Eschatology

Dear mom and dad,

I hate it here at Camp Wynnaquett. I really, really do. I hate it more now than I did in my last letter to you. Please come and get me, I want to go home. It’s not just the other boys picking on me anymore. Scary people are hurting kids and camp counselors too. Some of the counselors are gone. Like missing gone, not just not hear gone. No one knows where they are and that made everybody even more scared.

And I hurt my leg. Yesterday while swimming in the lake someone bit me on my left leg. I felt someone’s hand grab my foot and then he bite me. The counselors said I imagined it. The grab, not the bite. Someone really did bite me, honest. But the counselors said it was just a turtle bite. They said it wasn’t really that bad and they put bandages on me but it still hurts lots. They said I was just scared of the stories the older boys were telling about Timmy Swanson and that I just imagined someone grabbing me, but that’s not it. Really it’s not. Also, I think the camp counselors were lying when they said that. I saw them look at each other after looking at my leg and they looked scared. Later I heard Matt, the nice counselor I told you about, say that it sure wasn’t any turtle that bit me but Randy, the head camp counselor told him to be quiet.

Matt is now gone, he is one of the missing people. They got into a jeep and said they were going to town but that they would be right back. That was before breakfast and now it is dark and very late and they never came back. I think they left because of something they heard on TV. The consolers have been watching the TV news all day. They won’t tell us kids what’s going on, only that everything is ok or that everything is going to be fine. But again I can tell they’re lying. I saw some of the camp counselors crying about the news. And one of the older boys snuck into the office and tried to call his parents, but he said the phone wasn’t working.

I’m back. I had to stop writing for a bit but I’m back now. My leg really hurts really bad. The bite is black and blue and all runny. Not bleeding, just icky yellow stuff. And it hurts when I touch it. But I’m not so scared when I write to you, so I’ll keep writing. I don’t know why Timmy bit me. I never did anything to him. Oh yeah, I’ll tell you about Timmy.

Timmy Swanson was a boy that drowned in the lake at camp last year but they never found his body. The older boys that told us this said they were here at camp last year and that they knew Timmy so this wasn’t just a made up story. They also said the people that ran the camp paid the cops to keep things quiet or else no one would send their kids here anymore. So no one admitted what happened to Timmy and no one got into trouble for him dying. That made Timmy Swanson really mad. So Timmy’s ghost now wanders the woods, looking to drag other kids into Lake Wynnaquett and drown them. The older boys said he will keep drowning kids until the camp admits to what happened to Timmy and his body is found. But I know that last part is just a story. Timmy Swanson is not a ghost. Ghosts are all white and see through. I saw Timmy today just before breakfast when he came out of the lake and he sure didn’t look like that.

I was walking to the mess hall when I heard people screaming by the beach so I went to look. It was Timmy Swanson, coming out of the water. He was all black and his skin was like stinky jelly. He grabbed one of the little kids playing in the sand and bit him on the face. There was so much blood! And the little kid was crying and I started shouting see, it was Timmy that bit me, I told you. But no one was listening to me. One of the counselors tried to grab Timmy and pull him off the little kid, but Timmy just bit her too, in the neck, and there was even more blood from that bite than from the other one! After that, the counselors got all the kids away and made us go into the cabins and lock the doors. A little bit later I heard a gun shooting a bunch of times but I couldn’t see anything. I think it was someone shooting at Timmy, but they didn’t kill him. I saw him later, all black slimy and covered in blood walking around very slowly. And Timmy wasn’t alone out there. The counselor he had bit on the neck, the lady that watched the little kids in Cabin A, I don’t know her name, she was up and walking around with him. She was covered in blood and had lots of places missing where Timmy had bit her. And there was someone else too, but he looked even worse than Timmy did. He looked almost like a Halloween skeleton but with lots of slime and seaweed on him. I think he also came out of the lake. He had on a funny fishing hat like daddy has.

I’m back. I heard a noise outside so I had to look out the door, but I didn’t see anyone. Now I’m in the closet where they keep the food in the kitchen. I came here because I’m so hungry. I haven’t eaten anything all day, but none of the food here tastes good. I tried to eat it but I couldn’t swallow any. My mouth is so dry. I think I’m sick. I’m also really tired now. Maybe I’ll try to sleep. I hope I’ll be safe here. I haven’t heard anything bad in a long time. I did hear some screaming. It sounded like Johnny Roth and that made me smile. He’s one of the kids that were always picking on me. I hope he got scared really good. I’m so tired but my leg doesn’t hurt anymore. I think it fell asleep but it’s not all tingly. I can’t feel it at all. I wish I had some good food to eat. I wish I was home with you guys. I wish you never sent me here. I’ll write more when I wake up. For now, good night and I love you both.

Love, Brandon

© Brian M. Sammons

Brian M. Sammons has penned a few dark tales over the years. They have appeared in the magazines Bare Bone, Cthulhu Sex, Dark Animus, and Horror Carousel and in the anthologies Arkham Tales, Cthulhu Unbound Vol. 2, Horrors Beyond, and Twisted Legends, among others. Later this year his first novella, The R’lyeh Singularity, written with David Conyers, will be published in Cthulhu Unbound 3 which he also co-edited.  Despite all this, Brian is often described by his neighbors as “such a nice, quiet young man” and he loves animals. You can find out more about Brian at his very infrequently updated website: http://www.freewebs.com/brian_sammons