“Hey, Emily,” said Benjamin as he sidled up to her table. The other girls huffed and looked away. Emily rolled her eyes and gave another grand smile to Benjamin.
“Did you hear about the storm?” she asked.
“No. I saw the clouds coming though,” he replied as he scooted in next to her on the bench.
“That’ll mean no water sports today. I was really looking forward to being out on the lake.”
“So what do we do instead?”
Emily shrugged. “Depending on how bad the storm is they’ll probably make us stay inside somewhere. I heard that one time the campers and staff all had to sleep in the staff building when tornados came through.”
Benjamin’s didn’t like the sound of that, unless he got to hang out with Emily. “Tornados?”
“Yeah. One of the counselors told us about…”
Just then they heard the siren from one of the camp speakers. That meant an announcement was coming.
“Attention counselors and staff. Due to an incoming severe thunderstorm, all outdoor activities will be cancelled for today. A new schedule will be given to tribe leaders within the hour. Until then, please make your way back to your cabins. Thank you.”
“I guess we better get going,” said Emily. She almost looked sad.
“Okay. See you later?”
She nodded and got up to join her friends.
Benjamin quickly made his way back to Nathan and Aaron. Nathan was hurriedly shoveling one last handful of bacon into his mouth. They grabbed their trays and deposited them in the waste area along with everyone else.
By the time they got outside, the sky was completely overcast. They could smell the rain and the air felt heavy.
“This is gonna be a big storm,” Aaron guessed as he gazed up at the rolling clouds.
Meandering down the cabin path, they passed a group of older boys huddled together. Just as Benjamin and his friends walked by, the boys dispersed and discretely surrounded Benjamin. It was Nathan who noticed the move first. He shifted closer to Benjamin.
“Hey, shortcake,” said one of the boys. Benjamin ignored the comment. Unable to let the comment pass, Nathan turned his head.
“Who are you talking to?” he asked the other group. There were five of them, all wearing camp t-shirts with ‘Mohawk Tribe’ written in black permanent marker on their sleeves. They’d heard about the already infamous Mohawk Tribe. Apparently they were one more infraction away from getting split up or maybe even kicked out of camp. You never knew with the rumors that passed from camper to camper like an out of control virus.
“I’m talking to your tiny friend there.”
“Yeah,” said another boy, this one had blond hair hanging down to his cheek. He kept flipping it back and to the side to keep it out of his eyes. “We need a new mascot and heard yours might be available.”
The rest of the Mohawk boys snickered at the comment. Nathan stopped dead in his tracks. Benjamin sighed. He hated bullies, but he didn’t want his friends getting in trouble because of him.
“It’s okay, Nathan. Just ignore…”
Nathan held his hand up motioned for Benjamin to be quiet and stay back. His face had turned from a light pink to a darker red.
“Looks like big boy’s getting mad,” said the blond kid. Nathan was larger than any of the older boys. Apparently, they thought their numbers would intimidate their foes.
“You shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you,” growled Nathan, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.
“Oooo!” said the Mohawks in unison.
“What going on over here?” came an adult voice. It was Mr. Hendrix, the camp director. The gathering crowd had alerted him to the problem.
“Uh, nothing, Mr. Hendrix,” said the blond antagonist, not quite convincingly.
The usually genial face of Mr. Hendrix glared at the Mohawk boys.
“Are they bothering you, Mr. Dragon?”
Benjamin hated it when he got singled out by adults. He thought that maybe it was because he was the shortest and most likely to be on the receiving end of bullying.
“Uh, no, sir. We were just talking.”
Mr. Hendrix could smell the lie. He didn’t say anything, though. From his years working at Camp Wahamalican, he knew it wasn’t unusual to have small cliques form amongst the campers. He did not tolerate bullies, however. He’d been known to send campers home without a warning if the offense warranted it. Camp Wahamalican had a strict no bullying policy.
After another moment of innocent eyes from the Mohawk boys, seething by Nathan, and feet staring by Benjamin, Mr. Hendrix finally said, “You boys better get back to your cabins. I don’t want you to get caught in the rain.”
The Mohawks were the first to leave. Nathan was still breathing hard when Mr. Hendrix put a calming hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, son. Why don’t you get on back now.”
There was sadness in Nathan’s eyes. He knew that just a few months before, he’d been just like the Mohawk boys, a bully trying to look cool. It made him angry and upset at the same time.
“Yes, sir,” Nathan replied with sagging shoulders.
Benjamin, Nathan and Aaron walked in silence as they made their way back to Tomahawk Cabin.
Chapter 23: The Storm
Thirty minutes later, the promised announcement came over the loudspeaker. The campers were given the choice of either going to the chow hall to play games or stay in their cabins until the storm blew over.
As much as Benjamin wanted to see Emily, he was no longer in the mood. He didn’t want to risk the chance of running into the Mohawks again. Instead he, Nathan, Aaron and two of the other Tomahawk boys elected to stay put and play cards.
“Make sure you don’t go wandering off, okay?” said Tomahawk Tony as he left. All the boys nodded and turned their attention back to the game. Nathan was teaching them a new game called Tonk he’d learned from one of the guys that worked at his dad’s auto body shop.
Minutes later, they paused when the rain started as a light pitter pat and quickly became a thumping downpour. They shut the windows and door so the blowing rain wouldn’t come in. After listening to the rain and thunder for a minute, they diverted their attention back to the game. They already had flashlights standing by in case the power went out.
Benjamin picked up the gist of the game faster than even Nathan, who was the only one who’d played before. They played round after round, only stopping once to eat the bagged lunches Tomahawk Tony brought wrapped in a large plastic bag.
Before they knew it, dusk had fallen. The current tally was fifteen games for Benjamin, five for Nathan, four for Aaron, and two each for the other Tomahawks when someone knocked on the door.
“Did you lock it?” Nathan asked the boy sitting next to him.
“Nope. I’ll go see who it is.”
He hopped up and walked to the door. When he opened it, they saw a skinny pimple faced boy standing and shivering.
“You need to help me,” he said.
+++
The skinny boy was from the Sioux Tribe. Their cabin was two down from the Tomahawks. He’d already been to two other cabins, but everyone had left for the chow hall. In between rapid breaths, sounding like he had asthma, the boy told them that some Mohawks had raided their cabin and taken one of the other Sioux campers. They said they were going to tie him up in the woods and leave him. The Sioux Tribe Leader was at the dining hall, so the boy thought finding other campers would be faster.
“You have to help!” the boy pleaded.
The Tomahawks all looked at each other. Nathan punched a fist into his palm.
“I’ll help,” he said.
“I’ll come too,” said Benjamin. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He ignored their stares.
“I can go get the counselors,” said Aaron.
A plan was quickly decided. The skinny Sioux kid, Aaron and the others would go to the dining hall. Nathan and Benjamin would go after the Mohawks.
Th
e Sioux camper pointed in the direction the Mohawks had gone. Nathan took off at a sprint. Benjamin wasn’t far behind.
+++
They plodded on through the drenching rain. The constant flashes of lightning lit the way. Benjamin’s flashlight glowed pathetically in comparison.
“I think I see something up there,” said Nathan, pointing ahead.
Slowing their pace, Benjamin wiped rain off of his face and tried to see what Nathan was talking about. A flickering light strobed in the distance.
“You think that’s them?” asked Benjamin.
“Who else would it be?”
A muted scream sounded in the direction of the blinking lights.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
Dodging creepy grabbers and whipping branches, they huffed their way closer, the lights increasing as the distance closed. The view cleared and they saw it.
A hundred feet away a small boy was tied to a tree with some kind of cloth gag around his mouth. His eyes bulged in fright.
The Mohawk boys were dancing around the tree like Indians. Each held a flashlight as they shouted gibberish that sounded vaguely like an ancient Indian dialect. One kid even wore a feather, now soaked to a single line, under a bandana wrapped around his head.
“Leave him alone!” screamed Nathan over the thundering wind.
The Mohawks stopped their dancing and looked up fearfully. They thought a camp counselor had found them. They pointed their flashlights at the newcomers and the tension in their faces calmed when they saw who it was. It was the blond boy from earlier who spoke first.
“Looky, looky. Husky and the dwarf decided to come visit.”
There were laughs all around. It sounded funny in the heavy rain, like a babbling brook running over well-worn river rocks.
“I said let him go,” repeated Nathan.
“Are you gonna make me?”
The Mohawks all stepped closer to Nathan and Benjamin. One boy stood quietly, eyes glaring. Another kept grabbing his glasses and wiping them with his soppy wet t-shirt. A third stayed back, looking unsure. The last boy looked on with an amused grin like a cat watching a stupid mouse.
The blond Mohawk tried to shove Nathan, but he’d underestimated his adversary’s skill. Nathan grabbed the boy’s left upper arm, turned to the right, and threw the Mohawk onto the muddy ground.
Struggling to get up from his sloppy face plant, the Mohawk yelled to his friends, “Get him!”
The smug boy closest to his target charged first. He met the same fate as his buddy and actually served to knock the blond over like a bowling ball taking out a pin. The rest of the small group hesitated as Benjamin joined his friend. He wasn’t a coward.
“Who’s next?” snarled Nathan.
Before anyone could answer, a pinkish-orange haze illuminated the area, followed by a thunderous BOOM. Lightning struck the ancient tree the Sioux boy was fixed to and the horrifying CRAAAACK sounded like a giant snapping the tree in two.
The prisoner screamed and fainted just as the tree fell forward.
+++
The other boys scattered and ran away shrieking like scared little girls. Nathan and Benjamin would be crushed. There was no way around it. Nathan dove to the ground. Benjamin stood fixated on the falling trunk. He stared as if in a trance. In his mind, his thoughts were clear. Stop the tree.
As if on cue, the tree’s descent halted. Benjamin cocked his head as if admiring something curious in a toy shop window. He blinked. Still the rain pounded down. The tree did not. It hung in the air like the spoon Old Kennedy had shown him in the ice cream shop.
“Dragon?” came the awestruck voice from Nathan.
Benjamin ignored his friend. He didn’t want to get distracted. This was the first time he’d actually controlled his ‘gift.’
Marveling at the clarity, Benjamin slowly spun and then eased the massive tree down onto its side so the trapped boy wouldn’t get crushed. Nathan rushed over to the unconscious boy. Benjamin stayed put with a big grin on his face. He’d done it. He wasn’t crazy. Old Kennedy was right. He did have a gift.
Chapter 24: Hero
The Sioux boy woke up halfway back to camp. Except for being half scared to death, he was fine. He thanked Benjamin and Nathan and asked that they not tell anyone about what happened. The last thing he wanted was to be bullied more by the Mohawk boys.
Benjamin knew how he felt. He’d been through it before. Sometimes when you told on a bully (or even worse, your parents did), the harassment got worse. They would keep the secret.
They looked like drowned rats when they got back to their cabin. Everyone was gone.
“I guess we better go tell them it was a false alarm,” Nathan suggested.
“Do you mind going alone? I’m gonna get changed.”
“But…” Instead of finishing, Nathan looked at his friend and nodded. “I’ll bring you some food back, if there’s any left.”
“Okay.”
Nathan walked back out into the driving rain. Benjamin waited two minutes then left through the cabin door. He had to talk to Wally.
+++
He somehow found his way in the dark. Benjamin knocked on the door. There was loud movement from inside. Latches scraped and the door opened, flooding firelight through the entryway.
Wally looked down in surprise at the soaked and shivering young man.
“Benjamin? Are you okay?”
Unable to find the words, Benjamin just smiled wide, tears of joy mixing with the rain running off his hair. Wally’s look turned from worry to confusion when he noticed Benjamin’s grinning expression.
“Come in here, you crazy boy.”
Benjamin stepped into the welcome warmth of the cozy cabin. He stood on the doormat as Wally went to fetch a towel.
+++
Now sitting comfortably in front of the blazing fire, sipping on a welcome mug of Wally’s hot cocoa, Benjamin relayed the story of the falling tree. He explained it matter-of-factly as if he’d just been a bystander instead of the one in the thick of it.
Wally whistled over his steaming mug. “Sounds like you’ve gotten a bit of a knack for it.”
“I don’t think so. Out there I could do it, but just a second ago I tried to move that log by the fireplace and nothing happened.”
Wally chuckled as if remembering a private joke. He stared into the fire contentedly.
“What?” asked Benjamin.
Wally almost dropped his mug in surprise. “What? Oh, sorry. I was just remembering back to when I first found out about my healing gift. Felt a lot like you do right now. Scared, excited, confused. Sound familiar?”
Benjamin nodded, eager to hear the story.
“Well, we all tend to get our talents around the age of ten.”
“When did you find out?”
“I lived on a farm with my parents and my little brother. On the morning of my tenth birthday, my dad woke me up before the sun came up. He told me to keep quiet. I snuck out of the house with him and followed him out to the barn. Waiting for me was the most beautiful chestnut mare I’d ever seen. My dad said it was my first birthday present as a man. You see, by that time I was already taller than most kids in high school. Plus, on the farm everyone chipped in. By the time you turned ten you were considered a man. My dad even let me drive his old pickup around to do errands on the farm.
“Anyway, I gave my dad a big hug and he helped me saddle her up. I remember him telling me that I couldn’t name her until I’d ridden her, that way I’d know her spirit and give her a proper naming. The sun was just coming over the horizon as we pranced out of the barn and into the daylight. I’d ridden plenty of horses before so I knew what I was doing. I took my time at first, not wanting to get her tripped up on paths she didn’t know yet. It didn’t take us long to fall into a rhythm. We walked, then trotted, then cantered and then galloped at full speed. I was in love. I whispered her name into her ear and she whinnied: Daylight.
“After a good run around, I pointed her b
ack toward the house. I was getting hungry and wanted to get her all cleaned up before I had to start my chores. We were walking along a little creek that ran the border of our farm. All of a sudden, Daylight reared back on her hind legs. There was a rattlesnake in the middle of the path soaking in the sunlight. It was early for rattlers, or I would’ve been more careful. Well, Daylight spooked and threw me off. I landed hard and watched, like it was in slow motion, as she reared back again and one of her back hooves stepped into a hole. I barely rolled out of the way or she would’ve landed right on top of me. Instead, she flopped into the creek with a crash.
“When Daylight fell back, I heard a loud pop. She snapped her leg bone clean in two. Now I don’t know if you know this, but most times when that happens to a horse you have to put them down. Do you know what that means?”
Benjamin nodded. It meant that someone had to kill the animal so it wouldn’t be in really, really bad pain.
“I knew what it meant as soon as I heard the break. My heart almost burst as she started screaming. Staggering to the creek, I watched her thrash and cry. Her leg was bent backward, obviously broken. That’s when it happened.”
Wally stared into the fire, willing the memory to come. He smiled at the thought.
“My heart swelled and I could’ve sworn that I felt what I can only describe as a warm breeze blow off of me and toward Daylight. What I saw next I’d only heard about in church on Sundays. Her screaming stopped and a peaceful look came to her eyes. I thought she’d died. Hot tears ran down my face. Then I noticed she was still breathing. I looked back at her broken leg and watched as it adjusted into how it’d been before the fall. The wound mended together as I stood there. It was like I’d willed it to happen.”
Wally sipped his drink.
“What happened next?” prodded Benjamin, his eyes sparkling in amazement.
“Well, Daylight got up and walked over to me. She nuzzled into my chest. I didn’t know it then, but animals have this sixth sense about healing. They know when I’ve helped them. It’s how I can have these mean ol’ bears hangin’ around.
Benjamin Dragon - Awakening (The Chronicles of Benjamin Dragon) Page 8