It was roughly 8:00PM when the crew arrived at Camp Redwood. Lavinia looked out one of the back windows and saw the idyllic scenery of southern California, redwood trees growing and standing as far as the eye could see. She also could see the lake, in which campers would be kayaking or swimming, or the counselors themselves if they had free time during the evenings after campers went to sleep. It reminded her of summer camp in New York when she lived there as a child. Now, she was on the other side of the fence as an employee.
They drove into the camp site and in front of what looked to be a run-down cabin, but to Lavinia, it looked more like it was in the process of renovation; a very poor one at that. The rest of the crew got out of the van as it stopped, and the first thing they noticed was a woman chopping wood over a block. Montana waved her hand to get her attention.
"Hey," she said.
"Oh hey!" the woman replied with a cordial smile, putting the axe she was using down and smoothing out her outfit. "Are you here to report for work?"
"Yes," Xavier said.
"Well, welcome to Camp Redwood! My name is Margaret Booth, I am the owner," she said.
"Boss lady chopping her own wood," Montana said aside to Lavinia and Brooke.
Margaret was a woman in her thirties with feathered blonde hair in a style that was easily five years outdated. Framing her mysterious brown eyes were horn-rimmed glasses, and she wore a shade of dark coral lipstick. Her outfit consisted of a clean, crisp white button-up shirt with a tan vest and matching skirt complete with summer loafers and a patterned neck scarf that barely hid a small cross pendant. Lavinia fixed on it a little bit, until she snapped out of it and looked at Margaret as she spoke.
"We are going to have to wear multiple hats," she said, "because we are short-staffed, and the kids arrive tomorrow morning."
"Good thing we came now," Chet smirked, looking at Xavier.
"Are we the only counselors?" Lavinia questioned.
"Well, the Olympics create thousands of temporary jobs, but my pool of potential employees was limited," Margaret answered. "You must be Lavinia Volkov. Your father is Dr. Volkov?"
"Uh... yes."
"We spoke on the phone. Pleased to meet you in person," she smiled.
"Speaking of medical staff," Brooke mentioned, "is there a nurse or something? We have a situation."
"Oh?" Margaret's eyes widened slightly.
"We... found this guy on the side of the road. I don't suppose you can provide medical care here for him?" Xavier said, walking toward Margaret a little closer. "We couldn't just leave him there."
"We do have a nurse. Follow me."
The crew all lent a hand in bringing the man they accidentally hit out of the van and toward the nurse's cabin, where they came across a tall, thin black woman with voluminous hair in a headband, complete with appropriate summer clothing. Lavinia was a bit shocked to see she was not wearing scrubs, but then again, this was southern California in late June – who would anyhow in that position?
"Everyone, meet Rita. She is the nurse here at Redwood," Margaret introduced.
"What happened to him?" the woman asked, skipping introductions.
"Uh, we found him on the side of the road," Xavier said as they laid him down on an empty bed. The man murmured incoherently, and Rita was quick to see what had gone on.
"Was he already messed up?"
"Yeah," Chet responded.
"And you found him in the road?"
YOU ARE READING
Cruel Summer (AHS: 1984)
HorrorLavinia, a lone wolf, keeps to herself. Needless to say, she hates when her fertility specialist father sends her to Camp Redwood during the summer of 1984. As going-on's occur, she discovers truths about the woods around the camp, as well as a dark...
