Chapter Text
Shroud is big. Shroud is brave. At least that's what mum says. Shroud isn’t too sure how brave they can be. Mum said that they would have fun on the bus but it is too loud and their seat buddy jumped into another seat so they had no one to talk to. Shroud wipes their nose on the back of their hand. They can be big and brave. Maybe.
Talking to the other kids would be brave. Mum would tell Shroud how proud she is, but Mum won't be at the end of the bus ride. It is time to be big and brave! Looking out the window can be brave. The window gets blurry sometimes but Shroud can imagine a big spider running along the bus. They sign a story to themselves about the spider as it jumps over buildings and crawls over other cars. The longer Shroud is brave on the bus the less things there are for the spider to dodge. There are more trees. Shroud wishes they could go home. They rest their head on the window and ignore the bounce of the bus. The giant spider runs on.
“Hi sweetie, time to get off the bus.”
Shroud blinks awake. They didn’t even know they fell asleep. There is a lady with pink hair outside their seat. She smiles. Shroud pushes themselves closer to the window. Mum said not to talk to strangers.
“Oh. It’s ok.” The stranger says putting her hand out, “my name is Niki I work here at camp what’s your name?”
Shroud tightens their grip for a second before signing their name. The stranger… Niki. Niki’s eyes get big for a minute and Shroud is scared she won’t know what they are saying. Mum was wrong, camp is scary and Shroud is not brave!
“Hi Shroud, welcome to camp!” Niki signs, “do you want to go see your bunk or would you like to wait here for one more minute.”
Oh! She knows sign! “One more minute.”
“Ok I’ll wait right here we can set a timer on my phone and when it’s all done we can go see where your bed will be.”
Shroud likes the way Niki signs her words and talks it’s what Mum does. Maybe Shroud can be a little more brave.
They both sit together until the timer goes off.
“Ok Shroud let’s go!” Niki takes their hand and helps carry their bags off the bus.
There are a lot of kids here. It’s even louder than the bus. If Niki notices that they grab onto her hand tighter she doesn’t say anything. Niki seems rather nice. The other people around here seem questionable if you ask Shroud.
“Hi Niki who do we have here?”
Shroud jumped a little and buried their face into Niki’s side.
“Hi Puffy! This is Shroud. We are going to the L’manburg cabin to get settled in, isn't that right.”
Shroud looks up at Niki and she is smiling at them… both grown ups are waiting for an answer. They nod.
“It’s nice to meet you Shroud. I am Captain Puffy!” She smiled with squinty eyes.
Captain Puffy is not very good at sign. They signed as much to Nikki. It made her laugh big!
Captain Puffy smiled but still looked confused, “What? What did they say? I didn’t quite catch it.”
“They said you are bad at sign. I think you need to practice more Puffy.” Nikki laughed loud again.
“Ok, ok how about I go practice and you go get settled. Sound good?” Puffy tried to sign and talk but a lot of the signs were out of order but that's ok because Shroud is very good at sign and knows what she is trying to say.
“Yes.” Shroud doesn’t want to let go of Nikki to sign more.
“Cool! Nikki after you get our little friend settled, Phil wants to talk to you about when you want kids to take the swim test.” Oh… Puffy stopped signing.
“I gave Phil the swim test schedule a week ago,” Nikki isn’t signing either anymore, “he would lose his head if it wasn’t attached to that hat of his.”
Nikki and Puffy kept talking. Shroud tugs on Nikki’s shirt. She smiles down at them and signs, “Do you want to walk to your bunk while I talk to Puffy? It is that one over there with the red door.”
Puffy starts talking about grown up things again. They aren’t signing. Shroud nods. Nikki hands Shroud their bag and gently ushers them towards the cabin with the red door.
Shroud is brave, that's what Mum said. They can walk to the cabin. Hesitant feet start off across the well worn wooden path connecting all the cabins. There are a lot of very loud big kids and there are some very loud grown ups too. Someone runs across their path almost knocking Shroud over!
They start to sign to themselves, “I am brave, I am big,” over and over as they shuffle to the red door.
“HEY!”
These kids are very loud, “I am brave, I am big,”
“Move outta my way”
“You can’t catch me!”
The grown ups are not using sign, “I am brave, I am big”
“Look at that little kid over there! They are doing something weird with their hands!”
Some big kids are staring at Shroud.
“I…”
The kids are calling them over, waving their own hands in mock sign language. Mum was wrong. Shroud is small and afraid. They turn back to look for Nikki or even Puffy but the familiar grown ups are gone. The Cabin. They can go in the cabin and there will be less kids. They can hide and try and be brave some other time.
“Hey Kid! Why didn’t you come talk to us about that thing you do with your hands?”
Shroud jumps back and those kids were way too close. They needed to leave. Now. The kids were blocking the cabin. Their backpack started to get heavier. The comfy clothes Mum picked out start to get itchy and.. And… They need to leave! It is too loud. To close.
“Are you ok? Do you need a counselor?”
Something is touching them! Shroud pushes it away. This is bad. Bad. BAD. Shroud needs somewhere quiet without people. They need to go. They ignore the yelling, put their hands over their ears and they let their feet lead them away.
No matter where they try to run things keep grabbing them keep touching them, scraping them. It’s too much. They run until there is no more breath in their lungs and their legs give out. Finally they have quiet. There are leaves and birds and soft moss.
Breathe like Mum says. Be brave like Mum says. It will be ok.
Shroud doesn't know how long they sat in the woods trying to get themselves under control. Each deep breath almost hurt as they tried not to do the bad-for-you quick breaths. They frantically dig through their backpack for anything at all to occupy their hands. A squishy noodle!
The deep breaths come easier. Shroud thinks Mum would be proud that they remembered their toy and breaths.
It’s getting a little bit darker. Shroud can be brave though! What did Mum say about being lost… stay where you are! Yes!
“Ok I will stay right here.” Shroud signs to themselves.
They pull a blanket from their bag and settle in by a big big evergreen anyone would be able to see it and they will come right to Shroud.
They sit by the tree for a long time but no grown up comes to get them. Good thing they have a book. Shroud reads as the sun disappears behind the trees and they can’t see the words or pictures anymore.
Shroud can’t really see that far and they are a little hungry, their stomach growls, a lot hungry then, and the woods are starting to be a lot more scary. One of the grown ups should really come get Shroud.
Fuck! Tommy’s first day as a full-fledged councilor and one of his kids goes missing! It’s just his damn luck too. Now Phil and Wilbur will be bugging him about responsibility all fucking summer!
“Memememeeh I’m Philza I never lose kids Tommy! I always know where my wife and all the kids are!” Tommy ducks under another branch.
Stupid fucking woods! Today was going to be so easy and awesome. First he would meet all the kids and show them L’manbunk, the best bunk in the whole camp. They could play roof ball or go try and prank Dreams bunk, the possibilities were endless! Then his attendance had an empty slot so he called Phil. Phil said Nikki got the kid off the bus. The other counselors don’t have an extra kid hanging around their bunks. Suddenly Tommy’s easy first day turns into a rescue mission.
All the counselors they can spare are put in the woods even Sam and Franny left their guard post to find the kid. Everyone is calling for Shroud. It’s getting dark and the kid can’t even answer them. Big man Tommy Innit will find this kid because that’s what big men do! They rescue lost kids in the woods.
Even in the dark.
He gets another call from Phil
“Did you find them?!”
“No, not yet. Tommy you’re not gonna like this but we are calling back any counselor that’s under 18 it’s getting dark and..”
“WHAT THE FUCK PHIL,” Tommy interrupts, “I refuse to leave these woods without Shroud! How can you give up on them like that!”
“Tommy. Sam and Fran are out looking right now and they will keep looking even Dream and Techno are planning on looking all night. We’ve told the local police and they will be around to help soon, but we can not lose anymore kids in these woods.”
“Philza Minecraft are you suggesting that I, Tommy danger kraken Innit, am anything other than the BIGGEST man?” He trips over a root and yelps into the phone.
“You ok, mate?”
“Yeah Phil. I am Fine. Do you know who is not fine?” Tommy didn’t wait for a response, “Shroud! That's who. They are still out there and it’s getting dark and they are just a little guy Phil! So I am going to fucking find this kid even if I stay out here all night!”
Phil was silent for half a second, “Tommy Innit if you do not come back to camp right thi-”
“...And we are hanging up and turning this off.” Tommy shoved his phone into his pocket, “Dadza can't ground me if he can’t find me.”
“Shroud!” How far did this kid run? They have been yelling for Shroud all night, for hours on end. There needs to be a better way. Tommy knows Shroud won’t answer. He didn't spend 3 months learning Sign Language to expect a mute kid to start talking suddenly.
Time to change things up. He can be very loud. Sometimes people find him annoying at first, but Tommy can be noticed and he just needs a sliver of the kids' attention. Hopefully he can get Shrouds attention before he gets Phils.
“SHROUD! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME CLAP YOUR HANDS REAL LOUD!”
Then he listens, standing still, picking up each rustle of the leaves and peeper chirp. There! A small clap sounds through the dark. Tommy shines his flashlight toward the sound.
“SHROUD CLAP AGAIN!”
Another almost silent clap from the distance.
“SHROUD WHEN THE LIGHT POINTS AT YOU CLAP AS BIG AS YOU CAN!”
Tommy slowly starts to move the light in the direction he heard the quiet clap. His light shone onto a huge evergreen. It was a ways in the distance but it was as good a point as any to walk to.
Tommy continued the worst, most stressful game of Marco Polo ever with Shroud. Every once in a while he would think he heard clapping in a different direction but soon he found himself almost at the base of the big tree unable to go any farther. Honeysuckle and blackberry bushes block the way for anyone bigger than a few feet. Like a kid. Shroud could have crawled under.
“Shroud are you by the tree? Do two claps for yes!”
Two claps sound from beyond the bramble. Tommy could just barely see a kid shaped shadow huddled against the tree.
“Hey Shroud. I can't sign very well with the flash light and I can't really see you signing in the dark, do you think you could come over here to me? I’d like to come over to you but I am a bit too big to fit under all these bushes.” He gets down low to the ground and can see a small little face staring at him.
They sign something, “.... Scared….. Help”
“Oh Shroud,” Tommy could practically feel his heart breaking, “Hey bud I know you are scared and that's ok big men, er uh, people, Yes. Big people get scared, even me and I am the biggest man of all. We all get scared and when we get scared we need to be brave. Like how I am brave to come get you and you are brave to clap and get my attention.”
The little face stared at Tommy for a while before signing again, “I am Brave?”
Tommy set down the flash light so he could sign as well, “Yes Shroud, you are very brave and very big just like me! Now I need you to be a little more brave and crawl right over here to me.”
“Ok.”
“You are doing such a good job right now Shroud! Look at you! I'm so Proud of you.”
Shroud reached out one hand through the thicket toward Tommy.
“Aww you came all the way from over there to me.” Tommy pulled Shroud into a hug as they silently sobbed into Tommy’s shirt. Their grip on his shirt is unrelenting. Tommy rocks back and forth keeping a steady pressure around the kid, comforting murmurs spilling out. Tommy held them there until both their breathing evened out.
The walk back to the camp is a longer and more careful journey than the rushed searching he did one the way in. Tommy tried to be as steady as possible with Shroud in one hand and a flashlight in the other he couldn’t afford to fall. Lucky for Tommy, he quickly found the Prime path trail and didn’t have to watch out for low hanging branches hitting either of them. Everytime Shroud started to stir, Tommy would start to hum one of Wilburs softer songs.
He should probably maybe call Phil and let everyone know that they could stop the search… but Phil will yell at him and Shroud is asleep and Tommy really shouldn't wake the kid. They need their sleep. On the other hand though, if anyone finds out that Tommy found Shroud and left them to worry he won’t hear the end of it all summer.
“Fuck.” he hissed under his breath as he turned on his phone.
53 missed calls. Double fuck. Some of them were from Wilbur and Techno. He is done for he is dead.
“Shroud,” he whispers “I’m leaving all my wives to you Philza Minecraft is going to gut me and hang my intestines from the camp sign. It will be incredibly unpog.”
The sleeping child made no acknowledgement that they even noticed Tommy talking.
He needs to call someone but if he calls Phil he will get yelled at, if he calls techno he will get disappointed at, that’s almost worse if you ask him. And if he calls Wilbur, well he will either help protect Tommy from Phil and Techno or rat him out immediately.
Someone makes the choice for him as the phone buzzes with an incoming call. Tommy checks the caller ID prepared to let it go to voicemail.
“Oh thank fuck it’s Dream.” Dream won’t rat him out to Phil! Dream is too much of a pussy. “Hello Dream to what do I owe the pleasure of your wonderful faceless voice?”
“Prime Tommy! It’s been hours everyone’s been trying to get ahold of you! Wilbur is losing his shit I think Techno is ready to start a rampage to find you and that kid.”
“Well lucky for all of you, Shroud and I are on our way back. You can call off the rampage.”
“Tommy, and I say this as a friend. What the fuck!” Tommy pulls the phone away from his ear, “Phil is going to ground you for life as soon as you get back. You are lucky he likes you too much to fire you.”
‘Dream, Big D,”
“.. Don’t call me that.”
“Ah ah ah no interrupting the hero who saved the day, as I was saying Big D, I really need you to not tell Phil because he will in fact murder me.”
“Tommy.”
“Ayup.”
“Tommy… Techno has been listening and already told Phil.”
“Fuck”
Shroud isn’t too sure what woke them. Maybe it was all the talking or maybe it was the cold sheets someone tucked them into, either way they wanted to go back to sleep.
They let out a little hiss
“Ok kid,” someone chuckles, “ we will let you sleep.”
“If we hurry we can watch Dadza craft a Beltza for Tommy.”
These people really need to learn some manners! Don’t they know it’s rude to talk when someone is trying to sleep. One more little hiss ought to teach them!
“Oooooh they are just like a little Tommy! Techno! Do you remember when Tommy was a camper!”
“Wilbur if you don’t quiet down I’ll-“
“Do something horrible and tragic that somehow relates back to some Greek myth yes yes I’m going.”
The door slams. At last peace! Shroud curls up in their sleeping bag. It was much warmer than under the tree.
The door opens up again. There truely is no rest for Shroud! They let out a meager little hiss.
“Sorry kiddo,”Oh! It’s Tommy.
He settled down next to Shroud and rubbed their back.
“I just needed to make sure you were ok but I’ll let you sleep.” Tommy was so nice.
Tommy’s weight leaves the bed. The door is closed quietly but they can still hear Tommy talking to someone outside.
“Well Philza, that’s one way to start a summer!”
“You little shit!” They heard another man say, “You are grounded.”
Shroud couldn’t make out the whines Tommy was making as the two people walked away. Finally Shroud found themselves drifting off to sleep.