Camp Crinitus

CH(1)

hey, guys sorry for not publishing in a while my life has been crazy. I met another author and wrote this story with them they did amazing work (even if I have to bonk them with no horny every 5 minutes) if you want to check them out their name is wanabeddd or the traveler you can find them on archive of our own

I stared out the window of the car at the endless green northern wilderness. It was a relatively small truck, a Ford Ranger to be precise. The noise of the engine filled my ears, so roaring and consuming and loud, that it ruined any chance for conversation. Not that I had much to say.

I was sixteen and an only child. next to me was my mom's latest boyfriend named, what was it? Jim or Jake or something who was in his mid-forties, he was a relatively thick man with a beard covering the lower half of his face often I would spot pieces of food drop into his beard which gave him the nickname Hagrid although he acted nothing like the gentle giant from harry potter if anything I would say he was a "Ron Weasley", he wore a shirt with the letters "drink sleep repeat" in bold he had been bragging about having a hunter's license. And asked if I wanted to join him sometime, I had refused up until now stating I couldn't stand the sight of blood which was partially true however the thing I really couldn't stand was his breath it reeked of beer, and pizza but the other day my mother had suggested I go with him on his trip so "us boys would get to know each other better" but I think that was just another excuse to get me out of the house since he had spoken only four words to me since the start of the trip

"Getn der truck."

Which I had done. We had taken off and that was the last of the conversation. There had been the initial excitement of course. I had never gone hunting before and the heft of the weapon as we loaded the truck felt, enticing.

But in the five minutes, we had driven heading northwest the excitement had died down instead replacing itself with a sense of dread, then on, he had been silent, staring out the front, and the rumble of the engine had been all that was left. The rumble, and the sea of green trees that flowed to the horizon, spread with lakes, swamps, and wandering streams and rivers. Now I sat, looking out the window with the wind running through my ears, I tried to ignore what had led up to his departure. Then thinking started. Always it started with a single word.

lies

It was a hurtful word that would tear families apart and ruin lives but also a protective one, one that you could rely on to keep yourself from danger or save others from worry. But in the end, it was a word that was frowned upon by many no matter how much its service was used.

Secrets

No, not secrets so much as just the Secret. What I knew and had not told anybody, what I knew about the hunting trip, what I knew, that had caused the end of my life as I knew it and wedged holes between me and my friends.

The funeral

A mixture of guilt and shame washed over me, the trees blurred as my eyes filled with water, but I did not cry, not anymore. Not after what happened and not in front of him. I pushed the thought away and let the tears dry up I sat rigid slowly purging the emotion from my thoughts instead of letting my consciousness fall into a haze the blurs or green rushing by only to fade into the distance hiding its creatures from sight

I must have fallen asleep because when I looked up the sun had reached its peak, I glanced around the cabin my gaze landing on the handgun that he had stowed in the center console

He must have noticed me waking up, because he then took a glance at me before setting his eyes on the road.

"Er shoot un before?" He leaned over and lifted the gun out of the center console and motioned for me to take it, yelling to overcome the sound of the engine and wind.