
It's working.
The screen isn't frozen anymore.
"Was my phone here the entire time I was gone?" I ask.
"Yeah. Why?" Conner says.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
I stare at the phone.
I open my browser.
The website opens immediately.
Wish granted.
I quickly close the tab and wipe my history.
I sit down and let out a sigh.
"Joel, you have to be honest. What did you see?" Ken asks.
"You wouldn't believe me."
"Try me."
At this point, Conner and Adrian have both come over, curious about what I'm about to say.
"Fine. I'll tell you, but you can't say I'm crazy for it."
They agree.
"It wasn't a bear chasing me… it was these weird massive puppets."
"Puppets?" Ken says.
"Yes. They were at least eight feet tall, Ken. I think they were what broke that branch."
"Seriously?" He sounds more curious than scared.
"What'd they look like?" Adrian asks.
"I don't really know. I wasn't paying as much attention to the puppets as I should've been."
They all look confused.
"Well then, what were you paying attention to?" Conner asks.
"It's not important."
They go quiet.
I stand up.
"Let's just go to bed."
After a moment, they agree.
We all head to our beds.
I lay there staring at the bunk above mine before turning my head toward the window.
Something feels off.
I get out of bed and walk to the window.
The moon is bright again.
And there they are.
Three puppets standing in the tree line.
I stand there staring, too afraid to move.
Then, slowly, they back into the trees.
Gone.
I stand there for another ten minutes before finally crawling back into bed.
I lay there staring at the window for hours.
I don't even remember falling asleep.
I wake up the next morning to Adrian shaking me.
"Dude, you gotta wake up!" he says, panic in his voice.
"What's going on?"
"No time to explain. Just get out here."
The cabin looks like everyone left in a hurry.
Blankets are tossed off beds.
Bags are scattered across the floor.
We walk outside.
Five police cars are parked around the camp.
"Woah… what the—"
Every cabin door is open, with students standing outside looking confused.
We walk toward where the police cars are gathered.
It's the area near the sheds.
The empty cabin Layla went into is blocked off with caution tape.
"Do you think your dad knows anything about this?" Adrian asks.
We keep walking.
"I mean… yeah, good chance he does. He's probably here."
We find Ken and Conner standing near the caution tape.
Conner looks over at us.
"They're all inside," he says.
"My dad here?" I ask.
He nods.
"Yeah, he is."
We all stand there staring at the cabin.
"Whatever happened in there… that's what you didn't tell us last night, right?" Ken asks.
I nod.
A few cops walk out of the cabin and over to the counselors.
What did they find in there?
I try to peek inside, but it's too dark to see anything.
I already know what's probably in there.
But I need to see if what happened last night was real.
I step closer to the caution tape and slowly reach out.
"No, Joel."
My dad's voice stops me immediately.
"You know you're not supposed to enter a scene without permission."
I pull my hand back.
"Sorry."
"You all should head back to your cabin," he says. "We're gonna ask everyone some questions, so we need everybody to cooperate."
"Yes, sir," all my friends answer.
We start heading back toward our cabin.
As we pass the others, I see Clover sitting alone on the porch of her cabin.
She looks over at me.
She looks like she barely slept at all.
She probably noticed Layla never came back last night.
I keep walking until we reach our cabin.
Inside, we all sit around waiting for something to happen.
"This is crazy, dude. What could've even happened in there that requires that many cops?" Adrian asks.
Conner stands up.
"I don't get it either. This is just a camp. We've been here so many times, and nothing like this has ever happened."
"Okay, you have to tell us what happened," Ken says.
Adrian and Conner both agree.
"Fine… but you won't believe me."
I pause for a moment.
"I watched Layla get ripped apart in that cabin."