Free Strawberry Summer by Cynthia Blair

break away from them, explaining that she still wasn’t quite herself yet, Chris really did need a cold drink. She headed for the punch bowl, noticing that a huge cake had been cut up into slices on the next table. That, she decided, would be her next stop.
    But as she stood in front of the giant punch bowl, she suddenly grew aware that someone was standing very close to her.
    “Feeling better, Chris?”
    It was Alan, she was pleased to see. “I’m fine now. Guess I just needed a rest.” She wished she could tell him the truth. “How about you, though?” Her voice suddenly softened. “I understand something went wrong with those chairs you rented.”
    “Yeah. Another ‘mystery,’ I’m afraid. A whole shedful of chairs: now you see them, now you don’t. More hokus-pokus than I saw in your sister’s magic act.”
    “Oh, so you caught our act!” interrupted Richard, having heard only the end of their conversation. “What did you think? Are we ready for Broadway? Las Vegas? Hollywood?”
    “Actually, I was pretty impressed,” Alan admitted. “One of these days you’ll have to explain to me how you managed to do those tricks.”
    “I think I have an idea,” said Chris teasingly. “And I promise to tell you all about it the very first chance I get.”
    When the punchbowl was empty and even the most gung-ho of campers was getting drowsy, the party was pronounced over. Reluctant to have the evening end, the twins prepared to head back to their cabin.
    “Hey, you’re not going to sleep already, are you?” asked Richard.
    “Sorry, but the glittering lights have taken their toll,” Susan said with a laugh. “I’m wiped out. Even my creaky old cot is beginning to sound inviting.”
    Alan took Chris’s hand. “Well, at least let us walk you home.”
    “Good idea,” Richard agreed. “Then I can use my magic wand to scare away the ghosts you saw before, Chris.”
    “What ghosts?” Suddenly, Alan was very serious.
    “Oh, it was nothing. At least, I think it was nothing. I was, um, a few hundred feet away from everybody else earlier tonight, during the show— actually, right by the arts and crafts building. And, well ... I know it sounds silly now, but ...”
    “It doesn’t sound silly at all. What did you see, Chris?”
    “Well ... I’m not really sure. Just some kind of movement. Something white, moving behind the trees. And I heard something, too. A footstep or a branch breaking ... really, it could have been anything.”
    “It probably was nothing,” Alan said uneasily. “Just the same, I think I’ll mention it to my folks, if you don’t mind.”
    The foursome headed up the path, toward Cabin Four. Dozens of others were also streaming uphill, joking and laughing as they went back to their cabins after an exhilarating evening. Still, they were among the last to straggle home. Behind them was nothing but silence and the blackness of night.
    Suddenly, Richard stopped. He gripped Susan’s arm tightly. “Wait a second. What was that?”
    “I didn’t hear anything.” Nervously, Susan looked around. “What did it sound like?”
    “I’m not sure ... maybe it was nothing. It’s just that all of a sudden I had this creepy feeling that we were being followed.”
    “Wish I’d brought along a flashlight,” Chris muttered. She was aware of how dark it was in the woods, especially since the lights of the dining hall, far behind them, had just been turned off. And the four of them must have been walking slowly, because everyone else seemed to have moved on way ahead.
    They were totally alone.
    “I heard it again! “This time Richard’s voice was a whisper. They all stood frozen, listening, unable to move. “Do you think we’re being followed?”
    “Naw, that’s ridiculous.” But the expression on Alan’s face, totally drained of blood, said that he didn’t really think it was ridiculous at all.
    They stood still for a full minute—but heard nothing. It was Chris who finally broke the