Stan Morris: Surviving the Fog

The camp was a creation of a religious organization called Abstinence and Protection. AAP, as it was known, had created the camp as a place to promote the value of abstaining from sex, but also to familiarize middle school and high school boys and girls with birth control methods. The organization had planned to hold several three week camps this year. The current group of boys and girls were the first campers. They were supposed to take some of the condoms and a few of the diaphragms with them when they left. The idea was that they would share what they had learned with their friends.

The Camp Administrator was a doctor. Those girls who were at least sixteen years old were supposed to have been offered physical examinations and birth control pills with the consent of their parents. But the real emphasis of the camp was on abstinence, not just for moral reasons, but because the creators of AAP believed that the emotional repercussions of sexual intercourse were too difficult for young teenagers to contend with in the present societal environment.

As Mike and John came into the dining hall, Eric put the old dog eared book aside and tried his cell phone again, only to receive a no-service message from his phone.

“What are you reading, nerdo?” John asked.

“‘Tunnel in the Sky’,” was Eric’s choppy answer. He was not particularly fond of John.

“Scifi?” John asked.

“Yeah. Some real old stuff. Like from Verne and Wells’ time.”

“You can work the radio phone, huh Eric?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, if it wasn’t locked in the Admin’s,” answered Eric, who added under his breath, ‘Doofus.’

Mike looked at John who looked back at Mike. Then John sucked in a breath and looked at Eric.

“Let’s go,” he said.

Eric looked at him blankly. “Where to?” he asked, puzzled by the command.

“Come on,” growled John, giving Eric that special ‘bigger boy’ look.

Like all smaller boys, Eric knew that look. He shrugged, stood, and sullenly followed Mike and John. They led the way to the Administrator’s A-frame cabin. For a minute, Mike and John studied the sturdy lock on the structure.

“Think you could bust it open with your shoulder?” Mike asked.

“I think I could bust my shoulder,” John answered, frowning at Mike. Eric rolled his eyes and waited patiently.

“We could break a window,” Mike suggested.

“Hey!” Eric exclaimed. The other boys looked at him.

“Got a better idea?” John asked.

Eric glanced from John to Mike. He ducked his head and scuffed a toe.

“There’s a key under the mat,” he muttered.

John gave Eric a menacing look, and then he lifted the mat and retrieved the key. He opened the door, and Mike and John went inside. After a moment Eric followed, after looking around anxiously to see if anyone was watching them.

The A-frame cabin consisted of the living area below a large loft. There was a steep staircase at the back of the cabin leading to the loft. The cabin had a double bed, and it had a sink which was fed by a small water line that was connected to the main water line serving the dining hall.

The main water line, made of PVC pipe, ran down from the river. It had a large washable inline filter just before the junction of the two lines. Gravity provided the pressure for the kitchen sinks, bathrooms, and the showers in the dining hall building. A solar pump provided additional pressure to the A-frame’s sink.

There was no bathroom in the cabin. The Administrator used a portable toilet just like the campers, except that she used one which was reserved just for her and the female counselors.

The other furniture in the cabin consisted of a small sofa, two chairs, and a large desk. A large red tool chest sat against the wall at the back of the cabin. On the desk was the radio phone. It had circuitry for several frequencies.

John handed the radio phone to Eric. Eric tried all the frequencies. Although there were some suspicious noises, they could not make out anything that sounded like a real voice. On each frequency, Eric asked if someone could hear him. He tried repeatedly. After a half hour, he gave up.

“Maybe it’s broken,” John said. Eric looked at him.

“I don’t think so,” he replied.

“So why can’t we hear anybody?” Mike asked.

Eric took a deep breath, and then he looked at Mike. His eyes had worry in them. “Maybe…maybe there isn’t anyone to hear?” He asked the question with a look which suggested that he would be happy to hear them make fun of that idea.

All week, Mike had avoided thinking this very thought. Get up, play, do your chores, eat, play some more, and then go to bed. He had followed the camp routine. The adults would be back. His parents were at home. He had avoided considering any other scenario. But now, he had to face a terrifying possibility.

“There’s something very wrong,” he said, his voice shaking.

“Yeah,” agreed John glumly.

“Do you think our parents are all right?” whispered Eric, his stomach fluttering.

Mike really wished that Eric had not asked that.

“We’ve got to do something,” Mike said.

“Let’s go talk to Jackie,” John suggested.

“All right,” Mike replied, but privately he didn’t think that Jackie knew what to do any more than they did.

They left the Admin’s cabin, walked past the dining hall, and tromped over the wooden bridge to the girls’ side of the camp. Eric followed along silently. Mike and John ignored him.

Of the cabins on each side of the river, one on each side was reserved for the counselors. Two counselors shared each cabin. The counselors slept in comfortable double beds, instead of the bunk beds used by the teenagers.

The three boys found Jackie lying in her bed, on top of her covers, staring at the canvas ceiling. Although the campers and counselors had brought sleeping bags, all the beds were covered by a mattress cover, two sheets and two heavy woolen green blankets. Some of the campers preferred to sleep in their sleeping bags. Others used the blankets, so they wouldn’t have to roll up their bags at the end of the three week camp.

“Hey, Jackie,” John greeted her.

The young woman looked over at him listlessly. Jackie was a young woman with blond hair and a slim build. She was usually quite attractive, but her face and eyes seemed red and swollen now, and she was emitting a faintly unpleasant odor.

“Hey, yourself,” she replied as she glanced at them, and then her eyes turned towards the canvas ceiling again. The boys looked at each other.

“Um… Jackie, when do you think the Admin will be back?” John asked.

“She’ll be back when she’s back,” Jackie answered in a dull voice. She had heard this question often in the week since the other adults had disappeared. She closed her eyes. John looked at Mike helplessly.

Mike took a breath and then spoke firmly. “Jackie, we think that something is wrong. Something is really, really wrong, Jackie.”

“There’s nothing wrong. Now go away,” Jackie ordered.

“But, Jackie, Eric tried to get someone on the radio phone. There’s no one there!” Mike’s voice was rising with a hint of panic, as he tried to get through to the young woman.

“You stay out of the Admin’s place!” snapped Jackie. “Now go away.” She turned her head towards the wall.

The boys look at one another.

“So what’s the lecture about tonight?” John asked.

“Just leave me alone,” she demanded, as she turned and pulled a blanket over her head.

The muffled reply sounded almost like a sob.

Defeated, the boys left her cabin. Outside, several girls were standing around waiting. They followed the boys until they were far enough away that Jackie could not hear them talk.