Meet Me At Midnight Read online

  MEET ME

  AT MIDNIGHT

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  To Anita Elliott Anastasi

  The woods were dark and ominous. Jessica shivered. She wondered if there were bears out here. Or poisonous snakes. Or wolves. An owl hooted and Jessica jumped.

  Taking a deep breath, Jessica picked up her pace. Ouch! she muttered as she whacked her knee against a big log standing upright in the path. Rubbing her knee, she looked at the piece of wood in horror. What was a freshly cut log doing in the middle of the forest?

  The camp legend came back to her, and a chill raced up her spine. What if the woodsman really did haunt the forest? And what if he liked to chop up sixteen-year-old girls and use them for firewood? She knew Lacey probably just made up the story to keep them from sneaking out at night, but still . . .

  Jessica breathed a sigh of relief as she caught sight of the fallen tree where she was supposed to meet Paul. She hoped he wouldn't be late.

  Practically running through the clearing to the tree, Jessica hopped up on the trunk and waited. She swung her feet in the air casually, trying to pretend she wasn't afraid. Jessica knew it had to be just about midnight. Where was Paul?

  Suddenly she saw a shadow moving.

  "Paul?" Jessica called out. There was no response. The shadow moved toward her.

  "Paul, this isn't funny!" Jessica cried loudly. No response.

  Her hair standing on end, Jessica slid quickly off the trunk and began to run. After just a few moments she felt lost. She collapsed against a tree.

  Suddenly strong arms circled her waist.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 1

  "Liz! Are you surprised?" Todd Wilkins exclaimed on Monday afternoon at Camp Echo Mountain. He leaned against his black BMW in front of the main lodge, a self-satisfied grin spread across his face.

  Surprised? sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Wakefield asked herself, staring at her boyfriend with a mixture of horror and shock. Surprised is an understatement. Stunned is more like it.

  The last person Elizabeth had expected to see in the mountains of Montana was her longtime boyfriend from Sweet Valley, California. She had just been swimming in the lake with Joey Mason, the eighteen-year-old drama counselor with whom she'd gotten romantically involved at camp. Still dripping from their swim, she and Joey had walked hand in hand up to the main lodge. Then Elizabeth had received a double whammy. First she caught sight of Todd's BMW. Then she saw Todd himself. Elizabeth had dropped Joey's hand like a hot potato.

  Elizabeth bit her lip and wrapped her beach towel around her body. She looked quickly from Todd to Joey. Should she introduce them? What could she say? Joey, meet Todd, my boyfriend from home? Todd, meet Joey, my summer fling? "Uh," she stammered nervously, her heart beating a drumroll in her chest.

  But Todd didn't seem to notice her hesitation. Before she could get a word out, he pulled her toward him and enveloped her in a bear hug.

  As Todd wrapped his arms around her Elizabeth glanced out of the corner of her eye at Joey. His handsome features creased in hurt and anger, and his green eyes clouded over. She gave him an imploring look, but he stared back at her impassively. Then he turned and strode away.

  Todd lifted her face toward his and kissed her softly. He pulled her closer, cradling her head against his chest. "Oh, Liz," he murmured into her hair. "I've been dreaming about this moment for days."

  "Me too," Elizabeth echoed, twisting to look at Joey's retreating figure. She felt suffocated in Todd's arms. She didn't know if it was the oppressive heat or the oppressive sensation of Todd's embrace that was making her feel dizzy. Her mind was spinning with a million questions. What was Todd doing here? He was supposed to be at basketball camp in California. Had he seen her and Joey holding hands? What was Joey going to think? She had told Joey that she and Todd were free to date other people. Now Joey would probably never speak to her again.

  "Well, you two sure look cozy!" came a shout from the lodge.

  Elizabeth pulled out of Todd's embrace and turned in the direction of the familiar, grating voice. It was Nicole Banes, Elizabeth's archrival at camp. Nicole was sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of the main lodge, swaying slowly back and forth. Her arms were folded across her chest, and a triumphant smirk was plastered on her face. It looked like she had caught the whole scene.

  Well, Elizabeth thought with a sinking heart. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

  Nicole hopped out of the chair and skipped down the steps of the porch. Swinging her canteen of water over her shoulder, she marched up to them jauntily. Nicole was a tough-looking girl with short choppy hair. She was wearing cutoff jeans, a crew-neck white T-shirt, and sunglasses. A pair of worn brown hiking boots covered her feet and her signature red baseball cap was pulled down low on her forehead, twisted around backward as usual.

  "Aren't you going to introduce us?" Nicole asked as she reached them.

  Elizabeth took a deep breath and composed herself. "Todd, this is Nicole Banes," she said. "She's the waterskiing junior counselor here at camp."

  Todd gave Nicole a friendly handshake. "It's nice to meet you, Nicole. I was hoping to have the chance to meet some of Elizabeth's friends at camp."

  Nicole smiled sweetly. "Elizabeth and I have gotten to be really good friends."

  Archenemies is more like it, Elizabeth thought.

  Elizabeth's mouth dropped open as Nicole brazenly checked Todd out. Taking off her sunglasses, Nicole let her eyes wander slowly up and down Todd's body, from his wavy brown hair to his warm coffee-colored eyes to his muscular, athletic build.

  "Elizabeth told us she had a boyfriend far away, but she didn't tell us how hot he was," Nicole said in appreciation.

  Todd's face flushed pink.

  "I guess she wanted to make sure none of us would move in on her territory;" Nicole went on. "I mean, Eliz—" Suddenly Nicole let out a little cry and crumpled to the ground.

  Todd jumped to her side. "What is it?"

  "Oh, it's nothing," Nicole said, giving Todd a brave smile. "It's just my ankle. It goes out all the time. I think it's tendinitis or something."

  Elizabeth rolled her eyes at Nicole's false act of bravado. Nicole's ankle never went out. She was out on the lake every day waterskiing, showing off her fancy jumps and flips. She obviously just wanted to get Todd's attention.

  "Let me help you," Todd offered, kneeling by her side. "I'm a basketball player, and tendinitis is our number-one ailment." Todd was the star player of the Gladiators, the varsity basketball team at Sweet Valley High.

  Elizabeth walked away, unable to bear the scene any longer. She leaned against a tree and watched in disgust while Todd tended to Nicole. She sighed. Just when things were beginning to get better, it looked like her world was about to crumble into pieces again.

  This summer certainly hadn't turned out like she'd planned. When some of the students from Sweet Valley High had decided to work as junior counselors at Camp Echo Mountain for a month in the summer, Elizabeth had been wholly enthusiastic. Camp Echo Mountain was a performing arts camp with a renowned drama department, and Elizabeth had been hoping to write the play for the summer production.

  She had been looking forward to the chance to hang out with some of her
friends from Sweet Valley as well. Her twin sister, Jessica, who had high aspirations to become a famous actress, had jumped at the chance to attend the camp. Jessica had talked her best friend, Lila Fowler, into coming along with her. Aaron Dallas, the cocaptain of the soccer team at Sweet Valley High, and Winston Egbert, who was affectionately known as the class clown, had decided to act as junior counselors, too. Rich, snobby Lila Fowler wasn't exactly Elizabeth's type, but Aaron and Winston were always a lot of fun.

  Then Elizabeth found out that one of her best friends from junior high, Maria Slater, was going to be at camp, too. When Maria had called her with the news, Elizabeth had been convinced that this was going to be the best summer ever. A former child actress, Maria had been assigned the position of assistant to the director. Elizabeth was thrilled. Not only would she and Maria get the opportunity to rekindle their friendship, they would also get the chance to work together on the camp play. Maria had been just as excited as Elizabeth. She couldn't wait to introduce Elizabeth to her good friend Nicole. "You'll love her," Maria had enthused.

  Instead Nicole Banes had turned out to be the bane of Elizabeth's existence. Elizabeth didn't know when she'd ever met a nastier, more two-faced girl. For the first time in her life Elizabeth had experienced hate at first sight. It looks like the two of us are going to have our own little war, Nicole had predicted one night. And she was right. Since they'd met, they'd been fighting for everything—the camp play, Maria's friendship, and Joey's love.

  Elizabeth gritted her teeth as she recalled in her mind the girl's dirty stunts. Nicole had tried to steal Elizabeth's play. For a week straight Elizabeth had sneaked out at night in order to find the time to compose the camp play. But as soon as she had finished, Nicole had stolen Elizabeth's computer disk, claiming the script as her own. And Joey and Maria had believed Nicole. "Don't worry, Elizabeth," Joey had said when Elizabeth protested. "You can write the introduction to the play." Elizabeth's face flamed at the memory.

  It wasn't enough that Nicole stole my work, Elizabeth thought bitterly. She stole my friends, too! She had bad-mouthed Elizabeth to both Maria and Joey. Maria and Elizabeth's friendship had fallen apart, and Joey had started dating Nicole.

  But everything had worked out. Jessica had found an incriminating video and had proved the play was Elizabeth's. Elizabeth's good name had been restored, and she had received the credit she deserved. Both Joey and Maria had realized what a snake Nicole really was. Elizabeth and Maria had made up, and most important, Elizabeth and Joey had finally gotten together.

  But now that Todd had unexpectedly shown up, anything could happen. Elizabeth's stomach twisted nervously as she watched Todd rubbing Nicole's ankle. She was sure Nicole would find some way to turn the situation to her advantage.

  "That should do it," Todd announced. He fished a blue bandanna out of his backpack and wrapped it expertly around Nicole's ankle, tucking in the corner to secure it.

  "Oh, thanks, Todd, it's much better," Nicole cooed, wriggling her ankle and batting her eyelashes. She jumped up and tested her weight on the foot.

  "Anytime." Todd grinned, standing up and coming over to the tree where Elizabeth was waiting. Nicole followed quickly behind, walking with a pronounced limp.

  "Any part of you that needs fixing?" Todd asked Elizabeth, wrapping an arm around her waist.

  "I'm fine," Elizabeth said stiffly, resisting the urge to push his hand away.

  "So, you're Elizabeth's boyfriend?" Nicole asked.

  Brilliant deduction, Elizabeth thought wryly.

  "Elizabeth's longtime steady boyfriend," Todd agreed.

  "I really admire couples with long-term romances," Nicole said. "I think loyalty's the most important thing in a relationship. It's all a matter of trust. Don't you agree, Elizabeth?"

  Elizabeth nodded, her face burning.

  "A relationship without trust is no relationship at all," Todd put in.

  "My sentiments exactly!" Nicole agreed. "It's so refreshing to see such a stable couple."

  Elizabeth shifted her feet nervously.

  "You know, a lot of kids would be worried to be separated for a whole month," Nicole added.

  Elizabeth tugged on Todd's arm. She didn't know how much more she could take of Nicole's game. But Todd didn't notice. He seemed engrossed by Nicole's words.

  Nicole went on. "I mean, it's tough for even the most dedicated couples. You come to camp and suddenly your significant other seems light-years away. And you're surrounded by lots of hot junior counselors." She smiled at Elizabeth. "Not to mention senior counselors."

  Elizabeth began to panic. She had to get Todd out of there before Nicole got to the punch line of her joke. "Todd, I'm feeling a little faint. Do you think we can walk down to the water where it's cooler?"

  Nicole's eyes twinkled. "Well, I hope we'll be seeing a lot of you!" she said to Todd, a big friendly smile spread across her face. Then her eyes lit up, as if she were suddenly struck by an idea. "And you know what? In honor of your visit, I think you should expect a surprise at dinner." She winked at Todd. Now Elizabeth really thought she was going to pass out.

  "What a great girl!" Todd said enthusiastically as they walked toward the lake.

  Elizabeth sighed. She felt like she had walked into a bad dream. And she had an uncanny feeling that the nightmare had just begun.

  "Summer love is sweet but cruel," Jessica Wakefield intoned dramatically, walking the length of the female junior counselors' cabin. "As fleeting as the light of a firefly."

  Jessica was rehearsing her lines for the drama auditions, which were to be held later that afternoon. The play was called Lakeside Love, and Jessica was trying out for the female lead.

  Jessica repeated the lines of her monologue out loud, glad to have a few moments to herself to practice. Usually the cabin was full of chattering girls.

  Jessica crinkled her nose as she surveyed the sparse room where the six female junior counselors were housed. The cabin had slatted wood walls and tiny windows covered with shabby red-and-white-gingham flowered curtains. There were six bunks, four on one side and two on the other. Cheap plywood dressers were squeezed in between the beds, and a rickety wooden desk stood under the window at the far end of the cabin.

  Not only is this place horribly cramped, but it's unbearably tacky. Lila had almost fainted when she caught sight of the cabin. Jessica smiled at the memory of her friend's shocked expression. For Lila, roughing it meant staying in a bed-and-breakfast instead of a five-star hotel. Jessica cocked her head to one side, mentally redoing the room. With some new curtains and a few posters on the wall, it could have a sort of rustic homey feel.

  Then Jessica shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be redecorating the cabin. She had serious work to do. Play tryouts were in just a few hours.

  Jessica walked down the narrow aisle and continued with her monologue. "But better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all," she recited, her voice ringing out in the empty room. Then she stopped, confused. That wasn't the play.

  Jessica fell back onto her bunk and picked up the script, studying her lines. Staring up at the peaked ceiling, she let herself drift into another time and place. She was Alexandra, the beautiful and willful female lead in the play. She was at a camp just like this one, but in a time long ago. Jessica went over the plot in her head, trying to make it as real as possible.

  Elizabeth had written a variation of the camp legend. The play centered on the secret love affair between Alexandra, the head counselor at Camp Echo Mountain, and a woodsman who did odd jobs at the camp. When their affair was exposed, the owner of the camp banished the woodsman forever.

  Faced with the loss of her one true love, the head counselor had an impossible decision to make. She could give up her whole life to follow him or remain apart from him forever. After an agonizing separation, she ran into the forest to find him. They disappeared into the woods together, never to be seen again.

  Even though the lovers were gone, their memories re
mained alive. The ghosts of the characters haunted the camp, creating a legend that was told and retold for generations to come. The play closed with a black stage and the eerie sound of chopping wood.

  Jessica fully identified with the main character. Just like Alexandra, Jessica was daring and reckless and spontaneous. She, too, would take risks to get what she wanted. Closing her eyes, Jessica felt herself becoming Alexandra. She saw herself running impetuously into the tangled woods, falling into the handsome woodsman's arms, and disappearing with him under the cover of night. And then becoming a legend herself.

  Standing up, Jessica went to the center of the room and struck a dramatic pose. She swept her blond hair on top of her head and put a regal expression on her face. "If this is my destiny, I will bear it with grace and dignity. For our love, I will shed no tears."

  Then Jessica jumped to the end of the monologue, shifting moods rapidly. She marched to the window and gazed out at the woods, picturing a dark sky and a full red moon. She clenched her fist around the windowsill and raised her voice in anguish. "In the flicker of an instant, my fate will be sealed. Why should someone so young be forced to grow up so quickly? With so little life behind me, how can I decide upon my proper path?"

  Finally her face took on an expression of calm, and her voice dropped to almost a whisper. "But I am not choosing my fate. It has chosen me." Jessica closed her eyes and let her voice catch. A tear came to her eye and trickled down her cheek. She fell back against the wall, a martyred expression on her face.

  A moment later Jessica dropped out of character and bowed to the audience, envisioning loud applause and a chorus of "Bravos!" She jumped aside as a bouquet of long-stemmed roses landed on the stage.

  Smiling at her own imagination, Jessica flopped down on her bunk on her stomach. She was exhausted. She had been practicing for hours, and she knew her lines inside out. "Summer love is sweet but cruel," she said aloud. "Summer love . . . ," she repeated. Her voice trailed off as her thoughts drifted away from Alexandra and the woodsman to herself and Paul Mathis.