The Funeral Island

5. Of Man and Monsters

The day had been long.

Katherine had taken initiative, seeing as Aaron kept fucking around, Alastair had taken to simply staring at whatever challenge courses they were supposed to be executing, Amber was too quiet to express whatever bright ideas passed through her head, and Jenna had taken to trying to keep the group in high spirits.

Sure, Katherine would forever be regarded as slightly 'bossy' but someone had to be.

Amber was the brains of the group, often whispering to Katherine about whatever flaws her makeshift plan had, then promptly suggesting different options they had. It wasn't that Amber was shy - no - quite far from it, shy just lacked to voice to suck people into listening.

Aaron was just brute force. It was a combination of his motivation to win and raw strength, he did most of the dirty work, but he rarely minded.

Alastair was the speedy one, often in a hurry to get things done in a timely manor, but really it was just his impatience and lack of skill to focus in on one activity for very long.

Jenna, awkwardly enough, was sort of just... there, whether it was for motivational purposes or... just...existing.

"And that's a wrap," Sienna smiled, "In all my six years of working here, I've never seen a group work in accordance like that" Sienna was practically beaming, "Go take a nice short shower and be ready for the campfire," she clapped her hands together watching as the five teenagers started to turn to leave, "Don't forget that you need to be out at the site in an hour and a half," Her sentence was rushed, though she wasn't really expecting any of the kids to answer.

Katherine waved over her shoulder, most likely perceived as a rude gesture by Sienna, but that was the least of her worries. Alastair's arm was slung around her shoulders, keeping Katherine close to his side as he half leaned on her for support, while Amber bumped gently into him with every step they took, Aaron had taken the other side of Amber, nudging her every five seconds to make some sort of sarcastic remark, and Jenna had wrapped an arm around Katherine, hugging into her side and letting the latter lead her around.

"Man, it's been such a long day, you guys," Aaron started, bumping into amber gently, "Can you believe it's only five right now?" He used big hand motions, which were slightly comic to watch, "I mean, we've been at this since nine in the AM," he complained.

"Be glad that it's only five," Amber remarked, "If Alastair hadn't started that race, I have no doubt that we would still be three quarters into all the activities," Amber grinned, peeking over at Aaron before quickly leaning forwards to catch Jenna and Katherine's eyes, attempting a wink.

"Yeah," groaned Jenna, "Or if Aaron weren't here we would probably still be lifting logs off the beach," By the sound of Jenna's whining, one would almost think she did more than keep the jokes rolling and the optimism high.

"Well," Katherine started, quickly gaining everyone's attention, "Lets be glad we got through it all- for the most part - unscathed," Amber and Alastair smiled brightly, "Lets go wash up, grab some grub an-" Katherine's piercing green eyes trailed along the small pathway, landing on the rabbit with a blood soaked pelt laying smack down in the middle of the trail, eyes wide with terror.

A lump caught in Katherine's throat, the lines almost seemed to settle underneath her eyes as she begun to walk faster, completely disregarding the rabbit as her teammates struggled to keep up.

Amber's mind was racing. It was the same rabbit from the night before, which means it wasn't all some fucked up nightmare. Just what had followed them back from the forest? How intelligent was it? Why was it there? How long had it been there? How long had it been watching them? Was it hunting? Amber was lightly gripping onto Alastair's arm as he led her away from the scene. Her legs were taking small, uncertain steps. She was disoriented, the blood rushing to her head quickly as she forgot how to properly breathe.

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed slightly as Aaron put a hand on the small of her back and steered her away and over to the dorms. Just what was Camp Kideia hiding? 

The dorms came into everyone's line of sight, and Alastair felt the breath he was holding come racing out. They seemed comforting despite the little time spent at camp. Katherine was the first to slam open the door, darting into the women's bathroom and tucking herself away into one of the shower stalls, that seemed to be the safest place.

"Kath," Amber called out hesitantly. Water was dripping from one of the sinks, but it was a quick sort of drip, meaning someone had recently washed their hands. They weren't alone, another camper or councillor was still nearby, and the thought brought Amber some peace of mind.

Amber ventured further into the washroom with the rest of the group tailing in behind her, Aaron being at the back. The curtains were all drawn, hiding Katherine away from prying eyes, but the privateness was quickly interrupted when Amber threw back the curtains and held them for the rest of the group to trail in before gently pulling them closed again. 

The shower was cramped, just barely having enough room for everyone to stand, let alone sit, but they somehow managed, squeezing into whatever corner was available. 

Aaron was the first to break the silence after everyone had settled, "We should figure out a way to beat that thing," he whispered, and Katherine and Alastair felt the hair on the nape of their necks stand straight. "Maybe get a gun or a shank or- or well- something," he was starting to splutter, "We can't just let that - that - that thing run amuck here," A deep frown was settling on Aaron's face, and he seemed to look ten years older, "It not fucking natural, that's for sure,"

"I agree," Jenna was quick to the point, "It's not safe - we're not safe," Alastair nodded as Jenna continued, "I mean, what about when we leave? Is this thing just going to terrorize whoever else decides to come here?" Jenna was using large hand motions to exaggerate her words, Nearly smacking Alastair and Amber in the face, "We should make a plan." Jenna's eyes slid over everyone before landing, "Amber?" she requested, thought it sounded more like a demand.

"We should think about this rationally though," Amber jutted, "What do we know about this thing?" She looked around expectantly though no one offered an explanation, "Exactly," Amber lectured, "I think we should ask around before heading off to face this thing,"

Alastair's head shot up quickly, "Maybe it's like a legend or something here, we can inquire during the campfire later," Alastair's suggestion was met by nearly everyone nodding in agreement, though Amber still looked to be deep in thought, and Katherine had yet to speak up.

"Maybe Sienna knows something about it," Amber spoke softly, putting a hand to her chin in thought, "How long has she been working here anyhow?"

The door to the bathroom swung open and Katherine's breath seemed to hitch in her throat nervously. Nobody spoke. Nobody dared to move a muscle. Nobody breathed. Jenna's heart seemed to race, she could hear the blood rushing through her ears. They stayed like that for a minute before the sink came on and shortly after, the door swung open again and closed.

"I don't think this is our place to take action." Katherine spoke before anyone else had the chance to get a word in, "We aren't adults," The lump in her throat was starting to form again, but Katherine pursued, "We're not heros, we aren't properly equipped to do this," Katherine's eyes dragged upwards, surprising everyone as they watched her, "This isn't a video game or some kind of lame movie. This is real life, and we're living it." The fire in her eyes made everyone gape, despite what Katherine was saying, "Which is also why we need to collect data first."

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Woah, okay, finally finished this chapter. Not edited. I don't know, got a random burst of inspiration today and did something with it. Super happy that I finally updated!