Chapter 6

After the ghost left, the campers exited their cabins, returned to the mess hall, and told the counselors it was safe. Then the counselors came out from hiding and started to set up for what they had for the campers tonight. Emma said, "Alex, we'll set up. You take the campers somewhere until dinner." Alex took the kids on a hike in the woods, keeping them safe from any ghosts or monsters they would encounter. Alex and the campers stopped by the river, and they all got water from it. Once they did, Tina looked in the river and saw a ghost of a kid in the river. Then she screamed and jumped away from the river.

Lindsay said, "What's wrong, Tina?" Tina said, "There's a ghost in the river." Susan looked in the river but only saw her reflection. Susan said, "There's nothing in the river now." Susan's reflection said, "Actually, there was a ghost here." Susan screamed because her reflection spoke back to her. Luke said, "What's wrong with you?" Susan said, "I saw my reflection, and it spoke back." Since Sally looked just like Susan, she looked in the river and wondered if her reflection would speak back to her. Sally said, "Hello, me. Talk back to me." Sally begged her reflection to talk back to her, but it didn't. Sally said, "Well if your reflection speaks back to you, it's not working for me."

After they saw the ghosts in the river, they left and tried to find their way back to camp. While they were hiking, the sun went down, and they got lost in the woods. Gwen said, "Are we getting back to camp soon, or are we still playing Lost in the Woods?" They found a cabin in the woods while trying to return to camp. Duncan said, "Looks like we're not the only campers here." Alex said, "I wonder whose cabin this is." Timmy said, "Only one way to find out." Timmy walked up the steps to the front door and knocked on the door. Lindsay said, "Nobody home, let's go." Then the cabin's door opened by itself, and Cody turned on the lights and looked inside. Cody said, "Place looks deserted, but let's check it out. Maybe there's someone here who we can ask for directions." Alex and the campers walked inside the cabin and took a look around.

Once inside, the door shut by itself, and they all looked behind them and saw the door shut. They all looked around and saw the house looked creepy. Duncan said, "This place even has cobwebs and spiders." Timmy and Tina looked on the bookshelf and saw a bunch of books written by the same author on the shelf. Timmy said, "The Ghost Walks Among Us." Tina said, "Nightmare on Horror Street." Timmy said, "A Hero on Halloween." Tina said, "What's the owner of this cabin doing with a bunch of kids' books?" Timmy said, "These aren't kids' books. Kids' books help you sleep better; these books make you stay up all night." Tina looked at the author on the books and said, "Ember Patterson. I wonder what happened to her." Timmy said, "Who knows? One day, she's famous; the next thing you know, she just vanished and was never heard from again." Lindsay looked by the fireplace and looked at all the trophies above it. She then found a book on the fireplace and skimmed through it. While reading, she thought everything sounded familiar, but once she got to the end, she saw the book had no ending. Lindsay said, "That's weird. This book ends with many blank pages; it has no end." Lindsay put the book back but was still trying to understand why that book had no ending.

Since they couldn't find anything downstairs, they walked upstairs and hoped to find the cabin owner. Once they got upstairs, they saw the ceiling covered with bats, so they stayed quiet. One of the bats opened one of its eyes, saw Alex and the campers looking around, and flew down from the ceiling. Then, the bat became a vampire and started following Alex and the kids. Luke looked at the wall and saw his shadow on the wall. Then someone grabbed his shoulder, but when Luke looked to the side, he saw his shadow was the only one there. Luke then looked behind him and saw the vampire. The vampire said, "Good evening."

Luke screamed in terror, and the others heard him and ran back for him. Luke ran away screaming, ran down another hall, hid in a bedroom, and locked the door. Then the vampire flew in through the window as a bat, turned himself back into a vampire, and tapped Luke on the shoulder. Luke then turned around, saw the vampire, and screamed. The vampire said, "Do not scream. Just look into my eyes." Luke looked away and said, "No." The vampire grabbed Luke's face and pulled it towards him, but Luke kept his eyes shut. The vampire said, "Look into my eyes." Luke nodded his head no, but then he opened his eyes and looked directly into the vampire's eyes. The vampire then hypnotized Luke and told him to tilt his head and leave his neck exposed, so that's what he did. Then the vampire sank his fangs into Luke's neck, sucked Luke's blood, and turned him into a vampire. Once Luke got turned into a vampire, he and the vampire walked through the cabin together.

Once the others found Luke, they saw him walking with a vampire. Alex said, "Luke, that's a real vampire. Stay away from...." Luke turned around and showed the others he was a vampire, too, and the others screamed in terror. The vampire said, "Luke has joined me. You, too, shall join me. It only takes one bite." The others ran for their lives, screaming and trying to escape Luke and the vampire. The vampire said, "Quick, make like a bat and after them." Luke said, "Yes, master." Then, both Luke and the vampire turned into bats and chased after Alex and the other campers. They chased them down the stairs and out the front door. Once Luke and the vampire reached the door, they saw the sun was still out, so they panicked and flew to the ceiling. Once they got far enough away, Gwen and Lindsay looked back and didn't see them. Lindsay said, "They're not coming after us?" Gwen said, "Of course not; it's still bright out. And if they stepped outside, the sun would have destroyed them." Ben said, "So as long as we're outside, we're safe from vampires." Gwen said, "Well, not for long." Gwen pointed at the sun, and everyone saw the sun going down. Ben said, "Great. Now they can get us." Gwen said, "Not necessarily. If we make it back to camp and go inside one of your cabins, they'll be helpless." Tina said, "Why?" Gwen said, "Vampires can't enter someone's home without an invitation." Susan said, "Interesting. And what else do you know about vampires?" Gwen said, "I know vampires can't cross running water; they sleep in coffins and have no reflection, so they don't show up in mirrors. Vampires also don't appear on film when their pictures get taken, and they can turn into bats. And just like the vampire back there did with Luke, they can also hypnotize people by making them look into their eyes, so they can turn people into vampires when they suck people's blood. Vampires also hate garlic, sunlight, and wooden stakes." Alex said, "Then we need to arm ourselves." Gwen said, "Too bad the sun is going down, the garlic is back at camp, and we would find wooden stakes in the forest, but they would have to be sharp and pointy." Timmy said, "So how do we get back to camp if we're lost and have vampires after us?" Cody said, "I suggest we follow the river North. If we return to the river and cross it, Luke and the vampire won't be able to follow us, and we might find camp."