Chapter Text
A keening wail of desperate sound assaulted Gwen’s ears like the camp bus, the cacophony of caterwauling hitting every single nerve ending, pricking the hairs on the back of her neck and sending her vaulting in the direction of the noise.
“What?! What happened?!” She skidded to a stop behind the campers, who were staring in abject horror at the middle of the clearing. “Oh…” She took a breath. “Okay, kids, come on, let’s get away from here. Nikki-”
The young adventurer was on her knees, shuddering and rocking back and forth. It was one thing, for the bones to be picked clean. For an animal to fall, always, as a victim to the food chain. This, however, was, to Nikki, an inherent cruelty. This was not an animal that was too slow, it was not a fox that got lucky. In the eyes of one like Nikki - like all the campers - this was murder.
Even the Quartermaster, who had killed the Squirrel King in cold blood, looked perturbed. Gwen knelt down next to her and began pulling her away. Nikki didn’t struggle, didn’t try to bite, didn’t make a sound or a move, or try to stop Gwen from picking her up and carrying her away.
The counselor looked at Quartermaster, who nodded. Gwen believed that she was conveying an idea of ‘bury this animal before scavengers come and also before the kids get more upset’, and hoped that it was understood. Most of the campers peeled off, one by one. Harrison scurried after Gwen to console or be consoled by Nikki. It was his rabbit, after all.
Max was frozen in place, ignoring Neil’s pleas to leave and do something, anything else. But he couldn’t, wouldn’t, look away.
Here it was. Proof. Irrefutable proof that this so-called holy man was nothing but a liar. Just like every other old man Max had ever known. Cain Goodcare was gonna eat David for breakfast and shit him out by dinner.
“Okay…” Neil had his back to the mess, puffing on his inhaler. “Max, what now?”
“Shut up!” Max snapped, chest heaving. Max usually was snide and biting, but this was harsher; his voice strained to cover up hurt, worry. Neil glared at the ground, not wanting to turn and confront him, in case he was unable to alleviate his gaze from the mess.
Quartermaster showed up with a shovel and hurried the two along with vague threats, making the decision for them. They trudged along in sullen silence, turned unconsciously into the direction of their tent, collapsing in the shade, backs propped up on cots, still not making eye contact.
“We need to get Gwen’s phone.” Neil finally said. Max grunted. “But maybe she already called him about it?” Another grunt. “Or maybe,” Neil raised his voice, finally exasperated enough to yell, “maybe he’s just on the moon with fucking SpaceKid!”
Max looked up. “Dude, what do you want from me?”
“I want you to stop this stupid circle jerk of misery and talk to me! What are we going to do? I know you’re thinking of something-”
“I don’t know, Neil!” Max shouted, standing. “Everything is fucked up and I don’t know what to do this time, okay?!”
Neil stood to get back into Max’s face, but was momentarily taken aback that he didn’t have to look down as far at him as he had at the beginning of the summer. Instead of a biting retort, he grabbed Max and pulled him out of the tent.
“Then, I’m in charge now. And now, we’re going to check on Nikki and get Gwen to call David.”
Max huffed, tugging his sleeve free, but followed him to the cabin. Harrison was sitting outside on the step, scuffing the ground with his shoe.
“She’s still in there with Gwen.” He told them, his voice nasally from crying. “I didn’t know Nikki liked animals that much.”
“She can basically talk to them.” Neil said. “Maybe she knew the rabbit.”
“That’s stupid.” Max said, stepping past them and knocking on the door.
“Max!” Neil chided. “I was going to wait for them to come out.”
“Why? You were so fucking gung-ho about calling David.”
The door burst open and hit Max, knocking him to the ground. He groaned and rubbed his face. When was life going to stop using him as a punching bag?
“Oh. Sorry, Max.” Nikki didn’t sound very sorry. Her eyes were very red and it looked like she had been pulling at her own hair.
“What do you want?” Gwen asked.
“Dude, we just saw a fucking murder and you’re asking us what we want?”
Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yes, Max. I am asking you what you want. Nikki has just now calmed down, and I haven’t even talked with Harrison yet, so if you could please wait your tur-”
“We need to call David!” Neil spoke up. “We need to tell him what a low-life animal killer that Goodcare guy is and - "
“He’s the reason David left and if he knew, then he’d come back, right?” Max interjected. “So just give us your phone and talk to Harrison! We’ll convince David to come ho - back to camp and - “
“-give that creep a sock in the mouth-” Nikki added.
All of them were talking over each other and at once, pawing at her for the phone. It seemed that nothing would mellow out the kids, or Gwen. It was hard day and they barely done anything. She couldn’t take it anymore and she, too, snapped.
“I CAN’T!” She screamed, turning around and slamming the cabin door, locking everything out.
I can’t…
She couldn’t do anything. Couldn’t help David. Couldn’t help the kids. Couldn’t find a better job. Some counselor buddy for life she turned out to be. She couldn’t possibly hate herself any more than she did in that moment.
“You…” Max trembled with rage on the other side. “You BITCH!” He hammered on the door. “You get that STUPID FUCK on the phone RIGHT NOW! GWEN!”
The other three watched Max’s futile attempts to get Gwen to, technically, do her job. He kept at it, never losing steam. Finally tired of waiting for him to tire, Neil, Nikki, and Harrison left him there. Those two hard-heads could battle it out. Harrison was used to being brushed aside, anyway. Neil would be there for Max when he was ready. Nikki, usually full of energy, just wanted to take a nap.
"Come on, guys." Neil said, sadly. He let Nikki lean on him and though he wobbled under her weight, he didn't let go until she was safe inside her tent.
Gwen didn't answer the door; she refused. Every bang at the door only served to deepen the pit in her stomach. David had called her; she knew how he sounded, her intuition telling her how he was deteriorating before her. But instead of trusting her instincts, she trusted him to be fine, be David… but no, that wasn't it. She had rejected the reality of the situation. Something was wrong, deeply wrong. David wouldn't just stop talking to her if everything was fine, and she was so stupid to not step in before he decided to leave. Now he was gone, he had vanished, he could even be-
CRASH!
Before she could spiral any further, a rock smashed through her window, startling her out of her despairing thoughts. Once the initial shock wore off, she looked down at the sudden intrusion amongst the shattered glass. It was a big rock, clearly, and hefty enough to smash a window, and there could be only one culprit.
"MAX!" She turned and wrenched the door to the cabin open, rock in fist. "Are you KIDDING me with this?! You can't just smash shit to get my attention! We don't have the funds for a new window-"
Max had not seen who had thrown the rock and only knew that it was not him who had done so. It had startled him out of his anger and into something he rarely felt - contrition, though again, it was not his fault.
"Gwen, what, no, I didn't - " He stammered.
"Get. The. Fuck. Away." And her voice was quiet. And her voice was serious. And her voice was deadly.
Max fled.
With Max now all but forgotten, she pulled the crumbled sheet of paper that she was only now noticing out from between the tied knots. A heavily decorated flyer, something straight out of Pleasantville, advertised Cain's weird little town: Goodcare Fields. All at once, repulsion contorted her face into a grimace, staring at Cain's painted wink. Despite the urge to trash the gaudy pamphlet, something compelled her to turn the paper over.
There was that pit in her stomach, again.
It was a hastily drawn map, guiding her to the place on the flyer. A note presented itself at the bottom corner:
If you want him back, you must get him yourself.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" she whispered to herself.
She couldn't dismiss this, not after everything that had been going on lately. She couldn't leave this alone. That said, she needed to be logical. She probably shouldn't suddenly follow a map that could lead her to, for all she knew, a serial killer's farmhouse shack. Her free hand pressed against her temple, she took some calming breaths. She shouldn't be so hasty. She would have to think about this, make decision later. Right now, she just needed to go to bed and let this awful, terrible, shitty day go.
Mentally exhausted, she begrudgingly tossed the flyer onto her desk and flopped onto her bed, her head pounding.
What now?