I looked around for Amy and my eyes collided with Mason's. I had the unsettling feeling that I was once again committing some kind of crime in his eyes. Resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at him, I turned away.
"There you are," Amy said, joining me.
"Sorry, I was chatting with my dad. Do we need to lug more stuff out?"
"No, it's all set up. Come on, it's time to get our bonfire on," she said, mischievously dragging me closer to the fire pit where Rick and Louise were handing out hot dogs to roast.
An hour later, I was stuffed and content as I sat on the ground next to Amy with my back leaning against one of the benches. The cool air teased my back while the fire warmed my face. The camp life was definitely growing on me. Of course, the kids hadn't arrived yet, and I'd be most likely eating those thoughts two days from now.
"Stor-y time, stor-y time," Ryan and Courtney began to chant. The others quickly joined in, including Amy and me.
"Okay, okay," Rick said, laughing. "Let's see, I need a really scary one that'll keep you on your toes," he said, rubbing his hands together, deep in thought.
Travis walked over to the mess hall, hitting a switch that was powering the nighttime lights. The night sky and shadows thrown by the flames combined with the many outdoor noises added to the eerie ambiance. Rick stood in front of the group, looking creepy as the fire’s dancing shadows distorted his features.
"A long time ago, all of this was nothing but ope
n wildness and was a favorite camping spot for locals and visitors to the area," Rick said, sweeping his arms out. "That is, until some campers came up missing. At first, the authorities assumed maybe they had lost their way, so they sent out search parties to find them, but couldn't find a trace of anything," he said, dropping his voice down to an eerie whisper. I fought back a giggle as Amy gripped my arm. She was obviously a lightweight when it came to spooky stuff.
"Rumors began to spread like wildfire," Rick continued. "The locals were convinced the area was haunted and the campsite lost its luster for camping until a group of college kids decided they were going to get to the bottom of the rumors." Rick paused for effect. Amy soaked it up, but I couldn't help but smile. I loved ghost stories, and had pretty much seen every horror movie ever made over the years with Carol.
Glancing around, I could see the others watching him intently, and couldn't help thinking what a field day Carol would have if she were here. She was the queen of sneaking up on people and scaring them. As Rick continued the story, my eyes met Mason's across the fire. His expression looked different than I had become used to, almost troubled, as he studied me. I knew I should probably ignore it and look away, but I found myself contemplating why I troubled Mason so much. We continued our staring match for several minutes as Rick droned on until finally, not able to handle the intensity any longer, I finally looked away.
"The next morning all but one camper remained. When asked what had happened to the others, he claimed the trees had come alive. The authorities didn't believe him and feared they had a crazed killer on their hands, so they locked him away. The locals now claim the voices of the victims float through the trees when the wind blows," Rick said, finishing his story.
Amy reached over again and gripped my arm. "I told you he tells some freaky stories," she said, darting her eyes around like she expected to be dragged away at any moment by the trees.
"You don't watch many scary movies, do you?" I asked, smiling at her.
"Hell no, that shitzle would give me nightmares for years," she said dramatically. "Are you telling me you like to watch them?" she asked, shuddering.
"Heck yeah. My friend Carol and I have a weekly ritual where we'll watch a double feature. Most of them are cheesy as hell, but every once in a while we stumble upon a slasher masterpiece," I said enthusiastically.
"You're a freak. You know that? You look all sweet and innocent with your long flowing skirts, but…" she let her voice trail off.
"Don't worry, sweets, I won't kill you in your sleep," I teased, dropping my voice down to a deep whisper.
"Eeeeek. I'm going to have to sleep with one eye open," she griped as Rick joined us.
"So, what did you two think of tonight's story?" he asked, smiling at me.
"Well, Ms. Psycho here loved it," Amy said, looking at me like I had sprouted an extra head.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm a bit of horror buff," I admitted.
"That's great! So am I. You must have gotten it from me, because if I remember right, Kate isn't much of a horror fan," he said, sounding pleased about finally finding something we have in common.
"Nope, Mom's not much into the horror scene. I've tried to drag her to Halloween Horror nights at Universal Studios for the last couple years, but she's balked at the last minute every time," I said, laughing.
"Maybe I can fly out and go with you," he said, obviously testing the water on fatherly visits.
"That would be awesome," I said, smiling at him warmly.
"Ready to go to the cabin?" Amy said, pulling on my arm.
"I guess I need to walk baby back to our cabin," I teased.