THANK YOU FOR CALLING BRIGHTER FUTURES

THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON AND STERN’S 50 PERCENT SURE THAT HE’S THIS CLOSE TO HAVING A PANIC ATTACK ; especially since his mind is already instinctively attempting to block out the attack for his own mental safety . But he can’t , he needs to KNOW and understand and to keep people safe . Stop the creature , capture it , banish it , WHATEVER . Before it hurts or KILLS any more people . 

Stern has his own suspicions about what it could be , but in his panic ( how absolutely foolish of him ) , Stern had DROPPED the Cryptonomicon in the woods , where the creature had first ambushed him while he was writing down notes . But the greater concern was the gash on his shoulder . bleeding profusely and causing his shirt to stick to the wound .

❝ Yes , I am not your average camper . ❞ He hisses out quiet assent , slowly shedding his jacket and turning his body to hide the twin semi-circle scars underneath his chest . There were some things that people were not meant to see . Stern peels off the shirt at the shoulder , slipping down , the fabric tugging at congealing wound , the car swamped with the scent of metal .  ❝ I would t-take your offer , but I think it would be smart . To wait until the creature has left us alone . I can still hear it snuffling around . ❞

It’s not his expertise , but he manages to poke the thread through the needle and grits his teeth - - - -  ❝ Look away . ❞ Breathing heavy as he pokes the needle through his skin and begins the painful process of stitching himself , biting back the whimpers that threatened to grow into screams .

By the time he finishes , he’s a shaking trembling mess , hands slick with blood and body wracked with tremours of agony . Stern manages to place a patch of gauze over it , sweating profusely and grips his shirt closed . 

❝ Could you - - - Drive us to the lodge ? I don’t think I can . ❞ Stern asks , weakness evident in the tremble of his voice .

                   now, barry had seen enough panic attacks in his day to know what was going on. a part of him wanted to reach out to comfort because at the end of the day, well---....his family, his staff and his campers were his main priority. even if mr. stern wasn’t a normal camper by any means, he was still technically placed in barry’s care and now he had a huge gash on his person. one that he was in the process of sewing up himself.

                  barry takes the moment to look away, respecting the man’s space. the smell of metal hits his nose, something he was all too familiar with. he’s seen a lot worse and dealt with a lot worse. after awhile, you just don’t get fazed by many things. “i gathered that, mr. stern. we don’t get many campers that decide to wear a suit,” his words are calm, even a tinge of humor in there in order to lighten the mood slightly. he’ll sniffle once, his body tense as he manages to keep his composure. if this was the same creature that he ran into in the forest not to long ago after a woman followed the faerie lights? well, this could be troublesome. 

                   whatever it is was a very powerful being. had half buried a woman up to her upper torso in the ground. then, whenever she looked at it’s face? screamed in terror and eventually disappeared all together. he had never gotten a look at it because rule number one was to not make eye contact. he remembered he begged. he remembered the pressure on his neck and back. whatever the creature was knew it was powerful and certainly did not enjoy being looked upon. he had been spared but the woman had still been missing. it was unknown if she was alive in the faerielands or if she was dead elsewhere. 

Say hello to the friendly ones and treat the reclusive with respect. That seemed easy enough. But it seemed he was trying to hint at something else entirely. Suri stared up at him intently, trying to determine what she was missing.

“ Fine… ” She sighed deeply, “ What do you mean though? The world we cannot see? ”

               he’ll raise an eyebrow once again, letting out a genuine chuckle. this teenager really was just full of questions, huh? a friendly reminder as to why he never wanted to have children of his own. sure, they were great but he couldn’t be having all these questions all the time. he was still amazed that his parent’s managed to keep himself and his brothers alive. longer than themselves, anyways.

Helena smiles back at him. “It’s good to meet you too, Trent.” She says politely, and so far, she means it. After all, there’s no reason for her not to mean it. He seems nice enough. At his next words, she nods. “Oh, they have more than just coffee there. I’ve utilized it often since I’ve been here.” It’s better than sleeping and dealing with her nightmares. But, of course, she can’t, won’t, tell Trent these things. not when she can’t even share these thoughts and feelings with people she’s known her entire life. “That’s very nice of you, to offer to pay for my tea.”