The pleasant chirping of birds gently pulled Ray out of his restful sleep. A peaceful smile spread across his face, but only for a moment as he was suddenly struck by the unnerving memory of the previous night. Ripping the sleeping bag from over his head, he saw Paris and Griffin very much present and on the other side of the cabin.

“Morning!” Griffin said to him, finishing tying the string of his swim shorts. 

Ray nodded at him and looked over at the door, where he had stood the previous night, staring out into the darkness. Where had they gone, if it truly wasn’t all a dream?

Groggy boys crowded the restroom, standing in a line by the shower stalls as they waited their turns—most shirtless, and all wearing bathing suits and carrying towels. Ray proceeded to the end of the short line, behind Lucas whose blonde hair danced with his upbeat performance of There’s A Hole In The Bottom of the Sea, much to the muted annoyance of the other boys.

Having finally secured a shower stall, Ray hung his towel and t-shirt on the provided hooks and slipped behind the plastic curtain into the steamy drizzle of water that breathed renewed life into his tired body. He fiddled with the shower handle, but the weak sprinkle seemed to be all the shower could manage. Shampoo suds flooded the drain as Ray rinsed his silky brown hair that fell within inches of his shoulders. Wringing it out like a sponge, soapy water trickled down his neck, coating his silky smooth chest and back before disappearing into the recesses of his amber swim shorts.

The water shut off automatically, seconds after he finished washing away the last of the soap. He dried off and slipped back into his t-shirt, then headed back to the cabins to drop off his stuff before meeting up with his cabin mates at the cafeteria.

“Stupid shower shut off before I was finished,” Paris fussed, pulling on a lock of hair.

“Sucks for you. Have to be quicker than that,” Griffin winked at him.

“Fuck you,” he retorted, surprising Ray with his harsh language. “You don’t have long, beautiful hair that needs to be delicately washed like me. Or Ray. Right, Ray?”

“Oh… yeah,” Ray said and blushed. He was too busy thinking about the previous night, withdrawn from the breakfast conversation. “Hey, where did you guys go last night?” he asked, wanting to finally receive the answers he’d been searching for.

Griffin coughed loudly as Paris slowly set down his spoon in his cereal bowl. “What are you talking about?” Paris asked, eyeing him.

“Um, I woke up last night and you and Griffin were gone.”

The two looked at each other. “We had to have a piss,” Griffin explained.

“You guys left? You’re not allowed to leave the cabin,” Jonah said, squinting at them.

“You’re right, next time I’ll just go piss inside your sleeping bag,” Paris retorted, twirling his hair.

Jonah grunted and took a bite of cereal. Ray remained suspicious; the two were gone for well over an hour. Something was going on, and Griffin’s darting eyes weren’t helping their case. He decided not to press it further, at least for the moment.

Splash! Ray shielded himself from the many droplets of water created by Lucas’s cannonball into the lake. Apparently, nobody had respect for the dry people at the camp. He heard footsteps coming down the dock behind him and turned to see Jonah approaching, smiling as widely as the face on his cap.

“Please don’t jump in and splash me, too,” Ray said to him. “It’s like nobody even notices I’m here.”

“Don’t worry, I dunno how to swim,” he replied, taking a seat next to him and dipping his toe in the water. “You?”

“I’m… uh, allergic,” Ray offered, hugging his knees close.

Jonah smirked. “Allergic, huh?”

Ray nodded.

“To water?”

“Um, yes.”

“Okay, yeah, no you’re not. Our bodies are, like, sixty percent water,” Jonah said, giving him a friendly nudge on the shoulder.

Ray watched a group of campers float by in a little kayak. “Well, I just don’t want to go in then.”

“Why not? You’re not scared, right? Didn’t you say you lived on the beach in, uh, what’s that place?” he said, snapping his fingers. “Clearwater!”

“We just moved in. I haven’t even seen our new house.”

“Oh. Where are you from, then?

“Abbotsford, it’s a—”

“Wait, Abbotsford? Like, Canada? So you’re Canadian!” 

“Yeah. I am.”

“Oh my gosh!” Jonah exclaimed. “What’s your team, then?”

“My team?”

“Yeah! NHL?”

“Oh, um, my family likes the Canucks, I guess. I don’t really watch it with them anymore.”

“Oh,” Jonah said, deflated. “Well, do you play at all?”

“No.”

Jonah frowned. “Are you sure you’re from Canada?”

They were interrupted by an adult huffing and groaning behind them. It turned out to be Henry, with a huge red bucket covering his upper body, which he set down in the grass at the base of the dock. He dusted his hands and noticed the curious boys looking at him.

“Lot heavier than it looks,” he explained, brushing the sweat from his forehead and gesturing to the bucket which the boys could now see was filled with many multi-colored water balloons. “You guys have the honors. I need some water,” he said, walking away.

Jonah's grinning head snapped towards Ray. “Oh my gosh, are you ready for this?”

“No way!” Ray protested. Worry gnawed at him as he scrambled for an excuse. “I just showered like two hours ago!”

“So what? Come on, Ray!” Jonah said, standing up and walking over to the bucket. “If we're not gonna swim, we might as well have some fun. It’s hot as crap!” He lobbed a balloon that bounced off of Ray’s neck onto the dock.

“Don’t, Jonah, seriously!” Ray said, swatting the back of his neck and scrambling to his feet. “I don’t wanna get wet!” 

“Come on,” Jonah said, laughing, “just a quick battle!”

“No! I really don’t want to!” Ray snapped at him, the nearly invisible hairs on his arms standing up straight.

Jonah looked down at the grass, a sad frown crossing his face. “You’re the only cool person at this whole camp,” he said softly.

Ray sighed. Am I seriously about to do this? “Fine, just don’t hit me in the face, please!” he said, reluctantly scooping the floppy green sack of water off the ground.

Joy flooded back into Jonah’s expression, and he ran to the other side of the dock, diving behind the big ammo bucket for cover. He flipped his cap around before grabbing a large one out of it.

“First one hit has to kiss the other guy’s butt!” he shouted. Ray wrinkled his nose, and Jonah hurled a balloon across the dock that he narrowly avoided. It splashed into the lake behind him, showering water over a group of kids swimming around.

“Water balloons!” a boy shouted, causing almost everyone in the lake to turn and swim to land. 

This was the last thing he wanted. Ray sprinted down the dock as a stampede of squealing and hollering children quickly overran the bucket with grabbing hands, and took cover behind a tree as the balloons began flying through the air. He crouched down, head in his hands as his rapid breathing overtook him.

Don’t freak out, don’t freak out. It’s just water—no worse than a shower!

He peeked out from cover and made eye contact with Jonah, who started making his way over, cradling two balloons in either hand. He chucked one that exploded against the tree Ray was hiding behind. Ray peeked again momentarily but snapped his head back to narrowly dodge the water balloon that whizzed past.

Stop being such a wuss! he thought, smacking his forehead. It’s not a big deal!

Stepping out from behind the tree, he launched his balloon at Jonah, but the nimble boy easily sidestepped it and charged back to the bucket to reload. While he was grabbing a handful, he was pelted by two balloons that completely drenched him. Jaw dropped, he slowly turned and saw Paris chortling at him.

“You’re dead!” Jonah shouted, and took off running to the bucket.

Ray giggled at their interaction. He closed his eyes, his heart beating faster, and charged into the fray.

“Oh, man! That was so amazeballs!” Jonah cried, breathing heavily, lying in the grass.

“That was epic,” Ray muttered beside him, clutching his belly as he caught his breath. His wet hair dripped into the grass as he watched butterflies dance above him in the sky. “When Paris nailed that girl in the head!” he reminded Jonah, who chuckled.

“She screamed like she got shot!” Jonah said. “And the look of horror on her face when she turned around and saw Paris!”

“Birth of a supervillain,” Ray laughed. “I’m pretty sure she won’t be over that hit for the rest of her life.”

“So, super fun, right?” he asked, and Ray nodded. “And you didn’t want to do it,” Jonah teased, poking him in the ribs. “You gotta enjoy it all in the short time you have,” he said, his expression turning serious. “That’s what my mom’s been telling me lately.”

“Uh-huh,” Ray nodded.

Jonah sighed. “I haven’t told anyone else this, but… my mom’s in the hospital right now. She has a heart disease. I can’t stop thinking about it. I want to imagine that everything will turn out alright, but… it probably won’t,” he said, looking up at the clouds.

“Sorry, Jonah,” Ray said. A pit had formed in his stomach knowing that his friend was going through such a horrible thing.

Jonah swallowed. “It’s just that, I hate thinking that I could die before doing all the things I want to do. Maybe a crazy water balloon fight was never on your bucket list, but, I still think you still gotta have fun whenever you can. I’m sorry if I was being pushy. My whole life, my mom’s always said how she wants to go to Norway and see the northern lights, but she never did. And now she won’t. Sorry. It’s stupid. Forget it,” he said.

Ray couldn’t tell if a tear had fallen down Jonah’s face, or if it was just water from his hair. Nonetheless, he stood up, lifted Jonah to his feet, and pulled him into a hug. Surprised, Jonah hugged him back. 

“You weren’t being pushy,” Ray said, patting his bare shoulder blade. “I was just being a grump earlier. I think I’m just bummed out about moving. Sorry I yelled at you. I’m glad I met you. This crummy week’s going to be a lot better because of you. I hope your mom’s gonna get better.”

“Me too. I’m glad I met you, too,” Jonah replied and broke the hug. “And it’s still only the first real day of camp!” he said, his familiar smile returning. “We got all week together!”

“Yeah!” Ray exclaimed, beaming as he pumped his fist.

“We still doing my pirate comic idea tonight?” Jonah asked, wiping an eye.

“Duh!”

Jonah smiled. “Chest bump on three?”

“One two three!”

They smashed their skinny chests together, then keeled over in a laughing fit that slowly evolved into friendly wrestling in the grass.

The whistle was blown and the kids were off. Seven of them, including Ray, scurried off in all different directions, leaving the opposing team huddled in a circle, eyes closed and counting down.

“Fifty-five, fifty-four, fifty-three…”

Ray sprinted across the field and scouted behind a cabin, but there was no good hiding spot there. Running past it, he noticed a metal barrel that looked promising, but when he reached it, he found it filled with trash. Some of the other kids hid behind trees, jumped into bushes, and one boy even climbed into the branches of a tree. Ray knew he could do better than those bozos.

He passed by some bathrooms, but they were off-limits. There was an open teepee by itself in the middle of the field, which would have been perfect if the goal was to get found immediately. Ugh. Why is this so difficult?

“Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…” they chanted in the distance.

He continued straight until he lay eyes on the perfect spot: the cafeteria. Were kids allowed inside without adult supervision? He couldn’t remember Henry saying it was off-limits like the bathrooms, so ran over and opened the door.

The dining area was dark and empty. Ray bound across the hall until he came across the big stainless steel doors leading to the kitchen. He peeked through the windows, looking for the kitchen staff, but only saw darkness. He slipped inside, goosebumps lining his arms, as he searched around the perfect hiding spot. Another big door caught his interest, and he pulled on the handle, attempting to open it.

“Are you trying to kill yourself?” came Paris’s voice from behind him. Ray yelped and stumbled away from the door. “Shhh!”

“You scared the crud out of me!” Ray whispered, clutching his beating chest. Paris just stared at him. “Sorry, I didn’t think anyone else was in here!”

“Yeah, well, don’t even think about hiding in the freezer! You got a screw loose?” he scolded, grabbing Ray by the wrist. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” he asked as Paris pulled him through the kitchen.

“Away from the freezer, obviously! Check out this spot,” he said as they came upon a metal countertop. “Look.” He kneeled and opened the cabinet. “See? Unfindable.”

“Are you sure we should go in there?” Ray asked, peering in. “It’s full of pots and pans and stuff.”

He rolled his eyes. “So we put them up here,” he said, transferring the cookware onto the counter, then ducked into the small compartment. “Come on.”

Ray crawled in after him, and Paris reached over and closed the cabinet behind him, sealing them in with the darkness.

“Not very roomy,” Ray muttered. He pulled his legs up, trying to make space, but his neck was starting to feel sore from bending forward. “Ouch!” he cried as Paris’s shoe sent a dull pain through his leg.

“What?”

“You kicked me!”

“Well, move your ass over. I don’t have a lot of space.”

Ray shifted himself so that they were sitting opposite, but parallel to each other, with their legs brushed up against each other. Paris fumbled around with his shorts and pulled something out. A bluish tint lit up his face.

“Is that your phone?” Ray asked him.

“Yeah,” he said, focused on it.

“Oh. Cool. I’ve never had a phone before.”

“Just ask your parents. I always ask my dad for one, and he buys me a new one. He always forgets that I already have one.”

“Lucky. My parents don’t want me to have one yet.”

“Hah, lame. So you probably don’t watch porn then, right?”

“‘Porn’? What’s that?”

Paris chuckled. “Nothing. Nevermind.”

“Okay,” Ray resigned. He didn’t want to come off as annoying by asking further.

Paris turned the phone’s flashlight on, flooding the entire space with light. Ray lifted an arm to shield his eyes, and Paris moved the phone under his chin, pointing it upward, illuminating his face from the bottom. “I’m bored. You know any ghost stories?” he asked.

“Um, no, not really,” Ray answered honestly.

“What about impressions?”

Ray pulled his legs in. “Shouldn’t we stay quiet so people can’t find us?”

“Nobody’s gonna find us, chill out. Even Griffin won’t think about checking the cafeteria. That Ring Pop prize is all mine,” he declared, rubbing his hands together. “Now, entertain me. Do some impressions. Do Danny Devito.”

“Who’s Danny Devito?”

Paris rolled his eyes and sighed, lowering the phone. “You’re useless.” He turned the flashlight on again and pointed it at Ray. “Show me your underwear again.”

Butterflies crowded in Ray’s stomach. “Why?”

“Because I want to see,” he said, then clicked his tongue. “Such a prude,” he added, rolling his eyes.

Ray shifted uncomfortably, but it was difficult with the limited room. “You’re kinda bossy,” he mumbled, looking to the side.

“Yeah, because I’m a boss bitch. So what? Show me, Ray! I don’t want to sit here with you doing nothing.”

“But I already showed you before!” 

“God, I’ll do it.” He crawled forward and pulled Ray’s legs out, then grabbed his shorts.

“What the heck, stop!” Ray protested, backing away, but Paris managed to overpower him and pull his shorts down his slender legs. Ray cupped a hand over his groin while trying to pull them back up, but Paris held tightly.

“Move your hand,” he said.

Ray pouted his lips, but gave in, withdrawing his hands. Paris took the flashlight at pointed it at Ray’s briefs.

“Don’t!” Ray said, lifting his legs as a shield.

“Dude, stop freaking out, I just wanna see something.” Embarrassed, Ray stopped fighting and slid his legs forward, allowing Paris to inspect his tight briefs. “Why do you wear that kind of underwear?”

“I don’t know,” Ray said, staring at the wall. “My parents bought them.”

“They seem like they’re for poor people. No offense,” he said, moving the light closer.

“Well, my mom’s not an actress like yours. Can you please stop looking so close?” He covered his groin with his hands, but Paris moved his arms away.

“My dad’s the one who buys me things, not my mom.” He slipped an index finger into Ray’s briefs and tugged them down the slightest bit. “Where’s your tan line?”

Ray withdrew from him and tried to cover himself, feeling that strange feeling stirring inside him. His heart was beating faster, too. He hadn’t a clue what he was feeling, or why Paris’s bizarre examination was making him feel that way.

“Is your dad famous too?” Ray asked, trying to regain some control of the situation as he felt his penis start swelling inside his underwear.

“Yeah, you could say that,” Paris smirked.  “Ever heard of the Island of the Omen Rose?”

“The what rose?”

“Nevermind. If you don’t know about it, you don’t get to know about it.”

Ray stared at him, intrigued. “What’s the ‘Omen Rose’? Is that where your dad works?”

“Dude, it’s nothing. Forget I said anything.” The two stared at each other for a moment, then Paris abruptly lurched forward, knocking Ray over, then began crawling up his body.

“Wha—Ack!”Ray cried as he fell backward. “What are you doing? You’re crushing me!” He bent his lower body, desperate to not allow Paris to brush against his erection.

“Chill out, I weigh like eighty pounds,” Paris said, moving his face closer to Ray’s.

“Is that a lot?!” Ray grunted from underneath him, feeling Paris’ breath against his face. They froze as they heard a door open in the other room. Ray pushed Paris off of him and frantically pulled up his shorts, while Paris crawled over to the cabinet door and peeked through the crack.

“Shit, they turned the lights on,” he said, continuing to talk in a non-whisper as Ray inched back to the other side of the cabinet. “Nobody’ll come in the kitchen, though, right?”

Ray shrugged. “We should probably be quiet,” he suggested, wondering if the older boy was even capable of doing so.

The kitchen door opened, followed by footsteps.

“Shit!” Paris moaned. He pushed his head against the crack of the cabinet, then groaned and flicked his head towards Ray. “It’s fucking Griffin. Of course it is.” Ray held a finger up to his lips, but Paris went back to looking through the crack. “Ohhh, I’m gonna be so mad if he finds us!”

“Hellooo, I can hear you!” Griffin called out.

Paris scooted to the back of the cabinet with Ray. The kitchen light flipped on, light pouring in through the crack.

“He’s cheating,” Paris grumbled, and Ray rolled his eyes internally.

Griffin’s footsteps approached, then passed them. They heard the rummaging of metal, then the footsteps returned.

“Ha!” Griffin said, wearing a satisfied grin as he opened the cabinet.

“You son of a bitch!” Paris said, shoving a finger in his face. “No! Unfind us!”

“Unfind you?” Griffin smirked.

“Yeah, pretend you didn’t see us!” 

“Get your skinny arse out of there!” Griffin chuckled. “Ah, mate! What have you been doing to Ray? Is that his face, or is it just a really big tomato?”

“S’just cramped in here,” Ray muttered as he climbed out, his hair disheveled.

“Ray showed me his tighty-whities,” Paris boasted to Griffin.

“No, I didn’t!” Ray exclaimed, somehow flushing even further and feeling his eyeballs prickle with humiliation.

“You did,” Paris said, following him out of the cabinet. “And he wanted me to lie on top of him,” he told Griffin.

“I didn’t want to do any of that stuff…” Ray mumbled, but the older boys didn’t seem to care as they laughed together.

“Looks like you’re out of a Ring Pop, mate,” Griffin said, putting his arm around Paris, who groaned. The three marched together back to the rest of the campers.

Jonah squinted at Ray and his drawing from behind his glasses. It was so close to being perfect, but one little thing was off…

“Make them sexier!” he declared.

“How do I do that?” Ray asked, finishing scrawling the two women’s long hair.

“Give them big eyelashes! And sexy lips!”

“Okay… like this?” he said, adding the requested features, but Jonah winced at his efforts.

“Who’re you making ‘sexier’?” Griffin asked from his bed, sucking on a Ring Pop.

“The island hoes!” Jonah said dreamily, but instantly snapped out of it when he looked down at their comic. “Ray!” he barked. “They look like birds now!”

“You told me to give them lips and eyelashes!” Ray said, and Griffin laughed.

“And why are they all tube-shaped? You have to shape their bodies like hourglasses. You know,” he said, drawing the curvy shape in the air with his fingers.

“That’s how I draw my characters!” Ray griped. “And I can’t erase pen!” 

Jonah placed his hand on Ray’s knee and stared into his eyes. “Ray, are you drawing hoes, or blow-up dolls?”

Griffin laughed. “Alright, I’ve got to see this,” he said, climbing down from his bed and making his way over to read the four-panel comic. Jonah proudly handed him the sketchpad, and he read it over. “Bahahahah, this is brilliant!” he laughed. “This is what you two’ve been drawing all evening?”

“Yup,” Jonah said, grinning. “We’re sort of a dream team: I come up with all the genius ideas, and Ray brings them to the page. Well, except when he draws the island hoes as weird-looking sex dolls.”

Ray groaned and fell back onto the bed. He hadn’t a clue what “sex dolls” were, but he could tell from context it was certainly something negative.

“Sounds gross and definitely unfunny,” Paris sneered from his bed. “We all know Griffin’s got the worst sense of humor.”

“Oh, what’s wrong with the little cry baby?” Griffin said, dramatically licking the length of his Ring Pop. “Still mad about losing hide-and-seek?”

“Fuck you, Robin, I’m not mad, and I didn’t lose. You cheated so it wasn’t even fair in the first place.”

“Oooh, someone can use real names,” Griffin rolled his eyes sarcastically. “You must be upset.”

“Who’s Robin?” Jonah blinked.

Ray was too busy being drawn into thinking about the encounter in that tiny metal cabinet to notice the exchange. What would have happened if Griffin didn’t find them? Why did Paris jump on him, and what did he want from Ray? Did Paris want to hurt him?

“Robin is my first name,” Griffin sighed. He scowled at Paris. “But my friends call me Griffin.”

“Yeah,” Paris smirked. “His name is Robin Griffin-Taylor and he’s a Robin Griffin-cheater.”

Griffin folded his arms. “What’s this ‘cheating’ shit you’re on about, then?”

“Because you didn’t see us, you just heard us, which is BS.”

“He heard you,” Ray chipped in.

“Tch. Whatever. That Ring Pop would be mine if it wasn’t for him,” Paris said, hopping down from his bed. “Lemme see your dumb comic. It can’t be that funny,” he said, joining the other boys on Ray’s bed. As his eyes scanned the comic, his lips curled inward, and he stood up from the bed.

“You’re laughing!” Jonah accused, smiling.

Paris inhaled. “I’m not laughing, I’m just worried I might vomit ‘cause of how bad the joke is. It’s like a five-year-old wrote it.” He turned to them. “I’ve got a much better one. Why didn’t Jesus like pizza?”

Jonah stared at him. “Why?”

“Because he never existed!” Paris shouted, and laughed.

Jonah narrowed his eyes. “That’s not funny.”

“Um, actually it is funny, objectively. And you’re free to use that in your next ‘comic’,” he said, making air quotes.

“Not really. It’s pretty insensitive, actually.”

“Can’t take a joke?” Paris folded his arms. “No wonder yours aren’t funny.”

“You’re the joke.”

“And I’ll beat you up, ‘cause you’ve got the most punchable face here.”

“Try it, ya dumb joke,” Jonah snarled.

Paris reached out and struck Jonah in the shoulder. He cried out and kicked at Paris, but Griffin jumped between the two.

“Piece of shit!” Jonah shouted at him, rubbing his shoulder. “Get away from me!”

“Lads, come on,” Griffin said, dragging Paris to the other side of the room.

“I knew he was an asshole,” Jonah said to Ray.

“Yeah, that wasn’t cool,” Ray agreed. The other two were now sitting on Paris’s bed, Griffin rubbing the small boy’s back as if he’d just come out of a serious wrestling match. He was beginning to feel relieved that he wasn’t stuck with Paris in that cabinet for longer. 

Jonah sighed and shook his head. “Let’s just draw some more. I need to cool off,” he said, his tightened fists clenching and unclenching.

“Mmh,” Ray nodded, and flipped open a new page.

Jonah’s soft snoring was just about the only other sound in the quiet cabin aside from the whirling ceiling fan. Ray turned over impatiently in his sleeping bag. Why was falling asleep so hard sometimes?

It’d been nearly two hours since lights out, and he’d spent most of that time thinking back over his encounter with Paris during hide-and-seek. The older boy was just so strange to him. Why did he want to see Ray’s underpants, and why did he jump on Ray like that? And worst of all, why was the whole event so exhilarating to him? The mere memory brought the sensation of Paris’ fingernails against the skin under the waistband of his briefs back to Ray. He could even feel his heart beating faster now, just thinking about it.

Something vibrated on the other side of the room. With heavy eyelids, Ray peered at the other bunk across the room and saw Paris’s sleeping bag shift. Was it his imagination, or was there a dim light coming from inside? He quietly propped his head up so he could see better, but the light shut off and Paris sat up. Ray quickly lay down, pretending he was asleep, keeping one eye cracked open.

Paris looked around, then scratched under his armpit and slid out from his sleeping bag, kicking it to the end of the bed. He reached up and tapped Griffin, who rolled over to face him, nodded, and climbed down the back of the bunk. Paris picked up his backpack from underneath the bed, and the two tiptoed over to the door, quietly unlocked it, and slipped out into the night.

Determined to finally figure out where they were going so late at night, Ray sat up and put on his slippers, unlike the two who left without shoes or even shirts. Being careful not to wake Jonah, he crept over to the door and peered back into the cabin. Jonah’s snoring had stopped, but the room was otherwise still. He cracked the door and escaped into the warm night, surrounded by the sounds of rustling leaves and buzzing insects as he made his way down the front stairs.

Now on the moonlit path, he felt his pajama bottoms dragging against the dirt and stopped to roll them up. He followed it to the bathrooms, where he pressed his ear against the door, light filtering through the crack on the bottom. Silence. He went inside, walking along the row of stalls and showers, finding each one disappointingly empty. Sighing, he returned to the eerie open air, wandering aimlessly with growing doubt that he’d be able to find where they went.

The assembly area turned out to be a rather creepy spot at night; the normally lively space completely abandoned, with only the sound of hooting owls and crickets for company. 

Where else could they be? Ray wondered. The hide-and-seek game popped into his head, and he proceeded down the path towards the cafeteria, sneaking around the counselors’ bathrooms instead of following the path along the cabins. As he closed in on it, he heard distant laughter—Paris’s laughter, the opposite way of the cafeteria. The lake!

He walked, enjoying the occasional warm breeze that rippled across his thin pajamas. The sight of a horned owl in a tree, covering the nearly-full moon, caused Ray to slow his pace. The owl cocked its head, and he cocked his back.

As the lake came into view, Ray crept forward, straying towards the darkness underneath the trees, and raised his head. He couldn’t see anyone by the water, or on the dock, but he knew the sound of Paris’s laughter undoubtedly came from the direction of the lake. As he got closer, he noticed some sort of small black object on the dock, contrasting against the brown wood. He didn’t remember it being there earlier in the day and stood on his tiptoes to get a better look.

He was about to continue towards the lake when he heard a twig snap, but before he could turn around, he was grabbed from behind, one hand wrapping around his chest and the other covering his mouth. Heart racing, he tried to shout, but the hand trapped his muffled yell. He tried to turn his head to see the mysterious figure, but all he saw was the owl from before, flying over the lake, leaving the struggling boy behind.