Camp Camp Oneshots - AKA Me trying to hold back from only doing Daniel stuff

Lasting Effects (Shitty Poison Pt 2)

⚠: Suicidal / Homicidal tendencies, Throwing up again because it's Preston, but no describing it like last time, If you really squint and rotate the screen a little to the left and cross your eyes a little guess it's kind of Maxpres, I've been reading way too many Ao3 tags, Animal killing, No character death but definitely violence. I usually don't write about such heavy stuff but I'm having a very edgy day today

Max walked down the dirt path in the forest, happy to have finally lost the group. He let out a sigh of relief and sat down on a fallen tree when he heard rustling in the bushes nearby. Still on edge since the Daniel incident just two days ago, he clutched his pocket knife with shaky hands. 

An angry-looking squirrel jumped out from the bush, chattering in a pissed off manner. Max laughed, silently cursing himself for being so paranoid. Suddenly, he got a strange impulse, one he'd felt before but not nearly as intensely, most of the time just as a joke. He tried to brush it off, but it returned, practically screaming at him. Before he could even register his own actions, he pounced on the squirrel and caught it by its tail. He raised the struggling animal into the air and flicked his knife back open.
One gross murder scene later

Max blinked a few times, finally registering what he'd just done. His eyes flicked between his bloody knife and the poor little squirrel lying still on the forest floor. He heard a scream from behind him. He whirled around to see Preston clutching his stomach and retching into a bush. 

"W-wait, Preston, it's not what it looks like! I don't... I don't know what happened! I just-" Max started, hands in the air, slowly approaching the taller boy with his knife tucked safely back into his pocket.

"G- Get away from me, you... You maniac!" Preston yelled, backing away frantically. Max felt something inside him snap and he reached for his knife again. Preston screamed and turned to run, but Max was one step ahead and tackled him to the ground. He raised the knife, no longer in control of his own actions. 

"Preston, Max, are you over here?" David asked. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. David took a moment to take in the scene before him. Max, his favorite camper, was sitting on the back of another camper, knife raised high into the air. Gwen joined David and immediately lifted Max off of the poor theater kid. The entire camp watched as she pocketed the stunned and bloody camper's knife and cradled him like a baby.

"Well shit. I was hoping we wouldn't need to have this conversation, but-" Gwen began.

"What the FUCK? What the hell do you mean 'this conversation?' I thought it was clear we shouldn't MURDER OUR FUCKING PEERS!" Neil interrupted her. Max said nothing, eyes wide and scared. David checked Preston for injuries, finding a few bruises and scrapes but nothing serious.

"The police warned us this might happen," Gwen explained vaguely while David dug the squirrel a grave and Nikki held a funeral for it. "Let's discuss this at camp."

---

Needless to say, Max didn't attend the discussion. The moment he got to camp, he made a beeline for his tent and tossed out any remotely sharp object he came across. After he was satisfied with the baby-proofing of his tent, he flopped down onto his cot and stared at the tent's 'ceiling,' letting his mind wander. He groaned into his pillow when the image of the lifeless squirrel and the horror in Preston's eyes entered his mind for the millionth time. Of course, he wanted to understand his situation and why he lost control, but he couldn't bear to face the other campers after they witnessed him about to end another human's life. His friends probably hated him.

Preston didn't blame Max for what he did. After the discussion, and the convenient timing of Space Kid having a knife fight with the platypus (which the platypus won of course,) he was pretty convinced it wasn't the jaded boy's fault. Max, on the other hand, avoided Preston like the plague, blaming himself and refusing to listen to David's words of encouragement. When told he couldn't avoid the theater kid forever, he responded with "Fucking watch me!" Or something equally snarky. Of course, he knew they were right. Even then, he still wasn't prepared to bump into him again.

Max clutched a small paper cup full of lukewarm water. He'd much prefer colder, less lead-filled water, but Camp Campbell wasn't known for luxury. Regardless of the possible lead content, he downed the entire cup and shrugged off his hoodie. The Mess Hall seemed like the best place to go after another squirrel murder, since nobody was there in the night. He sighed with relief that his Camp Campbell shirt didn't get stained by the blood of his latest victim, a squirrel that looked suspiciously like David. He heard clattering from behind him and turned to face the noise, annoyed to see Preston standing in the doorway like a deer in the headlights.

"Relax, Pres. I don't have my knife on me this time around. Actually, I have no fucking idea how it got so bloody. I was just strangling it..." Max said, slightly guilty as he watched the color drain from Preston's face. "Chill. It was just another squirrel. I haven't killed any people..." He thought a moment, deciding to crack a joke to break the tension. "No thanks to you." He smirked when Preston's face twisted into that of annoyance.

"I'm sorry I value my life more than your little 'exploits,'" Preston snapped back. Max rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say." Max walked past Preston without another word, his bloodied hoodie bunched up in his hands. 

I just realized I can upload this exactly as is while I work on more. I'm considering making this a separate book.

ALSO, O O P S I'm sorry this kind of turned maxpres lmao.