3rd Person POV:
"Ta-da!"
"Ruby! There you are!"
Ruby looks away from her finished project and notices Max, Neil, and Nikki making their way towards the short girl. "Hey, guys. How are you doing?"
"Nothing much. David sent us to find you before we went to dinner." Max answers sharply, looking aggravated. "What the actual fuck are you doing?" Ruby would have normally called him out on his harsh language, which is part of what truly makes him different from Sun, but she is starting to get used to it. And he's been teaching her so much about…various things that Yang has kept hidden from her younger sister; such as what exactly sex is, various tools invented to enhance the intercourse, and other curse words she has never heard of in her life.
"Oh, this?" Ruby asks, pointing towards a long piece of wood she finished nailing to the roof of the rickety cabin. On it is written 'Engineering Camp,' painted in blocky white letters. "I spent all week re-building my camp. Turns out engineering camp did exist when Mr. Campbell established this place, but they all quit when they built some half-pipe skate park way up on that volcano, only for it to be abandoned." She then points towards the massive volcano in the distance. Ruby then jumps down from the ladder she was standing on.
"Where the hell did you find paint?" Neil asks, looking up at it curiously.
"David left it lying out somewhere near the Mess Hall. I need to return it sometime." Ruby shrugs, "Well, let's get going."
They all then head off to the Mess Hall, with Ruby dropping off the paint along the way, and heading to their table. Everyone else is already there and eating away. Ruby sits down next to her three new friends. Ruby looks over at the table on the opposite end of the dining hall, where the cool girl known as Ered is eating. Next to her is a plate of mashed potatoes that is getting torn into by the new camp mascot, the vicious yet oddly apathetic platypus. This somewhat-cute platypus became the new mascot just three days ago; after Max killed Harry the Hamster and everyone all spent the day trying to find a replacement.
Once the creepy Quartermaster serves us our share of mashed potatoes, Ruby take a bite and nearly vomits it back up. It is so dry and mediocre-tasting, it's honestly unparalleled. The rest of the meal passes in a strange silence before we all leave for our tents.
Ruby is sleeping in the same tent as Nikki, which is the one on the left of Max's and Neil's tent. Of course, on the first day, Nikki and Ruby spent the rest of their afternoon re-decorating the inside. So now, they have a bunk bed with Nikki's on top, decorated with lots of vines and broken-off leaves, while Ruby has a normal bed with the trunk at the head.
As night falls, Ruby's eyes fly open once Nikki starts shaking her friend awake. "Come on, Ruby, you're stronger than this." Nikki then proceeds to slap Ruby across the cheek. "Wake up!"
"Hey, Nikki." Ruby mutters, sitting up. She was tired by the time she got to bed that she forgot to get on the new cotton pajamas David and Gwen got her on the third day. "What's going on?"
"Max and Neil are planning an escape. It will be an adventure! Wanna come?"
"Sure, give me a sec." Nikki instantly runs out. Ruby gets up and sneaks towards her new trunk and opens it. While it mostly has clothes in it, the red-haired huntress planned on collecting lots of cool stuff Ruby could have found here. She reaches into a secret compartment in the back of the trunk and pulls out the purple Dust crystal that got her sent to this mess in the first place. If it got her here, then maybe it can take her back home.
Ruby then closes the trunk and sneak out of the tent. She notices David off in the distance doing his nightly patrol along the way. "Alright, guys. Our first attempt to bust out of this god forsaken hell hole didn't work. But tonight's gonna be different." Max announces once they reach the docks in the middle of Lake Lilac.
"How is it?" Ruby ask excitedly, honestly hoping to go home soon.
"Because we have a secret weapon." Max answers smugly, then looks at the docks. Sitting there is a wooden boat, and a rather squat boy about our age, if not a little older, walking towards us. As he walks into the light of a lantern sitting nearby, its light reveals that he has a tanned skin tone with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes, and his eyepatch is most noticeable. He is wearing a black tank top, cargo pants, light wrapping around both his forearms, and a sash that has three badges on it: one is an ammo box, another is a skull, and the last is a flame. Lastly, why is he chewing on a candy cane? "May I introduce Billy Nikssilp."
"Call me Snake." He says with a venomous tone, taking the candy cane out of his mouth.
"He's ex-Wood Scouts, and one of the best. Isn't that right, Billy?" Max asks, sneering wider.
He chews on his candy cane in thought before answering. "Got my Search and Rescue badge in two weeks. Got my Wilderness Survival in one." Snake answers flatly.
"That's amazing." Nikki and Ruby say simultaneously. Honestly, Ruby took Wilderness Survival courses at Signal for when she might need to make a long journey when she finally became a Huntress. This place has also taught me quite a few things about life in general.
"I never had a choice." He answers darkly, still chewing on his cane.
"Wait, who are the Wood Scouts?" Ruby asks, since she's heard of their name from Gwen, but not what they are.
"The Wood Scouts are some of the most intense, militant campers on Lake Lilac. Billy here escaped." Max explains, sounding almost in awe of them. Wait, could General Ironwood have been a Wood Scout if he was ever on this world?
"And why is he helping us?" Neil asks suspiciously.
"I'm not doing this for you!" Snake replies sharply. "I made a vow."
Ruby stares at him for a moment of awkward silence. "Well, that's…" She starts complementing his leaving such a horrible-sounding group, but Neil interrupts.
"Well, okay. Let's get into the boat." Despite its size, it actually manages to hold all of them well. Once onboard, Snake guns the engines and we start cruising down the lake. "So, what are you going to do on the outside?"
"Probably live with the animals. Try and get raised by wolves, maybe work my way up to Alpha, pee on stuff. What about you guys?" Nikki answers, despite Ruby staring at her like she grew a second head.
"I'm going to go home. See my older sister and dad and show them that I can be a good engineer who can take care of myself." She replies, which is a somewhat honest answer.
"I think I'll go to my Dad's house and tell him Mom sent me to an abusive summer camp. I tend to like him more, so that she'll try to buy make my love." Neil answers.
Ruby only stares at him with shock and some anger; he has a living mom and he uses her like this? "That's really dark, Neil." Nikki remarks, rather unfazed by what she just heard. "How about you, Max?"
Max, however, wasn't listening to the conversation. He was staring out at the lake with suspicion and a hint of concern; something Ruby have yet to see in her jaded friend. "Billy? Where are you taking us?" He asks, already on edge.
"Shortcut." Snake says shortly, gunning the engine further. By now, Max actually looks a little worried as he looks out at the lake. But as he looks down at the side of the boat, he lets out a gasp.
Before even Ruby can respond, Snake stabs Max in the back with the pointy end of his candy cane. "Ah! Jesus Christ!" Neil shouts in shock, backing up to the edge. Nikki does the same while Ruby stands my ground. Snake then glares at them and growls.
He then pushes past Ruby and grabs Nikki, lifting her up over his head. "Hey! What gives?" Nikki demands.
"No girls allowed!" Snake shouts, throwing Nikki into the water.
"Nikki!" Neil shouts, falling overboard to catch her.
Ruby runs toward Snake and punches him in the face. While the speed does make it more effective, Ruby is not as strong as she would be at 15 and admits to really sucking at using her fists. Snake just grabs Ruby's arm and uses her momentum to throw her overboard as well. Ruby can barely see Max trying to tangle with the backstabber again before she starts to sink. Once the speedboat is gone, Ruby starts swimming back towards the shore.
As she continues swimming towards the shore, the waves start carrying her towards the shore…and right into a giant rock sticking out from the bottom of the lake. She slams head-first into the rock and the whole world goes black.
When Ruby regains consciousness, she finds herself lying on top of a wooden table and staring up at a clear sky. "Well, it's about time you woke up, idiot."
"Huh?" Ruby groans out before sitting up and looking around. Her eyes fall upon three teenagers who look less than happy to see her. The teen on the left is brown-skinned with brown eyes and choppy brown hair much like Ruby's, and she is wearing a thick black diving suit with the mask sitting on her forehead. The teen on the right is a pale-skinned boy who is shorter than even Ruby and is wearing a black top-hat that goes with his black tuxedo and monocle. The teen in the middle, however, is easily the oldest; perhaps 18 years old. He is the tallest of them all, with a regal face and well-trimmed red hair, and dressed in a very simple grey tank top and torn jeans. The teen in the middle was the one who spoke to Ruby. "Where am I?"
"Pardon Chucky's terrible manners. My name is Maria, and we all welcome you to the Twilight Zone." The scuba-diver, now named Maria, answers kindly.
"The Twilight Zone?" Ruby asks woozily, never having heard of this camp before.
"Yes. It's not a very good name. Ripley and his hopeless nerds at Film Camp coined the name." Maria answers, glaring at the shortest teen.
"Oh, well excuse me for being artistically creative!" Ripley shouts in annoyance.
"Look, where can I get back to Camp Campbell from here? I'm from there, you see, and I got into a boating accident." Ruby answers truthfully.
The trio look at each other; all of them look dejected in one way or another. "Well, miss…what's your name?" Maria asks.
"Oh, I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."
"Well, Ruby Rose. You've technically never left Camp Campbell."
Ruby looks at them all, very surprised but also confused. "If you're all campers at Camp Campbell, why haven't I seen any of you at all and why do you have your own name?"
"Because no one there gives a flying fuck about us." Chucky answers harshly. "Camp Campbell isn't a summer camp; it's a dumping ground where kids are sent so their parents don't have to deal with them."
Ruby winces slightly at how harsh that sounds. This boy certainly would get along with Max. "Chucky, shut up. Ridley, beat it. Ruby, come with me; I'm going to give you a tour of your new home." Maria then starts walking away from the main group. Ruby hurriedly gets up and closely follows.
As they continue walking, Ruby realizes that she is standing on the edge of a steep hill. One that provides an expansive view of the entire camp grounds. There are 11 wooden, multi-roomed cabins that make a perfect U-shape that faces Lake Lilac, though the cabin in the back is two stories and much nicer in design. In the center of the field is a gathering of wooden tables, with the flag-pole next to it, despite the green and yellow flag she is used to seeing being replaced by a fat pair of pants blowing in the light breeze. Finally, sitting on the edge of the lake is a large wooden pirate ship tied into place by a measly stake and a thick rope. But the one thing that caught Ruby's attention is the large manor-like grounds on the opposite end of the lake and thick, stormy clouds hanging over another part of the lake. "Are they also part of this 'Twilight Zone?'" Ruby asks.
Maria's faces scrunches up in disgust. "Fuck no. The fancy area is home to those stuck-up bitches, the Flower Scouts. And the morbid area belongs to those incessant motherfuckers, the Wood Scouts."
"Uh, why is it only cloudy over the Wood Scout's camp, and what does incessant mean?"
Maria cringes slightly. "Well, no one has any idea why that is, and incessant means family members fuck each other." Ruby blanches deeply. "Yeah, I know. Well, follow me. That area you woke up at, that was Film Camp's turf. We would have used other spaces, but we're kind of short of space." The duo then walks down the hill and towards the nearest cabin, where four boys and girls sitting around a wood table and…drawing? "Yo, Paul!" The head counselor, a boy of medium height with paint stains all over his white shirt and jeans and has the puffiest brown hair Ruby has ever seen. looks up. "What's new today?"
"Absolutely nothing!" Paul shouts back, then notices a slightly pale Ruby. "Who's that?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm Ruby. Who are you?" She mentally shakes her head, trying to forget some rather disturbing images she thought of.
Paul beams with pride, grabbing the paintbrush tucked behind his ear and twirls it on one finger with such skill, Ruby is in slight awe, before pointing it at her. "I'm Paul McDonald, and we are…the Comix Camp!" The other three stop what they are doing and try to flex the few muscles they have.
Ruby bursts into hysterical laughter and Maria facepalms. "You're a class-A dork, Paul."
"Why, thank you." Paul says, bowing deeply.
"What's your comic book topic this summer?"
"Oh, you should hear this. It's our most brilliant idea yet; it's about a former meth-head who is caught up in the middle of the apocalypse. But not just any apocalypse, but the bane of every workaholic's existence: sleep! That's right; once you fall asleep, you die. Anyway, he meets up with this young boy called Sam, who is a bloody hoot. Then they meet some hot chicks and…"
As Paul rambles on and on, Ruby looks at Maria with surprise. "Is he always like this?"
"You have no idea. You should have seen him last year when they made up that comic book series last summer detailing the government arresting four stuck-up college students who create a black hole and were forced to recount every illegal experiment those jackasses came up with to save the world; he was like a fucking kid on Christmas morning. Well, see you later, Paul."
"Oh. Well, have a nice day, babe." Paul calls out before he sits back down at the table and continues drawing, looking a little depressed.
"He seems nice enough." Ruby speaks as they make their way around the ring, thinking that Christmas must be this place's version of the Winter Solstice.
"Yes, he is. See that cabin over there?" Maria then points to the cabin on the far left of the U. "That's pirate camp. Their head counselor, Willy, is training all of them to be sailors." She then points towards the redhead who is wearing what looks like a stereotypical pirate, along with a dozen other kids who are dressed in a similar fashion. "That's pirate camp. Unfortunately, Willy may have a good heart, but he and his mates get the shit beaten out of him by Ridley and his Film Camp followers while making Ridley's movies."
"Oh. That's not very good." Ruby says, looking sympathetic to their situation.
"I know, right? Well, that over there is a rather…interesting camp." She then points to a single-story cabin with a single boy sitting out front. "Allow me to introduce Argument Camp."
Ruby giggles. "Argument Camp? Who sends their kids off so they can get into an argument?"
"Someone does. Anyway, that is Comedy Camp, and its only member, Scotty. I think Steven King had a hand in that." The aforementioned boy dressed up as a clown waves in a friendly manner. "Those guys who are marching around their cabin are in Band Camp. Sergeant Pepper is their leader." She then waves at the tight formation of kids marching towards the center of the field, led by a boy with black hair in a bowl cut wearing a light blue, fancy military uniform with patches and medals. "His name's bullshit, but he won't say what it is. Oh, and there's Abuse Camp."
Ruby stops in place. "Come again?"
Maria sighs and points to the fancy cabin at the back of the U-shape. "This is Abuse Camp. Some of the wealthier people these days apparently want to humble their kids in increasingly twisted ways; well, sending them off to summer camp to be verbally abused certainly hits the spot. Makes them be little bitches on the Internet. If you are wondering, Chucky is a part of Abuse Camp." Ruby looks down, suddenly happy that Weiss wasn't sent there. Just then, they hear loud moaning coming from a steeply-roofed cabin. "And that is Church Camp practicing to channel their misery for their Sunday preaching."
"What can possibly make them so sad?" Ruby asks with concern.
"Politicians being assholes as usual." Maria answers. "Anyway, there are some close friends of mine over there now." Ruby looks in the direction of being pointed and notices a group of six girls in their late teens dancing around wildly inside their cabin. "That's Dance Camp. And let me tell you, they are really good at it. Next up, we have Boot Camp."
They then stare at the humble cabin with a leather sheet covering a pavilion where several burly-looking teenagers are cutting and shaping pieces of leather to make simple shoes. "They seem good at their job."
"Well, they only got good after hundreds of accidents. When Boot Camp was invented and Charlie was in charge, they had their own mini-factory and everything. But he's gone now."
"What happened?"
Maria grimaces. "The factory collapsed and somehow set the Abuse Camp cabin on fire. In the end, Chucky shouted such obscenities at Charlie that the poor bastard ran away. Well, you must be hungry. Let's get you some breakfast." The duo then heads toward the tables, where three dozen campers are gathering for breakfast. Even the sorrowful Church Camp campers are present. Ruby sits down at the table on the far right, along with four other boys who are also dressed in black suits with flippers on their feet and masks on her heads. "These are my bitches, the Dive Camp."
Ruby looks slightly disturbed by how that was described but is very curious about the whole camp. As she starts plowing into the borderline-tasteless plate of oatmeal, which are served by the Quartermaster. "Mmm, you've found a good place to be." The creepy man mumbles as he passes Ruby.
As breakfast is about to come to an end, Paul slams his fist into the table. "Yo, Linda!" He shouts to the girls of Dance Camp. "Where's our gossip?"
The Band Camp then starts chanting, "Gossip! Gossip! We want gossip!" Most of the other campers take up the chanting. But at the same time, Chucky and Abuse Camp are continuously chanting, "Orgy-porgy! It is fun! Kiss the kids and make us one!" Ruby stares at the campers, wondering what an 'orgy' is or where that came from.
Quartermaster rolls his eye at the display and walks away. As he's leaving Linda, a girl about our height with long brown hair, stands up and causes everyone to start clapping loudly. "Alright. Here's the big gossip for today! Ridley Ire isn't a happy camper today because he got shrecked last night. I can't say who did it, but what I do know is that he spent hours clearing out the plastic scorpions." The other campers start laughing hysterically while Ridley blushes deeply. Ruby also notices Scotty smiling slightly at hearing the news. "My next piece of news is that with the annual social coming up tonight, many of the boys here are having wet dreams of a certain lead diver."
Many of the boys pale in terror while the girls laugh. Maria, however, starts blushing madly. "Thank you." Everyone erupts into applause at hearing the news. Ridley, however, is more than outraged at hearing what happened. "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot to mention one last thing. Sergeant Pepper, apparently, your father died in the hospital today."
The color drains from Ruby's face, and she looks at the Band Camp member, who is now sitting there in shock. "Alright, enough of the gossip. When is our soccer game?" Chucky asks, with several other campers mumbling among each other in agreement.
"Shut up!" The boy who is in Argument Camp shouts loudly, "It's football. Only Americans call my favorite sport that."
"What's wrong with the title of soccer, nitwit?" An Abuse Camper asks.
"That putrid name sounds like, and is, a game for apathetic pussies." A brief moment passes, then everyone then starts arguing with each other at the top of their voices. Meanwhile, Ruby is just staring at the crowd with a bewildered look. Does this one sport really create such passion in its fans? By this point, the campers' arguments start to turn violent with fists flying in all directions.
"I don't want to be here anymore." Ruby mutters, then gets up amid the chaos going down and starts walking away from the pavilion area.
She then starts sprinting as fast as possible, without using her semblance, through the open space, hoping to find a way back to Campbell or even Beacon, she suddenly notices a large rock sticking out of the ground and stumbles. Ruby falls face-first into the ground and lets out a slight moan of pain before blacking out.
When her eyes flutter open, she finds herself sitting on a bed and staring up at the ceiling. "Do you realize where you are?" Ruby then turns her head to see Maris sitting there, an angry look upon her face. "This would be the spare counselor's cabin; if our prick-tease of a founder invested more money into this nightmare. And of course, stupid-ass Gwen is so busy over at the rest of Campbell that she's forgotten about us."
"Well, then I'll make sure you guys are treated right. But that doesn't mean you should shut out those who could help."
"Bullshit. Everyone I trusted has abandoned me; I prefer the way things are, and you will not fuck this up for me. By the way, why do you care about Camp Campbell?"
Ruby looks up to the ceiling, the answer clear. "Because I have friends there. I've already been separated from some of the best friends I've ever had in my life, friends that I may never see again. That is why the new friends I've got are worth it, and I will never give up on them."
"…Fine. Tomorrow morning, you will be taking part in the daily football game and the other fun activities we have set up. You will learn to be a part of our group, whether you like it or not." With that, Maria gets up and walks towards the door and leaves the cabin.
Ruby gets up and walks towards a nearby window, which is barred by thin sheets of metal. She then lets out a long sigh and gets into a running stance. As she tries tapping into her semblance, she realizes with a start that she can't use her semblance! Her face smashes against the wooden door and she bounces off.
"Ow." Ruby mutters, holding her swelling nose. She then looks down at her hands. "Why can't I use my semblance? My Aura must have been locked again after all." Suddenly, the door swings open and Chucky is standing there, framed in the doorway and a duffel hanging at his side.
"Looks like you're feistier than I thought; I like that. I'll cause a distraction, and you will get the fuck out of here."
"Why are you helping me?" Ruby asks, a little suspicious.
"I'm not doing it for you; I've been trying to get that controlling pile of monkey shit Maria shrecked for weeks now. What better way to see dickless get all riled up than you slipping from her fingers?"
"You know, I should introduce you to my friends at Camp Campbell; you'd like them, especially Max."
"Max… is that the Indian boy who was friends with our last counselor, my uncle of the same name? Too bad the deadbeat got kicked out of camp. Stupid asshole video-taped himself masturbating."
"Masturbating? What's that?"
Chucky Jr. stares at her with a stupefied look. "You're stupid, you know that?" He then slams the door shut. Ruby zips open the duffel that Chucky Jr. gave her, and notices a plain red shirt, jeans and a pair of… grey and black gloves?
Shrugging, Ruby quickly gets changed into the new clothes, stuffing her old outfit into the duffel. She then notices the piece of cloth. Smiling, she takes the cloth and wraps it around her forehead, keeping it under her hair, and ties it back tightly.
"Let's go." She then opens the door for the counselor's cabin, duffel on her shoulder. As she sneaks through the night-blanketed woods, hiding behind trees all the way, she suddenly hears lots of whooping.
"Pantie raid!" Chucky Jr. is shouting, holding up a pair of girl's underwear with his fellow Abuse Campers trailing behind. Maria and many of the other girls at the overall camp are chasing after them, screaming bloody murder.
"What have I gotten myself into?" Ruby mutters, then starts making her way towards the lake, where the pirate ship is docked. Right next to it is a small, rickety boat. "Perfect." She then takes a running jump into the boat, grabs the pair of oars sitting on either side, and starts rowing away from the shore as quickly as possible. "See you guys later!" Ruby then laughs out-loud upon seeing the other campers look upon her in dismay.
Ruby continues rowing down the lake, thinking back to her days at Camp Campbell and what she will say once she gets back. "Gwen, you and I are going to be having some words."
As Ruby continues rowing, she slowly approaches the part of the lake where thick storm clouds blanket the sky. The boat immediately skids to a stop on the rocky shore, and Ruby gets out. "Now, where am I?"
Suddenly, a loud siren goes off in the distance. Curious, Ruby makes her way to the source of the sound. Not a mile further does she encounter a massive obstacle course filled with wooden towers and posts, with a long ropes course stretching out as far as Ruby can see.
"You know. Maybe I don't hate Camp Campbell. Maybe I hate everything." Says a very familiar voice. Ruby looks closer at the field, and sure enough, Max is dangling upside down in the middle of the course, hanging over a pit with a sign labeling it as a 'God Forsaken Hell-Hole.'
Smiling, Ruby makes her way down to her new friend. "Hey, Max. How are you holding up?"
Max notices Ruby, and his eyes widen. "Ruby! Thank God you're here. Get me down from here!"
"If I do, can I please have your cookies that we get for dinner tonight?"
"Fine, whatever. Get me down from here."
Smirking in triumph, Ruby makes her way towards the tower, climbs up it nimbly, and slowly pulls Max back onto his feet. "So, what have you been up to today?" Ruby asks cheerfully as they walk back to the boat to return to Camp Campbell.
All Max did was glower at Ruby.
AN: Hello, everyone. I hope you liked this chapter, and I look forward to doing many more.
I am so sorry for not posting sooner; I have had many trips for the last few weeks and unable to do any writing.
Anyway, see you all next time with the next episode.
PS: Can anyone tell me whether or not I should give off a list of which Camp Camp episodes are being featured in the coming chapters? Also, did you like third person perspective more than 1st? I would love to hear your thoughts, make up a tally (which closes next Tuesday), and the final verdict on what I should do will be shown by the next chapter.