Scaredy Camp

Scaredy Camp

Sarah and I are drifting off to sleep when we hear something scraping against the tent. " Did you hear that?" Sarah whispers. I nod, and we wait to see if it will repeat. Rain patters against the nylon, and I can hear it striking the surface of the nearby lake. The downpour started as soon as we arrived at the campsite just outside town, so Sarah and I have barely left the tent. She'd promised me a weekend of fishing, campfires, and s'mores. That turned into endless rounds of Go Fish while her dad fished for trout in a rain slicker. The rain continues, sounding like white noise on the radio, but the scraping doesn't return.

" It was probably a leaf or something falling off the branches overhead, " I say, but Sarah doesn't look convinced. She huddles deeper into her sleeping bag and closes her eyes. I do the same, allowing the rainfall to lull me into slumber. I wake to Sarah shaking my shoulder, her eyes wide in terror. " I heard it again, " she says. “ Something is definitely outside. " " It's probably just your dad checking up on us or going to the bathroom, " I grumble, rubbing my eyes. " Why would he be scraping against the tent?"

“ Mr. Martinez, is that you?" I call out. After a moment, Sarah's dad unzips the door of his tent next to ours and then unzips our door. He holds up a bright lantern and shoves his hooded head inside. " Everything okay in here?" he asks. “ We're okay, " Sarah says, " but we heard something outside scraping against the tent. " " I'm sure it was just a voracious bear looking for an easy feast, " he says, smiling. " Not funny, Dad. " " It was a perfectly adequate dad joke, " he says, “ but I'll take a look around. "

We both thank him, and he zips up our tent. We follow the lantern and the sound of his squishing footsteps as he inspects the campsite. " I don't see any bears or anything else lurking out here, ladies, " he says, poking his head back into our tent. " I'm going back to bed before I catch my death. You girls sleep tight and holler if you need anything. "

We thank him again, and I hunker down into my bag, hoping this will be the end of it. Just as I'm about to drift off into dreamland, Sarah shines a flashlight into my face and hisses, " Qynn, wake up! Someone's outside. " " Seriously, Sarah, I was just about to finally zonk out, " I say with a groan. She shushes me and then I hear it-footsteps squishing through the muck outside, too many to be just one person or animal.