July 6, 1992
Night slowly descended. The darkening sky was covered with pale silver stars, while the full moon hung high above the treetops of the nearby forest. The campfire crackled cheerfully. Wisps of gray smoke drifted through the air, and the song of crickets rose from the grass.
Slowly, everyone settled around the fire. There were six of them. Six good friends: Damion, his best friend Colle, Colle's wife Courtney, and three other close friends—Fabricio, Karina, and Jordan.
They were grilling food and opening beers or Pepsis to go with it. Their camouflage tents stood not far away.
"This is great. The campsite is amazing, and the weather is nice too," Courtney said cheerfully.
"Yeah, except for these damn mosquitoes," Colle muttered as he scratched himself.
"The fire will scare them away," Jordan grumbled with a mouthful of bread.
"You're awfully quiet, Damion. You okay?" Colle asked.
Damion stared into the flames. In the glowing embers he thought he saw twisted faces, but whenever he blinked, there was nothing there except the fire itself. Though he was only thirty-seven, his face looked hollow and worn.
"I haven't gone camping in twenty years," he said, more to himself than to the others.
Everyone looked up except Colle.
"I know something happened the last time you went camping—when you were seventeen. But you never talked about it."
For a moment, only the rhythmic crackling of the fire and the sounds of nature could be heard.
"You're among friends. You can tell us. Maybe it'll help."
Damion raised his blue-green eyes toward Colle.
"Come on, Damion. You know you can trust us. Even if you did something, we won't judge you. None of us are saints either," Karina added.
Fabricio nodded as well.
Damion finished his Pepsi and stared at the nearby lake, where the reflection of the full moon rippled across the surface.
"I'm not sure you'll believe me."
It started as an ordinary camping trip. Eight high school kids. It was a lot like this one. It was our first time camping, and we were excited. Thanks to our parents, we had prepared carefully.
Damion paused.
"But no one could have prepared us for what happened. It began on the fourth day... and that was also when everything ended."
It was early evening. Everyone else was spending time around the campfire, but I wanted to take a walk. I had a slight headache, so I went alone.
I headed toward the lake.
Even from a distance, the water looked beautiful. I thought I'd go for a swim.
When I got there, everything was quiet and normal. I stared at the water. It was perfectly calm.
In the distance, I could hear the others entertaining themselves with riddles.
I smiled.
Then I saw it.
A body floating beneath the surface.
I froze.
I looked again.
It was still there.
Without thinking, I jumped into the water. A moment later I managed to pull the body halfway up.
It was cold and stiff.
I was about to drag it out of the lake when—
Damion cut himself off.
Everyone stared at him tensely. But Damion struggled to continue. His face had turned pale. When he finally spoke again, his voice came out strained.
"My eyes drifted to the face of the body.
It... it was me.
I was looking at myself."
A chilling silence followed.
One by one, everyone in the group lifted their heads. Courtney was trembling.
"I let go of it instantly. The body slowly sank beneath the surface again. I gasped for air. Terror flooded through me. I didn't understand. I was completely sober. But all I could think was that I had lost my mind."
I wanted to tell the others, but the words got stuck in my throat.
After climbing out of the water, I looked again, hoping there would be nothing there.
But it was still there.
I went back to camp and tried to act normal. I immediately drank two bottles of beer, but I couldn't force down a single bite of food.
I went to bed early, and I guess the emotional shock knocked me out quickly.
Then bloodcurdling screams crawled into my dreams.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a stranger standing over me.
Then he started hitting me.
It was dark, so I could barely see anything.
Only afterward did I realize he was beating me with an oar.
Damion fell silent again.
Karina instinctively scanned the darkness around them.
"It was the psychotic brother of one of my friends. He had secretly followed us. He watched us.
Then, after we fell asleep, he attacked.
He hated his brother because he believed he was their parents' favorite. He felt like they didn't care about him at all.
He had always been troubled. He'd even been in prison.
But no one expected something like this."
"What happened after that?" Colle asked.
"It went on for a long time. He wouldn't stop.
He beat four of my friends to death.
Including his own brother.
The rest of us fought for our lives.
If nearby campers hadn't heard the screams and come to help..."
He fell silent.
"He wouldn't have stopped.
There were more of us, but he caught us completely off guard.
And if you've never seen a raging psychopath before, then you can't understand."
For a while, no one spoke.
The fire still crackled.
"But... what about the body in the lake?" Jordan asked.
"He drowned me," Damion continued quietly. "But they managed to revive me in the end. That's how I survived."
He stared at the lake.
"I've been terrified of water ever since. Even now, I still dream about that body.
Just floating there."
Colle nodded with understanding.
"I asked the police about the other body, but of course they told me there wasn't another body in the lake.
I still don't understand it."
"Maybe you don't need to," Fabricio said in an unusually serious tone.
"What happened to him?" Karina asked.
"He was executed five years ago."
Damion's gaze settled on the silver-shimmering surface of the lake.
A chill ran through him as what looked like the shadow of a body seemed to form beneath the water.
"I'll get more beer," Colle's voice suddenly said, pulling him back to reality.