Narrative

__**Accidents Happen**__

Luke stepped out of the car and instantly felt the cool breeze that tickled the back of his neck. It all seemed so familiar, the peacefulness of the lake, the smell of the pine trees, and the dirt roads. Luke took one more step forward and sighed of relief. They were finally there. Luke had spent five whole hours riding in a car with his twin nine-year old little sisters and his grumpy big brother. The car smelled like wet dog and sweat, and Luke was glad to finally be out of that over-stuffed mini van. He shook his dirty blond hair out of his eyes and turned around to grab his duffle from the back seat.

“So Luke, who you gonna ask to Square Dance this summer?” Rowan teased. Luke just gave him a glare and started up to the camp. Luke was used to his older brother teasing him about girls, especially since Rowan had just turned 16 and thought he was the coolest human being known to man kind, which is completely inaccurate in Luke's world.

Luke glanced back at the camp and winced as Alice and Riley came tumbling out of the front porch door. “Lukey! Lukey! Mom said you get the back cabin all to yourself for this whole summer!” Riley bellowed.

“Yeah! And she also said we are not allowed to spy on you or go in when you are not home!” Alice added. //Yes,// Luke thought, //I will finally get my own space!// Luke pulled the twins into a big bear hug and then darted through the porch and out the back door. Luke didn't care that he just hugged two of the most annoying girls in the universe, all he cared about was the cabin.

Luke's family had owned a camp in Pocono Lake Preserve for as long as Luke could remember, and every summer they would pack up all their bags and drive the five long hours up to Pennsylvania. In Pocono, everything was dirt. Dirt roads, dirt trails, dirt everything! That's partly the reason why Luke loved going there so much, the other part had do with all his friends and activities!

Luke swung his duffle onto one of the twin beds in the cabin. He stood back and examined the space. The back cabin was about ten feet wide and seventeen feet long, but Luke didn't care about the size, after all, he spent every summer outside all day long anyway.

As Luke stepped out of the cabin door, he noticed a small pink note tacked onto the bulletin board. He wiped off the dust and squinted to make out the small rounded handwriting, “Luke, I had such a great summer with you this year and I am so excited for next year. Next year, we will both be thirteen. Do you know what that means? That means that we will both get to be in POAP! I heard that POAP gets to go on all sorts of fun and exciting adventures! I will miss you! Love, Kate.” Luke slowly let a smile creep across his face as he tucked the note behind the loose board on the wall. He grabbed his tennis racket from his duffle and then started off towards the Main Center.

The Main Center is where everyone hangs out all day. There is an office, a small library, a nature center, a sailing shack, a baby beach, a dining camp, a soccer and baseball field, a main dock, and tennis courts. Luke would leave at 9:00am and come home around 11:30pm every day. Luke just loved to hang out all day with his buddies and not care about anything!

As Luke was approaching the tennis courts, he heard someone from behind him holler his name. Luke whipped around just in time to move out of the way so his best friend, Nate, wouldn't whack him with his tennis racket.

“What up bro? Luke asked, “I haven't seen you in like ten months!”

“Hey man! I just killed Matthew in a set!” Nate announced.

“Cool. Hey what are our lesson times this year?” Luke asked.

“3:00. Did you know that there is a POAP overnight tonight?” Nate exclaimed.

“Yeah. I looked at the POAP schedule on my way here. Who else is here that is going on the campout?” Luke questioned.

“Will and Matthew Sharpless, Teddy and Helen Strife, Noah Sangree, Oliver Woolman, Riley Redpath, Harry Lowry, and Kate Elkington. I think I got every who's going.” Nate said trying to talk as a fast as possible, but pausing and taking a huge deep breath before he mentioned Kate's name.

“Wow that's a lot of people.” Luke laughed. Nate and Luke pretty much knew the whole preserve and everyone knew them, but sometimes it was a disadvantage to Nate and Luke because they were such troublemakers.

“Yes it is and by the way, I'm going to ask Riley to Square Dance tonight, you should ask Kate.”

“Nah. I haven't seen her in a long time, what if she doesn't like me anymore?”

“Aw come on Luke! What happened to the old Luke that wasn't afraid of asking a girl to dance?” Nate nagged.

“Fine then. If you really want me to, I will.” Luke replied sassily. Nate just turned and gave Luke one of his mischievous smiles.

“Okay then. See you later bro. Be at the office at 5:00.” Nate smiled and jumped onto his bike and rode off towards his camp. Luke watched him ride off and then stuffed his racket into his tennis cubby, ran over to his tennis coach to say hi, and then jumped onto his own bike to go home to pack for the overnight.

Luke dropped his old backpack down on the office lawn and bent down to tie his sneaker when a shadow fell across him.

“Hey Luke.” Luke looked up and almost fell over. It was Kate. Kate Elkington. Luke let go of his shoelace and stood up say hi. Kate looked up at him and smiled. Her bright blue eyes stood out like a single light in a pitch dark room. Kate reached around Luke and gave him a hug. When she pulled back, Luke picked a flower off the ground and tucked it behind Kate's ear.

“Kate,” Luke said slowly, “will you go to square dance with me?”

“Of course I will!” Kate replied. Her smile got bigger every second and Luke just loved to be the one to make her smile. Luke bent down and picked up his backpack and tugged it over one shoulder. He started walking towards his group of friends, but then realized that Kate wasn't following him.

“Kate? Are you coming?” Luke asked.

“Yeah, but I think I left something back at my camp though. Will you tell everyone to wait?” Kate fingered a small bracelet tied around her wrist. Her precious little face made Luke give in. Normally, Luke wasn't the patient type, but knowing Luke, he would do anything for Kate. “Sure. We'll be right here.” Luke responded. Luke watched as Kate walked up the hill and then turned back around to his group of friends. When he looked back he could make out Kate's little shadow as she crossed the dam.

Five minutes later Luke saw Kate come back onto the dam. He watched as she paused in the middle to flick a spider down into the waterfall below. Suddenly, there was enormous crack and the dam split into millions of pieces, crumbling into the river below. There was a distant high-pitched scream and then just the sound of rushing water.

It took Luke and the others a moment to realize what happened. Their faces went blank and their chests started to heave. Luke stared at the crumbling dam and realization hit him.

“Kate!” Luke cried. He raced up the steep hill and peered down the river. He caught a glimpse of a piece of blue ribbon stuck on a rock. He bolted down the other side of the hill, slipping on rocks as he sped by. Luke skidded to a halt in front of the rock and slowly knelt down in the water and pulled the blue ribbon from the rock. Nothing was attached. Luke dove into the rushing water and was immediately surrounded by broken bits and pieces of the dam. Luke came up and gulped for air. He dove back under, but felt someone grab onto his leg. Luke tried to kick free, but the person had latched onto him. Luke felt himself being lifted up and laid down onto the mossy trail.

“Luke!” Someone screamed into Luke's ear. Luke slowly sat up and began to cough out water. He gazed dizzily around and then steadied himself. Luke looked up and watched as helicopters swirled above them looking for signs of Kate. Luke jumped up and started running downstream.

“Luke! Stay out of their way!” Nate called after him. Nate knew that Luke would ignore his comment, so he took off after him. The boys sprinted down the trail until they reached Slippery Rock, where they paused to take a breath.

“Luke, this is stupid. Let the Professionals find her!” Nate said panting hard after sprinting the two miles down.

“No!” Luke screamed. He took off running again. Nate rolled his eyes, but followed him. Nate couldn't imagine what Luke was going through. If this ever happened to Riley, Nate would probably have a huge panic attack and faint. Nate caught up to Luke and started to say something, but then stopped. Up ahead there were helicopters, firefighters, and policemen all over the place. The amount of flashing lights and sirens were insane. There were people rushing around everywhere, which made it hard to see what was going on. Luke saw Kate's family off to the side. They were crying. Luke swiped at the tear that was trying to fall from his eye. He took step by step over to Kate's family. He stopped in front of them and wiped the tears off of Kate's little sister, Jane's, face. Jane reached up and grabbed onto Luke's shoulders and Luke lifted her up against him.

“Luke, Kate made this for you. She worked on it all year. She had it in her hand when they found her. Here.” Jane placed a small string bracelet in Luke's palm. The bracelet was carefully constructed with red, purple, and blue string. In the middle of the bracelet the words “Luke + Kate” were carefully sewn into it. Luke fingered the bracelet and then let Jane tie it onto his wrist, then Luke realized something. He gently put Jane back down and hugged each of her parents. Luke slowly walked away from the group and back towards Nate.

“Kate died because of me.” Luke shamefully said.

“What are you talking about?” Nate shook Luke's shoulders and screamed in his face.

“She went back to her camp to get my bracelet and then it happened. If I didn't like her, she would still be alive. It's all my fault!” Luke was crying now, Nate sat him down on a fallen log and rubbed the back of his own neck.

“Listen Luke, I know that you think that this is all your fault, but it's not. It was just an accident, it wasn't anyone's fault.” Nate swallowed hard. “Accidents happen. There is nothing we can do about it. Try to remember all the good times you had with Kate and think of...” Nate glanced up to see what Luke was staring at. It was Kate. The firemen lifted her bruised and swollen body up, just enough for Luke to see Kate's matching string bracelet. Luke jumped up and ran over to her. He put his head against her chest and listened for a beat. Her stomach sounded hollow. He ran his hand up the side of her face and kissed her on the cheek. He fingered the matching bracelet and then was forced to let go by the fireman. He leaned close to Kate and whispered “I love you” into Kate's ear. Luke was pushed away and firemen swarmed over Kate. They declared one thing. Kate was dead.

Luke pushed back and bolted away from the crowd. He ran deep into the woods as fast as he could until he tripped on a root. Tears streamed down his face. Thoughts and pictures of Kate invaded Luke's head. Luke gripped his head and held it between his knees. The tears kept coming. Luke heard footsteps coming towards him, but his body couldn't move. Nate appeared and draped his arm over Luke's shoulders. Luke heaved and gave in to his best friends kindness.

Nate and Luke sat there for what seemed like forever, until Nate finally helped Luke up. They walked through the woods until they reached the road. Luke stopped and looked at Nate.

“Nate, you're my best friend and I will never forget what you did for me today. Thank you.” Luke slowly looked up at Nate and Nate smiled. “You know what Luke?” Nate asked him.

“What?”

“You're my best friend too.” Nate and Luke both smiled their perfectly white smiles and started walking back home. Luke knew deep down inside that Kate loved him too. Most people would say that Luke is too young to know what love is, but Luke has defiantly got it all figured out. Luke will never forget Kate Elkington, and the first heart-break that went along with her. One thing is for sure, as life went on, Nate and Luke stayed best friends until the day they died side by side. If there was one thing Luke learned, it was, “People can come in all different shapes and sizes, but friends can come with the perfect size and shape for you to fit into their heart.”

Today, the remains of the old dam that crashed in 1955, still remain standing. The place downstream where Kate's body was found, just yards away from Slippery Rock, is now named Kate's Hole. Even though the dam actually did crash in 1955, the story about Kate and Luke is fictional. The place named Kate's Hole is only named that to scare the younger kids with ghost stories on their campouts. Everyday, people pray that nothing like this will ever happen, but sometimes accidents happen, and there is nothing that anyone can do to stop them.