Facing The beast

Noa Reinman 12-4-12

       The air was cold and dry.  The moon shone down on us as patches of light bursts through limbs on the redwood trees.  Everyone was shoulder to shoulder as a warm presence lingered around us.  Madison, Alyssa and I were clutching each other's knees tight as suspenseful news was being brought upon the camp fire.  Our camp director approached us with a serious look on her face.  As she came closer to the camp fire I saw that she was aiming for a large stump that was sitting in front of the half circle of campers surrounding the warm orb of light.

First of all, the reason I was there was because for the last five years I had been attending a well-known summer camp located in a remote town called Petrolia.  It was the summer of 2012 and I was there with my two best friends Madison and Alyssa, who I had met during previous years of camp. Madison was tall, with dark sparkling skin,  short curly hair, and big passionate brown eyes. Alyssa was tall as well with fair skin, long luscious golden brown hair, and dark brown twinkly eyes.  They both had bubbly personalities and friendly smiles that they enjoyed  showing off.  

So there we sat engaged with our eyes focused on the announcer, she was getting anxious because everyone was talking.  We were all oblivious that she was trying to get our attention, so camp counselors began to tiptoe around the campfire encouraging us to silence our obnoxious whispers.  As silence pervaded the campfire I was getting more and more curious of what our director was going to announce.  As words began to bounce off her lips I couldn’t help but become eager because I just wanted her to get to the point.  I could tell that she was stalling, until finally she began to explain that there had been recurring visits from an unwanted bear searching for our toiletries embedded in our duffle bags hidden under our cots.  The conversation went on between her and some campers seeking attention, them asking ridiculous questions killing time.  As they spoke I tuned out there voices because I was caught up in my own thoughts. Great.  One more thing for me to over exaggerate about as I lay awake in my cot.

Finally the campfire was over and we made our way back to our cabin weaving through the crowed of exhilarated campers as I clenched tightly onto Madison’s arm.  Madison and I slowly gained speed toward the cabin; even though we probably didn’t want to admit it, we were already scared out of our minds trailing only five feet behind the rest of our cabin.   When I finally felt safe curled up on my cot, of course I had forgot something.  Our counselor walked inside the cabin and asked if we had brushed our teeth, and sure enough I hadn’t, it was time for me to face the darkness.  I pushed myself out of my cot, clearly being the brave person that I am...  I was utterly terrified.  I plopped down one foot after the other and walked over to Madison’s cot pulling her out of her sleeping bag, and forcing to her come with me.

Now there we were, with our hands trembling as we wetted our toothbrushes, both scared out of our minds.   As we brushed our teeth our silent voices slowly escalated to faint giggles becoming extreme laughter that was so painful I couldn’t breathe, leading me to forget about why I was scared in the first place.

Completely forgetting about the bear I now moved at a rather slow pace washing off my toothbrush and screwing on my toothpaste cap.  Then it hit me.  I began to hear intense footsteps pounding the dirt, as I looked into the forest, I could see the faint silhouette of my camp counselor dodging trees.  As I watched her with my feet planted, my entire body froze and I heard her demand, “Get inside the cabin now!” There was no time to ask why. As thoughts flowed through my head I still stood there without moving a muscle, I looked around me and noticed that as time had gone by people had gone inside their cabins and Madison and I were the only two left outside.

OK. Now I was scared. So scared I didn’t think I was going to make it out alive.  Well, maybe I’m over exaggerating a little bit, but in my mind it was all much more dramatic.  Finally, as I got carried away in my thoughts, I broke through the barrier of my imagination into reality.  I felt a strong tug on my sweater, it was Madison, reminding me that we needed to pick up the pace and get back inside the Cabin.  I still couldn’t move, and at that moment I knew that I needed to be strong.  I couldn’t just depend on Madison, so I grabbed her hand and we sprinted sloppily back to the cabin.  I finally felt like I was going to be OK, now we were only a few yards away from the cabin, but I was too caught up in making it to safety that I didn’t notice the large root separating me from the cabin entrance.  And in that split second I totally face planted.  I could feel my cheeks being smashed against the dirt and brush. There I lay for a second before once again Madison pulled me up, grabbing my hand that was now covered dirt and pine needles.  As I began to gain speed once again, I could taste bitter, unpleasant feeling dirt in my mouth.  Even though I knew it was all over once we entered the cabin I suddenly began to feel the pain in my face, even with me fighting back the tears I just couldn't hold it in.  I felt a tear run down my cheek.  Now all that I could feel was warm bodies embrace us, and knew that we were going to be OK.