The Kreel

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.

It was located at a camp called Lake Watanga. It was a popular destination because the rates were cheap, the activities plentiful for the kids, and the parents had the whole summer to themselves.

For some reason, there were only new kids every summer. Not one kid had ever been there before. Not one kid ever returned for a second time. This didn’t bother the kids and the parents didn’t question it since the place was nice and the rates were cheap. It was all too good to be true. That saying was never more relevant when it came to describing this camp.

The kids were having a blast. At first. Then, over time, it seemed that the camp counselors never allowed them to rest. They always had to be doing some sort of activity. At night, the kids would hear a strange, animal scream. They were all so exhausted from spending every day doing one activity after another, they didn’t question it and dismissed it as a mountain animal.

And every morning, they all had these strange new bite marks on their bodies.

Every day was filled with activity and each camp counsellor was obsessed with positivity and team playing. The weird part was, the kids had a harder time getting a hold of their parents over the phone. Sometimes, the kids would call their parents and the line would be disconnected.

One of the kids noticed that there were no clocks or calendars in camp. There was no way to keep track of the days and the only way they managed too keep track of time was because of meal times and the sun rising and setting each day.

Another kid who had a suspicious feeling in the beginning when all cell phones had no reception started marking down the days they were at camp. It seemed like even with the rising and setting of the sun, the days seemed to run into each other like time was speeding up. He had noticed that with each rising and setting of the day, they had already been there a year when it had only been three days!

He pointed this out to the other kids and they all agreed that they felt that they had been there a lot longer than three days.

“I feel like I’m older. Much older than twelve,” one of the boys complained.

Another agreed. “Yeah. Everything hurts and my back is killing me!”

When they confronted the camp counsellors about it, they brushed it off and said, “Oh, it’s because you’ve been doing so much! You will miss it when you leave this place!”

Something weird was going on here and they felt it. They needed to escape.

One night, they all stayed awake and planned on running away while the camp counselors slept.

They ran as fast and as quietly as they could into the darkness as to not be discovered.

Then they heard it.

The animal screaming.

But this time it was louder. Closer.

The group of kids stopped running and lowered down into the tall grass.

Then they saw it. It was walking on two legs. It’s face was covered in the darkness. It’s body was huge and covered in thick hair, like a werewolf.

It was only a few feet away from themas it neared their camp site. It was going into their cabin!

They all watched in terror while they all thought the same thing: was this the first time this monster went into their cabin and they were lucky to have escaped it…or had the monster done this every night since they arrived and they didn’t know it?

One of the kids whispered, “What do we do now?”

The other responded, “We wait. We can’t risk that monster seeing us. It will see us if we try to escape.”

So they waited. When the monster discovered they were all gone, it led out that horrifying, animal scream.

The kids all waited for the camp counsellors to come rushing out of their rooms in fright or panic at the sound of the animal scream.

But they didn’t.

After a minute or two, the camp counsellors finally did come out of their rooms in the cabins. But they weren’t panicked or terrified. To the kids surprise, they were all calm, walking slowly outside with flashlights in their hands. One of the camp counsellors turned on the large campsite security lights. The kids, still crouched in the tall grass, remained motionless.

The monster who had gone into the cabin now came out and was fully visible under the bright lights. It’s large and unnatural figure was covered in thick, black hair. It’s dark eyes searching the grounds for something. Searching for them.

At the sight of the monster’s gruesome figure, one of the kids let out a soft yelp.

The monster heard it. It’s angry, black eyes zeroed in on them hiding in the tall grass.

A few kids started to run as fast as they could. But they weren’t fast enough. With one horrifying screech, the monster leaped at them effortlessly. It tackled each one of them, biting their throats and killing them instantly.

“If any of you try to run,” one of the camp counselors warned them. “It will kill you. I suggest you don’t.”

Some of the kids whimpered helplessly.

The monster stood over the dead kids and glared menacingly at the ones still crouched in the ground. The camp counsellors slowly approached the scared group of kids. Confusion and horror on all of their faces.

One of the camp counselors -the leader of the group- kneeled down in front of the frightened kids and said, “As you just witnessed, you cannot escape. No matter what you do. You do not have the strength or the ability to outrun the kreel. It has visited you every night and sucked your blood, weakening you. And it’s been doing it for over a year.”

“A-a year?!” Said one of the kids. “But it’s only been a few days!”

The camp counsellor chuckled. “This place is special. The concept of time is different. Here, the kreel controls the concept of time. But it needs nourishment. It needs blood.”

One of the kids whispered through his soft crying, “But why? Why are you doing this to us?”

The camp counsellor looked at the kid and gently said, “We are not doing this to you. Your parents are.”

“W-what?” Another kid’s soft voice quivered.

“This summer camp is unlike any other summer camp. It is designed specifically for unwanted kids that parents want to get rid of,” the camp counsellor explained. “So, you see? You were sent here on purpose by your own parents. To be food for the kreel. You were sent here TO DIE!”