[spookies] Alligawper's Claw

Bookmark grumbled as she began to set up the campfire.

She wasn't a fan of reading stories aloud to bappies, nor was she thrilled at the idea of helping out on a camping trip. But her sister had asked her to help look after the bappies at the summer camp she helped with, and despite the fact it was autumn, Bookmark had begrudgingly agreed. She owed her sister a favor, after all.

She'd have to keep these bappies happy and invested in the camp. That was her task here. Nothing more, nothing less.

The issue was, though, how would she make the balance? These bappies would be expecting scary stories, but if she told something frightening enough that it would entertain a horror fanatic, these bappies would have nightmares for the rest of camp. If that happened, her sister would never forgive her.

She began going through her memories and thoughts of stories that had been told to her when she was a child. All of the first ones that came to mind were too intense for children... maybe she could make something up?

"Over here! Over here! Miss Bookmark's making the fire!"

Oh, joy. The bappies had finished with their hike, and were now flocking over towards her. She had to get ready to tell something, and fast. Maybe she could buy a little more time, though...

"Here, let's get set for marshmallows first," she said, waving to the excited bappies that were rushing towards her. The counselor who was leading the hike gave her a quick wave before they left.

Bookmark began passing out a few sticks. "You'll use these to cook your marshmallows on. Remember, everyone gets only one marshmallow, so don't burn it! I'm going to be handing out graham crackers and chocolate when you're all done. When you're cooking your marshmallow, be sure to keep it close to the fire, but not too close, got it?"

"Yes, miss Bookmark!" The bappies cried, all grabbing for their sticks so they could go roast their marshmallows.

Once they were all handed out, Bookmark went back to her initial task, lighting the fire. She carefully lit her match, and then set the kindling aflame first, gently blowing on it to make sure that the fire spread to the logs she had set up carefully. It crackled, lighting up the whole area.

"Oooh!" Some of the bappies said, leaning in closer to take a look - but slowly shrinking back as soon as Bookmark gave them a quick glance, reminding them to keep a safe distance from the flames.

"Now, who wants to hear a scary story?" She asked, as the bappies circled the flame, holding their marshmallows out so they could cook.

"Ooooh! Me!" A bappy cheered. "I do, I do!" "Um... is it going to be really scary?"

"It'll be fine," Bookmark said, waving her hand as she sat down on a nearby bench. "It'll be scary, but if you don't want to hear a scary story, you can step over with your counselor over there - you won't hear it over there. Does that sound okay?"

The bappies nodded, and one of them meekly got up, walking off to go sit with the other counselor instead. Bookmark nodded. "And if any of the rest of you feel scared in the middle of it, you're allowed to go over there and rest with them, okay? You don't have to keep going through it if you don't like it."

"Start the story!" One bappy whined - it seemed like this one had already managed to set their marshmallow on fire. They yelped as they saw it, and they pulled it back, blowing on the flame quickly to put it out.

"Alright, alright," Bookmark muttered, rolling her eyes only a little bit as she waved a hand. "Our story begins on a stormy night..."

"Boooooo," cried one bappy, but they were quickly hushed by their peers.

"...Anyways, what I was going to say was..." Bookmark sighed, regaining her composure. "It was on a rainy night where our story begins. A family is waiting for their bappy to come home. The mom and dad were worried - their bappy had gone into the forest to go play with their friends... but it was getting late. They wanted to know - were they safe? Were they okay?"

She grinned as she continued her tale. "Eventually, there was a knock on the door. They opened it, and saw all of their bappy's friends, but not their bappy. The little ones told them - they lost their friend out in the woods. They called and called, looked and explored, but they just couldn't find them. It was cold, it was dark, and they were scared. Their friend had disappeared... without a trace. The parents told the bappies to go find their families, and they would go look themselves... but..."

She leaned in towards the fire, letting it accent her features as she spoke. "When they looked in the woods, all they found... was an old Alligawper claw."

One bappy gasped. The others were silent, most with their eyes wide, continuing to listen to the tale.

"Now, there was a tale about Alligawper claws back in this region," Bookmark continued, grinning wide. "If you get one, it's said that it will grant you three wishes. These two didn't think much of superstition, and they thought that it would be awful if they tried wishing upon a claw to try getting their bappy back. So instead, they took it, and brought it back home..."

One of the bappies shivered. Bookmark didn't falter.

"Eventually, one day, about a week after the disappearance, the parents were still looking. At this time, the father was distraught. He was so scared that his precious bappy was gone. Clutching the Alligawper claw, he wished that he could have some help searching for his lost bappy. Help arrived... but not in the way he hoped."

"A knock came on the door!" Bookmark shouted, causing some of the bappies to jump. "Parents of their bappy's little friends! They were all crying, just like they were before - their bappies had suddenly gone missing, too! They cried and cried, begging the parents to help them search and look for them all... and the father realized that the only reason their bappies were missing were because of HIS wish."

One of the bappies gasped. Another bappy shushed them, shaking them by the shoulder. The bappies were invested now. All Bookmark had to do was finish it.

"They began looking through the woods, calling their bappies' names. There was no trace of them... but the father had the claw in his back pocket. He grabbed it with his hands as they searched, and wished - he wanted their bappies to come back home! He wanted them to be back! And then..."

"One of the other adults SCREAMED as a hand reached up out of the dirt, grabbing onto her ankle!" Bookmark shouted, causing some of the bappies to cry out. "As they looked in horror, more little hands kept clawing up from the ground, trying to grab onto their parents... and the father realized in horror that he did this, once again. This was all his fault."

Bookmark laughed menacingly. The bappies shivered in fear. "The father, hoping to make a last effort, gripped his Alligawper claw, and begged it - his last wish was for all of this to be over. He wanted to undo his last wish. He wanted things to return to normal. And then..."

She waved her hands. "The little clawed hands vanished into the dirt once more. The sun rose at the horizon. The Alligawper claw crumbled into dust, but... the children never came back home."

She laughed again, lower this time. "Some people say that those woods are still out there... and that if you wander in there, the little bappies are still there, waiting to drag you into the ground with them... perhaps one of your own parents will find their own Alligawper claw..."

Just as she was about to finish chuckling... one of the bappies burst into tears.

Then, one after the other, more and more bappies began crying. Bookmark winced.

"Bookmark! What are you doing over there?! What kind of a story did you just tell the bappies?"

Bookmark stood up, raising her arms in the air as she walked over to the other counselor. "It was a regular story! It wasn't even that scary! These bappies are just sensitive!"

"You're supposed to tell a story that any bappy would like, even the sensitive ones!" The other conselor put their hands on their hips. "Look at what you've done, these poor things are scared half to death now!"

"I told the sensitive ones to go and walk over to you!" Bookmark insisted, as the bappies began to turn their cries into just sniffles. "I did my due diligence!"

"But the really sensitive ones will think their friends would think they're cowardly if they go over, you know this!" The other counselor insisted.

The two of them continued arguing, as they brought the bappies back to their cabins...