by J. E. Cluney
I awoke sprawled in Ollie’s arms on the double stretcher in our tent. I had the only double stretcher, and the guys would take turns sleeping with me.
Sleeping was all we’d done, after some light touching and kissing, of course. That was until Lucas stated from his stretcher that if we continued, we’d all be having some fun in the tent.
I could hear soft murmurs and chuckles, and I carefully slid out of his arms and tiptoed past Lucas, who was all wrapped up in his sleeping bag on his stretcher. The two other stretchers were empty, one messed up and clearly used, while the other, obviously Marcus’, was tidy and made. I briefly wondered what he’d done for the night while we slept, since he’d left his laptop at home. He didn’t sleep all to often anymore, not even during the day like he used to. Sometimes he’d fall asleep with me for an hour or two, holding me some nights, but he didn’t need a full six to eight hours like the rest of us. Just a few hours every couple of days now.
I carefully made my way outside so I wouldn’t wake Ollie or Lucas, and found Marcus and Skip sitting by the campfire, roasting some marshmallows with their morning hot chocolates.
Marcus flitted over to pour me a hot chocolate too as I yawned and groggily made my way to the seat beside Skip.
I slumped into it, rubbing my arms in the cool morning air.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” Skip winked.
“Morning,” I said through a yawn.
Marcus appeared beside me, offering me the hot chocolate before he sat down and continued roasting his marshmallow.
“Bit early for marshmallows, don’t you think?” I chuckled.
“There’s no rules when camping,” Skip smirked as he shoved a crispy brown marshmallow in his mouth before gulping down some hot chocolate with it.
“Well, I’m glad Lucas at least magicked us the portable toilet with a shelter,” I sighed. He’d initially said we’d do it properly, digging holes and whatnot to poop, but he’d caved when I’d sweet-talked him, and we now had a porta potti to use. He’d empty it magically too, since he had no interest in doing it manually.
“Yeah, better than digging a hole first thing this morning,” Skip agreed as he hid behind his mug of hot chocolate, the steam rising up in front of his face.
I pulled a face at this. Skip was always hogging the toilet for his morning poop, and lately I’d taken to running down to Lucas’ room and using his ensuite.
Lucas and Ollie joined us as we enjoyed a morning talk with some kookaburras laughing overhead while the sound of the ocean was brought on a cool morning breeze over the dune.
Ollie plopped down in the chair beside me, yawning as he rubbed his eyes.
The wind changed, and I watched as the poor thing just sunk deeper into his seat, turning his head in his attempt to get away from the smoke that was assaulting him.
It was quite sad, watching his tired, dismayed expression as he feebly tried to avoid it without getting up, and ended up just hanging his head and closing his eyes, using the collar of his shirt as a mask.
Lucas chuckled before waving his hand, and the smoke began drifting straight up into the air.
Ollie sighed with relief as he lolled his head back in his chair, and Lucas brought over a hot chocolate for him.
I just snickered at the sight of Lucas, wearing a bright pink girly singlet that said ‘Drama Queen’ on the front with a crowned unicorn and some Deadpool boxer shorts.
And, of course, his pink fluffy bunny slippers.
Skip was wearing boxers and a grey singlet, while Marcus had on a black shirt and black briefs, looking quite gothic with his pale skin. And Ollie had on an Iron Man shirt and Marvel boxers.
I was wearing my silky red nightgown from Marcus, which he was quite happy to see me in.
Lucas took up the remaining seat between Marcus and Ollie, and we all sat in a comfortable silence as we enjoyed the peace and serenity.
So quiet and calm, just the sound of the ocean and the wildlife, along with the soft crackling of the fire.
Until Ollie let out a soft snore accompanied with a ripping fart.
He jolted awake, blinking groggily as he gave us a bewildered look.
Skip lost it, laughing as I chuckled with Lucas while Marcus just shook his head with a grin.
“Who was that?” Ollie grumbled.
This only made us all laugh harder, even Marcus was snickering as Lucas patted Ollie on the back.
“Might be time for a toilet run, mate,” he suggested.
Ollie’s face turned red as he stood up and shuffled to the toilet, still sleepy and yawning.
“Surprised he didn’t shit himself with that one,” Skip joked.
“Sounds like he nearly did,” Marcus muttered, which made me giggle.
“Camping, never gets old,” Lucas sighed. “Bacon and eggs sound good?” he mused as he glanced around at us.
“Sounds perfect,” Skip stated as I nodded with Marcus.
Lucas went to get up, then thought better of it as he magicked the grill plate clean and it swung over the fire.
The grill spun around too, and pieces of bread floated over from our food stash that we had on the fold-out table.
Lucas had magicked it last night so no wildlife would steal it, which had been a common occurrence for them growing up.
Bacon floated over to the hot plate, and eggs cracked themselves on it. I caught a waft of sizzling bacon, and my stomach growled in response.
“What’d you do last night anyway?” I asked Marcus as we watched our breakfast cook.
“Just explored the beach, did some drawings, went for a walk,” Marcus responded. I could sense his contentment right now. He’d enjoyed the quiet, peaceful night, focusing on being unplugged and free for a short while.
From his mind, I could see he’d taken his sketchbook down to the beach and had drawn quite a bit. Pages of artwork now filled his sketchbook.
“Should paint me like one of your french girls.”
We all turned and erupted into laughter as Ollie strutted over, completely naked and posing for Marcus.
“What are you doing?!” I cried through my laughs.
“No breakfast for me, I’m going fishing,” he said with a sly wink.
I gave him a confused look, but then his body morphed in record speed, and the grey and white eagle flapped its great wings as it rose up into the air.
His flight feathers were black, and I just stared in awe as he continued skyward, calling out before disappearing over the treetops and gliding towards the beach.
A sea eagle he’d turned into. So stunning.
“More bacon for us then,” Skip stated as Lucas magically flipped the eggs and bacon for the third time.
“Or for him,” Marcus said as he flicked his head.
I followed his gaze, my eyes widening as the large goanna casually wandered into our camp, its tongue flicking out as it occasionally slowed to glance around.
“Damn, that’s a big boy,” Skip remarked.
We watched as he wandered closer, clearly attracted by our food.
“Should give him something,” Skip suggested.
I didn’t dare move as the nearly two meter long monitor inched closer, his dark greyish body covered in cream spots.
I just eyed the wicked claws on his feet. I’d heard stories of them getting a fright and climbing up people. Apparently because they would normally climb up trees, but if a person happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, they’d become the getaway tree.
A lace monitor was its true name, but goanna was the more common term.
“My parents used to have them steal eggs from the chicken coop, should give him one,” Skip said.
“Better not feed it, don’t want it getting accustomed to people,” Lucas said.
“Fine,” Skip sighed as he stood up.
As soon as he did, the monitor freaked, and I squealed as it shot off, its tail whipping around as it disappeared back into the trees and presumably up one of them.
&n
bsp; “There, I doubt it’ll come back,” Skip stated as he began serving himself up some of the breakfast.
Well, this trip was certainly becoming quite interesting.
I joined in with the guys, fishing with them on the beach, grateful that Lucas had just magicked us not to burn instead of slathering on sunscreen.
Skip and Marcus had caught some fish, but I’d succeeded in losing my bait twice, while Lucas had his line snap when something big had gotten it.
Ollie had shifted again, this time into a dolphin again, and was off exploring in the water.
We fished for a fair chunk of the morning, and ended up cooking some of the bigger catches for lunch with some leftover roast veggies from last night.
Then Ollie took me for a beach horse ride, which I adored, before swimming with me on his back as well.
We explored and had fun, and Marcus was enjoying himself more than I could’ve hoped for as he swam and joined us on every little adventure we did.
This included the whale ride Ollie offered us, where he turned into a large humpback whale and took us right out into deep water.
I tried to fight off my nerves, but I knew I was safe with them as Skip, Marcus, and Lucas all sat with me on Ollie’s back.
Deep water scared me, we had no idea what was out here, and I worried a little.
“Nothing will attack us,” Lucas reassured me, peering into my mind to investigate my worries.
He was right, and I settled down as I enjoyed the view of the ocean all around us, the sun reflecting off the water in the mid-afternoon.
Lucas magicked some fishing rods, and I watched as he and Marcus did some fishing while Skip sat with me.
They didn’t catch anything after about twenty minutes, so we headed back, Ollie being careful not to plunge us underwater as he tried to keep his back above water. A few times water splashed up on us but we were able to stay on until we got close to shore.
We spent the afternoon lazing and just chilling out. Marcus drew some pictures while Ollie shifted into an eagle again and went off to explore.
Even Skip shifted and went off for an exploration, while I voted to nap with Lucas.
He spooned me, just wanting to hold me close as we caught some rest, and I fell asleep easily in his arms.
Dinner was the Heinz spaghetti on toast, and we joked and laughed around the fire while taking turns showering with the portable shower. Lucas heated up the water with magic since we’d left it too late to use the sun to heat the water bags.
I went first, grateful to wash my salty hair and get the sandy, salt feeling off my skin. At least Lucas was magically cleaning out the tent of all sand particles.
After dinner, I was oddly exhausted, but I came to life a little when Lucas started teasing me in bed.
This resulted in some fun with everyone, and we made a nest-like bed on the floor of the tent.
Nothing as extreme as my birthday night, but still plenty of fun.
Afterwards, I found myself walking along the beach with Marcus, enjoying the cool night breeze as the ocean rippled and gently crashed onto shore.
He held my hand, smiling softly as he stared up at the starry sky, the moon lighting our way.
“This has been amazing so far, I forgot how much I loved camping,” he murmured as he let go of my hand and wrapped it around my shoulder instead.
I shivered softly at his cool touch, but pushed through it, wanting to feel the contact.
“I’m glad I get to do it with you,” I said softly as I stopped to turn in his arms and hug him.
He sighed as he kissed the top of my head, and I buried my face in his chest, drawing in his sweet vanilla scent. He’d brought his vanilla wash with him, and I loved it.
“Want to sit here with me?” he asked softly.
I nodded, and he flitted off, returning within a few moments with a picnic blanket.
He laid it out on the sand, and we sat down together.
We ended up lying down, wrapped in one another’s arms under the stars, the cool breeze making my skin prickle.
“I’m sorry I’m not warm, can’t cuddle you and warm you up,” he sighed in frustration.
“It’s fine, trust me,” I murmured as I huddled closer to him.
I just liked being with him, feeling him touching me, just in a sweet way.
Before I knew it, I’d drifted off, and my dreams were filled with fun with the guys and Easter eggs with legs.
Something wasn’t right.
My eyes flew open as the sensation washed over me, and I felt all the guys spur awake with me.
Someone was within our camp.
Lucas’ magic warding he’d put on the camp had picked it up, and our bond had alerted all of us.
I found myself in the double stretcher with Lucas, who I could just make out with the slight moonlight filtering through one of the tent windows.
Marcus had been on a walk, and he was flitting back as quickly as he could.
“Stay here,” Lucas hissed as he slipped out of the bed. He didn’t look very intimidating in his ‘Drama Queen’ singlet, but whoever it was would get quite the shock if they challenged him.
Who could be at our camp? It wasn’t easily accessible, unless they’d come up along the beach?
Skip and Ollie quietly joined me, sitting on the edge of my bed to guard me.
My heart pounded as I reached out, trying to sense whoever it was.
‘Whoever it was is gone now,’ Lucas informed me as he used magic to scan the area. ‘But it was a supe.’
“Maybe they came upon us by accident and just left,” Ollie murmured.
“Or were shifted and going exploring?” Skip offered.
That did sound rather likely, but a pit had settled in my stomach.
Something didn’t feel right about all of this.
Lucas rejoined us in the tent, with Marcus hot on his heels and looking concerned.
“Maybe we should move camp in the morning anyway, just to be safe,” Ollie said softly as he moved back to his stretcher.
Marcus sat down on the edge of his, glancing around at all of us.
We all felt that something was a little off about this.
I realized with a start that it was my banshee. She was giving off the extra worry vibe.
And if she was on edge about this, then that was not something to be ignored.
I struggled to sleep after that, and Marcus went on patrol while Lucas broadened his warding of our camp.
I nestled into Lucas’ arms, unable to shake the feeling of wrongness that had settled over me.
“Want me to help you sleep?” he offered gently as he stroked my cheek and kissed my shoulder.
“Okay.”
“Close your eyes, Cupcake,” he instructed softly.
I did as told, and I felt his magic wash over me, pulling me into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I awoke, the feeling of dread washing over me as soon as I stepped out of the tent.
I glanced around me, unable to pinpoint where it was coming from as I scanned the trees surrounding us.
The boys were quiet as they sat around the small fire, clearly feeling the same way I did.
Most of the stuff was already packed into the cruiser, and I knew they were anxious to move from this spot and hopefully shake this dark shadow that had descended on us.
Skip sipped his hot drink as I sat down beside him, accepting the plate of scrambled eggs and toast.
Marcus flitted into the tent, making sure to leave me a change of clothes for the day before packing everything else into the cruiser.
Lucas magicked the tent, and I watched as it disassembled and collapsed, folding itself up and sliding back into its case, leaving the fold-out table with a few select food items and my clothes for the day.
I finished up my breakfast, and Lucas took care of the dirty dishes as I grabbed a bottle of water and my toothbrush and toothpaste before wandering into the tree line a bit to brush my teeth.
I changed an
d helped them load up the car with the last of the stuff, and Lucas snuffed the fire out with a wave of his hand.
We were piled into the car and bumping down the dirt track before nine-thirty, desperate to get away from this unshakable uneasiness.
I sat jammed between Ollie and Marcus again, and I chewed my lip as the feeling didn’t fade away.
I closed my eyes, reaching down into my void, hoping my banshee side could shed some light on this.
I didn’t even get a chance to slip into my void as I was jolted forward, the left side of the car feeling funny as Skip cursed and pulled off the track and thrust his door open to climb out.
“Fuck!” he shouted as he inspected the back left tyre.
“Think we blew a tyre,” Marcus sighed.
“We have a spare, right?” I frowned.
“Yeah,” Ollie nodded.
Lucas had climbed out to check it too, and I knew he was going to just magically repair it.
Marcus climbed out too, and I followed, frowning at the flat tyre.
“What happened?” Marcus asked as Skip checked it over.
“Not sure, I want to find out first before we fix it. See if it’s a fault,” Skip muttered as he checked it over, carefully running his hands over the tyre.
A shiver ran down my spine as my stomach tightened, and I glanced around us uneasily.
Something wasn’t right. This was wrong, and the dread crept over me like an eerie fog, making my skin prickle.
My whole body stiffened as I heard a strange whistling sound, and my banshee side screamed within me, a ripple of fear coursing through me at the impending danger.
I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me as I hit the ground, and Marcus shot off me, disappearing instantly.
Screams rose up in the distance, and I sat up, sucking in air as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
Marcus reappeared before us, shoving a blonde girl to the ground whilst holding a rifle in his other hand.
“What the fuck?!” Skip snapped as he lurched forward, but as the girl looked up at him with furious green eyes, he froze up.
It took me a moment to place her face, and then the memory surfaced of the girl at work, asking if I was Allison and saying she’d crushed on Skip.
It was her.