Chapter Four: Madison's POV

A little while later, after our counselors, Andie and Lisa, had unpacked us, Samantha and I introduced Emma and Jade to the certain people who wouldn't be making it through the session alive. I started off by pointing out a red-haired, snobby-looking girl sitting on a top bunk.

"That's Casey," I said, wrinkling my nose. I moved my finger to the next bunk over, where there sat a dark-haired, dark-skinned girl who was chatting energetically with Casey. "That's her cousin, Angela."

"They're cousins?" Emma exclaimed. "They don't look alike at all!"

Samantha coughed, regaining the attention of Jade and Emma. She pointed to two girls who were sitting by themselves.

"That's Jessie, and that's Nadine," she said.

"Jessie and Nadine," Jade repeated. "Are they friends?"

"No...but they both reject anyone who attempts anything remotely resembling friendship, and then bitch and moan about how everyone hates them. ANYWAY. Over there is Amanda, the self-pitying bitch who needs to get over herself." Samantha pointed to a sallow-skinned brunette sitting in the corner.

Jade made a face. "What's with these people?"

Before I could reply, Lisa shrieked an order from outside the cabin.

"GIRLS! OUTSIDE!"

"Fuck you, you Brit brat..." I muttered.

"NOW!"

"Okay!" Jade wailed dramatically. "Just don't hurt me!" I could not wait until she became used to her surroundings and allowed her other half to shine. The other half of her personality was what she needed in this world. It was witty...tough. In a word – kickass.

We were made to gather in the Candy Call area, which was there the younger campers would, for the next month, receive their only sweet of the day an hour after lunch. It was near the parking lot and an almost equal distance between the LIT Village and the main campus, so it was an ideal place for those who were not unpacked to wait t be admitted back into their cabins. Only three or so people could be unpacked at once – otherwise, it was much too hectic.

While we waited, Samantha and I pointed out people we knew and gave Jade and Emma a brief history lesson on them. We had just finished tearing into a girl named Mimi when Samantha abruptly fell silent. Her eyes rested on a tall blonde-haired boy who had a girl seemingly attached to each of his two hips. One of the girls happened to be Angela. As for the other girl, I didn't recognize her.

Samantha's eyes narrowed.

"Who are you looking at?" Emma asked.

Samantha's eyes narrowed even further. "Jordan." I made a choking noise just at the sound of his name.

"So?" Jade said, clearly hoping for an elaboration.

"Well," Samantha began, "Jordan's just about the most wanted guy here. He also happens to be the biggest asshole...by far...but nobody really seems to care." She shook her head. "When we were seniors together, we waited the same table." Jade and Emma gave her confused looks. "Uh, oh yeah. At meals, the seniors get the food, he drinks, the utensils, what have you. Anyway, he never did his job. He made me do just about everything. The waiter at the connected table, Michael...well, he helped me sometimes. He would sometimes get the drinks for me. Oh, but the kicker..." Samantha turned her head down and away. "At the end of each session, the counselor who sits nearest to the senior gets them a gift. Big, huge buckets of candy, usually." She paused. "Well, about a week before session ended, my counselor left. At the end of the session, after all the shit I had to go through, everyone, including Jordan, that fucking asshole, got these wonderful gifts...while I got next to nothing."

I wanted desperately to change the subject. I knew how much just thinking about it hurt her. I could imagine.

"Well, well..."

Fuck. This was absolutely the last thing any of us, especially Samantha, needed.

"Look at this," Jordan said nastily. "It's those two girls who come back every year even though nobody likes them!" He looked at Emma and Jade and snickered. "Wow. Who knew you actually had friends?" He laughed loudly, taking great pleasure at our expense, and walked off.

Jade wrinkled her nose at his descending figure. "Bastard."

Even Emma had adopted her serious air. The hatred that radiated from her was thick and strong. So strong I half-expected the sky to come crashing down right on our heads.

"As much as I'd love to have him to myself," she said in a low growl, "I think I'll leave him to you two." She looked at Samantha and I, her thick black hair falling in front of her eyes. It was a good decision on her part, though I couldn't even imagine what Jordan's death would have been like on her terms.

We didn't even return to our cabin for a good hour, and it was Casey and Angela who took it from us. The two were so high-maintenance they had mountains of shit to unpack. To pass the time, Samantha and I gave Jade and Emma an even more in-depth lesson on the camp and the people in it.

"This is boring," Emma whined. She flopped onto one of the benches in the main campus. For the past fifteen minutes or so, we had been watching Jordan play tetherball with smaller campers.

"I've lost count of how many heads Jordan's damaged with that ball so far," Jade said, sighing.

"HEY! CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHERE THE LIT III GIRLS CABIN IS?"

I ran a hand down my face. "Oh, good god."

"Anisa." It was a collective groan. Anisa happened to be the one person we were all familiar with. And now here she was, running towards us with a cart full of luggage. I saw Samantha's eye twitch.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I managed to say."

Anisa gave me an angry look. "I'm looking for the LIT III Girls cabin." She sniffed. "Though I wouldn't expect you to know where it is."

"And why would that be?" I growled.

"Well, it's obvious you're only a senior."

I suddenly felt something inside me snap. "I'll have you know, bitch, that I am in the LIT III Girls cabin!"

There was a pause.

"I think I should take you to Rhoda now."

"Why?" Jade wanted to know.

"Because I happen to be the third counselor for that cabin, kiddies. Meaning I'm your counselor. And your little, and I do mean little friend's comment was disrespectful."

Emma gaped. "A third counselor?"

"It happens sometimes," Samantha muttered, not happy in any sense of the word.

I was in shock. Normally someone so young as Anisa wouldn't be assigned to an older age group. I was completely taken aback; even more so when Anisa grabbed my wrist and started dragging me towards the main house, where Rhoda resided.

"Hey! Let go of me!" I tried to squirm out of Anisa's grip. That didn't work. In response to the failure, I took to full-on wrestling with the counselor. I grabbed the hand that held my wrist captive with my free hand, blocked Anisa so she couldn't continue walking, and attempted to tear the older girl off of me. Her eyes flared in anger, but in her surprise to being blocked she tripped and fell to the ground. I was about to sink my teeth into the flesh of her hand when –

"MADISON!"

Anisa and I, both completely sprawled out on the ground, turned our heads in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, it was Johnny himself. And he was pissed. The homicidal maniac stormed over to the camper-counselor mess and yanked me to my feet; freeing me from Anisa's grip.

"Hey – she's my camper!" Anisa complained, looking quite dissheveled.

"Oh yeah?" Johnny snapped. "Well, she's with me."

They glared a hateful glare straight into each others eyes. The second their eyes met, recognition and hate instantly sizzled between them.

"You're that freak from last November!" Anisa exclaimed. "The...government agent!"

Johnny grinned widely and maniacally. "Just call me Counselor Johnny!" His expression fell immediately. He yanked on my arm. "Come on, let's get the hell out of here. Things to do."

He attempted to drag me back to where Samantha, Emma, and Jade stood watching the whole fiasco, but Anisa's shrill voice delayed him.

"They have LIT Orientation!"

"Where do you think we're going?"

"But you're not their counselor!"

Johnny's eye twitched. "Are you questioning my intelligence, you tweaked piece of shit?"

Anisa narrowed her eyes. "Fine. Do what you want. I have to unpack." She rose to her feet and sniffed. "I feel bad for you, though. You'll deal with Lisa later." She stalked off to the cabin. At almost the exact same time, Andie exited said cabin. "GIRLS! It's time for LIT – who are you?" Her eyes rested on Johnny. "Wait, aren't you a Subbie Boys counselor? What are you doing here?"

Johnny's grin returned. Placing a hand on Samantha and Emma's shoulders, he pulled them in close. "Oh. Well! You see...these four girls I'm standing with here happen to be part of a government conspiracy. I'm their bodyguard! But shhh! Don't tell anyone!"

Andie arched an eyebrow. "Uh huh."

"SO! Now that we're all clear on that, I guess I'll be going now. Little boys to attend to! Hey, wouldn't it be funny if I suddenly took a throwing star out of my pocket and chucked it at your face? Because you're totally not expecting it!"

Andie's face twisted into one of utter confusion. "No...no that wouldn't really be funny."

"I see we enjoy different types of humor. All the more interesting for later days! Bye now!"

Without missing a beat, he turned on his heel and left. Emma giggled loudly, watching the man's descending figure with a look of absolute adoration.

I had to admit – it was pretty cool.

Orientation was done for all three LIT groups. However, while the ceremony for years I and II were basically the same, it was no secret year III was something special. As much as Samantha and I knew about how the camp was run, we were almost just as in the dark as Emma and Jade were.

Orientation took place in the campfire area. Samantha hissed upon spotting Jordan, surrounded by girls as usual. My own disappointment, however, was caused by the counselors who happened to be running orientation – Liam and Ilan. I had no problems with Ilan, really, though sometimes it was difficult to understand him because of his studded tongue. As for Liam...seeing Liam just about made my stomach drop into my toes, because Liam, the stupid son of a bitch, could not get over the fact that my two canine teeth just happened to be a bit longer and sharper than normal. For three years now he had been absolutely convinced that I was a vampire. As if I would ever drink someone else's blood.

"Sammi!" I ducked behind her. "Don't let Liam see me!"

She craned her neck to give me a look that screamed 'you are a fucking psycho', but did nothing to reveal my presence to the despised counselor.

I sat directly behind her. Unfortunately, I was right next to one of the boys, though I was very happy to be completely hidden when Jade and Emma sat on either side of Samantha.

When the entire group had been situated, Ilan rose to his feet and addressed us. "Welcome to LIT III Orientation." He paced slowly around the campfire, the flames flickering strange and at times creepy shadows across his face. "Now...who was here Trip I?"

Several campers raised their hands, including Amanda, Jordan, Angela, and Casey.

"Okay," Ilan said after counting them up. "You guys don't have to reorientate yourselves."

"We won't spoil it for the new kids," Angela cackled in her scratchy voice.

"Oh, but you can't!" Liam exclaimed, jumping to his feet and grinning wickedly. "It changed every trip! As a matter of fact, for those of you who weren't here last trip, these fine people here that were here had to jump into the pool wearing only their undergarments!"

I blanched considerably. My complexion paled even further when I saw the smug grin on Casey's face as an LIT boy leaned over and said in a loud whisper, "How could I forget your sexy white underwear? Even better when wet..." Anger flared up inside me. That slut. She already had a two-year-old child at home, and she was only sixteen. How many more children would she be having before she was even old enough to drink?

"So!" Jade said, interrupting my thoughts of hatred. "What do we have to do?"

Lisa had been working on the campfire, and now had a very good fire going; the flames spread their warmth far in all directions. The flames were beautiful, and I almost lost myself in them, but when I remembered that the Bitch had created this magnificent fire, the mood was ruined.

Lisa replied to Jade, "You've got to stick your finger in the fire."

"Really!" I jumped to my feet, completely forgetting that I was supposed to be in hiding. "That's it?" Suddenly, I realized what I had done. I clapped a hand over my mouth and sat back down, hoping I hadn't been noticed.

"That sounds mad dumb," Michael piped. "What if my finger burns off? I'll sue yo' ass, Ilan."

"Just role up your sleeves," Ilan advised in a bland tone. "And take that stupid turban off your head."

"IT'S NOT A TURBAN! IT'S A DO-RAG!"

"Yeah...whatever." Ilan rolled his eyes. "So...I think I'll have my boys go first."

"Our boys, Ilan," Liam corrected, smirking and batting his eyelashes at his co-counselor.

Ilan gave Liam a strange look. He rolled his eyes again as Liam erupted into howling laughter.

"Right...now who will go first?"

"Make Vampy go first!" Jordan jeered, shoving forward a dark-haired boy I didn't recognize. In fact, if Ilan hadn't insisted one of his campers go first, I would have mistaken the boy for a girl. His greasy and unwashed black hair hung down by his shoulders; his face completely caked with makeup to give off the effect of his being paler than he actually was. Aside from that, he was wearing heavy eyeshadow and blood-red lipstick of all things. His clothing was even more eye-catching – a cross-tied black top with fishnet sleeves...and a skirt. All oddities aside, he did look vaguely familiar.

"Samantha!" Emma hissed, latching herself onto my friend's arm. "It's...Eric!"

Eric! Hence the nickname 'Vampy'. I poked Emma on the shoulder to gain control of her attention. "Emma...didn't you...erm, dance with him at a nightclub when you were last here?"

Emma nodded energetically, ecstatically happy. I returned to covering behind Samantha. I knew that if Liam saw me how would make some kind of 'vampire' comment, and if that happened, it was doubtful that Eric would ever leave me alone!

The problem – I really wanted to participate in this orientation.

I directed my attention once again at Eric, who looked profoundly nervous. It was easy to figure out why, after his whole smoke-bomb episode with Devi. I sorely hoped he'd back out.

"Go on, Vampy!" Jordan laughed.

"Um..." Eric bit his lip, puncturing it with one of his 'fangs'. "Ouch!"

Jordan fell backward in a fit of laughter. Many other campers did the same. Andrew, another LIT III boy I severely hated, nudged Eric closer to the fire. "C'mon, Erica!" He snickered. "Just go already!"

"I...I'm pyrophobic," Eric mumbled, edging away from the fire.

Ilan sighed bitterly. "Then you really shouldn't wear all that makeup, dude. It's highly combustible." He turned back to the rest of the campers as Eric took a seat, blushing. "Who wants to be the first, then?"

Without thinking of the consequences, I swiftly jumped to my feet. "I DO!"

"And I was under the impression that you were hiding behind me," Samantha said, raising her eyebrows. I froze.

'Shit!'

Liam looked up and grinned.

'Double shit!'

"Well, look who it is!" Liam said loudly. "It's the vam–"

"Let's get this over with!"

"Of course," Liam said, smirking, "vampire girl."

I glared daggers at him. This was the absolute last thing I needed. The majority of the camp population was almost obscenely immature, and what with Eric and I having near to the same nickname...

"Just do it, Madison," Ilan said.

I stuck my finger into one of the licking flames and immediately withdrew it.

"I did it!" I whooped.

The rest of the orientation went fairly quickly. It would have gone on for much longer had half the LIT III's not backed out. I was quite proud of all my friends, as they all participated. On the downside, I couldn't help but notice Eric staring at me the entire time. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach but tried to ignore it.

Michael was the last to go, and sure enough, his 'do-rag' caught aflame.

"Well, that was fun! Now let's go!"

"What's your rush?" Jade asked.

"You see, it's just –"

"Vampire girl!"

I cringed.

"Madison..." Emma began, a look of suspicion and anger clouding her features. "Why is Eric calling your name?" Her voice was absolutely dripping with jealousy.

"I don't know!" I snapped. "Let's just – "

"VAMPIRE GIRL!"

This time it was Liam who called out to me. I pulled at my hair, feeling my brain about to snap. "Go away...GO AWAY!"

The curly-haired counselor approached me, smirking his usual smirk. "How have things been on the dark side?"

I ground my teeth together. "Liam...you are embarrassing me!"

Liam coughed. "Oh really? And what are you gonna do about it? Bite me?"

"No, but I'll set that pathetic map you call hair on fire!"

"Is she really a vampire?" Eric. Goddamned motherfucking Eric.

I felt my face getting hot. 'Tell him you're kidding, Liam...'

"Yup!"

I never could count on Liam for anything...

Eric stared at me with a look of adoring awe that made me sick. "Wow...hey...could you do me a huge favor?"

"Uh...no."

Apparently Eric never learned the meaning of the word, because he went on ahead and voiced his wanting anyway.

"Can you bite me?"

"UUUURGHH!"

I turned on my heel and fled back to the cabin.