One would think that being friends with multi-dimensional magical animals who were created solely to bring joy and peace on Earth would be the most interesting and surprising friendship one could have. However, for Christie and the twins John and Dawn, it was not their acquaintance with the Care Bears or Care Cousins that made any massive lasting impact on their lives.
It was being friends with a red-headed enigma called Dark Heart.
"We should keep your initials," Christie was saying one morning, brushing her hair whilst looking out of the window into the camp wilderness, "that way you still keep a portion of your identity."
They were all in the Counsellors' Cabin. Summer was nearly upon them and children would be coming soon; children who had no idea that the boy still known as Dark Heart was once some sort of Shapeless Evil. The human trio were all very keen to give Dark Heart a new name. Pulling her hair into a bushy ponytail, Christie turned to see John and Dawn sitting at the table, each nursing a hot chocolate and watching Dark Heart intently. Dark Heart was leaning back on his chair, sitting opposite the twins, twiddling a pencil artfully between long, pale fingers.
"Ah-huh" He didn't seem too interested.
"So," she put her hands on her hips, "what sort of name would you like? Darren? Derrick?"
"Oh, I don't mind." He flipped the pencil and caught it again. He grinned.
"How about Daniel?" Dawn suggested timidly, "Because, you know, it's biblical."
Dark Heart let out one of those rare chuckles that made Christie angry but put the twins on edge.
"Why Biblical?" asked Christie, instantly regretting the question.
Dawn shrugged, her eyes wide. Both twins were holding their cups a little tighter.
The pencil stopped flipping, "I like Daniel," Dark Heart aka Daniel smiled at Dawn, showing a lot of teeth, "let's go with that."
"My parents named me after my Grandmother. Christina is my whole name."
"That's pretty name."
They were alone, sitting on the settee now. John and Dawn were doing one last check of the camp before the children came.
"She died before I was born."
He shifted, looking interested now, "does that make you sad?"
She thought for a moment, "kind of. She was a great person, really nice. Mom always gets upset when speaking about her. It would have been nice to have met her."
The Being Formally Known As Dark Heart leaned back, looking unimpressed. "Mmm, people always say good things about those who have died…well…almost always. I wonder what she was actually like."
"Dark-, Daniel!"
"What?"
"That was kind of mean."
"Everything is 'mean' to you guys. I'm just being honest."
"You can't say stuff like that," she insisted, "people will think you're cold. I'm only ok because I know what you're like." And I know what you used to be, she added silently.
He tapped one foot methodically on the hard wood floor, "what would the correct response be?"
Christy thought for a while, "It is usually something to bridge the gap between you and the other person. To make them feel better. Something like, 'oh I would have liked to have met her too,' or a story about your own family that's similar."
He turned to her and smiled sweetly, melting her just a little. "I wish I could have met her," he said, his voice low and eyes very blue, "she sounds wonderful."
She stared at him for a while. He had sounded convincingly sincere. "Have you always been good at lying?"
He sat back, thinking on the question or at least on how to answer it, "I was never bad at it," he decided on, "but I never really have to do it."
"You don't lie often?" That seemed likely to be a lie to her.
"No, I've seen the consequences of lying too much, people get tangled in their own webs." He grinned as if this was hilarious.
"But you're not people," she wheedled, feeling nervous raising the topic of his inhumanity but burning with curiosity.
His grin became more secretive now, understanding her thought process completely. "I'm people enough Christy."
II
The camp, re-named Camp Care, did have adult supervision but it was light. The adults lived in the nearby town and only popped in once a week to make sure everyone was eating and relatively safe. In a universe containing the Care Bears nothing bad ever really happened to anyone, but it was requested that Camp Counsellors be older than the children they watched over. Christie guessed that there had to be some semblance of authority.
Daniel looked like he was possibly in his early teens, which would mean he was more than suitable to watch over the camp generally. When John had asked about his age, Daniel's answer had been extended laughter.
They just went with it.
Ten boys and ten girls, all ranging from eight to eleven years' old had arrived at the camp. They were standing out at the front of the Counsellors' cabin, still in their home clothes and with their suitcases beside them. The buses that had driven them in had now gone away.
"So this Camp is to help us learn to care for each other," Dawn was giving a passionate speech, "to not just care a little, but a lot. Enough to care to stop, to help each other. We will not have bullying or name-calling here. Everyone is special and everyone has their own talent. We're going to help showcase your skills and encourage one another. Now, if we're really lucky, at the end of your time here, we will get a visit from the Care Bears. How does that sound?"
The kids cheered, some hugging Care Bear or Care Cousin Plushies they'd bought from home. The Care-Creatures were big business on Earth.
John took the boys to their cabin whilst Dawn took the girls. Daniel and Christie went into the counsellors' cabin. They were to call up all the parents to let them know their children had arrived safely. Afterwards begin going through all the children's files to make sure things like their medical history were correct and accounted for.
"Christie," said Daniel, "how come you've put me down for almost all the physical activities?"
"Dawn and John aren't athletic," she said, feeling a bit tense, "and I obviously was only camp champ that time because of your help."
He watched her for a moment. She could feel his eyes on her as she pretended to be busy, faffing with papers and moving things about on her desk.
"You can still do all that stuff," he said at last.
She turned to stare at him, "what?"
A smirk and a shrug, "you never backed out on your part of the deal. So it's still in place. You're still a sports all-star. Always will be. You can make a career of it one day, if you wanted."
She watched him potter about the room, getting his paperwork ready in order to start phone calls home. Unlike her, he genuinely was getting his stuff together and moved with purpose.
"Are you serious?" she hissed out at last, making him look at her with eye-brows raised, "are you still doing all that black magic?"
"'Black magic?'" he cackled for a bit before, "no…no I'm not doing 'black magic.' It's just a holdover from our previous deal."
"So all of that is still in place? I thought it ended, once the Bears were free and the cave was destroyed."
"Why would that get rid of the deal?" he sneered. He sat down at the desk, "It was only a cave-in. I'm going in alphabetical order of the boys, so I'm calling Steven Allthrop's parents first, ok?"
"Forget that, I need to know what all of this is."
"All of this?"
"You, Dark Hea- Daniel! I don't know what you were, but now you're a normal boy, right?"
He gave her a fixed stare, "define normal."
"Give me a straight answer!"
"How can I," he argued, "if you don't ask the right questions!"
She sighed angrily, she'd always had a temper, and began to pace the room. "I don't want any more bad stuff," she explained at last, "nothing sinister."
"It's just being able to have better control over your own body," he giggled, as if she were being hysterical and stupid, "I don't get why you're making such a big deal out of it. It was my gift to you. Just take it. You like being athletic, don't you? So just enjoy it."
"Last time I had to trap the embodiment of good to keep my ability," it was a low blow, bringing up his past, but she was annoyed and needed him to understand why this was to be taken seriously.
"You didn't have to do anything," he responded coolly, "your sporting ability was on the line, not your life or anyone else's. You could have said, 'no.' And in any case, this time you don't have to do anything anyway because you've already paid the price I asked for." He turned towards the phone, "are we done, because we need to get on with this?"
"Yes…we're done."
They got through the phone calls quickly, many of the parents excited that their children would possibly meet one of the Care Creatures that governed over the happiness of the world. By the time they were done, because the calls had been long due to enthusiastic parents, they were exhausted. Or at least Christie was, it was hard to tell with Daniel. She made them a hot drink and sat beside him on the settee, regretting her earlier out bursts.
"I am grateful I can still do sports," she said, looking at him closely. They sat close together. "I just get scared. I don't understand how you work."
He looked at her, eyes serious and slightly calculating. Feeling bold, she leaned forwards and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. On pulling away, he returned the favour.
Feeling jubilated that the tension had popped, she let out a small laugh and he smiled.
They turned to the paperwork and began to go through files.
III
Generally, the children liked Daniel. He was very good at almost anything he put his hand to and was easy to speak to. It also helped that he was charming, often working out very quickly what things the children were interested in and tailoring his behaviour and conversations topics towards that.
But, for all that charm there were certain things he was no good at. Usually when it came to situations that required a reasonable level of emotional intelligence. For example, being able to comfort someone.
Susie Baker had found out from a phone call from home that one of the puppies her dog had given birth to had died.
She was crying around the back of the camp, looking out to the lake. The kids left her alone, knowing she needed space. Dawn was the best at this sort of thing, but she had her group doing a nature trail in the woods, and John and Christie were part of an intense game of soccer.
Daniel, who had been done inventory on what food stocks they had, was the only one available.
He sat beside her, silently for a while. She stopped crying and they watched the tranquil waters together until he finally asked, "did you know the puppy for a long time?"
"No, it was only just born before I left," she sniffed, "but it's so sad. I was looking forward to going home and hugging them all. It's sad to think a baby died."
He briefly wondered if it was worth asking how it died, (he presumed that the mom either rejected the puppy or had eaten it,) but then decided that to ask that was probably 'mean.'
"I wish I had met that little puppy," he sighed, "I bet it was the cutest."
She looked at him, eyes brimming, "it was! It was the cutest. Did you ever have a dog?"
"Hmmmm," he thought, noting how she seemed happier already and internally giving himself a pat on the back, "not myself. But my uncle had a dog. Or three."
Susie frowned, "was it one dog or three dogs?"
"It's hard to explain. Let's say one. Anyway, these dogs were great. Literally great, as in they were huge."
Susie smiled, "my little brother Jamal wanted a big dog, but mom said no. So we have a terrier instead. But I like big and small dogs."
"Me too!" replied Daniel with almost forced joviality that bordered on mocking, "my uncle's dog used to chase after its food, it was always splashing into the river just where my Uncle lives." He chuckled, "that crazy trio…"
"Your Uncle sounds fun," she said, "getting three big dogs and living by a river."
"He is certainly something. Hopefully your puppy will be fine."
"What?" Susie was confused again. God, Daniel was a weird guy.
"Ah…nothing." Daniel paused for a moment, seemingly collecting himself before turning to Susie and saying in his warmest voice, "I bet your puppy is in Puppy Heaven and is super happy. Playing all day and having naps whenever he feels like, playing Throw with Jesus and getting belly rubs from the Saints."
"Is that true? Puppy heaven?"
"Sure. Why not…"
"Can I go there, or do I have to go to People Heaven?"
He smirked, "I'm sure you can go wherever you like."
Understanding she still wasn't ready to join the others, Daniel sat back and together they watched the lake a little longer.
IV
It was late.
Dawn wandered around the camp. Her torch shone out confidently in front of her. The children were all asleep; Christy in the Girls' Hut and John in the Boys'. There wasn't a fear of anything bad happening, more so it was to make sure no kids snuck out to have an adventure or try to pinch some midnight snacks from the kitchen.
She would work until eleven. Then she'd go to bed and Daniel would complete the rounds. He only had to do an hour (from midnight to dawn everyone slept) but often she had the impression that he stayed out all night.
"When I come off my rounds," she had said to John earlier that week, "he's usually watching TV or reading a book. I never have to wake him up to take over. I think he never sleeps."
The camp was beautiful at night, but eerie. The stars were out tonight, and the moon was fat and full. Dawn and John lived in a city, and so it was rare for them to see so many cold blue stars twinkling in the sky. It was wonderful to come out into the country and see them in all their glory.
The moon seemed a lot bigger here too. In the city it was a small ball, far and distant. But here it was facing down, all it's pocks and shadows showing. Because it was summer the sky was still relatively light, a deep navy blue rather than the actual intense black that it would become later.
The water of the lake was extremely still and calm. It made Dawn want to throw a rock into it, just to disturb the peace and to see the ripples. She ignored that compulsion. She didn't want to wake anyone, and it seemed a shame to ruin the tranquillity.
It was then that there was the first dep snarling growl. It was low, so low it was almost silent. But the ground tremored and the ripples echoed into the lake. The wind picked up and she felt a chill run up her back. It was instinctual, standing in the darkness, looking out into the murky, mysterious shadow of a great lake and hearing the sound of a predator.
Was it a bear?
A wolf perhaps?
This area had both, though animal attacks were extraordinarily rare.
She had turned around quickly at the sound that she felt rather than heard. Her eyes scanned the dark outline of the forest.
She couldn't see anything; all was dark and still.
Dawn walked quickly now, breaking out into a jog until she reached the Girls' Hut. The girls were fast asleep, Christy's bushy hair peeking out of her blue wool blanket. The sound of soft snores was comforting.
Dawn went across to the boys'. Another snarl, longer this time, reverberated through the camp. She shuddered, her grip on the torch tightening. She turned her torch slowly across the vicinity, waiting for the light to reflect off some beast's eyes. But there was nothing but grass and trees and bushes.
She stepped into the boys' cabin. Like the girls they were asleep, John snoring quietly in the Counsellor's bed. One boy, however, lifted his head out of his blanket.
"Hi," she whispered, "I'm just checking on you. It's late, go to sleep."
"What was that?" the boy whispered, his voice high and scared and quieter than her own. She knew this boy. He was called Jason and was one of the more confident children in their camp. The fact that he was now so subdued showed how frightened he was. She resisted the urge to hug him or lie to him.
"I'm not sure," she answered, "but I'll find out. Don't be scared. It'll be fine tomorrow. Go to sleep."
He nodded, taking what comfort he could even if he didn't quite believe her. Dawn knew that if there was some creature out there, she still had the help of the Care Creatures and even of Daniel.
She stroked the child's hair for a few moments until he settled. She then went out of the cabin.
The atmosphere had changed now. Dawn no longer looked at the stars, she looked at the shadows instead. The towered above her as trees. They stretched out across the land and pressed into the water.
The wind was soft but cold.
There was almost a whisper, a susurrus in the air. It caught in her hair and blew it across her face, gentle but present.
Dawn did what all children do when they sense danger; she followed her instincts. She walked (because running makes them chase) to the Counsellors' Camp. Surely her hour was nearly up and even if not, Daniel would be able to help her in this strange predicament.
The Counsellors' Camp was large and at the edge of the camp, nearest the entrance. Her feet crunched on the stones of the car park.
Though she knew she was going to where an ally was most likely waiting, she felt the tension rising.
The air was heavy. There was a smell in the air. It was like a really unpleasant fart. Such a thing would have made her giggle in the day, but no one was here apart from her. The smell became heavier the closer she came to the cabin.
She opened the door.
Every other night he did this, Daniel was sitting with a book on the couch or watching Tv, as she had told John.
Today it was dark.
The cabin was large, much larger than the one for the children.
The front door opened to a wide space, a kitchenette to the left, a small bathroom and toilet to the far right. In the middle was a coffee table and a tv. The coffee table was always covered in papers and files which annoyed John because he was very neat.
Either side of the TV was a door. One led to the male counsellor's bedroom, the other to the female's.
She tiptoed across the main living area to the male counsellor's bedroom door. The door was made of wood, as was the rest of the cabin, unpolished. It looked like there was a face in the wood, a dark ring of a stretched-out face screaming. She stared at it.
There was a snarl and then a growl. It made her jump because it was close. The torch dropped to the ground and rolled under the couch, its light cut off. She didn't look behind her. She opened the door and stepped inside.
The room was very, very warm. Instantly she began to sweat. It was dark, so dark it took a moment to adjust her eyes. The smell was more spicy now, elemental in way she couldn't explain or describe.
She blinked, shapes starting to appear as her eyes became used to it, "Daniel?" she asked quietly.
A growl. Deep and low. The growl of a large creature. The ground shuddered with its bass.
She pressed her back against the door, her heart in her throat.
A hiss.
A snarl.
She frowned.
She could see now. The outline of a slim wardrobe. The desk that was beside her. And ahead was a bed. The room was small, the bed only a few steps away. It was occupied, but there was a darkness, a shadow of a deeper black than the rest of the room, above the bed. It looked like many, thick tentacles, all waving about.
The figure in the bed shifted.
It was Daniel.
His face was pale and his hair dark.
His face was twisted in a vicious looking snarl, his white teeth showing, and his eyebrows were furrowed. His shoulders raised up, as if he was spasaming, and then he let out a long, low growl.
The walls and floor shuddered again.
She gasped, putting her hands over her mouth a second later.
Daniels' eyes snapped open. The tentacles were gone. The smell was gone. His face was blank. His eyes were red.
She bolted out of the room, through the living area and out into the car park. She would have kept running, but that would have resulted in her running straight into a forest at midnight.
Instead she breathed in the pure, clean air.
"Dawn?"
She turned.
Daniel stood in the doorway. His eyes were blue. He almost looked concerned, watching her closely.
"Don't be scared," he said at last, after they'd stared at each other for the better part of a minute.
She wrapped her arms about herself, self-soothing. She didn't know what to say.
He stepped down from the steps, coming closer. Slow, and gentle, like the breeze.
"I know I'm scary sometimes," his voice was very low, "I can't help it."
He shrugged and she almost smiled. He seemed so very…genuine.
"What can he do?" a part of her reasoned, "he can't help being scary."
Another said, "careful. He can be charming."
He was in front of her now. He reached out and touched her face softly. He looked wistful.
"I'm not Christy," she said at once.
He looked surprised, "I know."
She blinked, uncertain why she had said that.
"Be honest," she instructed at last, "are you safe?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can you hurt us?"
He looked at her meaningfully, "yes."
She understood, even as her heart stopped for a second, "will you hurt us?"
He smiled then, almost relieved, "no," he responded with some force, "I won't hurt you. I choose not to hurt anyone." He looked up at the sky. "It's pretty, isn't it?"
She looked up at the large moon and the ocean of stars. "Yes. I was looking earlier."
They stood like that for some time. Eventually she was calm. He talked to her as she walked to her room. He turned the lights on in the living area. He was yammering away about something silly that she wouldn't remember. He led her to her room and sat with her for a while. Even when she got dressed in the bathroom, he spoke the whole time while waiting in her room.
She climbed into bed and he smiled at her. "'Night Dawn."
She yawned. It was later than midnight and she was exhausted from a long day and then all the excitement. She lay down and covered herself in the blanket, not paying attention to him backing out of her room. She muttered to him, "'Night Dark Heart."
No one else caught him sleeping for the rest of that Summer.
V
The winds became colder as September approached.
John and Daniel were in the canteen together, mixing up a large pot of hot chocolate for the camp kids to have when they returned from their nature hike.
"So that's why mom and dad are moving to New York," John was explaining, "It's going to be so different to what we're used to but mom said money will be fine, even if it's expensive there. Dad said the opportunity was too good to give up."
"I think he's right," mused Daniel, "I mean…that sounds like quite the jump in income. You will see him less though."
And there was the crux of the matter.
John's shoulders slumped, "yeah…but the Carebears said that I need to try and be happy for dad. And mom says at least the time we do spend together will be doing fun stuff like going on holiday."
Daniel made a non-committal noise, making John look up at him.
"What do you think?" the blond boy pushed.
Daniel sighed, "do you really want to know?"
"Yes." John stood away from the counter, the hot chocolate warming comfortably, "I want to know what you actually think."
"I think that it could be a great thing. You'll have more money. You can do more stuff. You'll go to a new school in a new city. It could be the making of you. But it can also be that you'll see less of your dad, that your parents will drift apart and that the money won't be enough of a replacement for time." He turned and looked at John, "I think this doesn't have to be a bad thing but it could be. Try not to…give in to temptations."
"Like what temptations?"
"Temptations like acting out for attention. To try and distract your dad or your mom from work. From trying to fit in by doing things you know you don't want to do." Daniel smirked, "demons lurk in all the shadows and all the corners of the world and beyond. But in cities we twinkle with the lights. Just be careful and remember who you are. Like I say, this could turn out very well for you. You may become a cool cosmopolitan pair of twins, the world at your feet."
John suddenly had a mental image of Jesus being shown the Kingdoms of the Earth by Satan.
He smiled at Daniel, "you can come visit us."
"Hey thanks. I'd like that."
Then John frowned, a thought occurring to him, "what are you going to do when the school term starts?"
"Go back into the woods I guess," Daniel shrugged, "and wait for you guys to come back."
"But you're a real boy now. You can't just go into the woods. You need a family."
"I don't really need looking after…but I see your point. Maybe I can go into town. I don't think social services will let me stay with anyone but we'll see." He put a lid on the pot and turned the stove off.
"How long were you out in the forest?" asked John, "before you met us? Was it fun?"
"Yeah." John was taking out large plates of cookies so Daniel went to collect mugs and plates. "Do you think you and your sister will like your new school?"
"The leaflets look pretty great. Dawn's excited because they have kids on horses on the cover, so we're guessing they teach horse riding. They have uniform though. And I don't think I like that much. So did you meet a lot of kids before you met us."
John flinched as he looked up from unwrapping cling film around a platter of cookies and found Daniel right on front of him. Daniel was very tall.
"Why all the questions?" asked Daniel, though he was smiling and didn't seem unhappy at all. His eyes were cold, but John thought they always looked that way.
John paused, feeling trapped.
Daniel cocked his head to one side, "are you thinking of running away to the forest?"
"No," he answered, pulling away and taking a seat by one of the tables. "I don't want to run away I just…I'm worried about all the changes. And I don't know what you are even though I've known you for a long time now. And I want to be your friend. And I want you to be ok over the rest of this year. If you're ok with living alone in the woods that's fine I guess but…I don't know. I'm uncomfortable with it."
Daniel was sitting opposite him now. "No one ever really knows anything about anyone else. Most people don't know themselves very well," he shifted, looking uncomfortable. John wondered if it was genuine, if Daniel could feel awkward and tense, or if he was just mimicking John. "I would like to be friends," Daniel continued, "it's hard for me. I'm like…an exchange student. I'm learning. But I cannot and will not tell you everything. But I am a kid, like you, now. But I'm just not exactly like you…and sometimes I think that I am the same as before but I'm not. I get surprised when I'm hungry. And sometimes I have to sleep."
"Oh yeah, Dawn told me about that."
Daniel smirked, "I thought I was going to have to leave…but things were ok the next day."
"We were worried," John confessed, "she was scared. And we didn't know if it was something trying to get you back to evil or…if it was you."
Daniel stared at John for a long time before grunting and leaning on the palm of his hand.
"Do you have a soul?" asked John, hoping the question wasn't rude.
"What's a soul?"
"I don't know…like your ghost? But it makes you good I think."
Daniel pulled a face, "well I don't have a ghost inside me. And I have a brain which helps me decide if I want to do something good or bad and what good or bad is in my situation."
John thought about this. He was still very young and so these felt like ideas slightly beyond him.
"I wish you could live with us in New York," he said instead, "I'm sure it'd be nicer with you around."
"You and Dawn are still a bit scared of me."
John blushed, feeling oddly ashamed, "we'd get used to it."
"It's ok," Daniel smiled, "I'll be fine. I promise."
VI
The last day was fun.
All the kids were in the lake, Daniel and Christie playing Life Guards.
It was nice. The air was slightly cool and the sky a darker shade of blue. Clouds, still fluffy and light, moved slightly more quickly in the sky. Daniel watched the leaves on the trees. Their tips were just turning amber.
"Look!" cried one of the kids.
Out of the sky came the little cloud cars of the Care Creatures.
Everyone cheered. The Bears and Cousins joined the kids in the water.
"I'm going to go and get some cool drinks," Daniel informed Christie.
In the Cabin, he took a deep breath through his nose. He liked having everyone around, and had a notion that he was going to become lonely in the following months, but being around them could be exhausting.
"Hey Dark Heart."
He turned to see a tubby blue bear in the doorway. The bear let himself in an shut the door behind him with visible relief.
"I told the others I was coming to help you carry the drinks but really I just wanted a break."
Daniel grinned, "you are a funny kind of Care Bear."
"Yeah well I get that you're a funny kind of…you know…bad guy."
Daniel slumped onto the settee, followed by the Bear, neither bothering with the drinks. Daniel knew he should be out being a life guard, but considering the lake was awash with Care Bears and Care Cousins it was highly unlikely anyone was going to get upset over too much splashing never mind anyone actually drowning.
"It's Daniel now," he said, "Christie named me. She said I can't go by Dark Heart. It's not a boy name."
"I'm Grumpy," replied the Bear, "what's it like, becoming something different?"
"Oh, it's very difficult," sighed Daniel, "it's like learning a whole new language and culture. I don't think I'll ever quite get it right. Why? Do you ever want to change what you are?"
"Hey! Don't try and bargain with me ok buddy! I'm fine."
Daniel laughed, "I've never met an angry Care Bear before. The worst I ever got was disappointment."
"It takes all kinds of colours to make a rainbow," responded Grumpy flatly, "your friends are worried about you."
"Oh?"
"They want you to be ok when they return to their families."
Daniel waved his hand, "I'll be fine. There's the shack in the woods. Or I'll go into town."
"You could come to Care-a-lot," (Daniel cringed,) "ok maybe not," sighed Grumpy. "Well we have all day to think of something. Now, we should go get those drinks for everyone."
The evening came. The sun began to sink.
The sky turned into a watercolour of pink and blue and orange, with a golden sun at its horizon.
The children, exhausted, sat on the river banks with the bears. They took photographs and signatures.
Christie took Daniel's hand.
"This has been the best summer of my life," she said, "I've learned so much."
Daniel smiled, "me too."
He took in her warm, brown eyes and felt compelled to press a kiss on her forehead.
The kids around them squealed, the boys groaning in horror and the girls giggling and shrieking. He watched them impassively, a soft smile on his lips.
"Don't do that in front of the others," he heard Christie hiss.
He looked at her. Her face was flaming red and her heart beat was accelerated. His smile deepened slightly. She was fine.
The coaches arrived before it got too dark. The kids would ride back to their respective cities and towns overnight.
There were tears and hugs and phone numbers being exchanged.
The children went home.
Daniel had never had so much physical interaction with snotty-nosed kids hugging him fondly. He had multiple bad drawings of himself. He proudly pinned them up on the wall in the Counsellors' Cabin, a strange warmth in the pit of his stomach.
John, Dawn and Christie were leaving the following morning. The night stretched in. The built a large bonfire. They couldn't make smores because aside from stuff for breakfast the next day, everything had been packed up to lie dormant in storage or to be donated to the local church in town. So instead they watched the flames.
They had all promised to return to the Camp to be counsellors next summer, but with the twins going to a new, intimidating school and needing to make new friends, and with Christie still feeling that she needed to fit in with new friends she'd have to make in school, who knew what next summer would hold?
The pre-teens talked quietly together, reflecting over their favourite parts of the summer, when John suddenly said, "what's that smell?"
"It smells like burning," Christie added, then feeling stupid because they were all sitting in front of a large fire.
However, the others understood what she was saying.
Daniel stood up and turned away from the fire. The others followed.
In the distance, just in the line of the first trees of the forest, stood a large, cloven creature. A large black deer? It looked larger and heavier than a normal deer, and its eyes were the same as a goat's. Its horns were black with sharpened points.
The wind dropped and everything was still.
"What is that?" Dawn barely whispered. John and Christie admired her strength, because they couldn't speak at all.
"It's my parents," answered Daniel, in his normal voice, "sort of…"
He took a few steps towards the dark creature, the others resisting a scream in response.
Dark Heart
A voice that simultaneously felt like it surrounded them, but was also in their mind's, called out. It was deep and sensuous. Feminine and masculine and over-lapping, but not like a man and woman speaking at the same time, but as multiple non-gendered creatures whispering in unison.
Daniel crossed his arms, "yes?"
You're time is done.
He uncrossed his arms and put his hands to his hips. "Already?" he complained. He lowered his hands and turned to look at the others. His eyes were blood-red again. He turned back to the creature, "can I not bargain for one more night?"
The creature watched him silently with its intelligent goat's eyes.
He let out a small, defeated sigh, "oh, very well."
He turned back to the others and shrugged, "I have to go early."
"Dark Heart, don't", bit out Christie. Her eyes were tearful and she was shaking. They all were.
He frowned as if confused by the emotion. And then he smiled, his teeth shiny little canines.
"I'll be all right. I have to keep telling you not to worry about me." Around him, the darkness became heavier. The trees vanished. Shadows moved, writhing around him. "I really am fine."
"Will we see you again?" she asked. The twins were shell shocked and terrified.
Christie didn't want him gone. She wished they had thought of a plan. They should have hid him in the forest. They should have sent him with the bears. She should have insisted on him coming home with her. All she wanted was to hold his hand and look at the sunset again.
"Probably," he answered, stepping backwards slowly in the shadows, "in time. Just live your life for now. Don't cry Christie."
"I can come with you!" she shouted.
"Christie no!" Dawn screamed in horror.
"She doesn't mean that," said John looking between a blank faced Dark Heart and Christie, "she's sad to say goodbye. She doesn't want to go with you."
Persephone and Hades said the Deer. What would you give to stay with the boy?
Christie whimpered, her legs becoming weak but not giving out. Not yet.
"Stay here," whispered Dark Heart. He then turned and made his way to the Deer. Dark Heart was tall but the Deer was huge.
He whispered to it. The tension settled. The pair walked away, going into the dark forest until they vanished from site.
The children stayed by the light of the fire until dawn.