Camp Walden Parent Trap Novels & Stories

Fish. I set to work like a true Mosswood witch. Two snare traps under the fern line using vines and bent saplings. A shallow pit trap with sharpened stakes (camouflaged under leaves). I added a ring of noise wards using stones and whispered magic, so anything walking heavy nearby will clang like a church bell in my head.

When I woke up, I was strapped to the metal bed. My wrists and ankles were locked in restraints. I could barely move. Only one dim light bulb hung from the ceiling, casting the whole basement in a terrifying, eerie glow. I struggled and yelled: “Let me go! What do you want from me?!” From the darkness, Marge’s voice spoke. “Save your breath. This place is soundproofed. No one will hear you, no matter how loud you scream.”

The second he saw it, he freaked, smacking his leg like that'd help. "Why's FPD charging in like that? There's a trap in that left-side building—we set it earlier!" Faces went ghost-white. Everyone bolted for the doors. I blocked the exit, eyes locked on the monitor. Jenna was tearing through the base like she owned it—dodging every trap we set, skimming past every ambush spot like she had the playbook. Nobody said a word. I flipped to the drone feed. The parents of the kidnapped children were already halfway up the hill.

"How about you guys? What really happened? We went camping and–" The mother stopped Jonea's words. She pointed at Mr. Fallon, who had been lying shivering in the old bed. "What happened to Daddy?" Jonea and Miller ran to where their father lay. "Your Dad was injured on the way here. We fled when the camp was attacked. Maybe we were lucky at that time because we used the last potion to disguise our scent." Jonea and Miller knelt beside their father's bed. The man lay unconscious with a high body temperature. There was a sizeable wound on his left leg from being entangled in an animal trap in the forest.

“In this place, that’s bad news.” Milo glanced over his shoulder. “Everything in this place is bad news.” We made camp on a half-sunken platform that looked like it used to be part of a watch post. The wood groaned under our weight. Roman set perimeter traps. Kellen vanished into the fog to scout, which didn’t help my nerves one bit. Kaela slept fitfully, clutching the pendant shard like it was an anchor. Lira refused to leave her side. Milo and I sat near the edge, watching the water.

While I removed my clothes, everything except the shirt I had taped around my body, and dressed in the remnants of the poor deceased sisters wardrobe, I went over the layout of the camp in my mind. I saw the cage where Ben and the others were stashed away in, all of them looking weak, and I could smell the concentrated wolfsbane in the air. The supply tent in the middle of camp was the likely place where said poison was located, which meant I needed access to it. I already had a plan formed to get into said tent, but there was a problem I needed to deal with first. The little girl chained to a post outside what I guessed was Paxton’s tent.

Three hours later, we reach the edge of the old Howlers Pack territory. It's exactly as I remember from the reports. Desolate. Overgrown. Frozen in time. My father kept it sealed. No new residents. No rebuilding. Not until we know the truth. We park. Start setting up camp. That's when I catch it. A scent. Wrong. Out of place. Rogue. I freeze. Open the mind-link. Colt. We're not alone. I smell it too. How many? I focus. Count the distinct scents on the wind.

The bushy environment made everyone tensed, including Claire, except her mother. She was already used to the environment. While hunting the bloodsuckers, she and Peterson spent most of their days here. Most of the weapons were stored there. Her mother reached for some club-like handle on one sidewall of the trailer. She pulled it towards her. An opening on the floor clicked. She pulled the huge trapdoor up. As the door opened, a series of very bright white lights lit down the stairs. She went in and led them down the stairs. They followed mesmerized by what they saw.