Camp Koradel

Scott knew something was up when Sophie didn’t even glance at him after her “talk” with Paige and Sabrina, but he couldn’t just get up and follow her.

“Scott, you there, man?”

He laughed. “Yes, Roy; Not that you care anyway.” Scott smiled, looking up at him and Erin and squinting into the setting sun.

Erin chuckled uncomfortably as Roy punched his shoulder. “What’s up, Scott?” Paige walked up to the three of them, Sabrina not too far behind her. “You seem bored or something.”

“I am,” he said simply. “I’m going to go get a refill on my drink.”

One swift look into Scott’s cup before he could hide it told Paige that he was lying, and so she stood to follow him. “I need a refill too.” Fortunately, she was holding her cup in her hand, so the excuse was believable.

He had to suppress an oncoming sigh as he heard her following behind him, and as he went in, he left the door ajar for her. He went to the kitchen and poured a bit more into his cup, just to show that that was his honest reason for coming inside, but Paige sat on the countertop and glared at him.

“You’re worried.”

It alarmed Scott that she always knew what was going on inside his head. “Why would you think that?”

“It’s obvious that you’re worried that Galvin is going to do something to harm Sophie. You’re not really trying to hide it, I assume.”

“Would you quit that, Paige? It’s freaky.”

“What is?”

“Can you read minds or something?”

There was a scream from the hallway before she could answer, and after slamming his cup down on the counter, Scott sprinted from the kitchen into the living room. It was Sophie screaming, he just knew it…

Charley popped out of the hallway, though, stopping Scott immediately in his tracks. “Hey, Scott, calm down; I tripped. My scream was a bit melodramatic, I suppose, but that’s me.”

Scott stared at her, then past her. The door at the end of the hall was closed, but he could see unnatural white light coming from inside, so he said, “Is that Sophie and Erin’s room?”

“Yes, sir,” she said, smiling.

Paige, standing behind Scott, said, “Perhaps she needs some alone time, Scott, seriously.”

He looked over his shoulder at her. “I don’t agree. I think you told her some lie, and if you did, I’ll get you back for it.” Pushing past Charley, Scott ignored them telling him to just leave her alone. All he could focus on was getting her away from Galvin. Who knew what he might do to her?

He knocked quickly, and then when there was no answer, he pushed the door open. He said her name aloud once as the door swung open, and for a moment he was confused. The room’s twin beds were neatly made, the rug was clean, there was no trash, and even the open closet was tidy. But there was no one in there, and it didn’t make sense, until he saw the open window.

“Oh, God,” he muttered, backing out of the room before turning and running out of the cabin. Charley and Paige weren’t in the living room, and the first person he went to was Erin. “Come with me.” Not even bothering to wait for a reply, he clutched her arm and pulled her away from Roy, Brad and Anna. He could hardly focus on his surroundings, and the setting sun was not remaining in one place.

“Scott, you can’t just — oh, are you okay?” she touched his forehead gently, and told him to sit, holding his elbow on the way down.

“Sophie.”

“What about her Scott? She seemed upset. Is she mad at you?”

He stared at her, but didn’t really see her. Instead he saw Sophie written all over her facial features and in her voice. “Oh, dear,” he whispered, and Erin groaned, frustrated. She looked over her shoulder at a waiting Roy and became impatient with Scott. “She’s gone.”

Erin’s eyes widened, and she dropped his hand. “I don’t understand.” The sudden realization of her own conceit was appalling, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure what to think.

“I went into your room to see if she was okay, but she wasn’t in there. Her window was open, which means—”

“She has run away.”

“No, Erin—” Was he the only one that saw the other side of Galvin?

“I must go find Madame Rosette.”

He yelled her name again, but her tight-clothed body was hurrying away, indifferent to his worries. Surprisingly, she didn’t stop to say anything to Roy, and as she passed, he began walking towards Scott.

“What’s up with her?”

Scott groaned and fell back onto the grass. “You’ll probably find out soon.”

“What do you—?”

“Attention!” Madame Rosette’s voice boomed from the front porch, and everyone turned their attention to the old Barbie doll of a woman. “We have a missing camper. Galvin has already set out to look for her, and I’m going to go as well. Who wants to go?”

“Sophie’s gone?” It was Kasie who had spoken.

“Yes,” Madame Rosette said to her with a frown. “She ran away, I believe. I don’t understand why. She seemed happy here…”

“Madame Rosette,” Mary said, putting her hand on the woman’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find her.”

Scott raised his hand. “I’ll go.”

“Alright, Kasie, Erin, and Scott are going to go with me. Chris is going to stay here and keep an eye on you all.”

They each nodded, and Scott, Kasie, and Erin followed Madame Rosette to the big truck that was always in the cabin’s driveway.

“How come Galvin didn’t take the truck to look for her?”

Madame Rosette shrugged. “I’m assuming he thinks she didn’t go far, and he didn’t see any reason to drive.” She started up the truck loudly, but no one moved to buckle their seat belts. “Any ideas of where she might be?”

There was no answer except a small thud from behind them.

——————————

The sun was almost completely set, birds hiding away and big owls poking their heads out from their hollow trees. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining, so they had least had a semi-clear view of the road. They were just cruising around when Scott decided to voice his thoughts, “Don’t you think that if Sophie ran away, she would be smart enough to stay off the streets?”

Air rushed into the truck from behind him and when they turned around, they could see some kind of figure standing in the bed of the truck and peeking through the back window of the cab. Kasie screamed, but the girl laughed. “It’s just Charley. I decided to jump in the bed before you left. Now, about what you said Scott, what if she knew that but knew we would think that, so she’s staying on the streets because she thinks we won’t look there?”

Kasie, Erin, and Scott stared at her. “That’s too much,” Kasie muttered, turning back around in her seat.”

“Charley!” Madam Rosette seemed to have just entered the world. “What are you doing?”

“Ma’am, I was worried about Sophie; I had to come.”

The woman glared at Charley in the rearview mirror for a moment, but Charley smiled sweetly, her head poking through the little window. Scott wanted to push her head out. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like she had something to do with this.

“Stop,” He yelled, and Madame Rosette slammed her foot on the break.

“What is it?”

He pointed into the woods. “Flashlight. Let’s go.” Was it just him, or did Charley sigh when he pointed that out?

“Are you four okay with going out there alone? I’ll slow you down if I come.”

“It’s fine,” Scott answered. “We can manage, ma’am.”

“Alright, then, good luck.”

They climbed out of the truck and began walking quickly. The light had gone out, but someone was out there and Scott knew it. He was going to find Sophie no matter what it took.

“Erin, are you alright?” Kasie asked anxiously.

She simply shook her head and that was all that was said for a while until Charley fell onto the ground with a scream. “Would you be quiet, Charley? If he hears us out here, he’s going to leave as quickly as possible.”

“He?” Erin finally said. “Sophie is a girl, thank you very much.”

“I — I meant ‘she’.” He still couldn’t believe they didn’t understand that Galvin had to be behind this all. Scott wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to do, but he had to have her now.

“You foolish boy,” Charley muttered next to him. “What makes you think we’re going to find her?”

There was a laugh not too far away, and Scott’s head snapped that direction. “That’s what.” It was a male’s laugh, and though it hadn’t sounded too maniacal, adrenaline rushed through Scott’s veins as he hurried that way.

Slowing down, he felt a presence nearby, excluding the girls far behind him, and as he listened, he heard talking not too far away.

“Who’s there?” someone shouted, and Scott flinched. It wasn’t a familiar voice, and confused, he didn’t speak. “I said, who’s there!?”

Charley was then next to him, and she was breathing heavily; he could tell she was terrified. That’s when they heard Sophie. “You’re just hearing things.”

“I don’t hear things, girl!”

“Because you’re just… perfect, right?” She seemed to choke on her words as she spoke.

There was a gunshot and an agonizing yelp, and that’s when they heard Galvin’s voice. “Did you just—?”

“Shut the hell up, Mr. Wellman, or I’ll do the same to you. And Sophie, if you don’t be quiet, I’ll make it worse.”

Scott couldn’t take it any longer. He could hear her crying and knew she’d been shot. “Sophie!” He wasn’t the one to yell; it was one of the girls, and the mysterious man turned quickly and shot in their direction. Someone screamed in pain, and Erin yelled, “Kasie!”

Scott had to move. He didn’t know the man, but he could see his silhouette, so he leapt on him, knocking the gun from his hand as a bullet exploded from it once more.

“Sophie,” Galvin grunted from the tree he sat next to. “Don’t give in. You have to fight.”

“I… can’t,” She moaned softly from about 10 feet away. She wasn’t sure why, but she thought that was Scott who had jumped out of nowhere.

The man whose identity Scott still couldn’t tell threw him to the ground and Scott cried out. Weak and disabled, he rolled over and grabbed the tall man’s ankles, yanking him to the ground as well. They both cursed, and as Scott rolled over on top of him to punch his jaw, he felt something hard under his arm. He didn’t have time to inspect the object because the man’s arm wrapped around his neck and slammed his head in the dirt.

“Who are you and why do you want to hurt Sophie?” The words were forced and it hurt to speak, but they did come out, and when they did, the man’s grip loosened a little. Scott pushed him, grabbed the hard thing from the ground and pointed the gun at his face. Since it was dark and he couldn’t see well, the man leaned forward, about to lunge for Scott again, but when his face hit the gun, he stopped. It looked like he grinned but Scott couldn’t tell.

“You won’t shoot me. You don’t have the guts.”

He cocked the gun, wondering if the man was right or not.