Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Crouched by the stream, Ibraheem shivered. He gritted his teeth as he washed his hands after a long time spent by Sir Rob’s side working the mechanics of the bus. Somehow, it had stopped working altogether. It wasn’t strange since it hadn’t been used since they arrived and according to what Sir Rob told him, the bus was quite old. The sun was gradually setting. Evening made way and a chilly breeze blew, the water seemed like ice to his skin. He looked at the forest beyond the stream. It was dense, from the looks of things. Perhaps one of these days they would explore the areas around. He could catch glimpse of a part of a lake at the corner of the forest far away. Mist rose from the lake, blurring it and making it look cherry and tawny.

It had been five days since camp began. Fun and amazing times. Some moments, you just cherish forever and this was one of the best times in Ibraheem’s life. He felt energized and free. He ran in the early mornings, freeing his mind from any random thoughts that creep in and diminish his mood.

Though some few discrepancies had stayed on his mind. They kept him awake late at night. For one, he craved for a bite of burger preferable a double mac beef burger with cheese and a steamy hot shawarma.

His mom had been on his mind as well. He bet she must be worried sick by now. He had promised her that he would sneak a call or two at the camp. That was one of the upsetting things about this. No network meant no calls. Just five days without the internet was throwing some of them in dismay. He wondered how the olden day’s people managed to survive. Manage was the word. You wouldn’t just live happily without the internet in the modern time. It made life much better. And easier.

He wiped his wet hands on his jeans and walked towards their tents slowly, talking in the scenery. He frowned, his mood suddenly down. The jerk had called them all inside for ‘evening tea’ earlier on. That guy was straight up annoying. Why would he cook another dish for them when they just had a satisfactory lunch about an hour ago? What, to show his cooking abilities or what? What was even ‘evening tea’? Was he now suddenly British? Show-off. Just yesterday, Ibraheem had asked him about the network situation. The guy had the nerve to look him in the eye and tell him it wouldn’t be possible until about a week later due to the slippery mountains and what not. Ha. Who was he kidding? Was the slippery mountain going to miraculously become un-slippery by next week? Oh… he added that by that time, they would have been adapted into the culture of camp and therefore would not waste time using social media. It seemed fishy all of a sudden. It would not surprise Ibraheem if Mr Jerk had done something to the signal. Maybe signal jammed the whole area. It would take just an internet search for these kind of things and done. He would see step by step on how to hijack the whole thing. Maybe he did it so that he could be in control of everyone or for whatever twisted reason. Ibraheem could now imagine him in front of his laptop doing the evil.

By now, the tree uprooting situation had been forgotten. Ibraheem still didn’t know what to make of it. It was weird, that for sure. But how did it even happen? Ibraheem simply decided to look the other way and not try to think about the reasons that could have happened. He sat under the shade, playing with a small tennis ball. The sky was ash, filled with clouds and he felt it might rain later on. For now, he enjoyed feeling the cool breeze sweep against him. The scrunching of feet against grass awoke him back to reality.

“Hey.” He looked up to see Jameela walking towards him. She was wearing a baby blue floral maxi dress, her hair draped with a small white veil.

"Lunch is almost ready." She announced and sat on a small chair next to him.

“I was thinking of playing one round,” he pointed to the ball in his hand. She simply looked at it, though he noticed her face was far away. He continued rambling about how he would win the swimming competition scheduled for tomorrow until he noticed she wasn’t paying attention. All his life he had always tried to see her smile but she still kept him at the side lines. Behind Alessio.

*****

They walked back side by side to the main house for dinner. Almost everyone was already sited, happily chattering and digging in the flaky scones generously topped with yummy cream and jam. Everyone wore smiles and looks of happiness on their faces. He smiled too feeling their happiness contagious. Until his eyes met with Sarah’s. She was sited at the head of the table, eyes drifting left and right. There was a demeanour about her. She looked scared. What was really happening with his friend? His mind drifted as he took a sip of his rich creamy coffee. For the past week, weird things had indeed been happening.

It wasn’t just Sarah’s imaginations. He was aware of some things as well. At first he had tried to dismiss them as his vivid imaginations. But looking back, some things were really strange. For one, the faucet in the boys’ wing in the main house which had been securely locked would be open, gushing with water whenever one of them entered the bathroom. At first, Ibraheem thought it was only him, but during a conversation with Dan, he discovered it had happened to most of them. Ibraheem decided to study it and maybe ask Dir Rob who had been nicknamed the mechanic around here for help. But something surprised him. The water stayed as locked as ever in the morning and afternoons. It was only in the night that it turned on its own. How was that even possible? An idea whirled in his mind. Maybe he should lay awake in the night to find out the reason why? Maybe one of the teachers was a habitual sleepwalker? That seemed likely. He would bet it was that new coach, Graham. His red eyes suggested as much. It wouldn’t surprise him if the guy never slept at night. Or at all.

Apart from that, Mariyam had been a total wreck. She had reported seeing some red like patterns in the bathroom, appearing and disappearing before her eyes. Yesterday, she and Jams were in the kitchen when she suddenly fainted. She claimed she saw some horrifying creature behind Jams. For now, Ms Joanne who it turned out had been a nurse for a while before venturing into her long life dream of being a camp guide had taken her temperature and given her some medicines to take at specific times. She suspected Mariyam’s temperature had risen so much so that she was seeing colours.

He had also been hearing some creepy sounds every night from his tent. This time, he had studied it. It always started at one a.m. on the dot and would go on with some short intervals until five a.m. The noise was like a creek, then a tap then the long buzz. Mr Cameron said it was probably an insect from within the environment, but he knew better. Last night he was startled in the middle of my sleep by a whisper outside his tent. He woke Drew, Joe and Ade who were sharing the tent with him. They listened to the sound and slowly it became louder, clearer. It was a serene calm sad song, by a woman. Fear gripped them, freezing them on their string mattresses like ice. A shadow flitted in the moonlight outside their tent. They huddled together, just as Ade took the courage to race to the tent opening and zipped it up. They couldn’t sleep until the first rays of sunshine came up. Then they rushed out to alert the others. By the time the guides came, it was fully morning and there was no evidence of what they were saying. With or without evidence, Ibraheem knew what he heard and saw. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to sleep with both eyes closed for a long time.

Nat was sure it was some supernatural occurrence. Could it be? What did that even mean? Were they in some haunted ghost’s den? He couldn’t be sure. What he was sure of was that they had to be extra careful and vigilant at all times.

"Ibraheem." He turned to find Jams looking at him strangely.

"Sorry. What did you say?"

"I have been asking you about your blog but you seem to be far away." She seemed pissed.

Ibraheem sighed. "I'm sorry, Jams. It's just that I've been worried over everything happening."

She rolled her eyes, and took her time stirring her hibiscus drink. Something about her look made him realise that something was worrying her too. "That is useless. You know that. We are not alone here. Nothing is gonna happen. Just have faith. Except if you wanna turn into Sara."

"You're right. I'm overthinking too much."

After lunch, they went to the tents and hung out. Since his family moved to Nigeria, he had made a lot of friends. But the ones that stood out through thick and thin were few - Jameela, Nina, Nat, Mariyam, Ade and Drew. Even though Drew and him had constant fights, he was his person. His buddy. His ride or die. Most of their fights were regarding jams. He knew from the moment he met him that he loved her too. It made him jealous to see them crouched together on his one sitter in his barn. They went there all the time to hang out. Drew knew her first, but it still didn't feel right. She was supposed to be his. Not Drew’s. Sometimes his thoughts were all about her. In those moments, he would imagine who she would choose between them. It always ended the same. Her choosing Drew over him. But it was okay. He knew they were just friends.

-----

"I'm wondering, did you notice any strange thing with Mari?" Jams asked.

He looked at her upside down from his position on the floor. The sky looked wide and open, he had to blink hard and avoid looking at it. "No. Why?"

She licked her lips nervously, "no. It's nothing."

He gave her a are-you-serious look, arching his eyebrows and narrowing his eyes. Knowing her very well, she was hiding something. She sighed finally, exasperated. "Okay, fine. In the afternoon when Mari and I were chilling by those books that Mrs Sana insisted we rearrange, I noticed something. Mari had this sudden flash. I know this sounds funny, but it looked like something had possessed her. And that that exact time, she flashed this dubious smile I have never seen. Then she turned and looked at me, her eyes suddenly red and… oh my God. I was shocked. And just like that, she became normal again. And looked at me quizzically kinda like… what just happened? Look. I seriously freaked out."

Ibraheem took what she said in for a while, spinning it in his head. Something was going on here. He turned towards Jameela. "Mari. Something’s strange with her. Remember when she freaked out saying she saw something in the kitchen? And those sirens or whatever we kept hearing in the night but no one takes seriously? Jams there's something going on here. And I bet ya. It's no good."

"What do we do then? No one's gonna think we are saying the truth. You know that."

"Well, for starters, I think we should gather others who share similar opinions. And then see what we can do next."

"That's an okay plan. I think you ask those Adriana followers. 'Cause you know I can't stand them." She made a gagging face.

"Sure. But they might not listen to me too."

"You?" She sized him up and down even though she was lying down. "They definitely will. Trust me. All they need is a handsome dude talking to them to catch their attention."

His heart skipped a beat. Handsome. She called his handsome. He quickly shrugged and turned before she noticed his blushing face. That night, he made a mental note on who to talk to regarding their opinions. Before he managed to doze off, Jameela's voice rang in his ears. And he smiled. Handsome.