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Sandy took Kaila’s hand and led her away to sit on the log bench on the opposite side of the bonfire.

Solomon laughed as Doug tried to drag himself back to his feet and tripped over nothing.

“Come on, Dirty Doug.” He grabbed the back of Doug’s shirt and pulled him to his feet like he weighed nothing.

“Quit fucking with the girls and sit down before you fall into the fire.” Doug drunkenly swatted Solomon’s hand away.

I walked over to Kaila and Sandy and sat with them.

They passed the cigarette pack around and everyone took one.

Doug held his cigarette in his mouth and tried to light it as he leaned in close to the bonfire.

Solomon simply groaned and yanked him back, handing him his own cigarette.

It was funny to watch him baby Doug. Solomon rolled his eyes and lit the second cigarette before plopping down on the bench next to us.

We all huddled around the fire and watched the flames of the bonfire burn.

They grew and reached high into the night as if grasping at the stars.

It was soothing and almost peaceful. That is, until Doug opened his loud mouth.

“Hey! Why is everyone being so quiet? It’s our last night before those little brats show up and ruin all of this.

” He waved his arms around and spilled his beer.

“We need to liven up this party!” He took a swig of his beer and tossed the now empty can aside before opening a new one. God, how many had he drunk?

Solomon rolled his eyes. “And what do you suggest then, Dirty Doug?” He raised his cigarette to his lips. “Go on. I’m sure we’re all ears.” I could tell he was taunting him.

Doug pointed at Solomon. “First, you quit calling me that. All of you!” He pointed around at all of us in a panic. “I made one mistake… One! And what? Now, I’m branded? Fuck you! I was simply doing what everyone else here does! So knock it off.” Everyone but me laughed.

I leaned in close to Kaila and whispered. “What did I miss?”

Kaila cleared her throat and whispered to me, “A few days before you arrived, Solomon caught Doug masturbating in the kitchen freezer. I guess Doug was close, because as soon as that freezer door opened, he jizzed all over the place! Sol said he made this huge mess!” I tried not to laugh.

“Apparently, he panicked. And when he tried to get up, Doug slipped on it and cum got everywhere! You should’ve seen Beatrice’s face when she walked up!

Sol, show her what you showed us! Show her what face Beatrice made!

” Sol made the supposed face. I tried not to snort.

“Beatrice too?” I asked in a whispered voice.

Kaila nodded and snorted. “Yes! Now, every time she sees Doug, she gives him this horrified look. Of course, Sol told everyone, and we’ve been calling him Dirty Doug ever since.

” Now, that was fucking hilarious. And revolting.

“Of course Doug cleaned everything up. Just—avoid the mayonnaise.” Kaila winked and tried to hold back her laughs.

Doug noticed and snapped his fingers in our direction. “Hey!” She raised her hands in defense and rolled her eyes with a smile. “Careful, Wicked. You know the trees can hear you.”

Kaila made a face. “The trees aren’t watching us, Doug. Stop spreading that creepy ass bullshit.”

“Creepy ass bullshit, huh? You think it’s all made up, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah.” Kaila made a face.

“Well then, if it’s all fake… Explain this !” He pulled something from his back jeans pocket. We all gasped and fell quiet. The color in my face drained as I stared at the man-made triangle, much like the one I unexpectedly ran into my first night here.

Solomon stood and snatched the strange object from Doug’s hand.

“Where the hell did you get this?” I watched as he examined the bones closely.

“Hell, do you even know what this is?” Doug drunkenly shrugged.

“It’s called a totem, Doug. The occult uses them to ward off evil spirits and unwanted visitors.

You really shouldn’t be messing with this stuff. ”

Doug snatched the totem from his hand. “I’m not messing with anything.

I found it, just off the path that leads from here to the thick part of the redwoods.

It’s mine! Why do you care anyway? It’s not like there’s actually anyone else out here.

This thing has probably been hanging in that damn tree for God knows how long.

I mean, you know how old this place is. Hell, I bet Nurse B put it there. ” Nurse B?

Solomon shook his head. “Yeah, well, you should really put it back. Out of respect for whoever left it there.”

Doug blew a raspberry and tossed the totem into the bonfire.

He then made an exaggerated face and pretended to be shocked.

“Whoops!” The totem made an odd whistling sound as the bone cracked and popped in the flames.

Solomon jumped to his feet and quickly grabbed a stick.

He used it to flick the totem from the bonfire and onto the ground before pouring his beer over it and extinguishing the flames.

“You fucking idiot!” He then removed his jean jacket and used it to carefully pick the totem up.

Sol examined it closely and walked back to his seat.

He whacked Doug on the back of the head before sitting down.

“Whether you think this shit is real or not, you should respect the redwoods, dumbass!” He gave us all a look. “As should all of you.”

We sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Sandy spoke up.

“Do you really think the rumors of this place are true, Sol?” I’d heard mentions of rumors surrounding this place since the day I arrived but never actually heard what they were.

They were obviously enough to shake the entire staff here.

And whatever they were, they had Solomon acting almost fearful of them.

Considering Sol was one of the biggest dudes I’d ever met, aside from Sabbath, that was concerning.

Solomon sighed and ran his fingers through his curly hair.

“I mean, all rumors sprout from some kind of truth, right? They have to start somewhere. Look at this totem.” He held the charred triangle of bones up.

“People don’t just make and leave this anywhere.

This place— these woods —they’re surrounded in mystery.

Saturated in it. Hell, this camp has been here for over sixty years.

I’ve never heard of a summer camp operating that long. ”

Kaila chimed in. “Yeah, well, not much longer. I overheard Nurse B telling Willie that at this rate, we’ll be lucky if Camp Redwood makes it to the end of the summer.” Oh shit. Things must’ve been worse than I was led to believe.

Solomon nodded. “Yeah, well, Nurse B says the camp is struggling because of the world and how parents don’t want to send their kids away. I call bullshit. No, I think it’s something else.”

We all looked at one another. “Like what?” I asked.

Sol’s demeanor shifted. “You know how we always hear of the occult? How they sacrifice and kill people for devil worship or some shit? What if it’s not just scary movies or ghost stories?

What if all that shit is real?” He stared into the flames of the bonfire, as if entranced by some deep thought.

“Back in spring, I did some digging on this place. There’s only so much about it available outside these woods, but what I did find was pretty interesting.

You see, tons of people go missing out here.

But every ten years or so, it seems people tend to die here. ”

“Stop playing,” Kaila snapped.

Solomon shook his head and crossed his heart.

“Dead serious. People die in these woods. And it’s not like accidents or some basic shit.

No, they die in the most bizarre and strange ways, ways no one can explain, tied up and drained of all their blood.

” He took a sip of beer before smoking his cigarette.

“Every year, someone claims to see shadows in the trees or hear voices in the wind. And now this?” He held up the totem.

“No. That can’t all just be made up. I mean, Nurse B has worked here for what, twenty, thirty years?

If anyone knows these damned woods well enough, it’s her.

And what’s the one thing she always says? ”

“Never disrespect the redwoods.” Kaila spoke the words even I knew Nurse B to say.

Solomon nodded. “Never disrespect the redwoods. You don’t just start saying something like that without cause.

” He looked across the bonfire at all of us.

“It’s not just about whether I believe all this hocus pocus or about the rumors, it’s a matter of truth.

And the truth is, shit happens in these woods.

Shit no one can explain.” He looked at the totem in his hands.

“I don’t know who left this, but I know whoever it was must’ve been trying to warn or protect someone or something.

Which means there’s something out there.

Something bad. Something they felt was worth making this.

” He examined the totem closer. “And that scares the shit out of me,” Sol whispered.

We all fell silent and sat on edge after his eerily freaky words.

Rodney turned towards Solomon. “When were the last ones?” We all looked at him as he clarified his question. “The deaths, I mean. You said they happened every ten years or so. When were the last ones?” An interesting question that I knew we all kind of wanted to know the answer to.

Solomon stared straight at Rodney. “As of today?” He exhaled a mouthful of smoke. “Ten years ago.” You could cut the fear in the air with a knife, it was so thick.