My heart pounds at the thought of the world “lucky”. I can’t stop thinking about that summer camp. It’s the only thing that has been on my mind for the past week. I prefer to be alone with quiet and contentment, but this time I need a distraction. If I go and hang out with a friend maybe this won’t be as disturbing. We currently have a quarantine order, but that means nothing. We often break the rules when we feel as it’s needed. I’ve only ever been caught once.

“I’m going to see if Madison is home.” I blurt out while walking out the door. I slam the door behind me, not even allowing my mother to respond. We’ve had enough ups and downs since John’s visit.

I start walking down the street to Madison’s house. We’ve known each other for the longest time, I can’t even tell you when we met. Surely, she’ll understand my feelings, we’re practically family. No matter what, she’s always been interested in what I have to say, even if it doesn’t affect her. After all, I heard most of the rumors from her.

“Did you hear about that stupid summer camp?” I asked. “Apparently everyone is being sent to it.”

“Yeah.” Madison says. “I signed up yesterday.”

“I find it unbelievable that our parents are going to send us to that place. That John guy is absolutely crazy.”

“Yeah I guess so.” Madison looks back down at her phone and smiles at something.

“So you’re not scared at all?” I continue. “Because I think it is just a scam and they are trying to kill us.”

“That could be a possibility, I guess?” She says, unsure.

There’s no use talking about it. She clearly isn’t even the slightest bit interested. It seems strange that everyone is sending their kids to this summer camp and no one is concerned. What happened to the freak outs about the missing people at school? Did this all just go away now? Something doesn’t seem right. I expected a much different response from this conversation.

Just as I’m about to mention the missing students, the doorbell rings. I go over with Madison to open the door.

She opens the door to reveal Alexis on the other side. Now, our little group is all together and complete. Alexis is another one of my close friends and we often hang out along with Madison. Maybe she will understand my problems.

I step aside, to allow them to talk for a moment. It seems like I’m left out, but maybe they need this. Sometimes you just need a few minutes to catch up with each other. Besides, it’s nice for the three of us to finally get back together. I can’t ruin the moment too soon, but I want to. It’s hard to push through our bland conversations talking about our summer so far, the news that’s been going on, and the latest movies. Catching up on normal life will just be another distraction from what will happen tomorrow. There isn’t a need for distractions anymore, we have to face what is really coming.

“Hey Alexis, did you sign up?” I ask.

“For what?” She stops to think, “Oh the summer camp? Yep.”

“Well what are your thoughts on it? I’m not so sure.”

“In all honestly I’m kind of freaked out. I have heard some things about that place. I just assume it must be ok to go there now since we have to, right?”

“Yeah, well I still don’t think it’s a great idea.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Madison rolling her eyes. She clearly doesn’t care for this conversation and wants me to drop the subject. “Can we talk about something else? How about Chloe’s breakup with Josh? It seems more interesting than this. I heard that he was flirting with Megan at Sophie’s birthday party. And, here’s the best part, they got fined for violating quarantine.”

“No way!” Alexis responds, “Tell me everything you know about it.”

I try to be engaged in the conversation, but I can’t. Fear of the unknown is the only thing running through my head. I don’t want to only have one day of normal life left. I want to make sure that I never step foot at Lucky Summer Camp, ever.

“Hey, I need to go home.” I announce, “I have, uh, my mom wants me to do a few things.”

“Ok, bye.” Alexis says before turning over to laugh with Madison.

“See you…never.” I whisper as my hand presses against the door to close it.

I step outside, looking both ways to make sure no one sees that I’m not at my own home. I start walking down the road to my house, not ready to face tomorrow. I wish I could stop myself from feeling this way. If they don’t care what happens to them, why should I care either?

***

The next day brings large amount of uncertainty. Am I really going to a place where people are killed? Are all the rumors true? Does the 8th floor really exist? I step my way into the car without saying a word. With these constant mixed emotions, it may be best not to speak at all. I let it all run through my head, and it starts to make me feel weird. Everything in my lifetime has been controlled, and for once everything is going loose.

My stomach drops even further once my mother pulls into the dusty gravel parking lot. A dusty cloud forms around the side of the car while driving in. There is an old faded sign that says “Lucky Summer Camp” in front of the building. I’m assuming the brick building is where the camp takes place, although I wish it didn’t. Standing tall, with faded tan brick I feel like I’ve been transported to a scene from a horror movie. The clouds surrounding in the sky above, make this place even more eerie. I can’t even imagine the inside, considering it looks like an abandoned building from this view.

The windows are all boarded up with crooked pieces of wood and rusty nails. Dry green vines sneak through the boards and cracks of the bricks. How did John think he would be convincing? How many people could he possibly have brainwashed?

A few other cars come by to drop their kids off. My mother looks at me as sign to go. A strong feeling sinks inside of me and tells me not to leave this car.

“This looks like those abandoned buildings that kids spray graffiti on. No way.”

“You have to.”

“What do you mean I have to? This is ridiculous. Who in their right mind would send their child here? We know nothing about this place. From the looks of it, I would want to take no part in anything that goes on there.”

“I’m sorry but this is what has to happen. Please go already, I have to get back.”

“You’re insane.”

I jump out of the car as fast as possible, pounding my feet onto the stones below. I slam the door behind myself and I don’t look back. I’m no longer nervous about this. In fact, I’m too irritated to get upset. I move towards the old building with a newly found fearlessness. If I want to survive, it’s going to be dependent on me now. This is my chance to prove that I can handle things on my own. I’ve taken a turn on my emotions as the adrenaline inside me rises.

An old cracked wooden door hangs to the side, revealing an open entrance. I walk in with no hesitation to a small little hallway. This room matches the outside of the building except nothing is damaged. The bricks match the color of the building when it was brand new.

I notice in front of me there are three doors, they look like they lead to elevators. There are rust stains all over the metal trim around the doors. The lights are dim and flicker against the numbers. This is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

Suddenly, the doors to the middle elevator open. A rush of cool air passes through. I stand there in silence debating if I’m supposed to get in. I walk towards the door but then I stop right at the edge. Is this reality? Do I follow where the wind takes me?

Before I can decide, I feel something shove me in from behind. As I turn around to look at what it was, the door closes. I guess I’m in this dysfunctional elevator now. The deep brown walls and the dim light do not make me accept this any better. I feel like I’m going to die in here. I feel like how I did before I began to enter this place, with a low level of confidence.

I turn my head over to see Madison and Alexis both sitting down on the empty floor. I move down next to Alexis in the open spot. We are all in a half circle facing the same direction. On the floor in front of us there appears to be a little trap door. I’m hoping that it is the way to escape.

Instantly, the elevator starts to shake and makes a variety of sounds. There is a lot of creaking along with an engine starting up. The sound of metal clanking against each other becomes presents with the shaking. Madison, Alexis, and I all glance at each other. My level of nervousness shoots up even further. This is very different from where we last saw each other.

“Welcome to Lucky Summer Camp.” An automated voice says overhead. “Here, not everyone makes it. Whatever happens is up to you. Your floor assignment is now going to be determined.”

I guess it is true, everything that I’ve heard. The people who didn’t show up to class really did die. The floors actually decide your chance of survival. I feel nothing but anger towards anyone who wasn’t against this place. In other words, I’m mad at everyone.

I look over at the trap door where a wooden box rises out from underneath the elevator floor. The top opens automatically to reveal several random objects inside. Whoever designed this place must have the strangest imagination to ever exist.

The strange voice speaks again “You must now take the object fitting to the word.”

Huh? What is that supposed to possibly mean? All three of us glance at each other, emotionless. Is this the time when our friendship no longer matters? Is it all up to us individually now? Is this where we don’t let personal feelings get in the way?

“Smooth” the voice says. Smooth? What is smooth? What does that mean?

Alexis reaches into the box and grabs out a metal roller. The object begins to fade away and disappears in her hand. The elevator begins to power up more and the real sense of competition is on. The objectives are now understood.

“Soft”

We all reach for the box, though we truly don’t know what is in there. The only thing I see is our arms over the box, I can’t see what I’m supposed to be looking for. Madison’s arm emerges with a teddy bear that disappears into thin air when taken out.

“Rough”

I reach over into the box before anyone can get to it. There is a piece of sandpaper at the bottom, I feel the grainy friction on the surface. I slide my hand underneath of it and snatch it before they can even get their eyes on it. As I take it out of the box, it disappears. A strong feeling of satisfaction comes on, I need to win whatever this game is.

“Fragile”

We all reach in, but Madison’s hand returns with a sharp piece of glass in it. We all make eye contact as it disappears. We only have one more chance.

“Springy”

I lay my eyes on a slinky at the same time as Madison. We both grab it together, our hands now at war. I try to pull it back, she pulls it harder. We both go back and forth fighting over this random object. In the end, will this really be worth it all?

All of a sudden Madison loses grip of the slinky. It slides away from her and I look down at my hands, surprised to see that it is still there. It fades away like the past objects and elevator starts to shake harder than before. My brain feels as if it is vibrating in a massage chair. The box disappears back into the floor and the lights start flickering again. “Challenge complete” the voice says.

We all look and see the floor indicator starting to go up. At six it starts to slow down. Maybe we won’t have to face the worst level, I think to myself.

I’m proven wrong when the number shoots up to eight. I feel the elevator coming to a complete, sharp stop. This is a strange feeling from moving for so long.

The door opens to reveal empty white sterile hallways. I have never seen anywhere so plain and shining so bright too. The lights are blinding into the dim elevator. We all give each other another confused look. Are we supposed to get off now? Is this really it? This is the 8th floor.