Camp Wacko: The Drones of Summer by Faith Wilkins Page A

what my father meant when he said he has a surprise for me. He’s supposed to be showing me later today.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I should have been paying more attention.”
    I nudged him with my elbow. “Yeah, you should have. I understand why you didn’t, though.”
    Dustin smiled sheepishly. “It’s not what you think, you know. I’m not just spending so much time with Candy because I like her. There’s something kind of strange about her. I can’t really explain it. I’ve been trying to figure out what it is. I guess I got a little too sidetracked.”
    “I see.”
    This time it was my turn to skip a rock. After one measly skip, it plopped right into the water.
    “You know,” I said, “True thinks there’s some kind of secret group amongst the attending campers, focused on getting out of here. According to her, your girlfriend might be a member. Sounds kinda crazy, doesn’t it?”
    He finally looked at me, but I continued to focus on the spot where the rock had disappeared into the water.
    “No,” he said slowly. “It doesn’t. The people around here aren’t stupid. That’s why they’re here. They know something isn’t right and they want out. I mean, you do too. Right?”
    I nodded. “Right.” Dustin was still staring at me. “Lily, is there anything else I should know?”
    Without thinking about it, I brought my hand up to my arm. The tracking device was supposed to be there, but for all I knew it wasn’t even working anymore.
    “When you came to me that night at the dance, I wasn’t telling you everything,” I confessed quietly. “Someone else had come to me first. Someone who was supposed to help me get out of here. Now I think I’m on my own again.”
    I took a peek up at Dustin through my eyelashes. He frowned. I could almost hear the gears turning in his head as he tried to make sense of what I had just told him.
    “Just who is this someone?” he whispered.
    The second I took a breath to speak, I knew I was going to tell him. Then maybe he could help me figure out why I couldn’t get into contact with Agent Cooper.
    Before I could say anything, my eyes strayed to the watch on his wrist. I nearly had a heart attack. There was only ten minutes left until the wake-up calls. I had to get back.
    With this in mind, I jumped up. “I have to go.”
    Dustin said something to me, but I had already begun to book it out of there. In a matter of seconds, I could hear his footsteps echoing mine behind me.
    “Lily, wait!” He caught up, grabbing my shoulder and forcing me to stop for a minute. “Who’s supposed to be helping you?”
    Shrugging his hand off, I just shook my head. “I have to get back. I’ll tell you later.”
    Taking a step back, he nodded. “Fine, but this conversation isn’t over.”
    I flashed him a quick smile before turning and running the rest of the way, praying that I would make it in time.

Beginning of the End
    LUCKILY, I MADE it just in time. Somehow True was already there, seemingly fast asleep in bed as if she had been there all night. When I questioned her about where she had been, she told me she had been simply looking around to see if she could find any kind of information that would help with our plans of escape. Unfortunately, she hadn’t found anything very promising.
    As usual, all campers made their way to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast before training began. Rumors of an upcoming training session in the woods had already begun to circulate, sending a sense of anticipation rippling through the group. Since every day was different and seemed to escalate in weirdness, there was a great possibility the rumors were true. If some campers had still thought this was just an ordinary camp, they weren’t thinking that now.
    “Hey, Lily.”
    I turned to find Candy at my side. Since Dustin and I had that little talk, there had been no sign of him all morning.
    “I just wanted to thank you for helping me last night. We had a great time.”