Camp Haven Chapter 8: Dirty Work (Becca/Venus Awards/Lily09 & Pokey's contests)

My black eyes caught the florescent moonlight and reflected the light almost like my eyes were a flashlight. It was a special ability I had acquired with being a shape-shifter; they could reflect any light and I could practically have night vision. And I would need it to decisively take out Steven Gardner. He’d become too much of a nusciane ever since he’d saved Michael from certain death this afternoon when Corey was to kill him. With Steven taken out, I could find a way to get one of the many shifters under my command here to shape-shift into him. But I needed them at this moment, because if Michael was as powerful as I suspected, he could single-handedly defeat me if I don’t have my full power with my shape-shifters. So maybe I could find an exile shifter, recruit him, and he could become the new camp director. One who would do whatever I say. I mean, anybody can find an exile shifter in a week max. I just had to make sure that the outside world couldn’t know that Steven had been murdered. At least not until I find this exile shifter.

            Now you’re probably wondering what an exile shifter is, correct? An exile shifter is someone that has either betrayed or abandoned their clan, or has been banished from a clan. They usually get banished for using their powerful abilities against humans. But those are usually only clans that Garvin has either overrun, captured, or are directly under his control, which would basically be the entire city of Chicago. His army extended all the way to Salt Lake City, to Vancouver, to Alabama. But only Illinois was under his control really. I didn’t have much, but that was my advantage. He didn’t know where exactly to calculate a strike against me, let alone wage war against me. I was sly, quick, and knew exactly where Garvin’s weak points where; places that had an immense population of humans.

            But I’m sure that you just want me to get on with the murder of Steven. I saw him coming, whistling as a matter of fact, down the dirt road, jingling a golden pair of keys. He had a green cap that read ANOTHER GREAT YEAR AT CAMP HAVEN. Give me a break! Another great year?! Last year, Corey had shape-shifted into a bear, and killed someone. This guy must really like to exaggerate! His innocent blue eyes did not decieve me. His pale white skin didn’t mean he was scared. He was simply a coward without knowing that his death was inevitable. His shaggy brown hair was only slightly hidden by the cap. I was in a perfect position to kill. His cabin was only several feet away. I slowly stood from my squatting position behind the bushes on a small elevation overlooking his quarters.

            He didn’t suspect a thing. I saw Corey slowly rise to his feet, also looking down upon Steven. Corey stood upon a small elevation opposite of mine. Almost like they could close in on Gardner in seconds if they both collapsed. But that wasn’t the plan. Landslides in Vermont? Quite unlikely. I nodded ever so slightly, and then our feet practically smoothly slid down the sides of the elevations, and we both lightly landed a bit behind Steven. I crouched behind a small boulder, making sight of me almost impossible under the large shadow that covered me.

            Corey on the other hand, immediately shifted into a large, black grizzly bear, and roared loudly. Steven practically died just from the fright. He turned around screaming, dropping a clipboard, his cap, and a golden watch much too big for his wrist. He fell to his hands and knees and began to crawl away, not even bothering to get to his feet and running. Corey quickly was just several feet behind him, but he knew the plan. Steven was not to be killed until he was safely inside his cabin. By me.

I slowly felt my skin become a scaly green, and my teeth turn into sharp, deadly fangs. I closed my eyes, and felt my legs dissappear, and I took another deep breath, and I was as thin as a pencil. I got onto my stomach, and soon my arms were gone, and I opened my now red eyes to the ground. I hissed slowly, and began to make my way towards Steven, who had nearly reached his cabin.

As I slowly slithered even closer, I saw his panicked expression zipping any way possible, desperately trying to find a new way to escape the rampaging Corey. I must say, Corey was making quite a convincing act that he would kill Steven instead of a dasteradly snake such as myself. Slashing his claws, roaring, baring his sharp teeth. Anyone would’ve thought that this bear had malice on his mind. His glowering red eyes pierced into Gardner’s green ones. I slowly beagn to slither around those two, until I saw something wooden in sight. Gardner’s cabin. The place I would kill him.

I saw three wooden steps leading up to a deck, and I quickly made my way up, casting a quick glance back at Gardner. Still preoccupied with my distraction. Now you’re probably wondering why I have to kill him in his own cabin of all places to kill instead of just making it seem like he was mauled by a bear on his way back to his cabin for the night. Well, if his body is discovered, then it will be reported to the police, the camp could possibly be put in lockdown to scout the mountains to check if the man is hiding there, and they will simply assign Camp Haven with a new director to lead. But if that happens, then I can’t place a puppet in that position. Anyone else will stop me before I can kill Michael. Someone hired by me will just stand by and allow me to do whatever I want at will.

So I can lie if the body cannot be found in his cabin or on the camp grounds. Then I can say how I know the one person who is capable for the job. Because I know exactly where to hide the body. There is a secret crawlspace right under his cabin, and if I kill him there, I can simply shift back into a human, open the door leading down below, and simply drop him down. If Corey kills him outside, someone could either spot us or hear us dragging him back to his cabin to hide the body. It’s too much of a risk. Such as if that Michael is sneaking around after curfew as well and sees two humans that look exactly like us dragging a body, he can pin it on us with a simple photo on his phone. If nobody can see me murder him inside his cabin, then I can feel secure. I can lie and say that I was helping Gardner back to his cabin because he was drunk and then it had become so dark that I had to stay at his cabin and that it’s possible that Gardner took off and committed suicide.

I slowly slithered across the wooden deck, below elegantly designed glass chairs with flowing ribbons of blue, red, yellow, green and many more along the seat of the chair. Red umbrellas stood above every table to give reasonable shade against the horrendous heat at camp. Only counselors and important members in charge of Camp Haven where allowed onto the deck and sit in the chairs to discuss private matters. It was strictly off-limits to campers. I made my way into the shadows of a large tree that had grown far too wide and was poking through the wooden ledge designed to keep wildlife from coming through and onto the deck in that direction. It made reasonable cover, and was close to the door, or at least close enough so that when he opened the door to take refuge in, I could quickly slither in without him noticing.

I scanned the scenery around me. A mockingbird was eyeing me, its head cocked to the side. It’s silver-gray feathers sparkled in the moonlight and those blue eyes slightly mesmerized me for several moments, but that’s when I realized that those blue eyes were quite familiar. Dean, what are you doing here?! Shouldn’t you and Blake be keeping your eyes on the infirmary in case Phillips breaks out? We know he’s onto us! He saw be talking to Corey after the assault!

Now, let me just explain a quick thing about shape-shifters. We all have telepathy abilities, but they can only be activated after a serious of severe mind training so your mind can handle the stress of allowing someone to have access to your subconscious. It is quite horrendous I must say so myself. All that pressure put inside of you, allowing someone to search through your memories, your emotions, your very being. Very few shifters finish the ordeal alive, let alone try it.

What?! It was my idea anyway! I said, Oh why don’t you and Corey ambush Gardner tonight and lock him up in that crawlspace underneath his cabin?! So technicalyy, I should have a right to see how MY plan works out! I sighed, or hissed with my tounge after Dean’s statement before replying, Well that’s the flaw in your plan. I have no intention of simply ambushing Gardner and locking him up. That gives him an oppurunity to escape and pin this all on me. And then I’ll wind up in jail, which isn’t that big of a problem really since I can escape any jail cell except death. But that doesn’t matter. I have to kill him and hide the body! And you should be with Blake watching the infirmary making sure Michael isn’t trying to follow us! He knows that I told Corey to provoke Michael into fighting him. He saw me talking to him after Gardner came and saved him! If he sees this, he could get this on a photo and expose us to the entire camp! Garvin could win this war if I don’t kill Michael before he learns of Michael’s existense!

What is so important about the kid Eli?! He’s just some little brat that just learned how to shape-shift! You’ve been shifting for fourteen years, ever since you were a baby! Eli looked back at Dean with fury. Normally, he would love the praise of his followers, but Dean did just not understand the circumstances. He will be too powerful if he joins with Garvin. Garvin can train him, mold him into his own image! He could become the heir to his army! I cannot allow that to happen! I cannot risk that!

Yeah you can! He’s just a beginner. Garvin is a fool. His lines are spread too thin. You have, what, thousands of shifters at you’re command? You can win even if Michael does join forces with the old oaf! Dean screamed through his mind. If it had been a true voice inside of his head and not someones thoughts, Eli would’ve been vibrating like a phone that is malfunctioning and never stops. But did Dean make a good point? Could he still defeat Michael even if Garvin trained him? And then a thought occurred into his snake mind.

What if I tried to make an alliance with the brat? Convince him that I tried to kill him because I thought that he knew about the war, and that he was really a shifter for Garvin? Would that work, do you think? The mockingbird that was Dean replied telepathically, I really don’t know Eli. Anything is possible. Keep him in your corner I guess. Build him up to be some type of secret weapon that Garvin never finds out about until you unleash him. Could be a nice advantage over him. And if anything goes wrong, you can always kill him in his sleep or whatever. Once Gardner is out of the way . . . .

Silence! Someone is coming! It’s time to finish what I started . . . Eli began to hiss, his tounge hanging out and vibrating, his red eye locked onto Gardner’s neck as he used his hands and feet to back onto the porch. Corey was several feet behind him, a good distance so that Gardner would gather the courage to rise to his feet, open his door enough for him to slip in, and then he would feel safe. And then he would die.

I could hear his exasperated voice mumbling, “Dear God, don’t let me die like this!” And then just for enough dramatic effect, Corey let out a long, henious roar filled with malice, hatred, power, and death. It could echo for miles around, and every man, every woman, and every child heard it. Then Corey began to charge, and Gardner scrambled to his feet. Now it was his time to die.

As he scrambled for the door, I silently followed right on his heels, silently hissing along the way. He practically jerked the white door off of its hinges, and gave me just enough time to slither inside right after him. The door closed with a loud THUD! I saw Gardner give an exasperated sigh of relief, and he plopped down into an old recliner, wiped some sweat off of his forehead and got up, grabbed a can of lemonade, sat back down, and closed his eyes, rejoicing as the soothing, refreshing drink touched his chapped lips.

But then, I let out a long, deathly hiss, and he practically jumped at the sight of a python sitting right at his feet. He lay there in that recliner, contemplating me, as I slowly slithered up his petrified body, coiling myself around his neck, tightening it like a noose, until finally, my sharp, cold-blooded fangs penetrated his weak flesh, practically brushing it aside, reaching a vein, slowly breaking through it, allowing the venom to hit his bloodstream, listen to him cough blood out of his mouth, watch him struggle to grip me, but his faltering grip was his downfall, when I snapped another fang at his hand. His skin turned deathly pale, and his blue and purple veins turned black with venom. His eyeballs rolled to the back of his head, and his breathing decreased dramatically. His attempts to remove my coiling body stopped all at once. I felt his bones slowly cracking under all of the immense pressure I was consistently putting upon it.

Finally, after one last desperate gasp for survival, he tensed up, and then he let out a long deathly wail, and was finally silent. He did not move a muscle, and his heart did not beat. He was finally dead. My mission was complete. I slowly and calmly slithered back down his body until I reached a luxoriously woven velvet carpet and shifted back into my Goth self.

I brushed my black hair back to conceal the full force of my eyes and sat down, covering my eyes, and sighed. It had been a long night. He had put up quite a resistance. But now, he was dead, and I had to make my next move quick. I had to take control of this camp before someone discovered of Steven’s death and someone else took control.

Michael had to die. Tonight.   

I heard rushing feet burst onto the porch, and I saw the bulky body of Corey staring down at me as the door swung open. He immeditately saw the lifeless body in the recliner, and Corey smiled with saitsfaction.

“So, where’s the crawlspace.” Corey asked eagerly, obviously anxious to get rid of the body before someone discovered it. I got to my feet, breathed a deep breath again, and put my hand to the side of his neck that didn’t have the venom. He didn’t have a pulse. Just had to make sure that he somehow hadn’t survived. Otherwise my efforts would’ve been for nothing.

            “Help me hide his body. You grab his feet.” I replied plainly, dropping one of his limp hands. I gripped under his arms, and Corey gripped his feet, and together, we got him off of the recliner, and then I found a latch right under the recliner, so we had to quickly drop Gardner, Corey moved the recliner, and then I lifted the hatch. It was nothing but what appeared to be a black bottomless pit.

            Without warning, I jumped to the bottom of the pit after hearing a whimpering noise. There, sitting pathetically in a dark corner was a bloody wolf with black fur. “Xavier! Shift back into a human! Immediately!” My young shifting friend immediately turned into the twelve year old kid he was. His dirty blond hair had streaks of blood in it, and his teeth were crooked. What had happened when he’d dissappeared?

            “What happened when you dissappeared?” I said in a commanding voice. Xavier trembled some more before replying, “It was Colby . . . he’s not on your side. He – he – he saved the boy. Michael.”

            I glared down at him, shifted back into my snake form, and slithered next to Xavier. You are a failure Xavier. I cannot afford to have any army of weak shifters such as yourself, I hissed into his mind. He shook with fear, and shut his eyes closed knowing what was coming. “Master . . . please! I didn’t know that the boy could shift! He overpowered me! I could’ve defeated him, but Colby intervened! He’s not on your side. He’s protecting Michael! Spare me master!” Xavier pleaded, tears spilling out of his eyes. I looked down at him with curious, red, snake eyes.

            Farewell brother, I hissed, and then both of my fangs jammed into his neck, and then he gasped with pain before falling silent. I guess now I was an only child.