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TWELVE

ASTER

The trek from the administrative building to the cafeteria was insane.

We had to follow a less frequented path that none of us were really accustomed to using.

Willie struggled a few times with squeezing himself and Doug through the gaps within the tall grass and lingering limbs.

The rest of us had more trouble simply trying to move our feet through the deep puddles and thick mud.

We had to help one another the whole way.

“There!” Kaila shouted and aimed her flashlight ahead. “I see it!”

The group groaned and sighed in relief. We’d been stuck out here for what felt like forever, and the storm showed no sign of letting up. I couldn’t wait to get inside the cafeteria. Not because I wanted out of the rain, but because I needed to tell everyone what I found. I needed to show them.

“Come on!” Willie shouted. “We’re almost there! Everyone, let’s go!”

We all pushed ourselves forward. The cafeteria cabin was large and looked dead inside from where we were. As lightning flashed above, you could almost catch a glimpse of the campers’ faces inside.

Kaila ran ahead with Sandy and the two held the cafeteria doors open for us.

We all piled in as fast as we could. It wasn’t until we were inside the cafeteria that I realized just how drenched and dirty we really were.

The campers were petrified by our appearances and the bloodied bandages around Doug’s leg.

It didn’t help that he was groaning and in pain.

A few of the girls cried and became unsettled.

Kaila and Sandy jumped into action and instantly tried to console them.

Beatrice, the older woman who worked the kitchen, appeared from the back of the cabin with a lantern and made her way towards Willie.

“Not in here!” She quickly ushered the rest of us into the kitchen.

The cafeteria had a few candles and lanterns lit around the room, but the kitchen had none.

Beatrice motioned to Willie, and he carefully sat Doug down in a chair.

He then grabbed a nearby box and slid it under Doug’s injured leg. “What happened?” she asked.

“Some psycho in a mask attacked me!” Doug shouted.

Willie shushed him with a furrowed brow. “Shut the fuck up, Doug!” We all flinched at his anger. “There are children out there! I don’t care if you are bleeding out or dying, you keep your mouth shut!”

Wolfe made a face. “That’s a little harsh, Willie.”

“Yeah?” Willie scoffed and wiped his forehead.

“Okay. Let him scream. Let him talk about this nonsense! And when morning comes, the power returns, and those kids call home, you can be the one to explain to them that there actually isn’t a forest full of psycho killers coming to kill them.

You can handle that!” Wolfe’s eyes lowered in defeat.

“That’s what I thought.” He huffed and turned to Beatrice.

“Any sign of Solomon or the rest of the campers?” She shook her head.

“Alright. I’ll go look for them.” He faced us.

“You guys get Doug situated and then try to get the campers settled.

I shouldn't take long.” Willie stepped out from the kitchen.

Beatrice eyed the rest of us closely. She made a face at Doug and then walked over to the freezer before returning.

“Here.” She chucked a small bag of frozen peas onto his leg.

Doug nearly sobbed and I swear I saw her smile.

“The cold will slow the bleeding. Now, I’m going to go check on something.

” Beatrice stepped out from the kitchen and walked away.

“I think she likes me.” Doug snorted while he adjusted the bag of frozen peas. Rodney shook his head and rolled his eyes as the two chatted. I’m not sure how Doug would behave if Rodney wasn’t here. He just always seemed to know how to handle him and help keep his emotions in check.

I motioned to Wolfe, and he joined me. I leaned in close and whispered to him, “I don’t think we can trust Willie.” He made a face. “I could be wrong, but something is off about him.”

“I don’t know, Aster. Right now, everything seems off. “ He rubbed his neck. “Fuck, I just wish Sol would hurry up.”

“Aster?” Our heads fell to see Tabitha standing in the entryway of the kitchen. She was holding her little stuffed dinosaur and staring up at me with wide, watery eyes. “I’m scared.”

Wolfe stepped back, and I crouched in front of the little girl. “Hey.” I gently tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear. “There’s no reason to be scared. Everything is going to be okay. It’s just a really bad storm, that’s all.”

Tabitha sniffled. “That’s what they told my mommy.” What?

Beatrice walked up and gently patted Tabitha’s head. “Come on dear, everything is okay. Let’s get you some water.”

Tabitha rushed to me and gave me a big hug. “Please be careful, Aster. I don’t want to lose you too.” Her words nearly broke me, and I hugged her back tightly. Beatrice led the little girl away, and I wiped my eyes.

Fuck you, Sabbath. And fuck this damn cult.

“Aster.” Wolfe helped me to my feet as we looked over at Kaila.

She motioned to us to join her near the cafeteria doors.

“Look.” She pointed outside. Wolfe and I approached the doors and searched for what she was pointing to.

And we found it. We all froze in fear at what we saw.

“Y-you guys see it too, right?” Kaila asked as her breath fogged the glass. “Right?”

I stared straight ahead as lightning flashed through the night sky and revealed the very thing we all feared.

Standing in the middle of the campgrounds was a plague doctor.

And they were holding an axe. A bloody axe.

They slowly turned and looked straight at all of us and tilted their black and brass colored mask.

A whispered voice slithered along my ears and I knew the ritual had begun.

“Lock the door.” Everyone remained still. “I said lock the door, Kaila.” I tried to remain calm for the campers’ sakes, but it was becoming a real challenge.

She forced her eyes away and fumbled with the lock. For some reason, it was sticking and wouldn’t fully latch. “I can’t get it!” she shouted. Wolfe rushed over to help her, and Sandy kept looking ahead.

“Guys,” Sandy called out. Wolfe and Kaila frantically kept trying to lock the door. “Guys?” I watched them in horror. “Guys!” We all looked at her. Sandy slowly turned her head and spoke with a quivered lip. “There’s more than one.”

Kaila wiped the fogged door and looked out. The night was dark and you couldn’t really see anything. Wolfe finally got the lock to click, and we all jumped. He joined me and looked out through the cafeteria door. “I don’t see anything,” he whispered.

“There.” Sandy pointed. “There’s more out there.”

Lightning flashed again, and we all gasped in horror as thunder shook the cabin. Standing out in the middle of the camp was not one, but two, plague doctors. The second was dressed similar, but their mask had a broken eyeglass. Just as I remembered there being in the cavern deep in the woods.

“There’s more than one?” Kaila shouted. Lightning flickered above, and just like that, they vanished. “Where did they go?” We all looked for them. “Where did they go?!”

“Wolfe, take Rodney and go make sure the other doors to this cabin are secured and locked.” He nodded, and the two ran off with a lantern.

“Sandy, try to ease the campers. Move them to the other side, away from the doors and windows, so they can try to get some sleep.” Sandy hesitated but ran off to do as I asked.

Kaila moved closer, and we both kept an eye out on the campgrounds. “What’re we going to do, Aster? If there’s more of those plague doctors, and they really did try to kill Doug, how do we avoid them? We’re all funneled into one place. Like sitting ducks.”

“Almost makes you wonder if that’s what they wanted, doesn’t it?” We turned to look at one another. “I’m starting to think this entire camp is nothing more than a distraction meant to cloud our eyes while we walk blindly into their game.”

Kaila reached out and grabbed my hand. “They’re hunting us, aren’t they?” I didn’t answer. “It’s true. All of it. And these plague doctors are going to kill us. Aren't they?”

“Not if we stick together.”

We both stared out into the night. The plague doctors were nowhere to be seen, and even still, we were all on edge. Rodney and Wolfe returned, followed by Sandy. They all lined up around us and stared out the cafeteria doors and windows. “The doors are all secured,” Rodney stated.

“How’s Doug?” I asked.

Rodney exhaled. “Being Doug.”

Sandy tapped the glass. “Hey. What’s that?” We all looked out in the direction of her finger. “Oh my God. It’s the campers!” Sure enough, a group of the campers Sol went to find were running in our direction with a single lantern. “Unlock the door. Now!”

Wolfe quickly unlocked the doors, and we all worked together to open them to let the group of campers rush inside. They were all wet and terrified. Wolfe looked out into the night, waiting for Sol.

Sandy and Kaila rushed to help the campers. Beatrice entered the cafeteria from the back, carrying a pile of small kitchen towels. “Here.” She passed them out to the campers. “It’s not much, but it’ll help. Let’s get them dried off and situated.”

Kaila spoke with a few of the campers while Beatrice and Sandy walked the rest of them to the other side of the cafeteria. Wolfe remained at the door and was holding it open. Waiting. “I don’t see him, Aster.” His pained face looked at me. “I don’t see him. What if something happened to him?”

“No. Sol is okay. He probably just ran into Willie. They’ll be back soon. Just watch.” I felt uneasy.

What if something did happen to Solomon? And where is Willie? What could be taking them so long? The campers were already here.

“Aster.” Kaila motioned to me. “We have a problem,” she whispered to me.

I stepped closer. “What is it?”

She tried to keep her voice down so Wolfe wouldn’t hear.

“The boys said when they woke up, the power was out, and the cabin door was left wide open. Sabbath and Foster were gone.” The color drained from my face.

“They said Solomon showed up and was helping them back to the cafeteria, but something caught his attention, so he sent them ahead.” Shit. “They never saw Willie.”

I didn’t want to believe it, but somehow, I knew Willie was involved in all of this. He had to be. Which meant Nurse B probably was as well. Fuck.

“What do we do, Aster?” she asked. Without Sol, we don’t stand a chance.

“What about Sol?” We turned to find Wolfe standing next to us. “Well? What about him?” Kaila dropped her eyes and neither of us spoke. “He’s not coming, is he?” He shook his head. “No.”

“We don’t know that, Wolfe.” I tried to reach for him, but he only slapped my hand away. “Wolfe, please.”

“Solomon is out there with those killers.” He slowly looked out the front doors of the cafeteria. “I’m not going to leave him. I’m not going to let him die.”

“Wolfe, don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry, Aster, but you know I have to help him.”

No.

Wolfe sprinted from the cafeteria and shot through the front doors. Kaila and I both screamed for him to stop, but he didn’t listen. “Fuck!” I didn’t know what to do, but I couldn’t let Wolfe go out there alone. Rodney and Sandy crowded me, and I shoved past them. “I’m going after him.”

“What?” they all shouted.

I stopped at the cafeteria door. “I can’t let him just wander these woods alone!

” I looked around and noticed an emergency axe on the cafeteria wall.

I ran to it and used my elbow to smash the glass and rip the weapon from the case.

It felt weird in my grasp, but the idea of having something to protect myself eased a little bit of my fear.

“I understand if you guys choose to stay here, but I can’t.

I’m going after him.” They all looked at one another.

Rodney cleared his throat and stepped forward. “I’m coming with you.”

“What about Doug?” I asked.

Rodney laughed. “That fucker isn’t going anywhere. Besides, Beatrice is weirdly taking care of him, just like the campers.”

“I’m coming too.” Kaila stepped up next to Rodney with her flashlight. “No one deserves to be left alone. Especially not Wolfe or Solomon.”

Sandy also stepped forward. “If Kaila’s going, I’m going.

” The two smiled and held hands. “Plus, Willie is still missing. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the three of them will be together somewhere.

The campers are pretty settled, and with Beatrice and Doug sticking back, they should be fine.

It’s us those masked psychos want. And the best way to protect these kids is by getting far away from them. ”

I couldn't agree more.

We all took a deep breath and exited the cafeteria. Together.

I don’t know where you are, Sabbath. But for your sake, you better stay the hell away from me.