"Cass, I need to know where you're taking me, dude. Today's already been weird enough."
"Just up the hill! It's about ten minutes." The cervitaur points with her left hand, a long wooden staff in her right.
"You didn't answer my question. Where are we going?"
"Aaaahhhh, chill out. You're too serious." She pauses. "It's a camp for people like you."
"A camp for -- what, a fucking cult? You're taking me to a cult?" Incredulous, he stops.
The protector turns around, visibly nervous for the first time that day. "No, it's like," she struggles for the words. "It's like a mix between a summer camp and a --"
"A fucking cult," He offers.
"A shelter, I don't know. Just come on. I don't think we've been followed, but I'm not sure."
He rolls his eyes and follows her, taking a moment to recall the previous events: the earthquake at his high school, the eerie, skeletal men dressed in ancient armor, his mother --
His mother.
He shivers.
As they crest a hill, Cassidy waves to something, the movement catching his eye. He arches a brow.
"Uh, nothing there, Cass. Do we need to take a breather? We can -- oh, holy shit. What in the world?"
Like a loading glitch in a video game, they pass a tree, and an entire camp appears. He sees strawberry fields, an immense climbing wall, an arena, a picnic area, cabins, and more. He sees the person she was waving to -- a goth teen with a sword on his waist. Cassidy seems smug.
"Lyn, your jaw dropped. Might want to pick it up. Let's go meet your new campmates!"