Cabin Friends: The Mystery of the Candle Lake Caves

By Timothy DeBernardi

Cabin Friends: The Mystery of the Camp Candle Lake Caves – Lillian expected this year at summer camp to be all about swimming, archery, and campfires. Instead, she found herself in a new kind of adventure as she and her friends embark to solve the mystery linked to the Camp Candle Lake Caves. When Lillian and her friends are threatened at camp, they find themselves in an action-packed adventure as they piece together the clues to uncover who is behind the threats. Lillian wonders who or what is hiding in the caves, and where do the caves lead? Do they lead to an answer, more clues, or could it be a trap? Find out in this, the second book in the Cabin Friends series. Haven’t read the first? No spoilers here! You can read any of the Cabin Friends books in any order! Journey with Lillian and her friends, Izzy, Allie, Joe, Lucas and Eliot and solve the Mystery of the Camp Candle Lake Caves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Apr 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9781663250230

Timothy DeBernardi

Timothy DeBernardi writes stories that have characters with unique abilities. His inclusive mysteries have characters with rich personalities, deep emotions, and close connections to each other. Be cautious as you read and create a picture in your mind of what a character may be as people are not always what they seem. DeBernardi will challenge you to think differently and when you have that ‘No way!’ moment, you’ll be tempted to reread the story and find out that it was all there in front of you the entire time.

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Copyright © 2018 Timothy DeBernardi.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

iUniverse

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6632-5024-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-5023-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023901606

iUniverse rev. date: 04/08/2024

CONTENTS

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter IBow Power

Chapter IIThe Reunion of Cabin 29

Chapter IIITeddy Bear Picnic

Chapter IVThe Old Switcheroo

Chapter VShoes Are Always a ‘Dead’ Give-A-Way

Chapter VIBlueberries, Photos, and Who Turned Out the Lights?

Chapter VIIHip Hop Into the Caves

Chapter VIIIA Chapter Full of Regrets

Chapter IXCamp Confessions

Chapter XA Picture is Worth at Least Two Words

Chapter XIReunited

Chapter XIIWet Clothes and High Hopes

Chapter XIIIA Dog’s Bark is Better than Its Bite…

Chapter XIVGirl Talk Interrupted

Chapter XVIt Ain’t Over Until the Fat Lady Cooks…

Chapter XVISmoke Signals Work Better than Text Messages

Chapter XVIISticks and Stones and Arrows and Shovels

Chapter XVIIIPuppy Love

Epilogue

DEDICATION

For my wife, who also inspires me every day to be the best version of me I can be. Loving every single lighthearted inspirational experience!

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PROLOGUE

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CHAPTER I

Bow Power

Lillian unpacked all her stuff. She put it back exactly where it belonged in her room so she would easily find everything before the next time she went camping. Lillian already filled out the camp registration for next spring to send to the camp. The camp would be even bigger and better. She had achieved mini-celebrity status at the camp. Lillian and her friends were kind of treated like rock stars. Two weeks before camp, on a warm spring day, Allie sent Lillian a voice message and told her to check her mailbox. She did, and in it was a letter. All the girls from Cabin 29 got the same letter. Lillian took a deep breath and opened it.

Immediately, Lillian, without even looking at the letter, headed to her room. She felt sick to her stomach. As she grasped the railing of the stairs that led to her room on the second floor of her home with one hand, she held tight to the letter in the other. It felt exactly like the ones from camp last summer. Her stomach dropped and she almost fell as her legs gave out from under her. She caught herself and paused. She took a breath. Letter in hand, she went straight to her room and grabbed her tablet that was always placed on her nightside table. Call Allie, she said to the tablet.

Home or mobile? the robotic voice asked.

Home, Lillian replied. She had programmed ‘home’ with Allie’s face-chat number and ‘mobile’ was her actual phone number.

Dialing, her tablet replied. Allie picked up.

Hey Lillian! Just a second. Let me go to my room, Allie said.

Okay. There were noises of movement and the sounds of little feet scampering up stairs.

Okay…okay… one second. Okay there. Did you get the letter?

Yes! And I can’t read it! You do it. Lillian held the letter up to the camera on her tablet. She was anxious and was hoping that when Allie started reading the letter that it would be some kind of invitation to be interviewed about what happened last summer on television or something. Her hopes were quickly dashed.

It’s the exact same letter I got, Allie said.

Read it.

"‘I’m still out here. No more warnings. This time I’ll just get you.’ That’s all it says, just like mine." Allie sounded somber and concerned. Lillian lowered the letter and put her face in front of the screen.

Did Joe and Izzie get one? Lillian asked.

Joe, yes. Izzie hasn’t responded yet, she paused, What do we do? If we tell our parents they’ll never let us go back to camp. But what if this is real? Lillian, we almost died last year and what if …

We said we wouldn’t say that name ever again, Lillian interrupted.

I know. And I know that monster is in jail, so, where is this coming from? Allie asked looking for reassurance.

Somebody who just wants to scare us. We’ve been on a lot of television shows and in a lot of newspapers. I can’t believe all the stuff that comes up when I google ‘Cabin Friends’. It’s like our whole life story is being written about. It could just be someone looking for attention. But like we’ve always said, we don’t let fear make our decisions. I say we go to camp and have the time of our lives.

You’re so inspirational Lillian! You should be a gym teacher or a preacher.

Can I get an Amen?

Preach it girl! Amen! laughed Allie. Okay, I better go. I’ll text Izzie again and update Joe.

Okay. Love ya Allie!

You too Lil.

Lillian’s room was quiet. She closed her tablet and put it back on the night side table. She laid back in her perfectly made bed. Her head sank into the pillow. The smell of spring rushed in from her bedroom window. The smells only served to remind Lillian more of the events of last summer. Lillian’s eyes were dark and full of fear. What if it is serious? she thought. What if I just put my friends in harm’s way? What if that monster gets out? Flashes of the sounds of the storm flashed in her head. She remembered the darkness and being frightening to her core for the first time. She recalled the footsteps she heard in that kitchen. She thought about how she wished she could still her heart to make everything silent in that moment. Lillian started to tremble with fear and then she snapped out of it.

No! Lillian thought, I’m in control. I am not going to be afraid anymore. She opened the drawer to her night side table and reached inside. She felt around and grabbed a little bow to put in her hair. It was a symbol of how she and her friends from camp were bound together forever. Lillian’s bow was red. She was the leader of the group the media called, The Cabin Friends.

One reporter, Janette Leroux, said this about the girls, "It isn’t often when youth and wisdom combine, but in the case of these cabin friends, it not only is prevalent, it saved their lives. The quick-thinking actions of Izabella, Lillian, Allison, and Josephine, led to the end of the menacing terror at Camp Candle Lake. These tweens not only saved each other and their camp counsellor, Heather, but they may have also saved the camp." The report went on about all the details about how the girls, despite their differences, were able to pull together and solve a mystery and stop a criminal.

The picture that accompanied Leroux’s report was of the four girls in front of the Camp Candle Lake welcome sign. Each girl smiling with their arms folded proudly. Each girl wore a different colour bow in her hair. Lillian wore a red bow in her blond hair. Her hair was much shorter now than it was in the picture. She took Allie’s advice and had a little make-over last fall and decided to wear her hair short. Allie wore a pink bow in her auburn hair. She was twelve now and she told Lillian that being a redhead was not quite as mature as having auburn hair. Lillian couldn’t care less but didn’t argue with Allie about color names. Standing next to Lillian and Allie was Joe who wore a green bow in her shiny black hair. Izzie, who wore a purple bow in her long curly brown hair, was in front of the other girls.

Leroux’s article went on, "The girls from Cabin 29 all share the same love of these little bows. According to Allison, the red stands for leadership, the pink for generosity, the green for intelligence, and the purple for bravery. They all wear different ones on different days depending on how they are feeling that day. ‘They have different colors,’ Joe indicated to this reporter, ‘but we’ll never wear a blue bow.’ When asked why, Izzie said, ‘I was wearing two at the time of the incident. When it was all over there was only one.’ In a ceremony to help bury the past, the girls decided to put the remaining blue ribbon in a metal box and bury it near Camp Candle Lake in a private location. They wouldn’t tell this reporter where, but they did say that they will, once a year, visit the location together to strengthen their friendship. This ties a nice ‘bow’ on this mystery, as the