Read Online Phil and the Ghost of Camp Ch-Yo-Ca by John Luke Robertson - Free Book Online Page A

upset. John Luke later had to explain he was sleepwalking the whole time.
    For some reason, she didn’t believe him.
    As you make your way down the hill toward the water, you hear someone singing. It takes you a minute to register that it’s John Luke.
    He’s dancing on the dock and acting like he’s holding a microphone.
    What in the world? This is a new symptom.
    John Luke doesn’t notice you walking toward the “stage.”
    â€œâ€˜Oh, oh,’” he shouts. “‘That’s what makes you beautiful.’”
    You smile. “Thank you, John Luke. I feel beautiful.”
    He keeps singing and dancing, and you can’t help but watch for a moment. Then you call out, “Butter on a biscuit,” and he snaps to.
    â€œPapaw Phil,” he says, looking around him in confusion. “Was I . . . ?”
    â€œYep.”
    John Luke steps off the dock, stumbling a bit. “Was I singing and . . . ?”

    â€œYep.”
    â€œDid anybody else . . . ?”
    â€œNope.” You rest a hand on his shoulder, trying not to laugh. “Your secret is safe with me.”
    The free John Luke concert is over. For tonight, anyway.
    John Luke’s antics are the only strange sights or sounds you find at the camp that night. You’ll just have to tell Isaiah his “ghost” never showed up.
    THE END
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    Read “The Shadows That Follow Us: A Note from John Luke Robertson.”

FREAK OUT

    “JOHN LUKE, YOU BETTER GO INTO THE CABIN and wait for me.”
    “What was that?” he asks.
    “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
    “I can go with you.”
    “Yes, you could, but I think it’s best you stay here.”
    John Luke doesn’t argue, even though the look on his face tells you he thinks it’s a bad idea.
    “You have your cell, right?” you ask. “You call the cops if something funny happens.”
    “Somebody was just screaming in the woods,” John Luke says. “That’s not funny?”
    “If something else happens. While I’m gone.”
    “Like if I hear you scream?”
    Good point.
    “I won’t be screaming. You won’t hear that.” You pause and think for a moment. “And if I’m not back in an hour, then get out of here, okay?”
    Now John Luke looks like he really thinks this is a bad idea.
    You watch him head to the cabin and shut the door before you venture into the darkness, in the direction of the scream.
    The farther into the forest you get, the more pitch-black it becomes.
    You hear branches cracking ahead like someone’s running off.
    An owl makes its hooting call somewhere behind you. The nightly sounds of the Louisiana wilderness surround you.
    Then another ch-ch-ch-ka-ka-ka seems to whisper to you.
    You grasp the handle of your machete.

    More tree limbs snap and break, but this time you can’t tell where they are.
    You hear something right behind you and turn around. “John Luke? Is that you? If that’s you, tell me now.”
    Nothing.
    The darkness of the woods doesn’t frighten you, nor do the strange sounds. The scariest thing would be if something happened to John Luke. And you want to keep yourself safe too.
    Miss Kay would get upset if I didn’t make it home.
    You retrace your steps. Then you notice something through the trees in front of you that looks like a fire.
    It is a fire. But it’s too big to be the campfire you just came from.
    Oh no. One of the cabins must be on fire.
    John Luke.
    You run through the woods like you haven’t run in twenty-five years. You see flames consuming the cabin John Luke just entered. You can detect the scent of gasoline all around you.
    You know someone did this on purpose.
    A part of you almost dives into the flames because you don’t see John Luke. At first.
    But then you notice the figure in the driver’s seat of the Jeep. It’s him.
    You rush over to the vehicle and try the door, but it’s locked. John Luke jumps and turns to you. He opens the