The Legend of the Firewalker (22 page)

“That’s a great idea,” said Angela. “Especially since the banquet falls on the Fourth of July holiday!”

“I hoped you would feel that way,” said Lafonda. “Do you think you could cover for me for like a day? I would be gone in the evening and return sometime in the afternoon the next day. I’ve already cleared it with my grandmother. I just need someone to help Nathan with the girls that day.”

Angela was going to say something, but then paused to look at Alan. He was busy texting on his cell phone. “That sounds like a great idea,” she said finally. “Of course I’ll help!”

“Thanks!” Lafonda said happily. 

Angela paused to look at Alan again. “What are you d
oing, Alan?”

“Texting,” he said.

“Texting who?” she asked.

“Oh, just a few people,” responded Alan. He had a huge grin across his face. “This is big news!”

Quickly, Angela took Alan’s cell phone out of his hands. “Give me that!”

“Hey,” protested Alan ardently. “Give me back my cell phone!”

Angela and Lafonda laughed.

“Later!” Angela chuckled, while pocketing the cell phone. 

“What’s the big deal!” he pouted. “It’s big news and other people will want to know.”

“Yeah?” retorted Angela. “But what kind of people?” She folded her arms across her chest. “Probably not an
yone that actually cares about Leah.”

“Go ahead and give it back to him,” sighed Lafonda, while rolling her eyes.

Angela frowned but gave Alan his cell phone.

“Thank you!” he rejoiced.

“So, is everything okay?” asked Erin. “I mean, I didn’t know her, but I … heard about what happened.”

“Yes,” said Lafonda softly, while nodding. “Everything is fine. Leah said the doctors want her to relax and gave her a
clean bill of mental health. They are calling it stress-induced hallucinations.”  

“What does Leah think about that?” asked Nathan. “Does she think it was just stress?”

Lafonda paused and then glanced at her cell phone. “She didn’t say,” she said. “But her mom is talking about keeping her home for a semester.”

“That sucks!” commented Erin. “Well, at least she is okay and gets to go home.”

“I agree,” said Lafonda, with a nod. “I think Leah is just glad to get out of that place. She’s ready to put the whole ordeal behind her.”

“Ooh,” uttered Angela, “and if she comes up for the clo
sing ceremony, she gets to relax and hang out with us. Isn’t the ceremony going to be outdoors and in the evening too? She’ll get to see the fireworks!”

“I know,” said Lafonda. “We talked about doing some shopping at the mall down there to pick out some dres
ses.”

“Shopping too?” exclaimed Angela, with a smile. “Gosh, I wish I was going. I haven’t gone shopping since camp started.”

Alan abruptly stopped texting and smirked at Angela.

“What? I said I
haven’t gone
shopping,” she said. “The Internet doesn’t count.

Angela rolled her eyes, but suddenly looked concerned once she was facing Lafonda again. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “I know I won’t be there, but you can still text me pictures of dresses so I can see.”

Lafonda responded with a half-smile. “That’s not it,” she said, appearing slightly gloomy. She forced a small chuckle followed by a quick wink. “Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll still send you pictures.”

“Then
… what’s wrong?” Angela asked. “You look down all of a sudden.”

Lafonda’s smile disappeared and she seemed hesitant to speak. “It’s about something Leah mentioned on the phone,” she said. She lowered her voice and leaned in closer to the table. “She said she hadn’t spoken to Ama
nda since the night she was admitted to the hospital and that Amanda hasn’t returned any of her phone calls.”

“Oh, that’s it!” spouted Alan, gesturing dismissively with cell phone in hand. “Maybe she just hasn’t had time to return her phone calls.”

“No, there’s more,” explained Lafonda. “I’ve tried calling Amanda too and haven’t gotten anywhere. The last time I saw her was at my birthday party.” She began to whisper. “And this is where it gets weird; Leah said Steve’s parents called looking for him. They said he’s been missing for over a week now, and they can’t reach Amanda or her parents.” 

Angela reached over to take Alan’s cell phone again, but he moved out of the way.

“Alan!” she groaned. “This is not the time.”

“What?” he protested. “This is news. And you never know
— someone might know where Steve is or where to find Amanda.” He held his phone in the air so that it was out of Angela’s reach. “We should let people know, Angela!”

Lafonda tossed her long black hair over her shoulder and sighed. “Go ahead and let him,” she said. “Maybe somebody knows something.”

Alan’s cheeks became a deep red and he smiled widely. A spark of passion beamed from his eyes. “I’m all over it!” he said.

“Whatever Alan,” protested Angela. “You’re such a go
ssip king.”

“Thanks!” he said, over a flurry of thumb movements. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Nathan looked on and laughed as Alan continued to text feverishly. He also thought about Leah and how great it was that she would be finally going home.
I wonder what it will be like to finally meet her,
he thought to himself.
I wonder if she will even like me.
His palms began to sweat.
It feels weird that the closing ceremony will be the first time I actually meet her. I feel like I know so much about her already.

Over his thoughts, he could hear Lafonda discussing Amanda’s and Steve’s disappearances again.

“It’s strange that they would go missing,” Nathan muttered. “Their disappearances have to be connected to each other.”

“Hey, Nathan!” called a voice over the cafeteria chatter. Nathan caught a glimpse of someone waving. He looked up to find Jonas standing behind Angela and Alan. “Hey, N
athan!” Jonas called again. “Can I talk to you for a second?” 

“Sure,” Nathan responded, feeling slightly embarrassed. “What’s up?”

Jonas fidgeted with his basketball a little before securing it underneath his arm. “It’s about last night,” he said.  

Nathan sprang from the table and grabbed his tray. “Hold that thought,” he said. He could feel Lafonda’s gaze and ev
eryone else’s at the table. To his surprise, even Alan stopped texting a second to look at him. “How come I can go unnoticed on some days, but not when I want to?” he muttered.

Nathan headed over to a corner of the cafeteria that was seldom used, and Jonas followed. Nathan looked over J
onas’s shoulder to make sure they were out of earshot. He was certain Alan would still try to read their lips. Nathan cleared his throat.

“About last night,” he said. “Have you said anything to anybody?”

“No,” Jonas responded, while continuing to fidget with his basketball. “I’m not even really sure what it is that I would say.”

“Good,” Nathan whispered. “We should definitely keep this to ourselves for now.”

Jonas nodded, but then suddenly looked confused. “Why?”

“It’s probably safer that way,” Nathan said. “Until we figure out what’s going on and what the deal with those cre
atures is, we probably shouldn’t tell anyone.”

“Oh, okay.” Jonas paused to look back at one of the caf
eteria tables. Christina Williams smiled back at him. “Have you told anybody?”

“No, I haven’t,” Nathan said. He smiled at Jonas reassu
ringly. “I know this is a lot to handle, and believe me, I totally understand what you’re going through.” He grinned. “You know, Jonas, now that I am thinking about it, you are the first person that actually knows about my ability.”

Jonas smiled and Nathan leaned in. “I’m actually r
elieved to finally be able to talk about this with somebody,” Nathan whispered. “And not just with anybody, but with someone that has an ability too.”

Jonas relaxed his shoulders. “Yeah, I can see how that would be a relief. I couldn’t imagine going through all this by myself. Those little hairy monsters alone make my head spin.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” said Nathan.

Jonas suddenly had an excited look on his face. “And what kind of ability do I have, anyway? It’s definitely not as cool as yours. I can still see you blasting those hairy guys into the air!”

Nathan glanced quickly over Jonas’s shoulder to see if anyone had heard him.

“Keep it down,” Nathan chuckled.

Jonas cringed slightly. “Right,” he said, lowering his voice. “I still think what you can do is amazing.”

“Your power isn’t too shabby either,” said Nathan with a smile. 

“I guess not,” Jonas responded with a shrug. “I’m still not quite sure what it is that I did.” He looked confused. “Where the heck were we, Nathan?”

Nathan stared again at the table where the others were si
tting as he mulled over an answer to Jonas’s question. Jonathan appeared to be having an in-depth conversation with Erin.

“I’m not exactly sure,” Nathan said, “but I think I know where to find out.”

Jonas stared at him curiously, but nodded. “Last night, you mentioned something about this not being the first time that you’ve used your powers. What did you mean by that?”

Nathan looked down and fidgeted with his hands. “I fi
gured I would have to tell you eventually,” he said. “I just didn’t think it was going to be today.”

“Oh, okay. It’s all right if you don’t want to.”

“No, no, it’s cool.” Nathan swallowed drily. “See, I sort of can see the future or the past through my dreams.”

“Whoa, that’s cool!” marveled Jonas. He had a huge smile on his face. “Really?”

“I guess it’s cool,” said Nathan. “It probably depends on what you are dreaming about or what you see. In one of my dreams I sort of used my powers.”

“Well, I think that’s cool,” said Jonas, with a nod.

“Well,” continued Nathan, while scanning the room, “it looks like everyone is getting ready to leave the cafeteria.”

Jonas turned around. Campers were lining up in their groups.

“Besides,” added Nathan, “I’m tired of holding this tray.”

Jonas laughed.

“Aren’t you guys scheduled to work in the computer lab today?” asked Nathan.

Jonas
’s forehead wrinkled beneath his long black curls. “I think so,” he said. “I think we start work on our final projects today.”

“Sounds good,” said Nathan.

“Nathan, wait,” Jonas called. He started to fidget with his basketball again. “There’s one other thing.”

Nathan turned back around. He looked confused, but smiled reassuringly. “Yeah?”

“I didn’t say anything at the time,” stuttered Jonas, “and this is probably going to sound silly, but last night I had this strange feeling, like my brother was there, or something.”

“Your brother?” asked Nathan

“Yeah, my little brother,” Jonas said. “At first I thought it was just my nerves, but this morning it didn’t go away. Somehow I feel like my little brother was there — in that place.”

“Are you sure?” Nathan asked. “I mean, did you see him?”

Jonas shook his head and glanced downward. “No,” he said. “I know it sounds crazy. It’s just a feeling I keep getting, and I’m starting to worry about him.”

“Have you tried calling home? To see if he’s all right?”

Jonas shook his head again. “No,” he said. “I was afraid of what I would find out.”

Nathan smiled reassuringly again. “It’s probably not
hing,” he said. “Just call home and check on your little brother. I’m sure he’s all right.”

“Okay,” said Jonas. “I’ll call before we go into the lab.”

Nathan winked. “Cool. And I’ll cover for you so that Lafonda doesn’t yell at you for being late or for ditching out to talk on your cell phone.”

Jonas smiled and looked cheery again. “Oh, and Nathan, thanks for staying in my room last night. I felt safer having you there with me, you know, because of the monsters and stuff.”

Nathan chuckled. “No problem,” he said.

14

RAINED OUT

Nathan
was staring out the large window with his cell phone at his ear. It had rained all day and fog circled the base of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows in the lobby of Lawrence Hall. It had rained practically all week, and Nathan and the campers spent most of the time indoors, only braving the rain to attend leadership classes. Many of the campers were excited that the week was almost over and didn’t mind spending the extra time indoors to work on their final leadership projects. Nathan couldn’t believe that camp was drawing to an end and that there was only one week left before it was all over. 

“Hello,” said a familiar voice on the phone.

“How’s it going, old man?” he said.

“Nathan! How many times do I have to tell you that I may be your grandfather, but I am not old!”

Nathan laughed. “Sorry, Grandpa. I forget how young you are.”

“You know I would much rather you called me Roy,” he said laughing. “I guess I should be happy that my grandson finally remembered to call me.”

Nathan paused. “Yeah … about that,” he said, “I’m sorry that I waited so long to call. I had planned to, but a lot of unexpected things kept popping up.”

“Oh, really?” laughed Roy. “Does a girl have anything to do with this?” 

Nathan chuckled and then shook his head. “No, Grandpa,” he said. “Where did you get that one?”

There was a brief silence on the phone. “Nowhere. Just trying to figure out what’s captured all my grandson’s atte
ntion.”

Nathan paced in front of the large windows. He looked up when Lafonda entered the lobby. “Lafonda,” he said u
nderneath his breath.

“What?” asked Roy. “Is Lafonda there?”

“Don’t give me that innocent routine,” Nathan said with a frown. “You must have heard something from Lafonda.”

Lafonda looked Nathan’s way and smiled.

“Grr!” Nathan groaned, while quickly diverting his eyes.

Roy chuckled. “That is true,” he said. “I do hear from her. In fact, I think she calls to chat at least twice a week.”

“Whatever. What did she say this time?”

“Nothing that I recall,” answered Roy. “Then again, we do speak often, and with my old age it’s hard for me to r
emember everything.”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Okay, Grandpa.”

“So,” said Roy, “how is setting up the bonfires going?”

“Uh
— what?” stammered Nathan. “What do you mean?”

Roy paused to clear his throat. “LaDonda mentioned that you were setting up the bonfires out at Lake Charle
ston on Friday nights, and I was curious about how that was going.”

“Oh,” responded Nathan. “Everything is going okay, I guess.” He suddenly stopped pacing. “What? Did L
aDonda say something?”

“Relax, son,” Roy laughed. “Not everyone is keeping tabs on you.”

Nathan paused. He caught a glimpse of Lafonda, Alan and Angela setting up additional chairs in the lounge area. “Good,” he said, “because at times it definitely feels like it.”

Roy continued to laugh. “So are you managing getting the fires started by yourself?” he asked. 

“By myself?” said Nathan. “No, another counselor from camp is helping me.”

“Oh,” responded Roy. “And how is that going?”

Nathan grinned. “Good, for the most part,” he said. “At times he can be a pain, but he’s all right. Underneath it all, I think he’s a good guy.”

“Good. Sounds like you might be making a new friend at camp.”

Nathan laughed. “I wouldn’t go as far as to say that. Let’s wait until the end of next week. Camp isn’t over yet.”

Roy laughed. “Speaking of next week,” he said, “what are your plans after camp is over? You’ll have an entire month off before school starts up again.”

“I’m not sure,” Nathan stammered. “I haven’t really thought about it.”

“Once camp is over, do we need to make an appointment to check on your hands? How’s that rash coming?”

Nathan felt his face turning red. “Rash!” he groaned. “What rash? My hands are fine.”

“So, you’ve been using the ointment, then
?”

Nathan paused. “Uh
— yeah,” he muttered.

“So, if the ointment is working for you,” continued Roy, “why can I see it on your dresser right now?”

Nathan felt embarrassed. “Everything is fine! I just didn’t want you to worry. Seriously, Grandpa, my hands are fine.”

“Uh-huh,” uttered Roy. “Don’t forget you’ll be home in a week, and I’ll get to see for myself.”

Nathan watched as Jonas and Christina emerged from the cafeteria and joined Lafonda and the others. Samantha and Eva Marie joined them shortly after. “Okay, Grandpa,” he said. “I’ll see you in about a week.”

“Or sooner,” commented Roy.

Nathan continued to watch Lafonda and the others. He was curious as to why they were setting up so many chairs in the lounge area. “I’ll talk to you soon,” he said.

Roy laughed. “I’m sure I’ll see you before you call again.”

Nathan laughed. “Have a good evening.”

“You too,” said Roy. “And be safe.” 

Nathan closed his phone and placed it in his pocket.
What did he mean by sooner?
he thought.

“Well, about time you got off the phone,” whined Alan. He had a labored look on his face. “We need your help se
tting up for tonight’s wonderful activity.”

Nathan scanned the room. “What is he talking about?”

Lafonda stopped setting up chairs and laughed. She wiped the sweat from her brow and placed her hair into a ponytail. “Whew!” she said. “My grandmother is showing a video here tonight, and she asked us to help set up more chairs and tables.”

“Oh, okay,” said Nathan. He paused to look around the lounge again. “But why?”

Lafonda shook her head. “Seriously, Nathan,” she said, “you need more friends. You’re starting to sound like Jonas.”

Alan let out a big laugh.

Lafonda rested her hands on her hips. “Because of the rain, we are going to watch a video my grandmother wants us to see,” she said. “She said the video has something to do with inspiring leadership.”

Alan laughed. “Didn’t you notice that it’s still raining outside?” he asked. “I mean, it’s been raining practically all week. Did you honestly think we were still going to have a bonfire with all this rain?”

Angela gave Alan a mean look. “Knock it off, Alan,” she said. “I wish you would stop putting on your grumpy pants whenever you actually have to do work.”

Alan looked down at his pants and dusted them off with his hands. “That’s just it,” he complained. “I didn’t know that LaDonda would volunteer us to set up these grungy chairs t
oday!”   

“Why not?” asked Nathan in a playful tone. “It’s been raining practically all day. Didn’t you know not to wear your nice pants today?”

Alan rolled his eyes, and his upper lip curled. “Ha-ha. Funny.”

Angela laughed.

Nathan turned around to look at Lafonda. “I figured because of the rain we weren’t going to be outside today,” he said. He spoke louder so that Alan could hear him. “I just didn’t know what we would be doing instead!”

Alan looked at Nathan briefly, but turned his attention back to his pants. “Ugh! Look, Angela!” he grumbled. “This black smudge mark is not coming off. I am going to the bathroom to try to wipe this off!”

“Wait!” said Angela. “Shouldn’t you wait until we are done setting up? What if you get more spots on your pants?”

“If I get one more smudge on my pants,” he protested, “I am going upstairs and you can just tell LaDonda I got sick!”

Nathan shook his head as Alan trotted off to the men’s bathroom. “So, where do you want me?” he asked. “What do you want me to do?”

Lafonda stood up again and pointed to where Christina, Eva Marie and Samantha were setting up chairs. “Can you help them?” she asked. She squinted and then scratched her head. “And I don’t know what Jonas is d
oing over there by himself.”

Nathan nodded. “Okay, I’ll see if I can help the girls.” He stopped mid-walk and grinned. “And I’ll check on Jonas.”

Nathan approached Christina, Eva Marie and Samantha from behind and paused. He figured by the tone of their voices and by the look on their faces, it probably was best not to interrupt their conversation.

“And I don’t know what’s up with him,” mumbled Chri
stina. Nathan could see the worry on her face. “He’s been acting strange all week.”

“I don’t know either,” shrugged Eva Marie. “You need to ask him what’s going on instead of just talking to us about it.”

Christina looked over at Jonas as he attempted to set up a table. “What do you think Sam?” she asked.

“Sorry,” she said. “I agree with Christina. You won’t know how to react until you know what’s going on. As far as you know, you could be overreacting.”

“Overreacting!” she howled. “Ugh!” Christina glanced up and looked embarrassed when she noticed Nathan. “Oh — uh — hi Nathan,” she uttered.

Nathan grinned. “Hi, Christina.” He tried to smile rea
ssuringly. “So, Lafonda said you guys might need my help.”

Christina hesitated and her voice quivered. “Uh
— sure,” she said.

Eva Marie smiled and kindly stepped in front of her. “Excuse Christina,” she said, while giving Christina a quick look. “She’s a little sick today.”

Christina’s mouth fell open.

Eva Marie glared at her, raised her eyebrows, and then continued to talk to Nathan. “Can you grab more chairs from the closet for us?” she asked.

“Sure,” said Nathan.

Samantha laughed. “Hi, Nathan,” she said.

“Hi, Sam,” he smiled.

Eva Marie gestured her head towards Jonas. “See, Jonas over there was helping us in the beginning, but it looks like he is preoccupied at the moment.”

Nathan and the others looked up to find Jonas struggling to put up the table.

Eva Marie pointed. “The closet is over there,” she said. 

“Okay,” Nathan nodded. “I’ll be back with more chairs.”

Before heading to the closet, Nathan decided to chat with Jonas, who was bent over and trying to balance the table with one hand while trying to get one of the legs to open with the other. Nathan reached out with his hand and ba
lanced the table. Jonas looked up and smiled. He then proceeded to lower all the legs of the table.

“Thanks Nathan,” he smiled, sounding relieved.

Nathan grinned. “No problem.”

Jonas proceeded to set up the chairs that were now on the floor next to the table. Nathan could tell by the look on his face that something was bothering him
— he didn’t even have his basketball with him.

Nathan grabbed a chair and set it up. “So?” he said. “How’s it going?”

Jonas continued working. “Good,” he responded.

Nathan had a good idea of what was bothering him. Od
dly enough, he didn’t think it had anything to do with Jonas learning about Nathan’s ability or that he himself had powers. He didn’t think Jonas was too worried about the creatures they encountered in the pseudo stairway, either. He knew this was mostly about his brother.

“So,” he said. “What’s new with your brother? Were you able to talk to him again today?”

Jonas’s eyes lit up, but there was a hint of sadness in his voice. “Yeah,” he said. “Mom’s been calling me after she picks up Bobby from Aunt Carol’s after work.”

Nathan nodded. “Right,” he said. “You mentioned before that your aunt was watching him while your mom worked.”

“Yeah, and he’s also in summer school,” said Jonas. “He didn’t do too well last year and has to attend summer classes to catch up.” He had a somber look on his face. “But it’s only temporary.”

Nathan paused to set up another chair. “You mean the part about him being watched by your Aunt Carol?” he asked. 

Jonas smiled. “Yeah,” he said. “Because I’ll soon be home again.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” called out a familiar voice. “Sorry, but the tables and chairs are facing the wrong direction.”

Everyone stopped working to find LaDonda Devaro standing in the middle of the lounge area. She wore a dark blue poncho, from which water dripped on the floor.

“Sorry guys!” she said in a cheery voice. “I need all the chairs and tables facing the other way.”

Lafonda stood up and wiped the sweat from her face. She paused to look at the rows of chairs. “But why, Grandma?” she protested. “Why can’t we leave them the way they are?”

LaDonda held up a red, white, and blue DVD that was in her hand. “Because you guys will be watching this t
onight,” she said. “And the screen and the projector are facing that way.”

Lafonda’s forehead wrinkled. “Oh,” she said. She soon had an apologetic look on her face. “Sorry guys, my mi
stake. We have to turn the tables and chairs the other way.”

“Ugh,” sighed Christina.