Septic Summer Camp - Ask blog AU

How are you doing Marvin? That was quite a fall you had.

Marvin is lying in a hospital bed, going between sleeping and staring at the ceiling. He looks pleased to hear from you.

'Hey,' he sits up. 'I'm doing okay, kinda bruised from tripping down the stairs and my head's pretty fuzzy still. I got caught on the top of the stairs so I couldn't hide in time, and when the door opened I had to jump out of the way. I guess I didn't realise that the stairs were just next to me. I jumped into it, so my spine is okay, I hit that soft part of your head on the way down, and my wrist almost dislocated, but it got put back in before I was dragged around the forest. Other than that, it hurts to walk because I'm bruised all over, but apparently I don't show signs of concussion which is nice. I was actually awake for most of the time in the forest, but I had to pretend not to be.'

'Hey Marvin,' Jack comes into the room, taking a seat at the end of the bed, despite the multiple chairs sitting around it. 'Your mum's coming soon, but they want you to stay in here until monday, just to make sure your head is okay.'

'Then do I come back to camp?'

'Well, we can talk about that later,' he avoids the question. 'Do you want me to grab you anything? They have colouring stuff out in the hall.'

'No, I'm fine, thanks.'

Morning, Henrik. How was your stay in the infirmary last night? I hope you didn't feel too lonely.

'Good morning,' he rubs his eyes. 'I had some extremely odd dreams last night. There was one where Jamie hid in my room for about half an hour then climbed out of the window. There was also a dream about little gnomes making a human pyramid, so I am going to assume both were my heightened imagination. Fortunately, I feel far better now. I believe that the 'trans rights' man is going to come and get me soon so that I can rejoin the others. I'd assume they've already discussed what happened yesterday morning, but I can offer my encounter with Robbie.'

He stares out of the window for a few seconds. 

'It looks like there are handprints on the outside of the glass,' he laughs. 'Maybe if I go out into the field, the little gnomes will be there too. Oh! Today is post day, I cannot wait to hear from my parents and sister.'

So Anti, I'm guessing you're going to check that letter out when you get the chance to sometime after breakfast. It sucks that Marvin's mum is coming over but hey, better her than your own parents, right?

tw: blood

'Yeah,' he sits down at the breakfast table, awkwardly positioning himself on the end and feeling unprotected without Marvin to sit by. 'I'm actually kind of glad Marvin's mum is coming, she's nice, and I know she'll understand the situation. I don't know why she'd want me to open Marvin's letter, though. Maybe there's something in there I need to take to the hospital?'

'So, are you going to tell us what Jack said over the phone?' Jackie sits down right next to him, already shovelling cornflakes into his mouth.

'Uh, yeah. He said that some of the counsellors are at the hospital, that everyone is alive, Marvin woke up at some point, and his mum is going to drive us there tomorrow to visit him.'

'Cool! Did you find out what happened out there after we came back?' Chase takes a sip of water, holding the cold glass to his face to wake himself up properly.

'No, he didn't say, but I guess we'll find out later whenever he comes back.'

'Hey guys,' a young woman steps up to the front of the hall. 'I'm Ella from the girls camp across the forest but I'm helping out here today because an accident involving a few of your regular counsellors happened over night and they're at the hospital for a little while. Phillip tells me that you guys are doing mail today, so we've separated the mail into cabins, and you've got to show your tag to grab any letters sent to you, just to avoid any stealing.' She smiles. 'There's one person here who this exempts, but you know who you are.' Everyone on the green table pulls their tags out except for Jackie.

'Dude, we're supposed to have them at all times.'

'I left mine in my bag,' he blushes. 'Maybe I can talk to Phillip when he gets back from wherever he went.'

'You could just go and grab it.'

'Nah, I'd rather just talk to Phillip,' he insists.

'Alright, I guess we'll wait with you too.'

After a few minutes, Phillip comes down the stairs with Henrik following behind him dressed in yesterday's slightly blood stained clothes. The boys stand up, heading to Ella and waving Henrik over while Jackie disappears to talk to the counsellor. Everyone grabs their post, when Ella sees Anti's name tag, she smiles and hands over two. 

'Jack told me you were getting the stuff for your buddy in the hospital,' she explains. 'I hope he gets well soon.'

'Thanks,' he nods and turns back to the table. Jackie meets them there a few moments later with his own.

'Wait, your name is Johnnie?' Henrik spots the name on the front of the envelope.

'Yeah,' Jackie grins. 'Me and Jameson are alcohol name bros.'

'Oh, that's so cool! Johnnie's a cool name' Chase exclaims.

'Thanks, I chose it myself,' Jackie whispers under his breath, laughing at his own joke.

'So, are we opening these?'

'Might as well.'

Chase, I know after all that happened last night this is probably one of your lesser worries right now but are you still planning to write to Angus this weekend?

'Oh, yeah, once we've all finished writing to our parents, we should think about what we want to ask him,' Chase suggests.

'Did you guys come to any conclusions discussing the events of yesterday?' Henrik tears open his letter. The others exchange a look.

'About that.'

'Mm?'

'A bit more kinda happened after you left.'

'Oh, what was it? Did you hear another voice or something?'

'Maybe we should talk about it later,' Jackie suggests. 'Once we've finished reading these letters we'll explain, but for now, why don't we pretend we're here as normal kids doing some normal letter writing?' Henrik raises an eyebrow but says nothing, turning his attention to the paper in front of him. Anti decides to open the envelope from his own parents first. It reads:

Hello son,

How is camp going for you? Your mother and myself both very much hope that the great outdoors and the company of the other lads is helping you see that your current mindset and foolish complaints are really just signs of weakness, and that whatever adult supervision you have isn't humouring your usual tales. Recommending this camp is quite possibly the most intelligent thing Cordelia has done in our memory. We expect a letter detailing your progress.

Your father.

Anti reads it through a few times, feeling unbridled anger rise in his chest. It only makes matters worse that the anger is not directed at his parents, but himself. His senses highten uncomfortably, hearing every noise his cabin mates make. Then the whispers return.

I don't have to be a voice in your head. We could work together, you and I. The real Anti would be able to prove them wrong.

'No,' he says quietly.

'You okay?' Jackie asks, pulling his eyes away from his own note.

'Fine,' he snaps without meaning to. To take his mind off of things, he opens Marvin's envelope, which is far thicker than his own. To his surprise, there are two individual letters inside. One addressed to Marvin, and one labeled "Ant :)" It reads:

Hey Ant!

I hope you and Marv are having a good time out at camp. I think I managed to convince your parents that this camp is to 'reform boys into men,' whatever that means. I'm sure they wrote you an absolutely delightful note full of parental wisdom, but I'll add my own for you. Whatever is happening out there, don't feel pressured to do stuff that makes you uncomfortable. The voices are a real thing, and you gotta do what you gotta do. Also please stop my son from being, well, Marvin.

Love, Cordelia.

He smiles at this one, regretfully realising that he didn't manage to stop Marvin from being a dumbass. At least tomorrow he'll be able to apologize in person. Still, he tucks it into his pocket, adding it to the note he wrote to himself a few nights previously. The other one, he stuffs back into the envelope and tosses into the bin.

We stan Cordelia, she sounds great

'She is great!' Anti agrees. 'I don’t know what you mean by ‘stan,’ but sure.’

‘Who's Cordelia?’ Jackie pulls a piece of paper from the table center and starts writing out his letter home.

‘She's Marvin's mum, but I'm at her place quite a lot so she wrote me a letter.’

‘Dude, aren't only family members supposed to write you letters? Thats, like, a whole thing,’ Chase points out.

‘It was in Marvin's. She asked me to open it,’ he takes a pen and some paper for himself. If he's being honest, she is a family member. ‘Hey, you guys will meet her tomorrow!’

“Wait, Cordelia and Marvin? Are they a Falsettos themed family?” Jamie passes to Anti in a note. Anti nods his head. 

‘Please don't tell Marvin that you know about Falsettos, he won't shut up about it if you do.’

“I might just drop a few references. It's fine, I don't think he can sign so you're safe for now.”

‘You’re playing a dangerous game.’

You're doing the right thing, ignoring those voices Anti. I really don't like what they're trying telling you.

tw: self harm

‘Yeah, I don't like it either,’ he whispers. ‘Hold on,’ he excuses himself from the table and walks out onto the veranda, sitting on the railing. ‘I'd rather they didn't hear this. I really hate that voice, it's constantly telling me to either hurt someone else, or myself. I can't even look at a knife without wanting to slit my own throat. I just want it gone. But I can usually fight them, even if it means I have to be hostile towards everyone else, which doesn't help things either.’ He swings his legs sadly backwards and forwards. ‘Do you know what's worse?’ He asks quietly. ‘Sometimes, when they offer to go away if I do what they say, I want to. I just want to stop fighting them and let something else have a turn for a change. I never do, I don't think I would, but still. I'm a terrible person,’ he sighs, sniffing. 

Disagree! The fact that you recognize those thoughts to be destructive and unhelpful, and want to counter them, shows you are trying to be a good person. The thoughts that cross your mind don't indicate your character, it's what you do with them that counts.

‘You really think so?’ He looks hopeful, before shaking his head. ‘No, you don't understand. Last year something happened in a conversation with my parents about the voices and I really wanted to just get rid of them,’ he doesn't specify which ‘them’ he means, and even he himself can't be sure. ‘The voices whispered to me something like ‘if you let me take control, there will be no more fighting,’ and I really wanted to. I almost did. I started to let my guard down. And the worst part is? It felt wonderful.’ He digs his fingers into his arms, knuckles white. ‘If I was a good person, I wouldn't have done that. I would never have felt that happy to let them take over. Argue all you want to, but I'm certain.’

‘Hey, Ant, are you gonna come in and write a letter?’ The female counsellor -Ella, was it?- comes outside to grab him. He slides down from the railing and wipes his eyes which were starting to become teary.

‘On my way,’ he replies.

‘You doing okay? You look a little overwhelmed.’

‘Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks,’ he walks to the table, making it clear to her that the conversation has ended.

so what are you guys doing today? also, falsettos is absolutely great. marvin has great taste.

“The greatest taste,” Jamie agrees, smiling.

‘Please no,’ Anti groans. ‘I've heard enough of that musical for a lifetime and I'm only a teenager.’ 

‘What we're doing now is writing a letter to Angus,’ Chase cuts in.

‘And then we're telling me about whatever happened yesterday, correct?’ Henrik reminds them all.

‘Of course, dude. Just not right now.’

‘Hey Henrik, what's that shiny thing?’ Jackie asks, pointing to an unopened colourful piece of paper.

‘A birthday card. I won't open it until thursday, though.’

‘Wait, your birthday is next week?’ Chase asks.

‘Yes, I don't see that it matters much though.’

‘Why not?’

‘Well, we're at camp. What could I possibly do?’

‘We'll think of something,’ Jackie assures him. ‘Now, what exactly should we put in the letter to Angus?’

angus actually knows a little bit of the situation already - we managed to speak to him for a brief amount of time. he tried to tell us some stuff that could help us, but his voice got too quiet to hear. he mentioned a queen, and something about podiums, but that's all we got. sorry, guys. maybe ask him to explain that in your letter?

‘Oh, that makes things a lot easier!’ Henrik exclaims.

‘How?’ Jackie asks. ‘Now we have more questions than we did before. A queen? Podiums? What does that even mean?’

‘It makes things easier because we don't need to worry about explaining everything about our situation to him. We can just give a quick recap of what's happened then ask our questions. Judging by the fact you didn't mention anything from the letter in your hand, I'd say the good wisps probably talked to him after he sent it, which means at most we only have to catch him up from Thursday onwards.’

‘Bro, that's actually pretty smart,’ Chase looks impressed. Henrik blushes subtly.

‘Simple logic really,’ he takes a sip of water.

‘So we put in the letter about how on friday morning we all got dragged into the forest by something in me, Marvin, and Jackie's heads, then how on friday night Marvin got kidnapped and now three adults are in hospital,’ Anti sums up.

‘What!?’ Henrik spits out his drink.

“Long story,” Jamie offers.

‘No shit.’

‘So, what are we asking him? Obviously what he knows about the general situation,’ Chase pauses, pen in hand.

‘And to finish explaining the Queen and the podium,’ Jackie adds,

‘Okay, let me write this down.’ Everyone idly continues writing their own letters as they wait. Finally, Chase finishes. ‘There's space for another line. What kinda thing do we want to know?’

Ask him to tell you the people who were in his cabin when he was at camp

‘Oh, yeah! That's probably a good idea,’ Chase agrees, finishing off his letter. He crosses the room to place it into the ‘send’ basket, when something catches his eye. Something dark at the edge of his vision. He whirls around, trying to catch it, but whatever he does, it only ever lets itself be noticed, not seen. Shrugging, he walks back to the table, trying to forget about it, but as seconds pass, he is filled with the urge to find it. After around a minute, it's all he can do not to stand up and chase after it.

‘Chase, are you okay?’ Henrik notices his restlessness.

‘Can you guys see that? It's over there,’ he points to just behind his field of vision.

‘What, the counsellors?’ Jackie looks confused.

‘No, that thing,’ Chase insists. ‘It's right there.’

‘Uh, there's nothing there Chase.’

‘No, there is! I need to go and find it,’ he starts to stand up again. Anti places a hand on his arm.

‘Chase, don't,’ he warns.

‘I've got to!’

chase, don't. stay with your friends. don't go after anything you see, ok?

‘No, you don't understand! It's not dangerous, I've just got to find out what it is,’ Chase breaks free of Anti's grasp, angling his eyes to the extreme sides.

‘Chase, please sit back down,’ Henrik pleads.

‘And I'd listen to you, why?’ Chase asks offhandedly, already moving towards the door which is where he's decided the figure is.

‘Because we're friends.'

‘What gave you that impression?’

Henrik doesn't respond.

‘If you guys are stopping me from finding this simple thing, I don't need you at all,’ Chase tells them, walking out of the door. 

Chase, buddy, you should listen to them and sit down. Besides, what's gotten into you? You're not usually like this. I know you've all had an eventful 24 hours, hell an eventful week even, but you need to calm down. Who says this isn't a trick or something to lure you back to where the King Collector has a better advantage over you?

‘It's right there and I need to catch it!’ He starts running down the track, stopping at the campfire to check his  peripheral vision. He looks like he's a dog chasing his tail. Eventually he seems to settle on the path leading into a part of the forest you haven't seen before, but he seems hesitant to go for a moment. 'What's gotten into me you ask? Those little assholes are keeping me from completing a simple task, that's all. Don't those pawns have something better to do? Could you all just please stop worrying?' He takes off his hat and discards it into a puddle, pushing his hair back. 'Now, on with finding this thing.'

fuck, someone stop him! he can't be alone, he doesn't mean the things he's saying. he's just saying whatever he can to get you to let him go, but you can't, ok? whatever he's seeing is bad.

'I want to help!' Henrik stands up immediately.

'We all want to help," confirms Jackie. No one objects. They stand up to leave as a group, but Phillip spots them on the way out.

‘Where are you guys heading?’ He blocks the doorway, leaning against it.

'Somewhere important. Jack wouldn't mind,’ Jackie tries. Philip surveys them with a scrutinising stare.

‘You were out there this morning, weren't you? You know what happened.’

Jackie nods.

‘Can you tell me?’

He shakes his head.

‘Alright. Be careful, okay?’

‘Thank you,’ they hurry outside. Chase is already gone, but his hat is lying in the mud. Henrik picks it up and dusts it off, placing it on his own head.

‘Where now?’

There's never a dull moment, is there? I hate to cut breakfast short but we think King Collector might be using Chase the same way he used Jay last night. He's gone to the forest via a path you haven't explored yet.

tw: blood

‘Oh no,’ Anti starts off into the woods.

‘Hey, can I get some information here?’ Henrik pants for breath, still not at full strength.

‘Not now. Anti, how are you sure that he went down this path?’ Jackie asks.

‘I'm not. His hat was closest to this area, though.’ 

'I guess it's our best option then,’ they keep running until Jackie trips over on an unearthed tree root, landing on some stones and grazing his hands.

'Ah,’ he rubs them off on the handkerchief he keeps in his pocket.

‘Who even has those anymore?’ Anti raises an eyebrow.

‘Our parents make us bring them. I figured they could be useful if anymore unwanted blood turned up,’ he winces as he wipes most of it away. Jamie helps him up.

‘Jackie, how badly did you bleed?’ Henrik asks, staring at the ground.

‘Not badly, why?’

‘Look,’ he points to a section of the gravel stained red with blood, far too dry to be Jackie's.

'I guess we're on the right track then,’ he shrugs ‘Come on, there's no time to lose.’

Oh yeah, and now might be a great time to fill Henrik in on what he missed.

‘Okay, walk and talk,’ they slow to a more reasonable pace for Henrik’s sake.

'So, last night a lot went down,’ Anti begins. 'Jack told us some weird ass story about some guy called Luis?’

'Luce,’ Jackie offers.

‘Yeah, that. Then we heard that something was going down in the big cabin so Jamie and Marvin snuck up to eavesdrop. Jamie hid in the sick bay and Marvin fell down the stairs, apparently.’

‘Oh, so Jamie you really did climb out of my window.’

“Sure did.”

‘Anyway, then this Jay guy kidnapped Marvin because he was evil or something, so Jack, Thomas, and Keiran ended up looking. We were sent back but apparently things turned out okay in the end.’

‘Well, they are in hospital right now, but they're alive,’ Jackie adds helpfully. Henrik is lost for words.

'I really did miss a lot,’ he muses, trying to take it in. After a few moments, he speaks again. ‘So we think that whatever got that Jay guy also got Chase?’

“Well “got” isn't necessarily the right word, but yeah,” Jamie confirms. 

‘Okay so what are we supposed to-’ he's cut off by Anti violently shushing them. Slowly, they follow his lead, hiding in the bushes. It takes a while, but eventually the others spot him too. Chase, just standing stock still in the center of the path, eyes closed.

chase, what are you doing?

'Awaiting,’ he says simply. 'I can find it soon. I couldn't see it properly earlier, but it's coming to find me. Then I'll know and everything will be okay for me. And one day they'll get to see it too. It's wonderful. We’ll stand side by side like he made us to.’

Oi Mr Bitch boy what are you doing with Chase?

'Now now, is that really any way to address me?' Today, the entity is taking the vague shape of a tall figure, shape uncontained, flickering and fading around the edges. The only thing certain about him is two lemon yellow eyes and a tie to match. He's pacing the balcony of the warehouse, bringing with him a feeling of smug delight.

'Today, I think you'll find that I'm taking a step back. It would be cruel, would it not, to bother these poor children on a weekend. However, my dear bishops did so want a chance to collaborate on a project, and who am I to tell them no? Especially when the aim is for a new plaything. A fine start to the dark dream collection if I do say so myself.'

What are you trying to find?

'It!' Chase taps his foot impatiently, still standing in the same place. 'I was getting annoyed that I couldn't see that black thing properly, but then it offered to come and see me. Now we can see each other! It's a..' he trails off. 'It's something, and it wants to be friends. I need friends. I have no friends,' his eyes remain closed, but beneath the lids, his pupils are darting around. 'It will be my friend forever.'

In Perth - 2

tw: death, gore, blood

Angus is splayed out under the stars. The night is warm and he's hung in a hammock, deep in the forest. The moment something dark touches Chase's mind, his dreams change to something very familiar.

He's in the dream again. He knows this one well, it is the reason for everything wrong in his life, after all. Ever since the night it happened, his subconscious brings him back to the lake. He kneels on the raft, struggling to hold Robbie on the boat. He feels the sharp pain in his eye, but can't even stop to stem the blood as it trickles down his face, eye no longer sitting in it's socket, instead laying in the bloody hand which thrashes to be free of him. 

'You don't have to do this,' Angus pleads, still holding on to his almost submerged shoulders. The number of times that this has played through in his head, he feels like an actor, going through his lines with a practiced dread.

'It's what's right. Join me,' Robbie hisses. Finally, he takes a swipe at Angus' face, nails tearing through the flesh beneath his remaining eye. It's the final straw for him, and his hands release Robbie. He makes no attempt to keep afloat as he sinks down into the moonlit water, but his cap floats to the surface as the final reminder of his disappearance. Angus stares at the water, hand still outstretched, still reaching out for a friend who can no longer reach back. Who will never move again. He's glad it's over now and in a sick way, he's glad it was just Robbie in the water. His brain has had years to rework the memory into even more terrifying scenarios. Chase drowning. His family drowning. His closest friends. If he's ever liked someone, he's probably watched them sink into the bloodstained water.

His eye opens, staring at the constellations above. After a check that his eyepatch is on and his face dry, he breathes a sigh of relief. The dream is over. It's odd, though, that the nightmare would come now. He hasn't had it since he's been out in Australia. A little alarm bell goes off in his head, telling him that something is wrong, and he desperately hopes that it isn't right.

Angus, do you know how long it takes for a letter to reach you? No reason, just wanted to get a rough idea because obviously stuff's been going on at camp. A few people got hurt last night, including counsellors. Don't worry, Chase wasn't one of them.

'Uh, Wednesdays I think,' he sits, legs dangling off of his hammock. 'That would explain the dream. No matter how far I run away, that lake and the shit around it are always going to be here, aren't they?' He takes a few seconds to consider the rest of the message. 'My brother isn't hurt, which is good, but I know all of the counsellors, which is bad because some of them are hurt. Thanks for letting me know, though. I just wish there was something I could do.' He sits a moment longer, expression tormented, before his eyes light up with an idea. 'Maybe there is,' he begins to search for his pack, pulling out a notepad. 'Just maybe.' 

What's your plan, Angus?

'It's almost midnight. If I run fast, I'll make the post truck, and if I write fast, I can have a letter to Thomas written for when I reach it. I'd love to just tell you what you need to know now, but last time I started to tell you relevant information I was cut off. I'm starting to think that it wasn't an accident that it happened when it did. Hopefully, the information will get there for Tuesday. Make sure it's Thomas who reads it though, okay? He'll know what to do.' Angus finishes cramming his feet into his boots and takes off running towards the distant lights of the village, pen between his teeth. 'Can't talk, got to write and run,' he mumbles.

Chase, you have friends. Friends you left in the cafeteria, remember? Whatever the King Collector or Entity is doing to you, you need to fight it. I'm sure it's scary to not be in control but I know you can come back to us. We're here for you.

'They aren't! You aren't! It's just pretend, some sick joke. Only they are my friends,' he says through gritted teeth.

'No, that's a lie! You're right, we are friends. I have Henrik and Jamie and-'

'No one! This is the only way to not be alone! I've got to let them take me.'

'I love my new friends! And they care about me.'

'I'm alone and I always will be. No one could love me, but they're going to take me and fix me.'

'Please! I hate this, just stop. I don't need to see it. My friends like me.'

'They never have and never will.'

'Get out of my head! Someone please help!' He starts shaking his head frantically.

'No one would help me. Worthless.' 

Each time he switches mindsets, he grows louder. The boys hiding in the bushes become more and more concerned, but don't dare interrupt the battle going on in his head.

Henrik! Can you try and stop him? I think he cares about you the most here, no offence to the others

'What do I do?' He faces his friends, unmoving in the bushes. 'How am I supposed to help him? We don't even know what's happening, there wasn't exactly a physical cause for this happening. We can't just drag him out of the danger zone or get rid of some blood.'

'I think they mean talk to him,' Jackie offers. 'Like go and reassure him or something. Convince him to snap out of it.'

'How? I'm terrible at talking.'

'Just do it! We don't have time for this,' Anti pushes him out into the path, where Chase is still mumbling to himself.

'Käse?’ He straightens out his tattered hoodie. Chase turns to look at him. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Why would you care?’ He looks different, and it's not just the blood dripping from his knees, or the lack of his ever-present hat, now balanced on Henrik's own head. He radiates a hostile energy, brows furrowed and mouth turned up.

‘Because we're friends. Why are you acting so weird, what happened back there?’ Henrik takes a step forward.

‘Are we? Did you think I'd believe your little show? It's fine, you can drop it now, I know the truth.’

‘The truth? What truth, I don't understand what you're saying,’ he looks confused and a little upset.

‘He's failing,’ Anti whispers.

‘Yeah. He wasn't lying when he said he didn't know what to do. We can't exactly step in though. That would kinda ruin what we're trying to do. Wisps? A little help here?’

Chase, there is no show or act happening right now. And the only truth you need is that your friends care about you and are scared for your safety. You were doing so well a few minutes ago when you tried to fight. Don't let that other voice discourage you from trying to come back to yourself. We and your friends are right here. We love and care about you. You don't have to feel alone anymore, not with us around.

‘Oh, so you're being hypocritical now? Don't think I haven't forgotten that you're a voice too. Most of the times we've listened to you, everyone has gone along with it and it's ended up bad. You could be in on it too!’ He gestures around himself viciously, causing Henrik to take a step back.

‘Käse? You need to snap out of this,’ he raises his hands as a sign of non aggression.

‘Henrik? You came to get me?’ Chase briefly gains control of himself, expression softening.

‘Came to manipulate me, more like,’ he corrects himself, returning to his cold glare.

‘Please, Käse. Snap out of it and come back with us. Listen to the voices, they're telling the truth.’

‘About what?’

‘That I care about you! That I lo- am worried about you!’ He plays nervously with the hem of his hoodie.

‘Scripted, boring,’ Chase yawns coldly.

chase, your friends love you, they do! please try and listen to them. fight back and remember all the good things they've done for you, all the times they've been there for you. they do care for you, and don't let any bastard entity or his bishops think otherwise

‘Haha. Bastard entity,’ he smiles quietly. ‘Yeah, they've been here for me!’ 

Henrik takes it as a sign of improvement. ‘I'll always be here for you! We all will.’

‘What happens when you get bored of me in a few weeks? They'll be my friends forever. We have an agreement.’

‘Chase we wouldn't,’ he pleads. ‘Come on, come back with us.’

‘Why would I? Why come back to a group of liars when I could have this real friend? That's all I want. That's all I've wanted for such a long time.’

‘Please Chase. I want to be your friend. I hope I am. Come on, you don't even talk like this.’

‘Talk how? Intelligently? I'm perfectly capable of speaking well, in case you hadn't noticed.’

‘That's not what I meant, I-’

‘What did you mean then, huh? You think you know me? You don't know me. I've known you a week, as if that's a friendship.’

Henrik doesn't reply for a while. He stares at the floor for a while, clutching his shirt, and when he looks up there are tears in his eyes. ‘I'm sorry Chase,’ he whispers.

‘Don't be. This is for the best,’ He doesn't react to Henrik's emotions, only turning back to face the forest, tapping his foot impatiently.

Chase, what exactly has this thing said to you? When did this even happen, it wasn't that long ago this thing was literally only in the corner of your eye

‘It came closer! I let it come closer because I was chasing it. We came to an agreement and that's all that matters now.’

‘Chase! Snap out of it, man!’ Jackie emerges from the bush, Anti and his brother close behind.

‘Oh, aren't you all just so tired of this?’ The boys whirl around to see someone walking out of the trees from the opposite direction to camp. Every time they think they can make out a solid attribute like height or a facial feature, it changes.

‘Who are you?’ Jackie takes a step forward, subconsciously putting himself between Jamie and the new arrival.

‘Me? Oh, I'm just everything you've ever wanted. And I know what you want. Deep down.’

‘Leave us alone, creepy forest fucker!’ Anti snarls at it. 

‘How boring of you, putting up a verbal fight. I'm tired of you already. Come on, mourner. We have places to be.’ Without another word, Chase walks towards it, reaching for it and linking what seems to be its arm in his own.

‘Käse, please don't,’ Henrik begs. He receives no reply.

don't let him go, guys. hold him down if you have to. That's the worst option, but god, you can't let him go with that fucker.

‘You're right, you're right. I'm gonna grab him,’ Jackie nods, waiting a few beats to see if there's any opposition. Jamie starts signing something, but it's anything but.

“Be careful Jackie. Don't be stupid.”

‘Alright,’ he rolls up his sleeves, pushing past a bush to reach the place where Chase and that thing disappeared. ‘Hey bastard,’ he calls, seeing them between the branches. They turn around.

‘Hello little hero. Come to join us?’ Jackie's mouth won't form words. What would someone in the comics do? Probably say something clever, then launch into a cool fight sequence. Unfortunately, as a sixteen year old kid, he's a little short on the ability for both.

‘Let Chase go,’ his voice shakes, leaning backwards as it takes a step forwards.

‘Well, you want me to let him go? What does he think on the matter.’

‘I want,’ Chase's voice wavers. ‘I want my friends.’

‘And who are they?’

‘They're,’ he falters. ‘Jackie? Jackie please, help me,’ he starts to pull away from the figure. It tuts disappointedly. 

‘Chase it's me! And Henrik’s here too, come back with us,’ Jackie reaches out, beckoning him.

‘I said. Who are they?’ It strokes his head, pushing his hair back. Chase shudders.

‘Not you!’ He tries to break away.

‘I AM YOUR FRIEND!’ It's patience snaps and it grabs Chase by the back of his neck.

‘You are my friend. My only friend,’ Chase stops struggling and it sets him down. That one act of control sickens Jackie. He throws himself forwards, pushing the branches away with his elbows and diving onto Chase, pushing him to the floor.

‘Idiot!’ it shrieks, and all at once Jackie can see its eyes. Big and terrifying. He is paralyzed with fear for a few seconds, and he feels something big connect with his chest, knocking him off of Chase and into the leaves next to him. He lays winded, unable to protest as Chase stands back up and walks into the shadows.

DRAG CHASE BACK DONT LET HIM GO

Jackie wheezes, trying to stand, but having to settle for crawling towards the nearest sturdy tree to catch his breath. Between the binder and the blow to the front, his lungs are struggling, but he still manages to pull himself to his feet, wiping the tears out of his eyes. ‘Chase, wait!’ He calls horsely into the trees, but he can't even see Chase anymore, let alone stop him. He staggers through the forest until something in the back of his mind starts to buzz. Remembering the warehouse, he decides to turn back around, crossing his arms and digging his nails into them. He failed. The one time he was needed to be a hero, he was weak. It's the least he can do to hurry back to the others and tell them, so he pushes through the burning in his chest, almost falling back over by the time he reaches them.

‘What happened?’ Anti catches him as he stumbles. Jackie breathes hard, screaming at his voice to work again.

‘I lost him,’ he chokes out. ‘I'm so sorry, I lost him.’

‘Hey, it's okay,’ Anti lowers him to the ground. ‘We'll find him, I meant what happened to you?’

‘Nothing, I'm fine,’ he tells him. 

‘Seriously, what's wrong?’

‘I’m just upset, okay?’ Jackie sniffs, wiping his face on his sleeve.

Aight, so that plan didn't work. What would lure Chase back?

‘Henrik? Any ideas? You guys spend the most time together.’

‘No. We aren't even friends,’ he sighs, elbows on knees staring at the floor.

‘We don't have time for this,’ Anti groans, ‘Of course he fucking likes you, just tell us how we'd lure him back.’

‘You're making it sound like he's an animal,’ Jamie frowns. No one bothers translating for Anti's sake.

‘I'd say maybe something to do with family? But that's got us nowhere so far. Oh wait!’ He stands up, brushing dirt off of his trousers.

‘What is it?’ Jackie grasps Anti's arm to pull himself to his feet, wincing.

‘Robbie!’

‘Robbie?’

‘Yeah, Robbie could help us. We just need to find him,’ Henrik stares at the others, daring them to disagree. Instead, they give nods of assent. 

‘Sounds good, we've just gotta find out where he is,’ Jackie stretches up, but as soon as his arms get above his shoulders, he lets out a gasp of pain, folding in on himself.

“Are you hurt?” Jamie signs worriedly. 

‘No, like I said, I'm fine,’ he replies through gritted teeth. ‘Let's just get on with the Chase-finding.’

Jackie, maybe you should admit you need a moment to catch your breath after getting hit. Especially with all those layers you like wearing pressing down on your chest. Not that I'm saying you should remove them because I know why you have them on so you probably don't need to. All I'm saying is be careful and don't pretend you're totally fine when you're clearly not.

‘I'm good, I'm okay,’ his voice shakes a little. The others are quickly and quietly discussing where to search, and Jackie is catching his breath. ‘I'm fine, I'm-’ he breaks off. ‘Terrified.’ He takes a look around to see that no one is watching, before pulling his shirts up just far enough to see the bottom of his ribcage. There's a dark red splotchy mark like a stain on his skin peeking out from beneath his binder. ‘I don't know what it is but it hurts so bad. I've never had it before and I can't catch my breath properly from that kick.’ He takes a second to calm himself down. ‘If I'm struggling, I'll let someone know,’ he promises. ‘For now, let's try not to worry.’

That doesn't look good, mate. I'm sure you trust your brother the most when it comes to this. Maybe you should give him a heads up (preferably sooner rather than later).

‘But it's my job to protect him,’ Jackie protests, although the wince as he tries to stand only furthers your point. ‘Okay, yeah. That's the best option here. Jamie?’

“What's wrong?” He signs, turning out of the discussion.

‘Come here a minute? Please,’ Jackie beckons him, trying to keep a steady voice. Jamie's eyebrows crease as he strides over, putting a supporting arm on his younger brother's shoulder.

“What's wrong?” He mouths.

‘Look,’ Jackie shakily shows him the marks.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Jamie signs incredulously.

‘I've told you now, haven't I?’ He pulls his shirt back down defensively. ‘What do I do?’

“How did it happen?”

‘Kicked. Right in the chest.’

“Can you move around?”

‘Yeah, unless I'm twisting sideways.’

“If it gets any worse, you tell me and you stop and rest.” It isn't an offer.

‘Fine, sure. What's the plan?’

“We're still deciding that. Come on, you can help us if you want.”

 ‘Thank you,’ Jackie tells him quietly. Jamie makes the sign for ‘love’ in response.

Hey Robbie, how are you doing? Would it be possible for you to help keep an eye out on Chase? The Entity has lured him away deeper into the forest and we're all worried about him. The other boys could use your help too because they're at a loss as to how they can save Chase from the Entity's control. I'm sorry we're not coming to you for a casual chat.

Robbie is pacing the ground over his grave, agitated. ‘I know that,’ he hisses. ‘I just can't get there! I’ve tried, look!’ He runs, full force towards the forest, but is slammed back as though he had run into a wall instead. ‘I know where they're going though. It's the-’

“Now hold on there. I wouldn't want him ruining our little surprise, would we Crimson?” It's King Collector, removing the sound from Robbie's lips and replacing it with his own. Robbie stops in surprise. “Careful little knight, don't go revealing too much.”

The silent words from Robbie's mouth look like several words unbefitting of a summer camp. 

“You may speak, but do it carefully. Words aren't cheap here.”

The sound returns to Robbie's mouth. ‘Okay then, bastard. How do I put this,’ he racks his brain for an answer. ‘It's where anyone who knows about it goes. It's the same place that they try to stop it. I don't think I can say much more.’ He walks towards the water's edge. Nothing prevents him from going further into the water. ‘If you need me, call for me, but I'd rather not cross the lake if I don't have to. Bad memories.’

Hey Keiran, how's your leg? I hope it heals quickly and you go easy on it in the meantime. Whilst I have you, I was thinking about that place you snuck off to the other day. It seemed important and I was wondering if you could tell us how to get there if the boys ever needed access to it in your absence. Thanks.

tw: hospital, blood

‘What's up, buttercup?’ He's sitting in a hospital bed, Thomas is leaning back, sleeping in the chair beside him. ‘Thanks for the concern, I wasn't aware you were capable of anything but passive aggressive judgement. You learn something new every day, huh?’ He adjusts the white bandages around his neck, rubbing at where they meet the skin. Evidently, the hospital is making up for the years he's never bothered to come in and treat the collection of cuts, since the cloth spans further than the few marks Jay left.

‘Do you mean where I went to try and help them on Friday, when you all came after me for abandoning them? Yeah, I could tell you. I could also withhold the information, since you so obviously only care about it when it's you using it. I'm not that much of an asshole though, so fine. Go past the rocky outcrop walking anticlockwise around the first bay. Climb over it and you reach the second. It's in there, you'll know it when you see it.’

‘Finch? Who're you talking to?’ Thomas blinks awake slowly.

‘No one. You know me, I just love talking to myself,’ Keiran rolls his eyes. ‘Having a good nap there?’

‘Shut up. I wasn't asleep,’ he rubs the back of his head, ponytail matted down with blood.

‘Well if you aren't asleep, could you go grab me a muffin or something? I'm starving.’

‘And I'd do that why?’

‘Because I saved your ass and now I can't walk?’

‘Fine, asshole.’ Thomas gives him a pat on the leg as he leaves and Keiran barely manages not to wince. Once he's alone, he turns back to you.

‘So, I'll go ahead and assume I've served my purpose in your agenda? Go on. Off to the lake you go,’ he leans back into his pillows.

Thank you. And there's nothing to run off to camp-wise. The last we saw the boys, they were still having breakfast. I just asked as a precaution because you can't help them directly at the moment and you know how suddenly things can turn sour with this whole Entity mess. I do genuinely hope you recover quickly. I also hope you enjoy your muffin. Do you prefer blueberry or chocolate?

He closes his eyes and sighs through his nose. ‘Back with the pleasantries then. Carrot cake is more my style, but I guess chocolate isn't bad either. What about you? Can wisps eat? Taste? Do anything but use us as pieces in a game within a game?’ He tries to keep up his usual frown, but it's hard to look threatening when you're white as a sheet and in a hospital gown. That doesn't mean he isn't trying his hardest though.

 ‘Listen, I appreciate that you're being nice to me right now, but I don't have any information for you, or anything else to offer except for a fuckton of gauze and an asthma inhaler.’ He gestures to his side table. ‘I'm not exactly the person people prefer to talk to, so I'm guessing you do want something. Whatever the reason, though, your ‘genuine’ hopes are accepted. Keep those dumbass kids out of trouble, will you? I wouldn't want to have to break out of this stupid hospital to save the day.’

Guys, you need to make your way anticlockwise around the rocky part of the 1st bay. Climb over it until you get to the 2nd bay. From there, you should see a building. Go inside and you should find stuff which might help you. Robbie pointed us in that direction.

'Thanks,' Anti pulls away from the discussion.

'So we're going there, right now?' Jackie asks, trying to keep his back as straight as possible as he follows along.

'Of course! We can't lose two of us on the same day,' Henrik reminds him. As Anti leads them down the path towards the cabins, Jamie taps him on the shoulder.

"We need to cut through the beach. The others will ask questions," he signs. 

'I don't speak that,' Anti reminds him.

'Come on, through here onto the beach,' Henrik offers, leading him through the trees, where they come out by the rowboat shed. Jackie flinches every time he has to duck under a branch or climb over a log. They all look a bit of a state, but Henrik and Jackie look the worst, the former in torn, bloodstained clothes, gaunt faced and pale, and the latter moving jerkily, attempting to keep his torso straight and no longer caring about his bleeding palms. If anyone were to see them, they'd be brought inside, no questions asked. Thankfully, it's less than 100 meters to the opposite treeline, where they can follow the path to the rafts. 

'Hey, look!' Jackie points out. 'Our raft is still here.'

'Oh yeah. I guess we weren't here to disassemble it.'

'Trans rights,' Henrik says absent mindedly.

'Trans rights,' the others agree, passing by the craft and heading back into the trees on the other side. After a few minutes of navigating the branches, they reach the outcropping. Upon closer inspection, Anti sees a deep scratch through the damp earth at the water's edge, as well as a fading red stain on a few of the surrounding leaves. Looking up, he sees that the only way into the second bay is either a trek up the wooded hill, or a quick climb of the two meter boulder.

'What the hell,' he sighs, grabbing the first handhold he sees and hauling himself up. Jamie follows with some difficulty, and Henrik grabs the top shelf, pulling himself up in one go. When it's Jackie's turn, he grabs a very low down rock, gritting his teeth as he moves up a few inches at most. Still, he's determined to succeed.

Jackie, maybe you should stay behind. You could be a lookout to keep the others safe!

He gives it one last go, raising his arms above his head to get a better hold, but he instantly regrets it. Stepping back down to the ground, he gasps in pain and holds his ribs tight.

'They're right,' he groans. 'I can't climb that, and waiting for me to go around would slow you down.' Anti and Henrik exchange a glance.

'Be careful, Jackie,' Henrik tells him. Jackie nods and slumps against the rock, ready to keep watch over the path, but secretly and guiltily hoping for a chance to sleep. The trio of remaining boys slide down the other side of the boulder, one by one.

'And then there were three,' Anti muses, kicking at a clump of loose earth. The ground on this side is wetter, a muddy sand mixed with small stones, crunching underfoot. Henrik removes his glasses, wiping them on a clean patch of tshirt before replacing them. He squints at first the treeline, tapering off up the hill, and then into the grasses and reeds, tall and dense enough to obscure their vision of the indented bay. 

'What are we looking for exactly?' He asks.

"A building," Jamie signs uncertainty.

'I'd say it'll be around here,' Anti suggests, gesturing to the bay itself. 

"Backstreet boys!" Jamie suddenly remembers.

'Huh?'

"When we sailed the raft. Rotting boat shed in the second bay. I think Chase called it Spooky McSpookhouse."

'Oh!' Henrik smacks his forehead. 'Why did we not remember this? It was between some of those water trees.'

'Let's go then,' Anti takes a step into the grass and stumbles as his foot sinks into the watery soil. 'Shit.'

'Honestly? We have bigger problems now,' Henrik pushes past him, using him to lean on as he navigates a particularly damp patch. Jamie follows without problems, and when they come out of the other side, they know they're in the right place. The trees are skinny, twisted, and leafless, and their roots are covered in water. In the center of them, a broken down little boatshed is perched on stilts. There is a wood and chicken wire path laid out, sitting just atop the water, winding around to the water facing end of the building, where two doors hang wide open.

Can you see anything that may be of use to you?

'Well, there are some branches. We could use them to wack that thing?' Henrik suggests.

"I have a pocket torch?" Jamie offers. He pulls it out, and it's barely the length of his finger.

'Better than nothing,' Anti shrugs. 'Are we going in?'

"Gives me the creeps," Jamie admits, staring up the path.

'We have to,' Henrik decides. He picks a fallen branch out of the water and climbs onto the walkway, trainers crunching on the stones caught up in the wire. Slowly, he makes his way to the front of the boathouse, bracing himself for seeing the inside. When he summons the courage to peer around the door, what he sees shocks him. 

'You two are going to want to see this.'

What did you see?

Tw: knife, blood

Henrik wordlessly gestures to the inside of the boatshed. Jamie and Anti walk tentatively up to the opening.

'What the fuck?' Anti breathes, laying his eyes on the contents of the shed. Carved into the walls are symbols. Some of them are words, some pictures, and a few are just tallies. Spread across the floor are a circle of sticks, all coated in thick crimson gunk, and in the very center is a knife, bloodied and stabbed into the floor, hilt facing the roof.

'Where's Chase?' Henrik asks, hoping that one of the others has some insight on the situation.'

"Wrong building?" Jamie suggests.

'If this isn't it, I don't know what is,' Anti shakes his head. He walks into the room, feeling as though there's something pressing down on his shoulders. Strangely, the voices aren't bothering him at all here. All at once, an idea implants itself into his brain, clear and tempting. He is taken aback by the lucidity of it. 'Henrik, come here a second,' he beckons. Henrik stands beside him. 'Can you see it?'

'What? How can we-' Henrik trails off, confirming his suspicions.

In their minds, they know what they have to do. Use the knife to spill blood in the circle. Wherever Chase is, that's how they'll find him.

Out of curiosity, do any of those symbols look familiar?

Glad of the distraction, they spread out, inspecting the hut. Most symbols are foreign to them, however there are a few names that they recognise. In the back corner, above a well rotted bundle of some form of fabric, there are words carved. A list reads:

Ben, Robbie, Jay, J, Angus, and Shawn. Below it, in far fresher lines are two other names. Finch and something else you can't quite make out.

“That's them, isn't it?” Jamie signs warily.

‘Why anyone would want their names in this place, I couldn't guess,’ Henrik replies.

While I am very much against you hurting yourselves, I understand this may be necessary. If you really have to go through with this, at least try to pick a spot that is less likely to lead to long term damage. Henrik, didn't you say your parents are doctors? Would you know anywhere on the body that could be used to minimise permanent damage?

tw: self harm, blood

The three boys exchange nervous glances. 

‘You know, you good wisps are usually the ones who talk us out of this,’ Anti stares down at the floor. They stand shoulder to shoulder, not daring to touch the red sticks. 'I was kind of hoping that you'd convince us to go back.’

He feels terribly selfish saying it aloud, but it's merely echoing what they're all thinking.

“Well I guess we're doing it now,” Jamie replies. “Henrik?”

‘We've got to save Käse,’ he says, with more conviction than the other two combined.

'So do we take blood from the palm, or what?’ Anti asks nervously.

‘That's a myth. Do either the knuckles, or the earlobe,’ Henrik reaches down to pull the knife out of the floor, wincing as a few fresh droplets fall down and deep into the wood.

'Who from?’

“I will. I'm the oldest,’ Jamie offers. There's no protest.

That knife doesn't seem very sanitary. Is there anywhere you could clean it to reduce chance of infection

tw: knife

Wordlessly, Jamie walks outside into the deck. He takes his handkerchief from his pocket with shaky hands and dips it into the lake water. Henrik hands the knife to him, and he wipes it until it shines. 

Nothing left to do or say. He raises it above his left fist.

OK, FULL OFFENSE, BUT WE'RE NOT DOING GODDAMN BLOOD SACRIFICES???? NO????? bad bad bad idea!!!!!!! there are other ways to do this i'm sure!! no blood sacrifices on the first week of camp please!!!!!!!!!!!

tw: blood, knife, self harm

Jamie tilts his head back, closing his eyes and taking a big breath in. Anti makes up his mind. He puts a firm hand over the one which holds the knife, pulling it to his side. Jamie doesn't resist, and the knife clatters to the floor. All three of them stand in silence, looking at the knife, then each other, until finally, Henrik breaks the atmosphere with a quiet sob.

'Does this make us bad?’ He looks into their eyes. ‘It should be easy. It's just like tripping over and cutting yourself, but it's for a better reason. Is it selfish to say that I don't want to?’ 

Jamie wraps his arms around his friend, letting him cry into his shoulder.

‘Of course it isn't,’ Anti assures him. ‘We're kids. This isn't something we should have to do.’

‘But we do,’ Henrik sniffs. 'We don't have a choice to opt out. We either abandon him, or we do it.’

If this is some sort of ritual, I wonder if it's how you get into the Warehouse? Seems like all the names are people who would've been there or at least know about it

‘Yeah, you're right,’ Henrik wipes his eyes. 'It would make sense that that's where it leads.’

'I wonder who the rest of those people are,’ Anti agrees. ‘Sure would be nice if every competent adult hadn't gone off without us.’

“What can we even do about that though,” Jamie points out. “I can’t see how it'll help us now.”

listen, guys. you're children. you're not doing a blood sacrifice. you shouldn't have to do something like that, and it does not make you terrible. don't do this. there's gotta be another way

tw: blood

‘Maybe there is!’ Anti has an idea, face brightening. ‘If it really is the warehouse..’

‘No, if it's what I think you mean, no way,’ Henrik protests. 

“What?” 

'We already have a way in,’ Anti reminds them. ‘If he's in the actual building, we can go into the dark dream and walk up to the front door.’

'We can't,’ Henrik protests. ‘It's too dangerous.’

‘Oh, and blood sacrifice isn't?’

‘Yes. No. I don't know anymore.’ He rubs his temples. ‘We're actually going in then?’

Anti shakes his head. ‘Not we. Me.’

Jamie shakes his head too. “All of us.”

‘Think about it. You two are clear of the voices. Staying that way is in all of our best interests.’

‘Going in alone could kill you!’ Henrik argues.

‘Going in together could kill us all in the long run,’ Anti counters.

“What's better? The knife, the forest, or leaving Chase be?’ 

It's okay. You're right, you're kids and you shouldn't have to do this. You *don't* have to do this and none of us wisps actually want you to use the knife. All we want is to see you all safe and happy. Surely there's a better way to help Chase?

tw: knife

'I guess that rules out the creepy sacrifice room?’ Anti kicks the knife with his toe, sending it spinning into the wall. Henrik lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

'There's always got to be a better way than that,' He agrees.

"Well, there's one option ruled out," Jamie backs out of the hut, waiting for the others to follow before pushing the damp wooden doors shut. 

I think the forest might be your best bet.

'Yeah, as much as I hate the thought of going back in there, it's probably our best bet,' Anti scratches the back of his neck. Jamie nods in agreement and Henrik purses his lips. No one moves.

"Okay, so we just walk in there and touch a tree? It's safe?" Jamie signs after a while.

'Of course it isn't safe. That's why we're doing this,' Henrik points out, willing himself down the boardwalk and towards the forest. Jamie follows after him, if anything, only to make sure that the younger boy is safe. Anti hesitates a moment more, thinking to the knife on the inside of the room. It'd be comforting to have something to protect himself with, but eventually, he decides against it. Something about it seems off, and he'd much rather use the one from back at the cabin if he gets the chance. Besides, it wouldn't do anything anyway. Not to the wisps. He takes a step towards them, then another, until they find themselves nearing the edge of the woods.

You guys should probably tell the counselors. They could help find him like they did with Marvin.

'That would be great. If they weren't currently in the hospital for who knows what,' Anti points out.

'There's always Phillip?' Henrik suggests, kicking at the leaves by the tree line. 'Ella, too.'

'It would be unfair to bring them into this.'

"We could phone them?" Jamie suggests.

'That would waste time.

'Listen, we've just got to do it,' Henrik creases his forehead, tapping his fingers against his sides frantically. 'The counselors aren't even here. We just have to go in, get Käse, then get out. We'll be fine, I'm sure Robbie will be around.’

This probably sounds dumb but if you want a knife substitute Anti, maybe you could try find a pointy branch as you walk? I don't know, just a suggestion. I doubt you have time to waste running back to your cabin for the one there.

‘Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,’ he says, casting his eyes towards the ground as he makes his way forwards. A few branches untouched by the crimson lay in their path, and Jamie silently helps him snap off a thick offshoot. He knows it shouldn't but it helps calm his nerves. He wishes it didn't. They straighten up to find Henrik clearing stray branches away from a spot at the edge of the tainted trees.

‘If we can control the time we go in, we might as well be comfortable,’ he shrugs. The three of them sit down, touching at the knees and elbows. There's a branch oozing the dark liquid beside Jamie, and he carefully picks it up.

‘Ready?’ Anti asks.

‘Ready,’ Henrik confirms, rolling up one sleeve. Jamie drags the stick across Anti's, Henrik's, then his own arm, waiting for the darkness to take them in. They drop one by one.

Even if going to the other councilors would waste time you’ll have a much better chance at getting Chase back you guys tried to get him back by yourself the first time. Also it would be good for Jackie to go back since he was injured

Tw: Blood

Jackie receives your message. His head is lollong on his chest, but he sits up straight when he hears you.

‘What happened to them?’ He pushes himself to his feet shakily. ‘Whatever it is, I should probably go back. You're right, I'm not doing much good here.’ He finds a stick to lean on and starts making progress back towards the cabins. As he passes the gouges in the wet sand, he tries not to think about the dark red stains splashed amongst the brown, nor the horrible things the forest has already done. Or, the terrible things it could be doing right now. ‘Please, you've got to tell me where they went and what they did so that I can help them,’ he pleads. ‘But help them first. Leave me until later, okay? I’m going to be fine.’ He keeps limping forwards, resisting the urge to stop and rest on the pride raft, and again on a tree stump. He's already failed his friends twice today, he won't do it again.

They went into the woods looking for chase Jackie.

‘Wait, Chase is in the forest?’ He falters. ‘I could go and find them, they could need me,' he twists to stare into the trees. 'No, I've got to tell the adults. It's my job. Good luck, wisps. If you don't bring them back safely, you'll need it.' He sets his brow and limps onwards, an angry determination in his eyes. 

So what now?

They wake up, still shoulder to shoulder. The leaves are all damp, but it's mold, and a sticky red liquid which wasn't there last time. There's another big difference, too. They're close to the building itself, and hung across the front of the banisters is a ragged old bedsheet, torn and spattered. In red and blue ink, the words are written: FIRST COLLECTION.

'What now?' Henrik rubs his head, glancing over his shoulder. 'Now, we go in.'

henrik, are you guys ok?

"Yeah.."

It's been a while since you managed to catch site of any of them. Henrik has a grim smile plastered over his face, while Anti grimly prods mothballs and old leaves. Jamie is following them from behind, and he glances back occasionally; ever protecting.

"We made it inside. I mean, what else were we meant to do? Just walk around?"

'We are okay,' Jamie signs glumly. 'For now.'

Marvin? How are you doing today? That was quite the fall.

Marvin is sitting in the same bed, looking bored. He has earbuds in.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm alright crimson. Thanks." He smiles, adjusting his blankets. "It's kinda weird actually, I feel way better. Like… almost like nothing ever happened? I dunno."

He looks out of the window. "Mum's getting here soon. Maybe if I explain she'll let me go back to camp today. Plus, I want to see Keiran soon, I'm pretty sure he's here too right now. There's so much to do, I hate being stuck here.."

To look at, it does indeed seem as though the injuries on his face and arms have faded.

Uh boys, someone please check on Marvin if you can. I think his foot got caught on something and it caused him to fall.

'See look, it's not as bad as we thought,' Chase says uncertainly. 'I'm sure we can go out and look without it being bad for Jamie.

'Way ahead of you,' Anti finishes lacing up his shoes and opens the door, charging into the night, not caring about anyone who may be watching. Jackie charges out after him with Chase close behind. They tear around the big cabin, checking the ground beneath each window. Marvin is nowhere to be found. The last window they check under is the sick bay, and a silhouette waves at them. Jamie.

'Hey!' Jackie calls up. What happened?'

"I'll tell you once I get out," he signs back. "I can't go back through the hallway though."

'Could you hang down then? Put your feet on the windowsill below you?' In response, Jamie cracks the window fully open, putting first, then both of his legs out until he's hanging from his fingertips, around two meters from the ground. Chase, Anti, and Jackie gather around, and they catch him awkwardly as he drops, brushing him off.

"Marvin got caught on something just before someone was coming out of the door. I had to hide, so when I could get a view of the hallway again, he was gone," he signs with shaking hands. "Maybe the good wisps could find him for us?"

'They can't,' Anti sighs. 'Can't get through.' He slumps against the wall, looking defeated and upset. Chase goes to comfort him, but he bats him away in annoyance. 'What do we do now? It's midnight, Marvin's missing, possibly injured, and we have absolutely no one to trust or get help from.'

'We plan? We try to sleep? We investigate?' Chase throws some options out. 'It'll be okay. We'll work it out.'

'It had better be.'

there was someone shouting in a room. someone nearly caught jamie and marvin, but jamie managed to hide. i don't know what happened to marvin, we couldn't see. he might have fallen from the window, but that's just our speculation. i'm sorry we can't help more, but we'll keep looking!

'Oh, so we're a subject of speculation are we? Just a fun little problem to solve?' Anti snaps, rubbing his temples. 

'Thank you,' Chase cuts in. 'We really appreciate you trying.' Anti draws further into himself, burying his face in his sleeves and beginning to cry quietly.

'Woah, are you okay?' Jackie asks.

'I'm so f*cking useless! I can't find Marvin, I can't control being angry, and I can't even do what the f*cking bad voices tell me. No matter what side you're on, I'm there f*cking up.'

'You aren't!' Chase tells him. He doesn't respond. Jackie suddenly realises how to get him up.

'Well you can be less useless if you stand up, stop crying, and get to work finding Marvin,' he tells him, wincing at how harsh the words sound. He was right though, because Anti stands up and brushes the earth off of his pyjama bottoms. 

'You're right. What's our next move?'

i wish i could help you more. there was someone yelling, though. we didn't get to see who it was. can you try and figure it out? after all, that's what you set out to do in the first place, might as well make it worth it and discover some secrets along the way

'Yeah, that sounds okay. That's something we can do, I think. How should we?'

"I recognised the voices," Jamie offers, writing it out.

'Well who were they then?' Anti demands.

"I'm not completely sure, but whoever they were, at least one of them was someone we know," he shrugs.

'Hey Jamie, could you draw us a floorplan of up there, just in case?' Jackie asks.

"Sure," he shrugs, beginning to scribble.

I'm concerned that Marvin doesn't seem to be on the ground below the window, where you'd expect him to be. I hate to say it but it looks like he may have been moved or (if he was still conscious after falling) hid somewhere himself. It's been over half an hour since he fell so who knows where he may have gotten to. I don't see him returning/being returned to the cabin so at least that's one location we can rule out. Doesn't help much but still...

'Oh,' Jackie blinks in realisation. 'It never occured to me that he could have been taken.'

'What if he did crawl out here and hide?' Chase worries. 'He could be out here somewhere alone.'

'No, he would have done something if he saw us!' Anti argues. 

'What if he couldn't? He might have been knocked out afterwards or something.'

'It's too dark to see him anyway. He was wearing his bright magenta sweater, we would have seen him if he was able to be found tonight.' Jamie points out.

'But he's got to be around here somewhere!' Anti insists. 'No one would take him, would they? He's around here somewhere,' he digs futilely through the leaves.

'Anti, I think they might be right,' Chase says gently. 'Maybe we need to look for him in the morning. The counsellors might have even seen that he fell and brought him inside. I think we'd only make it worse if we tried to approach it now.'

'But we've got to! We can't give up now, we can't fail at this.'

'We aren't giving up now. We're just trying to sleep off all of the bad shit that's happened to us, then carrying on looking tomorrow. We'll find him, don't worry.'

'You can't promise that! There's no guarantees!' Anti cries. 'I can't lose him. Losing him is losing myself. I can't not find him, okay?' 

'But we will find him,' Chase looks him in the eyes. 'We won't stop until we do.' Anti holds his gaze, trying desperately to concentrate on his words, really believe them. Eventually, though, he whirls around, tears streaming down his face. Walking into the darkness between the camper's cabins, he simply shouts back, "Liars!"

anti, it's probably best to stay with the others. we don't know where marvin went but if it's bad we don't want you to end up there too

'Oh the others will get on fine without me,' he spits bitterly and somewhat dramatically. 'Seriously though, I just needed to get away for a moment, deal with the voices on my own.' He walks further, into the gap between his cabin and the next one over, wrapping his arms around himself and leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.

'Hey, midnight panic buddy,’ a voice from the dark calls. Anti doesn't recognize it, but it sounds around his age. He looks around to see a slight silhouette leaning over the railing of the other cabin.

'What brings you out here?’ he replies, trying but failing to disguise how upset he is.

'Oh, nothing much. Just not having a good time. You're from Green cabin, right? I'm guessing you're out here hiding from some of the spooky shit.’

'How would you know?’

'Are you kidding? You really think that you can miss half of the activities without someone noticing? We're placing bets on how long it takes one of you to be kidnapped by a cryptid.’ 

Anti grimaces. ‘Honestly you're not that far off.’ 

The voice chuckles. ‘Good luck with that. I'm going to sleep. I'd give you my name, but frankly you don't need it.’ The vague shape moves back inside and Anti hears the faint noise of the door being shut. Thankfully, the strange encounter is enough to distract him from his worries long enough to hurry back out of the trees and meet with the others behind a bush in the faint light of the main cabin's windows.

so what's your next plan? maybe you should get a counselor. marvin could be hurt, you can't keep this a secret.

‘That could be a good idea, however if we're all awake suspiciously around two in the morning, it could look a little off,’ Jamie points out.

Just at that point, Anti reenters the conversation, looking slightly embarrassed and expecting one of them to have a go at him. Instead, Jackie just gives him a punch on the shoulder.

‘We're gonna find him tonight, man.’ he assures him.

'How about we send one of us to go and check for Marvin? That way we could play it off as a 'I was worried about Hen’ sort of thing.’

'Okay, that sounds like a plan.’ Anti agrees.

'Chase, why don't you go?’ Jamie suggests. ‘Then you can actually check on Henrik. I know you want to.’

‘Thanks, bro,’ he twists his fingers together. 'Should I go now?’

‘Yeah, be quick,’ Jackie adds. 'What’s the plan for the rest of us?’

It might be good to search now. You don't know what can happen in a few hours if he has been taken somewhere. God forbid he's anywhere near the forest.

‘Yeah, yeah, you're right.’ Jackie agrees. If earlier was what things were like without the voices already being there, now they've come back, who knows what could happen?’ 

'Maybe we should check the forest first?’ Anti suggests. ‘You know that feeling the three of us got yesterday morning? That we had to go into the forest after Marvin’s fight. Whatever pulled us in then might have drawn Marvin in again. I say we check the dangerous area first and leave wherever he could be safe to last.’

'Alright, let's do it!’ Jamie signs. The party of three set off through the dense trees towards the moonlit lake, Anti struggling yet just managing to stay in control of the voices. As they cast their eyes around the floor, whispering for Marvin, they begin to drift further and further apart, until Jameson can no longer see the others. He hears a crack behind him, but before he can turn around, a tut echoes right next to his ear.

'Don’t turn around,’ it whispers, breathing heavily. ‘You wouldn't want to be rude, eh?’ The voice is ragged and sounds as if it's gasping for breath, each time it does so, a chill goes down his spine. 'I chose you to talk to, do you know why?’ 

Jamie shakes his head.

'I chose you. I chose you because I know you can't scream!’ It laughs, somewhat manically. ‘I'm here to tell you this. Don’t follow me.’ Before Jamie can react, there's large commotion as it kicks up leaves, running off into the forest. Jamie's breath catches in his throat, before he starts shaking uncontrollably. As quickly and quietly as possible, he runs to Anti and Jackie, shaking too much to sign or write. 

'Woah, what's wrong?’ Jackie hugs his brother, pressing all of his warmth into him. Jackie squeezes his eyes shut and lets his breathing steady. Finally calm enough to write out a few words, all he manages in the light of the moon is:

We aren't alone here.

ok, change of plan! this isn't safe. get keiran, if you can, but you need an adult. get out of there. you can't do this yourselves right now.

‘Holy shit, we're definitely getting out of here,’ Jackie practically starts pulling them along. Jamie clamps a hand over his mouth to stop him from making noise.

‘Why don't we just wait here for a second to find out what Chase gets told? I'm sure he fetched Keiran,’ Anti suggests. They agree, hiding themselves around the corner of the building to await Chase's arrival. When he finally steps out of the door, Jackie hisses at him to come over.

'Did you find him?’ Chase asks hopefully.

‘No, what did you find out?’ 

'Well, they turned me away at the door, but they had the entire campsite’s staff gathered in the main room discussing something.’

‘Do you reckon we could talk to Keiran?’ Anti asks.

‘He's not there. He's gone.’

what are they discussing? do you think you can get over to the main room and find out, maybe? it could be to do with the person who was yelling. or maybe something to do with marvin. try and figure out what it is, but stay together. try to get the attention of a counselor once you're there. you NEED to tell someone that marvin's missing.

'Should we go back inside then?' Jackie asks.

'Can we even trust some of them?' Jamie points out.

'I think that right now, it's more important that we get some actual adults on the Marvin case,' insists Anti, already standing up to ask. He walks up to the front door and pulls it open.

'Hey, it's like 2am, what are all you kids doing awake?' Thomas sighs, stopping the conversation. 'Didn't the hat kid just come in here?'

'It's important,' Anti pleads. 'Our friend is missing.' A few of the adults on one side of the room exchange guilty glances.

'We know. He's, uh, Marvin, right? Yeah, that situation is under control, he's in the car right now, they left like 40 minutes ago.'

'In the car? Where to?'

'Oh, right, you don't know,' Thomas sighs. 'We were going to tell you tomorrow.'

'Where is he?' Anti asks again.

'He's, uh, on his way to the hospital now. Fell down the staircase, we guessed he was visiting your friend in the sick bay?'

'Oh,' Anti's stomach drops.

'Hey, Jack, did they take your car?' Phillip calls.

'No, why would they take my car?' He replies, confused.

'Well the new guy's car is still parked here, and Keiran doesn't have one.'

'Huh?' Jack runs outside to get a closer look. All of the cars are still parked. 'How did they leave then?' 

'Maybe they didn't,' Thomas whispers, pointing to a discarded golden chain lying on the ground next to the path to the lake and the forest beyond. Next to it, is the tattered pieces of a deep red piece of fabric.

'Shit.'

hey, kieran? do you know where marvin's went? the kids are wondering where he is, they're really worried

tw: blood

You can see flashes of light gleaming off leaves. Hear the sounds of fast paced footsteps racing through fallen leaves, and the heavy breathing of someone who's been running for a long time.

'Jay!' Keiran gasps. 'Jay you don't have to do this.' He listens for a response. It doesn't come. Looking defeated, he leans against a tree, rubbing at his neck, which has thin trickles of blood smeared around, coming from an area of smaller scars which have been recently reopened. His scarf is missing too.

'Hey,' he closes his eyes, regaining his breath. 'I think I've probably lost them by now, so I might as well tell you what's happening. Jay came to visit after dinner since he was in the area. Jack and I had a little -misunderstanding- upstairs, and he was part of it too. Suddenly, he sorta changed. Got real angry like they did back when I was at camp here, only this time it was different. He opened the door, but I think it must have startled that Marvin kid, because he tripped on something and fell down the stairs. Wouldn't wake up or anything, so Jay offered to drive him to hospital.' He stops to cough up something, before wiping his mouth and continuing. 'I had to go too, the whole 'Can't let a child leave without a staff member' thing. When we got out the front, he turned angry again and tried to take him into the forest. I tried to stop him, but it turns out he's actually pretty strong and I couldn't risk the safety of Marvin. I've been chasing them all the while since, but I lost track of them in the rocky bit.' He starts running through the forest again. 'That's all I know, but at least you can tell the kids what's happening now.'

A man called Jay has taken him. He hung around Keiran before overpowering him as they neared the car. No surprises where they are now. Listen, if you're going to go back there, make the adults join you. Safety in numbers and all that. Not to mention it's time they stopped brushing tonight's stuff off to continue having their jolly. I'm sure I don't have to remind you but do NOT let anyone touch the trees.

'So you think we should go back out there?' Jackie asks.

'What if whoever came for me comes back?' Jamie agrees, writing for the benefit of the adults.

'Wait, what happened?' Thomas asks.

"Someone came up behind me and said not to follow him. He told me he chose me because he knows I can't scream," Jamie winces at the memory.

'Alright, that's it! They aren't going back out tonight, right Jack!' Thomas exclaims, putting himself between the forest and the remaining boys. Jack says nothing, just staring at the ground. 'Right Jack?' Thomas' voice falters, looking at Jack pleadingly. Without meeting Thomas' eyes, Jack turns to Anti.

'You know what to avoid, generally?' He asks thoughtfully.

'Jack you can't be serious,' Thomas begs.

'Yeah, we know enough to get through,' Anti confirms.

'I really hate to put you in danger, but there are three young men out in that forest tonight and I think they're more important right now.'

'Please don't do this,' Thomas waves his arms towards the forest. 'It'll work out! You saw Jay before he took Marvin and we both know that isn't him. I think there's something bad happening here and there's no reason to drag innocent kids into it, especially when none of us know anything about it.'

'Actually, we kinda do,' Chase says quietly.

'Then it's settled. Go inside, Thomas. Take care of camp and keep the mountain camp counsellors here for the night. I'm sorry, but we've got to go.'

'You'd better know what you're bloody doing,' Thomas shakes his head, turning back towards the big cabin. 'If you aren't back by 8, I'm calling the police for you.'

Jack and the boys watch him leave. 'Alright, team, are you ready to go?' Everyone gives a hesitant nod. Anti drops to lean with his arms against his legs for a second. 'Alright there? You can stay behind if you don't feel okay,' Jack offers. 

'No, I'm fine. Let's go,' Anti assures him. The truth is, he isn't okay. Working alongside Jack is giving him a worse headache than ever before, and with the stress of Marvin being kidnapped, it's all he can do not to shake. Nevertheless, the five of them head out into the dark.

Thomas, can't you stop them? The kids at least

'Oh, I wish I could. I owe it to Jack to do something, but I can't quite decide what that something is,' Thomas looks utterly defeated. He's already told the young adults inside that they can't leave for the night. He'd made up some bullshit excuse about some wild animal, which everyone was having too much oblivious fun to bother questioning, and now he leans against the doorframe, listening intently to the night sounds.

'I can't decide whether I should go out and stop them, or if I should help them search, or whether I should just let them get on with it. I really hate the idea that there are four kids out there in the early hours with someone who clearly isn't in their right mind - I don't mean Jack - but I would also hate if something bad happened to that kid, well all three of them, really, because we didn't get to searching fast enough. On top of that, there's the fact I may or may not be going crazy taking advice from a wisp.' He rubs his eyes. 'A voice! I mean a voice, of course. Anyway, since you're here, what do you think I should do? We really can't get this one wrong, can we?'

wait, thomas, you know the word wisp?

'No, no, I must have overheard it from someone. Keiran talks in his sleep and there isn't much separation between beds,' he answers hurriedly. 'Nice word, isn't it! Whispering wisps. Anyway, that isn't the most important thing happening here.'

If you know anything about wisps, the Warehouse, creepy stuff that keeps happening at this camp etc, you'd probably be better off going with them to increase their chances of returning safely. They've had a long week and quite a bit of it has been dangerous.

'Uh, no. Me? I know nothing about any of it,' he hisses. 'I want to make that very clear, no matter what. I was, however, a counsellor here three years ago and I am very aware of the.. loose connections and the dodgy phone lines around here. I swear you can barely chat without having someone look in on it these days, they should really fix that up. Anyway! I think I will go on a little forest walk, come on,' he checks to see that no one is looking, before sprinting into the cover of the trees. He runs with a purpose, heading to the beach where the abandoned rafts lay, and passing beyond it into the rocky areas bordering the water of the second bay, where he eventually 'Now, if I were a kidnapping little bitch, where would I be?' He whispers to himself

'Right here,' a voice whispers behind him, cracking a twig very deliberately. 

'I'm not f*cking scared of you, Jay,' Thomas tells him calmly. 

'What makes you so sure I'm Jay?' It laughs coldly.

'I was your camp counsellor since you were fourteen years old. This isn't you.'

'You're right about that,' comes the response.

'You can put down the boy and come back with us. Just fight it,' Thomas pleads.

'I could,' Jay considers. 'Or, I could do this.' Thomas feels a blow connect with the back of his head. Still standing barely, he screams, not out of fear, but rather as a pinpointing sound to guide the others, who must be out in the forest somewhere. The next blow comes without a sound and in the darkness of the forest, even if someone was there, no one would see him fall, nor would they see the other man retract back into the thicker trees, leaving the water to lap at his hair.

have you encountered this stuff before, thomas? how much do you know about it? if you do know, just tell us, you could be able to help more if you know!

Check.

 robbie! do you know of anyone called jay? if so, what do you know about him?

'Huh? It's half two in the morning, can’t a ghost zombie thing get some sleep?’ Robbie sits up, yawning without breathing in or out. More of a habit than anything. 'Jay? Yeah, he was in my cabin! Jay Alblue. Religious, but still believed in spooky stuff like Bigfoot. Mothman was his favorite,’ he smiles fondly at the memory. ‘He was infected by the dark dream, but he was fine after we played the game. Like Jumanji! Why do you ask?’

Jay may not be as fine as he made you think he was. He's currently terrorising the forest. He has threatened one of the boys and knocked out a counsellor all in the space of this evening.

'What, no! That doesn't sound like him at all! Something must have happened to him, I've got to go and stop him, or help the counsellor. Which one was it? What's he done to the boys?’

jay is hurting people, robbie. he's kidnapped one of the kids and hurt kieran. we don't know what to do to stop him.

‘Finchy? How badly was he hurt? And which one of the kids was it? Alright, I'm going to go looking for them,’ he tries to stand up, but is blocked, as thought he's in an invisible square around his grave.

‘Don't you know the rules? You've certainly played with me before,’ a cold voice seeps in.

'What rules? Why can't I move?’

‘It's check. You may only move to protect the King,’ it laughs. ‘And sadly, it's a single move only, which you, little knight, are incapable of. Oh, but don't despair yet. It's merely check, not checkmate. And you, dear yellow, might want to reevaluate the board.’

Boys, Jay was down by the waters edge, but be careful, he's definitely not against violence

'Oh, that's great, we can finally stop chasing every shadow we see and rescue Marvin,' Chase sighs in relief.

'Hold on. We need to think this through,' Jack stops him from running down. 'I think that you four should go back to camp and get some rest. From what we've seen, I don't think that he'd hesitate to do something to you guys, and we've been searching long enough for me to know what to look out for.'

'But what if he gets you?' Jackie asks. 'We can help, please let us help.'

'No, you're going to go back to camp and stay safe with Thomas. He'll be waiting there, and you can stay awake in the upstairs bit with him if you want, but I'd rather you tried to sleep.'

'But-'

'No, just go back. Please, it'll make everything a lot easier.' Jack holds Jackie's gaze long enough for the younger one to look away. Jack watches them slink away back in the direction of camp, before setting his sights on the direction of the lakeshore. What he doesn't see is that as soon as he begins walking, the four boys emerge from the trees again, waiting to make a decision.

"I think we should go back to camp," Jamie signs.

'Well I think we should help Jack! What if something happens to him,' Jackie counters

'What if something happened to us?' Chase asks. 'Then we'll be in trouble and they'll have more people to save.'

'But isn't Jay targeting us while we're alone? Jack has no safety in numbers.'

"Whatever we decide, let's do it quickly. We shouldn't stay here any longer than we have to."

Perhaps you should listen to Jack and head back inside. I'm sure he can handle himself.

'Are you sure?' Chase hesitates.

"Listen to them, this is the second person who's told us to go back," Jamie reminds him. "It's also near 3am."

'Yeah, I guess you're right. Any objections?' No one says anything. Jackie feels a jolt of panic, afraid that Anti might be missing, or otherwise he'd have said something about helping Marvin. To his relief, the boy is there, looking half asleep and vaguely ill.

'You okay, man?' He lays a hand on his shoulder. Anti winces. 

'I don't feel so great,' he admits. 'I think I'll be okay when we get out of the forest, whatever it is in here that usually makes us faint isn't doing it tonight for some reason, but it still feels like something's smashing my brain in.'

'Okay. You tell us if you want us to slow down,' Jackie offers, taking his hand away. 

'Stick together,' Chase reminds them. They walk downhill, only now realising that they'd walked to a point around 50 meters higher than they'd started at. A few times, they have to stop, letting Anti rest, or otherwise needing to sort something out. Finally, after around another hour with all of the stops, they reach the lakeshore on the beach containing the rowboat house. Anti loops his arm with Jackie, relying on the support more than he'd like to admit.

'Should we go and see Thomas?' Jamie signs. 

'Can we just go back to the cabin? I really don't want to answer his questions right now,' Anti answers.

'Yeah, a lot has happened today,' Chase agrees. 'I don't think I'll sleep but I'd like to chill out.'

'Fair enough,' Jackie shrugs, leading them back down the path and into the cabin area. They move quietly towards their own, and as they walk past it, Anti scans the deck of the cabin next door, looking for the person from a few hours ago. Like he expects, no one is there. Jamie closes the door behind them quietly, and without a word, everyone moves to their own beds, feeling miserable. After a while, Chase speaks up.

'I can't do this. Can we sit together?'

'Please,' Jackie agrees.

"Alright, there are a few spare mattresses, why don't we lay them on the floor?" Jamie signs.

'Okay, mattresses out on the floor,' Jackie tells the others. The three of them place them across the gap between the back two bunks, and pile on sleeping bags. Even Anti sits down quietly on the end, leaning against the cupboard. He remembers the box and the knives, and seriously considers taking them out before deciding against it. For once, he wants to believe the adults when they told him that they have everything under control.

Hey Jack, how are things in the forest?

'Uh, going great?' He uncertainly draws closer to the lakeshore. 'To be perfectly honest here, I have no f*cking clue what's going on and I'd much rather be back at camp. You said the lakeshore, right? Oh, almost there,' he half trips down the final incline. 'Hey, is someone here?' Through the shadows, he can just about see the shape of someone half submerged in the moonlit water. He moves forwards, crouching down, aghast when he realises that it's Thomas. 'Hey, wake up!' He taps him hard on the collar bone like he learnt in the mandatory first aid courses he takes every few years. Thankfully, he begins to stir.

'Jack?' He blinks, sitting up slowly, holding the back of his head.

'Thomas, what happened to you?' Jack leans over him, not sure if his hair is wet from the lake, or from something redder.

'Jay, he was-,' Thomas mumbles, cradling his head. Jack offers him his hand but when he looks up to take it, his eyes widen. 'Jay,' he repeats.

'Yeah, I know. Come on, you need to get out of the water,' Jack keeps his hand held out, but Thomas' gaze at Jack himself slowly shifts to a spot in the darkness behind him.

'Jay,' he whispers again, grasping Jack's hand and pulling him down to his knees, just as the man himself moves a step closer, grinning widely and dressed in a long black shirt.

'Well, well, well, if it isn't my two favourite bishops,' his eyes flash.

'I thought you turned away from all of that stuff,' Jack questions, kneeling in the cold water.

'I think it's a chess thing,' Thomas whispers.

'Very good, very good,' he claps his hands. 'I think you two are looking for the pawn I've taken, aren't you?' He motions offhandedly behind him to the nearest tree.

'Jay please,' Thomas pleads. 'This isn't you, you wouldn't do this.'

'You have no idea what I'd do! What any of us would do,' he snarls.

'Listen, something bad's got you, but you don't have to let it. Remember Robbie? This night doesn't end the same. Know why? You won't let it. Please, let him go, just for now.'

'Oh, but that won't happen. This body is familiar. Worn in like a good leather shoe. It will do what I want it to,' Jay smiles.

Hey Keiran, I thought you'd appreciate an update. The boys are back in their cabin. Thomas went into the forest to try help but got attacked by Jay. Jack is out there searching for Marvin. We haven't seen Marvin since he fell so unfortunately I can't tell you where abouts he or Jay are. Do your best to stay safe and not get wounded further.

tw: blood

'Oh, don't worry,' Keiran breathes, crouched atop a rock in a tuft of dewy grass. 'I know exactly where the bastard is. Heard Tom scream and came down to see what was going on.' From the position he's in, it would only take one jump to situate him right in the middle of the confrontation. And from his stance, that seems to be the plan. He wipes away the droplets of red surrounding his neck, before taking a deep breath. His position is only three feet higher than Jay's, so it's less of a leap and more the act of him throwing himself off of the rock onto him, tackling him from above. They make a combined noise of surprise, then a heavy thud, a splash, then a cry of pain. Your visual on the situation cuts out, as a big flash of what can only be described as reverse light erupts from the falling men. The sound stays a little longer though. 

'What? Oh god, are they conscious?'

'I think it's broken.' A sloshing sound. 'Come on, you've got to help me lift them.'

'I'm awake, I'll help.'

'What the f*ck were you thinking?'

'Oh, spare me the lecture, there are two people to carry back.'

'More like three, can you even move that?'

'I think I'll manage, let me take his legs.' A few grunts, then a gasp of pain.

'Alright, you manage yourself. We'll handle them.'

'Oh god, is that..?'

'Just let's go, okay? I don't want to look.'

...

All four of the remaining boys are asleep leaning into each other when Phillip leans into their room at 7am. The bell still hasn't gone off, and the rest of camp is relatively quiet.

'Hey, are you guys okay down there?' He asks them, confused.

'Huh? Oh, yeah,' Chase disentangles himself from the pile, stretching out and yawning, only just spotting the massive mud stains on his trousers.

'Well, Jack's on the phone for you from who knows where, so you'd better come. He sounded urgent.' Phillip ushers them out of the door. When they arrive in the cabin, there are spare blankets laid out, mostly with the counsellors from last night still asleep on them. 'Over there,' he points tiredly to the phone, line still open and laying upside down on the table. Anti picks it up tentatively.

'Jack?’

'Oh, Ant, right? Listen, I'm at the hospital now.’ Anti’s face goes pale.

‘What happened?’

‘It's a long story and I can't use the payphone for long. Listen, what you need to know is everyone's alive, Marvin's been awake, and some of the counsellors are here too. I've called Marvin’s mother and she’s on her way up now. She says she'll pick you up tomorrow morning to visit, and that you in particular should open Marvin’s letter from home.’ The phone starts beeping.

‘Can I talk to Marv?’ Anti pleads.

‘Sorry, I'm all out of-’ the line cuts. 

‘What did he say?’ Jackie asks.

Hey Angus, don't be alarmed. We're friends of your brother. How's your visit to Australia going? Chase told us you went to go exploring.

Angus stops in his tracks, touching his fingers to his head. 'No, you can't be here,' he shakes his head. 'I thought I got rid of you three years ago. I did get rid of you three years ago. Why can I suddenly hear you now? Is it Chase? You got one of the Brody siblings and decided to do a two for one torture deal, huh?' His voice shakes. He turns and runs back to the forest, hiding himself from the locals behind a tree as he yells at something not physically there. 'So he told you I was in Australia, huh? That I'm out here exploring. Well maybe he should have kept his mouth shut. I thought that place was safe now. That all of you had left, and, and that all there was left was Robbie's grave and those god forsaken trees.' He takes a few breaths.

'Or maybe you've gone soft now. Don't be alarmed? What reason would a wisp possibly pretend that they cared about my mental health. Alright, you've got one minute. One minute to explain yourself.'

angus, we're here to help! we're not like the other wisps. we've already helped chase and his friends a bit, we mean no harm!

'Huh,' he thinks about it for a minute. 'I guess that makes a little bit of sense, doesn't it. If there are dark wisps, there are light wisps too. I suppose that if you are actually helping out my littlest brother, I'd be quite grateful. That's not saying I believe you, though! If there's one thing this taught me,' he points to his eye patch. 'It's that you shouldn't trust a wisp.'

Calm down, Angus! We're friends of the campers!!! We try to help them and we like to talk to them! They like to talk to us too!

'Oh, they talk to you?' He suddenly brightens. 'That makes this easy, then. If you can talk to them and you helped them, he'd have told you about Robbie, right? To prove to me you've talked to him, what skill did I teach him back home. He usually mentions it once or twice, especially if they're running it the same and this was lake week.'

 Surfing! It's surfing right?

'Got it in one!' He smiles in relief. 'It's nice to know that there's something watching out for him down there, even if it's a wisp. Yeah, we live on the beach, so I can surf and stuff. Chase always wanted to as well, so I gave him some lessons. To be perfectly honest though, I see him as more of a skateboard kinda guy. I mean come on, Chase Brody? Literally born with a skater dude name. Anyway, how are they? Are things starting to get bad yet? I almost wish I hadn't already posted my letter, I probably should have put some stuff in there to help him out.'

Yeah, that's fair. Chase is safe though! He hasn't been in the. Fuck what's it called. The Dark Dream? He's just been around while his cabin mates were attacked. Oh, and Robbie says hi, and that he misses you!

tw: scars

'The attacks have started already?' His eyes widen. 'Oh, it's way worse than I thought. Jeez, they're just kids, they've already been attacked? This is bad. They're out now though, right? Of course they are, or you wouldn't be here talking to me.' He relaxes against the tree, sitting down in the dirt. 'Wait, Robbie says hi? Are you fucking messing with me?' His forehead creases. 'No, it can't be right. That was just Jay being stupid with his fucking ghost stories, it wasn't really him.' He looks concerned. 'Who am I kidding, wisps are basically ghosts. I can't believe I was that stupid! I had a chance to say goodbye to him and I blew it. Oh, I really am stupid. I'm such an asshole. I've gotta call Jay and make it up to him,' he begins mumbling more to himself than to you. 'He misses me? I'm glad, I really should have stuck around and talked to him in person, it turns out!' He laughs coldly. 'Tell him I miss him too. I even got this,' he carefully removes his eyepatch, revealing a glass eye sitting in an irreparably scarred socket. The iris of the glass eye is a soft shade of lilac. 'A flower for him, an eye for me.'

This isn't how things usually go? They've been in there like, 3, 4 times by now. This time was pretty touch and go too, if Rob hadn't stepped in I don't know what would've happened

'Holy shit! No, to answer your question, it isn't usually like this. In our sixth and final summer, we all went into the warehouse, but we finished his game. We played it and won. It wasn't until pretty far through even the first summer that anyone entered the dark dream, and even then it was only Jay and Robbie because they already heard the wisps in the outside world. No, that's bad. That's really bad. Hey, is your voice getting a little quieter? Maybe it's just me.'

I'm not intentionally making it quieter, but I'll step back and give someone else airtime. I gotta finish this final paper anyway. The boys are planning to write you a letter, I'll make sure they do that asap.

'Oh, thank you! Yes, a letter would be good. It's nice to know that supernatural entities still have to suffer through writing papers. Good luck!.' He stands up and starts walking towards the town. 'I think the quiet thing could be range, you know. I am in rural western Australia, and who knows where you are. Listen, I don't think we have a lot of time. Whatever you need to know, tell me now.' 

how did you play his game? what IS his game? what does this entity want and how can we get it to leave the boys alone? how did you win it, can you tell us?

'Ah, the game. You're playing it already I'd wager. At some point the King will wake up, probably a few years down the track. That's when you've really got to st*******.' He fades in and out of view as you experience what could only be described as a telepathic bad phone connection. The rest of his explanation is blurry at best. '**** the Queen ****** trouble. ****oatshe******trap ******. To play properly, ****enter ****Building****sit ******** podiums.' Is as much as you can make out. The last image you see is Angus fixing his eyepatch over his eye and walking back down the road. Suddenly, all you can see is black. And then a tiny piece of yellow. And then the silhouette of a man, eyes glowing gold. He lets out a cold laugh, and you return to the lakeside.

Perth is no longer available for questions

...

Hey Keiran, Henrik, how are you doing?

'We're doing well,' Keiran is placing things back into the cupboard. 'I'm about to go down to dinner and talk to the rest of his cabin. They've really gotta be more careful.' He checks Henrik is asleep and closes the door behind him. 'The kid's doing alright. Usually, disinfection does a lot worse to a person, so he's lucky that there wasn't a whole lot to disinfect.'

'Talking to yourself again?' Thomas joins him as he walks down the stairs.

'No, I'm minding my own business,' he replies, not unkindly.

'Suit yourself. Are you still on for game night later? Jack's on storytelling duty and we were going to meet up with the other campsite's leaders and play a few games.'

'Yeah, I'll be there.'

'See you then, Finch.' Thomas walks to check on a different table. Keiran spots the green table closest to the door and moves to sit down at the end.

'How's Henrik?' Chase opens.

'He's doing fine. You'll see him tomorrow, I'd wager. Listen, I've got some things to talk to you about.'

'Go for it,' Jackie mumbles through a bite of sandwich. 

'Alright. Things have been really weird this week. There's been a lot going on, and for everyone's sakes, I need you to lay low for a while and stay out of that dark bastard's domain. Fortunately, the weekend shouldn't involve going into that area, and next week's activities aren't forest or lake based anyway, but if your curiosity gets the better of you, you've got to stay away, alright? Give me some time to sort everything out.' 

'Okay,' Anti agrees, and the others nod.

'I'll see you later then,' Keiran stands up and walks back to the bench where the counsellors usually sit.

so you guys are telling ghost stories, huh? i wanna hear one!

Anti laughs, settling down to wait for Jack.

'What? You told me you love ghost stories,' Jackie asks, confused.

'Oh, I love ghost stories!' Anti replies. 'I just think it's kind of funny since we're basically living one. Think about it, what's he gonna tell us? Kids disappear around here? If you go into the forest you might never come back? There's an evil entity that likes to mess with summer camp kids? The usual campfire stories aren't really gonna cut it at this point.' Chase suddenly cracks up laughing too.

'What? I'm not that funny,' Anti frowns.

'Dude, dude, I just had the funniest idea,' he wheezes. 'What if we used the ghost stories as instructions? Like next time something bad happens we just refer back to the instruction manual but it's a classic camp ghost story instead!' 

Marvin chuckles. 'Yeah, we're just out there being punched in the brains and we go, huh, I think this problem can be solved by going inside and eating vegetables n' shit.'

'Okay, shut up,' Jack sits down on a log. 'It's time for a story! Keiran's admittedly the better one at telling these, he's really convincing at those creepy ones where he pretends to have been there first hand, but he's off doing something else now, so I'm here instead, and to save myself from embarrassment, I'm not gonna tell you ghost stories either.' He looks wistfully back at the counsellor's cabin to where silhouettes of young adults can be seen through the windows. 'You've got two choices here, and you'd better choose carefully, because it might just impact next week's activities. So, what will it be? Superheroes or Medieval?'

absolutely superheroes are you kidding!! hell yes!!!

'Oh, so yellow is an entity of taste,' Jamie signs.

'Woah, woah, woah, that isn't very superhero-y of you,' Jackie protests.

'Yeah, it deserves a cool hero name too,' Marvin ads.

'Uh, the Yellow whisper?' Anti suggests uncertainty.

'The Amber wisp?' Chase suggests

'You know what? We'll think of something later,' Jackie decides. 

'Hands up for superheroes?' Jack asks, counting what looks like the majority of hands. 'Medieval?' Only one cabin. 'Superheroes it is then! Now, I want you to listen carefully to this story.' Jack clears his throat. 'Once, in an old city, hundreds of young vigilanties were queing up to become the next big heroes. Each one had a very special talent, and each one wanted to become the very best. Once they got inside of the main Hero Headquarters, the best and most well known hero called Luce invited them into a hero training course, to which all of the vigilanties said yes, and so he led them to the big city. He told them, "We have let some minor villains into this area. It is all under control, but to prove to us you have what it takes to be real heroes, we want you to take them down." What he didn't tell them though, was that they didn't have the situation under control, and the only reason they had called the hopeful heroes into this part of the city was so they'd defeat the villains instead of the heroes, or at least weaken them enough so that the heroes could handle it better.'

'So they just wanted to use the vigilanties as a sacrifice?' A kid from another cabin asks.

'Exactly,' Jack continues. 'But what Luce didn't know was-' He's cut off by yelling from the counsellor's cabin.

'Jack! He's trying to go again, you've got to talk some sense into him!' Phillip's voice pleads. Jack stands up immediately. 

'Right now?'

'Right now.'

'Okay, I'm coming. Sorry guys. Maybe tonight you can tell your own stories?' He sets off running towards the big cabin.

'What was all of that about?' Chase whispers.

'Who knows? It's a shame we can't find out,' Jackie replies.

'Who says we can't?' Marvin's eyes gleam.

'What do you mean? They've gone.'

'And? We could always sneak in and do some eavesdropping.'

'Woah, since when do you commit petty crimes?' Anti looks at his friend in bemusement.

'Since we found out there's something weird going on here.'

'I don't know..' Chase rubs his forehead. We've already got way in over our heads once today. I wouldn't mind going to bed honestly.

'And miss out on all of this information?'

'I'm not sure that's such a good idea.'

If you got caught, what would the punishment be?

'I don't know, I guess it depends who catches us,' Chase guesses.

'And how serious whatever's going on is,' Jackie adds.

'We already know about the cleaning punishment,' Jamie signs. 'But I don't completely trust every adult here, so who knows what could happen?'

Part of me says you should go investigate in the hope that it will help you solve what's going on quicker and therefore give you a chance to properly enjoy the remainder of your time at camp. However, I'm also with Chase. You've had enough excitement for today. Maybe you should think twice before tangling yourselves in this mess even more tonight.

'Yeah, we've all been through a lot today,' Jamie agrees.

'But we could make a breakthrough! We could use this information to figure out more stuff!' Marvin almost pleads. 'Come on, it can't be worse than what we've already had.'

'I don't know, I'm pretty sure it could be. What if they kept us seperate and the entity comes for us?' Chase frets, wringing his hands. 'On the other hand, what if the 'He' they're referring to has something to do with Hen? We could be leaving him to the people who don't know about things.'

'Woah, we really think that little of the adults at this point?' Jackie asks. 'A week ago we'd have just known they knew what they were doing. I'm all for finding it out, but don't you think it's weird we just don't trust adults anymore? Like what if we get home and we don't trust our parents?'

Marvin and Anti exchange a glance. 'Well, I don't think that's our main problem right now. Our main problem is if we want to break into that building and eavesdrop.'

'Yeah, right.'

Well, to be fair, some adults have shown that they are oblivious or dismissive of the danger while others have given you reason to doubt their trustworthiness. You are by no means being left to fend for yourselves here but... you certainly don't have as many allies as you could have.

'That just about sums it up,' Jackie agrees. 'At least we have Keiran though, right?'

'Well..' Chase trails off.

'What? Did he do something too?'

'He abandoned us in the forest, remember!'

'Maybe he had a reason? He's always tried to help us before. And wasn't he your brother's friend a while ago? He wouldn't want to hurt you, I'm sure,' Jamie signs. Marvin nods in agreement.

'I'd say Keiran's our best 'ally' here, but I still don't think he'd take too kindly to being spied on.'

'Which brings us back around to the original question. Do we go or not?'

oh, i say go eavesdrop. i'm pretty curious too as to what's going on! but be careful guys!

'Okay, that settles it. We're going in.' Marvin decides. 'What's the best way of going about it?'

'Well do we want everyone going in or just a few people. That's the first question, I guess.' Chase asks.

'It would be easier to hide with less, but we could cover more ground with more,' Anti adds.

'There's also a matter of how we're getting in,' Jackie adds.

'Well we've got to go in through the door, duh.' Chase replies.

'Not necessarily. There's a window in the sick bay, right Anti?' Anti nods. 'I'll bet they have it open a little for Henrik. The sort of wood on the building means we could maybe climb up.'

'Jackie, no.' Jamie signs.

'Jackie yes! We've climbed bigger buildings at home.'

'I don't know dude, maybe it's better to just sneak through the ground floor and go up the stairs.'

'It looks like the older counsellors are having a party in there! It's just as risky.'

'Well there's a big problem. How do we get in? I'm sure there's another way we haven't thought of, but those two could technically work,' Anti muses.

the window sounds bad - you guys could easily get hurt. go through the door if you can is my advice. and maybe don't all of you go, that way less if you will get in trouble of you're caught, and no one will see a whole cabin missing

'You're no fun,' Jackie frowns. 'Alright. It's a plan I guess.' Chase looks relieved. 'Who wants to go in?'

'Jamie you should stay here with-' Jackie starts, before Jamie interrupts him by making an exaggerated gesture.

"Why?"

'Uh, I guess because, uh,' Jackie flounders for an answer.

'Exactly. I'll go, because I'm less mentally exhausted and I'm also the eldest.' Chase, Marvin, and Anti nod their heads.

'I'll go too, it would be wrong for me to not, since I was the one telling you to go,' Marvin adds sheepishly.

'Okay, should one of us go as well? Or is two of you enough?' Chase asks.

'Maybe Chase can come too?' Jamie signs. Marvin agrees, and they turn towards the big cabin. 

'Be careful,' Anti whispers at them loudly. 'If you two get caught, we might just let you serve time in their dungeons.'

'Cover for us, idiot,' Marvin replies warmly. When they arrive at the side of the building, Jamie scribbles out a note under the light of the windows. Through the front door or look around?

'Look around, I think,' Marvin replies. They carefully edge around the building, careful not to be seen through the glass, until they find the perfect entry. A window left ajar, a mere few meters away from the staircase. The only problem being a crowd of counsellors, including Phillip and Thomas, milling around.

'How do we get past?' Marvin whispers.

'I have an idea,' Chase answers. 'You've got to get in quickly, though. I'll go back to the others once I've finished.'

'Alright, do it,' Jamie signs. Chase sneaks back around to the other side of the cabin, out of sight. After a few seconds, a loud thumping noise starts echoing from the opposite wall.

'Huh?' Phillip walks over to question it, with the others following.

'What's he doing out there?' Marvin whispers. Jamie shakes his head and beckons him, carefully sliding the window open and slipping through. Marvin follows him. They manage to slip into the part of the stairs out of view from the room. From here, they can hear loud, desperate yelling from the first room on the left. 

'Closer?' Jamie mouths, flattening himself against the wall. Marvin nods, kneeling the closed door. Neither of them can quite make out what's happening on the inside of the room, but eventually the shouting gets louder and louder. Then footsteps come closer towards the door. And fast. In a panic, both of them try to hide. Jamie points to the sick bay across the hallway, and he dives into it, holding the door open for Marvin. 

"Hurry!" He signs frantically as Marvin attempts to disentangle himself from something he has become stuck on. The sound of someone yanking the door open forces Jamie to slam his shut, leaning against it and breathing heavily.

'Jamie?' Henrik mumbles, waking up.

"Shh!" Jamie holds a finger to his lips. The heavy footsteps thunder down the stairs and a while after, so do a few more sets. Around half an hour later, when Jamie finally picks up the nerve to open his door again, Marvin is nowhere in sight.

marvin? shit dude, you ok? who was yelling?

It's strange. Almost as if it were a similar situation to what was happening in Perth, the connection seems to be breaking up. You can see small flashes of colour. A warm, deep red. A dirty magenta. A set of boots. The moon, shining down upon the water. You may have called out to Marvin.

good morning, guys! what's the plans for today?

Strangely enough, the earliest in the day you are able to see what the boys are up to, the sun is already high in the sky. Henrik and Jamie are nervously fastening ropes to the raft, and all down the beach there are people doing the same. The rest of green cabin are nowhere in sight.

'Where have you been?' Henrik exclaims. 'We tried to reach you earlier, you didn't reply!' He looks borderline distraught, with hair tousled from running his hands through it. His hands shake as he ties on a rope, failing to fasten it properly four times before Jamie taps him gently on the arm. They sit down together on the side of the boat.

"It's fine. They'll have already found him by now." he signs.

'I know. I just hate that I can't go out with them to search.'

"Don't worry. We're keeping up our end of the line. It's like those superhero plans Jackie is always talking about. We're making sure they don't get found out."

'You're probably right. They'll be back before the race starts after lunch.'

"Come on, let's keep going."

Boys, where did the others go? They haven't gone investigating something that might put them in danger, have they?

'Oh I wish. I wish they did, I wish they were out there by choice. My fault they're out there now. I'm horrible, terrible, 

Furchtbar.' Henrik mutters.

"Not your fault at all," Jamie reassures him, then to you, he signs, 'They've been out there a couple of hours, during which Henrik has managed to convince himself everything was his fault."

'But it was!' He wears a pained expression. 'It was all my fault. If I wasn't so annoying, Marvin would never have left. He wouldn't have gone into the forest, and none of the rest of it would have happened either.'

"That's stupid. We thought it was safe, but it wasn't. If anything, it was Keiran's fault for telling us we had until Saturday." 

'Or, maybe,' another voice enters the conversation, 'It was out of my control. How was I to know things would go wrong?' Keiran steps over a bundle of string, thumbs through his belt straps.

'Keiran! They're out there. Please, you've got to help them!'

'Oh don't worry. I am. Only if you two stay right here. If any other adults come past, tell them I took the boys into the forest. Don't come looking for me.' He turns away into the bushes.

Jamie, what happened exactly? Henrik seems too upset to focus rn lol

"Marvin woke us up this morning just before sunrise. Him, my brother and Antonio were all already awake, not speaking. He asked us all if we wanted to play a game of some sorts, or chat, but Henrik told him to go back to sleep. He got.. unnaturally angry and ran off."

Marvin? Anti? If you can hear us, please let us know. Why are you going to the forest without adult supervision? If you're in the warehouse, it's going to be okay. Help is coming.

tw: blood

'Yes, yes we can hear you,' Marvin gasps, 'we're here.' He is on his hands and knees, shaking from head to toe.

'Marvin? Marvin are you near?' Anti's voice echoes from nearby. He is in a small ditch, hugging his knees and taking deep breaths.

'Ant! Ant I'm here. I can't open my eyes.'

'Alright, that's good. We're together. Are you bleeding yet?'

'No, not yet.'

'We don't have long. Try to find me at the warehouse Marv. We'll be okay together. Help is coming. I need yo-' he trails off, slumping fully as a trickle of blood leaves the corner of his mouth.

'Anti? Anti?' Marvin screams. 'Come back, I can't see you, I can't hear you, where are you? I need you to help.  I can't go there alone.' His arms give out, and he flops to the ground, still conscious. 'I'll find you there. I'll meet you there,' he gets quieter as the red liquid leaves his nose. 'I'll see you there.'

Chase and Jackie, are you with the others? Kieran is coming over to help you. If things are getting scary right now, please try to take a deep breath. Hold on and do your best to keep your friends safe.

tw: blood

A shrill, unnerving scream comes from a different part of the forest.

'What's happening?' Jackie wails, thrashing around in the leaves.

'Jackie? Jackie I don't know what's wrong with you,' Chase paces around him, going to touch him then deciding against it. 

'Something's here, Chase. It wants me too. You can't let it get me!' 

'I don't know how to help you,' Chase admits.

'You've got to! Please,' Jackie pleads, distraught. Suddenly, he becomes more docile. He spits out a trickle of crimson. 'The dark is coming, the dark dream weavers,' he whispers. 'Don't let them get me!' Chase lunges forwards to try and find out what's wrong, but just as he does, a strong arm grabs him from behind. 

'No!' Keiran shouts. 'Let him go, you can't touch it.' He wraps his arms around Chase, who struggles to reach his friend.

'He's not dying, is he?' Chase looks distressed.

'No!, no, he's just going somewhere else. In the mind.' Keiran reassures him. 

'He'll be back, right?'

'Of course he will.'

'But last time, didn't you have to get him out? Is there some way to pull him out?'

'Ah.' Keiran goes pale. He pulls an old, stained book out of his pocket, flipping through the pages until he finds what he's looking for. A map. 'The thing is, he's outside of the danger zone. I don't think there's anything we can do. Come on, leave him there, let's go find the others.

'I don't know, dude, we can't just leave him here.'

'I. Said. Come. On.' Keiran's voice is no longer soothing. He practically drags Chase away from Jackie's tortured, sleeping body, laying still on the forest floor.

It's not your fault, Henrik. Fights between friends happen. It was good of Marvin to put some space between the two of you so you could both cool down. It's just unfortunate that he has ended up in the forest. No-one could have known Kieran's predictions were incorrect. You were working off of a previous time this sort of thing has happened. What matters now is getting your friends back safely. Feeling unnecessarily guilty won't help matters. I'm sure things will turn out okay in the end.

"Yeah, everything's going to be okay," Jamie reassures Henrik. "We've just got to stay here and fix the boat up.' 

'You really mean it? About it being the predictions? Whatever the truth is, you are right about feeling guilty not helping. I wish there was something else we could do, though.'

"Well," Jamie signs thoughtfully, "Maybe there is."

'But we can't go into the forest Jamie.'

''Maybe we don't have to,'' he points at the raft. 

'I know, we have to finish the raft. How does that help them here and now, though?'

"The boat bed! The one Marvin and Anti suggested. It's a little dip in the boat with some soft towels, right? We can make sure there's somewhere comfortable for them to rest. Remember what Marvin was like that evening after he went into the forest? They'll probably need somewhere to be quiet."

'Jamie, that's brilliant! And then I can use my doctor skills too,' he starts to bustle around the boat, happier with a purpose. Jamie smiles to himself. Jackie may think he's stupid, but he knows just the thing to distract his friend from the ongoing disaster. 

Have you found each other in the warehouse yet?

'Trying my very best,’ Anti grimaces, stumbling through the trees, desperately searching. 'Marvin? Marvin? Are you here?’ His movements are sluggish, barely managing to lift off the ground. The warehouse looms behind him, a dark and decaying waypoint in the sea of endless dripping black trees.

'Antonio, I'm over here,’ a voice calls out. Blinded by fear, he struggles desperately towards it. It brings him closer to the warehouse than he's ever been.

'Marv?’ He calls tentatively into the black. As soon as the words leave his lips, a cold trickle of dread seeps through him.

‘Hello, broken one,’ it sneers. 'Back again so soon?’ It echoes in his mind like the voices usually do, but somehow it seems different. Colder. 

'Where is Marvin?’ Anti’s voice trembles.

‘Oh, the silly protector? Discarded in a ditch. I have no use for the silly games his weavers play. No. But you? Your Weaver plays a tune I can hum to.’ In the corners of his mind, Anti thinks he can feel a presence taking shape. 

'LEAVE ME ALONE,’ Anti screams, throwing himself forwards, through the black. 

'Have it your way,’ the voice says. 'Our little game is only just beginning. And there are more players than you think. Take this as a parting gift, broken one. I want to see your cracks start to show.’ All at once, Anti finds himself hurtling down a small incline. At the bottom, a small huddle lays.

'Marvin?’ Anti's voice catches in his throat. 'Wake up Marvin, I came and found you,’ he shakes his friend. No response. ‘Come on buddy, please. You promised you'd meet me here. You promised.’

Shit, Marvin wake up! Anti's here for you

tw: blood

'Wake up!' Anti copies you, 'I'm here.' Marvin still doesn't respond, the only visible movement is the steady flow of dark red out of his nose. 'Please Marvin, wake up. I need you.'

'Anti?' A quavering voice comes from behind him. He turns around.

'Jackie? No, you can't be here. You don't hear them too, do you?' Anti turns to him.

'I-I don't know,' he furrows his brow, 'I've been here before. Wednesday, with you.'

'And here you will stay,' the voice interjects. 'Having fun, little pawns?'

'What did you do to Marvin?' Anti half cries.

'Marvin?' Jackie asks, before he sees the crumpled figure of his friend. 'Oh.'

'Humans, so brittle, so easy to break,' the voice says, almost dismissively. 'A squeeze on the lungs? A touch to the heart? Then it's all over. No, I much prefer other playthings. I won't matter to you much soon enough though. The weavers can hurt you here. Really hurt you. In the land of the waking, you hold some power, but here? This is my world. My world, my rules.'

Anti, does he have a pulse? Actually, check yourself for one first to see if anyone has one in this place, then check him.

'Why would I not-' Anti starts, feeling his wrist. He stays silent for a second, before moving his hand to his neck. 'What the f*ck?' 

'Holy shit, let me check mine,' Jackie does the same to himself. 'I still have one, man. What does that mean?'

'I don't know. Let's check his,' They kneel beside him. Nothing. 'I don't get it. His voices have never been bad until we came here. Mine were always nearly unbearable, but he's the one lying on the floor? It should have been me!' 

'But it isn't you, so we gotta find a way to help him. He isn't dead.'

'How do you know?'

'I don't. I just have a feeling, alright?'

'But he doesn't have a pulse,' Anti begins to panic.

'Well neither do you, dumbass.' Jackie laughs shakily. 'Come on, there's got to be something we can do.' They kneel down beside Marvin, checking him for signs of life, or the cause of the problem. After around four minutes, his chest rises in a big shakey gasp for air.

'Marvin?' Anti grabs his shoulders, but he stays as unresponsive as ever, returning to not breathing. Anti lets out a sob.

'It's okay, man, he's alive. We know that now.' Jackie reassures him.

'WAKE UP!' Anti screams at Marvin. 'I need you, so just wake up, asshole!'

'Calm down!' 

'He's got to wake up.'

'He will, don't worry.'

'Please, you've got to wake up.'

Hello Warehouse Entity, what exactly do you mean by a Weaver? I'm guessing they're native to your world/dimension.

'Ah, intelligence. A rare attribute in you people,' it brings you to a different part of the dark trees. Your viewpoint is from what you realise is the veranda of the warehouse itself. 'Yes, you've grasped quite a lot, and yet you still want to know more. Crimson, I like you. You show promise.' It doesn't quite have a physical form, but you know where it is and where it is not. The latter category being considerably smaller than the former. 'Weavers, they are lesser. I like to call them knights sometimes, at my most metaphorical. You've met the pawns, no doubt. Well the weavers aren't exactly native to this - the dark dream, that is - but if they aren't from here, I don't know where they originate. They live here, waiting to put their figures into their rightful boxes. Each has a specific pawn to place. Oh look, here they come now.'

A stream of dark wisps shoot through the trees, hungry, dangerous. 

'If you're here to learn, Crimson, you're in for a treat,' the entity laughs in delight. 'You can see the weavers work at their prey.'

Maybe it has to do with the "danger zone"? Keiran mentioned Jackie wasn't in it when we saw him. BTW, he's on his way to try and find you two. I think.

Oh yeah, Chase is looking for us too,' Jackie reassures. 'No matter what, we'll get him out of here. 

'Jackie, don't turn around,' Anti's tone changes suddenly. He stares out behind him, looking into the darkness.

'Why? Anti tell me why?' Jackie gets an edge of fear in his voice.

'Stay very still and calm,' Anti says slowly. 'Have you ever had a full on voice attack?' Jackie shakes his head. 'Well they're coming so you're about to. Get ready,' he braces himself, closing his eyes. Jackie does the same. 

The wisps arrive.

And for the first time ever, they have physical forms.

Anti's back arches as they throw themselves into him, bruising his chest and causing him to cry out. Jackie folds in on himself, hugging his chest and gritting his teeth. Who knows how much longer they'll last.

hey guys? Kieran abandoned Jackie, and Jackie's also under a sleeping trance.

"WHAT?" Jamie signs furiously, knocking over a pile of water bottles in his haste to stand up. 'Come on Henrik, we're going into the forest, now.'

'But Keiran told us not to,' Henrik hesitates.

"F*CK KEIRAN," Jamie turns on him. "He abandoned my brother somewhere in the forest, now come on, Hen. We're going."

'What if we do more harm than good?' 

"What if he abandoned Chase somewhere out there too? Would that possibility entice you?"

Henrik needs no further convincing. 'Let's go.'

Would you know whether vital signs the same in the warehouse as they are in the real world? Because if so, you might want to get everyone breathing and with a pulse ASAP.

'Ah, crimson. It would appear whoever you're talking to, can't hear!' The entity laughs with an unhinged glee. 'Maybe there are already enough voices in their head, hmm? You are right, lack of oxygen might be a teensy problem, although that's mainly my fault. Such fun to compress the lungs, right? Don't worry, I'll let him breathe just often enough to stop him from dying.'

Fuuuuck. Chase, Keiran, something's moving to attack Anti Marvin and Jackie and the warehouse is insinuating it's gonna do some real damage. Maybe kill them. They need help NOW

tw: death

'Keiran, we really need to do something, anything!' Chase begs him.

'I'm working on it, kid.' Keiran is once again using his scarf to wipe the blood away from the boys. Jackie has been lifted into the area Marvin and Anti are in, and all three of them are lying side by side. Chase hates that it reminds him of the way they lay out the dead after a battle. They sure are fighting a battle, and the thought of them losing it makes him want to cry.

'There's really nothing we can do? We can't move them away?' 

'No, it's different this time. Something else is in there with them, holding them captive.' If Chase was in a better state of mind, he might have questioned the amount of things Keiran knows about it. But since he isn't, all he does is kneel beside them, grabbing the hands of Marvin and Jackie who lay closest to him. 

'Keep fighting, guys,' he whispers. 'You can win.'

hey, warehouse entity! lovely to make your acquaintance! can you leave the boys alone? please? also, what the fuck do you want with them? they're only kids here for a summer to have fun. don't hurt them, please?

'Ooh, fiesty little yellow. I have nothing against them,' it chuckles amicably. Their weavers were most insistent, though, and it's been so long since I've had any decent fun. Don't you worry your little head, six weeks is all I take. It's all I've ever taken, on all occasions but one. And I.. don't want a repeat of that. Most unfortunate, and all of that sentimental business.' 

Henrik, do you know CPR? Marvin's going to need it. He's only breathing once every few minutes. Anti might be the same way or close to it. Jamie, as far as we know, Jackie still has a pulse, but they are all being attacked right now so time is of the essence.

'Oh, shit, you're right Jamie, we've got to go,' Henrik takes off through the trees. Following the trail isn't hard, and several bushes were trampled by Keiran's big boots.

'Guys?' He calls out into the forest, Jamie close behind him.

"Look out Henrik!" He signs, spotting an obstacle, but it's pointless, as he isn't looking. Henrik's arm brushes past one of the weeping dark trees, just close enough to get some of the liquid on him.

'Oh,' he stops running. Jamie takes out his pocket handkerchief and wipes it away for him, smiling sympathetically. 

"Let's hope it was quick enough," he signs. "Do you feel okay?"

'Fine, let's keep going,' he turns back around and keeps running. When they arrive, he sees Chase in tears and it takes every ounce of self control in his body not to hug him and tell him that everything's fine. That would be a lie anyway.

'I can do CPR, I know first aid,' he says, somewhat sluggishly.

'Hen, are you okay? You look a little pale,' Chase asks tentatively.

'I'm fine, we need to help-' he collapses. 'Okay, maybe I'm not fine. I'm not the problem though.'

Yeah, Keiran also dragged Chase with him. Bring a large stick.

'Now, now, don't get all pissy,' Keiran looks disgruntled.

'Well maybe if you helped them, they wouldn't be,' Chase screams at him. 'This is getting out of hand!'

'Hey!' Keiran snaps, eyes turning dark. 'I've seen this all before, kid. Don't you forget it. If you know how to help them, by all means go ahead. This situation is bigger than just you. There are other things that need to be taken care of, so if you'll excuse me,' he storms off.

'Wait, you're just going to leave them here?' Chase asks.

'There ain't much else I can do here, kid. I'll be back.' He vanishes from sight.

"Well, we're f*cked," Jamie signs. Henrik emits a groan as he tries to stand.

'Woah, woah, woah,' Chase rushes over and places a steadying hand on his chest. 'What happened to you, you look really ill?'

'I touched that dark red stuff, but we got it off quickly. Whatever happened to the others didn't happen to me, though. I haven't passed out yet and I haven't started bleeding yet either. Come on, we've got to get them breathing again.' Chase lets him go and he stumbles a few more steps towards the "sleeping" boys.'

'Henrik, you can't right now, who knows what could happen to you.'

'Well I've got to help them somehow,' he grimaces, bending over and panting with his arms on his thighs.

"I agree with the puppy dog, Keiran needs a large stick to be whacked with. Why'd he leave us like that," Jamie ponders.

'Chase?' Henrik mumbles softly, curling even further in on himself.

'Yeah, what is it?'

'I can't see. My vision has gone really blurry. What's happening to me?' He sounds upset.

'Hey, it's okay. It'll come back once we fix the problem with the other guys. You just sit there and stay calm.'

'No, I need to be useful,'

'What can we even do though?'

Okay, just let me make sure i've got a handle on things. Jackie and Chase were in the woods, Jackie passed out, Keiran dragged Chase away and left Jackie, and the two found Anti and Marvin, which is where Chase, Henrik, and Jamie are now. Keiran and Jackie are elsewhere in the woods. Is that right?

'I believe they dragged the little hero further into the forest. All of this year's little pawns are in one place! Isn't this exciting!' The entity cries with glee. 'And Keiran, yes, he's out there somewhere too. Exactly what he's doing is unbeknownst to me.'

For fucks sake, Keiran, what kind of a counselor are you? FIRST AID. GET MARVIN BREATHING.

tw: blood

You call out to Keiran, but something shields him from view.

 ''Well I guess he's out of the picture," Jamie signs sadly.

'They're right, we've got to get him breathing,' Chase says.

'I know CPR,' Henrik croaks from his position in Chase's arms.

'But you can't do it right now Hen, you could go there too at any moment.'

"Why don't you tell us how?" Jamie signs. Chase gets the gist of his movements and relays it to Henrik.

'Yeah, okay. That could work. First, you've got to tilt his head back a little. Put your hand on his forehead.' Jamie does so, while Chase continues to hug his friend. 'Now pinch his nose shut and breathe into his mouth twice. Press his chest down 30 times then repeat,' Henrik finishes, beginning to clutch at Chase's arm.

'What's going on?' Chase asks him.

'I don't want to fall asleep, Chase,' Henrik looks up at him with unseeing eyes, before coughing up a small amount of crimson and going limp.

'He's out,' Chase tells Jamie. 'Do it.' Jamie follows Henrik's instructions on Marvin, but it's no use. His extremely slow breathing pattern continues.'

SALT. SOMEONE GET SALT

Oh, you think this is funny? You think this is some halloween joke? Wake up, asshole, this is real life torture,' Anti roars over the noise of the Weaver wisps. He and Jamie have linked arms, trying to shelter Marvin from them.  

'How much longer can you stand it?' Jackie yells to him.

'I don't know. I'm used to it, but you aren't. We've gotta get out of here. And soon,' Anti replies. A particularly strong Weaver hits them both hard across the backs, and they fall forward onto Marvin. All they can do for now is hug his barely breathing body and hope. Hope to make it out alive.

Hey uh. Warehouse. You said you wanted Marvin alive right? Long term oxygen deprivation like you're putting him through can cause serious brain damage. Could you let him breathe more often please?

'Oh, is that so? You humans really are weaker than I thought. Fine, I'll let him breathe freely. But that doesn't mean I'm happy about it. No, you owe me some fun later on.' The entity recoils itself from Marvin's trachea and he gasps a breath. Then another. 'I'll find a way to have my fun, darlings. I'll have it on my own time.'

If any of you have a means of communication, call the other counselors and get them to bring salt. Or scream really loudly and don't forget to scream for salt. I think there's a demon in your midst.

"Salt, huh?" Jamie signs. "Doesn't that only work for physical stuff? This is clearly within their heads."

'But it does give me an idea,' Chase realises, Gently laying Henrik down and placing his puffa jacket underneath his head.

"What? Pepper?" 

'Huh? I didn't learn that word,' Chase sighs apologetically.

"Doesn't matter, what's the idea?"

'We pray!' Chase exclaims. 'Spirituality seems to be what the good voices are suggesting.'

"No offense Chase, but I'm not religious. It isn't really the time for that."

'No, I know, neither am I,' Chase hurriedly explains. 'But the spirit of Robbie or whatever! We can't rule out the possibility, dude.'

"Up until the last word, you sounded like Henrik," Jamie smiles. "It's worth a shot."

'So do we kneel down? Or what.' Just as Chase asks, Marvin's chest begins to rise and fall in uneven gasps which eventually return to a normal speed. 'Woah, it's working already? Come on, lets ask him.'

Dear Robbie, please return our friends to the waking world, we would rather appreciate it, Cheers, Jameson Jackson. Jamie thinks, closing his eyes. In his head, he likes to give himself a strong British accent. Like you'd imagine the silent film actors to have. It makes him laugh sometimes. Chase does the same in his head, and when they open their eyes, they don't communicate, only sitting down to keep their vigil. Nothing to do but wait.

Henrik, can you hear us? Don't respond verbally, just nod or something if you can.

Henrik's fingers twitch just a little. He can still move his body with a little effort, but his mind is somewhere else. A dim lilac light surrounds him, and he feels peaceful. Like the love he feels three times a year is submerging him completely. His head still feels foggy, so it takes a second to remember what's going on.

'Hello? I need to get back to my friends, they're in danger,' he calls out into the light. To his surprise, he received an answer.

'Workin on it,' a warm voice replies, croaky but soft. 'Don't you worry, just relax. I'm decontaminating you now.'

'But..'

'Chill. Just do me a favour, come visit my grave, okay?' The warm void asks. 'Good luck, dude.' It leaves, allowing Henrik alone with his thoughts, revelling in the loving atmosphere. 

'Robbie?' He calls out into the void, but whoever it was is gone. 'Huh, that's a story to tell Käse,’ is his last thoughts before he fully drifts off to a thoughtless sleep.

Robbie? I don't know if this'll get through to you, but if it does, thank you so much for looking after Henrik. We'll do our best to keep all six of them safe.

‘Hey, it's cool. Thanks,’ you can't see him, but you can tell there's a hint of a smile in his voice. ‘I care about these kids and so do you. I think I can get the Crimson out of Henrik, that's why he went under so slowly, but we're just going to have to watch over the others. We're both the voices in their heads now. I wasn't.. the best person in life, but maybe I can make up for it now. I hope I can. I'm going to try and help the other three, good luck.’

Listen Kieran, I get snappy when stressed too. But you can't just abandon a bunch of 13 year olds in the middle of a potentially life threatening situation. What exactly requires your attention more than them? If you're going back to help with the rafts, don't bother. They've gone to find their friends. I suggest you go back to the group because more of them are in the warehouse now. Maybe grab another understanding counselor who can handle this more responsibly than you right now then go?

'Listen up, buttercup,' Keiran fumes. 'You think I don't know they're in danger? You don't think I'm not scared out of my mind for them? No, you're right, I shouldn't have snapped, but I was going to leave them anyway. What could I have done? You wanted me to hold their hands? Tell them everything's going to be okay? As a general rule, I don't make a habit of lying to kids. Besides, they have Brody jr, they'll be fine. Ish.' He is heading away from the rest of camp, pushing his way anticlockwise around the lake. It's not yet lunch, so he goes undiscovered. After a while, he calms down enough to speak again.

'For your information, dear wisp, I'm going to sort this whole clusterf*ck out, since clearly no one else is going to. He keeps pushing through the grass.

'Going somewhere, Keiran?' An amiable voice comes from the bushes behind him. He freezes. 'Are you talking to yourself again?' The voice's owner comes out from behind a tall rock.

'Thomas,' Keiran blushes. 'What brings you out here at this time of day. Shouldn't you be helping out with the rafts?'

'Do you know, I could just about ask you the same question.'

'I was just going to check on the.. Buoys!' Keiran bluffs, wincing at the obvious lie, owing to the fact that there is no buoy. To his surprise, Thomas coolly replies,

'So was I. Well, off you go.' He turns away back to camp without another word, leaving Keiran with more questions than answers.

'What was that about?' He asks you, shaking his head and scaling the rock, jumping down the other side to the lake's second bay.

Would you care to give us a rough estimate of how many players there are? I'm sure there are some the boys are not aware of. Also, do you have a name? I've been calling you Warehouse Entity because I haven't had anything else to go off of. I don't know if there is something else I should be calling you. - Crimson ;)

'Oh crimson, I am so terribly delighted,’ the entity gasps. 'You do know exactly which questions to ask, don't you? Oh yes, I am most pleased that you of all people are joining my chess game. A fine opponent. But the players? No, no, no, I'm afraid that that information would rather… compromise the lives of a few. We don't want that now, do we. As for names, I have many. This here? It's a chess game I've been playing for far too long. They call me the King collector, rather fitting indeed I believe. Be careful, my Crimson knight, the dark tiles belong to me. Choose your moves carefully, by all means, but I believe that this is a game with a timer. Tick tock.’

what kind of game are you playing and why? what's the point of all this? what exactly are you gaining from messing with a bunch of children, oh great king collector? also, how long have you been doing this? it must be a while if this has happened before.

'Ooh, yellow’s trying to intimidate me,’ it's howling speech turns shrill and mocking. ‘Yes, I've been here a long time. The warehouse called to me, and so I made it my home. I was content to stay here, peaceful, untouched.’ It almost sounds bitter. 'But alas, the garden wall had holes. The dogs got in. And now, my knights are here. My dark knights. Weaver wisps, if you will. I have spent so long here alone, anything is part of my game. Which of course brings me to your other question, little yellow. Fun! Of course there are other key factors, but one would not lay out their pieces if it were not amusing to them. That's why you're here watching, after all. All we need is a little fun. The game is long, and I know every manoeuvre. Your turn.’

Jamie, Chase, has Henrik's situation changed at all? Try waking him up now.

'Hen? Are you here?’ Chase kneels beside him, a hand on his cheek. Slowly, before their eyes, the crimson liquid which had crusted down his face and in Chase's bare arms begins to turn a lighter colour.

'Käse?’ Henrik splutters, coughing up a little more of the almost lilac substance. He chokes for a few seconds, before lying down again, this time with his head resting on Chase's knees. ‘It's gone, he took it away, he's gone into the dark now,’ he tells Chase desperately.

'Hey, it's okay,’ Chase tries to soothe him. 'Keiran’s gone to fix it. That's why you're awake. Just relax, bro.

’No, it was him.’ Henrik's eyes return to the glassy state that they were in earlier, but he doesn't bleed, nor does he have any other signs of the dark dream. 'He was nice. Warm.’

'Who was?’ Chase asks, gently smoothing his friend’s hair down.

'He was purple. Felt safe,’ Henrik trails off. 'He felt safe like you,’ his eyes shut again, and he falls back asleep, this time less unnaturally. 

'Hen, wake up!’ Jamie comes closer, shaking his shoulders. No response.

‘Whatever reason he's asleep, I don't think it's a bad one. He seems clear of that other stuff, anyway. Now it's just those three,’ the two boys turn their attention back to the sleepers.

Robbie, were you aware of anyone else who was affected by the Warehouse while you were at camp? Maybe it's because Chase and his friends are being a little reckless at times with this but there are now 4 people who have seen the Warehouse, two of which hadn't been at risk before arrival at camp. Did something similar happen a few years ago?

tw: death

All you can see is a light purple mist, floating through the dark trees. 

'Oh.’ Your question stops Robbie in his tracks. 'I-I can't,’ he takes a “breath.” Or his own equivalent, anyway. 'My memory is a little hazy around that point. I died, I know that. It tricked me, made me come. I  was already dealing with the voices before. So was he. He was.. He was..’ he falters. 'WHY DON'T I REMEMBER HIS NAME?’ He screams in an otherworldly noise. ‘I'm sorry, I can't see those memories. I've tried and tried and tried. Ask him. You'll know his name. Now, what was I doing? Oh yeah, saving the others. I'm sorry I can't help you more.’ He disappears from view.

Is there anything we can do to help you help the others, Rob? (And the other person you were talking about, was his name Angus? Angus Brody?)

tw: suicide mention?

'Oh, Angus! Oh I miss Angus so much. We had so many plans, so many places to see, how could I have forgotten him?' Bright blue and green swirls jump through the lilac mist. 'But no, he never had them. He was uninfected, right to the end. It was him, with his necklace and his salt. And later on, the hoodie boy too. And after that, another, or was it two? Oh, I did so many bad things. I let them get the best of me. In the end, I think the lake was the best thing that happened to me that last year.' He stops speaking for a while. 'But it is so nice to talk to you. Until now I've only had visitor. I don't remember his name either. Help me? Your voices alone do that much. It is nice to have more white pieces in the forest.'

Are you able to get through to the others, Robbie?

He doesn't reply, instead condensing the lilac mist with some difficulty into the shape of a boy in his late teens, sweater eternally soaked, and hair still floating around his head as though submerged underwater. A few meters ahead of them, Anti and Jackie are still leant over Marvin, protecting him as the Weaver wisps attack them. Robbie walks towards them, arms outstretched.

'Who are you?' Jackie calls out to him.

'A friend,' Robbie offers, standing in front of Marvin. The wisps take no notice for a while, but all of a sudden, his shape unbinds from the figure of a human, and he creates a dome of the same lilac mist. The boys look around in surprise.

'What's happening to us now?' Anti wonders aloud.

'Hurry, you need to wake up!' Robbie's voice echoes. 

'We don't know how,' Marvin's groggy voice comes from the floor. Anti immediately grabs him in a hug.

'Ah, well you'd better work it out fast. Or I'd better remember.'

Robbie, could you be thinking of Kieran by chance?

'Keiran? Hmm. Oh, Finchy! He was certainly there. Definitely with us. He might have been around, maybe,' he sounds unsure. 'Maybe if I could remember I'd be more helpful. I'm so sorry.' 

He takes a moment to reposition himself, still protecting the boys from harm. 'Wait, I have seen him. He's like visitor, only different. He comes sometimes, I see him. Oh, how I wish I could apologise, I've done so much wrong.'

Great to meet you too, Robbie. Sorry to keep needling you, but we're kinda in a crisis right now. There's three boys being attacked by Weavers. Could you help them? Or if you can't, please give us info we could use? Again, sorry to keep asking for things but you know. Children in mortal peril.

'Yes, of course! These three children here, right? Or are there more disasters happening this year than the regular amount,' he laughs to himself, before remembering the situation. 'Right, how did I used to leave the warehouse? This memory, I can still recall, black tiles and all of that. Erm, there's the trapdoor inside, but if you aren't already in, I'm not sending you. Oh! I know, you've got to blackout.'

'Black out? Marvin asks, wheezing a little. 'I've been unconscious and barely breathing for ages, do you see me back in the real world?'

'This is real,' Robbie sounds hurt. 'I'm real, aren't I?'

'Yes, no, I don't know,' Marvin snaps. 'Please just explain what you mean quickly, I don't feel great.'

'Alright so, you've got to blackout, not black out. As in let the black wisps touch your brain.'

'You're f*cking kidding!' Anti exclaims.

'I'm not. While the king collector is awake, the only way to get out is to let the voices back into your head. The other problem is, while the king collector is awake, the weaver wisps become physical. But that's okay! Because I'm a sieve.'

'A what?' Jackie asks.

'A sieve! I can filter out the physical parts and only let the mental bits in. It will hurt a little though, so get ready for some light screaming.'

'Wait, it'll hurt us?'

'No, you'll be fine, aside from the voices. I, personally, will have the force of a hydraulic press crushing me,' he says cheerfully. 'Good luck!' 

Streams of dark fog cut through Robbie's mist form, heading towards the boys. As each reaches their head, they pass out there, and awaken in the forest.

I don't know if this relevant to you but one of the counsellors (Keiran) has been keeping an eye on the boys. He has made some ill-advised judgment calls but he is the most understanding of the warehouse situation that we've met so far. That is probably better than someone whose dismissal of the truth could put the boys at greater risk of being tricked the same way you were. Thank you for all your help so far. How are the remaining infected boys doing? Can you see them yet?

'Ah, Finchy. Silly Finchy,' Robbie muses. He's lying in the forest in his 'human' form, though parts of him are missing. He looks tired and he twirls a dead flower between his fingers. The patch of earth he lays on is covered in a thin layer of leaves being hit by sunlight, and at the head of it is a stone. It reads: 

Robert Necas. 

Beloved friend and son.

'A rock can't move a mountain, but a mountain can't move a rock either.'

'Yes, Finchy never quite knew how to handle it. Maybe we should have told him more sooner. Maybe then he wouldn't have had to search for the information all by himself.' He twirls the flower more fiercely between his bone white fingers. This is a calmer Robbie than the one you saw in the warehouse. One that, if Chase were here, he'd recognise immediately. 'Do you like my flower? Angus gave it to me a long while ago. A lilac! Means family, I think. It used to be so pretty and purple, but it died. He never came back to give me another, so this one has to do. Sometimes if I twirl it just the right way, it looks almost new again.' He chuckles to himself. 'Ghost flower, zombie flower, just like me,' his eyes light up as he watches it spin. 'Zombie flower for zombie boy.'

'Those three? They're back on the white tiles now, just like me. I suppose you'll be wanting to talk to them instead. I don't mind, go. Come visit me sometime, though? It's very lonely out here.'

Oh good lord that looks like it hurt. Thank you Robbie, sincerely.

tw: gore

'Oh, you're still here?' He looks pleasantly surprised. 'Yeah, I don't think I can go back in there for a while. It's strange, the king collector being awake here and now. But it's good to know that I helped out, right? Was one of those kids Angus's youngest brother, I can't quite remember what he looked like. I'll heal, see look, I'm already growing back parts.' He holds up his arm, where a large gash is pulsating with a lilac light. Slowly but surely, his pale transparent flesh is growing back.

'Like a plant when you take off a leaf, right? Zombie flower boy. Always blooms again eventually,' he smiles softly. 'Thanks for stopping by.'

I'm glad you're all okay for now. And don't worry, I'm sure we'll visit you when we next get the chance. Things will have to calm down for even a minute, eventually, right? Maybe we can find some lilacs for you too. Bye for now, Robbie.

'Lilacs? For me?' Robbie grins widely. 'Oh Crimson, that does sound wonderful. Yes! Bring back the kids to see me if you can, in a calm moment. I'd like to know they're okay. I'd like to remember their faces. I'd like to remember anyone's faces. I don't remember my best friend's faces and I hate it. If only they'd left me a picture, a note, something. I don't even remember their names most days. It Kills me. Again.' He's too morose to even laugh at his own joke. 'Thanks for coming, but you're probably better off talking to someone who's alive. Someone of use. Goodbye for now, Crimson. Promise to visit?'

Are you boys okay? Are the other three waking up??

tw: panic attack, vomit mention

Jackie, Anti, and Marvin wake up within seconds of each other. Marvin immediately begins to splutter and clutch at his throat, gasping for air.

'Woah, are you okay?' Chase disentangles himself from Henrik, who is still sleeping, and kneels beside Marvin. Marvin nods, massaging his throat and taking shaky breaths. Anti sits up beside him and tentatively rubs his back.

'It's okay, it doesn't have you anymore, it's just your brain telling you it has you. Take deep breaths.'

'Could I get some music?' He asks desperately.

'Uh, where's the mp3 player?'

'Shit, I think it's still in the other bit of the forest from Wednesday.' Marvin's  breathing gets faster.

'What happened? What's wrong with him?' Jamie signs.

'That entity blocked his lungs, stopped him from breathing for a while,' Jackie explains. 'It let go for some reason, though.'

'I think I'm going to be sick,' Marvin curls up, on the verge of hyperventilating.

'What do we do?' Anti looks worried. 'Is the entity still in him?'

'No, I know what's happening.' Chase kneels down beside him. 'Marvin, can you hear me? What do you need?'

'I need it to stop!' He cries. 'I need a distraction.'

'Alright, they're gonna work on it, but you're going to do something with me now, okay?' 

Marvin nods.

'Okay, breathe in through your nose for four seconds.' Chase does it, and Marvin copies him. 'And hold it for 7.' Marvin gets about three seconds in before going back to hyperventilating.

'I can't.'

'It's fine, you can. You're doing really well. We're going to try again, okay?' As Chase talks to Marvin, Anti and Jackie try to work out a distraction for him.

'What do we do, man? I don't know how to distract him.'

'Neither do I,' Anti admits. 

'Well we've gotta think of something.'

You're doing great, Marvin. Just keep trying to focus on your breathing. And guys, while I'm sure his MP3 player would really help him right now, I wouldn't advise you to go looking for it. I feel it would be too risky to search the forest for it.

'Okay, okay,' he gasps for breath.

'Remember. 3.' They breathe in. '7,' they hold it. '8,' they breathe out. Marvin's breath catches on a sob, and it sends him into another round of hyperventilation. 

'What if it didn't let go. It's choking me! It's got me.' He clutches at his throat.

'No, no, you're fine, it hasn't got you. You're doing well, Marvin, you can get through it.'

'I can't handle them without my music but we can't get it. It'll come back, they'll all come back. They'll rip me apart,' he wails.

'It's okay,' Chase reassures him again. 'We just gotta get your breathing under control then you'll feel a whole lot better. We've just got to take your mind off of it somehow.'

could one of you sing him something? or recite a poem, or something? just anything to take his mind off it

'Yeah, okay. We can do that,' Jackie nods. 'Anti, you know Marvin, right? What does he like?'

'He likes poetry, but I can't remember it right now. Uh, music. Showtunes, set it off, mother mother,' he trails off.

'I know mother mother mother,' Jackie offers. 'Jamie learnt some of it on the drums, right?' Jamie nods from his place on the floor next to Henrik. 'Okay, what song.'

'What song, Marv?' Anti asks genty, leaning down to him.

'Any, please just do it,' Marvin clenches his teeth.

'It's alright, you're going to be fine,' he reassures him.

'Hey, that's a song, isn't it?' Jackie realises.

'Oh, shit, yeah it is! Let's do it I guess.'

'Hey, I had a night, I had a day, I did one million stupid things..' Jackie forgets the next line.

'I said one billion foolish things, I'm not okay,' Anti adds.

'I got a baseball bat beside my bed, to fight off what's inside my head..' they keep singing. While they do, Chase taps the 3,7,8 rhythm out onto Marvin's sweaty palm. Eventually, his breathing becomes slow enough to stop the worst of it.

'How about we get out of the forest, huh?' Anti suggests. Marvin doesn't reply, he only nods his head stiffly, teeth still clenched tight. He stands up shakily, leaning on Chase and Anti for support. When he's on his feet, Chase leaves him with Anti and goes to Henrik's side. He still isn't awake yet, so Chase tries to pick him up, failing. Jamie comes over and grabs him beneath the neck and knees, and hoists him up. Chase grabs one of his hands as it dangles down, remembering the sincerity of when he had said the words, "Safe, like you." Jackie walks behind them, checking the trees behind them as they walk, watching out for any noise. Not one of them feels safe under the cover of the treetops anymore.

you guys definitely need to stay away from the forest and the lake for now. that entity seems like it will stop at nothing to mess with you guys, and i don't think we know what it wants with you yet so it'd be good to keep a distance

‘Yeah, you're right,’ Anti agrees, arm around Marvin. 'I think we gotta just go back to the cabin. Whatever Keiran's doing, he can come find us with it afterwards.' No one puts up any form of argument, so they keep walking past the rafting beach and down to the boathouse.

'Why'd it choose us?' Chase ponders, kicking at a rock. 'We didn't do anything to it.'

'I don't think that's a question we can answer right now,' Jackie sighs. 'Look at us, three of us just spent the morning in the warehouse, Marvin's music is gone, Henrik's out of action, and our only adult ally abandoned us for something 'more important' that he had to do.'

'Not in the warehouse,' Henrik blinks his eyes open groggily. Chase releases his hand, blushing.

'What do you mean?'

'The lilac boy. He said you could go inside it like a building and there's a trapdoor. He told the friendly ghosts, but I was still floating in his bubble so I heard him.' 

'Are you okay, dude?' Chase asks. 'Is the dark stuff still on you somewhere?'

'No, I'm fine. He got it off.'

'Dude, when Jamie wiped it off, it wasn't fast enough, remember? You went under.'

'No, he got it out. Robbie. I think that not having the infection up here,' he points at his head. 'Has given me a regular infection.'

Jackie steps forwards and feels his forehead. 'Yeah, man, I think you're sick. Should we tell someone?'

'Leave it for half an hour and see if it goes away,' Henrik pleads. 'I don't want to bother them for nothing.'

'Alright, we're almost back anyway. If it doesn't go away in half an hour, we're taking you to the counsellor's cabin, okay?'

'Fine.'

Keiran, we were able to meet Robbie in the warehouse. He says he regrets not telling you more about the situation that summer. He misses you and remembers you fondly. I don't know if you wanted that information passed on to you or not so... it's there if you want it.

You catch him as he's returning from whatever he was doing in the second bay. 

'Oh, you saw him?' He stops in his tracks. 'He never appeared to me, but I guess I suspected that he was still around.' He keeps walking along until the rest of the messages sink in.

'Wait, you said he misses me? Remembers me fondly? No, that can't be right. He hates me. I was the outsider to them, and I couldn't help them in time. It was my fault so many bad things happened.' He stops walking again, lowering his head. 'I could have saved them if I'd been smarter. Could have had friends and gone off to college. Could have driven round damn Australia with them if I had wanted, but I had to go and be cautious.' He raises his head and you can see his eyes are watery. 'I regret telling him not telling me more too, every damn day of my life. Maybe ignorance is bliss, but knowing more would have made everyone a little more happy, a little more alive. So now I'm here, counsellor by summer, park ranger any other time of the year. Stuck by this damn lake trying to learn enough so innocents don't die. If you see Robbie again, tell him I remember him fondly too. Tell him I'm open to talk any time. Have been for years.'

Hey Keiran, I know we've been kinda harsh on you today. I'm sure you feel overwhelmed and in over your head with this. So sorry about that. Have you found what you went looking for? The boys are awake. Marvin's quite freaked out but his friends are keeping an eye on him and trying to calm him down.

'Oh, so now you're not tearing my head off?' He asks bitterly. 'It's fine, I guess. I'm used to it. Overwhelmed? I lost the right to be overwhelmed three years ago. I've been in over my head for so long that I've just had to learn to swim up, wipe the salt out of my eyes and move on. I have a job to do, and since none of the others are doing it, it's mine alone. Well, I guess there's good old mountain boy. Drops round and keeps me company now and again, but the others? No, they just moved on with their lives to let me take care of it. Guess what? I'M SICK OF IT! Keiran do this, Keiran do that, Keiran that was irresponsible, Keiran, move on. Oh, trust me, I'd love nothing more.' He seethes with rage. 'Yes, I found it, thanks for asking. Now it's time for me to go and calm down those stupid kids because they clearly can't grasp what 'stay out of danger' means.'

they're trying to help themselves because you won't explain anything to them, kieran. and i think the influence of this entity is spreading, it seems to be appearing in more parts of the forest. have you really been doing this for three years?

'Yeah,' he sighs. 'I guess I'm being a little hypocritical about not telling them, but I don't know if what I know is correct! I've studied this thing for almost three years now, but they've all been outside experiences. They've been in the warehouse gardens already more than I have. And you're right, it's spreading. All they've whispered to me all day is 'Something's waking up. Something bigger than before.' I've got to keep my distance from them. You've seen me! 10 months of the year, I'm alone. I don't know how to stay calm, especially around this stuff. No, I can do more work from the background. If there's something I think will help them, I'll give it to them, but otherwise I've got to keep on the outside. They can't trust me completely, it would ruin their self sufficiency.' He slinks through the trees, edging around anywhere he could be spotted and cutting his own path back to the cabins. 

'Three years? Yeah. I was seventeen when I came here. A few weeks shy of my 18th birthday. Not that my parents cared. My sister probably did but I never bothered to write. Better for them to get used to radio silence if I'm messing around with something known to kill, right? Jack's a good guy. He lets me stay in the big cabin during the year for free if I keep up the maintenance. Sometimes I climb up into the hills and stay up there for a week or two. I built my very own house up there, you know?' His eyes light up. 'It may be the only thing I leave behind once I'm gone, but I'm damn proud if it is. Keiran Finch, wilderness extraordinaire,' he laughs. 'No, that was always Angus. I could still dream, though.' He rubs at his neck, more out of habit than anything else. 'It was almost all worth it for that one summer. Almost.'

hey keiran, you don't have to answer this, but what's with the scars on your neck? just wondering

tw: scars, self harm, gore

He pulls his scarf around his neck instinctively. 'I don't have to answer that,' he replies tersely, before sighing. 'Fine, I guess I might as well. We all have scars from that night. Chase probably told you Angus lost an eye, right? Robbie tore it right out of his face on the boat that night. I can't imagine it, he did that to his best friend in desperation. Makes you wonder what made him that crazy, huh?' He furrows his brow. 'No, I'm doing, what was it my therapist used to call it? Deflection.' He laughs. 'My scars? They're from that night too. It wasn't Robbie who gave them to me, though. Here, take a look,' he unwraps his scarf carefully, revealing the two main scars to be great strips, where something had dug into him. By the looks of them, it seems they probably extend under his shirt as well. On top of them, small silver lines run jaggedly and vertically. 

'The big ones are from that night. The fingernails? They've been added to in the time since. I know it isn't healthy, but it's how I cope sometimes.' He wraps the scarf back around himself. 'I won't go any further into either variety.'

Look, Keiran, I'll be frank with you. I still don't trust you 100% after some of what you've done. But it's becoming clear you're not a bad guy. And hey, I was a camp counselor too! Maybe we can bond over shitty stories.

'I appreciate the honesty. If I'm honest? I wouldn't trust me either.' He breaks out of the tree line and starts towards the green-roofed cabin. 'Oh, another counsellor, huh? You really are weird wisps, I didn't think you could have lives outside of, ya know, telling us shit psychically. Yeah, that'd be nice! Holy f*ck do teenagers do stupid stuff.' He climbs the stairs towards the cabin, before pausing. 'Is there anything I should be aware of first?'

If by "anything I should be aware of first" you mean camp stories, there is the time I got pissed on three nights in a row. If you mean, "any other crazy shit" we have been catching glimpses of someone messing around the warehouse, knocking and maybe waking something up? Idk

'Ooh, I look forward to hearing that one,' Keiran laughs. 'Unfortunately, I was referring to the latter. That would make sense, this is the first year things have started to change. I'll check it out later.' He opens the door. Almost everyone is laid out in their beds, with the exception of Chase, who sits on the floor beside Henrik reading, and Marvin, who is engaged in a card game on Anti's bed.

'Keiran!' Chase sees him first, placing his book down. 'Where did you go?'

'I was doing something somewhere else to help you,' he avoids the question.

'It really couldn't have waited?' Anti asks coldly. Keiran goes to snap in response, but remembers what you said about Marvin being freaked out and catches himself just in time.

'I can assure you it was, kid. Don't forget I've been doing this a long time.' Anti narrows his eyes, but says nothing. 'So, you got out?'

'Obviously.'

'Hey, what happened to him?' Keiran points at Henrik.

'We don't know, I think he's sick? Apparently Robbie cured him of whatever  that dark stuff is.' Chase offers. 

'Oh no,' Keiran crosses the room and feels his forehead.

'Wait, why 'oh no'?' Chase asks worriedly.

'I've seen this happen before. If you somehow get rid of the presence, it causes a type of sickness.'

'Bad?' Jackie questions.

'Depends on how long they were infected in the first place. How long was it between the time he touched it and the time he was disinfected?'

"No longer than half an hour," Jamie signs. Jackie tells Keiran. 

'Alright, it shouldn't be that bad. We need to take him to the sick bay,' Keiran scoops him up.

'Huh?' Henrik's eyelids flutter. 'Where are we going?'

'We're taking you to fix you up, kid.' 

'No, I'm fine, I promise!' He protests in a voice too weak to possibly convince anyone. Keiran leads all of them through the main hall and up the counsellor's staircase, into the room Anti spent his second night in. He lays Henrik down on the bed and searches around for a thermometer, when another set of footsteps come thundering up the stairs. 

'Hide, all of you but Brody,' he points to the space behind the door and the cupboard, which the others hide in. Jack comes in through the door.

'Keiran, what's going on,' he asks.

'Henrik felt unwell, I think he has a fever. Just settling him in, boss.'

'You know the policy, we've gotta send him home.'

'He's a code green, though.'

'Oh. Alright. Do you mind handling it? I just came in here to fetch the trophy for the races.' He backs out of the door without waiting for a response. Jackie and Marvin tumble out of the cupboard, and Jamie and Anti step out from behind the door.

'Code green?' Anti asks.

'Nothing you need to worry about. Now, you guys need to get out of here before someone else comes along. I'll come and talk to you at dinner.' He dismisses them with a wave of his hand. Marvin hangs back. 'Hey, what's up?'

Marvin whispers something in his ear. 

'Sure thing, let me finish up with this then I'll find something,' he smiles at Marvin, who takes a seat on the chair in the corner. The others leave without a word.

what did you ask kieran, marv? also, are you guys all ok? that must have been pretty goddamn traumatising, not gonna lie.

Marvin looks embarrassed. 'I need something from in here,' he admits. 'That rescue remedy stuff. I used to get really bad anxiety but I haven't had it for years. Now I don't have my music, it's probably better to be on the safe side.' 

'Here you go, kid,' Keiran fishes a small yellow spray bottle out of the back of the cupboard and hands it to Marvin. 'I guess you'll be wanting to go back to the cabin now.' Marvin hesitates.

'Could I stay here for a while? If it's not too much trouble?'

'Sure?' Keiran raises his eyebrows. 'I'm not exactly great company.'

'That's fine! I mean I'm sure you are. It's just I really don't want to talk to the others right now. All they'll be discussing is what to do next and what this means for us. They won't want to talk about what actually happened. I just want to think it through, not push it aside.'

Keiran's face softens. He looks more sympathetic than you've seen him before. 'Yeah, of course. I get that. Hey, once I've finished sorting out Henrik, you can tell me about it if you want.'

'Yeah, that would be nice, thanks.'

 Back in the cabin, Marvin's predictions are correct. No one is discussing anything even vaguely related to the morning's events. No one wants to think about it. Chase, Jackie, and Jamie are sitting on Chase's bunk, trying to teach him more sign language. Anti sits on his own bed, curled up in the corner, going between playing solitaire and staring off into space. Occasionally, he looks behind himself to make a remark to Marvin before remembering he isn't there. He feels wrong, like something inside himself has been twisted and bent out of shape, and he doesn't know how to fix it. As soon as they arrived back, Jamie checked him for marks, or some physical evidence of the weaver wisp attack. He found none. Both him and Jackie agree that the scars are still there, though. On the inside.

'You got that much right. Pretty f*cking terrifying.' Anti mumbles. 'I never want to feel like that again in my life. Are we doing okay? Maybe. I don't think that's a question anyone's really ready to answer.'

It's fine to not be okay guys. That's perfectly understandable, given the circumstances. However, it might be good to face what happened now instead of ignoring it to focus on your next move. It will suck (maybe try do it gradually) but it will be healthier in the long run than denial and repression. Trust me, it will suck even more when days/weeks' worth of this springs up on you all in one go.

Everyone stops for a second. Finally Jackie mumbles, 'I think they have a point.'

'Okay, but how? How are we supposed to focus on that?' Anti asks. 

'Maybe we all say something about it? Like what we felt and shit,' Jackie suggests quietly, blushing.

'Hey, no that's a good idea,' Chase says. 'Let's do it.'

'So what, are we all going to sit in a little circle on the floor?' Anti laughs. 'Share how we feel.'

'No, we can keep sitting where we are, but we are going to do what they say and face what happened.'

"Can I start?" Jamie signs. "Chase would you mind speaking it out loud?"

'I can if you want,' Jackie offers. 'Chase doesn't know all of it.'

"You can fill in the gaps," Jamie suggests. "I'd rather Chase do it though."

'Alright, let's go then,' Chase agrees.

"I've been on the outside both times, and I don't like the feeling of not knowing what's going on, or being excluded from it, even if it's a terrible experience. I also hate the fact that I'm the oldest but it's you guys having to go through all of this stuff." Jamie signs it out. Chase knows just under half of the words, but manages to guess some and leaves the rest to Jackie.

'Yeah, I get what you're saying,' Chase nods.

'So do I,' Jackie agrees. 'I'm sorry you feel that way, man, maybe we should tell you more about what goes on after we wake up from the dark dream.'

"Thank you," Jamie smiles.

'Alright, me next?' Jackie asks nervously. Chase nods. 'That was my second time in there, but it was way scarier than last time. I couldn't control my body in the real forest with you, then when I woke up I was all alone. I heard a scream and I ran towards it but when I finally arrived, I just saw Marvin's body not moving and Anti crying over it.'

Anti hides his face in embarrassment, not that anyone can see him on his bunk.

'I was so sure he was dead,' Jackie continues. 'And I just felt so helpless, like they could come and kill me too. And those things were whispering things to me again as well as trying to chop us up into pieces. Before that purple guy came, I thought it was all over.' His voice breaks a little and Jamie pulls him into a hug like he did when they were little, and no one would doubt he was the protective big brother. 'You go,' he mumbles from against Jamie's shoulder.

'Well, things obviously weren't as bad for me because I was awake,' Chase begins, 'but I felt so bad anyway. You were freaking out, and then we had to leave you behind to find the others, and Marvin wasn't breathing when we got there. Then I snapped at Keiran and he left, and all I could think about was Shit, I've just driven away our only hope. Then Henrik collapsed as well when he arrived, and I felt like everything was going wrong and there was nothing I could do about it. I've only known you guys for a week, but you mean a lot to me. I wouldn't want to lose you.' The brothers give him a pat on the shoulder, and turn to look down at Anti.

'I can't,' he tells them regretfully. 'It feels wrong.' Chase thinks for a moment.

'Jamie can I borrow your notepad for a second?' He asks. Jamie hands it over with a pen, and Chase climbs down, handing it to Anti. 'Write it out in there. Rip the page out afterwards. You can put it in the campfire or tear it up into a million pieces if you want to after, but just write it out first, okay?'

'Okay,' Anti nods in agreement, taking the pen and beginning to write in a small, boxy scrawl. He fills up both sides of the page, tearing it out and handing the book back to Jamie. Walking outside, he holds it out to rip it, before deciding better of it and tucking it into his pocket instead.

you ok, anti? i get that sucked for you all but you've been hearing the voices longer and worse than most.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' he sighs, leaning on the banister. He pauses for a moment, weighing up his options. 'Alright, I'm not fine. I'm trying not to be angry, I really am. They're in my head, so I've got to deal with them somehow in a way which doesn't hurt other people. You saw them that first day, they treated me like I was inhuman! I gave up the false hope of camp being different from school a long time ago, but I feel like I've made progress now. They're my actual friends, but that's just because the voices left for a while, and we shared the same trauma. Once that subsides and things go back to normal, I'll go back to being the outsider. I'm unlovable under regular circumstances, broken. I don't know if there's a way to fix me, but if there is, I haven't found it yet.'

anti, you're not the outsider anymore. you guys have bonded now, and they genuinely like you! they just hadn't gotten to know you before, but they do now, and you're a good person. you're not alone anymore, bud :D

'You're sure?' He asks, hopefully. 'I really do hope so. I guess none of you voices have lied to me my whole life. Maybe you're allowed to tell me nice things too. We certainly have bonded, I guess, but we'll have to see about them genuinely liking me.'

'Hey Anti, are you coming back inside?' Chase calls. 'We're playing a game.'

'In a minute,' he replies.

. . .

 'Maybe you're right, yellow. Maybe you're right.'

ooh, what are you guys playing, then?

'I was thinking about playing whack dragon,' Chase grins.

'Oh, I see what's happening. You've finally gone completely mad,' Jackie slides down from Chase's bunk too, followed by his brother.

'No, trust me! It's a fun game where you wack people.'

'I'm down,' Anti shrugs.

'Okay. In absence of a chair, we're going to use the storage thing,' Chase drags it out. 'And in lieu of keys, we can use our tags.' He unwraps his own from his neck and holds out his hands for the rest of them.

'I'd rather not,' Jackie says sheepishly. The other two hand theirs over. Chase places them underneath the storage unit, then climbs on top of it, kneeling with his arms dangling down. 'I close my eyes and have to wack you before you steal my gold.'

'Gold?'

'I'm a dragon! You're thieves trying to steal my hoard,' he explains. 'Now get back to the wall so I can close my eyes.'

'Okay, sure,' they retreat to the door.

'Go!' Jackie immediately slides head first into the floor, penguin gliding to the 'dragon' who smacks him on the head. Jamie crawls around the back, snatching the 'gold' and taking his place on the pedestal. The game continues for half an hour, ending with everyone coated in a fine layer of dust.

Guys. You know what would be fun to play? Grounder. It was all the rage when I was younger

tw: knives

"Oh, Grounders! Do you mean the game where you close your eyes and have to tag people or get them out when you touch the ground?" Jamie signs. "Me and Jackie used to play that with our neighbours! You need a park for that though, don't you?"

'Yeah, or at least some more things to climb,' Jackie agrees.

'Hey guys,' Marvin pushes in the door, holding a picnic basket.

'Marv!' Anti sits up, smiling. 'You doing okay?'

'How's Henrik?' Chase adds.

'Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better,' he crosses the room and sits on the closest bed. 'Henrik, not so much. He has a fever so he's going to stay in there tonight and maybe tomorrow, but we'll see him.'

'Did you find out what code green was?'

'No, didn't ask,' he shrugs, making it clear that it isn't open for discussion. 'But, Keiran did give me this. He said to hide it somewhere.' Marvin places the basket of the overturned dresser. 

'What's in it?' Anti walks over to get a closer look.

'I dunno. Haven't opened it yet.'

'Let's have a look then,' Jackie undos the buckle and lifts the lid. Inside are two swiss army knives nestled in an old blanket. Marvin lifts the blanket out to reveal more things underneath. Several plastic packets of tissues, a set of candles, some matches, a bundle of bandages, and a smaller square box, around the length of Marvin's arm, and the height of a thick book, made from badly welded metal. Tied to it with a frayed piece of string, a hastily scrawled note reads, 'EMERGENCIES ONLY -K.'

'Well that's not cryptic or mysterious at all,' Jamie signs.

'At least we have some proper stuff for if anything weird happens,' Chase offers. Silently, they stand the dresser back up and push it against the wall, carefully removing the materials from the picnic basket, neatening them, and placing them on the shelf inside it. They push the picnic basket under Jamie's bed and stare at it in silence.

Good morning boys! Are the voices back? 

‘You know what? I don't think they are!’ Marvin practically skips back from the food hatch with his plate. 

‘So we can have a fun, normal, non-life threatening day?’ Henrik asks, already seated.

‘Hopefully.’

‘Great, I dibs raft racing,’ Chase grins. Anti looks to Jackie, who once again pales.

‘Yeah! Jackie can grab all of the heavy logs and stuff for it since he's the strongest guy here,’ he blurts out. Henrik, Chase and Marvin all raise their eyebrows at him, but Jackie gives him an appreciative look, so it's worth it anyway.

“We can't entirely just have fun,” Jamie points out. “Chase, you've got to tell us what you know about the Robbie incident.”

‘Aw, come on man. Can't we just enjoy a day by the lake first? I promise that I'll tell you all about everything later. We can even take a look at those photos and put them by the memorial if you want.’

‘Alright, sounds like a plan,’ Marvin agrees. ‘I was talking to red cabin at the fire last night and they said part of the end of week thing tomorrow was a big raft race. We've got to make the best one, obviously.’

‘And then we can get that guy from purple back for messing up my Henrik hair,’ Chase agrees. ‘Speaking of,’ he snatches his cap back and places it on his untidy hair, leaving Henrik's frizzy and wild.

‘So, anyone have any tips for building rafts? Or anything cool we could put on it?’ Jackie asks.

‘Custom chairs?’

‘A cannon!’

‘A flag pole with something green on!’

‘Any thoughts, oh mighty voices?’

Well, I was never that good at raft building etc when I was a Guide but... you want to make the floor is wide enough that if it tips a little due to the water lapping, it won't immediately capsize you or come close to it. That and making sure it can support your collective weight, obviously. If you have enough wood to do so, maybe build a second layer to your floor to strengthen it?

‘Ooh, a guide!’ Henrik says wistfully. I always wanted to join the DPSG, but there was never enough time in one place.’

‘So, we're building a thick boy?’ Chase asks from the back of the procession.

‘That's it. Speech privileges revoked for Mr. Brody. Go into the forest and get us wood,’ Henrik calls back.

‘Imprisoned for meme crimes,’ Jackie adds. ‘Come on, I'll join you.’

The path through the forest to one of the small patches of exposed sand is only a few meters away from where Marvin collapsed a day previously, yet none of them can feel anything out of the ordinary. When they arrive, a counsellor none of them has seen is waiting for them. 

‘Hey guys!’ He smiles warmly at them, snapping his suspenders with his thumbs. ‘I'm Phillip and today we're building a raft! I've got all of the wood and rope you need for a basic one, but if you want anything else you'll have to go find it.’

‘Yeah, we already assigned these two to find us cool forest stuff,’ Anti tells him.

‘Perfect! You can start by grabbing the empty plastic drums.’

‘Drums?’

‘Yeah, like oil drums. They'll help you float!’

‘Oh, those blue things,’ Jackie realises. ‘For sure we can grab them! Come on, Cheese Hat!’

‘Dude, how do you know about that?’

‘I speak sign too, remember?’ They disappear into the trees.

‘What are the rest of us doing?’ Marvin asks.

‘We're building the top layer,’ Phillip brings them over to the wood pile, which has an assortment of rope scattered around it. Five other rafts are covered by towels on the other side. The boys begin to work, all but Jackie and Phillip stripping down to their swimming shorts as the day gets warmer. With the barrels in place wedged in the bottom layer, and the second layer well underway, they take a break, during which Phillip pulls out small bottles of orange juice. Everyone sits down and takes them gratefully.

‘Chase, you've atoned for your meme crimes,’ Henrik tells him. ‘You're officially allowed to work on the main ship again.’

‘Sweet, what else needs doing, bro?’

‘Well, we've got to finish the top deck, then we add cool stuff.’

‘Like cannons and stuff?’

‘Sure, you might as well add a guest bedroom too,’ Anti rolls his eyes.

‘Hey, that isn't a bad idea! We could put like a bed place in the middle so we can have a boat house!’ Marvin exclaims excitedly.

“Yeah!” Jamie agrees.

‘Guys I was joking,’ Anti presses his hand into his forehead. 

‘Well we aren't,’ Marvin grins. ‘Get on board the house boat, idiot.’

i don't know much about building rafts, but a flag sounds cool!

‘Oh yeah, we've gotta,’ Chase immediately looks around for a long stick. The boat is finished, looking significantly better than a raft built in six hours by six teens has any right to be.

‘But what are we going to use as a flag?’ Jamie points out.

‘Was anyone wearing a cool t-shirt?’ Marvin asks.

‘Blink 182,’ Henrik replies.

‘Starfishes,’ says Chase.

‘Whale sweater,’ Marvin adds.

‘Plain black,’ from Anti.

‘The shining,’ Jamie concludes.

‘I don't think any of those are great for a flag,’ Chase ponders. 

‘Hey, Jackie! You've got spiderman. What's cooler than a superhero?’ Marvin suggests. ‘You must be boiling anyway.’

‘No way I'm taking my shirt off!’ Jackie protests, protectively hugging his chest. Phillip notices his distress and steps in.

‘Wait a second, you can use mine. I'm wearing a superhero shirt, sort of.’ He takes off his button up shirt to reveal a superhero shirt in blue pink and white colours. It has the catchphrase ‘protect the trans’ in the background in a bat signal style. He takes that off and hands it to them, revealing a binder underneath. ‘If you guys don't mind having a little pride on the boat, you can use this.’

‘Heck yeah!’ Henrik takes it and fastens it to a long stick, slotting it between the pieces of wood. ‘Pride boat time.’

‘So, we're not calling it ‘Thick boy?’’ Chase asks innocently.

‘Alright. Mr Brody is being handcuffed to the mast! Speech privileges are once again revoked,’ Henrik claps. ‘Are we ready to test it out?’

how's the raft coming along, boys?

The raft is coming along well. The boys themselves? Not so much.

‘Holy f*ck! Could you sit any closer to the edge?’ Anti yells, wildly thrashing to hike off the opposite side to where Marvin is being dunked face first by Jamie.

‘Chill out, it's not like we're gonna sink,’ Chase is laying back with his hands comically tucked behind his head. He doesn't bother moving, even when the boat goes almost vertical.

‘Un-chill out! Un-chill-the-f*ck-out,’ Jackie clings to the entirely unstable mast. ‘Could we try like, rowing our raft without the intention of capsizing?’ Jamie and Marvin hear the distress in his voice and stop. The raft settles back down and everyone shuffles into a seated position. 

‘Alright, why don't we explore some more of the lake to practice for tomorrow?’ Henrik suggests. 

oh, i can't wait to see how it goes! good luck, guys! love the touch of the trans shirt as the flag :D

‘Yeah, I know, right!’ Chase looks fondly up at the flag. ‘It was nice of Phillip to lend it to us. It's so cool how he's proud of who he is.’

‘Yeah, I love that for him.’ Marvin agrees.

‘You guys really think so?’ Jackie asks.

‘What, don't you?’ Anti narrows his eyes.

‘No, no! Of course I think it's awesome, I'm just used to being around people who wouldn't.’

‘One, two, three, dip! One, two, three, dip!’ Henrik cuts into the conversation with a hint of annoyance. Everyone starts paddling in sync again.

‘Could we paddle without the chanting?’ Marvin asks after a while, exasperated.

‘Maybe we could if you guys could work to a simple rowing rhythm,’ Henrik shoots back.

‘Maybe we would if you knew how to have fun,’

‘Maybe-’

‘Guys, cut it out!’ Jackie shouts.

“Yeah, we don't need to fight over this,” Jamie agrees. “There are other ways to keep time.’

‘Like singing!’ Jackie fistbumps his brother. ‘And I have the perfect one. Give me a beat, Jamie.’ Jamie starts kicking the boat in time with his paddle strokes. Everyone else does the same.

‘You are,’ Jackie starts.

‘My fire,’ Chase grins.

‘The one,’ Henrik begrudgingly joins in.

‘Desire, Believe,’ Marvin sings  

‘When I say,’ Anti joins.

‘I want it that way, tell me why!’ They all start singing out of key on purpose. Jamie gets really into the beat tapping, even using the end of his oar to do some of it. Aggression forgotten, they continue through the lake. Just as they are about to turn around, they pass an outcrop of trees and see what looks like another boathouse, only rotting and battered.

‘Huh, neat.’ Chase remarks. ‘As much as I'd love to check out spooky Mcspookhouse, we should probably turn around. The others agree, paddling at some speed back to the beach.

‘Good work, boys!’ Phillip helps them drag the pride boat ashore. ‘You can keep the flag for the race tomorrow if you want.’

‘Thanks, dude!’ Chase high fives him. They turn towards the path back to camp and Jamie taps him on the shoulder. “You know the deal. Time to tell us everything you know about the Robbie incident.” 

let's hear what you know, chase!

‘You’re all really sure about this?’ Chase asks. They're sitting on the small deck of the cabin with a little time before dinner.

‘We've gotta know, Käse,’ Henrik pats him on the shoulder.

‘Alright. I'm going to grab the photos out,’ he runs inside and emerges with the envelope again. This time, he hands it around.

[photo viewed here]

‘Wait, is that Jacques?’ Henrik asks upon receiving one.

‘Yeah, how do you know him?’

‘Jacques Septique?’ He repeats.

‘Yeah, dude. What about him.’

‘That's my cousin. Uncle Emile's son.’

‘Wait, so you already knew about Robbie?’ Marvin asks.

‘No, I haven't talked to him since like three years ago. Uncle said something sad had happened and I needn't concern myself with what. That answer satisfied me.’

‘Well, now you know, I guess,’ Jackie offers.

‘Right. Now tell us more about the Robbie Incident, Käse.’

‘Yeah. So like I've already said, Robbie heard the voices, and through the years the voices drove him to go to the other side of the lake somewhere in the water. You've heard that before. And then the old green cabin gathered for the final time and talked about stuff which I overheard. But it gets a little more interesting on a timeline. Jamie, can I borrow your notepad?’ Jamie nods and hands it over. Chase spends a few minutes scribbling something down, and eventually comes up with this. 

August 28 - the accident

August 29 - the press and the families (me) come. I overhear conversation 1

August 30 - we leave and let the campers stay a final night

August 31 - they go home

September 1 - I overhear conversation 2 (phonecall)

‘What was conversation 2, Chase?’ Marvin asks.

‘Conversation 2 was a call between Angus, Jacques, and three others. From what I could hear, the third person was Robbie.’

wait, you think robbie is still alive? Seriously?

tw: death

‘I wrote it off as someone doing an impression, dude. He died. I know that much. But since I've seen all of this crazy shit at camp, I'm not sure anymore. No, you're right. It's impossible.’

‘We won't rule it out though,’ Henrik says in a professional tone. Exactly what it is that they aren't ruling out, no one is quite sure.

“We've really got to write to Angus,” Jamie signs.

why would he fake his death? like, what would he gain? it's so strange to think about

tw: death

‘Fake his death?’ Chase's eyes widen. ‘I'd never even considered it. I suppose that's one of the possibilities though.’

‘It's what we were all thinking man,’ Jackie pats him on the shoulder.

‘You say all,’ Marvin mutters 

‘Robbie wouldn't just leave us! He was Angus's best friend, he was my friend too! He had all of those wonderful plans, he wouldn't just leave that behind,’ Chase tries to convince the others, barely managing to convince himself.

‘Why don't we go and visit his memorial, Käse?' Henrik suggests. 'Sunday is a free day, you might get some more clarity.'

'Yeah, okay. Maybe we should do that.'

'This camp just keeps getting weirder and weirder,' Jackie muses. 'We came here to get some outdoor experience, not have an existential crisis.'

'But at least we're doing it in style,' Marvin shrugs. 'We're obviously the superior cabin, I mean look at us.' Everyone looks at their clothes, confused. 'Well, look at me, anyway.'

'Sweater man? You call that stylish?' Jackie asks

'No, but it's the perfect gear to lose your mind in.'

'I'll leave that part to you.'

If robbie were still alive to this day after the accident,well,i doubt he'd look like his usual self

'Yeah, I guess you're right,' Chase concedes. 'His hair wouldn't still be purple, that's for sure.'

"How long has it been?" Jamie asks

'Three years since the accident.'

"He'd probably be different too."

'How do you mean?'

"If he's been out here somewhere for years, he probably won't be used to people or anything."

'Why are we even discussing this? Why would Robbie fake his death?' Marvin asks. 

'Oh, do you have something better?' Henrik asks coldly.

'Yeah, what about Chase was upset and imagined it. It was over the phone, could have been anyone.'

"But we can't rule it out," Jamie points out, repeating Henrik.

'No, you're right. A week ago I'd say we were crazy, but now I'm not so sure.'

What if both are true? What if Robbie's a ghost or something?

tw: death

'Hey, that's not a bad idea,' Marvin sits up. 

'So ghost is fine but faked his own death isn't?' Henrik raises his eyebrows.

'No, we should hear the idea out,' Jackie tells him. 'I've seen the warehouse, and whatever those things were, they sure weren't humans.' 

Anti nods. 'If Robbie is something like that, he wouldn't be one of those, though. I'm certain they were never real people, whatever they are. But it still stands that there are options.'

'How would we find out? Why do we even want to find out?' Henrik asks.

'I don't know. We need more information on what really happened.'

'So we need to talk to Angus.'

'Exactly.'

'We're really going with this? The whole Robbie thing?'  Jamie asks. 'If you'd all kindly remember, there are other things going on too. Things which could hurt you guys directly.'

'It's all connected somehow,' Jackie replies. 'Any new info is good, right?'

'I'd say so,' Chase smiles. 'Project zombie begins.'

'Project zombie?'

'Just roll with it, Hen.'

'Let's hope our second 'hero mission' goes better than the last one.' Henrik sighs, standing up to stretch.

'You bet it will! Jackieboyman is on the case,' Jackie announces.

'You're actually going with that?'

'Hell yeah!'

so are you gonna write to angus then? ask him what happened and what could be going on?

‘Well, project zombie means we need to find out everything about the incident, so of course we have to ask him about that,’ Anti starts.

‘And I'll tell him about how camp is going, he is my brother,’ Chase adds.

‘What about the voices?’ Jackie asks. ‘And the warehouse, he might know something about it.’

‘We don't want to scare him off talking to us though,’ Henrik points out. ‘If we put all of that information in one letter he might refuse to write back. Then our information source would be gone.’

‘He is a human being you know,’ Marvin snaps. ‘Not just an information source.’

‘Marvin, dude, are you okay?’ Chase asks. ‘Henrik was just making a valid point. I don’t want to piss off my brother.’

‘Yes! I'm fine. Fine and dandy. Come on guys, let's go to the food hall. The bell's gonna ring in a minute and it would be a solid logical decision to get there early.’ Anti and Chase raise eyebrows at each other, but follow him across the log circle. As he suggested, the bell rings just as they arrive. 

‘Once again, logical decisions save the day,’ Marvin bows elaborately. Just before they go inside, Henrik pulls Chase aside.

‘Did I do something wrong, Käse?’ He asks worriedly. 

‘No, of course not Hen.’ Chase pats his shoulder reassuringly. ‘Why’d you say that?’

‘I get the feeling Marvin’s annoyed at me.’

‘Nah, I'm sure it's fine. He's probably just stressed,’ Chase leads him inside, feeling annoyed at Marvin's sarcastic outburst. ‘Don't worry about it, dude.’

Hey, so what's the timetable of activities like after dinner? You've done a few cool things

There is a chalkboard covered in years of dust against one of the walls. One one side, it has ‘Lake week!’ Scrawled in large swoopy handwriting, and on the other it has 'After dinner activities'. The list reads as follows:

Mondays: Inter-cabin free time @ hall

Tuesdays: Team games

Wednesdays: Campfire

Thursdays: Team games (optional)

Fridays: Story telling

Saturdays: Night games outside

Sundays: Earlier bed 

Surrounding the blackboard in paint, there are hundreds of messy signatures and doodles from the past campers, all coloured by cabin.

hey marv, you ok? i understand that all this stuff can be really stressful for you, i'm sorry you guys have you deal with all this heavy stuff when you're just here to have a good time

'Thanks,' he half smiles. 'I'm sorry, it's not my place to be angry. Jackie and Ant both dealt with the shit they saw before they even bothered to come and find me. I've had a whole day and a half to get over it. Henrik though? With his little German accent and his "I'm so f*cking smart and logical" thing? He's driving me crazy.' He thumps his hands down on the table aggressively. 

'No, that's not right. That's not me, I'm not that big of an asshole. Ever since I was stuck in the - what was it that Keiran guy called it? The dark dream? - Ever since I was stuck in the dark dream, every little thing feels like it's a shockwave through my brain. I've just got to get it together. Other people need me to be there for them, there isn't time for this.'

marvin, if you're not ok, you have to tell the others! don't just push your feelings aside because other people need you to be strong. seriously, don't wait until it's too late.

'No! I'm fine. Ant always needs someone to rely on, and everyone else needs someone too. How are they going to rely on and trust me if I'm weak? No, I just need to deal with this like I deal with everything else.'

'Marvin, what's going on? Are you okay?' Chase asks again.

'Fine! I'm good,' Marvin replies a little too harshly. Chase looks bemused and goes to sit with Henrik.

'See look! Even that was too emotional! I've just got to stay strong. It's for the best.'

There absolutely is time for this! Just tell them you need some time to recover and not be the mom friend for a while, I'm sure they'll understand!

'Recover from what, Marvin?' Chase turns to look at him.

'Nothing! I'm fine!' He almost shouts. It makes his head start to hurt.

'Hey dude, it's okay! We're here to listen for you.' Chase places a hand on his shoulder. 

'Yeah, what's going on Marv?' Anti asks. 'You can tell us.'

I can't 

'No, it's stupid.'

'Maybe, but it's still bothering you. Just tell us what it is, it'll make you feel better.' Jackie tells him

'But it's weak! It's just annoying and unnecessary, just let me deal with it alone.'

'You think I'm weak then?' Chase asks.

'No, why would I think that?' Marvin asks, surprised.

'I've pretty much cried twice a day since I got here, dude. The Robbie stuff is difficult for me, does that make me weak? I don't think it does.'

'No, of course it doesn't!' Marvin assures him.

'Then why are you any different?'

'I-I- I don't know,' he admits. 'It just feels wrong.'

'Well do you want to give sharing a shot?' Jamie asks.

'Yeah, alright. It's the warehouse. I was in there for so long, and those things kept telling me you were never going to come. And that none of you even cared I was out there. And after a while I started to believe it. I saw so many things, they told me so many things..' he starts to choke up.

'Hey, it's okay,' Anti wraps his arm protectively around his friend. Marvin sinks into his jacket a little.

'Yeah, we totally understand! If you need to talk about it, we're here for you, dude.' Chase adds. Marvin doesn't reply, but that doesn't mean he isn't thankful. After a while he leans back out from his friend and starts eating again, not saying a word. As they stand up to leave, he turns to the group and says thank you.

'No problem, man,' Jackie grins. 'Everyone has shit going on, no one should have to hide it.'

'What are we doing now?' Jamie asks.

'I don't know, Henrik answers. 'I think there's a choice.'

When you say "after dinner activities" do you mean dinner as in lunch or dinner as in supper? What time of day is it?

Henrik checks his watch. 'It's half past seven now,' he tells you. 'We spent a long time building and rowing the raft around.'

'Yeah, dinner is tea!' Jamie signs.

'Hey, why don't we ask what the games are, then we can decide.' Chase suggests. They spot Phillip, chatting to Keiran and Thomas in the corner of the room. 'Hey, what are the games tonight?' He asks.

'Ninja experience,' Thomas tells him, as though that explains it fully. 

'Okay, neat,' Chase turns away back to the gang. 'We're doing something called Ninja experience?'

'Alright. We could see what that is,'

'Or we could do what we did last night,' Marvin suggests. 'I have a few good dares ready.'

'We could really do whatever we want,' Anti points out. 'It's basically free time.'

Ninja experience sounds cool. I think you should try see what that's all about. I know I'd want to.

'You know what? I think you're right. I'm gonna go with ninja experience,' Jackie walks to the center of the room to wait for the game to start. Everyone else joins him.

'Hey guys!' Jack welcomes everyone around him, beconning for them to sit on the floor. 'Are you ready to play a game called ninja experience?' The twins from purple cabin bump fists, and everyone gives an excited murmur of assent. 'How many of you know how to play?' Only a few raise their hands. 'Okay, I'll explain it to you. Basically, this circle is the dojo!' He gestures to the circle of tables which the other counsellors are pushing together, surrounding them. Henrik feels his heart beat just a little faster. 'And I'm going to call out something. If you've done it, you come into the dojo. Then we play ninja, which means you get one movement to karate chop someone else's limbs. When your limb is chopped, you can't use it. You can dodge, but it all has to be one movement. Once you've finished your movement, you have to freeze. Understand?' Most people nod. 'Alright, everyone sit on the tables.'

'Hey, this should be cool!' Chase whispers to Henrik as they sit side by side on the tablecloth. Marvin hops up beside them, legs not quite long enough to reach the ground. 

'First up, enter the dojo if you have ever been in a competition representing something,' Jack calls. Henrik, Jamie and Jackie step up from the green cabin. Jack makes the contestants jump out into a circle, pulling overly dramatic ninja poses. Jackie gets out first, then a few others from a different cabin. Jamie goes, then is chopped by one of the twins. With his movement, he swipes at Henrik, who manages to bend over backwards into a bridge, glasses almost falling off and hair hanging towards the floor. Chase's mouth falls open. 

'You've got to hold it!' Jack calls to him. With quite some effort, he manages to all the way through the other two's turns. On his own, he drops and rolls, hitting the leg of someone else, eliminating them. Jackie cheers. After a few more turns of close dodges, the twin manages to eventually win the game and Henrik returns to the table, covered in dust from the floor.

'Dude, how did you do that?' Chase asks him incredulously.

'I join the rowing teams where possible at each school. Not many friends so there's a lot of time to train, it's made me rather strong.' 

'Some day I want to be that flexible, dude. That was awesome.'

Throughout the next six rounds, no one else from the green cabin manages to beat him. Chase comes third in the 'dojo for people who can surf,' which contains more people than you'd think, and Jamie also catches a second place in the dojo for highschoolers.

'I think that the purple cabin won tonight!' Thomas comes in to award them a bag of gummy worms.

'Now it's time to head back to your cabins! Don't forget the big race tomorrow,' Jack adds. 'Same as last night, you've got 30 minutes to get into bed before we come around and do the lights out check.'

Well then you've got two options I guess. Draft that letter to Angus or enjoy some normal camp fun time. Both are good

[asked before last post]

"Hey, that's an idea! We should for sure draft the letter to Angus." Jamie ventures, writing it out on a notepad.

'Yeah! That's a good point,' Marvin agrees.

'Could we not?' Chase asks quietly. 'Not now, at least.'

'Why, what's wrong?' Henrik asks him.

'I don't know. The Robbie stuff is still kinda painful for me and him, him especially. And he's been a little different since it happened. Like the part of him that was big brother-y shut down. I want to write the letter with no time pressure, but I want some time to think about it. Is that okay?'

'Of course, man.' Jackie pats him on the shoulder. 'I'm gonna take a shower then.'

'Oh yeah, so will I.' Everyone grabs their stuff and goes to the shower bloc, emerging spikey haired. 

'Well, if we aren't drafting that letter, we may as well enjoy some normal camp fun time,' Jackie flops down onto his bed.

'Hmm. What would we be doing in a stereotypical summer camp movie?' Anti asks.

'Discussing which girls we have a crush on?' Chase offers.

'Or guys. With me being a raging homosexual and all,' Marvin says nonchalauntly, climbing his ladder.

'Wait, you're-?' Henrik asks.

'Sure am,' he answers. 'Hey, speaking of your pride merch,' he holds up a light blue sweater with the words 'BE GAY, DO CRIMES' embroidered into it with coloured thread. 'Me and mum have matching ones from a protest we went to in april.'

'Fantastic,' Henrik grins. 'I shall have to write to my Uncle and tell him about it.'

'Maybe we can make you a pan one?' Marvin muses. 'Be pan, hug man, or something.' Henrik smiles again, not only at the joke, but also at the fact Marvin doesn't seem to be angry at him anymore. They continue to chat from their bunks until Phillip opens the door to make sure their light is off.

'Trans rights!' Jackie and Marvin whisper shout to him at the same time, before starting to giggle at each other. 

'Hell yeah, trans rights!' Phillip smiles back, ducking out of the doorway. 'Goodnight, boys.'

 ...

'Hey, are you awake?' Anti hears a soft voice come from the darkness beside him. He rubs his eyes and sits up slowly.

'Yeah, I'm up. Is that you Marv?'

'It's me. I'm kinda freaking out a litte, can I sit here for a moment?'

'Sure,' Anti scoots a little down the mattress, flicking his torch on but covering it with his sleeve, creating just enough light to see their silhouettes by. 'Any reason in particular?' 

Marvin nods. 

'Want to tell me about it?' 

Marvin shakes his head, but Anti understands. It's not the first time either of them had needed the silent support of the other. Anti is glad, in a way. Between coping with being constantly, uncontrollably angry, and receiving little to no emotional support from his lovely parents, he forgot to learn how comforting someone else works along the way. They sit side by side on Anti's bed for what could be an hour, or could be an eternity. They lean into each other, Marvin slowly tracing patterns on the mattress and Anti following the dim outline of his hand with his eyes. Eventually, Marvin says

'I wish we could go home right now. Just leave the voices here and forget about all of the things that happened. Imagine life without them.'

'Yeah, it would be pretty nice.'

'And the counsellors wouldn't mind. My mum wouldn't mind having you over for the rest of the summer. I asked her on the night before we came after you went home to pack.'

'We could do it if we wanted.'

'But we can't, really, can we?' He admits.

'No, of course we can't,' Anti agrees. 'We're committed to this Robbie mystery now.'

'And I don't think either of us would ever forgive ourselves for backing out of finding out about the voices and where they come from.' Marvin finishes for him.

'Exactly.'

'So we're seeing this thing out?'

'I guess we are. Hey, are you okay now?'

'Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks. I was just panicking. It was stupid.' He stands up and walks back to his ladder.

'No, it wasn't stupid. You're allowed to panic. We literally all told you this earlier, idiot.' Whispers Anti.

Anti? You've got to stop him before he gets to the lake! Or at least find out why he's here. Hurry!!!

'Anti!' Jackie yells, sprinting towards him, Marvin and Chase following suit. Anti spots them and smiles, edging away from Jack to talk to them. 

'Thank f*ck,' he breathes, getting out of Jack's earshot. 'If I had to spend one more minute with that guy I was going to freak out.'

'Why?' Marvin asks, puzzled. 'He seems like a nice guy.'

'He is, I think. It's just the voice, he freaks them out and then they start screaming louder. What was the word for it Chase?'

'Jack-o-phobia?' He offers.

'Yeah, that.'

'Well that's not really the problem here, man,' Jackie says impatiently. 'I thought we agreed that you were going to stay at the cabins?'

'I was going to say I was sick, but Jack told me he was going to call my parents to take me home if I wasn't feeling better in case I needed to get checked out.'

'Maybe that's a good idea though,' Henrik suggests, finally catching up. 'You did already pass out, maybe getting away from the lake and resting up would be wise.'

'NO!' yell Marvin and Anti in unison. A few of the other cabins look over at them. 'I mean, no. That isn't an option. I'm staying here for the summer, even if it kills me.' Anti finishes.

Chase looks upset again. 'Dude, that may be an expression, but it's happened before.'

'I know, Robbie, right? The one who drowned in the lake during that storm.'

'It wasn't just the storm, though. It was the voices.'

'Wait, what?'

'I'll tell you once we get to the boathouse, alright?' They keep walking in silence, until they reach the clearing from yesterday, the tree stump still spattered with small droplets of blood. 

'Marvin?' Anti asks quietly.

'Yeah?'

'Please start talking. Anything, just keep talking and don't stop, okay?' Marvin looks at him, he's gone pale white. The shorter boy grabs his friend's jacket sleeve and Henrik grabs the other. 

'Do you want to sit down?'

'No, we've got to keep going. Jack can't find out. Just distract me, please,'

why can't you go home, anti? is there something wrong at home, or would you just prefer to stay at camp?

'It's not that there's anything wrong at home, it's just that there isn't anything right, either. I made a promise to last the summer here without getting kicked out, and the last thing I want to do is disappoint them again.' Anti tells you through gritted teeth.

'Besides, this is the first time anything has happened which could tell us what the voices might be. Or how to stop them.' Marvin adds. 'No need to worry about Ant in that regard though, my mum likes him too, so he can walk down the road and stay at ours any time.'

By now, they're halfway to the lake and Anti is getting paler by the second. Marvin keeps a string of constant comforting conversation going, mostly one sided as Anti is putting all of his concentration into gripping his head, trying to resist the voices as they scream louder and louder.

anti, maybe this isn't a good idea. you should probably get away from the lake, and fast. we wouldn't want you fainting again, or worse

'No! I'm strong enough to make it. I've always resisted them before! How do I know if you're even a good voice? Maybe you're just trying to make Jack get me and find out what I am.'

'Ant, no. They're right. We should turn around and go back, we'll find a different reason so that you can stay.' Marvin stops, pulling Anti aside. He kneels and Anti does the same thing, half intentionally, half because there is too much of his conscious thought being directed to blocking out the voices to have any left over to support his legs.

'Marv, I'm fine, please. Let's just keep moving.'

'No you're not, we've got to turn around.'

'I'm not turning around Marvin,' his voice turns suddenly colder, an air of something different about him.

'Ant? You're being weird.'

'I'm going to the boathouse, Marvin. You can't stop me.'

'Please, you're scaring me,' Marvin's mouth quivers.

'Marvin, let us handle this,' Henrik lays a hand on his shoulder, with Jackie and Jamie behind him. Marvin doesn't protest, instead standing up and allowing each of them to kneel beside him in turn.

'Hey Anti,' Henrik starts. 'Are you doing okay in there?'

'Get. Away.'

'You want to talk about it?'

'How?' He asks, sounding pained, but back in his regular tone.

'Talk to me about what the voices are saying. No wrong answers.' Henrik slips into the voice he's heard his mother use talking to patients. It works.

'Okay, I can do that. They want me to be alone. To go out into the lake. In the forest to find them. Just me, that's how they like it.'

'Ah, but alone is what we do best, yeah?'

'Huh?'

'Well, from what I have gathered, you spend a lot of time alone, since your parents seem uncaring and Marvin is your only friend.' He states bluntly. Anti stammers in response. 'Yes or no,' Henrik asks.

'Yeah.'

'Well, I know the feeling. My parents love me very much, but they both work in Germany. Big, important jobs. Very little time for me, so I spend the term in boarding schools and the summers at camp. I've never stayed at the same school for two years, and I come off as a little.. Blunt. Not good for making friends. You and me, we've got to keep the friends we can make, right?' Anti stays silent for a moment, before reaching out and grabbing Henrik's hand weakly.

'Thank you,' he says quietly, before his eyes roll up slightly. 'Keep talking, someone,' he manages.

Jamie steps forwards, this time armed with a notepad. He begins to scrawl out a message quickly, and when he holds it out to read, Anti just manages to get back in control enough to read it. "Hey Anti, I know that you're fighting something in there. Whatever you do, remember that it's you who gets to choose what happens. Not the voices, but not any of us either, okay? We're here for you :)" Before Anti can thank him, Jamie steps back, smiling. Anti feels more himself, but still fights the voices hard for conscience.

'Hey man,' Jackie steps forwards last.

'I didn't-' Anti tries to say through clenched teeth. 

'Didn't what?'

'Thank you. For covering,'

Jackie realises what he means, and sinks down beside him. 'No problem man, we both have secrets, right? We both understand that.' Anti nods. 'But there's one thing you've got to know. It doesn't matter what the secret is. We're your friends, and we're going to help you deal with whatever you're going through.'

'No, it's my problem, not yours.'

'Alright, whatever you say. But there is one thing you gotta tell me. When you said Jack can't know what you are, what is it that you are?' Anti mumbles a reply. 'What?'

'Broken.' He repeats.

'No,' Jackie wraps a hand around him. 'Never.'

Anti relaxes fully into him, the battle in his head over. Jackie thinks he hears a quiet sob against his shirt, and he hugs his new friend.

'Ready to go back?'

'Yeah.'

how are you all gonna stay away from the lake all summer? maybe you should tell jack or another adult what's going on, or at least make up a lasting excuse for staying away. you could say anti's afraid of water, maybe?

'Jack is out of the question,' Anti starts and they agree immediately. 

'What about Thomas? He seems nice,' Henrik suggests.

'Can we trust him though?' Jamie signs. 'We only met him once, who knows how much about it he knows.'

'Why would he know anything about Anti?' 

'No. Not Anti, the lake.' Jamie explains. 'This isn't the first time the voices have wanted the lake. They don't let us in the forest around it after dark. Do you really think that's a coincidence?'

'Holy shit man, why didn't you tell us earlier?' Jackie exclaims.

'I would have if you'd been paying attention to me,' Jamie shoots him a look.

Making no effort to apologise, Jackie turns back to face the others. 'Well that's another problem for another time. What about their fear idea?'

'But then we'd still have to go on the boats or chill at the beach or something,' Marvin points out. 'We've gotta stay out of the way of the entire area. Or the danger zone at least.'

'Hey that's an idea! Why don't we try and make a danger zone map. There are obviously places where the voices are stronger and weaker, since Anti immediately almost collapsed past the clearing, but managed to go rowing on the lake yesterday with barely more heightened anger than normal.' Chase suggests. 

'Only if you're up for it though,' Jackie adds, looking at Anti.

'Yeah, if it helps then I'll do it,' Anti agrees. 'But if I start yelling at you, just remember it isn't really me. Or what I think of you.'

'Alright. If we can get you to the boathouse, that's a good place to start. You didn't have it that bad there, right? At least, you were sane enough to talk to us.' 

'Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. There's one problem though.'

'What?'

'We're on this path, not the one we took yesterday morning. You guys are going to have to carry me, just in case.'

Jamie, it's time for piggy back - G

Jamie smiles, happy that you thought of him first. Since Anti doesn't understand sign, all he does is point to his back and raise an eyebrow. 

'Yeah, okay,' Anti climbs onto the back of Jamie, legs swinging. Normally his legs would have dragged along the ground, but Jamie was taller than any of his other friends since well, ever. Not that Marvin and Marvin alone was much competition.

'You just hold on dude,' Chase pats him on the shoulder as they keep walking. At one point, Anti latches onto Henrik's hood in front of him, but other than that he barely moves the whole way there. As soon as they arrive within ten meters of the boathouse, Anti raises his head.

'They went quiet just then. Right there.'

'Okay, well that's a start.' Henrik grabs Jamie's notepad and draws a quick layout of where they've been so far. He puts in a line on the path titled 'danger zone,' and a bubble around the boathouse labeled 'safe'. 

'What next?' Asks Marvin.

'We eat breakfast. Then? We learn more.'

so what else are you guys doing today? are the adults gonna come looking for you?

'Well, since we're with Jack right now, we can ask him to use our day chilling on the beach today,' Chase suggests. 'We'll need to keep someone on the beach, and the others can go out and explore around to see what we can find.'

'What exactly are we looking for though Käse ?' Henrik asks.

‘Yeah, this is the only day this week we can stay fully away from the lake and in the forest without suspicion. We've got to be efficient.’ Jackie adds.

‘Alright, there's a few things we could do. Number 1, we can try and get an idea of which areas are safe from the voices, number 2, we can take a look around and find out what other things are near the lake, and number 3, we can get around the other side of the lakeshore to try and see whatever is in the middle of it. Friendly voices, want to weigh in on it?’

number one sounds good. make sure we know where the safe spots are!

Yeah, okay! That sounds good.’ Marvin bites into a bacon sandwich. ‘Who's gonna stay here and take care of the counsellors?’

‘I can,’ Jamie signs. 

‘I'll stay too then,’ Chase offers. ‘The rest of you can go.’

‘Alright, we'll go together,’ Jackie agrees.

‘No, that will take way too long. I'll go alone.’ Marvin offers.

‘But Anti is the one who can hear voices. That's why we're going into the forest with him.’

Marvin shares a glance with Anti. ‘He isn't the only one, mine are just.. Different. Less violent. Still, I'll go alone and cover that part of the lake.’

‘One of us should go with you,’ Jackie protests.

‘No, please. The voices have a weird effect on me. They won't make me as bad as Anti, but still. I'd rather you didn't see me when they're at their most effective.’

The boys exchange worried looks, ultimately leaving the decision to Anti. He steps forwards and places a hand on Marvin's shoulder. ‘Here,’ he says, holding out the mp3 player. ‘Use it if you need to. This stupid map isn't more important than you, okay?’ 

Marvin smiles at him. ‘Thanks. Same goes to you, be careful, okay?’

‘If the voices even hint that you're in danger, you bet your ass I'd run through the lake to give you a hand. Make sure it doesn't come down to it.’ He turns around, grabbing a second piece of toast, fresh off the barbecue which the counsellors are crowded around. Henrik comes back from asking Jack to spend the day on the beach.

‘Project danger zone is ready to go,’ he whispers.

‘Project danger zone?’ Chase laughs.

‘We are cool superheroes going on a cool mission. We needed a codename.’

‘I second that idea,’ Jackie grins. ‘Alright, project danger zone commence. Meet back up here at lunch to discuss what's happened and to do the roll call. Jackieman is out.’

‘Jackieman?’

‘Shut up Henrik.’

‘More like Jackieboy.’

‘Jackieboyman,’ suggests Anti.

‘Alright, fine. Let's go.’

are you sure you wanna go alone, marvin? please be careful not to get hurt, and get out of there the second you think you might be in danger!

‘Thanks for the concern, but I'm sure. I've never passed out or anything from the voices before, not even when they've been at their strongest. Besides, what is there in the forest to hurt me? It's not like mothman’s going to jump out from behind a bush and eat me.’ Marvin reaches the last bit of sand before checking back. Jackie, Anti, and Henrik have already disappeared into their end of the woods, and Chase is talking to Jamie, while Jamie uses the sand to write out his responses. Seeing that no one is looking, he steps through the tree line and into the forest. The voices in his head immediately become louder, but not in the same way as Anti's do. They don't so much have voices as they do ideas. None of them can agree on what they want him to be, and as he takes a few more tentative steps, an overwhelming wave of ambition hits him. 

In reality he falls to his knees, but in his mind, he stands taller. Arrogantly sweeping a cape, holding a top hat. 

He really sinks down and grips his head, but in his mind the scene changes. His hair is long, grown out into a ponytail. He is surrounded by little green plants.

He actually reaches into his sweater pocket, but in his mind he is sitting in an old library, reading old books, sipping tea and stroking a silky white cat.

He pulls himself into reality just long enough to push his earbuds in and press play on the mp3 player. The sound of Falsettos drowns out the voices. There's something which all of the voices had in common. Magic. Falsettos is the most down to earth, non magical musical he can think of, and besides, no matter what he does, he can never f*ck up as badly as musical Marvin did. Real Marvin straightens up, brushing earth off of his knees. 

‘Well, there's a start,’ he sighs, stepping back to the tree line and drawing a line on his copy of Henrik's map. It’s titled ‘danger zone’. ‘Lets see where the line takes us.’

Not to distract from your mission, but Anti, Marvin, you two seem super close. From what I gathered you two don't live too far from each other either. How long have you been friends?

‘Marv and me? Oh, we've been friends since before school even began.’ Anti tells you. The trio are sitting on a fallen tree, working out which way to go. 

‘How did you guys even meet?’ Jackie asks.

‘Well, we were both part of the adventure club - this little group for kids to go see cool kid stuff like parks and dinosaur bones - and he just sort of adopted me I guess. I was freaking out a little because there were all of these voices in my little four year old mind, and I couldn't deal with them and he came and sat with me until I was okay again. He invited me over loads, his mum was happy to have me around because she didn't approve of my parents, and my parents were happy to let me go because they generally didn't approve of me. Mavin's been my best, well, only friend ever since. Oh, and yeah, we live a few houses down from each other.’

‘Alright guys, I've worked it out. We need to be going up this way around the lake so that Marvin's testing will join up with ours. Anti, are you ready?’ Henrik asks.

‘As I'll ever be,’ Anti shrugs, standing up and leading the way into the forest.

Chase, Jamie, what are you guys doing?

Jamie and Chase are lounging on the beach. Chase feels at home sitting on the sand, even if it is a little colder than it is back home. Looking over at Jamie, who is happily gazing at a flock of birds, he feels a little nervous since this is the first time he's been alone with him. Eventually he works up enough courage to ask him a question.

‘Hey Jamie,’ he starts nervously. Jamie turns to him and smiles. ‘Can I ask you a question?’

Jamie nods and turns to face him with his whole body.

 ‘Does it bother you? Not being able to talk to people I mean.’ Jamie goes silent for a while and Chase gets a sinking feeling. ‘I don't mean to be rude, dude. I'm sorry.'

 Jamie's eyes widen and he shakes his head. “No!” He writes quickly in the sand. “No offense taken. I was just surprised by your question.’

‘Why?’

“Am I allowed to care? Is it my place to be bothered? It's part of me and it's my job to try and make it easier for people to talk to me”

‘Dude, that’s bullshit! Who told you that?’

“Wasn't told. It's just a fact.”

‘No it isn't! Listen Jamie, you shouldn't have to make it your problem to say stuff to us. We should make it our problem to listen to you.’

Jamie beams. “I have an idea,” he writes. 

‘What is it dude?’ Chase replies.

“I could teach you sign!” Jamie writes, clapping his hands together. 

Now it's Chase's turn to go silent. No one had ever offered to teach him something outside of school. Jamie had known him for less than a week, and he was already willing to spend time with him, help him out. Chase is so happy he could almost cry. He looks up at Jamie to accept, but sees something already written in the sand.

“Sorry, that was presumptuous of me. You have better things to do, of course.”

‘No way dude!’ Chase puts a hand on Jamie's shoulder. ’Teach me everything you know! I want to be able to have sign conversations with you and Henrik! Then you won't need the notepad anymore!’

“Are you sure?” Jamie writes.

‘Of course!’ Chase swivels so that he is sitting alongside Jamie. ‘Teach away bro!’

“First, names. This is mine, it's a double J,’ he slides his finger down his palm and up his thumb twice.

‘Two Js? Why two?’ Chase copies him. 

“Jameson Jackson.”

‘Oh! So am I C.B then?’

“No,” he shakes his head with a gleam in his eyes. “I have something better” He rubs his hands together, bringing them down from his head out in front of him. 

‘Cool!’ Chase copies. ‘What does that mean?’

“The hands are ‘Cheese,’ and the motion is ‘hat’”

‘So you're telling me my name is now Cheese hat?’

‘Pretty much, yeah,’ Jamie shrugs nonchalantly. ‘Now, let's get started with the alphabet.

What are you finding in the forest?

Tw: blood, gore

‘Well, there isn't a whole lot so far,’ Jackie mutters, kicking a pile of leaves. 

‘Speak for yourself,’ Anti moans. He's leaning on Henrik more heavily than he would admit. ‘Wherever we are, it's past the danger zone line.’

‘I know, dude. We've got to get to the other side though. See if it eases up. Just a little further.’ They keep walking into the forest, the shadows increasing as they go. At one point, Henrik feels Anti's weight increase on his shoulder.

‘Anti? Hey are you okay?’ Henrik stops and turns around to check on his friend.

‘B-back,’ Anti gasps. ‘G-get back.’

‘Alright, alright, we're going.’ Henrik puts on his best soothing doctor voice, wrapping an arm around him.

‘No. You go.’ Anti tries to jerk out of his grasp, twisting as he falls into the leaf mulch. His breathing gets heavier and his arms jerk a little underneath him.

‘No way are we leaving you here,’ Jackie kneels down next to him. Anti's face twists at an unnatural angle to face Jackie. Once again, his pupils disappear, leaving only the whites.

‘Turn. And. Run.’ Anti manages, before his back arches and he becomes completely still.

‘Anti? What's going on?’

‘Too late, little hero,’ a sickly sweet, cold voice comes from his lips, although they move jerkily and out of sync with the speech.

‘Anti?’ Jackie asks, doubt creeping into his voice.

‘That's right. Come and help your little friend,’ the other Anti sings in delight. His nose begins to drip a dark liquid.

‘Henrik, run!’ Jackie yells, trying to jump backwards as Anti lashes out a hand with his blood on it.

‘Join the nightmare, little hero. Welcome to the dark dream collection.’

Jackie crumples immediately. Henrik doesn't know whether to stay or go, but neither of them seem to pose a threat anymore. He sinks to the forest floor beside them. ‘Please wake up. You can't be gone, Anti, Jackie?’ He stutters incoherently for a while, steadily trying to drag them both away from the forest center. As soon as they reach the tree line at the edge of the water, shirts ripped in Henrik's desperation to drag them over sticks away from the danger zone, they begin to breathe again. ‘Danke Gott,’ he mutters, wiping his forehead. Soon the boys begin to stir. ‘What happened?’ Henrik asks. ‘What did you see?’

‘The Warehouse,’ they say in unison, jolting up. ‘They come from the warehouse.’

The warehouse?

In the dream

Tw: gore

Jackie blacked out immediately on contact with it. Anti wasn't spared the luxury. As soon as he'd passed a blackened tree trunk, he'd begun to feel the voices getting stronger. More persistent. As he was slipping away, he realised two surprising facts. 

Number one, the ‘voices’ which he usually heard, were in fact, one singular voice, or at least one singular entity. He had never been able to figure it out until he had another voice in there to compare it to.

Number two, the free use of his limbs was a battle he was steadily losing. 

With all of his remaining strength, he spat a warning to the others, throwing himself to the ground and trying to pin his arms down beneath him. Jackie came to his side anyway but he could feel something cold seeping through his body, up his throat, seizing control of his vocal chords. Anti tried to choke out a final warning before going under completely. 

He woke, still trapped within his own mind in the forest. Everything the same but for the absence of his cabin mates. And the absence of daylight. He came slowly and painfully to his feet, taking a tentative step forwards into the black. Then he saw it. ‘Warehouse’. The name was clearer in his mind than if he had been learning it since birth. It wasn't the only thing he could see. Tall, dark, shadowy figures, closing in and circling him.

‘Anti?’ Came a startled voice from behind him. Jackie. ‘Oh no, I was too late. They got you,’ Jackie cried out, stepping back.

‘Jackie, no. I'm fine, we're here together. We have to find a way out!’ Anti turned and stepped towards him but Jackie retreated further.

‘It's in you, Anti,’ he said slowly. His eyes were focused,  not on Anti, but slightly above him. Anti took a deep breath and looked up. A dark foggy figure was sitting on him. In him. It extended out from his head, wrapping it's tentacles hungrily around him. 

‘Jackie, help!’ Anti cried out. Jackie hesitated for a second before stepping towards his friend. As he did, Anti saw a second figure approaching him. ‘No! Look out,’

The other figure moved towards Jackie, extending a limb to prod at his head. It whispered something harsh and raspsy into his ear. ‘Get away!’ Jackie screamed, falling backwards. The creature leaned down to press against his head, then-

‘Danke Gott!’ Henrik is hovering over them, meters away from the lake. The daylight hits their eyes and they breathe a sigh of relief. Looking at each other, they wear the same expression. Terror, and the need for someone else to have seen it too, for if they hadn't, they were surely going mad. Maybe they were going mad anyway. 

‘The Warehouse,’ they both gasp, and Anti isn't sure if he wants to smile, cry, or curl up in a ball and never wake up.

Uh boys, care to elaborate on The Warehouse???

They don't answer you immediately. Henrik makes Anti take off Marvin's sweater. It was already too small, but now it's a tangled mess of holes and branches, stained dark red in places. He tries to get Jackie to take off some of his layers to check for cuts, but he flatly refuses. Somehow, he doesn't want to risk angering either boy so he leaves it be. 

‘It was massive,’ Anti says out of nowhere. 

‘What?’ Henrik asks, pausing in the act of cleaning up Anti's cuts. 

‘The warehouse. It was at least three stories tall. And it was covered in some sort of black plant.’ He looks to Jackie to see if he has anything to contribute.

Jackie wears a pained expression. ‘I'm sorry, man. I can't talk about that thing after what I heard.’

‘The voices?’ Anti asks.

‘Yeah. Do you hear that every day?’ 

‘Most days, yeah.’

Jackie gets up and wraps his arms around Anti in a fierce hug. ‘I’m so sorry, man.’

‘What for?’ Anti looks taken aback for a second before returning it.

‘All of that stuff I said. About you not being functional, and, and about you being weird and moody. If I had that happening in my head for five minutes I don't think I'd want to be alive, let alone try and hold it together.’ Jackie starts to cry.

‘Hey, it's alright. It’s fine. You didn't know.’

‘Was that your secret?’ He sniffs.

‘No. But that's what they do. Whisper your secrets back to you.’ Anti lets Jackie's head rest on his shoulder. Jackie's breathing starts to quicken. ‘Hey, are you alright?’

‘No, I think there's a stick or something stuck in my side.’

‘Alright then, we've got to take it out,’ Henrik proclaims, pulling Jackie away from Anti. 

Jackie hugs his chest. ‘No, it's fine. You can't.’

Henrik looks concerned, wondering whether to press the issue.

I would say it's best not to push it, Henrik. Let him deal with it by himself. I'm sure he'd really appreciate it.

‘I don't know, it looks like it's at a weird angle.’ He says, but he steps backwards anyway. ‘But after what I just saw, I think you're probably right.’

Anti is torn, he doesn't like seeing his friend in pain. ‘Whatever you say, I guess.’

jackie, you should probably let henrik take that stick out. it'll only hurt you more the longer you wait. you'll be ok though!

tw: dysphoria, blood

‘You can’t! I'll do it myself.’ Jackie cries, staying curled in on himself defensively.

‘Jackie that isn't a good idea. You wouldn't be able to get your arm in the right position.’ Henrik tells him gently.

‘I won't let you!’ 

‘Hey, it's gonna be fine, okay?’ Anti grabs his sleeve. ‘Is the reason why you don't want us to do it something to do with your secret?’ Jackie nods. ‘Okay, well, I promise that we won't care. Whatever it is, you're our friend.’

‘Look. Thank you so much, but I really don't feel like I can tell everyone.’

‘You don't have to. We're not going to make you. Is there any way we can help, though, without making you feel uncomfortable.’

Jackie considers it for a moment. ‘Henrik, could you look away please?’

Henrik does what is asked of him.

‘Alright, and you can't ever bring this up. I'm only letting you know because I have to, and because you understand having secrets.’

‘Of course.’

‘Let's get this over with,’ Jackie lifts up his shirts to reveal a stick wedged just below his ribcage. It doesn't go too deep, but it's long. Keeping it in would definitely have been a bad move, and if Jackie had pulled it out himself, it might have snapped, which would have caused all kinds of problems.  Above the cut is a tan coloured garment Anti recognises as a binder. Without speaking, he pulls the stick carefully out of the wound and grabs the discarded sweater to press against it, knowing Marvin wouldn't mind. 

‘It's done,’ Anti tells him. Jackie pulls his shirts down without meeting his eyes. 

‘Thanks’

‘No problem, man.’

Maybe you should try getting closer to where Chase and Jamie are at the beach. If nothing else, you'll be closer to other people if things start to get scary again. I know you want to keep Anti's secret hidden to prevent Jack from sending him home but you have to be careful in case someone gets hurt again.

Tw: Blood 

‘Yeah, what they said. Project danger zone is officially over for the morning,’ Henrik agrees. ‘Come on, we’re going back to the beach.’ Neither of the other boys have it in them to protest. Anti wipes his face clean, and walks a little slower than usual. Jackie follows suit. Eventually, they arrive back at the beach, to find Chase and Jamie in fits of hysterics. 

‘No dude, this,’ Chase giggles, making an elaborate gesture. Jamie claps enthusiastically, grinning like a mad man. They finally see the bedraggled trio emerge from the woods. ‘Hey guys! How come you're back so early? You were only gone for like two hours.’

‘Long story,’ Jackie throws himself down onto the sand, exhausted.

‘We did make some new discoveries though,’ Anti sits down beside him.

‘Yeah, we need a new line on the map. Like a super mega danger zone.’

Jamie looks his brother over, noting the dark stains on his shirt. “What happened?” he signs worriedly. 

‘The super mega danger zone,’ is all he offers in response.

‘Listen, guys. No one is going out there alone. Ever. We've got to go in large groups,’ Henrik states, receiving nods of agreement.

‘Speaking of, where's Marvin?’ Chase asks.

‘He went alone, remember,’ Jackie says.

‘Shit!’ Anti stands up.

‘What is it, dude?’

‘If Marvin got into the SMDZ, he wouldn't have anyone to drag him out. He could be anywhere out there.’

‘Relax, man. He's probably just out there being sensible and having a good walk.’ Jackie reassures him. ‘He isn't due back for half an hour.’

‘Yeah, you're probably right,’ Anti concedes, sitting back down.

The lunch bell rings, but Marvin never comes.

marv? you ok? your friends are worried about you

It's clear that wherever the second danger zone on this side of the lake is, he's reached it. Marvin is the smallest boy in the green cabin, and now, laying face down in the leaf mulch, it shows. His mp3 player must have fallen out of his hands when he collapsed, because it lays about a foot away from him, still playing music faintly out of the ear pieces. Your words obviously get through to some part of his mind, because his brows twitch.

‘Ant, is that you?’ He slurs into the ground. ‘Help me out of here.’

But no one is there to help him. Eventually, his face slackens again, and he goes limp again into the forest floor.

GUYS! marvin's in another danger zone, he's collapsed and he doesn't have bis music. he's on the other side of the lake, you need to help him! and PLEASE get an adult to help you. this is completely ridiculous, you clearly can't do this yourselves anymore

‘WHAT?’ Anti hisses, jolting up. ‘He has no one there to pull him out of the warehouse! We could already be too late, we've got to go and help, we can't leave him out there while we eat lunch. F*ck the counsellors. F*ck camp. We've got to go now.’

‘Chill, man.’ Jackie pulls him down onto the sand. Surprisingly, even he isn't eating. 

‘How can I chill?’  He asks, voice rising. ‘How can I chill when Marvin is out in the forest with his mind in the warehouse?’

‘Wait, wait, wait? Did you say Warehouse?’ Chase asks.

‘Yeah, why?’ Henrik replies.

‘Doesn't matter right now, but I have a few adults in mind,’ he stands up. 

‘A few? Please tell me it's not Jack.’

‘No, it's not. There's only one here. No time to explain. Do you want their help or not.’

‘Yes!’ Henrik and Jamie answer immediately. Chase looks at the others.

‘If you're sure it's safe,’ Anti shrugs. 

‘Alright, stay here.’ Chase tells them, and runs off to the crowd of counsellors eating lunch.

 ‘Hey kid,’ Thomas greets him. What can we do for you?’

‘Can I talk to Keiran, please?’ Chase asks, looking down and trying to appear polite. Scratch that, trying to look like he isn't ready to explode out of anxiety for Marvin. Thomas points him to a young brown haired man, quietly whistling to himself.

‘Hey Kid! Do I recognise you from somewhere?’ Keiran smiles, gesturing for him to sit down. Chase shakes his head.

‘I think you do know me, dude. Chase? Chase Brody.’

Keiran's face falls as he hears the last name. ‘Oh.’

‘Yeah.’

‘I'm assuming that you aren't here asking me to lead a game then.’

‘No. It's the warehouse.’

‘Shoot. Come on, let's go,’ he grabs Chase's arm and drags him over to the forest, the other boys catching on and following them into the trees.

Marvin's in the forest on the side of the lake he went to first, hurry!!

‘Alright, that narrows things down a little,’ Keiran mumbles to himself. 'I'm sure it isn't as bad as last time, it's daylight, and he's only been in here a little while.’

‘Should we split up and look for him?’ Henrik asks nervously. 

‘No!’ Chase looks panicked.

‘Are you okay, man?’ Jackie asks.

‘Yeah, I'm good. I just don't think splitting up is a good idea.’

‘We need to go quickly,’ Keiran reminds them. ‘Which ones of you have seen the warehouse?’

Anti and Jackie share a glance. How does he know? ‘We have,’ Jackie offers.

‘Okay. You two stay here. Don't walk past the tainted trees. No matter what they tell you.’ He turns to walk into the forest. ‘Walk behind the line of them to look for clues about where he's been, but don't go any further. 

‘Tainted trees?’ 

‘The blackened ones. They have some kind of liquid on them that brings you into the dark dream. Just do what I said, okay?’ Keiran and the others disappear into the forest. Anti starts pacing. 

‘How did Chase know that counsellor guy? What did he mean by ‘as bad as last time?’ Anti starts firing off questions. 

‘I dunno,’ Jackie ponders. ‘We'll have to ask later. Come on, man. Let's look along here.’ They both stand up, scouring the leaves for clues. 

‘It's only day three and most of us have already almost died,’ Jackie laughs. ‘So much for a chill summer.’

‘Yeah, I guess that wasn't meant to work out.’ 

‘Maybe after lake week finishes this will all blow over and we can get back to regular camp stuff,’

‘Like?’

‘I don't know, what about those ghost stories you were talking about? Or making ourselves look stupid in the team building games, or even just those stupid little party games like truth or dare. I want to get to know y’all without the information having to come from a dangerous situation.’

Anti feels something well up inside him. Jackie actually wants to be friends. With him. Not even to be polite, but because he wants to. ‘Yeah, I'd like that too,’ he smiles. The voices have been quieter since they came out of the warehouse dream, and although Anti feels incredibly relieved, he also feels worried. If the voices aren't in his head, there's every chance that they all went into Marvin's instead. He shares his thoughts with Jackie.

‘You're just being paranoid, man. I don't think that's how they work.’ Jackie tells him. 

‘I hope you're right,’ Anti replies, before being interrupted by a blood curdling scream from in the forest ‘Who was that?’ His eyes widen.

‘Who was what?’ Jackie asks, still searching the forest floor. 

‘That scream,’ Anti exclaims. ‘You didn't hear it?’

‘No? Are you feeling okay?’

‘Anti!’ The voice screams again. Anti's heart drops into his stomach. It's Marvin, and he's only heard that level of terror in his friend's voice once before.

‘Marvin?’ Anti calls back, scrambling towards the voice.

‘No, Anti! Come back,’ Jackie grips his sleeve. ‘It's the forest messing with you!’

‘I've got to go,’ Anti replies, but he hesitates for a second.

Anti, listen to me. The best way you can help Marvin is staying put. That way if Kieran and Chase find him, they can find you two as quickly as possible and you can pool their knowledge of the situation with your knowledge of Marvin, instead of wasting time trying to find each other.

‘But he's in danger,’ Anti pleads, ‘He needs me. I'd never forgive myself if I don't help him,’

Jackie strengthens his grip on Anti's sleeve. ‘Well, I'd never forgive you if you let yourself be lured into a trap by some bullshit dream trees.'

‘It's not the trees! It's Marvin!’ Anti insists, but his tugging away lessens.

‘It's the trees, Anti. Marvin is unconscious out there somewhere, he can't scream for you. We've just got to stay here and keep safe while the others look for him. He's going to be fine, I know it.’

Anti turns and looks at him with watery eyes. ‘How do you know?’

‘Because it's true. I know it, okay?’ Jackie pulls him back, away from the tree line. Anti places his head in his hands. 

‘Alright. Okay, I believe you but you'd better be right,’ Anti sniffs. ‘Let's keep looking until we find something.’

Marv? What are you seeing right now?

‘Huh, hello?’ Marvin whimpers. ‘Please, don't do it again. Let me be myself, let me catch my breath.’ He has his eyes squeezed shut, but he opens them slightly. ‘Wait, I know you, you're one of the nicest voices. Yeah, you helped us save A-’ His voice cuts off into a smothered whimper. ‘He’s here too, you know? Not him really, but still him enough for it to hurt. So. Much.’

‘What do I see? I see more than I want to. They're not just mine anymore, there are so many. The warehouse is that way. That's what they whisper to me. Go to the warehouse little kitten, if you want to come out sane. I can't though, can I? No, the others are coming for me. It's only been a few hours.’

A crack in the darkness alerts you to something else's presence. 

‘Hide!’ Marvin begs you. He seems to think you're in danger in this place too. For all you know you could be. The same black shapes you saw around Jackie and Anti drift closer. In each of them, there seems to be flickers of a face if you look hard enough. Not that anyone in their right mind would. Soon enough, they drift away, but even the sight of them sends Marvin into another round of silent, uncontrollable sobs. After a while, he stops. 

‘That one is dead,’ he tells you, pointing through the trees to a black shape sitting mournfully atop the roof of the warehouse. ‘He moves, sure, but something's gone from inside him. You should go, the others will come soon.’

Your picture fades to black but you can still hear him. ‘The others will come soon. The others will come soon. The others will come soon.’

Shit, Chase, Keiran, you guys need to find Marvin ASAP, he's really in a bad way

Tw: blood

‘We're trying!’ Chase answers, frantically stomping through the forest. ‘Marvin? Where are you dude, we're coming to help.’

Jamie, searching a few meters away starts manically waving his hands.

‘Kid, did you find something?’ Keiran volts over a log to where Jamie is. Marvin is still laying in the leaf mulch, dark liquid streaming from his nose like blood. ‘Don't touch it!’ Keiran warns.

‘Dude, are you alright? Marvin?’ Chase kneels beside him. Keiran twists his fingers nervously through the tassels on his crimson scarf. 

‘He's not dead, is he?’ He asks.

‘No, he's breathing.’ Henrik confirms. ‘Why would he be dead, was that what you were expecting?’

‘No, no. Worst case and all that,’ the colour comes back into Keiran’s face. ‘Let's get him out of the dark dream zone. Don't ever touch the liquid.’ He scoops up Marvin into his arms and they walk quickly out of the trees towards the lake.

Marvin dude, are you okay? - G

Tw: blood, vomit, scars, death

As they get closer to the tree line, Marvin starts to emmit pitiful whimpering sounds. His head lolls limply from over Keiran's shoulder, until he is eventually placed down, almost on the sand. 

‘Hey, are you awake kid?’ Keiran kneels beside him. He receives a groan in response. ‘Hey Chase, could you run and grab the other two?’

Chase looks torn. ‘I can just call for them, I'm sure they won't be far away..’

‘Just go, alright?’ Keiran doesn't look up. Realisation spreads across Chase's face, and he turns to look for Jackie and Anti. 

Marvin begins to stir, and Keiran waves Jamie and Henrik away from him, stepping back himself. Jamie tries to push past the counsellor, but to no avail. Marvin suddenly sits up, breaths coming shallow and fast. 

‘The others are coming,’ he wails, locking eyes with Henrik. 

‘Marvin relax, it's us,’ Henrik tries to kneel beside him and once again, Keiran holds him back. ‘What are you trying to achieve here?’ He asks the man exasperatedly. ‘We're just trying to help out our friend.’

‘Wait for it,’ Keiran murmurs, keeping his eyes trained on Marvin.

Marvin suddenly clutches his stomach, bending over into a kneeling position just in time to vomit up the same thick black liquid that still streams from his nose. The others grimace, with nothing to do but wait it out. Eventually, Marvin stops heaving and sinks into a sitting position, exhausted. 

‘Help me,’ he pants, eyes swimming in and out of focus. This time, Keiran does step forward. He unwraps his thick scarf, revealing several long scars around the sides of his neck, and uses it to wipe Marvin's face. 

‘We can't touch the black stuff,’ he explains. ‘We need to clean him up before we do anything else.’

‘We can't take him back to the camp showers. Imagine the look on the other counsellor's faces. Unless they are trustworthy too?’ Jamie signs. Henrik translates for Keiran's benefit. 

‘No, you were right to avoid them. If they were more understanding, a lot of bad things wouldn't have happened a while ago,’ he concedes bitterly. ‘I really hate to say it, but I think we're going to have to put him in the lake.’

‘No!’ Henrik protests. ‘Chase told us about a guy who drowned in there because of the voices. He can't just throw him in there!’

‘Robbie? You know about Robbie?’

‘Enough to know that this is a bad idea.’

‘Do it,’ Marvin croaks. ‘Restrain me somehow. I'm not crazy now, right? Didn't Robbie practically throw himself into the lake? It isn't the same thing.'

Keiran reluctantly concedes. ‘Okay, I'll make sure you don't drown. You're right. It shouldn't be the same thing.’

He takes off his jacket, revealing yet more scars around his collarbone. Using his scarf to protect his hands from the liquid, he manoeuvres Marvin into the shallowest part of the lake, and eventually manages to clean off the rest of it. Pulling out the now freezing boy, he sets him back down on the forest floor - a different part to avoid the vomit - just in time for Anti, Jackie and Chase to arrive breathlessly into the area.

this has happened twice now, you guys really need to go back and rest. Stay away from the danger zones!!!

‘Yeah, you don't need to tell me twice,’ Marvin smiles weakly. 

‘F*cking hell, Marv,’ Anti throws himself down onto the ground beside his friend and envelopes him in a hug, not caring about getting wet from Marvin's soaked clothes. ‘I'm so sorry, I should never have let you go alone.’

‘It's. It's.’ Marvin falters. Anti feels Marvin try and pull away, and he releases him.

‘What? What's wrong?’ He asks, concerned. A face full of vulnerability stares back at him with wide eyes. 

‘It's fine,’ Marvin finishes finally. He squeezes his eyes shut and wraps his arms even tighter around Anti than usual, burying his face in his ripped shirt. ‘It's you. You're true, my best friend, no matter what they said.’

‘Huh?’

‘I- I was in there for too long. Far too long. They whisper things. Bad things. Untrue things,’ he whispers, voice shaking.

‘It's okay now. You're here with us. Let's go back to camp and rest.’ Anti keeps his arm protectively around Marvin as they let Keiran lead them all back. Eventually, they come to the beach. Keiran pulls his jacket back on, being careful to check he cleaned off all of the dark stuff. His scarf is completely covered, so he pops his collar, self consciously covering his neck.

‘You kids go back to the cabin and rest while I sort this out with the others. Don't come out until the dinner bell rings, and don't try to talk to me. I'll swap so that I can come and do your nightly check, we'll talk then, alright?’ The boys nod, and they go their separate ways, cutting through the safer route back, even though neither Anti nor Marvin could hear the voices again yet. Coming back to the cabin, no one talks, and when they get back, everyone flops down onto their own bunks, still silent. Anti's bag is back sitting by the door, but he doesn't move to grab out fresh clothes. No one does. Not for a long time.

I know everybody is probably pretty stressed right now, but why don't you play some games to take your mind off it?

‘Yeah, okay,’ Chase nods. ‘It's not like we can stay like this for the rest of the day anyway.’

‘I'm down, as long as I can sit still,’ Marvin agrees. 

‘JJ and J, are you playing?’ Anti calls the brothers. 

‘Sure,’ Jackie agrees, sliding over. Marvin and Anti squeeze in next to him, while Chase and Jamie sit on Henrik's bunk opposite. ‘Alright, what are we playing?’

why not play truth or dare or would you rather? something like that would be fun i think!

‘Dude, that's perfect!’ Chase grins. ‘Which one should we play first?’

‘Would you rather sounds good,’ Marvin smiles. ‘I have a few good ones.’

‘Go ahead then,’ Jackie prompts.

‘Alright. Would you rather be able to skate or be able to surf.’

‘Skate!’ Chase yells immediately. ‘I can already surf, Angus taught me how, but I wanna be a skater boy.’

‘I'm with Brody,’ Anti agrees. 

‘No way! Surfing sounds awesome,’ Jackie exclaims, with Jamie nodding in agreement.

‘Surfing sounds nice,’ Henrik smiles. ‘I like the beach.’

‘Okay, my turn. Would you rather sing in front of the whole camp, or have to go back to school a week early?’ Jackie asks.

‘School, in a heartbeat,’ Henrik replies immediately. 

“If I could sing I would,’ Jamie signs.

‘Sing!’ Marvin says

‘Sing, I guess.’ Anti agrees.

‘School,’ Chase smiles. ‘How about would you rather have brown eyes or green eyes.’

‘Why not both?’ Anti flutters his eyelids comically, showing his different coloured eyes off. Jackie bursts into laughter.

‘That's so cool! I'll take green, then I can be a true ginger.’ Everyone else agrees except for Jamie.

‘Okay, last one. Would you rather have dyed hair or a piercing?’ Anti asks.

‘A piercing. Then I can complete my weird scandanavian look,’ Henrik says

‘I thought you were german?’ Chase raises an eyebrow. 

‘I'm German, but most of my family is from norway.'

‘Oh, that makes sense. I'd dye my hair even blonder.’

‘Already dyed,’ Jamie signs, pointing to his hair, which upon closer inspection is tinted dark blue.

‘Sure, I'd re-dye,’ Marvin shrugs.

‘Dye all the way!’ Jackie shouts. ‘What next. Truth or dare? We need a good question to start us off.’

Just go for it. Jamie, why don't you start?

Jamie claps his hands together excitedly. “Chase! Truth, dare, double dare?” He signs.

‘Double dare? How does that work?’ 

‘Jackson family rules!’ Jackie tells him. ‘In our version, double dare means you have to pick someone else to do the dare with you.’

‘Oh, cool! Double dare, Henrik.’ He grins at his friend.

‘Why must you do this, Käse?’ Henrik sighs.

‘Alright, you two have to swap hairstyles for the rest of the game!’ Jamie grins.

‘How do we do that bro?’ Chase looks puzzled. 

‘Like this,’ Henrik suddenly grabs him by the shoulders, snatching his hat, and starting to plaster his hair down into a neat side parting. Chase is too stunned to react, so he just watches his friend as he works with his tongue poking out slightly. ‘Done,’ Henrik announces triumphantly after a while. For a while, Chase's throat dries up. ‘You okay? Was I too ruff?’ Henrik asks, adjusting his glasses.

‘No, no,’ Chase mumbles, trying to stall as he regains his wits. ‘I was just planning how I was going to do.. this!’ He lurches forward and pulls a section of Henrik's hair out onto his forehead, fluffing it up with his fingers. As a finishing touch, he places the discarded cap backwards on top of his head. ‘Voila,’ he turns to the rest of the room. ‘How do we look?’

‘Like a pair of gnomes who've just emerged from their gnome hole,’ Jackie laughs, ‘Chase, choose someone!’

‘Okay, Marvin! My boating bro,’ Chase points at him.

‘Truth,’ Marvin replies, leaning against the back wall with his hands resting on his lap. ‘I don't feel like moving just yet.’

‘Okay, uh..’ Chase falters. ‘Help me out here, Hen,’ Henrik leans over and whispers something into his ear. They both giggle. ‘Alright Marv, if you could swap bodies with someone here, who would it be?’

‘Jamie, duh. He's more than a head taller than me and I want to be able to look down upon you. Next, Henrik.’

‘I'll take a truth too,’ he shrugs.

‘Alright, what’s your favourite memory?’

‘Easy! Last year my parents picked me up from my boarding school and took me home to Germany for the holidays. They came with me to pride! Even bought me these pins and a flag,’ he grabs his backpack from the foot of the bed and holds up the two pride pins.

‘That's so cool man!’ Jackie exclaims.

‘Alright, Jackie your turn!’ He says, just as the dinner bell rings. 

‘Dare,’ Jackie replies anyway.

‘We can keep playing after we eat,’ Marvin suggests.

‘Yeah! Wait a second, Jackie I dare you to stuff your mouth completely full of food, so full you can't even open it.’

‘Deal,’ Jackie grins, extracting himself from the bedposts. The gang head to the dinner hall in high spirits.

Henrik! What pins and flag do you have? :D

tw: food

‘Oh, I have a pan flag and pin, and a demisexual pin too. I also have the lgbt ribbon!’ He smiles proudly.

‘And your parents are cool with it?’ Anti asks, astonished.

‘Yes they are. They never used to be supportive of the lgbt community, but then my aunt became my uncle Emile, so they decided family was more important than anything. They're pretty vocal about supporting us now. It's nice.’

‘That's so cool, dude,’ Chase tells him. ‘We support you too.’

‘Thanks, Käse,’ Henrik smiles.

Stepping into the main cabin, they struggle to keep their eyes away from Keiran. Nevertheless, Jack comes straight over to their table. Everyone tries to look down into the table to avoid him, but he talks regardless.

‘No need to be so humble!’ He claps Marvin, sitting closest to him, on the back. He goes pale at the impact.

‘Huh?’ Chase looks puzzled. Henrik kicks him under the table.

‘Keiran covered for us, remember?’ He whispers.

‘Yeah, thank you so much for volunteering to fix the potholes in the road! Keiran told me you were real lifesavers today.’ Jack continues, oblivious to the exchange. ‘You can have first pick in the rotations tomorrow as a reward, don’t tell the others though,’ he winks, walking away.

‘You alright, Marv?’ Anti squeezes his friend's arm. 

‘Yeah, I'm good.’

 ‘Hey! Quick announcement!’ Thomas steps up to the front. ‘Tomorrow is thursday, and the last day of rotations so be sure to decide on something fun! Now enjoy the food. Dessert is going to be marshmallows at the campfire.’

Jackie immediately bolts straight to the food hatch and once again piles his plate precariously high. The dinner is a lasagna. 

‘You know the deal, Jackieboyman,’ Henrik prods him with his fork. 

‘Yeah, yeah.’ Jackie grins, cutting out a massive chunk and cramming it into his mouth. Marvin stops pushing the food around his plate and stands up, walking quickly outside. 

Marvin, you alright?

‘Yeah, yeah, I'm good, I'm good.’ Marvin leans against the bannister, shaking slightly. ‘Just had a rough day.’

‘Hey? Marv? You okay out here?’ Chase's voice pierces the night. 

‘I'm fine. Just catching my breath, alright?’ Marvin calls back.

‘Do you want me to stay?’

‘No, I'll be back in a minute.’ He hears the footsteps turn around back inside.

‘I feel bad, I really do. I just needed a minute,’ Marvin tells you. ‘It feels like I've been stripped of something. Inside. But hey, the voices haven't come back yet. That's nice.’ He goes to take a few steps towards the door, but thinks better of it, leaning against the wood again. ‘You should probably go, I'll be fine. See you at the campfire.’

I hope you're okay Marvin, but for the rest of you,, campfire time!!

Marvin rejoins them as they step out through the door. 

‘Campfire time!’ Chase shouts jubiously. Marvin grins, attaching himself to the tide of people flooding out. 

‘Hey look, we even get our own log!’ He points to the piece of wood with a green stripe painted down it's top. The gang pile onto it. There's plenty of room, considering the capacity for everything is eight, rather than the six of them but they sit practically on top of one another barring Jackie and Marvin, who decide not to touch and instead sit on the end.

‘Alright!’ Thomas calls out once everybody has settled down. ‘Before I hand out marshmallows and sticks, we gotta sing a campfire song!’ A collective groan issues from the campers. ‘Does anyone have a song they'd like to sing?’

Anti looks at Marvin, who ordinarily would have jumped at the chance. This time though, he just shakes his head.

‘The campfire song!’ Jackie calls, inspiring a few laughs from the surrounding cabins.

‘Do you know how often I get that?’ Thomas shakes his head ruefully. ‘Alright, I'm guessing you all know the lyrics?’

In response, everyone starts to sing. ‘Let's gather round the campfire..’ 

As the evening goes on, the mood becomes lighter and more jovial. At one point, Chase and Jackie get into a marshmallow throwing fight with the purple cabin, which only stops when Chase hits a short boy square in the glasses. 

‘I'm so sorry, dude,’ Chase rushes over.

‘It's fine! We were just having fun!’ He replies. Another boy comes over and pelts Chase's still neat hair with a gooey marshmallow. 

‘Consider it even!’ He laughs. Chase retreats back to the log. A few more songs are sung, mostly joke songs like YMCA or take on me, during which the high notes are sung as badly as possible on purpose. Eventually, even Marvin regains some of his colour and joins in, leading Wonderwall. When the fire was barely burning, a fourth counsellor stood up the front. 

‘Alright, time to head back and start getting ready to sleep. The counsellors are coming round in half an hour, and if you aren't in your bunks, there's going to be washing up to do. For the whole camp.’ Everyone starts walking back towards the cabins, spirits high and humming songs. 

‘I'm gonna take a shower,’ Chase tells them, walking towards the shower block to clean the marshmallow out of his hair.

Don't forget you've gotta stay awake for Keiran! Why not carry on with the truth or dare game - G

‘Sure, why not?’ Marvin pushes the door open and flops straight back into his spot. ‘Jackie, your turn right?’

‘Right, and I have a good one too,’ Jackie climbs up Chase's ladder and dangles his arms and head down. ‘Anti, you're up.’

‘Uh, dare,’ he says.

‘I dare you to make your hair into a full emo side fringe and sing us some Panic! At the disco.’

‘Can I make that a double dare?’ Anti suddenly smiles at Marvin.

‘Oh no you cannot,’ he points his finger back at Anti warningly.

‘Oh yes you totally can,’ Jackie smirks. Anti drags Marvin over to the other side of the room, backs turned to the others.

‘If I'm doing this with you, we've got to go all out,’ Marvin grins, tugging on his friend's dyed green fringe, pulling it down so that it covers his eyes. 

‘Fine, what song are we doing?’ Anti does the same to Marvin.

‘Victorious?’

‘Let's go then.’ They twirl around, walking down the middle of the beds, flipping their fringes and exaggerating their hip movements. Years of practice in Marvin's living room combined with the absence of the voices and the slight high from the marshmallows makes their energy electric. Marvin air guitars the opening and they both put on exaggerated moody faces to show how emo they are.

‘Double bubble disco queen!’ Marvin starts.

‘Headed to the guillotine,’ Anti uses a marshmallow stick as a microphone.

‘Skin as cool as Steve McQueen.’ 

‘Let me be your killer king, it hurts until it stops.’

‘We will love until it's not.’

‘I'm a killing spree in white!’

‘White!’ Chase squeals, entering the room with his hair wet and spikey.

‘Eyes like broken christmas lights,’ they finish, leaning back to back.

‘Aw, come on! Keep going,’ Chase complains. 

‘We sang some song, now it's Anti's turn to choose,’ Marvin shrugs, brushing his hair back behind his ears again.

Anti uses the stick to point at Jamie. ‘Now, my friend, it is your turn.’

‘Dare,’ signs Jamie.

‘I dare you to..’

‘Dare him to shave his mini moustache!’ Jackie offers.

“Shut it, Jackson,” Jamie replies, signing out the name letter by letter.

‘Wait, Jackson? Isn't that his last name too?’ Henrik looks confused.

‘It is! Isn't my first name though.’ Jackie grins, still hanging upside down. ‘Jackie's just a nickname.’

‘What is your first name then?’ Marvin asks.

‘That's for me to know and you to find out.’

‘Hmm, I dare you to do the disco fever dance.’ Anti finally decides. Jamie scoots out of the bed and starts awkwardly doing a John Travolta impression. Chase begins humming stayin alive and the others join in, getting halfway to the chorus when Keiran walks in, a new scarf wrapped around his neck. He raises an eyebrow at the scene but doesn't question it, instead taking a seat on the edge of the spare bed.

‘I'm going to be blunt here,’ he begins, ‘I think Anti and Marvin should leave.’

‘The room? What for,’ Henrik protests.

‘No. Camp. I think you should leave now and not come back.’

anti and marvin can't leave! they'll be safe as long as they're far away from the lake, right?

Tw: death mention

‘In theory, sure. I bet right now you don't even hear the voices,’ Keiran raises his eyebrows at Anti and Marvin. They nod. ‘That'll last a few days. You have until Saturday, maybe, before they come back. But what then? You're infected, him too. You've seen the warehouse, and now it's only a matter of time before you go back. Until you do, you're endangering everyone else here.’

Everyone goes silent. Anti won’t meet anyone's eyes, and Marvin stares down at the floor.

‘You can stay at my house,’ he suggests quietly. ‘We just won't tell your parents you came back.’

‘No, that doesn't need to happen. You're staying here. We don't need protecting from you,’ Henrik announces.

‘Oh, and you're so sure you know what's right? What can and can't kill you?’ Keiran practically spits, throwing his arms in the air. ‘Chase knows what could happen. Chase's brother knows what could happen. Chase's friend lying at the bottom of the lake knows what could happen.’ Chase's eyes go wide and he lets out a small gasp.

‘I think you should leave,’ Jackie says quietly. ‘They're staying. If you really want to help, tell us about the danger, don't hide it away.’

‘No, you're right. I'm sorry. They never told me everything, the old green cabin, so see if you can get in contact with them. Otherwise, I'll tell you more later, once we've all.. calmed down.’ He opens the door and leaves without another word. Chase still looks upset and Anti looks torn. 

i think you might as well stay. going home could be bad for anti, and we wouldn't want him in trouble with his parents

‘Yeah, what the yellow one said!' Jamie signs. 'You're staying. End of discussion.’ Henrik relays the message to Anti.

‘But-’ Anti starts

‘I said end of discussion!’ Jamie smiles at him. ‘I'm the oldest, and by my royal decree you are staying.’

‘But, I, alright,’ Anti concedes. ‘You're all sure?’

‘Sure,’ the others nod.

As much of a jerk as he just was, Keiran does kind of have a point. We don't know the ins and outs of this; you need an exhaustive game plan to keep you three safe in the meantime.

‘Also a valid point,’ Marvin agrees. ‘We need more information on the ins and outs of the warehouse stuff.’

‘Well why don't I write to Angus and ask him about what happened?’ Chase suggests, standing up to change behind the towel partition. ‘Like our favourite counsellor so kindly said, he does know more about it than we do.’

‘Yeah, okay. That sounds good. Sorry that conversation ever happened, Chase,’ Jackie tells him. 

‘For now, we do need to keep on looking for a way to stay safe.’ Anti reminds him.

‘Can we just go to sleep now guys?’ Chase asks. ‘I'm tired.’

‘I second that,’ Henrik adds. ‘Besides, I don't want to do all the washing up.’

Everyone gets changed and climbs into their respective bunks, all of the good atmosphere from the truth or dare games gone.

will you be alright, anti? how are you gonna stay away from the lake for the rest of the week until lake week is over?

‘Hey, that's it!’ Anti yells, causing everyone to sit up and stare at him.

‘What?’ Jackie asks.

‘He said we have until Saturday pretty much voiceless. We can do the lake week stuff without worrying.’

‘And Saturday is letter day!’ Chase exclaims. ‘Then we only have a week to wait for him to write back.’

‘Now that's been sorted out, can we get back to sleeping?’ Henrik grumbles.

Marvin, you and Anti know each other?

‘Sure,’ Marvin replies, taking a slice of toast. 'We go back a while. He helped me through some stuff and now we have a deal. Right, Ant?’

Anti looks up from the cereal he seems dead set on staring to death. 'This idiot hangs out with me because he doesn’t know what a lost cause looks like.’

'I’m your favourite idiot though.’ Marvin grins and Anti can’t help smirking back.

'How does he manage to talk to him?’ Jamie signs at Henrik at the other end of the table.

'Some friendships can’t be explained, I suppose,’ he replies quietly

do you not like water, jackie?

‘It’s not that I don’t like water,’ Jackie trails off. He hasn’t touched any of his food and when the boys leave to get changed, he tips it into the rubbish bin.

‘Dude, are you okay?’ Chase asks. ‘You didn’t eat anything. Feeling nervous about the lake?’ Jackie hesitates for a second before making a decision.

‘Yeah, sure. Just nervous about the lake.’

‘Alright then, we’ll help you out!’

‘Thanks,’ despite Chase’s most reassuring smile, Jackie remains sullen. Chase, Henrik, Marvin and Anti head inside to change, but Jamie hovers back to talk to his brother.

“You know the deal,” he signs.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jackie scowls, going to brush past him. Jamie plants himself in front of Jackie, three fingers extended in the sign for “I love you.” Reluctantly Jackie holds out the same sign, pressing it into his brother’s. ‘Don’t stay back with me, okay? Go have fun. I’ll be fine.’ 

Jamie gives him a sympathetic smile and walks inside.

what's wrong if it's not the water, jackie? can you not swim or something?

‘No, no, I love the water,’ Jackie puts on an extra t-shirt on top of his singlet  ‘Just.. self conscious you know?’ He hugs his arms around himself protectively. Jamie taps him on the shoulder and offers him a towel to wrap around his shoulders. ‘Thanks,’ he smiles.

‘Ready to go?’ calls Chase, tangling himself up in his day bag.

‘As I’ll ever be!’ Marvin half replies and half sings.

‘Really Marvin? A sweater?’ Asks Henrik, bemused.

‘It absorbs the water,’ he shrugs. The sweater in question is printed with a whale. ‘Plus it’s themed.’

‘Everybody out of the cabins!’ calls Jack. ‘We’re going to the lake!’

ooh, have fun at the lake guys!

The walk to the lake is great despite the occasional puddle from last night’s deluge and Anti’s given refusal to try and socialise with anyone apart from the occasional comment to Marvin. Everyone but Jackie and Marvin are dressed in swim trunks, ready to jump straight into the water. When they arrive at the lake, Jack and a second counsellor turn around to address the group.

‘We’re here!’ Jack yells, met by an enthusiastic chorus. ‘There are five days out on the water and five main activities. Each cabin needs to choose one for today. They are: Swimming, Raft building, Kayaking, Races, and chilling on the beach.’

Jackie breathes a sigh of relief. There is an option to not swim. That is, until Chase yells ‘the beach is for nerds!’ His throat dies up again.

'What should I do?'

jackie, if you don't want to swim, you don't have to. no one's gonna actually think any less of you for it!

‘Hey guys,’ Jackie pipes up. He hates doing this, being the one to hold the group back but he has to do it. 'How about we do rowing?’

Henrik’s eyes light up. 'Yes! I was on my boarding school rowing team, I can teach you.’

'It’s decided then,’ Jamie signs. 'Rowing it is. Jackie races over to tell Jack.

'Alright, green cabin go over to Thomas. He’ll set you up with some boats.’ Jackie races back to his friends, but Chase stops him before he gets back.

'Dude look, do you think he’s ok?’ Jackie follows his finger to where Anti is sitting, arms wrapped around himself and head on his knees. Marvin is hovering just behind him, trying to comfort him. 'I don’t know what happened,’ Chase explains.

'I don’t care what happened,’ Jackie waves him off, feeling a lot more confident. 'Serves him right.’

Chase goes to protest, but eventually decides to stay silent.

'Okay. Functional members of the green cabin get over here,’ Jackie continues. Marvin shoots him a glare. ‘What? It’s true.’

‘You’re lucky I’m not a violent person,’ Marvin shakes his head. The boys walk over to Thomas, but instead of following Jackie, they follow Marvin instead. None of them sit near him, not even Jamie, and Jackie’s morning only gets worse when Thomas calls out:

‘I’ve only got two person row boats, so you’re going to be split into twos and I’ll be floating around in my rescue boat to see if you need any help, okay?’

Finally, thinks Jackie. Jamie will have to go with me because he can only speak sign. That is, until he sees Henrik pairing off with his brother and remembers he isn’t necessary for that anymore. Jackie tries to talk to Chase to apologise, but the latter won’t even look at him. 

‘Alright, you two on the outside of the group can share a boat,’ It takes a while to realise that Thomas is gesturing at him and Anti. 

No. He opens his mouth to protest before remembering that there is no one left to protest to. Resigned once again, he picks up an oar and walks over to his boat.

hey anti, what's up? you ok?

‘I’m fine, alright?’ he spits, but with less edge than usual. 'Just going through the motions. Wake up. Eat. Disappoint Marvin. Get into a fight. Try not to speak for the rest of the day.’

'That wasn’t your fault, Ant,’ Marvin gently reminds him.

'Wasn’t it? Sure that dickhead may have upset your little feelings, but it was, oh wait, me, your personal disappointment who caused the problems in the first place.’ He keeps his head down, noticing too late the emotions brimming in Marvin’s eyes. He’d gone too far.

'You really are mean sometimes, you know that Ant? I’m trying my best, okay.’ He turns around quickly and walks towards Chase.

'Marv, I’m sorry, okay?’ Anti calls. 

'So am I,’ he replies without turning around.

'You’re my best friend Marvin.’

'You’re mine too, Anti. That’s what makes everything so hard.’

'I’m sorry.’ Anti repeats quietly, no longer within earshot of Marvin.

'Hey emo, are you getting in?’ Jackie calls. Great, just what he needs. Another emotionally repressed asshole who seems dead set on calling him out on anything he does. Without a word, he climbs into the damp boat and picks up an oar. Thomas pushes them out and they begin floating through the rocky water.

sooooo . . . will a certain purple haired boy be making his appearance and crash at the boy's group?

‘Purple haired?’ Chase answers thoughtfully. 'The only person with dyed hair I’ve seen here is Anti, and he has green hair.’ Marvin winces at the memory of their last conversation.

'I had purple hair once, but it was more on the pink side,’ he offers.

'Hold on, I think that rings a bell. Maybe something my brother said.’ He thinks for a while longer before realisation dawns. He looks sick. 'I’ll tell you later. Come on, let’s keep going.’

Marvin looks bemused but doesn’t press the subject any further.

so have any of you done rowing before? how's it going so far? i take it the conversation in jackie and anti's canoe is POPPING OFF with how much fun you're having (sorry guys)

‘Oh boy is it,’ Marvin glances over to Jackie and Anti. Both of the other boats are trying to keep their distance, but with the levels of energy and tension between the two boys, they can be heard from across the lake. Even Henrik, in his element with the oars in hands looks uncomfortable. 

‘I hope they sort it out soon,’ he confesses. 'Then we could all get along and get on with having a good time.’

'You and me both,’ Marvin agrees.

 In the boat, both Anti and Jackie sit in silence, rowing hard. Jackie, overheating in his layers, envies Anti who is wearing only swim trunks. At one point, near the middle of the lake, Anti’s oar slips out of his hand just enough to throw out the rhythm. The tension snaps.

'What’s your deal?’ Jackie snaps, throwing down his oar with a thud.

'My paddle slipped, okay?’ Anti snaps back.

'No, not that, idiot. What’s your deal with the whole 'moody kid who can’t handle his anger issues unless his special friend is here to help him out’ thing,’ Jackie sneers. He’s had a bad day, and doesn’t intend on letting this kid ruin it again.

'At least I’m trying! At least I didn’t spend most of the day pissing myself, only to become Mr better-than-you as soon as we ended up in boats instead. What’s the matter Jackie, can’t swim?’ He hit a nerve.

'Ooh, getting angry, are we? I think you need to get your boyfriend to come and help you out.’

The boat rocks forwards as Anti lunges at Jackie, grabbing him by the top of his shirt. 'Don’t bring Marvin into this. He isn’t my boyfriend.’ Jackie panics and tries to throw him off, overbalancing in the process. He lands half hanging down into the water.

'Help!’ He calls. Anti tries to grab his waist to pull him in, suddenly regretting the fight escalating that far, but the continued momentum sends them both into the water. Jackie’s arms high himself protectively, but he forgets to tread water. Anti goes to try and support him, but he screeches 'get off!’ Thomas is there in his boat within seconds, and he scoops up Jackie while Anti pulls himself in. Jackie is on the verge of crying.

The row boat is pulled back to shore in silence and the remaining five are made to sit on the sand, wet and dejected as Thomas escorts Jackie back to camp.

hey,hang on! you spiked my curiosity now,what was that about what your brother said regarding a certain guy? Tell me all

Tw: death

The remaining five sit on the beach in varying degrees of misery. ‘I guess now is as good a time as any,’ Chase sighs. 'My brother lives in Australia now for collage, but when he was younger he came here over the summer. His best friend Robert and him were studying nature and stuff so that they could do documentaries like David Attenborough. They came here for years, and a few summers ago they were out at night for some reason.’

'Is this story why that rule is here?’ Henrik asks

'No, they were out there to try and find out why,’ Chase replies. 'Anyway, they wanted to cross the lake so they got out a row boat and headed across the lake. Robbie..’ He falters then shakes his head. 'The papers all say a gust of wind capsized the boat. He drowned before my brother could pull him out.’ Chase wells up with tears. Jamie pats his arm.

'The papers say it? What about your brother? What did he say?’ Henrik asks.

'Not the best time,’ Jamie signs back, but none the less, the boys are all waiting for his reply. Chase shakes his head.

'Can we talk about something​ else now?’

jeez, jackie, anti, you guys ok? i think you two really need to have a talk and sort out your differences somehow lmao this is getting out of hand 

 'They’re right, you know,’ Chase chimes in. He, Marvin, Jamie, and Henrik are playing a weird mix of chess and snakes and ladders with pebbles and lines drawn in the sand, while Anti paces backwards and forwards up and down the beach, becoming more and more agitated by the second. He drips onto the sand, shivering occasionally. Normally, Marvin would have offered him a sweater but today, he reminds himself, is significantly worse than normal. Even by his standards. 

‘You don’t need them,' the usual voice reminds him. It’s been louder since he got to the lake this morning. Maybe he doesn’t, but he owes it to Marvin to at least try.

'Hey Jamie, could you come over here a second?’ He finally croaks. He isn’t absolutely sure that Jamie would, given that in the two days they’d known each other he’d already been.. less than friendly. 

'Sure,’ Jamie smiles, walking over anyway. 

Anti looks down. 'I can’t sign,’ he mumbles. Jamie thinks for a moment before kneeling down and writing in the sand.

'Like this then?’

'Yeah, that’s good, thanks. Listen. I feel bad about Jackie but I don’t know how to, you know, apologise, without sounding like an ass.’

Jamie thinks again, before writing, 'My brother is proud. Just admit you were wrong. He doesn’t like showing his emotions but you might be able to find out what’s wrong.’

'What do you mean 'What’s wrong?’ I’m what’s wrong. I’m the problem here.’ He sinks down beside Jamie.

'He’s like you. The problem goes deeper. You pissing each other off was just an outlet.’ Anti just stares at Jamie for a while.

'You know what? I should talk to you more often.

’No, you shouldn’t. He should stay out of your way if he wants to stay unharmed.’ Anti taps his knuckles against his head, trying to somehow shake the voice. 

'Or,’ writes Jamie finally, 'Just wait for him to calm down. He might respond better that way.' 

'Thanks, man.’ Anti almost smiles. He would have gone back and asked Marvin what to do, but that’s another problem for another time. What to do, what to do.

i think it's best to just apologize as soon as you can, anti. this'll only get worse if you keep putting it off. and besides, like jamie said, you weren't the only problem. maybe try and find out what's really wrong with jackie?

‘Yeah, you're probably right,’ Anti agrees. 'I need to get out of here anyway or else I might scream at someone.’ He walks over to the other boys. ‘I'm going to go and sort things out with jackie. I need to apologise.’ Henrik and Chase are taken aback, making Anti realize that this is the first time he has ever talked to them without punching someone. Jamie holds two thumbs up though, and Marvin wears an expression which Anti would like to believe is pride. 

'I’m going to apologise to Jackie back at camp,’ he tells Jack. Not a request but a statement of facts. 

'Jackie? Oh, the Jackson kid. Yeah, go see he-. Go see him.’

Jackie Jackson? Anti makes a mental note to joke about that, before remembering he's here to apologise, not antagonize.

When he reaches the door, he finds it locked.

‘Jackie let me in. I need to say sorry,’ he raps on the door.

‘Go away,’ comes the muffled reply from inside.

‘Then at least let me grab my towel. It's freezing out here.’ There is a slight hesitation before the door unlocks, revealing Jackie, with tear tracks down his face.

Anti strides right in and sits down on his bunk, gesturing for Jackie to do the same on the bed opposite.

‘Get your towel and leave.’ Jackie barks. ‘That's what you said you were going to do, or should I add lying to the list of shit you've done?’

'Just hear me out. This is day 2 of six weeks. Do you think we're going to survive if we're at each other's throats all summer?’

Jackie nods slowly and sits down, arms wrapped around his knees.

‘Look, I don't hate you personally, I was just already mad and you were there, ready to fight. I'm guessing you have something going on too?’ 

Jackie nods again.

'Do you want to talk about it, or should we just apologise and try to get along?’

Jackie considers carefully. 'I don't take back what I said about you being always angry, but I guess you have a right to be if there's as much going on with you as there is with me, so sorry about that.’

‘I'm sorry for mocking your fear of the water and all of that other shit. It's a valid fear, man.’ 

‘I'm not,’ he starts. ‘You know what? That's enough sharing for one day.’

‘But can we agree on one more thing?’ 

'Mm?’

'If we ever get this bad again, we have to tell each other what's going on. Deal?’ He outstretches his hand across the gap.

'Deal,’ Jackie smiles weakly. 'At least that's an incentive to hold off on the fighting.’ He takes Antis hand and shakes it. 'Oh, and one more thing.’

'Yeah?’

'I know Marvin isn't your boyfriend, but if he was, I wouldn’t care. I mean you know, I'm not against you having a boyfriend. Or anyone, you know, it's all cool with me. I'm not a homophobe’ He stammers.

'Thanks?’ Anti raises an eyebrow, but smiles anyway.

 yay, friendship! does that mean you two aren't gonna be at each other's throats anymore? let's hope that lasts the rest of the summer (●__●)

'Hopefully,' Jackie shrugs. 'Now we've talked it out, there's no reason to fight.'

‘Should we go and find the rest of our cabin? We kinda owe them an apology.’ Anti suggests

‘Again? We didn’t do anything to them.’ 

‘They had to get out of the boats to let Thomas bring you back.’ 

‘Oh,’ Jackie realises. ‘Bit of a dick move on my part then.’ 

‘Yeah, it kind of was,’ Anti agrees. ‘But I reckon we should apologise now while we’re on a roll. Who knows how long i’ll resist the stabby urges.’ 

Jackie laughs, gesturing for Anti to walk while they talk. ‘Stabby urges?’ 

‘ Yeah. It’s like there’s an angry little lad in my head trying to get me to go on a murder spree. He pisses me off sometimes,’ Anti passes it off as a joke, but Jackie takes note of it anyway.

‘You wouldn’t stab me, right?’ Jackie jokes back.

‘I don’t know, Depends on the quality of your ghost stories later,’ 

'Ghost stories? Who said anything about ghost stories?'

'The very definition of a good camp does. Once I told a story that was so,' Anti's brow furrows and he stops speaking.

'You alright?'

'Yeah, I'm fine. The angry little lad has gotten stronger each time I've gotten close to the lake.'

'Can I help at all?'

'Stay away from me. I'm probably going to get pretty pissed off in a moment and I was just starting to enjoy a non Marvin person who doesn't think I'm a piece of shit.' Jackie claps him on the back. I'll tell the others we made up. Go do what you need to do.' 

Anti nods, watching him walk away. The voice feels like it's trying to knock out his skull with a sledgehammer. He walks quickly over to the grass and curls up into a ball, unnoticed by the other five boys. Everything goes black.

Oh shoot. Guys, keep him upright, tilt his head forward, and pinch the bridge of his nose if you think it's okay to touch him. We don't want him swallowing any blood. Get some tissues too. And one of you get an adult, now, Jamie can't communicate with most people, and you need someone with first aid training.

'Oh shit, you're right. Jamie! Go find a notepad or something, we need to get an adult.' Jackie calls.

'I can help here,' Jamie protests. 'I did first aid in school.' All eyes are back on Anti though, so no one can see. Feeling wounded, he begins to run back to camp.

The other boys gently place Anti's legs in the floor, letting his feet rest on the floor and with Chase and Jackie supporting him across the shoulders. 

'I can do some first aid,' Henrik offers. 'My parents are doctors and I've come to enough of their training seminars.'

'Alright, yeah. That sounds like a good plan.' Marvin concedes. Henrik holds his hand out to Chase, who passes him a packet of tissues.

'Anti, can you hear us?' Henrik asks. He gets a groan in response. 'Was that a yes?'

'Yeah,' he croaks. 

'Okay then, I'm pretty sure he can sit down now.' They lower him down onto a tree stump at the edge of the clearing. Henrik wipes away the blood and pinches his nose just above the nostrils. 'If he faints again we need to put his head between his legs, otherwise he should be fine until Jack comes.'

'No!' Anti gasps.

'What? What's wrong dude?' Chase places his hand on his shoulder.

'You can't tell Jack. I'm fine, see look, I'll show you,' he goes to stand up, but Chase and Henrik hold him down, not that it takes much holding. Anti fixes his eyes directly on Marvin.

'Please Marv, I know you hate me but you can't let him know about the voice. Remember last summer? He'll kick me out.'

'I don't hate you-,' Marvin protests, being interrupted by Jack sprinting into the clearing, Jamie close behind.

'What's going on? Jamie wrote something about Antonio collapsing?'

'I'm fine, see?' Anti protests again, trying to stand.

'Oh no you don't,' Henrik mutters.

'He passed out and got a nosebleed. Probably from stress, we were having a pretty big argument earlier,' Jackie covers quickly. Anti gives him a grateful look and Henrik gives him a less than grateful jab in the side.

'Alright then. You can come with me and stay in the sick room for a while. There's a bed in there so you can sleep for the night where we can make sure you're okay.' He helps Anti stand up and walk the short remainder of the path back to camp. As soon as they get out of earshot, Henrik rounds on Jackie.

'Why didn't you tell him the truth?'

'What, you wanted me to tell an adult that the angry kid was hearing voices from the lake that made him pass out? You heard the guy, he doesn't want to get sent to the mental asylum.'

'We really should've told him though,' 

'Chill out. We told him something close enough to the truth, and if we need to tell him later it's no big deal. Come on, let's go back to the cabin. There's no use staying out here.'

shit, marvin, what's wrong with anti? you have to tell us if you know so we can help him! and also, you know jack can't speak sign right? jamie won't be able to tell him what's happened unless he writes it down or something

'I don't want to tell you all of his secrets, but I suppose I've gotta at least tell you enough to understand,' Marvin sighs, jumping down from his bunk with a fresh sweater in hand. Everyone is sitting on Henrik and Jackie's bunks, huddled around to listen. Marvin's voice shakes as he speaks. 'I've known him for a while. As I said this morning, he helped me out and we sort of became friends after that. He's always been angry, sometimes he can control it better than others. Anyway, last summer we were at this other camp and there was a puppet show. He just started freaking out, I'm pretty sure at one point he was yelling something about getting out of his head? He smashed up the little pop up theatre and then the same passing-out-nosebleed thing happened. We were sent home for violence and anger issues as soon as he woke up.'

'We? No offense Marvin, but you look like the least violent person I know,' Chase interjects. Marvin goes red. 

'They were trying to drag him outside to wait. I couldn't let him get tossed around while he was unconscious...'

'So you..?'

'So I punched the camp director in the nose,' Marvin grins sheepishly.

'Dude, you're a badass!' Jackie laughs. 'I bet you had to jump to reach his face.'

'Hey!' Marvin swats him in the face with a pillow, smiling. 'I only did it to help out a friend. I told you guys, I'm not a violent person. And I'm not that short.'

'Yeah you are!' Jackie insists. 'Isn't he, Jamie?' Jamie doesn't bother to turn around, continuing to read his book with his back to his brother. Jackie waves it off and sighs. An uncomfortable silence falls over the room.

'So what you're saying is that Anti had something in his head which got worse nearer the lake?' Chase says eventually.

'Yeah, why?'

'Oh, nothing,' he replies, deep in thought. Before anyone else can say anything, the dinner bell rings.

you alright, jamie?

'Oh, of course,' he signs, brows tilted down. 'I'm always okay because I have little brother Jackie looking after me. He can translate for me, he can tell me what's best because poor little me can't fend for myself.' 

'Hey Jamie, are you coming?' Henrik calls back to where Jamie is waiting outside the hall, scuffing his shoes.

'In a minute,' he replies. Henrik turns around and goes inside.

'It's like he doesn't know that I can do things anymore. By the end of the term, I was looking forward to school, just so he'd be off my case, but next year he'll be old enough to be in my part of the school anyway. Little Jackie, always having to prove that he's in control, having to prove he's strong and masculine by taking it upon himself to care for me like a child, not a brother.' He stops signing and looks guilty. 'I'm sorry. Forget I told you that. Anyway, things are looking up now. I have Henrik! He can sign too. Yeah. That was just a one-off panic situation. I'm doing fine.' He shakes his head, dropping his frown and putting on a light grin to go inside.

 Hey Anti, just wanted to pop in and say you're not wrong or bad for a mental condition out of your control. I hope no one is giving you a hard time over what just happened (yourself included) 

'Thank you,' he smiles, looking genuinely grateful. 'It's nice to know there are people here who don't think I'm completely crazy. Or at least won't judge me for it. I'm just so angry at myself for upsetting Marvin. All he's ever done is been kind about it, and now as soon as the voice gets just a little stronger, I go and yell at him. I should be able to resist it by now.'

The door creaks open and another counsellor who Anti hasn't seen before walks in. 'Feeling better?' He asks.

'Yeah, thanks,' he replies.

'Cool, want to come eat then?'

Anti hesitates. He isn't sure whether sitting with the other boys is a good idea, especially after making them miss out on most of the day's fun. But, he did bypass lunch, and he's pretty hungry. 'Yeah, okay.'

The new counsellor leads him down the stairs and into the dining hall. It's empty.

'I thought I'd let you get some food first so that you don't get jostled around too much.' He motions towards the food hatch. Anti nods his thanks and walks tentatively over to the hatch, grabbing a slice of plain cheese pizza and a glass of water. Crossing the room, he sits down at the green table and sits at the very end, leaving plenty of room for everyone else to sit further away from him without having it look weird.

what's for dinner tonight, boys? also, is anything happening in the evening before bed, like any fun activities?

'Pizza, pizza, pizza!' Jackie sings gleefully as he bolts straight to the food hatch to snatch as many slices as possible. The others follow behind him, more subdued. Marvin immediately locks eyes onto Anti, who sits quietly at the end of the table. He looks paler than usual, and Marvin figures that he's trying to stay quiet, so as much as he desperately wants to check that he's okay, he grabs his food and sits a little away from his friend. Anti's shoulders sink when Marvin's plate is set down at the other end of the table. Thinking it's the noise, Marvin strengthens his resolve to stay as quiet as possible. 

When everyone is seated, keeping their distance from Anti, he wants to cry.

'See, they hate you. You don't need them and they don't need you. It's how it should be.' The voices whisper.

He knows it's true, tries to accept that it's true but he can't. But as the meal goes on and everyone else speaks only in whispers and not to him, he feels worse and worse. He's finally done it. Finally tipped them over the edge. He goes to stand up and return to the sick bay, but Chase grabs him by the sleeve.

'Listen dude, I know we should probably leave you alone because you'll get a headache or something, but I just wanted to check you were okay. You're not mad at us, right?' Anti's mind reels.

'Wait, you don't all hate me?' He asks, sitting back down. Marvin's eyes widen.

'Of course we don't! We thought you wanted to be left alone.'

'But what about earlier? I yelled at you, I crossed a line.'

'Ant, you're my best friend. It happens. Besides, you really think that would matter after what happened? You collapsed! I've been worried sick since Jack took you to the sick bay.'

Anti breathes a sigh of relief. 'Thank you.'

'So are you okay now?' Henrik asks. 'Or do you have to go back to the sick room?'

'I'm pretty sure I've got to go back for the night. Why?'

'We have some things to discuss.' Chase offers. Marvin looks at him questioningly, but Chase gives him a look that says not now. 'Don't worry, if anything important happens, we'll come and find you.'

'Promise?'

'Promise.'

'See you tomorrow morning then,' Anti smiles, standing up once again to leave, this time a lot happier.

'Alright then!' Jack calls. 'Team building games time. Does anyone here know any good ones?'

oh man, good luck with the team building games. i never liked those, but let's hope you guys have better luck with them. also, what was it that you need to discuss with anti, chase? you can wait to say later if you want but i wanna knoww

'Well,' Chase whispers. 'I can't really talk about it in here, but it's something to do with what Anti's going through. There's a box in my backpack with some stuff I need to explain, so we'll have to wait until we get back to the cabins.'

'Chase, you know something about it? That's huge!'

'Hey, listen up guys! We're doing games here' Jack calls over exasperatedly. They continue in lower voices.

'I just made the connection in the cabin before dinner. I wasn't sure, but I've thought about it and I think I'm right.'

After that, none of the boys can focus on the game, all of them itching to get back to the cabin and hear what Chase has to say.

'Alright, stop.' Jack calls eventually. 'Green cabin, what's going on. I know you're all worried about Antonio, but you're not concentrating. You can all go back to the cabin, but I expect you all to be fully engaged next time, okay?'

'Okay!' They agree, slightly too enthusiastically. Jack chalks it up to a weird day.

'Alright, go on then. The rest of you, let's carry on.'

ok chase, lets hear what you know! anything that could help anti is a good thing

Tw: death, implied suicide, gore

As soon as they enter the cabin, Chase reaches under his and Henrik's bunk and pulls out his duffel bag. 'They're in here. My big bro made some copies of these photos to bring as a memorial.' He slides an envelope out of the side pocket, containing a few photos and two tags, both similar to the ones which the current green cabin wear around their necks.

'Is this..?' Jackie ventures.

'For Robbie. Remember? The one who drowned in the lake.'

'What does that have to do with Anti, though?' Henrik asks.

'My brother always used to say that Robbie was kind of angry. Never for long, though, and never outside of camp. Over the years, they realised it was the lake that was doing something, so in the last week of their final year, Robbie snuck out of his cabin to find out once and for all what was going on. I think that all of the cabin had some kind of fight about it? He never told me who actually ended up out there on the night it happened, all I know is that my brother was the only one who ended up in the boat with Robbie. After that, I wasn't told much else.'

'But you were told something else, right?' Henrik asks again. Jackie shoots him a look, mouthing not the right time and gesturing to chase, who is uncharacteristically, mournfully sad.

'He said he didn't want to tell me everything that happened, because I was only ten, and Robbie was my friend too, so it might upset me.' Chase says finally, 'But I overheard him discussing with his friend a bit of what happened next. The further they got to the lake's center, the more Robbie wanted, needed, to get there. By the time they reached it, Robbie was hysterical and he did the same thing as Anti back at the lakeside. My brother was about to turn the boat around, but he woke up and tried to jump out of the boat. My brother tried to restrain him, but Robbie took his eye out with his fingernails and crawled into the lake before my brother could stop him. It was too cold. Too cold for anyone to survive.'

Chase covers his face with his arms, and Henrik scoots around to wrap his arms around him. No one else has anything to say.

oh man, that is a lot. so what do you think this has to do with anti? what's wrong with him? 

'Well, I'm pretty certain that the whole voice thing is connected. Robbie heard them too. The bad kind, I mean. At least, I don't think that you're another bad kind of voice.' Chase muses.

'And Jackie, didn't you say that he was getting worse closer to the lake?' Marvin asks.

'Yeah, he was saying something about that.'

'Well we can't let him go back to the lake tomorrow! We've got a whole lake week, and I'd quite like my best friend to survive it.' There are murmurs of agreement, and Marvin is glad that the hostility towards Anti seems to have dissipated since he collapsed earlier.

'But the counsellors will bring him straight to the lake. We're eating breakfast at the boathouse tomorrow.' Henrik realises.

'Then we have two options. Either we wait until tomorrow to sort it out, or we sneak into the counsellor's quarters and warn Anti tonight.' Jackie proposes.

Oh goodness, I can't even imagine. I know it doesn't mean much coming from a stranger, but for what it's worth, Chase, I'm so sorry for you and your brother's loss

Tw: death mention

'Thank you,' he smiles weakly. 'Robbie was kind to me, we used to play so many games together, but it was Angus, my brother, who was really affected by it. He and Robbie were going to go on a safari tour of Australia, you know? Only three weeks after he died. Instead, he shaved off all of his hair that had the purple dye in it and started working for a garage. It's only this year that he decided again to do the trip. Alone, this time. I promised him I'd write him a letter, I really should do that. Can you remind me?'

Anti, question, and of course ignore if you don't want to say, but how long have you been hearing voices? Is this a recent development?

Tw; Violence

'Funny story, really.' Anti is laying back on the cot. He still doesn't look 100%, but he looks a lot better than he did at the lake. 'I'm not the only one who hears them. Marvin does too, but his are less.. violent and more confusing. It's like they want him to be six different people at once. He isn't Schizophrenic or DID, he just has a lot going on up there. My voices though? As long as I can remember. Well, as long as I've know Marvin, but it's basically the same thing. Recently though? They've been a lot worse. They got used to Marvin after a while, but they were definitely interested in him. They seem to be interested in our cabin, too. Mostly Jamie. The first time I saw him, they screamed at me: 'He belongs to you, take him.' And I had to make him stay away or I don't know what would have happened. That's the strongest they've been away from the lake and the puppet show last year, but you don't need to hear that story. Marvin would tell you if you asked, unless he already has.'

warn him! whatever it is that's happening, i don't want anti to fall victim to it. maybe tell anti to pretend to be sick so he doesn't have to go to the lake? then after water week you should be fine, hopefully

'Yeah, okay. Sounds like a plan.' Jackie agrees. 

'How are we going to get in?' Marvin asks. 'They're still doing games in there, we can't just sneak in past five other cabins.' 

Everyone thinks about it, before Jamie waves his hands excitedly.

`We can take him pyjamas and things. And if he tries to stop us, we can say we were worried.'

'Yeah! Sounds good.' Jackie agrees. 'Marvin, could you grab his stuff?' Marvin drags out Anti's bag, scooping up the discarded game of solitaire and tucking the cards into the bag too. He pauses, before climbing onto his bunk and grabbing his mp3 player, adding it to the cards. 

'Let's go,' he says, leading them out into the night. Once inside, Jack stops them.

'Didn't I tell you guys to go to your cabin?' He asks.

'Yeah, but we wanted to bring Anti his stuff,' Chase replies.

'Oh, good. I was gonna come and grab that soon. One of you can take it up to him, though, I don't want you having a party in there.' The boys look at each other. Marvin? Jackie mouths, and everyone agrees, but Marvin shakes his head. 

'Chase, you go,' he whispers. 'You know what we need to tell him.' Chase nods and takes the bag, walking towards the staircase.

'See you guys in a minute,' he calls, and the others are forced to return outside.

Hmmm. Chase, you wouldn't happen to hear voices in your head talking about divorce and/or parenthood, would you? Or Henrik, about being a surgeon?Hmmm. 

Tw: divorce mention, implied depression 

'Well, I mean, you're a voice in our heads talking about it right now.' Chase offers. 'I don't know, sometimes I get really lonely and kinda numb and if I think about it, that does feel kind of like a voice but ever since I arrived here and met you guys, it's sorta stopped. Is that weird?'

'There are weirder things going on here,' Jamie signs.

'I've always wanted to be a doctor to help people like my parents!' Henrik announces. 'Maybe it's a voice, maybe it's ambition. Who knows, I certainly don't.' 

Fascinating. Jamie, I assume that you want to be an actor, maybe? And Jackie, a superhero? Actually, Jackie, do you ever feel like you're having identity crises? You're barely more canon than Marvin, after all.

'Barely more canon?' Wonders Jackie, 'what's that supposed to mean?' 

'My dear brother did have a little bit of an.. Identity crisis,' Jamie signs, almost smirking.

'Jameson!,' Jackie snaps. 'Please! You know how important that is to me.'

'Sorry,' Jamie replies sheepishly.

'Anyway, personality wise, I've never really changed. I've always loved acrobatics, wrestling and parkour, and sure, maybe I want to be a superhero. I'm strong enough, or I will be.'

'I don't know what I want to be,' Jamie admits. 'Maybe a farmer! With some of those big wooly cows and a pumpkin patch in the autumn. Or maybe an actor, like Charlie Chaplin. He's so cool! He was a famous movie actor without ever having to speak.'

hey, anti? chase is here to bring you some of your stuff, and also to tell you something important!

 Tw: Death mention

All of the tension goes out of Anti's shoulders. He opens the door to find Chase, who has been knocking for a few minutes now.

'Dude, why didn't you let me in? I've been knocking for ages.'

'I thought you were Jack. That guy gives me a weird feeling, like a phobia or something.'

'Jack-o-phobia?' Chase suggests, smiling.

'Sure,' Anti smiles back. 'So, what brings you to the dungeons?' Chase holds out Anti's bag. 'Oh, thanks!' He places it on the cot beside him. Chase closes the door.

'That isn't really why I came. It's only how I got in.' Chase whispers.

'Oh?'

'I haven't got much time, but I need to warn you. Don't go to the lake tomorrow.'

'Well I don't want to either, but I think I can handle getting a little angr-'

'No. You can't go to the lake. No matter what.'

'Why?'

'My brother's friend Robbie drowned there a few years ago. He heard the voices too. Just say you're sick or something, okay? I'll explain more tomorrow.'

Anti looks taken aback, but he nods anyway. 'See you tomorrow?'

'Yeah. Good luck with Jack, man.' Chase exits the room, leaving Anti alone with his thoughts. He opens up his bag, pulling out a green flannel pair of pyjama bottoms to replace his swim trunks, fully intending to keep Marvin's sweater on. While he is taking them out of the bag, he notices the cards and smiles. Then he notices the mp3 player.

'Wait, he can't sleep without this,' he whispers to himself, but with no way to give it back, he figures he may as well use it. Plugging in the ear buds, he dials through the theatre tunes until he reaches the music that he and Marvin listen to together. Duality begins to play as he carefully puts the things back into his bag and lies back down on the cot, eventually drifting off to sleep. 

 Oh actually, how old are all of you? Chase is 12, right? Are the rest of you?

'I'm 12, but almost 13,' Chase confirms.

'14,' Jamie signs

'13 and Anti is too,' Marvin replies.

'So am I,' Jackie grins.

'I'm 12, but my birthday is next week.' Henrik offers.

Is it the next day for you guys?

Marvin lies on his back, concentrating hard on the ceiling, or what he can see of it, in the darkness.

'I suppose it is,' he whispers. 'It's hard to tell in the dark. These are the hours that blend together.Listen. Don't tell the rest of them, but I hear voices too. All of them want different things from me. I can block them out during the day, but at night they get a little harder to bear. Usually music helps, but I don't have that tonight.' He pauses. 'Hey, is someone else awake?'

There was a quiet sobbing coming from the top bunk across from him which stopped instantly when he spoke. Marvin sits up, rooting around to find a torch. He shines it across to find Chase, quite obviously pretending to sleep. He hesitates, wondering what to do. Eventually, he clicks the torch off.

'He clearly wants to be left alone. I won't mess with that.' He sighs, snuggling back down into his blanket. 'At least now I know I'm not the only one being kept awake at night. Do you think I should try and help if it happens tomorrow?' 

Whatever was going on, Marvin and Chase both fall asleep in the early hours.

How long are y'all at camp for?

‘Um, around six weeks?’ Chase scratches his head. 'We don’t leave until school starts up again.’

'Long enough to get punched up by that angry kid a few more times at least.’

Chase how long have you been here?

‘At camp? I got here pretty early but I didn’t know anyone, so I came back out here.’

'I’m glad you did, Käse. I’d still be sitting in the road and lost if you didn’t.’

'Don’t worry bro! I got your back’

Henrik just called you cheese, Chase :)

‘Dude, really?’ Chase laughs

'Yeah, I thought you wouldn’t notice. Should I not?’

'No way! We’ve gotta be friends now, you’ve given me a nickname.’

They keep walking through the trees until they reach a set of 5 log cabins, all surrounding a fire pit.  

'Dude, that’s a lot of people,’ Chase whispers.

'Come on Käse, we might as well.’ Henrik drags him over to the nearest empty log and they sit down together.

What's going down at the campfire? - G

‘We’re just chilling,’ Chase answers. The two boys are playing paper scissors rock.

'Paper beats rock,’ Henrik curls his hand around Chase’s fist.

'That’s like the tenth time you’ve won already,’ he frowns. 'When is the counsellor gonna come and tell us what’s going on anyway.’

'Maybe he’s busy?’

'Well, he’d better hurry up. It’s gonna rain soon.’

Drawn entry COMIC DESCRIPTION BELOW

As they talk, rain begins to fall from the sky. 

'Dude, it's so cold,' Chase wraps his arms around his knees.

'Hey, are you alright?' A ginger kid comes over to them.

'Who me?' Chase asks. 'Yeah, I'm just cold.'

'Here, take this,' He takes off his magenta coat, handing it over.

'Dude, are you sure?'

'Of course, I'm already wearing like five shirts anyway.'

‘I’m Jackie,’ the boy smiles, pulling his backpack back on.

'Chase. This is Henrik. Want to sit with us?’

'I can’t. My older brother Jamie is waiting for me over there.’ Jackie turns back towards a small crowd. 'I’ll see you around,'

Who is running the camp? I'm really excited for this!!!

Henrik and chase wait another five minutes on the steadily dampening log. Finally, a man in a dark coat hurries into the clearing and steps up onto the deck of the main hall.

‘Hey guys, listen here!’ he yells in a thick Irish accent, waiting for silence.

'This is the guy, huh?’ whispers Chase, warranting a jab in the side.

'Welcome to Rocky Lake,’ calls the man, gesturing around the cluster of cabins. 'You’ve got six weeks here, so you’d best get along. My name is Jack, and I’m in charge around here, so listen up. When I say go, everyone come over here and grab your tags. They have your name, number and cabin on them so take care, alright? Go.’ Everyone scrambles to grab the little coloured plastic pieces. 

'Which cabin are you, Käse?’

'Green. You?’

'Green too!' 

'This is going to be great, dude!’ Chase grabs Henrik’s arm and drags him along into the light green building.

What does the cabin look like? Y'all should probably go inside

They step over the threshold into absolute chaos. There are four sets of bunk beds pressed up against the wall, and four boys in the middle of them. 

The green-coated kid from earlier is yelling at a significantly taller boy who is signing frantically.

‘Are you trying to mess with me?’ The shorter boy gets further into the other’s face.

‘Dude chill! He’s signing. He’s mute,’ Jackie tries to wedge himself in between them. Green coat kid eyes the taller pair. 

'Forget it,’ he snarls, throwing his bag into the wall and curling up on the bottom bunk closest to the door. Chase raises an eyebrow.

'Should be fun?’

 Who are your cabin mates?

Chase and Henrik stand awkwardly in the doorframe until the tallest boy spots them.

“Hey!” He signs, before remembering most people can’t understand sign language.

‘Jamie’s saying-’ Jackie comes over to translate, before Henrik signs “Hi!’ back.  Jamie’s eyes light up.

"I’m Jameson, this is my brother Jackie,” he signs back.

‘I’m Henrik and this is Käse.’

‘I’m Marvin,’ a small boy in an overly large sweater calls from the back of the room. ‘Thats Antonio but he makes everyone call him Anti. I think he’s trying to be emo.’

‘So, we’ve got me, Hen, Jackie and Jamie, Marvin, and Mr Edgy,’ Chase recounts to you. ‘Not bad at all.’

Henrik knows sign???

‘Yeah,’ he shrugs. 'My parents are doctors so it made sense for me to communicate with their non-verbal patients.’

Is there a plot to this AU?

Yes there is! I have quite a bit of plot planned, it’s just a matter of getting y'all’s asks to move it along:)

_____________

A bell sounds in the distance. 

‘Dinner?’ Jackie asks, already halfway to the door.

'Or at least a camp meeting,’ Chase dumps his bag onto a bunk and goes to do the same. Henrik follows suit and Marvin slides down from the top bunk. 

'Ant, we’re going,’ he goes to shake his shoulder before thinking better of it. 

'Then go,’ Anti replies, still curled up facing the wall. 

'You’ve got to come,’ Marvin insists. Anti shoots him a glare, but to everyone’s surprise crawls out from his own bed. Without another word, he strides out into the rain, slamming the door fully open.

Y'all might as well follow him

They don’t need any encouragement. Jackie is already half way out of the door, visibly excited for food. As soon as they reach the log circle, Jack beckons them into the main building, different from the log cabins with intricately carved pillars stretching up into the darkening sky.  Inside, there are six tables, each with a different coloured tablecloth and a matching flag.

‘Take a seat,’ Jack gestures to the green table. Anti is already there, glowering at the rest of his cabin as they walk in. Jamie attempts to slide in beside him, but he slams his fist onto the table. Jamie’s eyes fill with tears.

'What is your problem, man?’ Jackie shouts, pushing Anti. 

'LEAVE ME ALONE,’ Anti roars, standing and slapping him back.

'Calm down everybody!’ Jack rushes over, getting in between the two boys. He holds them apart and they drop their fists, glaring at each other. 'Opposite ends of the table. Don’t let it happen again.’

'Sorry about him,’ Marvin smiles apologetically at Jamie. Jamie replies with a thumbs up, sitting down beside his brother. 

'Don’t apologise for me, Marvin,’ Anti snaps.

'I’ll apologise for you if you’re being a dick,’ Marvin sits down beside him. 'Remember what we talked about?’ Anti sighs.

'Whatever, Marv,’ he turns away to listen to Jack, who has just stepped up onto the stage. 

ooh, first camp dinner of the summer? how's that going?

tw: food

‘Hey guys! First camp dinner, who’s excited?’ Jack calls enthusiastically. The response is underwhelming. 'Well anyway, before we eat, I’m going to go over a few rules.’ He reads off of a list hanging on the wall.

1. No illegal substances

2. No Physical violence

3. Zero tolerance discrimination policy

4. Listen to the camp counsellors

5. No going into the woods after dark

‘Ooh, I wonder what’s in the woods after dark? Moth-man?’ Chase laughs.

‘Tonight I’ll give you all time to settle in,’ Jack continues, ‘But in the morning we will have a timetable written up on the chalkboard. Now I’ll let you get on with eating!’ He steps back and everyone’s chairs grate across the floor at the same time. Jackie practically crawls over the other campers to reach the food hatch, and comes back with a plate piled so high that it’s a miracle nothing falls off. A few minutes later everyone else returns to the table. 

‘This is.. better than I expected,’ Henrik chews slowly through the chicken pie.

‘Mmm!’ Jackie agrees enthusiastically through a mouthful of food far too big for his mouth. The table begins to chat but Anti stays silent through the whole meal and leaves without a word as soon as Jack lets everyone leave. 

dammmnn, anti, what's up with you?

‘Nothing to do with you,’ he glares, back on his bottom bunk facing the wall. He has a deck of cards which he is playing solitaire with.

‘Ant?’ Marvin calls, carefully pulling back the door.’

‘What is it Marvin? Did I piss off one of your friends? Did they send you to reprimand me?’ He sounds bitter. Marvin takes a seat on the bed beside him, facing the opposite way.

‘No, I came because you seemed upset.’

‘I’m not your problem. You don’t have to run around making everything alright again after I mess it up.’

‘You’re my friend, not my problem. And we’re going to make things work this time. I promised.’ Marvin turns around to smile at him. ‘There’s an eight you can move to that nine,’ he points to the cards. Anti is silent for a moment, before moving it.

‘Thanks,’ he says, so quietly Marvin can barely hear it.

‘You sure about wanting separate bunk beds?’ Marvin asks, standing up and stretching.

‘I’m sure. You snore and besides, theres four lots of bunks and only six of us. Why interact when you don’t have to.’

Marvin laughs, crossing the room to his own bed and taking off his soaked sweater before hanging it over his bedpost. ‘If you say so.’ 

Wait, does Chase still have Jackie's Jacket?

 ‘Jackie’s jacket? Don’t you mean Chase’s jacket?’ Chase asks, wrapping himself further into it. The remaining four are still in the main hut.

‘Oh is that how it is?’ asks Jackie playfully. He snatches Chase’s hat from his head.

‘Nice hat hair, Käse,’Henrik teases.

‘Alright, thats it. The hat is staying on all summer,’ Chase grins, puling it back. You can have this though,’ he holds out his wrist which has about eight bracelets on it. He pulls off a red and blue spider-man one and hands it over.

‘Deal,’ nods Jackie, tying it on. ‘You can keep the jacket if I can be spider-man.’

Hey anti, how about you stay calm, huh

‘I am perfectly f*cking calm,’ Anti huffs, beginning to deal out a new round of solitaire. ‘I’m not attacking anyone, am I? Not disappointing the public just now. No, I’m playing cards by myself because I am perfectly f*cking calm right now.’

The others haven’t returned to the cabin yet. Any natural light the window was letting in had died some time ago, and at some point Marvin had come down from his bed to switch on the lamp. At the moment, he was laying out his vast sweater collection, comparing each against his pink floral shorts before selecting a navy NASA one to replace the soaked stripy sweater.

‘You planning on moving at all?’ Marvin asks, buried in the sweater pile. Anti doesn’t reply and he knows better than to ask again. ‘Take your jacket off, it’s soaking.’ No reply again. Marvin shrugs and begins humming a light, happy tune. Something from one of those musicals, Anti guesses. He thinks about asking him to shut up, but in all honesty, his friend’s humming is actually pretty relaxing. He lays back to listen, and evidently Marvin notices because he stops and starts humming a song which Anti knows. Swan song. Anti pauses a second before joining in.

Promises are broken, tell me are you happy now?

The two boy’s voices mingle together, and eventually they both drift off to sleep more peacefully than they have in months.

chaseee, are you guys going to bed anytime soon? what time is it?

‘Huh?’ Chase is leant into Henrik’s shoulder, barely keeping his eyes open. 'Shit, must have fallen asleep out here. Hen, what’s the time?’ Henrik looks at his watch.

'Half one. Should we get back?’ Chase nods and they stand up together. Jackie opens one eye before jolting awake too.

'What time is it?’

'Half one.’

'Shit,’ he stretches and stands up with Jamie following suit. 'Heading back?’ Henrik nods and they step out into the night. The rain still hasn’t stopped, so they dash through the log circle into the cabin. The light is still on and Marvin and Anti snore in their respective bunks. Marvin is buried in a pile of sweaters, while Anti is slumped against the headboard, fully clothed and soaked with his cards laid out in front of him.

The boys all change into pyjamas except for Jackie, who keeps on both of his shirts. Jamie makes frantic and angry signs at him until he changes too, ducking into his sleeping bag to do so. Henrik raises an eyebrow but is ultimately too tired to question it. He falls asleep again as soon as his head hits the pillow. 

Wait hold up where does the counselor sleep? They don't just leave you guys alone right?

The counselors have the upstairs part of the main hall. There are around 5 of them but Jack is the only one you’ll meet for a while:)

The counselor doesn't sleep in the cabin????? (Sorry this has nothing to do with plot, I'm just very confused)

No they dont! Counsellors do routine checks at night, but they don't sleep in the cabin. There aren’t enough of them for that:) There are also security cameras and always 2 counsellors awake to hear any noises. 

- Chase Brody - 16 A pretty happy guy. Very much lonely at home, but he's very quickly become attached to his new friends. Misses his brother Angus a lot, and is struggling with the Robbie realisation, as well as reconciling things he thought he'd imagined with the truth. Is called "Cheese Hat" sometimes. A big fan of surfing, he desperately wants to learn how to skateboard.

- Henrik Von Schneeplestien - 15 (turns 16 in a few days) The son of two german doctors who has spent a lot of time at boarding school and camps. He takes pride in his knowledge of things, and likes helping out. Can come off as arrogant and rude.

- Marvin McLoughlin - 16 Pretty chill guy with a love of sweaters, cats, and card tricks. He suffers from a lot of anxiety, and uses music to deal with it. He's attempting to be the backbone of the group, and only just failing. Childhood friends with Anti, and an absolute mamma's boy.

- Antontio Septi - 15 Marvin's childhood best friend, who happens to coincidentally be his only friend. He has suffered from the voices plaguing the lake since childhood, which have made him far more quick to anger than anyone else he knows. Trying his best. Goes by Anti.

- Johnnie Jackson - 15 Very sporty, with a strong need to do what's right, Jackie is a trans guy who is very much closeted about this fact. He tries his absolute best to save anyone he thinks is upset or in need of a friend, but is passionate and quick to anger which makes him both fast friends and fierce rivals with Anti. An avid parkour enjoyer.

-Jameson Jackson - 17 Jackie's older brother. He's something of a popular kid as things go at his school, great at both drama and drumming despite having never uttered a word. He's usually calm under pressure, but gets sick of people pushing him aside due to his lack of speaking during discussions, and is trying to work on being 'heard' in other ways.

-Jack - 30 A camp councillor who is surprisingly well informed about the goings on, despite his best efforts not to be. Anti gets a strange feeling about working with him.

-Keiran Finch - 22 Keiran isn't a nice person, per se, but he is absolutely doing his best. As a camp councillor who was a camper himself during the last incident, he was friends with the previous green cabin and became a recluse after Robbie's death. He's certainly looking out for the kids, but his end goal isn't known.

-Thomas - 23 Thomas works as a councillor too. He isn't in the know at all, but has been involved with more than his fair share of the drama due to following Keiran around. He seems to be close to him.

Phillip - 29 Phillip was also a councillor when the last incident occurred, but seems more concerned with keeping everyone out of trouble than seeking it out. He is trans, and helps Jackie out occasionally.

Robbie Necas (deceased) Robbie was a good friend of Angus, who drowned in an accident three years ago at the lake. His ghost is still around, fighting back against the dark dream and the king collector. He seems to be able to cleanse them of the infection, but can be limited by the king collector.

Angus Brody - 22 Angus lost his best friend and all semblance of normality at camp three years ago. After dropping out of all his plans, he has finally travelled to Perth to pursue a zoology degree, but has been dragged back into the situation through letters.

King Collector (???) The king collector, otherwise known as the warehouse entity or bitchboyspookyman is the inhabiter of the dark dream. It seems to hold power over the lake and surrounding forest, and wants something out of a few of the campers. It is a fan of chess metaphors. Jay Alblue - 23 Jay was a friend of Angus, Keiran, and Robbie at camp. After the events of everything which happened, he seemed to recover and move on with his life, but at the beginning of summer he returned, seemingly to kidnap Marvin on the King Collector's behalf. OTHER Emile - Henrik's uncle Jacques - Henrik's cousin, friends with Angus Cordelia - Marvin's mum Ella - A camp councillor