Chapter Two

The bus pulled into a parking lot illuminated by big, bright searchlights a few hours later. Yawning, I cracked my knuckles and rubbed the crick in my neck. Next to me, Emma stirred and sat up, rubbing her eyes. “How long was I out?” she asked. I blinked, trying to shoo the tiredness away. “Couple of hours,” I said, my reply accented with a very loud yawn. I glanced out the window. I could see the teachers talking with some other people, presumably the camp site counselors. One of the shadowy figures turned around and climbed back on the bus. It was Ms. Michaels, the cool science teacher. (She had a great sense of humor. She once let me and Tancred construct a mini bomb that she later used in a demolition presentation.) She looked around at all the students, the majority of which were still sleeping. She smiled, and then I saw what she was holding in her hand. My eyes widened, and urgently, I whispered, “Cover your ears!” Emma looked at me strangely but followed my instructions. Seconds later, everyone else was jerked awake by the sound of a maximized foghorn. Me and Emma joined in with Ms. Michaels’ laughter. “Good one, Ms. M!” shouted Tancred. Grumbling, the rest of the bus occupants filed off, still half asleep. Once off, we were all buffeted by a climate colder than the one we had just left. On my right, Emma shivered, and I blushed when I was reminded of the scene on the bus. I looked at her and saw that she must have too, because she blushed and quickly looked away when our eyes met. Biting on my lower lip, I turned and saw Tanc’s gaze rapidly flicking back and forth between me and Emma. He frowned slightly, and then grinned when he caught me looking at him. Up ahead the chaperones were trying to organize the cluster of teenagers into smaller sections. One of the camp counselors must have figured out that it wasn’t going to get them anywhere anytime soon, so she started to address us. “Okay guys. I know you’re all tired from that long ride but we need you to stay awake long enough for you to get your cabin assignments. Each cabin group will have a teacher, a teachers’ aide, or one of the older students with them. It’s a short walk from here to the cabins, so as soon as you get into your groups we’ll send a few counselors with you to help you carry your stuff. All possessions should be able to fit in the dresser given to you. Please listen for your name and group designation.” A bunch of teachers started yelling out people’s names. “Connors, D’Lacey, and Torsson, over here with the rest of the Red Team”, yelled Chad Bergstrom. At six feet four inches, Chad was the tallest guy I have ever seen. I mean, my dad is pretty tall, but Chad was HUGE. Almost mountain-like. If you didn’t know him, you would swear on your mother’s grave that he was on either the basketball or football team, or maybe even both. Hard to believe though, Chad was on neither. He was actually head of the Robotics Team. He could make almost anything, and if he needed advice on something to do with fire and/or destruction, he would ask us, the Terror Trio. Basically, as the Terror Trio, me, Emma, and Tanc were the best pranksters in the history of funny. There was no joke that we hadn’t told, no prank that we never pulled. People would come to us to get revenge on someone or just have a laugh. Anyways, the three of us made our way over to his side. “Hey guys. We’re going to head over to the Red cabin, so grab your stuff and get walking,” he said. Together with geeky Mikey Smith and gossip drone Jessica Morton, we followed Chad deeper into the woods. Soon, we entered a clearing surrounding the lake. Behind me, Emma breathed in sharply. “It’s gorgeous!” she exclaimed. “Yeah,” agreed Tanc. Startled, I stopped and stared at him, puzzled. “What?!” he asked as he passed me by. I shook my head. “Nothing”, I muttered, but it wasn’t ‘nothing’. Tancred Torsson would never be caught saying something was gorgeous.