Disclaimer: "Happy Tree Friends" is a copyright of Mondo Media

Happy Tree Friends: Camp Sanguine

Chapter 05 – Blood Oath

"You guys have anger issues," Pop noted, "It makes me wonder how you even cope with each other at home." Splendid shrugged nonchalantly while Splendont reluctantly placed ice over his slightly swelling bloody nose. Moonlight still felt quite bruised but – thankfully – had no trouble breathing fine (even after being temporarily buried under a pile of concrete) and was already relieved of the headache she received after being thrown off earlier. Flippy, on the other hand, was curled up by himself in a corner; his green camouflage clothing mostly stained red with semi-dry blood.

His part-albino sister walked over and sat next to him, crossing her legs. "I'm the one who should be upset," she muttered, "At least you're aware of what your alter-ego's doing; I can't even control mine." Her brother silently draped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

Pop took one look at the four teenagers and heaved a sigh. "Why the long faces? You're here to have fun, not grieve over your 'accidents'," he said, "Besides, everything will be back the way it should be tomorrow."

"What do you mean by that?" Splendid asked. "I meant exactly what I said – you'll see," Pop replied. Splendont glanced sideways at his brother and shrugged; threw away his third tissue wad into the wastebasket. "We're going to have a special campfire activity tonight," the camp director added, "Moonlight, I know you're terrified of fire…but at least try to control your fear this time." Said white-haired girl gulped; nodded hesitantly.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Rustle…rustle…

'Huh?' Flippy wondered as he turned and glanced at the trees. The breeze was light, but the leaves rustled as though a storm was headed his way. Out of the corner of his eye, something bright darted through the shadowy foliage. Curiosity overcame him as he began to pursue the mysterious light; parted the shrubs and –

"What are you doing?" Splendid asked, startling the teen soldier and stifling a chuckle as he watched him fall headfirst into the shrubs. "Don't…do that!" Flippy scolded as he stood and brushed leaves off him. "Sorry," the blue-haired hero apologized, "Anyway, we're still waiting for you – come on!" He then turned on his heel and flew away to the campfire site.

Flippy took one final glance behind him; puzzlement evident in his grass-green eyes as he noticed the leaves weren't rustling as much as it was seconds ago. "Probably just your imagination," Flipqy's voice echoed, "Let's just get out of here." Flippy felt it hard to believe, but then thought maybe his 'shadow' was right. But he couldn't shake the feeling that someone (or something) is watching him as he turned and walked away…

Everyone (minus the dead campers and counselors) were already seated by the time Flippy showed up. Moonlight was sitting behind Flaky and had her eyes glued to the night sky, seemingly stargazing while listening to Pop at the same time. "Tonight's special activity," he announced, "The traditional 'Blood Oath' ritual."

"Did he say 'Blood Oath'?" Flipqy asked, "This should be interesting." Flippy then pretended to smack his forehead as though there was a mosquito; snickered quietly as his shadow's groans echoed within him. "New campers, step out!" Pop requested. "Don't worry, I'm right here…" the green-haired teen whispered as he held his whimpering sister's hand; half-dragged her along. The camp director then unrolled a yellowed scroll and proceeded to explain that every camper who had spent at least one day in 'Camp Sanguine' are immediate participants to the camp ritual.

"After this, you'll be official 'Camp Sanguine' members," he added, "As a first step, sign your names here." Flippy offered to go first and dipped the worn-out quill into the ink bottle; signed his name at the bottom. Moonlight followed, and then Splendid and Splendont. "The next step – a drop of blood to seal your fate," said Pop.

"'Seal our fate'? That's a joke, right?" the red-haired hero asked, frowning as he didn't get an answer. Pop nodded to Cub, who walked over to them carrying four stainless steel needles resting on a small velvet cushion. Each of them picked one and [while being instructed] heated the tips in the blazing campfire. Moonlight's whimper turned to audible sobs as she fought to keep her 'shadow' under control. Flippy noticed and immediately held her close, whispering the 'Cuppy Cake' lullaby into her ear until she calmed down.

They then pricked their index fingers and smeared a drop of blood next to their signatures. "Whoa!" Splendid yelped as their names gave off a bluish glow and appeared to 'merge' with their blood droplets before fading back to blotted ink on yellowed paper. "Almost done…" Pop muttered as he rolled up the scroll and tucked it away, "Now for the final step – you must drink the purified blood of a freshly slaughtered dog."

Flippy then began to wonder if the camp director is either a 'ritual fanatic' or just plain weird. Either way, he felt he shouldn't go ahead with the third step. "Come on, it's not like you never had some before!" Flipqy teased. 'Just shut up, okay!' Flippy countered, unable to stop his hands from shaking as he was handed a large goblet. Moonlight gulped and began to hyperventilate; calmed down as Pop suggested they could move away from the campfire.

"Oh well. Cheers…" the teen soldier muttered. He took a sip – the thick red liquid was warm, sliding down his throat and leaving the taste of iron behind. Forcing himself not to gag, he passed the goblet to his sister. Moonlight glanced from the goblet to the watching eyes of Pop and the other campers, all waiting for her to drink her share. Tipping her head back, she gulped down the liquid and coughed a little after passing it onto Splendid.

The blue-haired hero was hesitant, but he didn't have time to dawdle as his brother forced the goblet onto him; made him swallow a huge portion of the contents. Splendid coughed and sputtered, glaring at his grinning brother who snatched the goblet from him. 'This isn't so bad – in a gross kinda way,' Splendont thought as he drank down till the last drop; handed the empty goblet back to Pop.

"Congratulations…" the camp director spoke in a somewhat-eerie tone, "You are now true 'Camp Sanguine' members." He then threw his head back and howled at the moon; Cub and the other campers copied him, their howls clashing together in a rhythmic melody. Splendid looked at the other three and shrugged; all four threw their heads back and howled louder than the rest.

But then their stomachs growled louder.

"Ugh…" Splendont groaned as he clutched his stomach; almost collapsed backwards into his seat. "I don't feel so good," his brother mumbled as he sat next to him, sweating heavily as though he's got a fever. Flippy – although he felt the same as they did – supported his sister as she teetered and led her to a bench before crashing down himself. "You'll just feel a teensy-bit sick for tonight," Pop's voice seemed to echo, "It'll be gone by morning."

They didn't hear anything else as all four slipped into unconsciousness…

Flippy ran through the darkened woods, occasionally turning his head as the audible sound of crackling leaves appeared to be getting closer. He knew something is chasing him, but he couldn't tell what it is.

ROAR!

'Shit!' he screamed mentally as he picked up his speed; yelped as he lost his footing and fell headfirst down a cliff. He felt the last thing he'd remember before he dies would be his head smashing against the rocks below…

"Ah!" the teen soldier yelped as he bolted upright; sweating and panting as he glanced around and realized he's in bed, in the boys' cabin. "Just a dream…" he sighed. "Yeah, that's pretty normal after going through the 'Blood Oath' ritual – I know because the same thing happened to me," said a familiar voice.

Flippy did a double-take as he noticed Cuddles sitting on his bunk, scribbling what appeared to be a letter. "I thought you were…" he began, trailing off as his mind tried to focus. "That's the other effect," the blond added, "For some reason, whoever drank that stuff end up being somewhat 'immortal' in this camp."

"It's most probably a drug," Sniffles explained as he busied himself with his laptop, "I tried to find out what it was, and ended up finding this instead." The blue-haired nerd then stood and sat on Flippy's bunk; pointed at the title on his laptop screen.

'HAPPY ORCHARD ASYLUM' ORIGINALLY DEMONIC RITUAL GROUNDS

Fact or fiction? Explanations unexplained

Sniffles summarized that the doctors in the asylum were probably original participants of some religious cult; used their patients as 'sacrifices' while attempting to cure them of their mental illness. "They thought by torturing them by all means necessary, they'd 'please' the demon inside the patient and eventually leave him, therefore curing him," he added, "But if you ask me, I'd say it's just a form of harsh 'classical conditioning'."

"You didn't have to go that far, nerd," Lifty grumbled, "And let's just leave it at the fact that whoever was in that asylum is just a bunch of cuckoos that are long dead by now. End of story, end of discussion!" Shifty agreed with a simple nod of his head.

Sniffles growled and rolled his eyes; grumbling to himself as he tucked away his laptop and left the cabin. "I don't know about you guys, but I think he's really onto something – not that I'm siding with him," said Flippy as he straightened out his uniform…and noticed it was bright and clean – maybe even freshly laundered. "Don't look at us," Toothy intervened before the teen soldier could ask, "We're wondering about the same thing ourselves. Same with us being butchered into a hundred pieces and coming back in one piece the next day."

'This camp is WEIRD on so many levels…' Flippy thought as he headed out, ready for another day at camp.