By Jim Vitale

It was mid-autumn, the time of year when the nights are cool and the afternoons are warm. A strong north wind had finally persuaded the trees to drop the last of their fiery leaves. Yesterday the trees were fairly full; today, barren.

A group of high-schoolers had come to camp to spend the weekend on a youth retreat. Many of them had been campers before and knew the legend of the Camp Mount Luther camels. Many of them had believed the legend when they were little but most had grown suspicious, wondering if perhaps it was all a ruse put on by the staff to keep the kids entertained.

But none of them were thinking about camels that weekend. A couple of the youth were preoccupied thinking about their football season. Some were talking about the grueling pace of the marching band rehearsal schedule. Others were lamenting how much homework they had been given that weekend. But mostly they were excited for a weekend out of their normal routine, a chance to enjoy the disconnect from the routines of daily life and enjoy a couple cozy nights in the A-frames.

The group arrived on Friday afternoon with plans to leave after breakfast on Sunday morning. So, after unpacking their things into their cabins, the group gathered in the Evergreen Center for dinner and some games. The fun lasted into the night until the adults, who were up past their bedtimes, told the kids it was time to call it a night.

A grumble went up from the group, who would have happily stayed up later than their aging chaperones; but begrudgingly they went on their way. The sun had long-since set and as they walked from Evergreen down to Maple Village, the path was quite dark. Two boys, Matt and Logan, and two girls, Everly and Brianna, were lagging behind a bit. The street lights from the Evergreen Center and Maple Village provided just enough light to navigate the road between the two spaces, but the four friends decided they’d rather walk through the woods. They pulled out their flashlights and made their way down behind Evergreen, over the covered bridge, down past the little pavilion, and into the woods.

As they walked, they talked quietly, overcome by the darkness around them. Suddenly, their flashlights flickered.

“What the…” Logan mumbled, smacking his flashlight with his hand.

“Mine’s weird, too,” said Matt.

The flashlights all went out.

“Strange they’d all go out at once,” said Everly, starting to feel a little frightened.

Almost as soon as she spoke these words they were enveloped in a total and complete darkness—the streetlights behind and before them had gone out too.

“What is going on!?” said Brianna, now thoroughly freaked out. “I don’t like this. I can’t see you guys. Where are you—”

“Hang on!” interrupted Logan. “Let your eyes adjust a little. There’s enough moon and starlight we should be able to get to Maple Village without too much trouble. It’s a short walk, anyway.”  Logan, a scout, said all this with an heir of authority. His commanding presence comforted the rest of the group, though in truth, he was trying to convince himself just as much as the others.

But he was right. Within a minute they could already see the path better. They began to walk a few paces when they heard a branch crack behind them.

“What was that!?” said Brianna, as she jumped and grabbed Everly’s arm.

“Probably just a squirrel, dude. Relax,” said Matt, unsympathetically.

He ate his words though, because a second later something big and dark rushed across the path in front of them. Matt, who had been in the lead, stumbled backward and fell over, uttering a not-camp-appropriate word as he fell.

The girls shrieked. Logan jumped back.

But the commotion was over as soon as it began. The dark shape was gone with a rustle of underbrush. Logan helped Matt up.

“You okay, bro?” He asked.

“I’m fine.” Said Matt, with a bruised ego. “Let’s just get to Maple. What the heck was that?”

“Probably just a deer,” said Logan, laughing and smacking Matt on the back.

“It was a big deer…” said Everly, doubtfully.

They arrived to Maple Village without further incident. And as they arrived at Maple Hall, the lights—street lights and flashlights—all came back on. They met up with the rest of the group who asked them where they had been.

“We heard you all scream,” said one boy.

“Yeah, we thought maybe one of you had gotten hurt,” said another.

“We’re fine. Just got startled by a deer,” said Everly (still sounding unconvinced).

“Well, all that with the lights was strange,” said one of the chaperones. “If that happens again, I’ll give Chad a call. Maybe he’ll know what happened.”

The group got ready for bed and headed into their A-frames for the night.

Matt and Logan fell asleep quickly in their cabin, but Everly and Brianna couldn’t sleep. In their bunks beside each other they whispered.

Brianna: “You awake?”

Everly: “Yeah. Can’t sleep. Still freaked out.”

“Me too. What was that thing?”

“It wasn’t a deer. I can tell you that much. Logan thinks he knows everything because he’s in scouts, but I hunt with my dad and that was no deer.”

“Yeah. It seemed too big to be a deer…we don’t have moose around here, do we?

“No. No moose.”

There was silence for a while before Brianna spoke again.

“This is gonna sound kinda stupid. I know we’re not little kids anymore and that camp legend is goofy. But that thing looked…it looked a lot like…well, in any other situation I think I would have said it looked like a camel. As it ran past, I thought it had a couple humps on its back…”

“Probably just your mind playing tricks on you, Bri. You’re at camp so you’re automatically thinking about camels. …Why do they put camels on everything here, anyway?”

“I have no idea! It’s so weird!”

The two began to giggle, the joke breaking the tension a little bit.

“Seriously, though,” said Everly, “where did that camel story even come from?”

“I don’t know.” said Brianna. “I couldn’t tell you. But I do know the saw mill part of it is true. There used to be a saw mill just off the camp property. Chad and Jim said they went to look for it last year and they found it. But it’s all collapsed now. Just some rotten boards on the ground, apparently.”

“Huh,” said Everly, thoughtfully,

Brianna continued, “But all that nonsense about the owner getting camels from his cousin in Saudi Arabia…that’s ridiculous.”

Gradually, the conversation shifted to other camp things, like Chad’s puns, Toni’s cooking, Charlene’s crafts, and funny stories from last summer. They forgot, for the moment, the strange sight on the path. Soon they were fast asleep.

The boys, however, were just about to wake.

****

Thunk. Thunk.

Matt opened his eyes. Something had woken him. A noise.

All was quiet. Maybe it was just a dream.

Thunk. There it was again. He sat up and looked around, wondering what was making the sound.

Thunk. It seemed to be coming from his right. He peered through the darkness. No one was moving inside the cabin. He grabbed his flashlight. Maybe it was a bat trapped in the cabin…wouldn’t be the first time, he thought. He clicked the flashlight. It didn’t work.

“Ugh.” He groaned. “Not again. What the heck is this?”

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. If it was a bat, it wasn’t inside. The sound seemed to be coming from outside, somewhere low on the roof of the A-frame. Maybe pine cones falling and hitting the roof? He wondered. But it seemed like the noise was coming from the same spot, not randomly all over the roof like pine cones would do…

“Logan!” Matt whisper-shouted, leaning over and hitting Logan in the arm. “Logan, wake up!”

“Wha—” Logan said, half startled, half asleep. “What’s going on?”

Something’s outside tapping on the A-frame.

“Well, duh, man. You’re in the woods. Of course something’s making noise out there. Quit being a baby and go back to slee—”

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

“There! That noise!” Whispered Matt. Don’t tell me that’s a normal nature noise. I know better than that!”

“Okay yeah. That is weird.”

They both sat in the silence, hearts pounding, waiting to hear more noises. But none came. Before they knew it, both were back asleep.

****

The next morning, the boys woke up and hurried to get dressed. They left the cabin before anyone else, heading outside to see if they could find any evidence of what had made all that noise. The looked on the ground beside the A-frame, but there were no pine cones, no obvious tracks (not that either of them really knew how to look for tracks), no tree limbs that might have fallen. They looked up at the cabin, and there they saw it. A little higher than head-height, something….juicy?

They both struggled to find words for it. Roughly a dozen spots on the side of the cabin where a whitish ooze had splattered against the roof and dripped slowly down. It glowed a faint glow.

“What the heck is that?” Logan said.

“Ah! Looks like some birds found their bathroom!”

Matt and Logan jumped. They had not heard one of the chaperones come up beside them to look at the mess, too.

Attempting to regain his composure and look cool, Matt said, “What?”

“Oh yeah. Those are definitely bird droppings,” said the adult, before walking off to the bathroom, whistling as he went.

Matt and Logan looked at each other in awe of the adult’s cluelessness.

“I know what I heard last night,” said Matt. “No bird could do that.”

“Yeah,” said Logan. “I have no idea…”

****

At breakfast, the boys were eager to tell Brianna and Everly what they had heard.

“Creepy,” said Brianna with a shudder.

“I know it was a weird night, but let’s try to have fun. I hear we’re going canoeing later,” Everly said, trying to take the conversation away from the previous night’s events.

“I think it was camel,” Briana interrupted.

Matt started laughing. Logan shot chocolate milk out of his nose.

“A camel?” said Matt between chuckles. Logan clutched his face, letting out a sound that was somewhere between laughter and excruciating pain. “You mean like the little kid story they tell at camp? C’mon, Briana. You’re too old to believe all that.”

“That thing we saw last night was too big to be a deer, Logan. You know that. And there aren’t any moose around. So, what else could it have been? Also, it’s back looked weird. Like it had humps,” Briana scolded.

As the pain in Logan’s nose subsided, he replied, “Well, your eyesight must be better than mine. I couldn’t tell all that in the dark.”

Matt got quiet, staring down at his breakfast. A thought had occurred. “That might explain the…” he trailed off.

“Not you, too, Matt,” said Logan.

“I’m just saying,” Matt replied sheepishly, “That gross stuff on the side of the cabin wasn’t bird droppings. What if it was… camel… you know…”

“Camel spit!” said Briana. “What if it is!?”

Brianna looked triumphant. Logan rolled his eyes. Matt looked like he regretted saying anything. Everly looked anxious to move on to other conversation.

Soon the chaperones called for the kids to put away their plates and head outside. The sky was clear, the sun was shining. It looked like the perfect fall day for camp. And it turned out to be a fun one. They went for a nature hike, attempted some of the ropes course, had a Bible study by the pond, and (much to Everly’s delight) even went canoeing.

After dinner, the counselors invited the youth back outside. “We’re going to play a big game of flashlight tag in the field.” One of the chaperones explained. “You have the whole field, from the A-Center all the way down to the bottom of the field by Maple Village. Just make sure you keep your flashlights on and stay out of the woods.”

The adults shouted “Go!” and the kids ran off into the field playing and running and laughing. Things went well for a while. The four friends largely stuck together and avoided being tagged. And as they ran and played, they gradually worked their way to the bottom of the field, opposite from Maple Village. As they approached the corner of the field near the woods, suddenly their flashlights went out.

“Not again!” said Logan, hitting his flashlight against his leg.

The group turned and looked up the field. The other kids’ flashlights were still working.

“How can all of our flashlights go out at the same time?” Everly asked. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Crack!

The sound came from behind them, the snapping of a large branch in the woods. They all turned around, peering into the darkness. The moon was shining bright and they could make out the tree line and the path toward the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. Something darted across the path.

They all screamed in surprised and turned around to run back up the field.

But as they turned, their screams choked in their throats.

There, towering over them, was a great and terrifying beast. It’s head, suspended on a long neck, was stretching toward them, cocked to one side. It’s eyes glowed red and luminous spit foamed from its mouth, dripping on the grass. Two huge masses slouched on its back, it’s four long, gangly legs plodding step by step closer and closer to the kids. In the moonlight it seemed almost transparent, its body fading away to nothing around its feet.

It hooked its neck back so that its head tilted toward the sky. It made a sound as though trying to clear its throat. Then it leveled out and heaved a huge, oozing glob at the children. It sailed just past Logan’s right ear before landing behind them in the woods.

“Run!” Matt had finally found his voice. The kids turned and ran as fast they could into the woods toward the chapel.

As they ran, Everly turned. There was the terrible creature, clomping slowly but steadily after them. Brianna made to go into the chapel.

“No!” Shouted Everly. “Keep going! Down toward the big tree!”

The kids ran for a couple minutes, steadily going downhill. Logan looked over his shoulder. The monster was nowhere to be seen.

“I don’t think it’s following us anymore,” he said. They all stopped to each their breath. They found themselves at the bottom of the hill, standing in a small clearing beside a massive black walnut tree. Across the clearing was an old barn, slowly being choked by vines and adolescent trees.

“This place always gave me the creeps,” said Brianna.

“Better here than near whatever that thing was,” Matt panted.

“What was that thing?” Everly asked.

“It was a camel!” said Brianna.

“We’ve all been to Lake Tobias, Bri. We know what a camel looks like. That was no camel,” said Logan.

“It was!” Brianna responded, a little angry, “But not a normal one. This one looked…possessed or dead or something but it was definitely a camel!”

Before they could argue anymore, they heard another crack from behind them. Then another beside them. Then another in front of them. Emerging from the woods all around them were half-a-dozen monstrous creatures, all resembling the one that had chased them, all groaning and drooling and lumbering toward them.

“Quick!” said Logan, “Into the barn!”

“We’re not allowed in there!” Said Everly, “it might not be safe!”

“There’s now time!” said Logan, who was already pulling hard at the sliding door. With a screech and a clank, it opened. The kids ran inside and rolled the door closed behind them. They all braced their hands against the door. Nothing happened. No thunk-ing sound of horrible spit. No monsters trying to break down the door. Just silence. And total darkness.

Except it wasn’t totally silent. As the kids’ hearts slowed and their breathing calmed, they could just make out a faint shuddering sound, like an old mill wheel turning and turning. And it didn’t seem quite so dark in there anymore. In fact, something seemed to be glowing behind them.

In horror they turned around. The barn was not empty. Not at all. There before them spread out what looked like an old saw mill. And it wasn’t empty. The horrid, ghostly camels were inside the barn, harnessed to different equipment and plodding around. Their red eyes bulged. Their mouths dripped oozing spit onto a floor covered in deep sawdust. And in front of all of it, stood a man.

He wore a flannel shirt and wool trousers with suspenders. He had a long beard down to his belly, wispy and thin. In his hand was huge, sharp axe. But he wasn’t a man. Not really. He was old, gaunt, pale. His eyes glassy with cataracts. And he was almost transparent, just like the camels. He lifted one bony hand in greeting and said, in a gravelly voice, “Hello. Welcome to my new saw mill.”

The children screamed in terror. Logan fumbled at the door. The man took a step toward them. The children screamed louder.

“Open the door!” said Brianna, panicking.

“It’s stuck!” said Matt, panicking even more.

“Would you like to meet my camels?” the ghostly voice asked.

“Let us out! Let us out!” Every cried.

Suddenly the door slid open and all four kids came tumbling out onto the ground. They looked up to see a pair of legs standing before them in the moonlight. They all screamed again.

“Calm down! Calm down!” said a familiar voice. It was one of the chaperones. “What are you all doing down here? We told you to stay in the field! And what on earth were you doing in the block house? Chad would be furious if he found out you had been in there. C’mon. Let’s go back with the others. I’m very disappointed. Last night you were off screaming in the woods and tonight you’re messing around down here. Another incident like this and I might have to tell your parents…”

The adult rambled on but the kids weren’t listening. As they walked away from the barn, they looked back. The door was still open, but there was no pale light, no monstrous camels, no ghostly sawyer. Just an old barn, a big tree, and the woods.

****

That night nothing happened, though none of the kids slept a wink. The next morning the group packed up their things. The Matt, Logan, Brianna, and Everly were silent at breakfast, caught somewhere between exhaustion, not wanting to talk about the previous night, and not knowing how to. It would be a while before they could make sense of it, if ever they could. Likely, over time, the events of the night would fade in their memory and they would start to rationalize it away. Maybe someone had played a practical joke. Maybe the darkness played tricks on them. Maybe it was a deer…

The group loaded into their cars and drove down Mount Luther Ln. The camp stood empty once again. Or perhaps not quite empty. As the last cars left the camp, a figure stood on the edge of the woods, dressed in wool, axe in one hand. In his other hand, he held a bridle. And in the bridle, a great, lolling camel.