Two Sides of the Same Coin ( camp camp )

Fragile Skin

Daniel was twirling his knife. For once, he felt a little anxious. Daniel was never anxious. Thought this, he rationalized, was a very special occasion. Things had been going smoothly. Gwen was pacified, the kids were oblivious, and David was madly in love,(And so was Daniel, to be honest). Now all that was left was Max. He needed to tie up that loose end as well. It wouldn't be too difficult, but a slip up could cause Max to tear it all down. As much as he wished he could just kill Max, that wasn't an option. David would kill him on the spot, no questions asked.

That meant he needed Max to trust him. As an ally. Great. How does one gain the trust of an angry, vindictive little ten year old? A thunk echoed in the room as he pressed his blade into the table, groaning. So inconvenient. Absently, one finger wiped the blood off his lips, and he regarded it thoughtfully. Hm. The memory of Max's little face, wide eyed and angry as he ripped that man to pieces. There was a devilish smile on Daniel's face. Yes, yes that would do quite nicely, he thought. Leaving his knife abandoned, he got up and left. Time to finally execute his plan.

Max still couldn't believe it. He was curled up in his tent, staring at his balled up hoodie. He hadn't touched it since... then. A few days had already passed, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. A mountain lion was one thing (though still he wasn't sure how he managed that one), but a human being? With a family, with beliefs?! He'd killed a man! Holy shit! Max groaned, putting his face in his hands. The worst part was that he regretted none of it, not one bit. What was wrong with him? The boy huffed and marched out. He needed some air.

Unfortunately, air would have to wait. Breath caught in his throat as he saw who was waiting for him. Daniel stood, arm wrapped around David's waist as the two murmured to each other. Judging by David's hesitant face, it wasn't great. Daniel glanced up, and smiled wide. Maxwell swallowed hard. "Hello Max! I was looking for you! I wanted to talk to you, in private." That was never a good sign. Max tensed. But if he said no, that'd be suspicious. And he and Daniel didn't need David catching on to their little "agreement". "Okay. But make it fast." He grumbled instead. Daniel beamed. "Wonderful! David, we'll be back before you know it! Think about my proposal." David just nodded, deep in thought. And Max was dragged away.

"So what the fuck did you want?" Max spat as soon as they were out of earshot, ripping his arm away from Daniel's iron grip. "Relax Maxwell, I wanted to talk about what happened with that uh... unfortunate man. Your hoodie is still stained?" Max tensed even more, but his face seemed to crumple. Daniel took the chance, sitting the boy down and gently rubbing his shoulder. "Still shaken up?" Max nodded in return. Opening up to Daniel of all people was a ridiculously stupid idea, but he couldn't help himself. "I don't feel bad about it! I don't care that he's dead! Fuck- I'm a monster." Heavily his head fell into his hands, and Max tried not to cry.

It was strange, but Daniel felt a twitch of pain in his chest to see Maxwell so distraught. No way- he was not going start caring about this brat too, David was more than enough emotional turmoil! Clicking his tongue, the blond gently pulled Maxwell against his side. "No you aren't. He deserved it, Max. He was cruel, horrible. Don't worry about not feeling bad. Death is..." He paused, thinking about it. "A release, of sorts. It's not inherently bad." He reached into his pocket, and Max watched with mild horror as he pulled out a live mouse. How long had that been in there?!

"Now now, don't give me that look Maxwell. Just trust me, for two seconds." Max gave him an unsure look, but nodded. "This mouse is afraid, yes?" "Duh." "Well, all you have to do is this." Daniel gently pressed his blade against the mouse's stomach, and it started to squeal. Max seemed uncomfortable. Daniel smiled a little. "Relax, just watch." Though Max really didn't want to look at the poor, terrified animal, he obeyed. The blade of the knife dug into the mouse's flesh, and Daniel gently sliced it open. As easily as that, the animal was dead. "You see? It's quiet now." As much as Max wanted to be horrified, he just couldn't be. Seeing the mouse... it gave him a weird sense of calm.

The mouse dropped down with a small thump into the grass, its fur stained with blood. There was an odd finality to it, like a string had been cut. Daniel seemed to have read his mind because he said, "Peaceful, isn't it? I'm telling you Max, there is a beauty in death, and I know you can see it." Daniel pulled out a cloth, and went about wiping his blade clean. A long, heavy silence let Max think about what he'd just seen. Daniel had been so... calm. And Max noticed, he was too. "Maybe- maybe I kinda can." He murmured.

A slow smile spread across Daniel's face, and he gently, almost tenderly put an arm around Max. "That's the spirit Max! I know it's jarring at first, but look at David! He's just like you and me, and yet he's so... nice!" There were a million other words to describe that man other than "nice", but Max really didn't want to argue that at the moment. "Yea... yea I guess you're right." "And listen Max. I know we haven't been on the best of terms-" a snort came from Max, he could say that again. Daniel looked annoyed, but cleared his throat and went on, "but I don't hate you! I don't think you're a bad kid, and I know you care a lot about David, as do I!"

"Okay, where is this going?" Annoyance and bemusement turned to curiosity, and Max stopped trying to wriggle away from Daniel's grip on his shoulder. "Well you see, I already discussed this with David, and I wanted to pass it on to you!" Daniel was beaming now, shiny teeth glinting with how far back his lips pulled, like a snarling animal. "I'm inviting you to come with me!" "Come with you?" "Yes! Away from camp, away from all these people who just don't understand! Maxwell...

I'm asking you to run away!"