Disclaimer: "Happy Tree Friends" is a copyright of Mondo Media
[WARNING: Gory scenes up ahead – if you're weak-stomached, better get out.]
Happy Tree Friends: Camp Sanguine
Chapter 17 – Deception
'Damn it, not again!' Flippy thought upsettingly as he ran through the darkened woods, his path barely illuminated by the crescent moon and stars above. He almost felt his feet give way when he was frighteningly reminded that he was being chased; pressed on even though his leg muscles cramped out of exhaustion.
"You can run, but you can never escape me~!" Demon Flippy jeered, glowing-red pupils accurately trained on his prey. The monster didn't even faze when twigs slapped at his face and vines threatened to restrain him – in fact, he cut through with such ease. Flippy on the other hand was having some difficulty; part of him knew his obstacles were definitely slowing him down. But he kept moving, feeling that if he outruns his demonic self he'll be safe…for once.
…but it seemed hope wasn't on his side tonight…
"Gah!" he yelped as a cypress knee tripped him; screamed as he felt clawed fingers grab his arms and drag him struggling all the way, his kicks connecting with air. "You're quite the runner and a fighter, but even young soldiers have their limits, don't they~?" Demon Flippy growled.
It wasn't long before Flippy was securely tied up, arms and legs spread out in an 'X' shape. Demon Flippy stepped forward and pulled out the young soldier's switchblade from his belt strap. "You had guts hurting Lust before forcing sending him home…" he spoke, fangs bared as he grinned. Almost as quick, it was replaced by a frown. "If you thought I'll just let you off easy like those other times, you're horribly mistaken…" he growled.
And with that, Demon Flippy tore his victim's shirt-front open and plunged the blade through his stomach, cackling as Flippy screamed agonizingly. He then proceeded to make long cuts horizontally and vertically before tearing open a jagged hole, exposing his inner organs.
'It's just a dream. It's just a dream. It's just a dream,' Flippy mentally chanted, unable to stop his warm tears flowing out of scrunched eyelids. Grass-green orbs snapped open as he felt his stomach get ripped out, followed by his intestines, liver, pancreas…just about anything his demonic self laid his clawed hands on.
The pain he felt was then dissolved into cold numbness as he felt weaker; he couldn't even talk as Demon Flippy grasped the last organ – his still-beating heart. "Goodbye, kiddo…" he growled in mock-concern. The last thing Flippy saw in his blurred vision were those glowing-red pupils…sitting in a ring of gold irises.
"AH!" Flippy yelled, jerking awake in cold sweat. Burying his face into his pillow, he tried to slow his laboured breathing as he felt around for self-inflicted injuries. 'This has gotta stop,' he mentally whined as he got out of bed and padded quietly to the bathroom…and stopped as he noticed light illuminating from the bottom.
"What's done is done," he heard a familiar voice mumbling from the other side, "It's been years since it happened. It's not my fault…is it?" Curiosity took over instinct and he gently pushed the door open; found Splendid sitting on the floor near one of the showers, leaning against the wall as he hugged his knees.
Said teen looked up and then looked away in the next second. "Can't sleep?" Flippy asked. Splendid shook his head. "Bad dream?" the soldier then asked, earning a slow nod. "Dream demons are after you again?" he added, earning another shake of the head. "Okay, what was it about?" he politely asked, only to be ignored.
Flippy wouldn't give up that easily and plopped down, mimicking Splendid's sitting position. "You've gone through some shit in the past and it came back to haunt you," the teen soldier stated. Almost immediately, the blue hero turned to him with a confused/shocked look in his sky-blue orbs. "I've been there myself," Flippy added before he could ask, "So tell me: what's bothering you?"
Splendid looked down at the floor and sighed. "I didn't want to talk about it but since you asked, I guess it's better to get it off my chest," he finally replied. He then took a deep, slow breath to steady himself. "Splendont told you about our parents' divorce when we were 12, right?" he began, "Well…that's not exactly true."
Splendid tackled his drunken-sleepwalking father and tried to pin him to the floor. He would've had backup, but Splendont was already out cold and was bleeding from a gash to the head; his mother was too busy pleading for him to stop. "Dad, snap out of it!" the young blue hero ordered, yelping as he was kicked off. He recovered and managed to sit up –
CRASH! SHRIEK –!
Ugh…
THUD!
"NO!" Splendid yelled, tears streaming down his sky-blue eyes as he watched his mother collapse to the floor. There was a broken wine bottle impaled directly over her heart. His father snapped awake from his cry; went pale as he realized he accidentally murdered his wife. Bitter sobbing then averted his eyes towards Splendid, who was curled into a tight ball as though to hide himself.
The young blue hero flinched as he felt warm hands grab him, although gently. "I'm so sorry, Splendid…" his father whispered as he held his son against his chest, "You and your brother told me to stop drinking – I didn't listen and it led to this." Sky-blue eyes (still in tears) then looked up as his father added, "Help me clean up."
The 12-year-old nodded and started dragging his brother to the bathroom; cleaned off the blood and bandaged the gash on his head before laying him in bed. He then rushed to the closet and grabbed a broom, dustpan, mop and a bottle of strong lemon-scented detergent before heading to the kitchen. His mother's body was already taken out, leaving a large blood puddle on the spot.
He was just done sweeping up the glass and mopping up the blood when his father re-entered the kitchen. "Splendid, listen to me carefully…" he said, "Your brother shouldn't know anything about what happened tonight. If he asks, I'll tell your mother packed up and left. Think you can handle keeping this to yourself?"
Splendid was at a loss for words and instead hugged his father, a fresh surge of tears streaming through scrunched eyes as he sobbed. "I know it's hard, but you're a strong kid," his father muttered as he stroked his back soothingly, "We'll get through this."
"When Dad told that he and Mom divorced a week after that, Splendont actually bought it and gave up asking about her," the blue hero sighed, "But now I think maybe he should've known it was nothing but a huge lie."
"I do now," a third voice muttered from the bathroom door. Flippy and Splendid looked up and noticed Splendont leaning against the frame, the latter of the two feeling guilty, scared and nervous all at the same time. "I heard everything," the red hero continued, his eyes downcast. Splendid once again had his eyes glued to the floor.
"It's not much, but…I'm sorry," he apologized, his voice barely over a whisper. Flippy noticed his lower lip tremble slightly; looked up and watched Splendont crouch before his brother. "Hey…" the red hero soothed as he ruffled his blur brother's hair, "Heroes don't cry, right?" Splendid went with the opposite and threw his arms around his red brother, his warm tears soaking into his shirt. "Ssh…" he soothed, gently ruffling his fingers through sky-blue locks.
Once Splendid was done letting out his emotions, Flippy stood and helped up the red-and-blue twins. "You could've told me all those years ago; I would've understood," Splendont insisted. "Even if that got Dad locked up as a murderer and us ending up in a foster home?" his brother asked.
"I could live with that. Besides, if you've kept quiet about it then I can do the same – right?"
"I guess so…"
"…if you're gonna cry again, just get on with it."
"I'm not crying."
"Then why are those blue eyes so wet?"
"S-Shut up…"
"Just sleep it off – you'll feel better."
Flippy agreed; even helped tuck the still-distraught blue hero into bed before climbing back into his own bunk. "Man, that scene was so fucking cheesy!" Flipqy growled. 'You'd cry your eyes out too if you were in their shoes,' Flippy argued.
"Ha! Soldiers don't cry!"
'Then why does your voice sound strangely high-pitched?'
"You're just hearing things."
'Hm…your voice cracked a little.'
"No, it didn't!"
'Are you sure~?'
"Shut the fuck up and go to sleep!"
Flippy snickered and pulled the blanket over him, drifting off almost immediately.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
"Marco!"
"Polo!"
Splashes mingling with laughter, Lumpy blindly chased down the young campers in a childish game of 'Marco Polo'. Not everyone participated, however – Pop was playing with Cub (under the shade of the nearest tree); Mole was keeping Cro-Marmot company as neither were in the mood to play; Disco Bear was dragged out of the game by a certain teen soldier. "It was an accident!" whined the 70s teen.
"It looks like you did it on purpose," Flippy growled, comforting Flaky as she mumbled something about being groped on her behind. As soon as he calmed his girlfriend down, he threatened Disco Bear that he'll personally cut off his hands if he tries anything like that again. "Was that really necessary?" Splendid asked when Flippy returned and sat next to him. "It's better than waiting for him to grope my sister next," the teen soldier replied as he kept watch, "Anyway, forget that. How are you feeling?"
"A little better," the blue hero grunted. He had some quick counseling with Pop sometime after breakfast – it helped, but it wasn't enough to make him forget that incident and decided to sit out on today's game. Flippy accompanied him because he believed he's 'too old' to play 'Marco Polo'. "Just be glad you're not exactly like me," the teen soldier joked.
SPLASH!
"Hey, watch it!" both boys yelled, dripping head-to-toe in lake water as they glared at Splendont, who was hollering victoriously. "That jerk –!" Splendid growled, failing to express anger as his mouth twitched into a small smile. "Come on, you can't just sit there sulking all day!" his red-haired brother insisted.
Splendid was considering his options when Moonlight waded up to him. "Please, honey~?" she purred, ocean-blue orbs sparkling as she locked them with his sky-blues. His smile widened and he soon forgot what he was depressed about. "Did you have to use that look on me?" he mock-sighed, chuckling as she jump-hugged him.
"Hey! Fish out of the water!" Lumpy called out. "What? No fair!" the part-albino complained. By now, Splendid was laughing again as he watched his girlfriend play-argue with the blue-haired counselor before finally taking the role of being 'it'.
"So, have you decided?" Flippy asked, relieved to see the blue hero being himself again. "I'll play if you are too – you're not the only one who thinks this game is for kids," Splendid replied, earning a playful punch to the arm before joining him to change into their trunks.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
"And that is how you're supposed to pronounce it," Flippy instructed Moonlight as they had lunch. Flaky was listening intently as the non-identical twins had their impromptu Latin lesson, but her mind kept drifting to what she and the army-clothed teen had gone through not too long ago. "Are you okay?" Splendont asked, swearing he heard her sigh contently.
"J-Just thinking about something…" she admitted, pretending to study her lunch as she brushed back her scarlet-and-dandruff hair. "About what?" Flippy asked, turning his grass-green orbs to her. The faint blush in her cheeks gave away her answer. "Oh…" he breathed, a smirk twitching the corner of his mouth.
Before be could manage to hide it, they were interrupted by a certain sea-green pair. "Did something 'interesting' happen between you guys?" Lifty asked, hovering over the green-and-red pair while his brother leaned against the wall. "No!" the couple replied, blush tinting their faces. This only sparked the thieving twins' interest. "Something did happen~!" Shifty prodded, "Come on, spill it."
"Why don't you guys just back off?" Splendid threatened. "We're not leaving until we get the answer we need," Lifty calmly argued. Splendont insisted they had nothing to hide and 'politely' asked them to leave, his irritation growing as they ignored him. "Let's just sit somewhere else," Moonlight suggested, grabbing her food tray before Shifty slammed and pinned her hand hard to the table. "Hey, let go!" the part-albino ordered, trying to pry herself loose.
Splendid was about to retaliate when Lifty tossed two photographs onto the table; the blue hero suddenly went through several shades of red. So did Flippy, Flaky and Moonlight. "W-What the fuck, guys!" Splendont managed to stutter, protectively covering his eyes with his hands. "We just want to prove this was for real…" Shifty prodded, his smirk plastered to his face.
The mentioned pictures were of Flippy, Flaky, Splendid and Moonlight…having their first intimate session. Luckily, they're the only teenagers in the dining hall at the moment. "H-How…" the part-albino whimpered, burying her face in her boyfriend's chest. "Hidden cameras – we just happened to place them exactly where you guys were," Shifty answered, "And if you won't admit it, then we'll show these to Pop and –"
"Don't!" the couples yelled simultaneously; Splendont still had his eyes covered and slunk unnoticed under the table. "We don't have all day…" Lifty reminded. Splendid growled and muttered his answer; Flippy suddenly looked deeply embarrassed. "I didn't hear you – speak up," Shifty ordered.
"Flippy-and-I-got-laid-those-pictures-proved-it-happy-now," the blue hero quickly spoke, glowering as the sea-green twins snickered. Their victory seemed short-lived, however – Splendid suddenly smirked and tossed out a third photograph; Lifty and Shifty let out choked whimpers and blushed harder than the couples did. Flippy took one look at the photograph and burst out laughing; Flaky and Moonlight noticed and began giggling uncontrollably too.
"Tell anyone what I just said, and I'll have Sniffles broadcast this picture over the Internet!" Splendid threatened. The sea-green twins immediately apologized, tore up their 'blackmail' photographs and even burned them to ashes (Moonlight managed to keep Eclipse sealed within her). "T-This has never h-happened!" Lifty and Shifty stammered before bolting out of the dining hall.
"Did I miss something?" Splendont asked as he climbed out from under the table, cocking his eyebrows as his blue-haired brother (still chuckling along with the others) handed him the photograph that sent their rivals running. He seemed confused at first…but after one look at the photograph, he too burst into a laughing fit.
In the mentioned picture, it showed Lifty and Shifty during their pre-teen years – they were shirtless with little raccoon ears and tails clipped on in their respective positions; prancing around in their room to [assumingly] childish music. "You think we should keep our side of the deal?" the red-haired hero asked as he wiped tears out of his eyes. "Screw it – let's teach them not to blackmail us again," his brother replied, all five laughing again as they exit the dining hall.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Before long, night had fallen and it was just past 'Lights Out'. Flippy had just settled into his bunk when he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye; glanced quickly only to find nothing. 'Great, now I'm kinda paranoid about demon attacks!' he scolded himself mentally. Pulling the blanket over himself, he had almost drifted to sleep when he sensed something wasn't right.
One hand hovering over his switchblade, he sat up and scanned the darkness around him. A few minutes had passed and his heart rate had returned to its normal pace. 'Can't be too careful,' he reminded as he fell back onto his pillow again, falling asleep almost immediately…
…only to be woken up by something cold and hard coiled around his neck.
"Can't let you sleep just yet…" whispered an unknown voice. Flippy managed to hook his fingers and pull the chain slightly, allowing a little air to pass through. He then twisted and turned, his vision blurring at the edges when he finally noticed who was strangling him. "M-Mime!" he whispered harshly, "The fuck! Get this chain –!"
The rest of his sentence was choked off, but it wasn't because his air supply was depleting – he's staring at a pair of glowing-red pupils in the middle of glaring violet irises.