For myself, Good Job on this Write-A-Book <3

THE CRAZY CAMPING TRIP

One boring Friday, I was bored so I decided to plan a camping trip with my friends Etzili and Grace. It was a weekend trip. We were going to Camp Schmidt. Our parents gave us approval. We decided to meet up at a Cracker Barrel, have breakfast, then hit the road for our weekend adventure. At least, that's what we thought would happen.

Lillie is also a great friend. She is 16. She loves cooking and spending time with her family and her pet dog, Blaze.

To be honest, I should have known that this would be a crazy trip. When we were on the highway, I saw a black shadow that was following us. I tried to shake it off and forget, but I just couldn’t. It was making me extremely uneasy. I ended up just distracting myself from the being lurking in the shadows. Even when we were at the safe, protected camp site, I still had a gut feeling that the shadow was still there.

I wanted to plan this because I love hanging out with my friends. They are so fun and cool! We always have a good time together. Let me tell you, they are like the perfect people.

We arrived at the camp at around 4:00 pm. We were greeted by the staff and they led us to our cabins. It was an educational camp. We weren’t just sleeping under the stars which is very fun by the way. We were going to learn about our surrounding environment.

Etzili is very cool! They are 16. They enjoy reading, skating, painting, and hanging out in the woods. They live with their aunt because their parents weren’t very accepting of them when they came out as non-binary.

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Grace is very caring. She just turned 16. She puts everyone before herself. She is really good at crocheting, biking, painting, and she runs cross country. She played soccer for a little while, but it wasn’t her thing.

Lillie is also a great friend. She is 16. She loves cooking and spending time with her family and her pet dog, Blaze.

 We met each other at a Stuck in the Sound concert. We then figured out that we all went to the same high school.

We arrived at the camp at around 4:00 pm. We were greeted by the staff and they led us to our cabins. It was an educational camp. We weren’t just sleeping under the stars which is very fun by the way. We were going to learn about our surrounding environment.

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We started by going on a hike. There was a small forest with a creek near Camp Schmidt. Grace, Etzili, and I stayed close together and the rest of the group stayed ahead, with the instructors and safety crew. Beforehand they did warn us that the wilderness was dangerous and that we needed to be safe. I did take that into consideration, but I decided to venture out, while being safe of course.

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We decided to go back to that place in the forest. Though we were scared, we were determined to find where that noise was coming from. We didn’t just go back, we came prepared. My friend Grace brought a map that she had made as we were walking last time so we don’t get lost.  

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I brought a sound recorder so I could compare the noises to other noises we heard before to see if they were similar. Etzili brought a map of the woods near Camp Schmidt.

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We got to see beautiful scenery and wild animals. We got to learn about our environment. One sad thing that happened was that we found out that humans are damaging our lovely forests. That made Etzili and I sad and understood why they were sad. They love the forest, it's where they spend most of their time. Just so you know, Etzili uses they/them pronouns!

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We got back to the campsite and did some fun activities. We had smores and told campfire stories. We just had a great time overall.

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When Etzili, Grace and I were hiking we heard some strange noises, but we tried to brush it off and keep walking. However, we couldn’t shake this. We heard footsteps, but they weren’t human ones. They sounded like a bipedal animal.

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We decided to go back to that place in the forest. Though we were scared, we were determined to find where that noise was coming from. We didn’t just go back, we came prepared. My friend Grace brought a map that she had made as we were walking last time so we don’t get lost.  

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I brought a sound recorder so I could compare the noises to other noises we heard before to see if they were similar. Etzili brought a map of the woods near Camp Schmidt.

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We were walking down the path again and we heard glass shatter. “Start recording,” said Grace. So, I pushed the start button.CRASH. Another bottle shattered. At that point, we ran so fast we weren’t even looking in which direction we were going. We stopped at a safe-looking spot. “My gosh that was close,” I said. ”That cross country really ca-.” I heard a high pitched scream. I turned around. She was gone. I heard more footsteps. But I was too slow.

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Something grabbed me by the legs. Then, it went black. When I woke up, I was in a small, dark, wooden shed with Grace next to me. She looked sick and tired. Her face was pale. She looked tired. Then, the thing that grabbed me removed it’s head.“SURPRISE!!!!!!,”

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It was just my other friend, Lillie in a ghillie suit trying to scare us. Etzili was with her. “Haha, very funny guys.” I said sarcastically. “ We should get back.” I said. They agreed. I must have been knocked out for some time because when I went to open the door, it was dark outside. I went to the door to open it and it was locked, but there was no lock on the door.

When I woke up again I saw blue and red flashing lights. An officer pulled me out. “What happened,” I asked, as I was only half awake. She replied,” You were attacked by a crazed scientist who was trying to get you. He was trying to experiment on you. Never come back here. He has some serious mental issues.” “ Like what?” I wondered. “ Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder. He also has ADHD”, said the officer. “As for the noises?” I asked. 

We started screaming, banging on the door and walls hoping someone would hear. Nothing. No one came. We heard more glass shattering. Eventually, we escaped, and I traced the sound, while comparing the sound to our recording. The sound sounded similar, but not the same. We kept following it as it got louder and louder and louder. We traced it back to a machine.

The machine was on a tree stump, surrounded by fall leaves.I went to turn it off saying,” Finally we can end this wild goose chase!,” and it was a trap. I fell at least 20 feet, screaming. After a few minutes, I woke up and tried screaming to get their help. My friends left to go get help. As they walked away, I heard creepy whispering and slow footsteps. I screamed as loud as I could. I felt something stick me in my arm. Then I blacked out. 

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When I woke up again I saw blue and red flashing lights. An officer pulled me out. “What happened,” I asked, as I was only half awake. She replied,” You were attacked by a crazed scientist who was trying to get you. He was trying to experiment on you. Never come back here. He has some serious mental issues.” “ Like what?” I wondered. “ Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder. He also has ADHD”, said the officer. “As for the noises?” I asked. 

“Oh that was also him throwing bottles and following you.Go home and take a break from camping, will ya? Keep your family and friends safe.” she said. So, I followed her command and left. 

Etzili, Grace and Lillie were in the back of a big, black police cruiser. My parents picked us all up and we drove back to my house. When we arrived, Etzili’s aunt was there, Lillie’s mom was there and Grace’s moms were there. We got inside, and sat on the sofa.

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We were all shaken. The police called and said to follow up with them in a few days. They said that the perpetrator was Denis Olaf Coervr. He was an anthropologist from Poland. He was arrested there for illegal experimentation on unwilling human subjects. He was detained.

After hearing that, we were all relieved but we were still very shaken up. We all took showers and went to our rooms. My friends stayed in my room and the adults in our guest rooms. The adults were asleep as soon as they settled in. My friends and I stayed up late.

We had some very interesting conversations. We talked about how we were grateful that Denis Olaf Coervr was arrested, but we were unsure if he would be eternally arrested. He escaped a maximum security mental hospital and prison, so he might do it again. Eventually we went to sleep.

Etzili was out first, per usual, they get very tired and have trouble focusing and staying awake. Then Lillie fell asleep. So it was just Grace and I. I told her that I was still afraid to go to sleep, being that my house is only a few minutes away from  the police department.

I ended up just trying to forget about this and we never talked about it.

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Author's Note

Riley-Alicia Burton(me) is a new writer. This is my Write-A-Book entry and I was excited to do it. This isn’t based on any real life case, although that would be very,very cool. I wanted to try something new by adding a non-binary character, Etzili. I'm 11 years old and live in Prince George's County, Maryland. I go to Walker Mill Middle School. I enjoy tumbling, soccer, painting, and cooking. My favorite subjects are RE/LA, Science, Orchestra and Health. My best friends are Leila, Sophie, Destiny. My new friends are Hilton, Layla, Kacey Jackie, Kaylen, Brianna, Nevaeh, Jaired, Jayden and Kenyatta. I play cello. I live with my mother(Debbie-Ann), father(Delroy), and my older sister (Gabrielle or Gabbie).

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