Benjamin Dragon - Awakening (The Chronicles of Benjamin Dragon) (9 page)

Chapter 21
: Hot Cocoa and Company

It turned out that Wally owned the log cabin where Benjamin had seen the flickering light coming from on the walk the day before. Outside it looked a little rundown. Inside was anything but. Cozy oversized leather chairs (a must if you were as big as Wally Goodfriend) sat in front of a large stone fireplace. It smelled homey with a mix of herbs and chocolate. In the corner was a modern flat panel television currently showing a muted episode of some National Geographic special. The rest of the one story cabin was filled with a large dining room table made out of the trunk of some huge tree. By the number of rings in it, Benjamin knew it had been a very old tree.

All along the walls were pictures of Wally throughout the years. Most were taken outdoors with animals. There was one of Wally with a group of shaggy horses that bore a striking resemblance to the big man.

Wally told Benjamin that he’d chosen a personal path of helping animals. He loved them and they in turn loved him. Wally said there was even a family of black bears that came to the cabin before hibernating to get bit of his famous blackberry pie. Benjamin shivered at the thought. He couldn’t imagine coming face to face with a bear.

They settled for the first, then a second cup of creamy hot chocolate. Benjamin had never had anything like it. It was like drinking a milky chocolate bar. Delicious.

“So how did you end up here, Wally?” asked Benjamin, wiping away another hot chocolate mustache with a soiled cloth napkin.

The huge man took a large swig of his drink (his mug was three times the size of Benjamin’s) and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I barely remember. Some years ago, I was travelling the country on foot, working odd jobs as I went. A lot of farmers took me on for my size. I could bail hay like nobody’s business. Pretty soon they’d find out that I was good with the animals. Saved quite a few cows, goats and even a couple horses. More than one farmer asked that I stay on full time. It’d save them the money of having to go to the vet. Anyway, I wandered for a couple years and made it up here probably twenty years ago. Built this place with my own two hands.”

“How do you make money?”

“All kinds of ways. I’ve bred animals, sometimes I do some work for the camp with the horses. But mostly I make money on the internet.”

Benjamin almost spit out his drink.

“What?” he blurted.

“You’d be amazed at what you can find out in the woods, antlers, pelts, all from animals that are already dead, of course, even found some gold once in one of the rivers a couple miles away. That kept me fed for almost a year! I’m pretty handy with carving too. Have a small shop in the back where I do all my woodwork. I get some great pieces of wood and make all kinds of things out of ‘em. Have one gentleman that’s bought almost twenty of my duck carvings. He’s a collector.”

Benjamin stared at Wally with wide eyes. Working on a farm he could believe, but making a living on the internet seemed impossible.

Wally made to pour some more hot cocoa for them both, but Benjamin waved him away as he yawned.

“I should probably go.”

The big man looked up at the wood clock.

“Oops! I better walk you down there. No tellin’ what’s out right now. Don’t want you gettin’ lost either.”

The way Wally went it only took fifteen minutes to get back to the camp. They parted ways at the edge of the woods overlooking Benjamin’s cabin.

“You may want to keep this outing to yourself, Benjamin. I wouldn’t want you getting into any trouble.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

He stuck out his hand and Wally enveloped it with his.

“It was a great meeting you, Wally.”

“And you too, Benjamin. Have a good night.”

Wally turned and disappeared in the night.

All of Benjamin’s creeping into the cabin was wasted because everyone was still fast asleep. He crawled into bed and looked up at the wooden slats above. Benjamin was happier than he’d ever been.

That night he slept better than he had in a long, long time.

Chapter 22: The Mohawks

The next morning Benjamin was the first to get up and dressed. He was ready for the day. For some reason, instead of being tired from the events of the night before, he was energized and clear-headed.

Benjamin could see dark clouds on the horizon as they walked to the chow hall. He wondered what camp was like during a rainstorm. Maybe they’d have indoor games. He hadn’t seen a television yet so he doubted there’d be a movie day like they had at school sometimes.

The boys smelled the bacon as they approached the squat one-story building where they ate.

“I’m gonna eat a whole plate of just bacon,” announced Nathan.

Benjamin and Aaron laughed.

+++

After getting their fills of pancakes and bacon, Benjamin excused himself to go find Emily. He’d seen her from across the large dining hall. Nathan and Aaron exchanged knowing glances, but didn’t say anything. Benjamin didn’t notice the looks.

Maneuvering through the throngs of campers either still eating or getting up to clear their plates, Benjamin caught Emily’s eye and waved. She smiled back. Benjamin’s stomach flipped. He gulped as he drifted closer, trying to look nonchalant.

“Hey, Emily,” said Benjamin as he sidled up to her table. The other girls huffed and looked away. Emily rolled her eyes and gave another grand smile to Benjamin.

“Did you hear about the storm?” she asked.

“No. I saw the clouds coming though,” he replied as he scooted in next to her on the bench.

“That’ll mean no water sports today. I was really looking forward to being out on the lake.”

“So what do we do instead?”

Emily shrugged. “Depending on how bad the storm is they’ll probably make us stay inside somewhere. I heard that one time the campers and staff all had to sleep in the staff building when tornados came through.”

Benjamin’s didn’t like the sound of that, unless he got to hang out with Emily. “Tornados?”

“Yeah. One of the counselors told us about…”

Just then they heard the siren from one of the camp speakers. That meant an announcement was coming.

“Attention counselors and staff. Due to an incoming severe thunderstorm
, all outdoor activities will be cancelled for today. A new schedule will be given to tribe leaders within the hour. Until then, please make your way back to your cabins. Thank you.”

“I guess we better get going,” said Emily. She almost looked sad.

“Okay. See you later?”

She nodded and got up to join her friends.

Benjamin quickly made his way back to Nathan and Aaron. Nathan was hurriedly shoveling one last handful of bacon into his mouth. They grabbed their trays and deposited them in the waste area along with everyone else.

By the time they got outside, the sky was completely overcast. They could smell the rain and the air felt heavy.

“This is gonna be a big storm,” Aaron guessed as he gazed up at the rolling clouds.

Meandering down the cabin path, they passed a group of older boys huddled together. Just as Benjamin and his friends walked by, the boys dispersed and discretely surrounded Benjamin. It was Nathan who noticed the move first. He shifted closer to Benjamin.

“Hey, shortcake,” said one of the boys. Benjamin ignored the comment. Unable to let the comment pass, Nathan turned his head.

“Who are you talking to?” he asked the other group. There were five of them, all wearing camp t-shirts with ‘Mohawk Tribe’ written in black permanent marker on their sleeves. They’d heard about the already infamous Mohawk Tribe. Apparently they were one more infraction away from getting split up or maybe even kicked out of camp. You never knew with the rumors that passed from camper to camper like an out of control virus.

“I’m talking to your tiny friend there.”

“Yeah,” said another boy, this one had blond hair hanging down to his cheek. He kept flipping it back and to the side to keep it out of his eyes. “We need a new mascot and heard yours might be available.”

The rest of the Mohawk boys snickered at the comment. Nathan stopped dead in his tracks. Benjamin sighed. He hated bullies, but he didn’t want his friends getting in trouble because of him.

“It’s okay, Nathan. Just ignore…”

Nathan held his hand up motioned for Benjamin to be quiet and stay back. His face had turned from a light pink to a darker red.

“Looks like big boy’s getting mad,” said the blond kid. Nathan was larger than any of the older boys. Apparently, they thought their numbers would intimidate their foes.

“You shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you,” growled Nathan, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

“Oooo!” said the Mohawks in unison.

“What going on over here?” came an adult voice. It was Mr. Hendrix, the camp director. The gathering crowd had alerted him to the problem.

“Uh, nothing, Mr. Hendrix,” said the blond antagonist, not quite convincingly.

The usually genial face of Mr. Hendrix glared at the Mohawk boys.

“Are they bothering you, Mr. Dragon?”

Benjamin hated it when he got singled out by adults. He thought that maybe it was because he was the shortest and most likely to be on the receiving end of bullying.

“Uh, no, sir. We were just talking.”

Mr. Hendrix could smell the lie. He didn’t say anything, though. From his years working at Camp Wahamalican, he knew it wasn’t unusual to have small cliques form amongst the campers. He did not tolerate bullies, however. He’d been known to send campers home without a warning if the offense warranted it. Camp Wahamalican had a strict no bullying policy.

After another moment of innocent eyes from the Mohawk boys, seething by Nathan, and feet staring by Benjamin, Mr. Hendrix finally said, “You boys better get back to your cabins. I don’t want you to get caught in the rain.”

The Mohawks were the first to leave. Nathan was still breathing hard when Mr. Hendrix put a calming hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, son. Why don’t you get on back now.”

There was sadness in Nathan’s eyes. He knew that just a few months before, he’d been just like the Mohawk boys, a bully trying to look cool. It made him angry and upset at the same time.

“Yes, sir,” Nathan replied with sagging shoulders.

Benjamin, Nathan and Aaron walked in silence as they made their way back to Tomahawk Cabin.

Chapter 23: The Storm

Thirty minutes later, the promised announcement came over the loudspeaker. The campers were given the choice of either going to the chow hall to play games or stay in their cabins until the storm blew over.

As much as Benjamin wanted to see Emily, he was no longer in the mood. He didn’t want to risk the chance of running into the Mohawks again. Instead he, Nathan, Aaron and two of the other Tomahawk boys elected to stay put and play cards.

“Make sure you don’t go wandering off, okay?” said Tomahawk Tony as he left. All the boys nodded and turned their attention back to the game. Nathan was teaching them a new game called Tonk he’d learned from one of the guys that worked at his dad’s auto body shop.

Minutes later, they paused when the rain started as a light pitter pat and quickly became a thumping downpour. They shut the windows and door so the blowing rain wouldn’t come in. After listening to the rain and thunder for a minute, they diverted their attention back to the game. They already had flashlights standing by in case the power went out.

Benjamin picked up the gist of the game faster than even Nathan, who was the only one who’d played before. They played round after round, only stopping once to eat the bagged lunches Tomahawk Tony brought wrapped in a large plastic bag.

Before they knew it, dusk had fallen. The current tally was fifteen games for Benjamin, five for Nathan, four for Aaron, and two each for the other Tomahawks when someone knocked on the door.

“Did you lock it?” Nathan asked the boy sitting next to him.

“Nope. I’ll go see who it is.”

He hopped up and walked to the door. When he opened it, they saw a skinny pimple faced boy standing and shivering.

“You need to help me,” he said.

+++

The skinny boy was from the Sioux Tribe. Their cabin was two down from the Tomahawks. He’d already been to two other cabins, but everyone had left for the chow hall. In between rapid breaths, sounding like he had asthma, the boy told them that some Mohawks had raided their cabin and taken one of the other Sioux campers. They said they were going to tie him up in the woods and leave him. The Sioux Tribe Leader was at the dining hall, so the boy thought finding other campers would be faster.

“You have to help!” the boy pleaded.

The Tomahawks all looked at each other. Nathan punched a fist into his palm.

“I’ll help,” he said.

“I’ll come too,” said Benjamin. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He ignored their stares.

“I can go get the counselors,” said Aaron.

A plan was quickly decided. The skinny Sioux kid, Aaron and the others would go to the dining hall. Nathan and Benjamin would go after the Mohawks.

The Sioux camper pointed in the direction the Mohawks had gone. Nathan took off at a sprint. Benjamin wasn’t far behind.

+++

They plodded on through the drenching rain. The constant flashes of lightning lit the way. Benjamin’s flashlight glowed pathetically in comparison.

“I think I see something up there,” said Nathan, pointing ahead.

Slowing their pace, Benjamin wiped rain off of his face and tried to see what Nathan was talking about. A flickering light strobed in the distance. 

“You think that’s them?” asked Benjamin.

“Who else would it be?”

A muted scream sounded in the direction of the blinking lights.

“Come on. Let’s go.”

Dodging creepy grabbers and whipping branches, they huffed their way closer, the lights increasing as the distance closed. The view cleared and they saw it.

A hundred feet away a small boy was tied to a tree with some kind of cloth gag around his mouth. His eyes bulged in fright.

The Mohawk boys were dancing around the tree like Indians. Each held a flashlight as they shouted gibberish that sounded vaguely like an ancient Indian dialect. One kid even wore a feather, now soaked to a single line, under a bandana wrapped around his head. 

“Leave him alone!” screamed Nathan over the thundering wind.

The Mohawks stopped their dancing and looked up fearfully. They thought a camp counselor had found them. They pointed their flashlights at the newcomers and the tension in their faces calmed when they saw who it was. It was the blond boy from earlier who spoke first.

“Looky, looky. Husky and the dwarf decided to come visit.”

There were laughs all around. It sounded funny in the heavy rain, like a babbling brook running over well-worn river rocks.

“I said let him go,” repeated Nathan.

“Are you gonna make me?”

The Mohawks all stepped closer to Nathan and Benjamin. One boy stood quietly, eyes glaring. Another kept grabbing his glasses and wiping them with his soppy wet t-shirt. A third stayed back, looking unsure. The last boy looked on with an amused grin like a cat watching a stupid mouse.

The blond Mohawk tried to shove Nathan, but he’d underestimated his adversary’s skill. Nathan grabbed the boy’s left upper arm, turned to the right, and threw the Mohawk onto the muddy ground.

Struggling to get up from his sloppy face plant, the Mohawk yelled to his friends, “Get him!”

The smug boy closest to his target charged first. He met the same fate as his buddy and actually served to knock the blond over like a bowling ball taking out a pin. The rest of the small group hesitated as Benjamin joined his friend. He wasn’t a coward.

“Who’s next?” snarled Nathan.

Before anyone could answer, a pinkish-orange haze illuminated the area, followed by a thunderous
BOOM
. Lightning struck the ancient tree the Sioux boy was fixed to and the horrifying
CRAAAACK
sounded like a giant snapping the tree in two.

The prisoner screamed and fainted just as the tree fell forward.

+++

The other boys scattered and ran away shrieking like scared little girls. Nathan and Benjamin would be crushed. There was no way around it. Nathan dove to the ground. Benjamin stood fixated on the falling trunk. He stared as if in a trance. In his mind, his thoughts were clear.
Stop the tree
.

As if on cue, the tree’s descent halted. Benjamin cocked his head as if admiring something curious in a toy shop window. He blinked. Still the rain pounded down. The tree did not. It hung in the air like the spoon Old Kennedy had shown him in the ice cream shop.

“Dragon?” came the awestruck voice from Nathan.

Benjamin ignored his friend. He didn’t want to get distracted. This was the first time he’d actually controlled his ‘gift.’

Marveling at the clarity, Benjamin slowly spun and then eased the massive tree down onto its side so the trapped boy wouldn’t get crushed. Nathan rushed over to the unconscious boy. Benjamin stayed put with a big grin on his face. He’d done it. He wasn’t crazy. Old Kennedy was right. He did have a gift.