Page 35

TEN

ASTER

Distant thunder boomed, and my entire consciousness jolted back to life.

My eyes had to adjust as they frantically searched the small room.

“Where am I?” I whispered aloud. My head throbbed as I slowly rose from the cot.

“What happened?” My weary eyes scrambled around the room as the memory settled into place, and I realized where I was and what happened.

I looked out through the cabin window and noticed the sun had already set and darkness had fully taken over. “No!”

My feet wobbled, and I tried to stand. The effects of whatever Nurse B had given me were still lingering, but there was no time. I had to stop The Order.

After pushing through the pain and slowly regaining control of my body, I was able to make my way through the empty cabin.

There was no sign of Willie or Nurse B, let alone any of the other counselors.

I quickly shot out of the cabin and looked around.

The camp was filled with an eerie silence and the sound of the distant storm. I began to panic.

Fuck! Am I too late?

I sprinted down towards the woodshop, hoping to find Solomon. The paths were dark, and I felt uneasy trekking through the camp at this time by myself. Every little sound and movement made me flinch and gasp in fear. “Get your shit together,” I grumbled to myself.

As I approached the large cabin, I noticed a faint light burning from the inside.

It was quickly followed by a faint groaning noise.

The sound only grew, and as I approached the cracked door, I noticed Solomon.

He was sitting on the bench facing the other side of the cabin.

His arms were out on either side of him, sprawled along the top of the table while his body rocked.

He was moaning and making all sorts of sexual noises, but I didn’t see anyone else inside.

“Sol?” I pushed the door open with a loud squeak. “What are you doing?”

Solomon snapped his head back towards me. And I realized he wasn’t alone. “Fuck!” He quickly stood and tried to hide the fact that he just had his dick out. “What’re you–what’re you doing here, Aster?”

I looked back at Wolfe, on his knees and wiping his mouth. He was burning red and refused to look at me. “I could ask you the same question. Wolfe?” He turned his head away from me. “Is everything okay?”

Sol made a face, as if my question somehow offended him. “He’s fine. Everything is fine.” My brow raised. “We were just… We were just talking. Wolfe had something in his eyes and I-I offered to help him get it out. That’s all.”

“Are you sure you didn’t accidentally jab it?

” His jaw clenched. “Let me guess, you two are just friends, right?” He nodded.

“Yeah. I heard the same shit from Sandy and Willie earlier today when I also caught them fucking. I mean, hell, is everyone having sex at this camp?” Wolfe tried to not smile.

“Hey, you two have nothing to hide, okay? There’s nothing wrong here. Just two people enjoying themselves.”

Sol looked back at Wolfe. “Yeah. I guess I just figured we had to keep it a secret. You know, with Nurse B, and dumb ass Doug.” We all laughed.

“But hey, thanks for being so chill, Aster.” Wolfe stood and walked over to Sol.

The two held hands, and I nearly squealed at them standing so proudly together.

“Hey, what’re you doing out here by the way?

I mean, it’s kind of late to be wandering around by yourself in the dark.

” Thunder rolled in the sky above as we all looked up. “Not to mention that .”

The wind picked up, and I knew the storm was nearly here.

“Truthfully, I need to tell you something. But I need you to promise to let me explain everything before you jump to conclusions or try to call me crazy, okay?” They both gave me a look.

“ I mean it. We don’t have much time and it’s, well, a lot to process. ”

Solomon and Wolfe both listened as I briefly explained to them everything I could about The Order.

I left a few things out, such as The Redwood demon looking thing I saw in my dream, and really everything that tied myself to Sabbath.

More or less, I just focused on the fact that this cult in the woods was planning to murder all the counselors. Tonight.

Solomon and Wolfe looked at one another. I wasn’t sure if they believed anything I said. “I know, it sounds crazy.”

Solomon scoffed. “No, it sounds fucking insane, Aster. I mean, yeah, there’s some pretty sketchy shit that happens around here, and I think it’s weird as fuck that people die every ten years, but a cult?” He shook his head. “That’s just wack.”

“Wack? I fucking saw them, Sol. They’re in the woods!”

Wolfe made a face. “Okay, well, did you tell Nurse B? Or Willie? I mean, even if what you're saying is true, then they would be the ones to help, right? They’re really the ones in charge here.”

I exhaled the loudest sigh. “I tried to tell Nurse B, but instead, it felt as if she were trying to gaslight me. Then, she gave me these weird pills, and next thing I know… I’m waking up in the nursing station. Alone. And it’s dark outside.”

“Wait.” Sol tilted his head. “Nurse B gave you pills? What kind?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. They were in this weird bottle. She said they would help with the pain in my head, so I took them.”

“And then what?” he asked.

“I don’t know, Sol! I just got really dizzy, and I guess I fell asleep! I mean, I was out all day!”

They exchanged another look. “Don’t you find that a bit odd that you passed out after she gave you those pills?” Wolfe asked. “I mean, I know she’s like a nurse, but painkillers don’t normally have that kind of side effect.” My eyes fell.

Wolfe was right. I shouldn’t have passed out if what she gave me were simple painkillers. But I did. Which meant Nurse B drugged me. But why?

Lightning flashed and thunder immediately boomed all around us. Heavy rainfall peppered down onto the cabin as the wind began to blow and whistle. Sol ran to the open cabin door and looked out into the night.

Wolfe and I stood back. “Do you think Nurse B slipped you something else on purpose?“ he asked quietly.

I sighed and shook my head. “I have no idea. But if she did, why?” We both seemed lost. “Hey, Sol, by the way? Nice job.” I playfully punched his arm.

Wolfe smiled and laughed softly. “Yeah, well, we’ve been secretly hooking up for a couple summers. At first, it started as something casual, but I really like him, Aster.” He was blushing again.

“I’m sure he feels the same way. I mean, I’ve noticed him looking at you all week and now it makes sense.” Wolfe’s cheeks couldn’t get any redder.

Solomon looked back at us. “We should probably head back. The storm is really starting to pick up.” Another strike of lightning strobed through the sky and hit nearby.

The thunder that instantly followed was more of a crackling sound.

The cabin lights flickered and buzzed. “Shit.” And just then, the power cut off.

Wolfe grabbed my hand as we stood close to one another.

Aside from the small lantern they had, the cabin was soaked in complete darkness.

Sol rushed back to us and grabbed the lantern with one hand and Wolfe’s free hand with the other.

“Come on.” His head motioned towards the cabin door.

“We need to get to the administrative cabin. There’s a fuse box in Willie’s room.

If I can flip the switch, the power should come back on.

” The three of us nodded to one another.

We all turned towards the cabin door and watched as it slammed shut.

Wolfe gasped, and we both jumped at the loud smack it made.

“Relax,” Sol whispered. “It was probably just the wind.” Together, the three of us reluctantly shuffled towards the cabin door.

Sol extended his arm and turned the knob.

The door instantly swung open, and the sound of the wind whistled through the cabin.

We all eased a bit. “See?” Sol flashed us a smile.

“Just the wind.” Wolfe and I exchanged a look.

“Alright, if we stick to the camp trails, we should be able to make it back pretty easily. Just stay together, alright?” We nodded in unison.

The three of us stuck together as we tried to push through the heavy rain and walk in the direction of the administrative cabin.

Wolfe pointed to one of the nearby trees, and as lightning flashed overhead, we all noticed a cluster of those bone totems hanging from its branches.

Wolfe and I exchanged a concerned look, and Sol simply shook his head.

He led the way through the rain while we remained hand in hand.

The entire trek back was a challenge. The lantern provided little to no light, and aside from the occasional lightning strike, we were walking around blind.

Puddles had already formed and our feet kept sticking to the mud.

What would’ve normally been a simple walk back had turned into a straining hike.

Camp Redwood was eerie without electricity.

If I hadn’t known other people were here, I would’ve thought the damned place was abandoned.

We made our way towards the central point of camp and only noticed the administrative building once lightning struck again.

It nearly blended into the night and had no lights on.

Sol looked back at us. “I guess the whole camp’s out!

” he shouted. Together, we ran toward the cabin.

The three of us piled onto the small wooden porch, and Solomon tried to open the door, only it wouldn’t budge. He turned to look at me. “Did you lock the door when you came out?” I shook my head. He continued to try to force the door open, grunting and groaning as his muscles bulged.