[IC] Vivid Recollections: Into the World Unknown (Season 1 COMPLETE)

[Mixtape Ghost N]

---

---

[Mixtape Ghost N]

---

^{Anger ÷ Regret - Fear...}

---

8:23 PM. August 7th, Pre-Awakening.

A powerful breeze rushed through the forest, which was otherwise undisturbed. On this normally hot summer night, the gust of wind was surprising, but not all that unwelcomed. The forest seemingly sung for the brief instant the wind had come to disturb all the trees, animals, and other such fauna. But, the shitty ass forest wasn't the only thing being disturbed this night.

A girl was standing, with a cigarette pressed against her lips with one hand... and a lighter that had been put out by the unusually strong wind. She sighed, as with a single, slight, motion of her thumb, she had reignited the lighter and sucked in with the cancer-stick in it's flame. The cigarette's end was promptly set alite with the burning-orange glow that seemed to pierced through the near darkness of the camp-site. Old habits seemed to follow her wherever the hell she went, so, naturally she found herself smoking. Even in a place which had a clear no smoking rule. Well, mama needed her nicotine fix, so they can sue her.

The only thing to keep her company was the night sky - illuminated by the full moon that was the only thing keeping the place from being pitch black other than the lights from the camp. Heh, if she was one of those superstitious types. Though, she had to admit that this campsite had some great scenery... was a moderately sized place that was set next to a beautiful lake. There were rows and rows of cabins, with some other buildings to fulfill the other needs such as the cafeteria, the head office... and so on. Everything was made out of a prisk wood, finely furnished.

There was something odd here, and it wasn't the fact that it was literally horror-movie R' Us. It was oddly close to the "No-Go" zone that the "township officials" have been hell-bent on keeping. To the point where the camp was built right on the fence. The girl took in a puff, and looked up at the mountain... that creepy place where no one was permitted to go past for some reason, and the people that do end up going missing. There was something fishy about that place, but it was probably better that she didn't ask any question.

As she was gazing upon the mountain... an aberration had appeared in her vision. It first appeared like a sun as she gazed upon the mountain - a bright orange orb that had strange black tendrils coming from it. It caused the rest of Claire's vision to start glowing a bright red color as she desperately looked around and there was nothing left but an endless void of an orange light. She looked at her hands and realized that they were being surrounded by a strange rust. She dropped to her knees, as the cigarette carelessly fell out of her hands into the void, and she grasped her head with both hands... as she seemingly gave up.

"... Hey there." Hearing the voice of another person made the girl come back to reality. She looked around, everything was back to normal. She could see the cigarette burning on the grass beneath her feet. If it wasn't so green, there probably would had been a risk for a fire starting. Just to be safe, she crushed it underneath her foot, and then turned around. The first sight was the tall, slightly pale, figure with the darkest hair that had strands of a cyan color contrasting against them. She was grinning, as the girl knew exactly who this person is... she was holding something behind her back, and that made her raise an eyebrow.

"... Yeah, Claire, ya' read me?" She said, "... What in the world did ya' put in that cigarette?" She said with a cheeky grin that almost made Claire sick to her stomach.

Claire looked up at the girl who had a few inches on the already tall girl, and said, "... I just gotta headache, Zoey." She shook her head.

"Ooooh, you know what gets rid of headaches?" Zoey said in a sing-song voice, with a smile. She pulled a bottle of Smirnoff out from behind her, not even opened. She triumphantly said, "Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Claire raised an eyebrow, "... I dunno if you know how headaches work," She pointed at the bottle and incredulously said, "That tends to cause headaches."

"Only if you can't hold your liquor!" Zoey said. "The gang's having a campfire, let's spice it up and tell ghost stories."

Claire grinned. That was the thing about Zoey... she could make Claire smile regardless the circumstances. "Lead the way, then. I could use a little liquor to spice up this boring ass camping trip."

"That's what I like to hear!" Zoey said as she stepped off the hill, followed by Claire. The grass made slight rustling sounds with every step they took. Claire had a feeling where the campfire was from the time she was on the hill, so she didn't exactly need Zoey to guide her. She just walked by her side because why not? They were friends, after all.

They marched through the campsite side by side, Claire had her hands in her pockets. She had paid attention to the people in the camp... as she always had. Some had traded glances with her... or were just admiring her. Just the thought of her being "so easy" made people think that she was a lot more attractive. The first person that they had passed was Karma... a girl that nobody knew. Just leaning up against a tree, not too far away from the campfire listening to music. She kept everyone at arm's length, but Claire was oh so special enough to be let in. She hadn't noticed Claire at first, but when she entered her line of sight, she blew Karma a kiss. Just to be snarky.

When they were approaching, somebody was already being carried off by three people - one of em' being Justin. It was some girl? Or boy? Claire didn't know - what she did know that the person was already wasted. She could tell from the rambling, uncoordinated movement, and her red face. Claire almost broke out in laughter. It ain't that kind of camp, sister.

Finally approaching the campfire, it was almost like a scene out of a movie. A group of kids surrounding an illuminate flame that was created by burning wood. Various kids were sitting around the flame on either a log, or a foldable chair. There were plenty of people here, including people that Claire had known. Namely the illustrious Britney Williams, the big old bruiser Hagan Rosefey, and some of the others like that crippled girl that she keeps seeing around the campus.

Claire wanted a quiet approach, and just sitting down, but Zoey had... other ideas.

".... Heeeeeeeeey, whaddup!" Zoey loudly said. "Anyone ready to turn this boring camping trip into a party!?"

Claire had rolled her eyes, as everyone silently stared at Zoey. She awkwardly looked around as she said, "Huh? Huh?"

"... It's not that kind of camping trip, Zoey." The first person to speak up was Britney, the tall African-American girl spoke up. Whom was sitting next to the mousy Kimberly Walton, whom was too busy looking at her phone - browsing her youtube channel's comments, and Jordan Nichols, whom looked very uncomfortable at the mention of alcohol.

"... But, I'll still take a swig!" Hagan said as he came over with a large, cheeky, grin on his face. Zoey smiled as she took a sip, then passed it over to Hagan.

Claire shrugged as she just said, "So, what are we doin' here? Exchanging ghost stories?" She asked.

"Oh?" Kimberly playfully said. "I thought we were waiting for Jason Voorhees to rise out of the lake."

Britney shrugged off Kimberly comment, and said, "Oh, we were just talking."

"About?" Claire incredulously said, before she was passed the bottle of vodka, and took a long sip. "If we're just talking about our day, let's stop with that boring shit already." She near-growled.

"Ooooh! I got more liquor in my cabin if anyone's interested in making this get together a par-tay."

"... How much damn alcohol did you sneak here?" Claire asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh," Zoey said. "I have my ways."

In the distance, there was a figure watching them...

[FernStone]

---

_{@Surtr Inc}
By the Campfire, Campsite

---

“I don’t know why I let you convince me to come here,” Min-Jun mumbled with a very bored frown.

Tuyen had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. “Because I thought it would be fun. You can let loose or something!”

The two had been sitting around the campfire for a while now. Tuyen enjoyed the slight warmth whereas Min sat stiffly. The stuck up air he had to him certainly wasn’t encourage anyone to talk to him. Tuyen had hoped that by bringing along her cousin he’d let loose and make some friends, or something. He was sorely lacking those. She liked him – but not enough that she wanted to be his only friend. It hadn’t ended how she’d hoped, however, just resulting in him sticking to her and stopping her from enjoying herself. Ah well, no point in being down about it.

“I would rather be at home working.”

This time Tuyen did roll her eyes. Okay, so maybe part of the reason she’d come on this trip was to get more ideas for writing. And for the chance to see all sorts of wildlife (she was definitely going on a walk to do that at some point). But that wasn’t the same! She was also here to socialise.

“There’s more to life than working,” Tuyen nudged her cousin slightly. “You’re not going to find a girl or anything just working. I know Aunt and Uncle want you to get married sooner rather than later.”

“I’m not planning on taking relationship advice from you, Tuyen.” Min’s blunt response would have offended her if she didn’t know him as well as she did. Though she didn’t like the dig there. She just hoped she could prevent any kind of fights between a certain two individuals.

“Suit yourself,” Tuyan shrugged. “But I’m going to enjoy myself and go socialise. Feel free to join me, or not.”

With that she stood up from where they were sitting and moved around the campfire. Min just watched her with a frown before pulling out his phone and engrossing himself in that. It wasn’t that he disliked the people here (just thought he was above them), but rather that he didn’t want to annoy his cousin by cramping her style. At least that was his excuse.

Tuyen, on the other hand, approached where Britney and that were. She gave a small wave before sitting down next to them – early enough to catch the tail end of their conversation. She raised an eyebrow and peered round at Zoey and Claire.

“Oh, is that alcohol you get there?” She couldn’t quite read the label. “Mind if I have a bit?”

She wasn’t normally a drinker, just did it on the occasion, but she figured it couldn’t hurt. And it would make it a bit easier to relax.

[Atrophy]

---

_{Dear Diary — Today, I made myself look like an asshole and failed to uphold my promise to my fifth grade D.A.R.E. officer.}

Campsite

---

“And it’s not that it even has any artistic merit to it at all, really. The entire plot is razor thin and perforated with holes, the main character’s motivation is forced to the point of being laughable, and every shot is practically devoid of anything that would bring the picture to life.”

“Oh, yeah, totally,” said Rita softly, not sure to what she was actually agreeing with. She looked down at the red solo cup in her hand, her eyes narrowing as they focused on the speck in the foam of the amateurishly poured light beer. The moon was bright enough for her to make out the teensy legs of a bug kicking for dear life. Her lips thinned into a bemused smirk; at least she hadn’t drank any yet.

The bug was stuck just like her. She had gotten separated from her host’s son while looking for the bathroom, and that was when she had run into Billy and his two friends. Normally she would’ve turned down their offer to go smoke, but the goal of the night (and every night from then on out) was to not be her normal self. So, she had followed the two older boys and the one heavy set girl away from the bathrooms and even further away from the campfire and her only source of security. They had made their way to the dock on the lake; the other girl had poured Rita a beer, which she didn’t want but didn’t refuse, while Billy passed around a bowl. Her coughing fit had been a source of amusement to them.

But now the bowl was held hostage by Billy as he continued his filibuster about a movie that she had never even heard of, his two friends seemingly so enamored with his opinions that neither of them raised a fuss about the man being a bogart. Worse still, she had positioned herself in such a way that her back was to the water, meaning that the only way she could get out of the one-sided conversation was by cutting straight through it. Which, to put matter in perspectives, was a herculean task for Rita. When she had worked the register at a local convenience store her job mostly became listening to the life stories of senior citizens and the ramblings of angry conservatives, never quite managing to find a way to politely excuse her from the conversation so that the person behind them could buy their goddamn bag of powdered donuts.

That job hadn’t last long.

She was still stuck. The dude was still talking. His friends were still nodding. Maybe she could just jump in the lake and swim to safety? She was still muttering sounds that could be misinterpreted as interest. The bug was still drowning in her cup. The weed was still not being passed around. There was a change of clothes in her pack, although how would she be able to explain to the others why a (now extremely long) trip to the bathroom warranted a wardrobe change? She was still stuck. The dude was still talking. She still couldn’t muster up the courage to just breakaway. So this was it? Montana was just Texas number two? What was the point of the clean break then? Of spending all of her money then? Of moving across the country then? The dude was still talking. He was still talking. He was still talking.

She dropped her beer, the foamy liquid splashing against the wood.

“Oh my God, will you just shut the hell up,” said Rita, louder than she had intended to but not really upset by that fact. It worked; Billy and his two friends looked at her in shock. “I don’t care about what you’re saying, and even if I had seen this stupid movie I still wouldn’t. It’s so easy to hate on something, and maybe it is trash, but who the hell are you? What have you done with your life? At least the people involved in that movie have created something. You’re just some hipster leech. God, do your parents pay your tuition for you just so you can be such an entitled prick?”

“And...and don’t offer somebody to smoke if you’re just going to keep it all for yourself,” she added, snatching the bowl out of his hand as she shoved past them.

Nobody followed her as she stomped back to the campfire, her steps growing lighter and almost becoming skips. The tense look on her face had softened into an almost childish grin, one that she tried to force away as she came within the light of the circle. Girls she didn’t know—well, she didn’t know just about everyone—were passing around a bottle of vodka. One girl was asking the scary looking tall girl for a sip. So polite. How nice. Rita’s sure someone that nice wouldn’t get too upset if they got bumped back a turn.

“Oh, thanks. Trade ya,” said Rita, intercepting the bottle and pressing the bowl into the scary girl’s hands. Rita pressed the bottle to her lips, tilted her head back, and took a quick pull before passing it off to the polite girl with nothing more than a toothy smile—that briefly fluctuated into a terrible wince as the burn hit her before returning to a slightly more embarrassed smile. She took a free seat by the fire, the smile on her face already fading as her feeling of triumph began to once again be pulled down by the undertow of worry. Well, that was a really good way to make a first impression. Great job, idiot. Her eyes darted around the campfire, trying to find Martin.

[Prosaic]

---

Martin Cromwell.

By the campfire.

Interactions

@Atrophy

---

Mosquitoes.
God, he was itchy. He'd showed up late to begin with, caught in the lag of another restless night, and now he was being eaten alive by parasitic insects. It hadn't taken long for the swarm to descend upon him and now he was itchy and uncomfortable. He could feel his tolerance for the wilderness lowering by the moment, it was a bad way to start the night. In theory, this had been a great idea. In practice, not so much. It took a surprising amount of focus to be inconspicuous. The first rule of remaining unseen was to be as glaringly normal as possible, he had accomplished that by sitting amongst the others who were gathered near the fire. The second rule of remaining unseen was to keep all of his reactions on par with his surrounding company.

That was the easy part, it was hard not to look up when a girl addressed the entirety of them with a bottle of vodka clutched in one lazy hand. The third rule of remaining unseen was to mostly keep his mouth shut, this one was give or take. If he was too silent, he became moody Martin, if he had too much to say then suddenly he was sociable. It was all very calculated, not natural at all. Sometimes he wondered if anonymity was even worth it, though he tried to remind himself that he had been in a much worse position before it.

The unnatural sensation of being so close to so many people was making his skin crawl, or maybe that was just the mosquitoes. It was getting harder and harder to tell the difference. The taste of bitter nail polish chipping onto his tongue shook him from thoughts about insects and being asocial. He had unintentionally started gnawing at his thumb nail, gross. Lowering his hand to his lap forcefully, he drew his gaze over the surrounding attendees. He could recognize faces, he could even put a name to some of them but he barely knew any of them. He watched a girl leap to her feet nearby, as quick and nimble as a faery. He recognized her as Tuyen. He had only spoke with her once but she had a memorable look about her, he watched as she joined the growing group near the alcohol.

He felt his anxiety spread, wondering where Rita was. He didn't want to cling to her for the whole trip because he was sure she'd want to spread her wings without him following her around everywhere but he found himself wanting her company. It was strange how familiar her presence had become. Sucking in his cheeks, he rose from his safe position. He was mostly hoping to shake the mosquitoes off but he also needed to move around before he went insane, he stepped back from the log that he'd been settled on. No longer nestled amongst the other people, he stood out like a sore thumb, or at least that was how it felt. He was clad in his usual black on black, trying to fade into the night was easier if it was already hard to decipher his frame amongst the shadows.

He was quickly becoming overwhelmed in his surrounding company. Luckily, it was then that he spotted Rita, she just so happened to be taking an aggressive swig of vodka. Her smile was a flash of white teeth in the darkness, but she retreated from the scene quickly and took a seat. He headed her way, trying to duck through the crowd as carefully as possible. Taking the spot beside her with exaggerated flourish, he flashed a smile and cupped his chin in his hand. "Hello, beautiful," he said dramatically, voice warm and amused. "You come here often?"

He was fond of Rita, she was probably one of the only people that he was fond enough of to address so easily. He was much more in his element when she was around and it was hard not to just be himself with her. "I was just about to die from unpleasant company and probably West Nile virus with the amount of mosquito bites that I've received tonight, before I saw you. You're my hero, Rita."

[Carbonatter]

It was difficult to walk straight.

Between himself and two others the person they were carrying still posed a challenged. Their legs swaying from side to side with each movement they took. Occasionally thrusting their upper-body in one of several directions, shifting the groups momentum and stability till they themselves began to tilt and sway, stumbling to the side fighting their own body's to stand tall. How they managed to travel without collapsing as of yet, was a miracle.

The continual strain of such an even was taking it's strain on David, where he began as energetinc and able to restrain the person, now his shoulders were becoming slack, his breaths drawn out with a heavier chest, unable to control the drunk as much she was shifting more than before - causing David to place effort in correcting her positioning and the group's balance, a cycle that repeatedly sapped David's strength more and more with each occurrence.

Looking to his side the others did not seem as tired as David did, the asian fellow in particular seemed tireless in the situation which was interesting considering his lanky body. The drunk wasn't much of a bother in his case and when they swayed he retained his posture the best out of the three. He returns his eyes and sight to whatever was in front of him before thinking,

"God I need to work out if this is the best I can do.

They were busy carrying the alcoholic to the nearby infirmary. Being newer in town than most David did not know many people at the camp, though that wasn't helped by his personality or recluded instincts, he didn't even know the names of the three around him - the asian person he was sure he had seen them in the dorms at one point though.

"Ah sorry about you two having to help."

David called out to his accomplices. Now was no better than any other time to strike up some form of conversation, friends and associates were a rarity for David.

"so why not gain some while I have the chance?"

Continuing with a heavier breath than earlier he muttered "Though knowing me, if you guys weren't here I'd have died from exhaustion by now, let alone be able to find the infirmary." before forcing a stiff laugh.

"Smooth David, real smooth."

Clenching his jaw, he focuses ahead to distract himself from the internal cringe he felt. The heat from the campfire still fresh on his face and the light produced lighting their way forwards towards their destination. Another ragged breath and David continues pushing forwards.

[Opposition]

---

---

Campsite

Unto the flame, the camera would fall symbolically...

Or something like that.

---

There was something comforting about the darkness that surrounded her, and there was something wistful about what lied just out of reach in the prohibited beyond. Callie stood at the fence line that prevented her from distancing herself any further from reality. There was always just something interesting about what lied just out of reach. Of course, Callie was never the adventurer to act on that principle, trying to surpass her barrier. Perhaps that could change, though. After all, what was occurring at the campsite wasn't quite her style and veritably no one would notice her absence.

Callie shook the intrusive thoughts from her head. Now wasn't the time for adventure. She traveled to the fence line for one reason and with the day finally over, that purpose was obsolete. With the bulky camera in her hand, the girl turned back towards the world she was allowed to traverse. Finding her way back— That would be an adventure more her style. The stroll through the rustling brush was uneventful yet just as lively as any other activity Callie found herself involved in in the middle of these woods. When Callie didn't have a lot of different options for people to hang out with, she got creative... It was a very common occurrence.

As Callie stepped up to the ring of the roaring fire, there was that customary intrusion in her head... 'How did I get here..?' She wasn't a camper, nor was she that acquainted with most of the campsite's population. Callie was always just kind of... There. Surely, that circumstance made for quite the scene as the quiet girl stepped up to the flames that so entranced everyone circled around them. Callie wasn't particularly worried about who saw her, though. Instead, she stood momentarily staring at the objects filling her hands. In her right hand, she grasped a polaroid camera appearing a bit worse for wear. In its counterpart was a small array of failed photographs from the day before. Man, she really was bad at this. Callie continued to think of weird symbolic quotes to fit her scenario as she slowly let her awful photographic work to be swallowed by the flame.

It took all her willpower not to just toss the camera in with the pictures, but after another passive moment of gazes entranced in the world of the flames, she stepped back, carelessly setting the camera in the bag slung over her shoulder. Even with her concession to spare the poor device, Callie didn't know if she had the will to try her hand at the art again. She had hoped going on this trip would spark within her some untapped font of creativity. Sending one final glance to the incinerated ash that was once a handful of polaroid images, Callie let out a barely audible sigh and stepped back towards a seat ringing around the bonfire. That approach was never going to work, and she knew that.

Her skill was contained in another medium of art... or so she thought. Callie motioned to retrieve one of the many notebooks from her bag. Lines and lines of scribbled words covered the page it was open to. She only spared it a moment's glance before letting her arm fall back to her side in defeat. The entire time she had been at the campsite, nothing more graced her notebooks save for the messily organized collage of ideas. A look of defeat broached her face. Perhaps this wasn't the time to be worrying about the usual nonsense. Without thinking, Callie allowed her eyes to slowly drift up to the rather raucous bunch gathering by the fire throwing around a bottle of vodka. No. She had better things to do. Callie's gaze was quickly averted and she once again found herself staring longingly towards the distant treeline.

[Mixtape Ghost N]

---

^{@FernStone@Atrophy}

The Campsite - Campfire.

---

"Sure thing, babe!" Zoey cheerfully said to the Asian girl - before some mousy chick practically intercepted the bottle, took a sip, and then handed the bottle to the original recipetent. "Ooooookay?"

But, in turn, Zoey was handed a bowl - and it was full of weed! So she couldn't complain. "Sweet! My night's jus-"

But, before she could dig in, Claire had snatched it away from Zoey, and shook her head. "It ain't even the quality pot..." She trailed off, before she shrugged, and pulled out a dutch from her pocket. She began to unravel it a bit, and take out some of the tobacco and replace it with the cannabis. As she lit the joint, she said, "But, I'll take whatever."

"I like how you can tell quality from a look, Claire!" Zoey playfully said.

Claire snorted, before she looked at Tuyen, "I'd be careful downing that so quickly... take sips, or you'll end up like mosshead back there." Claire threw a thumb behind herself. "I don't think you wanna end up being a funny story." She lowly chuckled.

Though, mostly everyone was just sitting here, staring at each other. That was boring... there wasn't anyone in sight to stop them from having fun. "Hey, how about we all stop sitting 'round here staring at each other?" She shrugged. "Talk about something - tell a ghost story, yeah. Even if it's lame... I just think it's weird we're just sitting around a camp fire."

At this point, Britney tore off from the campfire, looking at her phone. Which was weird because, last time she checked, phones don't work this far - phones hardly worked in Farmer Hill. Claire would had given it a bit of thought, if the effects of the cannabis wasn't seeping into her mind.

---

^{@FernStone@pokemad1}
The Campsite - Infirmary.

---

"Whoa, there, Mosshead," Justin said with a cocky smirk as he helped carry the drunk, green-haired, person (Justin had no idea what their gender was, nor was he gonna figure it out) to the infirmary. "Next time, don't drink half a bottle in a few seconds."

Well, how did Justin end up going to Camp Horror movie? Well, he was mostly roped into it by Britney and Claire (in two separate instances). Mainly Britney, who said that she was going, and that it'd be fun. Justin isn't having any fun. As he had carried the tiny little person over his shoulder, he used the other hand to pull out his phone. No connection. God damn it. Like, seriously, did she ever watch a horror movie before? This was how horror movies start. Everyone goes to some shitty camp in the middle of nowhere, and then Jason-fucking-Voorhees will rise from the fucking lake and fucks everyone with a machete.

No amount of Muai-Thai would save him from that clusterfuck.

And on top of that, he had to carry some drunk thing person to the infirmary. Not out of any real obligation other than helping them. Justin could of done it alone, but he had two other people insist on helping him. Namely being some kid with a British accent, and a shaved head. But, he had like a good four inches on Justin, and somehow he was the one that was exhausted. Justin couldn't help but laugh a little bit at his exhaustion comment. Not really in a "laughing with you" kind of way.

"Don't worry, pal! That's what I'm here for." Justin jovially said. Eventually, they made their way to the infirmary, and were standing at the doors. Justin gestured towards David, and said, "I got her... mind gettin' the door?"

---

---

Britney's irritation grew as not only alcohol was added to the mix, but marijuana.

Claire, and her lapdog Zoey were really something. Britney couldn't help but shake her head, and roll her eyes. And they wonder where their problems start. It was from acting so idiotically irresponsible to pass around alcohol like that - she was almost tempted to report them. But, there was something else on her mind. Her phone vibrated, and she pulled it out... and dreaded the person whom sent her the text message.

She moved faster than ever before, and darted off somewhere secluded. Where she wouldn't be noticed.

[Carbonatter]

Campsite Infirmary;
@Surtr Inc @FernStone

---

"Well, that could have gone worse I suppose. The kid laughed though, at my expense or not a laugh is still a laugh and it was more than I've gotten out of most other people tonight"

"That-" he pauses for breath "-won't be a problem." Opening a door would be much less demanding than carrying with one less person, and it wasn't like this person would topple if he was supporting them - though now came the problem of coordination; "Well should I-" David begins whilst ducking down and guiding the drunk's arm from off of his shoulder, aiding his accomplices to adjust to the shift in weight by supporting the body and gradually removing his support completely so to remove his hands and freeing him from the grouping. "Is that- Looking goo- okay got it?" he mutters whilst removing himself, before pushing the infirmary door open and entering - being careful to hold the entrancement open from within.

Flattening his hand, closing the gaps between his fingers and raising his arm David gestures a "come in" motion, positioning his hand to his chest as though he is holding a pot noodle and then thrusting it outwards in a spread around the room - as though he is displaying the within, a beckoning call of invitation, a "look at all of this." gesture.

"Ah, I'm David by the way." he introduces as the group enter with the so-called patient. "I don't think we've met- I do think I've seen you in the dorms though." he states, looking towards the Asian person supporting the body. Once the group is all within, David closes the door to prevent a cold draft from following them into the room.

[JunkMail]

"Woah, hey, this isn't where I parked my car."

---

The Campfire │@Surtr Inc

---

As the group continued talking, the hum of an engine came into earshot.

It had started off as a relatively normal evening for Dexter, all things considered. A cherry read Mazda drove lackadaisically along the dirt road and pulled up next to the other vehicles at 8:30PM on the dot. Dexter had fought with the foldable chair to get it out of his admittedly small trunk, walked over to the group, a set out said chair.

"Woah, hey, this isn't where I parked my car." he said, imitating a typical stoner's voice and prompting a few smiles around the fire.

He was a well liked guy- and Claire and Britney had both invited him. He was familiar with most of the group here, and their antics were worth the show. He looked down at his watch again- 8:45, and as night began taking hold his lingering thoughts were on Callie and the fact that he was sitting next to Hagan. He hasn't felt legitimately threatened by the guy in a long time, because everyone knows you don't beat on a kid like him. It's kind of a rule. He'd been bullied mercilessly like everyone else by the guy right up until the day of his family's accidents, but then he'd been out of school for six weeks, and when he'd re-appeared out of nowhere, his peers had kept their distance. In a way, it was the worst and best thing to happen to him- because after those accidents he was finally given space to be himself. Now the worst he gets is Hagan shoving him into things and insulting him in ways that he'd gotten used to back in pre-K. He's 18. It's not like one of ten frequently repeated adjectives are really gonna bring him down.

He cast his eyes up at the sky once more and felt a small chill go through him. Just more Montana weather, he had mused. He passed on the alcohol that was being passed around in favor of his own. He pulled a hip flask that he had brought for himself. It was typical silver, but with a black leather sleeve over the steel's body to attract less attention. It was filled with combination of Rum and vanilla coke, and it was good. He wasn't a big fan of being drunk, but he could appreciate a good buzz. Three shots per can- and it filled his flask nicely. His mom helped him out when it came to getting his own drinks- they had a good relationship like that, and it wasn't like he had ever done anything to make her distrust him. It was Montana for goodness' sake!

When the marijuana started to get passed around, Britney took off. Dexter understood that, he would have to as well. Not because he necessarily disliked weed as much as it would destroy his mother if she found out he touched the stuff- not to mention the ramifications from a potential FAA random drug test. Aviation is fun, he swears it.

But be that as it, he didn't like his friend taking off alone. Bad things happen to people at night alone- especially near wilderness areas like this one.

"Hey, Hagan, try this." Dexter said, nonchalantly depositing his flask in the man's lap knowing full well Hagan would probably drink the whole thing in his absence just to be, well, himself. No huge loss. Dexter could hold his alcohol but he would still have to drive so no at the end of the day harm no foul. He stood up from his seat and walked past Claire and Zoey. He patted Claire on the back as he passed her and said, "Be right back." and continued on in the direction Britney had gone.

He walked for a minute or so, but stopped once he reached his car. Still no Brit. He pulled out his phone to shoot her a text and frowned. No servic- ONE BAR. Hell yes, Verizon.

His watch beeped and his eyes were drawn to the small illuminated numbers that denoted the time at the top of his phone. 8:50PM. He sent her a message, and hoped beyond hope that it would deliver.

To: Brit
I'm by the cars- where are you, are you okay?

[FernStone]

---

_{@Surtr Inc@Atrophy}
Campsite - Campfire

---

Tuyen just raised an eyebrow when some girl, who she didn’t recognise, took the bottle before she got it. She didn’t bother commenting on it – she got the bottle in the end so no harm done. No point in kicking up a fuss anyway.

She took a chug from the bottle, spluttering slightly as the burn hit the back of her throat. What she drank threatened to come back up but she managed to keep it down. She wasn’t exactly using to drinking pure spirits. Still, she took another drink from it.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan to go hard,” Tuyen laughed in response to Claire, handing the bottle back. Admittedly maybe she’d chugged just a little bit too fast, since she was already beginning to feel it a little. “I won’t be having much more anyway.”

Because what Claire said was right – she did not want to end up a funny story. She liked being able to show her face on campus. And if her Aunt and Uncle caught wind of something like that? She’d be in for quite the lecture.

“Oh, I can do a ghost story!” She piped up as Claire suggested it. The alcohol she’d just drank was already giving her a little bit more confident. She was friendly but normally wouldn’t just offer to tell some kind of story. “Now let’s see…”

She quickly thought up something and started to spin a hopefully scary tale. It was about a forest in the middle of nowhere (atmospheric), where any who went in would see their greatest fears manifested. Groups that went in turned against each other as they were plagued by illusions – some would even be killed by the fears themselves.

Tuyen drew the story out – adding more elements until she thought of a conclusion. It wasn’t the best, but she’d just thought of it on the spot. She just hoped it had been scary enough.

---

_{@Surtr Inc @pokemad1}
Campsite - Infirmary

---

Rien had no idea how they’d gotten here. They were pretty sure they’d been knocking back a bottle of alcohol beside the campfire just a few minutes ago. They certainly did not remember walking her. Or being carried anywhere.

They knew they were drunk. They’d had a lot of alcohol. It was normal. But they could handle it! They were fine, not in any kind of state that they needed to be taken away somewhere. They were perfectly fine. Smashed, but fine.

When they tried to express that, however, it came out as a jumbled mess of an attempt to say “I’m fine.”

Maybe not. Now they were feeling a little bit sick. In a kind of could throw up any minute way.

Their attempt to notify those who’d brought them here came in the form of nudging (clumsily) the person supporting them, while mumbling something incoherent about needing to go to the toilet.

Thankfully they’d been drunk enough to not just throw up on the spot.

---

Campsite

---

The gradually increasing chatting among the people around the campfire forced Caelea to turn up the volume on her phone. At least with her headphones in she could mostly ignore them all. She didn’t know why she’d bothered turning up. Claire had suggested that she’d come and for some reason Caelea had agreed. Yeah, camping was fun. But not when it was with a bunch of people you didn’t know in the middle of a spooky forest.

Though it wasn’t like she had anything better to do that day. Would’ve just been stuck at home with no excuse to ignore the work that was piling up. At least here she could get some peace from that (if she ignored all the people). And apart from a few weird looks nothing was stopping her from sitting away from the crowd, stretching and listening to her music.

Whatever – no point in moping about the fact that she came. She was stuck here now, for better or worse.

[Mixtape Ghost N]

---

^{@FernStone@Junkmail@Atrophy}

The Campsite - Campfire.

---

"The fuck?" Hagan said, as little fagboy next to him gave him the flask he was sipping out of. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at it... he raised it up with a hand, before he put it on the ground. Like he was going to even drink out of the same container as Dex. He'll catch the gay! "Sorry, Dex, I don't want your cooties!" He sarcastically said, he decided to focus more on the chicks here.

"If you're not having any, pass it." Claire said, putting her hand out... only for Hagan to wordlessly pass it to her - making it clear that he was reluctant. When she grabbed it, she said with a smirk, "Unlike you, I'm not afraid of cooties." Before taking a sip.

"Claire's already got 'em!" Zoey cheerfully chimed in - which earned nothing more than an eyeroll from Claire - but turned her attention to Tuyen. "Aw, don't listen to Claire. Don't be afraid to have a little bit of fun, girl!"

Though, they listened to Tuyen's ghost story, with varying amounts of interest - Claire was probably on the end of bored, but hey, at least people were talking. Though, she was a bit more interested with the buzz she was getting. She took another sip from Dexter's flask, and almost thought about taunting Hagan some more, before listening a bit. Story about some horror movie crap about people going insane and being plagued with illusions...

Seemingly on cue, the... entire place went black in Claire's eyes. An endless black void, that made her look around, and notice the only things here were the campfire in front of her... and some strange reflection of herself on the other side. This figure looked exactly like Claire. Except wrong. Her body was covered in rotted flesh, open fleshy wounds, and green fluids dripping out of her mouth. She grinned... Like something out of some horror movie - shit looked fucked up. The doppelganger stood up out of the chair, and started walking towards her. This shit wasn't real, but it felt all the more real.

She could smell her, she could hear her... when the being walked up to her, placing her hands on her shoulders, and lovingly staring her in the eyes with a smile. Using a bony, razor-sharp, finger-tip, in order to cut her cheek, and a thin trickle of blood came down. Claire was frozen, slackjawed.

... She's real.

The illusory doppelganger lunged onto Claire, and she screamed as she fell backwards - but the second she hit the ground, the trance was broken. Reality went back to normal, the zombie doppelganger was gone, and the only thing that Claire was looking at was the sky. Her vision was blurry, but she looked downwards... and saw everyone staring at her some like crazy person - even Zoey had gotten back.

"... Um, Claire," Zoey said, worryingly, but with a smile that was trying to disarm her. "... I think you drunk a liiiiittle too much." She said.

"The fuck?" Claire said as she held her head. Everything felt so real. Was it... her attention turned to Rita. "What the fuck was in that!?" She barked as she went right towards Rita, fist balled, and practically spitting.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Zoey said as she put her hands on Claire's shoulders to hold her. "Calm down! It was just a bad reaction!"

---

^{@FernStone@pokemad1}
The Campsite - Infirmary.

---

"Heh, I'm Justin, at your service."

He said with a cheeky smile, as he guided Rien through the open doors. Okay, the dude was more than a little awkward, but Justin knew that not everyone was going to be like him - gleaming with shining confidence! Still, he was quite a bit of help, so Justin couldn't complain too much! He had Rien over his shoulder, the girl-haired person said something about "being fine" and Justin nearly broke out in laughter.

"Yeah, you were fine... until started hitting the bottles!" Justin snorted, before he turned to the nurse... and realized that he needed to come up with a good excuse! He knew it wasn't going to end well if he said that they had alcohol (and probably drugs) back at the campfire and they should totally kick them out of the academy.

"Hey, uh, nurse-lady, my friend here's really sick." Justin said, literally pulling an excuse out of his head. "Isn't that right, David?"

---

^@Junkmail

The Campsite - Parking Lot.

---

Shit, the only time where this damn phone would work, it was at literally the worst time.

Fortunately, Britney broke off from the group - she could tell them that their disgusting habits were unnerving her so she left, simple as that. It wasn't long until the teen made it halfway to the parking lot, and quickly pulled out her phone to make a call. Only to receive a text message.

From: Dexter
I'm by the cars- where are you, are you okay?

Oh boy, he probably saw her, and thought something was wrong. He was sweet, but now wasn't the time. Though, she had the feeling that he could be following her - such an action wouldn't be out of character for Dexter. So the first thing that Britney did was dip in between some buildings, and made up a response.

To: Dexter
I'm good - I just needed to go to the bathroom, and get away from them. I'll meet you there in a second.

Britney hit enter, and continued on her way... she needed to make a phonecall.

[Atrophy]

---

^{@Surtr Inc@Prosaic}

The Campsite - Campfire.

---

A tinge of red came to Rita’s pale cheeks as Martin made his dramatic entrance, which she played off with an exaggerated eye roll and an amused smile—all while mentally blaming it on the alcohol. Since June, when Mama Cromwell rented out the fold-out couch to Rita for all of her life’s savings, she had spent pretty much every day with the boy after he had played the role of her tour guide for an afternoon. She had met a few other people that summer, but he was about the only one that she could consider to be a friend.

“I doubt me being here’s gonna change those mosquitos minds regarding who they’re gonna eat. I heard they liked the sweet ones. Wonder why they’re going after you, then,” she said, screwing up her face in faux confusion before she lightly jabbed him with an elbow.

The girl whose turn she had stolen began, at the behest of the others, to tell a scary story. Rita sat back and listened, her knee bobbing up and down. She wondered how a forest could possibly manifest her fear of showing up naked for class; did the trees just steal all of her clothes or did they cast a spell on her that made her think she was dressed? She pushed the thought out of her mind and instead focused on the story to its completion, not realizing until the end that the hairs on the back of her neck were actually standing on end. Had she just made that up in the spur of the moment? Holy crap. That was kind of good.

But it wasn’t make you fall out of your seat, screaming bloody murder good. Rita jumped when Claire shouted, her hands going up to cover her mouth as the air around the campfire grew oppressive. The girl started to yell. It didn’t register with Rita right away that the freaked out girl was yelling at her, not until she was rushing towards her like a bull that had seen red. Panic shot through Rita’s systems, but she neither fought nor took flight. Instead, she flinched; she had already given up, already accepted the hit that had not been thrown quite yet. She didn’t even know these people and already she was making enemies. At least in Texas they didn’t start hating her until after they knew her name.

“I-I-I-I-I.”

Oh, Christ, there’s the real Rita, skipping like a scratched disc in a bumpy car. So much for pretending to be confident. Her eyes darted back and forth; nothing but unfamiliar faces. She didn’t even really know Martin. Shit, she could feel tears welling up; her strained voice did little to make her appear strong.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s not mine. It seemed fine, though, I think it was fine. I don’t know. I don’t even like weed. I just held it in my mouth and exhaled. I don’t even know if that works. I was just trying—”

Yeah, better not finish that sentence. Maybe that weird little noise (not quite a hiccup, not quite a cry, technically human) Rita made instead would pass for as a valid excuse. Not nearly as embarrassing as admitting that she was trying to appear cool so that others would validate her existence.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she said with a whimper, her eyes looking at anything but Claire.

[Prosaic]

---

Martin Cromwell.

By the campfire.

Interactions.

@Atrophy & @Surtr Inc

---

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm not sweet? I'm an absolute delight, Rita." his voice was amused as he nudged her back. "You're just jealous that I've got some top quality blood."

He turned his attention to Tuyen as she seemed to have launched into a scary story and, ever the goth, it absolutely absorbed him within moments. He was enthralled as she spoke, trying to paint the right mental imagery to go along with her words. He could see it even clearer with the trees stretching to either side of them, it had been a very good choice of story. Firelight and forestry made this all the scarier, he could almost picture his greatest fear consuming him. Of course, loneliness wasn't hard to imagine, he'd suffered enough of it over time that he knew exactly what it felt like.

He tried to imagine what it was like to be completely alone though, to have none of the acquaintances that he'd made over the years or even Rita, who he'd become so close to in their time together. The thought wasn't a good one. As he listened more and more, he became almost lost in it, picturing a terribly empty future. These kind of thoughts were usually saved for when he wasn't in social settings but for some reason, he couldn't shake it off. What would he even do if he were as truly alone as he appeared to be?

He had zoned out before he noticed it, but the brunette with pixie cut was quick to jerk him out of his thoughts. Her scream pierced straight into his head and he looked up sharply, staring as she hit the ground and flinching slightly. The story had been good, he had to give Tuyen that, but had it been so good that it had terrified this girl into shrieking? He watched her pick herself up quickly and realized that she was heading straight towards him and Rita. He was rightfully confused before she started challenging Rita and his muscles tensed uncomfortably.

He didn't know her but he had seen her around. He knew that she wasn't someone he wanted to tango with. He also knew that he wasn't about to just let her square off with Rita.

Rita stumbled out her response, the words blurring together in her panic. She looked singled out all of a sudden, it made him remember that she didn't even really have acquaintances here. It made him feel very bad suddenly, this wasn't the best way for her to initiate herself and this was likely to end up as a blow against her overall status. He couldn't mediate this, he had absolutely no skills in mediating. When Rita finished her apologetic response, she seemed to be trying to not look at the angry punk girl.

He looked directly at her, his stormy blue eyes narrowing in the dark. He cleared his throat sharply beside Rita, drawing attention to himself in a way that made his hands clammy with regret. "Hey, calming down seems like a good idea." he said, his voice wasn't intimidating and neither was his body language, he didn't look prepared for an argument at all. "I know Rita wouldn't purposely give you anything that would cause any sort of reaction. She's pretty chill, she wouldn't want to ruin your night like that."

---

Aliana Agüero.

By the docks.

Interactions

@Surtr Inc

---

Silence.

Her face was turned up to the glow of the moonlight above, picking out the few constellations that she knew in the sky. As stars twinkled unaffected overhead, she found herself trying to work through the tangle of her thoughts. Darkness made her tingle with discomfort but she wanted the peace of being away from the crowded campfire. It wasn't that she didn't like the other students who occupied it currently, she just didn't have the patience to socialize with so many of them. The night had started out a little rocky, she'd been dodging kids with alcohol and other various substances all night. It was all just a little harrowing.

She had sought out peace and here it was, as far from the scraggling groups as she could get and near the water that reminded her of home. The waves were a hushed whisper in the night, a sound that eased her anxieties despite her fear of the dark. She had always loved the sound of water, she had spent so much of her life surrounded in it that it had an instant effect on her. It was hard to be nervy when all she could think about was her childhood of dipping her feet in the ocean and feeling the hot Florida sun on her face. Farmer Hill was no Key West but it was nice in its own way. It was far away from her father.

She also had opportunities here, to stand out, to be whoever she wanted to be. It wasn't all bad. Nobody here knew about her childhood of bruises and flinching when somebody raised their hand, nobody knew anything of importance about her. Here, she was just Ali. Ali who was bright and loud and friendly, Ali who could be just a tad mean but usually meant well. She wasn't a tragedy and that was just fine with her. She breathed in deeply, the night air was cool on her tongue and she sought the little dipper out in the sky.

[Mixtape Ghost N]

---

^{@FernStone@Prosaic@Atrophy}

The Campsite - Campfire.

---

The only thing stopping Claire from tearing into Rita was Zoey, who was trying her damndest to keep her from catching a case.

While Claire was stopped from physically tearing into her, there was nothing stopping her from verbally doing so. Some kid had decided to chime in, and defend her - saying that she was "chill." He must have a pretty fucked up sense of what "chill" is, if chill to him was lacing somebody's joint. "That shit had me seeing shit! I ain't gonna 'calm down', pencil dick!" She roared at Martin, before directing her rage back towards Rita.

The girl seemed terrified of Claire right now - yeah, it was all fun and games until you get in over your head. She couldn't even come up with a good excuse, nor could she even speak straight. It wasn't until she said "I'm sorry" before Claire was sent over the edge.

"Oh, you're about to be sorry, alr-"

Claire was about to lunge at Rita, ready to break bones, but she felt the grab of Zoey on her arm. She yanked Claire far away from Rita as she could. Worryingly saying to her, "Oooooooookay, Claire, how about we go and cool off a bit? I hate to see you tear into that girl." She said, as she pulled Claire away from the campfire... whom begrudgingly went along with it. "See ya'll!"

As they walked off, the campfire was oddly silent - other than the sound of burning fire, of course - as everyone was floored by the display.

"... Hey, who else was looking forward to firecracker tearing the librarian a new one, or am I the only one?!"

---

The two walked off, with Claire downing what was left of the flask, before she kicked over a trash can, yelling, "Ugh!"

"Yo, Claire, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Zoey asked, grabbing Claire by the shoulder, pivoting her around so she can look her in the eye. "You almost scared that girl to death!"

"I don't know... I took one puff of that shit and thought I saw the devil!" Claire said, grabbing both sides of her head. "There was something in that shit."

"Look, mouse-girl probably got ripped and got bad weed from some jag," Zoey said. "Probably not her fault..."

"You're right..." Claire slid the flask in her pocket - she had to return it to Dexter later. "I had enough of Camp Go-Fuck-Yourself... let's just chill in the cabins."

"Yeah," Zoey said with a catty-grin, as she turned, "I got the good weed in my-" However, she bumped into somebody around the same height as her. She said, "Oh, sorry."

But then she looked up, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw who it was. It was a tall male around their age with shaggy hair, and a bit of a beard that was growing in. He had a beer in one hand, and wore a shitty jean jacket with some striped shirt underneath. He had a head of wavy blonde hair in a pompadour, and freckles. Zoey would call him cute...

... If it wasn't the infamous Scott Reese.

"Heeeeeeey, Zoey, what's going on?" Scott asked with a smile. "How's Claire, I saw the commotion with that chick?"

"... Claire's fine, Scott." Claire merely spoke for herself, almost sarcastic. "Just a little... misunderstanding."

"Well, I'm glad you're fine," Scott said, "But I overheard you talking about having fun-"

"No." Claire quick and curtly replied.

"Why are you always giving me the cold shoulder, Claire?" Scott said, annoyed. "You give everyone else action but me."

"Because you're a creep - not just any creep, but an entitled creep!"

"I'm the sheriff's son, you better watch how you talk to me."

"I don't care who you're the son of," Claire snarled. "You and your daddy can go to hell."

Scott lunged at Claire, grabbing her wrist, looking her in the eye as he said, "I'm gonna show you I'm good as everyone else you let in your pants!"

"Hey, let go of me!" Claire shouted, while Zoey was too stunned to even do anything.

[JunkMail]

"Hagan told me to ask you about my flask?"

---

The Campsite │@Surtr Inc

---

From: Brit
I'm good - I just needed to go to the bathroom, and get away from them. I'll meet you there in a second.

Dexter leaned up against his car and sighed, but decided not to push. Britney wasn't his responsibility, and she was a grown ass adult too. She could text him if she needed him. He shook his head and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. He shivered again, and was very suddenly missing the warmth of the campfire. And his drink, if Hagan hadn't drank it or dumped it or whatever primates did when given inebriating substances. Dexter trudged his way back to the campsite, kicking a few rocks and mumbling the tune of some song he heard in the car that he couldn't quite remember the lyrics of. As he walked, the regular sounds of the forest were drowned out by the sound of shouting.

"Because you're a creep - not just any creep, but an entitled creep!"

"I'm gonna show you I'm good as everyone else you let in your pants!"

"Hey, let go of me!"

Dexter knew those voices- that was Scott and Claire. He picked up the pace to a brisk jog. He was close enough to them that he didn't have to worry about sprinting, he'd have to play this like he stumbled on them. He slowed as he rounded some trees, almost sliding and falling down in some leaves, but managed to right himself by grabbing onto the trunk of a tree. He steadied himself and trudged closer, and Claire, Zoey, and Scott came into view. He was off to the right and somewhat behind Scott, but not enough to be approaching directly from behind. Claire and Zoey would very easily be able to see him approaching. He would have to play this diplomatically- he was on good terms with Scott and he wanted to maintain that because you never knew when that could come in handy, but he couldn't let him have his way with Claire. He'd have to pretend he stumbled onto them by chance.

"Oh hey Scott!" Dexter said, announcing his presence from a a couple dozen feet away. Scott visibly tensed up, but released Claire and quickly returned the hand to his side. Primary objective completed. Dexter pretended not to have noticed that he had grabbed her at all. "Didn't know you were coming tonight. How's it goin' man?" he said as he got closer, lightly cuffing Scott on the right shoulder and pivoting around him, positioning himself within a comfortable distance from Scott but still positioning himself between Scott and Claire. He turned somewhat to pretend like he was trying to include Claire in the conversation, but kept them his shoulder-width apart. He spoke to Claire, trying to think on his toes. "Hagan told me to go ask you about my flask?"

That was a lie, he hadn't even been back to the fire yet. But it was believable enough- it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that Hagan had thrown it somewhere, or was busy drinking the whole thing and wanted to get Dex off his back, or had given it to someone else and told Dex to ask Claire to send him on a goose chase. But he also wanted to get them all out of the woods, literally. He had to get them back to the fire, and around people again where Scott wouldn't be willing to do anything brash again. Dexter's watch beeped, and he checked it. 9:00PM. He looked between the three people around him. "We should all head back to the fire, by the way. It's kinda chilly out here."

[Mixtape Ghost N]

---

^@Junkmail

The Campsite - Campfire.

---

Claire was relieved to be free of Scott's rather tight grip on her wrist.

She took a step away from him, but realized that Dexter had gotten in between herself and this creep. Claire innately thanked him, but she wasn't out of the woods just yet. From her experiences, Scott was one persistent son of a bitch... they were out here alone, and while Claire had hope for Dexter's defusing abilities, she knew that there was only so much he could do. She wasn't going to become some story. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a pocket knife. She kept her finger on her button - using Dex as sort of a shield to block it from his line of sight. A quick glance to the side had told Claire that Zoey was off to the side towards the building.

Dexter mentioned the flask - and realized that Hagan was probably her inadvertent savior in all of this. Still, she was on guard.

Scott didn't appreciate Dexter getting into the middle of this. He thought that he had everything downpacked until this little shit-nose showed up! He clenched his fist, as he hissed through his teeth, "Yeah, Dex... I thought it'd be fun." He said, almost passive aggressively. "But, I'm fine... yeah, how about you stay out of this?" He faced Dexter, staring him in the eye. "This doesn't have anything to do with-"

"How about no." Claire said, before her tone changed from a tranquil fury to, well, outright fury, "There is no this. What's gonna happen is that me and Zoey are going to leave your rapey-ass here!"

Scott, having enough of this, pushes Dexter aside as he shouts, "You don't ever talk to me like-"

That was when a stone struck him across the cheek - not something massive to cause some serious damage, but enough to send him stumbling for a second. He loudly yelled, holding his bleeding cheek as Claire took her chance. She ran over, and with all of her strength, kicked Scott Reese right in the balls. If the rock had him yelling, getting kicked below the belt would definitely have him screaming. He fell over, holding his broken genitals.

"That should show you we're not easy pickings!" Claire said.

Zoey ran in, triumphantly shouting, "Yeah! Fuck you, Scott!".

Claire shook her head as she turned away from Scott, then back towards Dexter. "Here's your flask back, Dex." She reached into her pocket and pushed it into his hands.

---

^@Prosaic
The Campsite - Docks.

---

"Wow, you look, sooooooooooo bored."

The casual, New-York accented, voice of Lynette Dominguez softly spoke to the Floridian as she held onto her journal. Lynette was at the campfire, but got bored, and decided to head elsewhere to get some peace and quiet. It wasn't their fault, but she didn't find campfires all that fun or exciting. Though, she wasn't that big of a nature person - Kimberly invited her out here, and she actually wanted to explore a little bit past the fence's limits - but didn't want to do it while everyone was awake, and the last thing she wanted was to be stopped, and interrogated for the next twelve years... like last time.

There was something inherently strange about the mountain, and the urban legends that surrounded it. It was fascinating... and Lynette desired to learn more, but everyone was so tight-lipped about it.

It'd probably end up being lame anyhow.

"You lookin' at the stars, girl?" Lynette asked, "Here, let me have a seat." She took a seat next to the girl, and put her journal right into her lap.

"Let me guess, you just wanted away from all that liquor, or you come out here to ponder life?"

---

???

---

A subtle wind came through the bushes, as the figure that was previously watching the campfire escaped into the bushes as he rested in the middle of a clearing. Sitting with his legs and arms crossed, seemingly uncaring that he's literally sitting in the middle of the woods. He heard some footsteps come up, and he looked up at the shadow-y figure approach him. He almost smiled, if it wasn't for the circumstances.

"... Good, you're here." He said.

"That was hard to tell," His associate replied, dismissive. Looking away from him.

"Look," He said, picking up on their emotions. He stood up, and approached. "I know you're hesitant about my plans, but trust me... a lot of people are going to get hurt, but nobody else will get hurt - it's so everyone will be safe."

"How can you tell, John?" She replied, "When are people going to stop getting hurt? Or what's going to happen when we fall off this slippery slope?"

"We aren't going to fall off anything..." John said, as he walked up to his friend, "Look, if this works, we're gonna be safe. We won't ever have to worry about anything ever again." He embraced her, holding them tightly. "I love you... you can trust me, I would never do anything to hurt you."

There was a brief silence, as he kept holding her.

"... Well, I don't even know you anymore."

That was the last thing she said before John felt something in his gut. He felt a sharp pain like never before, and he looked down... and saw the blade sticking out of him. But, it wasn't just that. He felt weak, he felt a burning sensation all over his body, in addition, he could feel his throat closing. He grabbed onto both ends of his neck as he loudly coughed.

He looked up at her, as she pitifully said.

"I'm sorry, John... but, you left me no choice," The person shook her head. "You've gone too far."

With that, she pulled the blade out of his gut, and left it there as he bled out on the floor - while also suffering an allergic reaction that effectively rendered him poisoned. He desperately put a hand out, trying to plead for her to come back and save him... but, she didn't.

His life faded the same way his eyes did... and it wasn't long before he succumbed...

[Carbonatter]

"Ah, likewise."
Now that introductions were over, the kid's condition were the top priority once again. Jason seemed to laugh and chime as though it was as easy as breathing, people like that could make a guy like David jealous. "let's hope it doesn't get to that.."

"Isn't that right, David?"

The call of his name brought David back to reality. Jason has been conversing with the nurse beforehand, lying about the drunk's condition.
In response David stepped towards his new acquaintances, stopping when they were by his side. Taking a glance at the drunk by his side before returning his gaze to the nurse ahead he begins to play along to Jason's tune.

"Yeah, we were by the campfire and he just started acting like that." The passing sounded a tad too monotone, without flare or a sense of concern for his 'friend'.

Pressure along his palm caught his attention and David realised that his left thumb had been rubning along his palm, stopping this he continued, raising his brow and voice speed slightly to mimic a sense of rising worry.

"I think he a bad bottle of water earlier, he was finishing several bottles before he was like this."

After closing his eyes for a second or two, giving the impression of him attempting to remember something, he again continues. "He, er, hasn't vomited yet. I mean I didn't see him."
The shorter exclamations to portray a hurried response to the matter. Once again he has to still his hands. Now they had begun to grip and twirl the tips of his sleeves, the double layered fabric shifting inconsistently with each movement of his fingers.

Never does he look towards Jason, nor does he remove his gaze from the nurse for what could be thought of as a long moment.

[PharaohAtem]

@Surtr Inc@JunkMail
Karma was leaning up against a tree listening to her music not to far from the camp she couldn't hear what was being said but she could see them the other campers drinking and smoking with one person already in the infirmary and others still partying she was beginning to wonder weather this was a camping trip or a lame frat party. Soon she saw what look like a small fight broke out between Claire and some other chick a few minutes after Claire stormed off a cool breeze blew past her and a cold shiver shot down her spine she pulled her hood and decided to head indoors to escape the cold, at the moment like a much better option then heading to the camp fire especially considering she left her laptop in her bags she could at leas do a little work while she was here. Karma started walking towards shelter andon her way there she saw Claire and her friend talking to the sheriffs kid she continued walking until she saw him grab Claire she stopped for a moment and tuned off her music and took off her head phones placing them around her neck at the same time she saw another guy show up she didn't recognize him but at least he helped get that ass hole to let Claire go and after he took a rock and a boot to the groin the three of them got away. Karma decided to head after them to check on Claire they may not be best buds but Karma could count on one hand the number of people she actually liked and could have fun with and Claire was one of them. Karma waled after then and after them and after about a minute she had almost caught up with them Karma was a few feet behind them as she called out.

"hay Claire wait up"

Afer shouting out to them she spead up a little only to slow down again a to match their sped Karma brought her hands up to her face as she blew in them and rubed then together in a futile attempt to warm herself up.

"it freezing out hear tonight" Karma paused for a second feeling a little awkward she let out a soft sigh before continuing "i was on my way inside to warm up a bit when i saw what happened with deputy dumb ass and thought id come see how you where doing." Karma basically ignored the other two with Claire not intending to be rude but simply become she didn't know them well enough yet.

[FernStone]

---

_{@Prosaic@Atrophy}
Campsite - Campfire

---

Tuyen watched Claire confront Rita with slightly wide eyes – not quite comfortable with what was happening, but not drunk enough to stand up and say anything about it. She didn’t know either well enough to know who might be right. Though she’d talked to Martin once and he didn’t seem like the kind to hang out with people put something dodgy in weed.

She watched Claire leave, as silent as the others, before rolling her eyes at Hagan’s comment. Yeah, no. Better if physical fights actually didn’t break out. Not when they were all stuck together on a campsite. She wasn’t ready to carry off injured people.

Slowly she stood up and approached Rita and Martin, giving a slight smile in the hope that she wouldn’t freak out the former and make her assume someone else was out for her blood.

“Hey, are you guys okay?” she asked softly, mostly directing it at Rita who certainly did not seem that. “I don’t know what happened but that seemed like a little bit of an overreaction on her part. You don’t seem the kind of person to spike someone’s weed.”

She paused for she talked a little too much, or a little too cheerfully. “I’m Tuyen by the way, nice to meet you.” She gave a slight nod to Martin. “Though we’ve met before.”

---

_{@Surtr Inc @pokemad1}
Campsite - Infirmary

---

Rien only caught about half of what Justin and David were saying, but their drunk mind somehow got the gist of it. Act sick not drunk. Right, right. Well a good way to do that would be to throw up right? Cause they really needed to throw up.

Thankfully they hadn’t got that far into the infirmary, so Rien was able to turn around and stumble a few steps away. Immediately before proceeding to lean out and around the door to throw up. A couple of times.

They managed to miss any people and right in the doorway too – they may be drunk, but they still had some sense. Just a little.