Destiny Eve Pifer is a published author who has had numerous horror stories published in anthologies, magazines, websites, and podcasts. Her work has been published in anthologies by Black Ink Fiction, Black Hare Press, Macabre Women’s Publishing, Fun Dead Publications, Nordic Publishing, Raven and Drake. Her work has also been published in FATE Magazine, The World of Myth Magazine, Sirens Call Publication, Reader’s Digest, Country Magazine, Autism Parenting Magazine, and Spotlight on Recovery. One of her stories was featured on the Morbid Forest Podcast. She resides in a small Pennsylvania town with her son who shares her love for horror.
You can read more from Destiny and connect with her right HERE
THE INCIDENT AT CAMP RAYTOWN
by
Destiny Eve Pifer
It was two days until camp ended and Evelyn was already regretting the things she had been too afraid to do. She had watched as her friends shot arrows, climbed trees, and swam. Evelyn couldn’t swim and was too scared to climb and hike through the darkened forest. However, her camp leader was determined to push her into a nature hike. She was hiking through a row of slanted trees with the rest of the group when they spotted a pond ahead. The pond had a “No Trespassing” sign and was green and nasty looking. At first, Evelyn stood back until her enemy Mary Beth decided to give her a shove into the pond. She found herself sinking to the bottom. She couldn’t swim and no one seemed to care. It was too murky to see and she began to panic. Suddenly something grabbed her leg. Something with sharp claws and teeth. As she fought against the creature and made her way to the top she could feel it biting down on her leg. When she reached the top she let out a scream that brought the camp leader rushing to fish her out. The other campers just stood and watched as Nathan the head camp counselor jumped in and pulled her out. “Something touched me!” Evelyn screamed.
She was so hysterical that Nathan had one heck of a time calming her down. Mary Beth started to snicker until Nathan shouted for her to knock it off. Evelyn couldn’t stop shaking. Whatever grabbed her wasn’t human. Beneath the murky water lurked something dangerous. Something that was determined to keep Evelyn beneath the water. As Nathan carried her back to camp the rest of the campers followed behind. Evelyn was taken to the nurse's station but had to wait for the nurse to finish her cigarette. Her remedy was for Evelyn to lie back while she bandaged up the wound on her leg. Evelyn however wanted a couple of pills to knock herself out. More than that she wanted to go home even though she knew what awaited her. A drunk mother and an even more intoxicated boyfriend. Getting away to camp had been her escape. Sure the other kids picked on her and treated her like dirt but she tried to make the best of things.
At least that was until the creature grabbed her leg. She was more terrified than ever. Nathan had promised to call her mother but claimed he couldn’t reach her. Evelyn tried to stay strong for she knew that Mary Beth was waiting for a reason to make her life a living hell. That night however two of her fellow campers would learn about the monster. It started as a dare that ended with both of them jumping into the pond. They had decided to go skinny dipping and were enjoying themselves until something grabbed a hold of the both of them. It pulled them down and devoured their hearts. The next day the park ranger found both bodies floating up. When he and his deputy dragged them out they saw the holes in their chest. Nathan was the one who broke it to the rest of the camp. He watched how terrified the campers were. At least all except Mary Beth who immediately ran into his arms. Mary Beth had never been shy about her crush on Nathan even though he clearly wasn’t interested. Instead, he found himself drawn to Evelyn who like him found herself curious about the pond. How long had the creature lived in that pond?
Evelyn tried telling the sheriff about something grabbing her leg but he didn’t believe her. Instead, he began looking at every camper and counselor as a suspect. Perhaps it was the work of a killer or someone hiding deep in the woods? However, Evelyn and Nathan knew better. They knew it was something else. For as long as he had been a counselor Nathan had heard stories about a strange creature. According to his grandfather, the creature lived in the pond but would sometimes lure people to the pond when it was hungry. “How do we stop it?” Evelyn asked. Nathan thought for a moment then came up with an idea. “We electrocute it,” he replied. There was an old restroom up near the pond that was hidden near the woods. Nathan figured if he hooked up one of the cables to an old outlet he could toss the other end into the pond. Evelyn agreed to help even though the thought of facing the monster terrified her.
They had waited until daylight and then made their way to the pond. As Nathan was hooking up the cable Evelyn found herself drawn to the pond. However, just as they were about to go forth with their plan Mary Beth came running towards Evelyn. There was vengeance in her eyes as she shoved Evelyn into the pond. But what she didn’t anticipate was Evelyn pulling her in with her. Mary Beth dunked Evelyn’s head into the grimy water. It was then that the creature grabbed hold of both girls. As they fought to get away the creature emerged from the water. It was a hideous monster with silver scales and looked to be six feet tall. Its teeth were sharp and its eyes black. Both girls screamed as the monster came near. Nathan came with the cable and reached for Evelyn who was closest to him. He pulled her out of the water and then reached for Mary Beth. However, the monster got to Mary Beth first and sank his teeth into her throat. With no other option, Nathan threw the cable into the water and watched as both were electrocuted.
Eventually, he and Evelyn became a couple and had the pond drained and filled in with cement. He would always wonder where the creature came from and how it had survived. The camp was closed down and the terror had finally come to an end.