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

[I got a bit of writer's block at the moment. So here's what I could come up with right now – sorry if it didn't sound that great…]

Happy Tree Friends: Camp Sanguine

Chapter 11 – Mystery

Flippy couldn't help laughing as he chased Flaky through the woods, her dandruff flakes leaving a trail for him to follow each time she tried to hide herself. "Come out, come out, wherever you are~!" he called playfully; smirking as he slowly edged around a tree and peeked at familiar red strands. "Gotcha –!"

His excitement suddenly died as he noticed her expression: she was stiff; her eyes wide as saucers. He turned in the direction she was staring and cocked his eyebrows. Tiny white lights – brighter than the sun peeking through the dense foliage – darted through the trees like little fireflies. "They're just bugs," he assured as he turned back to her, "There's nothing to be scared –"

He couldn't get the rest of his sentence out; instead let out a choked gasp and stepped away from her. Her once-ruby orbs now had glowing red pupils, glaring at him. She flashed her razor-sharp canines as she grinned; flexed her newly-formed claws as she threateningly walked towards him. "F-Flaky?" he asked timidly. "That's not who you think it is!" cried a familiar voice.

He turned and saw another Flaky, but this one had glowing white pupils staring pleadingly at him. "RUN!" she ordered, grabbing her boyfriend's hand with her own when he didn't budge. Flippy almost pulled away as her grasp felt icy-cold; he noticed she was almost translucent. 'A ghost?' he thought.

He looked back just to find an angrily-roaring 'red-eyed' Flaky chasing him, gnashing her demonic jaws everytime she got close enough. He then realized he was running on his own as 'white-eyed' Flaky suddenly disappeared. "Leave this camp!" her voice echoed, "Get help!"

But before he could understand what was really going on, he yelped as he slipped and fell off a cliff towards some jagged rocks. "See you in Hell~!" the 'red-eyed' Flaky cackled. Turning as he plummeted, he noticed the camp staff and other campers staring down and grinning evilly – they all had the same glowing red eyes…

…finally, he felt the sharp rocks stab through his back…

"AAH!"

"Flippy, wake up!" Splendid ordered as he shook the soldier. The green-haired teen gasped and sat upright, groaning as he hit his head on the underside of Russell's bed (again). "You were tossing, turning and even screaming in your sleep," the blue hero explained, "What was all that about?" He didn't get an immediate answer as the army-clothed teen was panting furiously and glancing around nervously.

When he finally caught his breath, he narrated his dream with occasional gulps in between. "Huh, that's weird…" Splendont admitted, "I dreamt that too." Splendid agreed he had the same; his brows creased with worry and confusion. "Don't sweat it – everyone gets that dream occasionally," Cuddles assured, "It'll stop in a while."

Sniffles was – once again – researching through his laptop while Lifty and Shifty peeked from either side of him. "Maybe it's got something to do with the 'Blood Oath' ritual since we've all been part of it," the blue-haired nerd deduced, "And according to my records, a random member will have that dream around this month every year."

"But it's no longer that scary once you're used to it," Russell added in his usual pirate accent. Some of the boys agreed; others wished those dreams would just stop permanently. "It's like the ghosts in this camp are trying to tell us something…" Toothy suggested. "Whatever, it's just a dream," Splendont pointed out, "Now can we all forget that and get some sleep? It's too fucking early –"

He jumped as the wake-up call suddenly blared; yelped as he fell off the top bunk and hit his head on the floor with a loud THUD. "Splendid…" he winced as the boys snickered around him, "I think I'll stay on the bottom bunk from now on." His blue-haired brother couldn't stop smirking in agreement as he helped him up.

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

THWOK!

"Nice shot!" Pop cheered as Flippy landed another almost-perfect bulls-eye on the target. "Come on, let me have a go!" Flipqy half-pleaded in his head. 'If it involves using live targets, then 'no'!' the teen soldier refused, secretly smirking as he heard his alter-ego grumble. He then focused his attention to his sister standing next to him – she was being coached by Flaky.

"Now you hold on to the arrow's tail, pull back on the bowstring as far as you can…" his girlfriend tutored while at the same time positioning her fingers correctly, "Then…let go!" Moonlight did as she was told and released the arrow, cringing as she realized she forgot to aim properly, missed the target and –

"Whoa!" Splendid yelped as it whooshed just inches from his face – he and his brother were having some flying exercises as their strength snapped their bows and arrows; therefore dismissed themselves from archery class. "Sorry, honey!" his girlfriend apologized. He forgave her with a smile and a flying kiss; chuckled as she giggled and blushed.

As they continued their training, Splendid noticed the pile of rubble they had passed by on their first day at camp. But now that he got a bird's-eye view, he realized that more pieces of the building lay strewn around an unvisited part of Camp Sanguine – and it strangely resembled a shape. "Either that's by coincidence, or someone had the time to do that…" Splendont explained as he noticed the same thing.

It looked like a rough imitation of the Stonehenge, surrounded by trees positioned in the middle of a deserted clearing. And smack in the middle is what appeared to be a large hole, sealed off by a large wire mesh hammered into the ground. As they got closer for a better inspection, they noticed parts of the wiry metal had dried streaks of old blood that cracked when they touched it.

"Maybe this was where they dumped all the dead mental patients…" said Splendont as they flew around it, "You know, sort of like a makeshift burial site." But he couldn't explain why the building rubble just happened to be arranged in a circle around it. "Probably to stop the rest of us from going any closer," Splendid suggested, "Now let's get outta here before someone notices us."

"Too late…" a pair of voices chimed from below. Splendid and Splendont nearly jumped out of their skin as Lifty and Shifty smirked up at them. "You guys weren't the only ones who discovered this place," the fedora-wearing teen explained, "Lifty and I found this when we joined Camp Sanguine."

"And just so you know – we don't like trespassers on our favourite 'treasure-hunting spot'…" his brother warned, "So buzz off before we rat you out." Splendid and Splendont returned a silent glare before taking off, fuming at the fact they're being bossed around by a pair of thieves.

…and then their anger fizzled into confusion as they noticed the same twins having an archery contest with each other. "How did you guys get here so fast?" Splendid asked as he and Splendont landed nearby. "What are you talking about?" Shifty asked, cocking his eyebrows, "Lifty and I were here since after breakfast."

As soon as Splendont explained that they had been caught by them at the 'mysterious burial site' and their claim that it was their 'treasure-hunting spot', Lifty and Shifty looked at them as though they were crazy. "But there's nothing out there…" the fedora-wearing teen insisted, "We know because we hiked there ourselves."

"We know what we saw!" Splendid argued, "And if you don't believe us – we'll show you!" Neither of the sea-green twins had a chance to react as they were suddenly whisked into the air by the red-and-blue twins towards the mentioned site.

…and just as they were told, it's barren. No rubble positioned into a Stonehenge imitation; no large hole sealed off by a large wire mesh covered in old, dried blood. In fact, there's nothing but a clear circle of desert. "W-What…" Splendont mumbled. Splendid blinked repeatedly, failing to rediscover what they had found only minutes ago. "Told you, there's nothing there – now can we get back?" Shifty insisted, part of him trying not to whimper as he and his brother were dangling several feet off the ground.

What they didn't see were two pairs of glowing white eyes floating unseen through the dense foliage…

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

Pop and the counselors rounded up the campers in the middle of the afternoon. "Tonight is 'Commemoration Night'," he announced, "Everyone gather at the lake around 9.45pm. We'll then leave some offerings in honor of the dead innocent patients." The campers whispered and looked at each other skeptically. "For now, help us out with making reed boats to place the offerings in," the camp director continued. And with that, he dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

"Don't you think it's weird Pop's kinda sanctimonious over stuff like this?" Flippy asked. "He's always like that…" Flaky replied, "He used to scare me with all his 'camp rituals'." The army-clothed teen chuckled and held his girlfriend close, saying that if she ever got scared he'll always be there to comfort her.

Flipqy rolled his eyes and grumbled to himself. 'Stay out of it if you don't wanna listen,' Flippy scolded mentally. "How can I? I'm stuck in your head with nowhere else to go!" his alter-ego complained. Flippy growled and asked Flaky to excuse him for a while; trudged off to the lake and glared down at his reflection. "If you got a problem, just say it!" he threatened.

"Ooh…" Flipqy breathed, "Someone's a little irritated today." Flippy growled and clawed at his alter-ego's face, frowning as his evil self chuckled. "No matter what, you can never get rid of me…" Flipqy pointed out, "Besides, you would be worse off if I hadn't gotten rid of that bastard of a drill sergeant!"

"But that still counts as murder…" Flippy muttered, "Do you have any idea what you've been putting me through? I'm sick of all this shit!" His golden-eyed self just laughed. "Admit it, without me you're nothing," Flipqy added, "And just so you know, your girl's watching…"

Flippy turned and flinched as Flaky stood behind him, clasping her hands worriedly. "E-Even if 'he' comes out and causes trouble, I-I don't mind," she whimpered bravely, "…I'll still be your girl." She then knelt and held him close in her arms, pulling him away from the lake (and unintentionally pissing Flipqy off).

He could feel warm tears threatening to leak from his eyes; quickly wiped them away before she could see them. "You like me…even though I'm some sort of monster?" he managed to blurt out. "I don't like you…" she replied, "I love you – both of you, if you put it that way…"

Flippy was silent for a while. Flaky slightly pulled away and glanced into his eyes; gasped as golden irises stared back at her. Did she say something that flipped him out? She had no clue. "What will you do to prove that you love us both?" Flipqy asked, holding her close, "Tell me, I'm dying to know…" The red-haired girl fidgeted her fingers as she thought of an answer. "I-I-I…" she stuttered, "I'd do anything to prove it. Say it, and I will."

Flipqy smirked and sat her on his lap, her legs on either side of him. Her cheeks turned scarlet as she realized their crotches were slightly touching and the warmth throbbed through their clothes. His hands were gently caressing her buttocks and his breath tickled the skin on her neck. "I don't need to tell you what I want…" he snickered as he teasingly groped her, "But I guess this can wait a while longer."

And with that, golden eyes blinked back to grass-greens; followed by a faint blush as Flippy realized the position they're in. Flaky then suggested they should move, but he held her down. "I don't think I can stand just yet…" he whispered, "And I don't think 'it' will go down that quickly either." Flaky quickly glanced down and saw the apparent 'bump' in his pants, which made her blush even more.

She then took off his jacket and asked him to tie it around his waist. "Just say you felt hot and needed to cool off – 'it' should get down by then," she suggested. She was so distracted she realized they tied themselves together as they stood up. "Just follow my lead," he whispered as he held her close; the two danced to unheard music towards the boys' cabin before he abruptly broke off and rushed to the bathroom, clutching his jacket in one hand.

"Did I take our little 'suggestion' too far~?" Flipqy teased. "Just shut up…" an embarrassed Flippy muttered, spending at least five minutes in the bathroom to calm down…

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

Night had fallen faster than they thought. All the camp inhabitants were at the lake, bringing flowers before setting them into the two reed boats (one for males; the other for females) they had prepared during the day. "To all the fallen mental patients of 'Happy Orchard Asylum', rest in peace…" Pop preached.

Lumpy then tossed a match in each reed boat; Mole (with a little help) pushed the flaming boats away from the bank while Pop chanted some Latin verses. As the flames grew each second, Moonlight's pyrophobia grew as well. Splendid hugged his whimpering girlfriend and turned her eyes away in order to calm her nerves. "Hey, look at that!" Nutty exclaimed as he pointed in the distance.

A series of 'awes' chorused into the night as they witnessed thousands of little bright lights floating into the sky, seemingly blending into the stars as they vanished. "Hm…this never happened before," said Pop, "What are those things?" Cub babbled and clapped his tiny hands oblivious to his father's concern. The campers looked at him, confused. "Heh, probably just fireflies…" he finally spoke, "Anyway, time to tuck in and –"

"Leave this place…"

Cub clung onto Pop's shirt and buried his face into his chest; the girls glanced around nervously while the boys tensed as the wind suddenly picked up.

"Leave now or you shall regret it!"

The leaves rustled and the lake rippled as the wind grew stronger. Low howls and moans echoed around them; the temperature had suddenly dropped and it looked as though icicles were forming on the trees.

Then just as it had started, it stopped – everything had calmed down and returned to its peaceful atmosphere. "What the hell was that?" Splendont asked, breaking the silence. Nobody answered him, however. They were more focused on the reed boats floating back towards them. The flames had somehow been extinguished and they looked like dark coffins from where they stood.

Splendid and Splendont flew over and dragged the blackened boats back to the bank. When they brushed aside the burnt flowery offerings, the girls shrieked and some boys cringed in disgust; some ran into the cabins and curled up under the blankets in their bunk beds.

Because grinning up from the charred blankets were hundreds of skulls, seemingly glaring at them with hollow eye sockets. What's more disgusting was that some even had decomposing flesh still clinging onto them.

"What the fuck is going on here!" Flipqy and Eclipse exclaimed.

[For those who left questions in the reviews, here are your answers:

(1) No, it' not because of Mr. Pickles – I just don't know who I should pair Lammy with.

(2) Adding Nova in this story? I'll see if I can somehow sneak her into a chapter…]