Adventures at Camp Lots-o-Fun (2 page)

DJ pointed to the trees. “Then what's that?”

Four pairs of eyes followed DJ's finger. Something
was
moving among the trees. Something very big. Something very hairy. Something very, very scary.

DJ shot to his feet. “It's a bear. Run for your life!”

The boys took off in a screaming, screeching scramble. “Wait! Stop! Come back!” Chris shouted after them. “There are no bears around here.”

Nobody waited. Nobody stopped. Nobody came back. The boys from Cabin Six raced toward Camp Lots-o-Fun as fast as their legs could carry them.

CHAPTER THREE
B
ARELY
E
SCAPED

The boys burst through the trees at the end of the path.

Another group of campers was heading out for a hike.

“Run! Run! There's a humongous bear chasing us,” DJ said as they raced past the startled group.

When they reached the cabin, DJ slammed the door behind them. “We're safe,” he gasped. “That old bear can't get us in here.”

“Hold on.” Ernie's voice squeaked. His short spiky blond hair stood up like a bristle brush. “Where is Chris?”

Suddenly the door flew open. Chris staggered in. His jacket was torn. His jeans were muddy. His face was streaked with dirt.

Raj's eyes widened. “Did you get in a fight with the bear?”

“No, I did not.” Chris stopped to catch his breath. “There was no bear. It was only a big dog.”

“But I saw it,” said DJ. “It was humongous. Like fifty feet tall. It had claws like daggers and huge hungry teeth.”

Chris sank into a chair. “What you saw, DJ, was a big dog. A. Big. Dog.” He said each word slowly. It reminded DJ of the way his mom spoke to him when she was cross.

“How did you get so dirty?” asked Andrew.

“I fell,” said Chris. “Twice.” He stood up. “It's lunchtime. I want you all to go straight to the dining hall. I'm going to get cleaned up.”

The dining hall was in chaos. Everyone was talking at once.

“Did you hear? A kid got eaten by a bear.”

“Some kids were chased by a whole pack of bears.”

“The bear was huge.”

“I want to go home!”

Mike, the head counselor, stood at the front of the room. He blew his whistle—
Blast! Blast! Blast!

“Listen up, everyone.” Mike's voice boomed. “There is no bear. There are no bears anywhere near here.” He glared around the room. “If I hear one more bear story, there's going to be trouble with a capital
T
.”

“But…” DJ stood up.

Andrew grabbed his arm. “Be quiet,” he hissed. “You'll get us all in trouble.”

DJ sat down again. They would be in a lot more trouble if that bear had followed them back to Camp Lots-o-Fun.

CHAPTER FOUR
S
OCKSTER

Dear Lots-o-Fun Journal,

No rain today. We haven't seen the bear again. Maybe
he got lost in the woods.

We went swimming this morning. Chris said we
should swim out to the raft. I told him that wasn't a
good idea. There are horrible things on the bottom of
the lake. They look like weeds, but they aren't. They are
monsters with wavy tentacles.

I saw one of the monsters gobble up a giant fish.
It swam into a big clump of tentacles. But it didn't
swim out the other side! When I told Chris about
the monsters, he rolled his eyes. He does that a lot.

He's going to be sorry if campers start disappearing.
This afternoon we made pinecone crafts. Chris told
us pine trees grow from pinecones. I had a fan-tabulous
idea! I collected a whole bunch of pinecones. I'm going
to plant them in our garden. Mom and Dad will be so
surprised when they find a pine forest in our backyard.

Dinnertime. Got to go.

Hungrily yours,
DJ, a.k.a. Power Man!

At the group campfire that evening, there was a sing-along. DJ loved to sing. He sang louder than anyone else.

The rosy sunset faded into darkness. Faces glowed in the flickering firelight. Night closed in around them. Finally, Mike said, “It's time for one last song.”

DJ sprang to his feet. “Can we sing ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat'? I made up a new verse.
Row, row,
row your boat, gently down the stream. There's a bear
out in the woods and that will make us scream
,” he sang.

Some of the campers laughed. Others glanced nervously at the woods.

At lights-out, the boys returned to their cabin. DJ woke up in the middle of the night. The cabin was pitch-black. He heard a humongous splash coming from the lake. Then another. What was out there?

DJ scrambled out of bed. He rummaged through his duffel bag. His fingers touched something soft. He pulled it out and climbed back into bed.

DJ wrapped his arm around his sock monkey. “Don't be scared, Sockster,” he whispered. “Power Man will keep you safe.”

The next morning, before anyone else was awake, DJ tucked Sockster back into his duffel bag.

CHAPTER FIVE
S
OMETHING
F
ISHY

“Does everyone have his life jacket on?” asked Chris.

“Yes,” the boys answered.

“Okay. Two in a canoe. Andrew and Raj in one. DJ and Ernie in the other,” said Chris. “I'll bring up the rear.”

DJ climbed into the closest canoe. “You know what, Ernie?” he said. “Last night I heard a humongous splash. I'll bet it was that giant fish. Maybe it wasn't eaten by the lake monsters after all.”

Ernie hesitated. “I think I'll stay on the dock.”

“Ernie, hurry up and get into the canoe,” Chris said. “We're ready to go.”

“Don't worry, Ernie,” said DJ. “I'll protect you. If a big old giant fish attacks us, Power Man will give him a karate chop.”

The boys paddled along the shore until they came to a small bay. The lake's surface was as smooth as a mirror. DJ looked over the side. “I see the giant fish!” he shouted.

Ernie screeched. A pair of startled fishermen glared at them from their boat.

Chris paddled alongside their canoe. “What's going on?” he asked DJ.

“There's a giant fish down there.” DJ pointed. “I think it's following us.”

Ernie clutched the side of the canoe. “I want to go back to camp,” he said.

Chris stared into the water. “Calm down, Ernie. It's just an old log.”

Andrew and Raj paddled over. “I see it,” said Raj, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “I think it's moving.”

“The ripples from your paddle make it look like it's moving around,” said Chris. “Come on, it's time to head back.”

Andrew looked at DJ. “Only sissies believe in monsters and giant fish,” he scoffed.

DJ didn't answer. He stared into the water. Something was down there all right. Something that moved. Something that looked like a giant fish. DJ swallowed but he wasn't scared. Power Man would never be scared.

“Let's go, DJ,” said Ernie, snatching up his paddle.

DJ grabbed his own paddle. They were the first ones back to the dock.

That night DJ slept with Sockster again. Just in case Sockster was scared.

CHAPTER SIX
A S
URPRISE

Cabin Six was in an uproar. Chris had announced they were going on an overnight camping trip. “After breakfast tomorrow morning, we're off to Hermit Island,” he said.

“Does a real hermit live there?” asked DJ.

Chris shook his head. “The island is deserted. But it's a cool place to camp.”

Deserted? DJ's thoughts took off like a racehorse. “Maybe it isn't deserted,” he said. “Maybe it's haunted by the hermit's ghost.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Hermit Island is not haunted,” he said.

“Besides, there's no such thing as ghosts,” said Andrew.

DJ stood his ground. “What about Halloween?”

“They are only pretend ghosts,” Andrew said.

“I read a book about a ghost,” said Raj. “It was a true story. The ghost lived in a big old haunted house.”

Chris's hand shot up like a Stop sign. “There is no hermit on Hermit Island. There are no ghosts on Hermit Island. There is nothing on Hermit Island but rocks and trees.”

“But maybe…,” DJ said.

Chris raised his hand again. “It's bedtime,” he said. “Let's get a good night's sleep.”

DJ went to bed. But he did not go to sleep. His mind whirled. What if the hermit's ghost was guarding Hermit Island? What if the ghost did not like visitors?

Once again, DJ slipped out of bed. He rummaged through his duffel bag. Power Man might not be scared. But that didn't mean Sockster wasn't.

CHAPTER SEVEN
H
ERMIT
I
SLAND

“This place is awesome,” said Raj as they pulled the canoes up onto the beach.

“Grab your gear and follow me,” said Chris. “We'll get our tent set up. Then we'll go exploring.”

Ahead was a grassy clearing surrounded by towering spruce and pine trees. DJ wished he could go exploring right away. But an hour later, they were still struggling to set up the tent. It had already collapsed three times.

“Don't worry, Chris,” said DJ. “If we can't get the tent up, we can rough it.”

“What's roughing it?” asked Ernie.

“We can sleep outside,” said DJ. “It's really fun. You can see the stars and everything.”

“Are there snakes around here?” asked Raj.

“I'm not sleeping outside,” said Ernie.

Chris stood up. “The tent is all set now. Let's go for a hike.”