Page 19 of Beyond the Rainbow (Pride Camp 2025 #11)

Day One - Disaster

S aturday

The six camp counselors arrived at Verdun Adventure Bound just as the sun dipped below the treetops; all of them were excited and eager for the journey ahead.

Their feet crunched on the gravel path as they lugged their suitcases toward the rustic log cabins that would be their home for the next week of their lives.

Their campground area formed a reversed U-shape: counselor cabins along the top, camper cabins down each side, with a fire pit and open area in the center.

In the open area were logs to sit on and enough space to accommodate tables or other temporary equipment.

The Camp Pride group wasn’t large enough to fill all of the cabin space available, so they would use the extra space for storage or guests.

Joshua climbed the steps leading to the first cabin and stood on the porch. He tossed a set of keys to David and another to Trent. “The cabin number is on the keyring.” Then he turned and placed the keys to Cabin One in Colin’s hand.

“Should I carry you over the threshold?” Colin asked, turning the key in the lock.

Joshua shot him an amused look, then trailed him inside.

He dumped his suitcase on the bed and sniffed.

The air inside the cabin felt damp and carried the stale scent of mildew.

He turned toward Colin, about to ask him to open a window, when a sharp, frightened shriek erupted from outside.

“What the hell !” Joshua blurted out. He spun toward the sound and was nearly knocked off his feet by Colin’s mad rush to get to the door.

“Stay here!” he ordered as he flew past, but Joshua followed close behind him, clutching the back of his jacket.

“Wait, Colin! Wait!”

On the lawn in front of their cabin, Jeff stood next to a highly agitated Nate, who was pointing back at the cabin he and David were going to share. “It attacked me!”

Colin grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. “What the hell happened?” he asked. “Where’s David?”

Nate gulped in a shuddering breath, still pointing. “He’s in there!”

“What was it?” Joshua asked, then frowned as Colin bolted into the cabin. “Goddammit, Colin!” he sputtered, then wheeled back to Nate. “Nate! What the hell was it?”

“I don’t know!” Nate cried. “It was big and furry, and it tried to bite me.”

Joshua moved to follow Colin but had only taken two steps when both he and David appeared on the porch.

They were yelling and waving towels, shooing something ahead of them.

Joshua yelped and took a quick step back, then heard Jeff Kerry burst into laughter as a small animal skittered down the steps and headed straight for Nate.

For a moment, Nate and the tiny creature froze, staring into each other’s eyes.

Then they both let out a frightened squeal and bolted in opposite directions.

Nate cowered behind one of Cabin Two’s porch pillars.

“It’s a raccoon,” David told his husband, grinning. “A baby raccoon. And it did not try to bite you. It tried to get past you when you scared the living hell out of it.”

Colin was standing on the porch behind David, laughing so hard he could scarcely breathe.

“This is not funny, Colin!”

“What in the almighty fuck is going on here?” Trent asked, climbing the porch steps. “Do you need help?”

Colin grabbed Trent’s arm and pointed back into the cabin. “ Raccoon ,” he gasped out. “ Baby raccoon!”

Trent shook his head and turned to Nate. “You can stop hiding. The baby raccoon has fled back into the woods.”

“Are you sure that’s the only one?” Nate called from his hiding place behind the porch pillar. “Maybe there’s a whole fucking family living in here!”

Colin and Trent exchanged an amused glance, then turned to enter the cabin. “Stay outside, Nate,” Colin told him. “Trent and I will look for family members.”

“Critters! We’ve got critters !” Joshua spouted. “Lord god, what’s next ?”

David snickered and moved to Nate’s side. “It’ll be OK,” he murmured, hugging Nate against his chest. “The big, bad hunters are on the job.”

Nate shot him an aggravated glance. “That does not fill me with confidence!”

After just a moment, Colin and Trent meandered back to the porch. “This house is clean,” Trent remarked, referencing a line from Poltergeist as Colin chuckled beside him.

“Fine!” Joshua said, gesturing to Colin. “Now get your butt over here and check our cabin!”

“Never fear,” Colin boasted, flexing his muscles. “If there’s anything in there that’s not supposed to be there, I shall defeat it.”

“Ours is fine too,” Jeff told them. “I checked for furry things and found none.”

“You and Davy won the big prize,” Trent told Nate, grinning.

“Oh, very fucking funny!” Nate grumbled, creeping out from behind the pillar to peek into the cabin. “Oh, man, David!” he whined theatrically. “I want a Holiday Inn Express!”

Colin and Trent exchanged another amused glance, then moved down the steps. Colin leaned close to David as he passed and patted his arm in farewell. “It’s all yours, buddy.”

“Yeah. Thanks,” he replied, then took Nate’s arm and led him back into their cabin. “Babe, relax,” he soothed. “You outweighed that little thing by a hundred and fifty pounds. It was scared to death.”

“It wasn’t the only one!” Nate complained. He peered inside, then slowly tiptoed into the cabin, dragging David behind him.

Joshua wandered back to their own cabin with Colin at his side. “Wildlife lurking in the cabins? Who’s fucking idea was this?”

Colin leaned toward him and grinned. “I do believe it was yours, pumpkin!”

“Don’t ever listen to me again.”

“I’m going to remind you that you said that.

” Colin walked to his side. “C’mon. I’ll help you make the bed and put our stuff away.

” At Joshua’s insistence, Colin checked every corner for furry intruders.

Finding none, he surveyed the room: pine walls, modest fireplace, one large space with a bathroom attached. “It’s cozy.”

“When it’s not reenacting a scene from Jurassic Park !” Joshua mumbled.

“Hey,” Colin said, pointing. “At least we’ve got a coffee machine.”

“Thank god,” Joshua muttered. He peered into the empty drawers and, once satisfied that they contained no wildlife, he began to fill them with underwear, socks, and other clothing.

Colin carried on unpacking his suitcase, occasionally casting amused glances at Joshua, who was still side-eyeing every corner of the cabin, prepared to defend himself against any creature that leapt in his direction.

“Stop snickering, Colin!” Joshua ordered. “I’m not fond of sharing my home with wild animals!”

“Ah, relax!” Colin growled out. “You do that every day!” He hung his last shirt in the closet, then turned to his husband, “You do realize that was probably the most excitement we’ll have all week, right?”

Joshua shot him a look. “Oh, great! Now you’ve jinxed us! I swear to god, Colin Michael, if I wake up with something crawling on me, we’re heading to the nearest motel.”

Colin smirked and nodded toward the door. “There’s a perfectly good hammock out on the porch.”

“I hope you’ll be comfortable in it,” Joshua said, throwing him a wink as he set their toiletries on the bathroom shelf.

Colin placed a hand on his back. “Hey, I promise, bud. No furry guests. Just you and me.” He kissed Joshua’s temple, then stepped back and grinned. “Unless you count Nate busting in here, begging me to save him from a man-eating woodland creature.”

“I hope the only man-eater around here is you ,” Joshua said, giving Colin a mischievous grin.

“Well, I’m the only one you have to worry about.”

Joshua gave a fake whimper and leaned against him. “I hate nature.”

Colin threw an arm around him and chuckled. “You really don’t.”

“Well, I hate scary animals in my underwear drawer.”

“Then I promise to stay out of it.”

The friends stowed their possessions, then left the campground in search of dinner and some long, tall, Irish stouts.

They discovered a nearby restaurant and gathered around a table, munching on hamburgers and fries, while practically inhaling a delicious local ale.

The men teased Nate unmercifully about his encounter with the baby raccoon, which he suffered through with only minimal grumbling.

“Don’t worry, buddy,” Jeff said with a smirk. “If we see another one, we’ll make sure David carries you to safety.”

Nate snorted out a laugh then turned to his husband. “I was afraid it was going to launch itself at my face!”

David tried to respond but was laughing too hard to speak, and the rest of the group of friends couldn’t help but join him. “Oh my god!” Colin choked out, wiping tears from his eyes. “Nate was afraid he had run into Rocky, the Flying Raccoon!”

“Well,” Jeff said, patting his mouth with a napkin, “our Camp Pride week has certainly gotten off to an auspicious start.”

Colin and Joshua were still laughing too hard to comment. But Trent shook his head and leaned on Jeff’s arm. “Is it too soon to be worried about how our wedding ceremony is going to go?”

Jeff grinned and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “As long as it doesn’t include flying raccoons … I’m good.”

Sunday

The first night spent in their cabins ended up being both peaceful and comfortable.

However, Joshua’s sleep was fitful, bolting upright in bed each time he awakened, listening intently for the sound of scurrying animal feet.

He was the first counselor out of bed the following morning and quickly made a pot of coffee.

His Day One packet was already sitting on top of the chest of drawers, filled with schedules ready to be dispersed to both his fellow counselors and the soon-to-arrive campers.

It was 5:00 a.m. The first buses were due in four hours.

He sat on the bed, sipping his coffee while Colin slept beside him. He peered over his mug at the first items on the Day One schedule:

9:00 a.m. - Arrival & Welcome

9:00–9:30 a.m. - Bus Arrival & Check-In

·Counselors with music and festive decorations greet campers.