Just something new I thought I'd try.

Also as I'm not American, I actually have noooo idea of how summer camps work. Pretend this is totally right & there is nothing wrong here at all… or it's just something else entirely…

Adriana blew into her hands to warm them as she waited for the bus.

The airport was still bustling, and she could hear the announcements every time the door opened and a chatting family walked out. She checked her watch. The bus was late.

She supposed she shouldn't have expected any different.

The sun hadn't fully risen yet, the glowing orb only just peeking over the horizon. It was far too early for her to even be up just yet, but here she was.

Eventually, the bus arrived.

Suitcase in hand, rucksack firmly on back, she hopped up onto the bus, flashed her ticket and slid into the empty seat right at the back. There was only one other person on the bus - a girl, fast asleep with her face pressed into the window- and Adriana wasn't about to wake her up.

Aah, summer. For the first time, her parents had insisted she go to a summer camp abroad, out in the countryside. 'Go make friends' her parents had said. 'Find yourself a spouse.'

She already missed Italy.

Pulling her pillow out of her bag - like she was going to place her freshly washed hair on the dirty carpeted walls of the bus - she attempted to go to sleep.

Sleep did not come easy.

More and more girls piled on, most of them at 7am and chatting excitedly. None of them chose the seat next to her, until another girl found herself without a seat. A friendly smile plastered on her face, she gestured to the seat.

"Is this seat taken?"

She had a British accent that Adriana found quite pleasant. "No, it is free. Sit." She replied, moving her bag to the floor. Her suitcase resided in the overhead compartment, and she mentally cursed when she realised her English phrasebook was in there.

The girl happily pushed her suitcase into the overhead compartment next to Adriana's before sitting next to her.

"My names Kate, it's a pleasure to meet you!" She said, extending her hand to her.

"The pleasure is mine." Adriana replied, remembering a line from a movie she had once watched. She hoped that was the correct response as she shook her hand.

"My apologies if this is forward, but is that an Italian accent?"

"I come from Italy, yes. My English is not very good."

"No, no it's fine. My Italian is rubbish, I can't even order bread." Kate replied.

"Vorrei un po 'di pane, per favore." Adriana replied.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" Kate replied, pulling out a note book. Adriana saw that it was stuffed with dried leaves and flowers, all taped to the pages with notes hastily written in pencil around them. She repeated herself and watched as Kate dutifully noted it down.

"Thanks! What was your name again? I don't believe I caught it."

"Adriana."

"It's a nice name."

"Thank you."

The pair were distracted by the bus stopping again, this time by a bus stop in a rural area.

"Excellent, we're almost there."

A girl with green and blue streaks dyed higgeldy-piggeldy in her hair hopped on, waving at Kate, who waved back. She continued upstairs where there was more seating.

"Who was that? A friend of yours?"

"Her names Jackie, we started going to the camp a few years ago. We Skype sometimes. Last year, she hoarded vinegar, and on the last day she poured it into a bowl of baking soda. The mess was... Well, there was a lot of it."

Adriana laughed. "I bet nobody was too pleased!"

"Of course not! But it was funny. Zelma wasn't too pleased, though."

"Zelma?"

"You see that girl near the front, with the red blazer and black hair? Her. She's German and we call her Snow White. You'll see why when we get there."

"As in the Disney princess?"

"Yep! Do you watch any Disney films?"

"All the time."

For the last 45 minutes of the journey they entertained themselves talking about Disney and their favourite movies. Other girls around them would chip in, and they had managed to get the whole bottom floor to sing 'I'll make a man out of you', driver included.

Adriana could already tell she would enjoy this camp, so long as Kate was at her side.

They stood side by side, sun bearing down on them, with their suitcases in front of them. A woman handed each of them an envelope, instructing them on what was inside and what to do once they'd opened it.

"Dinner is at 6pm, and breakfast is at 8am. You will be sharing bathrooms in your cabins with the other members of your team, and be sure to be welcoming to the girls who arrive tomorrow. They will be staying in the cabins on the other side of the lake, but it is not them against us, and we will have to work together with them. Am I clear? Now, open your envelopes and I shall see you at dinner. I am in the blue building if you need me."

And with that, she strode off towards the blue cabin.

Adriana opened her envelope, pulling out a map of the site. She held it in between her knees as she pulled out the other sheets of paper.

"I'm in the metal house this year. What one did you get?" Kate asked, leaning over Adriana's shoulder.

"I... I think metal too." She replied, removing her sheet of paper and turning it around so it was the right way up.

"Nice! We're together!"

"Where is it?" Adrianna looked around herself.

"They're not near the entrance, they're more towards the side. Come on, I'll show you how to get there."

And with that, Kate picked up her suitcase, stooped to get Adriana's and tromped on forwards. Adriana scrabbled to get her map and to follow.

The walk didn't take long, but the scenery was beautiful.

From where she was, she could see sprawling fields of flowers in full bloom, thick forests and streams and lakes. The sounds of birdsong filled the air, and each breath she took had never felt so good.

"It's so cleansing here." She said, adjusting her bag.

"I know. It's so peaceful, there's nothing quite like it."

"Nothing else in England?"

"Hmm, maybe a few places." She cheekily replied. "Well, there it is. Metal cabin. You'll need to scan both of our key cards, mine should still be in my envelope." Kate said, awkwardly sticking her envelope out from under her arm. Adriana quickly took it and fished around for her key card.

She slotted it into the door, and with a beep the light turned green and the sound of a bolt sliding out of place was heard. Kate took in both of the suitcases and carefully put them down. "Thanks. You'll need to scan yours too, I'll close the door then you can do it. Okay?"

"Okay."

Kate closed the door, and Adriana fished out her keycard, repeating what she had done before.

"Come on, let's go get the best room! We're the first ones!"

The cabin slept a total of ten people.

The giant bar of iron attached to the roof made it obvious as to what house they were, and laid out neatly on the beds were hats, scarves and badges in the cabins colour: a metallic grey. The badges were brown with an iron bar sitting in the middle of them.

"What kinds of things will we have to do?" Adriana asked as she unpacked. Each room held two people, and they had a chest of drawers each with a mirror hanging above them.

"It's usually things like exploring and finding items, plants or animals. If it's anything dangerous we'll know because they'd have called in someone to supervise us. Last time, we built a tree house, so I guess this year we'll be using them."

"I hope painting is involved."

"You're a painter? You'll have all the inspiration you need here. Sometimes we do stage battles and need camouflage though!"

"That sounds like great fun!" Adriana replied as she emptied her envelope. She found blu-tack and stuck up the time table on her mirror.

"Lunch is.. Self cater?" She asked, unsure.

"We make it ourselves, there's a kitchen downstairs. Should we check it out?"

As the two went downstairs, they heard someone come in through the door and dramatically place down their bag.

"HELLOOOOO FELLOW HOUSEMATES!" She shouted, Adriana wincing.

"Good to see we're in the same house again, Jackie!" Kate replied, taking two steps at a time and rushing out to meet her. Adriana followed at a far more sedate pace.

"I hope you didn't nab the good room already. Who's your friend?"

"Adriana." Adriana replied. "Jackie, I believe?"

"That's right! Resident nutcase, according to the others. I promise I won't put a highlighter in the microwave this time."

"You'd better not." Kate threatened. "Anyway, I was about to show 'Ana the kitchen."

"Wait for me! I'll go dump my bag, I'm starving." Jackie replied, stomach grumbling with amazing comedic timing. Adriana stifled a laugh.

Once Jackie had chosen her room - the one facing outside, she said it was so she could 'keep an eye on the enemy', the three inspected the kitchen.

"They have pasta!" Adriana excitedly exclaimed, jumping on the spot.

"Uh... Yes? We have pasta in America?" Jackie uncertainly replied.

"I am sorry, I have never left Italy before. I did not know."

"That's fine! I get excited when I see scones. I tend to miss them." Kate replied, pulling open a cupboard. "Speak of the devil, there are scones!"

"Never took you as the scone type." Jackie teased, pulling out a packet of cookies and opening them, popping one into her mouth. She offered one to Adriana.

She accepted one, nibbling on it as she located the olive oil and tomato paste.

"What hour is it?" She asked, looking around herself for a clock. She had forgotten to reset her watch, and silently cursed herself for it.

"It's 10am." Jackie swiftly replied. "Do you wanna use my watch to set yours?"

"Please."

Jackie took her watch off and handed it over, shoving another cookie into her mouth.

"Do you think the others are still hanging out by the entrance?" Kate asked, leaning against the side.

"Who knows? I wish they'd hurry up though. I wanna know who I'm enduring for the month."

"Thank you." Adriana replied and handed Jackie back her watch.

"No problemo, duckling. Have you guys checked out the recreation room yet?"

"I hope they have a DVD player this year instead of the VHS." Kate grumbled, randomly opening doors in an attempt to find the room.

Adriana found a curtain, and when she pulled it aside she found a passageway. Slipping in, she followed it until she reached a large room filled with cushions and pillows, a few sofas and a nicely sized television.

"I think I found it!" She shouted, moving further into the room.

Jackie came in a few moments later, Kate just behind her.

"Wow." Was all Kate could say, while Jackie immediately dashed at the cushions and swan dived.

"This. Is. Perfect." Jackie sighed, snuggling into the cushions.

Adriana found an inlet in the wall with a handful of DVDs. "They provide this?"

"We have days off to relax." Kate replied. "I brought some other movies with me."

"It sounds like fun."

Jackie managed to push herself up. "I've also brought some stuff with me! After last year, I brought my monopoly board. Never again are we playing guess who."

"Oh! That reminds me!" Kate said, clapping her hands together. "We need to set up the shopping list."

"Oh yes! I refuse to eat just two meals a day again!" Jackie said, leaping to her feet. "To the kitchen!"

"Shopping list? But the kitchen is so full!"

"For three people, yes, but for ten? It'll be gone in less than a week. Using the White board we can write down what we want, and then we can bring it to the blue building and have it brought to us. We have a budget, of course, but it's a system that works."

Adriana nodded. "That makes sense."

Adriana was in the process of climbing up the counter to reach the damn thing when the door opened again.

"G'day, Jackster!"

"Down under!" Jackie shouted, leaping down from the side again and running towards the door. Adriana peeked around the corner and saw a tall girl with very tanned skin and blonde hair greeting Jackie. She looked up and had eye contact with her.

"Who's this?"

"This is Adriana, or Ana for short. She's Italian!"

"Good to meet ya, Ana. I'm Eva."

"It's a pleasure." Adriana replied.

"Nice to see you made it in one piece." Kate greeted, still standing by the counter in case Adriana slipped.

"What is it you're getting?" Eva asked, dumping her bags on the floor.

"The White board. Some prick put it right at the top!" Jackie groused.

"I'll get it. Need help getting down, Ana?" Eva asked, hands ready to assist.

"No, thank you." Adriana replied, hopping down from the side herself. Eva grabbed a chair and stood on top of it, easily plucking the board from the very top.

"Here ya go." She handed it to Kate.

"Thank you. It'll be by the fridge, if anyone needs it." She grabbed a few magnets and attached the whiteboard to the fridge using them.

"I'm gunna go get my room, after should we see how the tree houses are doing?"

"Sure thing." Kate replied. Jackie trotted after Eva, happily nattering away at her.

"She's very talkative." Adriana said, ticking her hair behind her ear.

"Yep, she's nuts too, but she's very friendly. Is there anything you wanted to get before we head off?"

Adriana quickly nipped up the stairs, rummaging in her backpack before finding what she was after and coming back down again.

"Hats on everyone! Metal house and proud." Jackie cheered, putting on her hat and tying the scarf around her waist. The badge was secured to the green scarf already tied neatly around her neck.

Kate dutifully put hers on, the messy ponytail her straight hair was forced into pushed down by it. Eva slipped hers on, scarf also tied around her waist, while Adriana attached her badge to her hat before putting it on.

"Fashion conscious, I like it." Jackie chirped as she turned around to regard her little troop. "Onwards!"

They all stepped out of their cabin and breathed in at the same time, slowly releasing it.

Jackie lead them all into the woods, where fallen branches obscured the path. Eventually, once Adriana had tripped twice, they reached a collection of tree houses spread out in the forest.

"Ours is still looking as good as ever!" Kate cheered, hand shielding her eyes from the sun. She ran towards it, quickly clambering up the ladder and disappearing inside.

"Mines still looking fresh." Eva replied, effortlessly climbing the tree and hopping inside onto the decking, ignoring the ladder entirely.

"They look great!" Adriana replied, clapping her hands together.

"Damn straight they do! I built this baby!" Jackie hollered next to Kate.

"Our team built it." Kate replied.

"They were slaves to my design." Jackie retorted.

Adriana laughed.

"I'm glad nobody destroyed them." Eva said, jumping down. "That happened on my second year. Came back to find the towers we'd built had all been knocked down, massive dents in the side. Nobody had any idea how it happened."

"That... Is strange." Adriana replied. Kate and Jackie soon left their treehouse and joined them on the forest floor.

"I propose we go back to the cabin. We'll need to see who else we have and start discussing who we'll ally ourselves with." Eva said, adjusting her scarf. "I stayed long enough to see who got put into where, and I don't think Zelma's going to be too happy with her house selection."

"She's with us, isn't she?" Kate asked, a sense of impending doom looming over her.

"Yep." Eva solemnly replied, looking at Jackie.

"My nemesis follows me!" Jackie shouted, fist pumping the air. "Perfect! We can nerd each other out!"

"Try to not make her go insane this year, please." Kate deadpanned.

It was midday when they got back.

There were ten people in the building, many of them still unpacking upstairs. Adriana had run into her room at first opportunity and promptly shut the door. Kate had assumed it was from all the strangers, and had decided to give her a little while to herself before she went up to check on her.

Sure enough, Zelma was there, and she had made the mistake of choosing the room Jackie was in.

With all of the other beds taken and no one willing to swap, she was doomed to a month of torture via Jackie.

Eva found her making the strongest cup of coffee she could, and silently decided it wasn't worth talking to her about it, given the crazed look in her eye.

Half an hour later and still not a word from Adriana made Kate go upstairs and knock on the door.

"Ana, it's me. Can I come in?"

"It is open." Adriana replied, sitting on her bed and flicking through the pictures she had taken on her phone.

"When did you take those?" Kate asked.

"On the way back here from the tree houses. After Eva mentioned the towers, I decided to take some pictures. There are markings on the tree that are not natural." She replied, showing her a few.

"It looks like they were scratched or burned." Kate commented.

"I think that is what happened. They are too high for us to reach, what could have done it?"

"I... I have no idea. They're too big to be an animal and it couldn't have been lightning."

"I think we should go out again and see what else we find."

"With the others?"

"We'll need more eyes, it would be a good idea."

Kate nodded. "Okay, we should ask over lunch. Come on, I bet you're starving."

For lunch, a loaf of bread was found and cans of tuna opened. After eating, Kate rounded up Eva and Jackie.

"Guys, come up to my room. We have something to show you."

The four went upstairs and into Kate and Adriana's room, promptly closing the door. Adriana took out her phone and pulled up the pictures.

"Something isn't right in that forest." She said, flicking through them all.

"It's like some kind of flaming monster did it." Jackie commented, hand rubbing chin. "Or something with claws and that could breath fire. I vote there's a dragon!"

"I think we maybe need some more people to investigate this, someone a little more... With it." Kate said with a sidelong glance at Jackie, who was still excitedly rabbling about dragons. "I'll go get Zelma."

Zelma followed her upstairs as soon as she heard something about a mystery, coffee in hand. Adriana showed her the photo.

"A prank of a Kobold." She said, sipping from her coffee. "Or perhaps we should go out and take more photos."

"Kobold?" Adriana asked.

"A forest goblin. They are in many fairy tails in Germany." Zelma replied.

"We should probably leave after dinner, when everyone else is in their cabins. We can't be caught." Kate replied. "If someone else sees, the camp might be cancelled."

"And then we would be stuck here for the month." Eva groused.

"So just us five going?" Jackie asked, lounging on the bed. "I hope you have torches."

"They're usually in a box under the bed, just in case there's a power cut. We should all check."

The five agreed on a time to meet up, and all went to their respective rooms to find the torch and make sure it worked.

Dinner consisted of sitting outside, under a gazebo if it rained, and everyone chipping in and helping to prepare the meal. The cabins would rotate the jobs, so while one cabin tackled the washing up, another would be keeping the fire going and so on.

The meal today was a rich meat stew, and the metal cabin was in charge of the drinks.

Making sure everyone had one, they sat at their own table and began to eat.

"So, we didn't sit together today at lunch." A girl with hair that seemed to defy gravity begun, the tight curls not moving an inch even as she moved her head from side to side. "I believe introductions are in order, I'll start. I'm Lisa! It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Riikka." A girl with light brown hair to her left said, introducing herself.

"Belle." A shy girl quietly introduced.

"Selena." A girl with hair like woven gold said, looking very grumpy.

"Sirena! I look forwards to this month."

"Zelma. It is a pleasure."

"Jackie! The nutcase has arrived!"

"Adriana, the pleasure is mine."

"Kate! I hope this year is as good as the last."

"And last but not least, me, Eva."

"Excellent!" Lisa clapped her hands. "Now we're all introduced, let's begin!"

As Adriana ate, she couldn't help but feel she was being watched. Peeking over her shoulder, she saw a girl who had to be a few years younger than her, wearing an over sized dark grey jumper, staring right at her.

She quickly turned back around again.

"Ignore her. That's Valerie, no ones really sure why she comes. She's... Quite strange." Kate whispered to her. "Try to stay away."

"I will."

Once they had all finished, they walked back to the cabin with everyone else. Five minutes later, they all found themselves in Adriana and Kate's room, equipped with torches, walkie talkies and their mobile phones.

"It looks like it'll rain, so put on coats. Kate said, pulling hers on. Adriana did the same, her blue rain coat fitting her nicely. "We'll use channel 13. Nobody ever uses it. Use code names just in case - any marking or strange thing you see is a Kobold, clear? As for what we'll be called..."

"Colours?" Adriana suggested.

"Good idea." Zelma replied. "I'll take black."

"I'll be white, then." Jackie replied, snuggling into the warmth of her coat.

"Red for me!" Eva replied.

"I'm green, and that leaves..?" Kate replied, looking at Adriana.

"Blue." She replied, pointing at her coat.

"We're one ring off the Olympics." Jackie said. "Now I'm tempted to be yellow, we could even have a team name!"

"If this will be a reoccurring thing, it may be an idea." Eva pointed out. "So, Jackie's yellow, I'm red, Zelma's black, Ana's blue and Kate's green. Team Olympic."

"We should leave before anyone notices." Adriana said, adjusting her coat. "Is everyone ready?"

After making sure they had a left Kate's window open so they could sneak back in, they climbed down using the wooden frame that supported a wallflower.

The forest was almost directly behind their house, and although it wasn't the official entrance it was still an entrance.

They split up, constantly giving updates on their walkie talkies. After half an hour of walking, Adriana's walkie talkie suddenly cut off, and she discovered a large scorch mark in the ground, trees ripped up from the ground. She took a photo, jumping over a fallen log and following it.

There were two pinpricks of light in the distance, and she carefully picked her way forwards, keeping her torch low and her body lower.

The closer she got, the more she realised they were abnormally high from the ground, and so couldn't be people walking towards her, and were blue in colour.

Closer and closer she crept.

The smell of oil became stronger and almost pungent, puddles of it appearing by her feet. Adriana skirted around them, not wanting to get any on her shoes.

Looking up, she felt her stomach drop.

They weren't lights, nor torches, nor illuminated windows.

Eyes. They were eyes.

Almost shrieking in fear, she stumbled backwards with a gasp. She looked to the side, seeing that their owner extended on and on and on...

She dropped her torch, hands uselessly hanging by her side. She daren't move to reach her phone.

The sound of the torch hitting the ground seemed to alert the creature to her presence, and they moved and Adriana scrambled back even more when they got taller. They were now sitting up, their blue eyes looking down at her with interest.

"Who are you?" They asked, their voice sounding strangely robotic to Adriana, yet... Was that an accent she could detect?

"A-Adriana. Who are you?"

"I can't tell you that."

Adriana slowly went to pick up her torch, and shone it on them. They were made of metal, their paint scratched and plating dented heavily. Oil was leaking out from them and mixing with a pale pink coloured liquid.

"Don't! I'm so hideous right now!" They squeaked, hands moving to cover them.

"My apologies!" Adriana floundered, almost dropping her torch in her haste to point it away. "You're injured, metal man."

"Metal man." They scoffed, looking away. "I am fine, Adriana. Your friends are looking for you, you should go meet them."

"Not until you tell me who you are."

"I am most certainly not 'metal man'."

"You would not tell your name, I gave you one. My friends shall learn it instead of your own."

That made them twitch. "You wouldn't."

"I would."

They shuffled uncomfortably, vents hitching as they agitated something. "I'll give you a riddle for my name. They trick fools in deserts. Now leave."

"Will you be here tomorrow?"

"No, not if my medic can help it. You should go. There are more than your friends in this forest, it is not safe."

"Thank you, Mirage." Adriana replied with a curtesy before turning around and sprinting away.

Mirage watched her leave with an optic ridge raised. She had gotten that quickly. Most interesting, he was almost certain she wasn't a native speaker.

Kate didn't hide her relief when she heard Adriana on the radio.

"Stay where you are, I'm coming to get you!" Kate ordered, running towards where Kate said she was.

"I found someone." Adriana said, running to meet her half way. "A metal man. He told me it was dangerous in the forest."

"We were so worried, we heard loud noises. Come on, we're going back." Kate lead her back to where they had entered the forest, not letting go until they reached the open window.

"You mentioned a metal man." Kate said once the five of them were sat in their room, whispering quietly.

"Yes. He was very big, and hurt. I think. He was leaking oil." Adriana replied.

"Did you get any photos?" Zelma asked.

"No, he did not take kindly to being illuminated. He refused to give his name, and gave me a riddle instead. 'They trick fools in deserts'. I guessed it's Mirage." Adriana replied.

"So cool! I wanna meet them!" Jackie excitedly exclaimed, immediately having four pairs of hands slamming down onto her face to silence her.

"Are you an idiot?!" Zelma hissed.

"Sorry." Jackie meekly whispered.

"Did anyone find anything else?" Eva asked. "We should show anything important now, and wait until tomorrow for anything else. We should be getting some sleep."

A few photos were shown, and eventually the other three left to get ready for bed. It was only 10:30, but they had to be up early the next day.

Adriana pulled on her pyjamas, messaged her parents a goodnight and climbed into bed.

She couldn't help but feel a buzz of excitement. She had found a giant, metal man.

Mirage did not like this.

He was left, stranded in the middle of a forest, and a human girl had found him completely by accident. Even the disrupters he had activated did nothing - the other humans had walked around and completely missed him, so why didn't she fall for his illusion too?

His first thought was that she was cybertronian too - his mind tricks didn't work on non-organics - but it was quickly cancelled out when his scans came up as her being 100% carbon based. She was organic alright.

Where was Ratchet? What was taking him so long?

[Something's bothering you] a calm voice flittered over the bond.

[I've been marooned, Hound] Mirage testily replied.

[Ratchet should be there soon. Are there any humans nearby?]

Mirage wondered whether he should mention the human girl.

[There are some within two miles or so, but none are around me at present]

[And you haven't been seen?]

Well, no time like the present. [I have been. A human wasn't affected by my illusion]

Hound was silent for a moment.

[A human]

[A human. I checked]

A moment more.

[Should I alert Prowl?]

[Jazz may be better. He's my superior and likely to give me some slack]

[Noted. I'm coming up]

[I'll see you soon]

Mirage settled back down against the ground again. He had made a horrific mistake whilst entering the atmosphere, landing awkwardly and resulting in the mess he could see around him, and the hole in his back. Ratchet would not be happy, but he was glad to still be alive.

Adriana. Something about her bothered him greatly. She just... Didn't seem to be that bothered that she had encountered an alien. She didn't even seem to know, calling him metal man...

Mirage scoffed at the name again. If he ever saw her again, he'd be sure to set her straight.

Let me know what you thought!

~Llama