Free 09 - Welcome to Camp Nightmare by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead)

reason to.
    “What are you doing, Billy?” he asked suspiciously, his eyes stopping
on the letter I was shoving under the pillow.
    “Just writing home,” I replied softly.
    “You homesick or something?” he asked, a grin spreading across his face.
    “Maybe,” I muttered.
    “Well, it’s lunchtime, guys,” he announced. “Let’s hustle, okay?”
    We all climbed out of our bunks.
    “Jay and Colin are going on a hike with Frank this afternoon, I heard,” Larry
said. “Lucky guys.” He turned and started out the door.
    “Larry!” I called to him. “Hey, Larry—what about me? Am I supposed to go on
the hike too?”
    “Not today,” he called back.
    “But why not?” I said.
    But Larry disappeared out the door.
    I turned back to my two bunk mates. “Lucky guys!” I teased them.
    They both growled back at me in reply. Then we headed up the hill to lunch.
     
    They served pizza for lunch, which is usually my favorite. But
today, the pizza was cold and tasted like cardboard, and the cheese stuck to the
roof of my mouth.
    I wasn’t really hungry.
    I kept thinking about Dawn and Dori, how frightened they were, how desperate.
I wondered when I’d see them again. I wondered if they would swim over and hide
at the boys’ camp again before Visitors Day.
    After lunch, Frank came by our table to pick up Jay and Colin. I asked him if
I was supposed to come, too.
    “You weren’t on the list, Billy,” he said, scratching at a mosquito bite on
his neck. “I can only take two at a time, you know? The trail gets a little
dangerous.”
    “Dangerous?” Jay asked, climbing up from the table.
    Frank grinned at him. “You’re a big strong guy,” he told Jay. “You’ll do
okay.”
    I watched Frank lead Colin and Jay out of the mess hall. Our table was empty
now, except for a couple of blond-haired guys I didn’t know who were arm
wrestling down at the end near the wall.
    I pushed my tray away and stood up. I wanted to go back to the bunk and
finish the letter to my parents. But as I took a few steps toward the door, I
felt a hand on my shoulder.
    I turned to see Larry grinning down at me. “Tennis tournament,” he said.
    “Huh?” I reacted with surprise.
    “Billy, you’re representing Bunk Four in the tennis tournament,” Larry said.
“Didn’t you see the lineup? It was posted on the announcements board.”
    “But I’m a terrible tennis player!” I protested.
    “We’re counting on you,” Larry replied. “Get a racket and get your bod to the
courts!”
    I spent the afternoon playing tennis. I beat a little kid in straight sets. I
had the feeling he had never held a tennis racket before. Then I lost a long,
hard-fought match to one of the blond-haired boys who’d been arm wrestling at
lunch.
    I was drowning in sweat, and every muscle in my body ached when the match was
over. I headed to the waterfront for a refreshing swim.
    Then I returned to the bunk, changed into jeans and a green-and-white Camp
Nightmoon T-shirt, and finished my letter to my parents.
    It was nearly dinnertime. Jay and Colin weren’t back from their hike yet. I
decided to go up to the lodge and mail my letter. As I headed up the hill, I saw
clusters of kids hurrying to their bunks to change for dinner. But no sign of my
two bunk mates.
    Holding the letter tightly, I headed around to the back of the lodge
building, where the camp office was located. The door was wide open, so I walked
in. A young woman was usually behind the counter to answer questions and to take
the letters to be mailed.
    “Anyone here?” I called, leaning over the counter and peering into the tiny
back room, which was dark.
    No reply.
    “Hi. Anyone here?” I repeated, clutching the envelope.
    No. The office was empty.
    Disappointed, I started to leave. Then I glimpsed the large burlap bag on the
floor just inside the tiny back room.
    The mailbag!
    I decided to put my letter in the bag with the others to be mailed. I slipped
around the counter and into the back room and crouched down to put my