CAMP TL. STORER
I woke to the piney, wooden scent of the New Hampshire woods filling my bug-infested tent, at camp T.L.Storer, My mind buzzing in excitement. Today was the most anticipated day of the entire week, a day everyone, including my Boy Scout troop, troop 60 was looked forward to, a day that put all others to shame. Today was the camp wide games. A day of sportsmanship, a day of prizes and a day of fun. A day that ended with delicious cold ice cream that relieved the constant betting of the scorching sun upon your face. However, as anticipating as this day was, a dark shroud loomed over all of us ominously. We all had experienced the life being sucked away from each and every day of that week by the unforgiving rain, and we dreaded the same fate for this one; and after paying our hard earned $300 per person, we needed a sunny day to contain our sanity. Nevertheless, we were optimistic, I mean really, what are the chances that it would rain for a week straight?
The morning went by sluggishly, despite the anticipated day’s excitement. The firm, spring mattresses dug into our spines providing an uncomfortable night of sleep and waking.
After, we managed our way, slowly down toward the dining hall, the smell of fresh taste bud tingling bacon and eggs began to wisp all around us; quickening our pace. The trees had produced lush, vast array of beautiful green that was pleasing to the eye from the previously days, seemingly endless down pour of water. It felt as if god himself had opened up the sky and emptied out his ginormous bathtub upon us. But today felt different as we walked. The sky was warm and inviting, birds sang while perched upon trees and the air felt soft our skin.
The breakfast was as a good as the smell had advertized. Fluffy scrambled eggs, crunchy greasy bacon, and a tall glass of refreshing, filling orange juice. Just about everything, you craved in a breakfast. After the rush of people for seconds had subsided and the announcements had read in a most amusing way, we were off to our first period classes where we would earn merit badges, which help us ascend the escalator closer to the main goal of scouting, the rank of eagle.
We had finished our classes when it happened. A dark mass of clouds had moved in, bringing with it a cold, thrashing wind. The pitch-black clouds towered over us like a giant to an ant, creating a spark of nerves amongst all of us. An ear piercing alarm shot through the air, as we all had expected from experience. It seemed like day had turned to night as the clouds overlapped the sun. A cold shiver shot through my spine. All the expectations of the day had disappeared in a flash. My heart sank.
The downpour of rain had begun before we had made it within the hall, drenching our cloths. The wind lashed the water against the netting windows, coating the hall in a layer of slippery water. A loud blast of lightning crack loudly in the sky, lightning it for a brief moment; reminding us all of what we had lost. I had never experienced such a storm at camp before, and it did more to us then ruined my day.
Not many have experience the essence of terror, but I have. The weather forecast seemed unreal as it rang numbly though the ears. My skin tingled, and my throat felt dry. Everything seemed to blur for the slightest of a second. A tornado was approaching our camp. My first instinct was to run, but I was informed we must say within the hall. The rain seemed to created a brick wall surrounding our prison. If anyone had stepped out, the sheer pressure of the rain would have surly shot them to the ground. The counselors tried to keep spirits high with song of fun and amusement, but it only entertained the smaller ones who had been shielded from the news. I, being thirteen was well aware of our predicament we were in and my spirits could not be brightened. Most of the hall stayed quiet, listening to the loud “thud thud thud” of the water clashing hard against the wood of the building. Images of the outdoors were blurred by fierce rain.
I sat wide-awake for many hours hoping, praying for the tornado to leave by our camp be, after such a long time it become my home, and I had began to think of it as my save haven from the dangers of the world, but now that did not seem to be the case.
I had drifted into a tossing, restless sleep upon a hard stools, my mind filled with the terror that loomed just outside the fabrication of my dream. I awoke, although my eyes stayed shut. I searched for the sound of the rain, but there was nothing. I opened my eyes to see a wonderful sight. A sight I thought I would never see again. The sun shined brightly down upon the earth, drying it from its cleansing bath. I looked around to see that happiness had returned to the room. Laughing, singing, games, it was a glorifying sight to see! I had to know what happened to the storm. I searched for my friend and fellow troop 60 member jessie to ask what had happened.
“The storm has passed over us.”He laughed.
His words lifted my heart from the depths of my chest. I could not believe it. I bolted outside, ignoring the councilors warning; Jessie not far behind. The ground was squishy and layered with a sticky mud, but I didn’t care. The air smelled of freshness as it drifted through my body. It seemed as if the air had been cleansed by the rain. I laughed. It was as if God had gave his child a bath, riding away all of its filth from the day. Now that I was safe from the dangerous of the storm, it seemed amusing to me. Something so innocent as a bath had caused so much terror within us all. I laughed aloud again.
Jessie and I walked pompously down toward the waterfront. We felt like we had been through a long and tiring war and had come out on top. We could not be stopped! We felt invincible. If we could survive a tornado, we could survive anything else mother nature could throw at us, but Mother Nature was not finished, not by a long shot. She still had one sneak attack left stashed away in her bag of tricks.
An enormous lightning bolt struck the ground not too far from our location. It sounded as if the sky had exploded into a million bit and pieces. We moved quickly toward the location of the strike. We were completely taken back by what we found, or rather, what we hadn’t found. For many years, a large tree had shaded the waterfront swimmers from the unforgiving sun, but now it was gone. All that remained was a bulky, sappy tree trunk. It was like it had vanished, like magician making of his fair assistance vanish.
Although we had missed, the most anticipated event of the week and it had rained almost every day and every hour, Jessie and I both agree; it was the coolest thing we had ever experienced!
