Summer Camp
A short story by Roman Espiriter - All my own writing, no AI
Inspired by the August 10 prompt of the day from Amanda Todisco’s writing group.
(729 words)
They looked forward every year to summer camp season. It was the focal point of their whole existence. Living in the forest the way they did, it was a real change to have some outside activity to stir up a bit of excitement.
The tiny town of Ludson’s Lake tripled in size for the annual event. The sleepy hamlet shrugged off its regular lethargy and dressed itself up in bunting and fairy lights to attract young couples and families.
Hundreds of visitors from all over the state descended on the area, arriving in their colourful automobiles packed high with tents and sleeping bags and cooler boxes filled to the brim with supplies. They set up their little homes away from home on the soft sand, canvas awnings shading the deck chairs that looked over the lake.
The town residents welcomed the influx of cash to the local economy. It was a real boon to a community with no industry or big business to support it. The money they made over those several weeks saw them through the rest of the year.
The ones living out in the forest were equally grateful for the tourist traffic. While not benefiting directly from the camping cash cow, it did mean food on their tables as well.
At the camp ground, people swam in the lake or rented canoes to paddle to the far side. Young fathers taught their kids how to fish, while their mothers laid back in the sunshine for a well deserved nap. There were hikes into the forest and along the narrow trail up to the top of the biggest peak to get a bird’s-eye view of the area.
Children made new friends with kids from other parts of the state, became best buddies for the duration of their stay, inseparable from dawn to dusk. Their parents were happy they were being social, even though they knew there might be tears at the end of the stay when goodbyes had to be said.
The forest dwellers watched the campers from a distance. Counting their numbers, observing their activities, noting their movements. They kept their presence secret, hiding in the shadows so as not to disturb the visitors enjoyment of the area. Plans needed to be made to secure their share of the season’s rewards.
As the campers settled into their summer routines around the lake, targets were chosen. Never just one member of a group. It had to be the whole family, to avoid detection and prevent a panic. If word ever got out about things here they would be ruined. There would be questions asked, investigations made. The truth would come out. The summer camp crowd would stop coming, tourist traffic would dry up totally.
So the forest dwellers selected a single family. Not one that tended to stay most of the time around the lake. They were always surrounded by other people. Too hard to get them alone. Easier to work with a family that went hiking in the hills, or climbing around the cliffs. Easier to catch them on their own.
And on the final day of the summer camp season they would pounce. The trap would be set, the chosen family taken while they walked in the woods. No chance for escape, no one to hear their cries for help. They would just disappear, never to be heard from again. Nothing left to be found. Everything was consumed.
The forest dwellers would feast for days on the family, fatten themselves up in preparation for their annual hibernation. From early autumn they would shut themselves away in their secret place deep in the forest and sleep. They would stay that way until their hunger woke them again at the end of the spring and they rose again ready for the next summer camp season.
The townsfolk knew of the forest dwellers, but kept their existence to themselves. Think of the damage it would do to the tourist trade they relied on for their livelihoods. When all the tourists departed back to their homes, there was always one camp site left over. The locals would clean it up, remove all the belongings, wipe every trace of the family from the area. They felt bad for those that had perished, but they also knew that it was better it had been them and not one of their own.
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Roman
I feel like every summer camp secretly has something like this going on under everyone's noses.
Oh yes! THIS is the good stuff.
Thank you.