and Marshmallow Jeff told his campers he’d give them all fistfuls of marshmallows if they would go out in the storm into the woods with him, so they could kick the living shit out of whoever was trying to scare them.”
“Were you in Jupiter then, Larry?” Cobie Petersen asked.
“Yeah.”
“Six summers in Jupiter.” Cobie shook his head. “You must be very, very lonely.”
“Shut up. It’s not like I spend all year here, kid. I have a life,” Larry said.
“Doing what, exactly?” Cobie asked.
“Jesus. Are you guys going to let me tell the story, or what?”
I think we all wondered what Larry did when he wasn’t in Jupiter.
“Sorry,” Cobie Petersen said. “I just find you endlessly fascinating, Larry.”
Larry’s jaw kind of hung open slightly, and he stared blankly at Cobie Petersen—probably the way one would look out at a pair of glowing red eyes in the middle of a creepy forest at night. When he regained his composure, Larry said, “We heard screams—the most horrible sound you could ever imagine—coming from deep in the woods that night. The whole camp was terrified, and when we looked, Earth cabin was completely empty. We searched and searched all the following day, but there was no sign at all of Marshmallow Jeff and the boys from Earth. It was like they had completely vanished into thin air.”
Max, Cobie, and I glanced at one another, trying to gauge by each other’s face whether or not we should believe Larry’s story.
Robin Sexton twitched, rocked slightly, and stared into the fire.
Then Larry’s voice lowered to a sinister whisper, and he said, “We only ever found one clue that remained of Marshmallow Jeff and the boys from Earth. Out there . . .”
Larry stretched his arm out and pointed off into the woods on the opposite side of the creek from the mess hall. “Their shoes—six pairs, counting Marshmallow Jeff ’s—were all perfectly lined up by the well house. And there were a few marshmallows scattered on the ground. That was it. Nothing else. It was a mystery, but the boys and Marshmallow Jeff were never seen again. Unless, that is, if you believe the stories some people tell of seeing a big barefoot white man who wanders the woods and hunts for children with baits of marshmallows.”
“I call bullshit,” Cobie Petersen said.
“Oh yeah?” Larry was irritated. “I dare you kid—right now, I bet you could go out there in the woods past the well house, and you’ll see footprints—bare feet—that belong to Marshmallow Jeff and the crazy boys he abducted from Earth.”
And Larry added, “I dare you, tough guy. Let’s all go take a look inside the old Earth cabin right now, if you have the balls. Marshmallow Jeff and his friends are waiting for you.”
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