The Screams by Sona C
“Aagghhh!”
“Woah, Willow, that was awesome!”
“Thanks Noah. But I think that ‘Awesome’ is pushing it a little. Maybe terrifying beyond belief though! That would work.”
“Ha, Ha, yeah right, you know you enjoyed it,” I sneer at him. We’ve just finishing the zip lining activity. As you can see, not as fun as I thought.
Let me backtrack: my class won the science fair at school (Barnchalk Secondary School) this year, which means that we got treated to an all-expense paid trip to Applecraft Park. Somehow an ant farm put us over the top but that’s good enough for me!
Applecraft Park is a place with a ton of indoor and outdoor activities that we are all allowed to take part in this whole week that we’re here. The place has been specially rented out just for us and some of the kids think that means that we can do whatever we want here, however I don‘t think that’s entirely the case. I’m not a very active or sporty type of person so this trip is not really the best one for me.
Anyway, we got here at 10am this morning and went straight to our cabins. There’s four for the girls, and three for the boys. (Only because there’s more girls in our class!) Two of them have been allocated for the teachers that have come with us and the other one is for overnight staff. As soon as we all found out who was going to be in our cabin groups, everyone practically pushed their way through the crowds and ran into the rooms to call ‘dibs!’ on the bunk beds. As I walked up to my cabin it sounded quiet but the wooden walls must have been soundproof because as soon as I opened the entry door, booming voices released out into my face. Pillows were flying across from bed to bed, girls were running in circles up and down the ladders on the beds, teddy bears soaring everywhere; one hit me on the head!
“Sorry Willow!” said one of the other girls from the other side of the room, Brianna. There’s eight girls in each cabin. I share a bunk bed with Salina. Salina is one of those quiet girls who likes to have her privacy and doesn’t really talk to people. I kind of feel bad for her sometimes. I’ve seen other girls make fun of her for no reason but thank god that none of those girls are in here.
I get the top bunk and unpack my things for the day.
After everyone’s unpacked, we make our way back outside to our teachers and the staff members at Applecraft Park to find out our schedules for the day and what group we’re in for them. Boys and girls mix during the day but stay apart at night. Just for today, I’m in a group with myself, Milo, Agatha, Nathan, Greg, Amanda, Ollie, Salina, Isabella and, oh… Noah, yay!
The first activity we did today was rock climbing. Out of the ten of us, only two of us made it to the top of the wall. I gave it a go, but it was too scary. What if I fell? What if my foot slipped and the harness gave way? What if one of the brick things you use to climb up broke and I fell again?! Way too many dangerous scenarios.
Then we had lunch in the huge canteen that they have on site. I sat with Noah and we both had a nice warm Jacket Potato with a cookie and brownie for dessert. (I had the cookie.) After lunch, we had zip lining and that’s where we are right now.
“Hey, I wonder why Selina didn’t want to try the zip lining?” I ask Noah out of my curiosity.
“Who knows? And if you had the chance to go again now, would you do it?” he asks me.
“Well, I-I I mean...”
“That’s what I thought,” replies my friend knowingly.
I give him a sarcastic look. Sometimes I feel like Noah knows a little too much about me, however I guess that’s also kind of a good thing, it could come in handy one day. Then I say, “Well at least I gave it a go. Even though I thought that I was going to fall thirty metres from the sky but, yeah, it was a good experience.” As we walk pass the shed containing all the equipment for zip lining, we see Salina sitting on a nearby bench reading a book. She seems so lonely. I feel like I want to just go over there and ask her why she’s always alone. I resist the urge.
The last person to do the zip lining in my group is Brianna. She was screaming with excitement the whole way down and when she runs over to us, she says, “That was amazing! I wish I could go again. I’m so coming back here with my parents next summer.” Brianna’s parents are mega rich, and she brags about it all the time. I sometimes think if she actually takes as much advantage from them than she says she does.
“Right children!” shouts the teacher at the front, “Can we all gather over here please so our lovely staff member here can tell us what we are going to do next.” Miss Kailey faces the staff member to show us who she’s talking about.
“Hello everyone. My name is Jamie,” he points at the name badge on his shirt, “And I hope that you all had an excellent time on the zip line there. Now, we’re going to go to the canteen again for dinner, then you will be escorted back to your cabins by your teachers to gather your things to take to the shower block. There you’ll get yourself ready for bed then go back to your cabins for the night. And I advise you to get a good night’s sleep because you have another exciting day full of adventure all over again tomorrow, ha ha!” Jamie claps his hands together and as he does, I notice a section of ripped material on the side of his shirt. I wonder how that got there. Hmm, I’m sure it’s nothing. “So, before we leave, are there any questions?”
One girl raises her hand and asks, “Do you know what they’re serving for dinner sir?”
“Umm, I believe it’s a Roast today,” answers Jamie.
“Ooh I love Roasts!” Noah whispers loudly into my ear.
“You know, something about that Jamie gives me the chills – I feel like I’ve met him before.”
Have I?
“He’s probably just one of those guys with a familiar face.”
“Hmm, yeah. I guess so,” I reply uncertainly.
We all briefly wipe ourselves down so all the dry mud scrapes off before we leave. I also clean my shoes because I want to be neat and tidy for when I have my dinner.
We head to the canteen in a single file line where we meet everyone else. Kids greet their friends and find tables to sit at to catch up on their fully packed-out day. I just sit with Noah, as usual, and one or two other boys come and join us and sit on the other end of the table. After what seems like an eternity, our Roast Dinners finally arrive, and they look scrumptious! I take my first bite as Noah says, “So Wills, how are you enjoying this place so far?” (Wills is my nickname. It’s what all my close friends and family mostly call me.)
“Yeah, it’s been really good.”
I think Noah can sense the dullness in my tone of voice because he says to me, “Come on, what’s bothering you? It’s that staff member, Jamie isn’t it.”
“How’d you know?” I say, as I poke my food with my fork. The chicken is surprisingly bouncy!
“Really? First of all, you just told me that he gives you the chills outside. And second of all, I know you inside and out Willow. You’re never gonna fool me. I’m too good at reading your mind,” he says that last part eerily. This makes me laugh.
“True. Well, I mean, I feel like there’s something’s out of place.”
“As in…”
“As in… there’s some sort of secret waiting to get let out. Like there’s something fishy about this Applecraft place. I’m just trusting my gut and normally my gut is always right. You remember that time when Shiela Johnson went missing for a whole afternoon in year six.”
“I remember.”
“She was stuck in the janitor’s room for ages! And who found her?” The only reason why I’m saying this is because I’m trying to prove how there could be some weird goings on. Some say I have a sixth sense. Me: I say I have instincts.
“You Wills.” Noah lets out a long sigh. He clearly doesn’t seem pleased with the fact that I keep going on about all this.
“We’re in year seven now, Noah. I wanna have the chance to prove myself, to show off who I really am. I want to be like a detective. Out solving mysteries and crimes and fight!” I say this with passion, “And finding Shiela doesn’t really count.” We both chuckle. I stretch my arms out and clutch his hands on the table in front of me. Looking into his eyes, I say this as if I have already asked multiple times, “Please?”
“I understand Willow. I’m sorry, and if there are some fishy things going on around here, I’ll be right by your side to back you up. Forever and together…”
“Always.”
As I’m about to take the next bite of my dinner, a shrill scream cuts through the air and creates silence and tension all around us. Metal cutlery thud to the ground; food splashes on tables; people have lost their voices; staff coming running into the canteen; the sound echoes making us all feel deaf. From the sudden shock, every single pair of eyes is now facing out the panelled windows staring at where we think the shriek came from.
The staff cabin.
I could have sworn that I just saw a black figure or a shadow passing behind the row of cabins. Actually, everyone is here except for Jamie. I knew there was something odd about that guy.
No one spoke for the next five minutes. Jamie now runs into the large room and goes straight to a girl with a name badge labelled Ruth. He whispers something into her ear and then runs back outside in the opposite way of the cabins. The woman Ruth shouts out to everyone, “OK, nobody panic! There is nothing to worry about, the staff here will deal with it. Teachers, could you please take the children to their cabins only, no one else’s, so they can collect their things to take to the shower block. Thank you.” Now she runs outside with three other staff members.
“Alrighty then, let’s go kids. Chop-chop!” says one of our teachers.
We go back to our cabins, with a teacher at the entrance to each one to make sure we don’t leave to go to the staff cabin. Then we make our way down to the shower block with our towels, PJs and toothbrushes to get ready for bed.
When we leave the block, the sky is a deep blue with stars dotted across it, like fish in the ocean at night. I see Noah leaving too and quickly catch up to him. “Hey, Noah, guess what!” I whisper-shout over to him so he catches my attention.
“What?”
“In the girls’ bathrooms, they were spreading rumours that when Jamie came into the canteen at dinner time and whispered something into Ruth’s ear, they said they heard him say that there’s been a murder.”
“What? A mur-” he lowers his voice, “A murder! Willow, please don’t tell me that you’re happy about this. I’m terrified.” I wave him away with my hand.
“I’ll tell you more tomorrow at breakfast. Keep safe, goodnight.”
“Goodnight Willow. You keep safe too. Forever and together…”
“Always.” I run back to my cabin and enter the room. All the girls are getting themselves tucked into their bed, at the top and the bottom. I climb up the ladder and snuggle into my duvet. The teacher from school staying in our cabin with us in a smaller separate room is Mrs Wallace. She comes into our part of the cabin and says goodnight then turns out the lights. We all reply “Goodnight Mrs Wallace,” in unison.
I rest my head on the puffy pillow and just as I’m about to drift off to sleep we all bolt our heads back up as we once again hear another distant shriek strike through the darkness above us.
There’s been another murder on site and my number one suspect is… Jamie.