A Campfire in The Woods
© Elliot Richard Dorfman

It was after midnight and everyone at Silver Birch, a New York Upstate summer camp for youngsters, had retired.

Roy, Evan, and Lee, quietly left their bunk and cautiously made their way to a path behind the baseball field which led to a campfire site in the woods.

"I told you it would be a snap," boasted Roy, the bolder of the three teenagers.

"I hope no one in our bunk wakes and notices we're missing. They're all a bunch of squealers. If the camp director finds out what we did, he'll defiantly send us home," Lee nervously said.

Evan smiled. "Don't worry. The way we fixed the pillows under the blankets on our bed, nobody in the darkness will think we're gone. Anyway, by the time the sun rises, we'll be back, so don't worry."

" I don't even care if we're caught," remarked Roy, who was now starting to go through a rebellious stage. "It's fun sneaking out and going on a hike at midnight. We could use some excitement. This summer has been so boring! I think this is the last season I'll come to Silver Birch."

As they walked deep into the woods, the heard some wild animal scurrying behind a bush. Branches began to sway as the wind increased. High above, stars twinkled in the dark velvet sky.

Arriving at the site, Roy took out a small bag of charcoal from his knapsack and made a fire as the other boys got some twigs to roast some marshmallows they had brought. It all seemed like lots of fun until they heard some strange voices from the path behind them.

"I knew that we shouldn't have come here." Lee lamented. "Now we're going to be busted."

"Don't get so darn riled up," Roy advised. "Let's first see who it is."

From the path emerged three boys, about their own age.

" I thought we saw smoke coming from here. Who are you guys?" asked a tall boy with a mop of red hair hanging out of his cap.

"We're campers from Silver Birch," Roy answered, annoyed by their presence. "I thought only people from our camp are allowed into these woods. You're trespassing."

" But we are from Silver Birch!" the teenager indignantly answered. "I'm Bradley and my friends are Louis and Jack."

Roy shook his head in disbelief. "I' ve been going to this camp for four years and know all campers. I don't recognize any of you. I'll bet you're from the nearby town and are planning to do some mischief. Better leave here or we'll be forced to call the sheriff."

" But we're not lying," Joe insisted. "Look at our shirts, the camp's insignia is printed on it."

Lee shook his head. "Your shirt may say Silver Birch, but that's not the right insignia."

"Hold it," Roy broke in. "They are wearing the insignia from years ago."

Louis looked puzzled. "What do you mean years ago?"

"Your insignia hasn't been used for at least thirty-six years."

"Very funny! We just got these shirts this summer!" Louis replied.

Roy began losing his patience. " Next, you'll be saying it's nineteen-seventy-three."

"No, it's nineteen-seventy," Luis snapped back.

Roy and Lee dropped the marshmallows they were eating.

"What's up?" Bradley asked noticing their reaction.

Roy sighed. "Won't you drop this act and admit you're playing a prank on us?"

Bradley frowned. "Why would we do that when we didn't even know you would be here?"

"He's got a point," Lee mused.

" Lee, do you actually believe they're from nineteen seventy-three?" Roy asked. "I think your reasoning has been affected by watching too many science fiction movies. Take my word. They're playing a prank on us."

" Maybe you're the ones who are playing the prank," Louis retorted angrily. "Surely you don't expect us to think you're actually from two thousand and nine!" "That's thirty six years from now. You got any way to prove it?"

"Sure," Roy said, taking out his cell phone. "This is the latest model. It's got all the top features on it. Want me to take a photo, or maybe e mail someone for you?"

Louis looked blank. " E mail?"

Bradley examined the phone and nervously scratched his head.  "Gee, look at this thing. I've never seen anything like this before."

" Now it's your turn, challenged Roy. "Show us something from nineteen-seventy."

Bradley took out an envelope from his shirt pocket. "I got this letter from my Mom this morning. Take a close look at the post mark. It has the date on it, July twenty-third, nineteen-seventy-three."

"I don't understand what's happening," Lee said, taking a deep breath.

"Guys, look!" Evan suddenly screamed out. "The flames of the campfire are frozen, and what's happened to the sky? It's turned a weird purple color. This might sound crazy, but I think we're in some kind of a time warp. Instead of arguing, we'd better try and figure how to get out of it. I don't want to stay in this limbo forever!"

Before anyone could respond, there was a crackling sound followed by a bright flash. A strange boy about sixteen with long platinum hair, penetrating green eyes and a pale complexion appeared. Dressed in a pastel blue outfit that had a metallic shine, he held a small semi-transparent box with a glowing button.

"I'm afraid I must take the blame for putting you in this situation. My name is Restin Malteese. I come from the distant future."

The six stared at him, all tongue tied.

"Oh, please, don't give me those shocked looks. I feel bad enough as it is for causing this problem. You see, my dad is a scientist and I was stupidly fooling around with his new time dimension invention. Accidently, I pressed a couple of wrong buttons and mixed up the time continuum in this area that I had inadvertently focused in on. I'm here to correct the situation."

"And I was complaining before that this was a boring summer" Roy pondered.

"What's it like in the future?" Evan curiously asked.

"I'm not allowed to discuss that," Restin replied.

There was a buzz from his box.

"That's a signal from my father to hurry up and put things back to normal."

He held out his little control box in the palm of his hand.
"Everything has been correctly calibrated. All I have to do is push this button."

There were another flash, and Roy, Evan, and Lee were alone at the campfire. They certainly were relieved to see the flames move again, and the stars shining in the familiar velvet dark sky.

"Well, thank goodness everything is back to normal," Roy said, putting out the fire. "Let's return to camp before anything else weird happens."

"No one would believe us if we told them what just happened" Evan reflected as they headed back across the field to their bunk.

Roy shrugged. "Who cares? We know the truth, and it's something we'll never forget for the rest of our lives."