The Castaway Hotel - 1 - 9. Chapter 9 - The Camp-Out

I managed to corner Ricky alone for a second, so I could whisper in his ear that I didn’t want him to help Danny out on the hike. I told Ricky I was planning to test Danny’s ability and survival skills out there, like I had with him when he first arrived, so I could see how capable Danny was. Ricky seemed to understand and rapidly agreed to my request.

We took off across the back yard and were soon entering the woods. I took the same circuitous route I had taken with Ricky, just to see if Danny caught on to what I was doing, as Ricky had done. When we got back around to a point near where we had first started, I asked Danny how far we had gone and if he knew where we were. After looking at Ricky and then me, he discovered we weren’t going to give him any help, so he formulated his own answer.

“We probably walked a mile or more,” he told me, “but I have no idea where we are.” Ricky started giggling. “What’s so dang funny?” Danny asked him, with a tinge of bitterness in his tone. I nodded toward Ricky, letting him know he could tell Danny the correct answer.

“We’ve been walking in a circle and we’re back to where we started,” he told Danny, still giggling.

“Oh, and you think that’s funny do you,” Danny stated, moving toward Ricky, to do who knows what. I didn’t think he planned to hurt him, but we didn’t have time for this. We had a lot to do before it got dark.

“That’s enough for now,” I said, quite loudly and VERY emphatically. “Follow me and I’ll show you where we’re going to set up camp for the night and then we’ll eat.” I guess the mention of food was enough to get their attention and distract them from this minor dispute, so they did as I requested.

I led them to a clearing and we had to hurry to set up the tent and lay out our sleeping bags before it got dark. Being within the confines of the trees, the daylight faded more quickly in here, even before the sun went down. After everything had been accomplished, I also had them help me clear a spot for a campfire, line it with stones and then we scrounged up a bunch of wood for a fire. We didn’t need the heat, but I was sure the boys would find the light from a campfire comforting. As soon as we had the area prepared and enough wood set aside for the evening, I lit the fire and dug out the food, so we could eat.

It was nothing special and it didn’t need to be cooked, but there was enough to fill two growing boys and me. Not only was there plenty of food, but we also had a lot of water to wash it all down with. Both of the boys ate more than I did, but they had also burned off more calories during the day. I was just pleased to see they were enjoying themselves and had such healthy appetites. The boys’ food consumption might have also had something to do with eating it out in the open, as the fresh air often seemed to make everyone hungrier.

Now that we were full and settling in, the atmosphere the campfire created also added to the mood. Both boys were intrigued by the way the light from the fire flickered and cast unusual shadows upon everything around us, giving it all an eerie feeling. It was so different from the lighting they were used to. Once we had finished our meal, we cleaned up our mess and packed things away, and then I decided it was time to tell them one of my infamous ghost stories. My children and their friends all used to beg me to share one of these stories whenever we camped out like this, so I figured Danny and Ricky might enjoy one too. However, I just informed them I had a story to tell, but didn’t warn them it was spooky.

“Not far from here is Fuller’s Hollow,” I began. “Back in the early 1800’s, a group of people settled there, hoping to find a better life for their families. One woman in this new community was a bitter, spiteful person and she didn’t get along with the others. She would cause problems, by spying on others and spreading rumors, which made everyone else angry. That’s why, when she became pregnant, some of the other women put a curse on her and her unborn child. They thought it was a way to pay her back fro her past deeds.

“When the baby was born, the midwife who helped deliver it ran screaming from the woman’s bed. She swore the woman had given birth to the devil. The midwife described the baby as having hooves, a tail, and a skull that resembled the head of a horse. Everyone believed this had happened because of the curse they had put on her. Seeing they had made no secret of this fact, they feared what the woman and child might do to get even, both now and in the future. They were certain, as time passed, the woman would want revenge, but they failed to realize she was preoccupied with an even bigger concern.

“Rather than planning to get even, the mother was more afraid that her neighbors would wish to harm her and her child even more now, since the midwife had claimed he was a devil. That’s why she kept her son locked up at home, so the others couldn’t get to him. No one ever came near their place, so the mother and son remained living in seclusion for many years. During that time, the mother informed her son about what the others in the community had done and how they were responsible for his current state. That was forever burned into the boy’s memory and would some day bear fruit.

“When her son turned twelve, strange things began to happen. One day the boy flapped his arms, which caused them to turn into wings, similar to those of a bat. This gave him his chance to break free of his virtual prison and do some exploring. In his effort to escape the cabin, he climbed up the chimney and made his way to freedom.

“From that day forward, every so often the devil-boy would show up somewhere, seeking vengeance from those who had placed the curse on him and were responsible for his pain. At first, he would seek out only those responsible, and once he found them, he would kill them and devour their flesh. However, after all of those involved had been killed, the devil-boy continued to seek out victims, but now they were innocent people, upon whom he projected his rage. Eventually, he would do the same thing to them as he had done to the others, so his murderous rampage and cannibalism continued.

“Even though this happened many, many years ago, the Devil-Boy has been spotted up to one hundred miles or more away from his original home, and has even been seen around here, every now and again. Be warned, that if you hear the beating of large wings, you’d better run for you life, because it’s probably the Devil of Fuller’s Hollow looking for his next victim.”

“Dad!” Ricky screamed. “Why did you tell us that story? Now, I’m not going to be able to sleep all night.”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed, “that was really scary. Is it real or did you just make that up?”

“Oh, it’s real, all right,” I confirmed, while trying not to smile and give myself away. “I remember when I was young and on a camping trip with my scout troop, we thought we heard and saw it, but only from a distance. We could see it as it flew across the path of the moon, and all of us, even our scout leaders, stayed up all night, just in case it returned.”

“Did it?” Ricky asked wide-eyed, his voice a little shaky.

“Not that we ever knew of,” I advised them, “although there were a lot of weird noises all night long and we heard some animals were found dead over the next couple of days.”

“That’s enough,” Ricky told me. “I don’t want to hear any more.”

I figured I had taken this far enough, so I stopped, and both boys scooted closer to me, one on either side. They soon turned the discussion to other things, like asking me about camping trips with my older children and even about my days as a scout, and after a while, I suggested it might be time for our dessert. I had packed some pudding cups and a bag of miniature candy bars, and it turned out to be enough to satisfy them and keep them happy until bedtime.

When it was time to turn in, the boys wanted me to sleep in the center, so they could each snuggle up against me for protection. They were still a little shaken by my story, so I tried to reassure them it was ONLY a story, but it was too little, too late. To make them feel better, I gave in to their request. We placed our sleeping bags accordingly, with me between my two sons, and climbed inside. Almost immediately, I had an anxious son on each side of me pressed against my ribs, so I wrapped an arm around each of them for comfort, but it still took a while for them to fall asleep. Eventually they did, and then I was able to do the same.

It wasn’t a very good night’s sleep for any of us, and I began to regret telling them that story. It all came to a head when Ricky woke up screaming, about an hour before daybreak. “What’s the matter?” I asked him.

“I heard wings flapping outside our tent,” he replied.

“I’m sure it was just a bad dream,” I tried to comfort him, “so go back to sleep.”

“I can’t,” he informed me.

“Just try,” I told him.

“I can’t. I have to pee,” he confessed.

“Just go out and do it away from the tent,” I advised him.

“Are you nuts?” he challenged, and I could see the whites of his eyes, even in this dim light.

“Ricky, there’s nothing out there to harm you,” I explained.

“Then you come with me,” he shot back.

“Okay, if I have to,” I said, feeling this was my penance for scaring the daylights out of him.

“Hey, I’m not staying here alone,” we heard Danny shout, as he too scrambled from his sleeping bag, so we all went out to urinate. The boys wouldn’t move very far away from me and did their business as quickly as they could, and then we hustled back into the tent and crawled into our sleeping bags again. Although it did take a while for them to fall back asleep, it was a couple of hours before they woke again.

By the time it was light out, the rays of the sun seemed to help to dissolve some of their fears. Even though they were less paranoid about the creature appearing, they were still anxious to get back home and I didn’t need to urge them to help me pack up. Everything was going well, until I mentioned we needed to get home, so we could clean up and change for church.

“Do we have to go?” Danny whined, while trying to mimic the pathetic look Ricky was giving me. “Can’t we just skip this week?”

“It’s not going to hurt you to go,” I informed them. “Besides, no devils are going to attack you in church.” This time they both flashed me a disgusted look, for having brought that up again, but we were soon on our way back to the house.

I told the boys to use their bathroom to clean up, while I used mine, but I urged them not to dawdle. I told them they’d be sorry if they made us late, although I let them draw their own conclusions about what I might do to them if that happened. Needless to say, they were both ready in time, looking nice in their good clothes. I gave them each a bowl of cereal to tide them over, telling them we’d go out for brunch once the service was concluded. They both seemed to like that idea.

We all loaded into the car and drove to church. As we walked in, I was quite proud to have people know Ricky and Danny were my sons. Maybe I was wrong or even ‘sinful’ for feeling that way, but they are two wonderful and handsome young men and I’m thrilled to have everyone know we’re a family. I made sure to introduce them to the people I knew, which the boys complained was everyone there, but they did seem to enjoy the attention they were getting from telling these strangers I was their dad.

The service went quickly, which in itself was somewhat unusual, and the boys got even more attention on the way out. Once we had made it through the crowd and back to my car, we went out for brunch, as I had promised them. I told them to order whatever they wanted, but to make sure it was enough to tide them over until dinnertime. The boys replied, “no problem,” and I began to wonder if I had brought enough cash with me to fill these two bottomless pits.

We attracted even more attention at the restaurant, as a lot more people I knew stopped by to say ‘hello’ and inquire as to who my two young friends were. We got a few strange looks from people who were confused by the short time we had been together, yet noticed how close we had already become, as the boys referred to me as Dad with everyone. I also introduced Danny and Ricky as my sons, without going into the details of how we had come together. Instead, I simply preferred to say it was a long story and I would fill them in about the details another time.

Once my two eating machines were full, I paid the bill and we left for home. I think we were all happy to know that we appeared to the rest of the world, or at least a part of it, as a genuine family unit now.