Camp Wacko: The Drones of Summer (11 page)

A soft rustling came from somewhere outside, causing me to lose my train of thought for a second. With a shake of my head, I dismissed the sound. Probably a wild animal or something. There it was again. This time quiet voices accompanied the sound. Curious now, I silently trotted over to the window in swift movements. Darkness, darkness, and more darkness. I couldn’t see a thing. However, my hearing was fully operational and there were definitely people out there. I hurriedly threw on a jacket and tiptoed down the ever-so-long flights of stairs.

Stepping out into the warm night air, I strained to hear what I had heard back in my room. I surreptitiously made my way around the whole dorm building. No dice. Baffled, I continued to investigate in the direction from which the mysterious voices had come.

I had only gone a few paces before spotting a patrol car. These guys were no joke. I didn’t know what the consequence was for being caught outside after curfew, and I had no desire to find out. I quickly ducked behind the closest thing available and waited for it to pass.

As the vehicle came closer, I was surprised to find Headmaster Crazy behind the wheel. He whizzed passed without a sideways glance in my direction, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. In the passenger’s seat sat a boy I had seen around campus, tense and alert. I decided to follow, my curiosity piqued.

I succeeded in trailing the patrol car all the way to the golf course without being spotted. Within a few yards of the course, the car abruptly halted. The boy got out and stood at attention until Dr. Wacko stepped down from his seat and ordered him to start walking. There was something almost robotic about the boy’s movements as he walked alongside the man, as if his legs had been tied to stiff blocks of wood. They continued toward the trees, moving so fast it was somewhat of a struggle to keep up.

As we came closer, I realized they weren’t going for the trees at all. There was a vast section of freshly mowed grass leading down to the thick line of foliage surrounding the golf course. A group of at least twenty to thirty people was standing there in the clearing, seemingly waiting for the boy and his master to arrive.

Now there was only so far I could go without being spotted, so at some point I was forced to stop and watch from a distance. The group of people were in a specific age range. No one seemed to be over eighteen. They all wore the same uniform of a black army-style coat, fatigues, and combat boots. Not one of them moved an inch as Dr. Wacko and his young companion made their way down the hill toward them. Their faces were completely void of emotion, not even breaking a sweat in their heavy clothing.

The boy stood in front of the group, placing his right fist across his chest as some kind of signal. Almost immediately, they all repeated the gesture, stepping into a perfect square formation in one fluid movement. The boy shouted out an order and the little army sprang into action, marching to and fro like perfect robot soldiers. All the while Dr. Wacko stood to the side watching, that creepily giddy expression plastered on his face.

The sound of another patrol car reached my ears. With no time to fully process what I had witnessed, I had no choice but to get out of there. I didn’t stop running until I made it safely back to my dorm room and nearly passed out from exhaustion.

One thing was for sure. Dustin’s father was not joking when he said his army would be ready within weeks. The group I had seen tonight may not have been very big, but I was sure there was definitely more where they came from. It was time to take some serious action. Otherwise, California was going to have a very rude awakening.

Not Your Ordinary Date

I TRIED TO warn Dustin about these latest developments, but I couldn’t even catch his attention long enough. The stupid boy was still too busy showing off to his perfect macho girlfriend. Unfortunately, True insisted on gaining Candy’s trust. What better way to do so than to offer to help her out with her first official date with Dustin?

To my dismay, she accepted, insisting that we help her get ready in her own dorm room. Her roommate, Sheila, was a total slob. She left her junk strewn all over the floor. When Candy asked her to pick some of it up, she just shrugged her shoulders and went back to listening to her iPod, her messy head nodding to the music.

We trudged through the sea of junk and headed for the bathroom. It was spacious and the counter was surprisingly free of clutter, so we were able to set down all the cosmetics we were going to use to give Candy her makeover. I started applying smoky gray eyeshadow to her lids while True searched for the right dress back in the war zone of clothing and accessories.

“Why are you doing this for me?” Candy asked after a moment, closing her eyes so I could apply eyeliner.

“Because,” I said, “every girl deserves to have the perfect first date. Even at a place like this. Look up at the ceiling, please.”

She obeyed. “Maybe…but I get the feeling there’s something else on the agenda here.”

I paused for a second before picking up the mascara wand. “OK, so maybe there is something else.”

After I had finished Candy’s eye makeup, she looked up at me expectantly. “Which is…?”

My friend with the perfect timing took this chance to make her grand entrance with the dress. While Candy changed, True and I discussed whether to just ask her about the secret group. I had already filled True in about the strange little army Dr. Wacko was forming, so we both knew the stakes were getting higher by the minute. We definitely needed help and these people could be our only hope.

Candy came back and we abruptly ended the conversation. She dazzled in her slender emerald evening gown. The makeup was perfect, if I don’t say so myself. Dustin had to be coming to pick her up any minute now, so she hurried to grab her purse and make her way to the lobby, with True and me close behind.

Dustin sat in one of the purple lounge chairs, playing with a little red yo-yo. He shot up to his feet the minute he heard us coming down the stairs. Tucking the toy back in his pocket, he regarded True and me with a cordial nod. Then he saw Candy and you know what happened after that. Total puppy mode. True, bless her heart, found something to fix on Candy’s dress and hair, leaving me alone with Dustin for a precious few minutes.

I took the time to give Dustin a hard pinch, snapping him out of it for the moment. He jumped, immediately staring down at me. “What was that f—?”

“There are things you need to know. Your dad wasn’t kidding when he said he was building an army,” I whispered, cutting him off.

He stopped rubbing his arm to stare quizzically at me.

“What?”

“When your date is over, just come and find me. Okay? It’s about time we had a little chat.”

Dustin took a breath to say something, but Candy had already escaped True’s fussing.

Giving his shoulder a friendly punch, I forced a smile. “You look good, Romeo. Have fun.”

I watched as he linked her arm with his, feeling a strange tug from deep inside my chest. He flashed a confused glance back at me. I waved halfheartedly. The curfew was in a few hours, but I had a feeling that really wouldn’t matter.

True and I hung out in the lounge area for a while, chatting with the other girls who stayed behind while their roommates were out and about around campus. Unlike the other academy I had been forced to attend, no one really knew who I was. Well, they did, but nobody knew me as the girl wonder sent just for the headmaster’s son. For once, I was simply Lily, and it felt good.

Still, the clock seemed to be going extra slow. One hour passed and then another. There was no sign of Dustin or Candy. As it got closer to curfew, the girls began to trickle away up to their rooms. Finally Casey, who now served as our dorm leader, announced that it was time for everyone to get to bed. She would be making her rounds in five minutes to make sure everyone was tucked in. Reluctantly, I began to follow True up the stairs.

“Wait,” Casey called, stopping everyone in their tracks. “Has anyone seen Candy?”

Right on cue, the girl in question came bounding through the door, breathless. Her cheeks flushed and dress slightly ruffled, this was the most disheveled I had ever seen her.

“I’m here,” she gasped, leaning against the doorframe for support.

“All right, everyone upstairs,” Casey ordered with a cheery smile.

Giggles and teasing followed Candy as she made her way up the stairs. She simply smirked, not saying a word. When she passed me and True, she paused.

“I finally figured out what you want,” she muttered with a sly smile.

Without saying anything else, she made her way up the stairs and down the hall to her room.

That night was one of the worst nights I had since my arrival. For some reason, I couldn’t fall asleep at all. Two full weeks had already gone by without any contact with the outside world. For all I knew, Agent Cooper and the rest of the FBI had fallen off the face of the earth. I could only wonder what the heck was taking them so long. Dustin was a whole other issue. He probably didn’t even remember what I had told him before he went off on his perfect date. From the sly look on Candy’s face, it had probably gone well. There were so many things I wanted to tell him, had to tell him.

For the tenth time, I rolled over to face the wall, hugging the pillow like a teddy bear. This was going to be a very long night.

Coming Clean…Mostly

“LILY?”

I shot up in bed, immediately looking at the clock. It was four in the morning. Two more hours left until the wake-up calls began. I must have finally dozed off.

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I yawned. It took me a minute to realize the voice hadn’t been my roommate’s. With a few blinks, my vision came back in blurry focus. I let out a startled yelp, bunching the covers around me up to my chin.

Dustin sat perched on the end of my bed, staring at me. In the hazy darkness of the early morning, I could barely see his face.

“How’d you get in here?” I hissed.

He shrugged, inclining his head in True’s direction. “How’d she get out?”

I glanced over at the empty bed. That was weird. I hadn’t even heard her leave. We usually alerted each other when one of us was about to go out for a little late night snooping.

“She’s resourceful,” I quipped.

Dustin chuckled. “I’m sure she is…and I bet you are too. Just what have you been up to, Miss Mason?”

“You mean while you were busy following your little girlfriend around?” I crossed my arms. “And I would really appreciate it if you didn’t call me that.”

Dustin stood up, moving to stand beside me. He leaned in close, placing both hands on the mattress, caging me in with an arm on either side of me. His face was now merely inches away from mine. “I can’t tell whether the cause of your crankiness is lack of sleep or just plain jealousy.”

I sat frozen in that position for a minute before ducking under his arm to reach for my now ordinary glasses. “You wish, Lover Boy.”

He laughed quietly, straightening back up. “You said it was time we had a chat. So let’s talk.”

I rolled out of bed, walking to the closet to pull on a sweater and sneakers. “Let’s. But not here.”

“Course not. I know a place we can talk privately.” Dustin climbed onto the windowsill. “I’ll meet you outside.” He gave me a little salute before disappearing out the window.

Showoff. I finished tying my shoes and headed out the door, opting to just take the stairs like I had before. Dustin might have been an expert window jumper, but I sure wasn’t.

He was already moving when I caught up to him, not seeming to care about anyone seeing us. The sun had already started to inch its way over the horizon, sending a small splash of color across the smoky sky. There wasn’t much time. If Casey came to the room with both of our beds empty, it wouldn’t be good.

After a few minutes of walking, Dustin came to a halt. I glanced around. We stood in front of a vast lake encircled with greenery. The quiet was peaceful but unsettling. Such silence caused my ears to ring.

Dustin sat cross-legged at the edge of the lake. I took a seat next to him, pulling my knees up to my chest. Neither of us uttered a word, simply staring across the shimmering water.