Oscar strolls through the woods with his fingers hooked around a strip dragging his sleeping bag across the leaf-covered ground. He had been following behind a group of kids that were there much earlier than his group.
Oscar never liked going out into the woods at night, or any dark foreboding spot where anything could happen to him for that matter. He wasn't alone, he had Max by his side and Oliver and Hedgehog, just behind them. All the same, them being there doesn't do much to ease his troubled train of thought.
"Hey, Hedgehog? Why are we doing this again?" Oscar turns to ask his best friend. She had almost seemed too busy wrapped around Oliver to answer anyway.
"Remember, Susie thought it would be a great idea to have a camp-wide campout." She said, continuing to lean on Oliver. Oscar thought it was weird Susie would orchestrate something like that for everyone in camp. Sure, it was a camp and there had to be extracurricular activities, but it was usually set up by either the other campers or Alice and Betsy. Whenever it was Susie, the head witch usually had ulterior motives in store.
"I don't know about this Hedgehog." He turns to his friend. "Susie never ever does anything out of the kindness of her heart." Oscar knew that her motivation always came from the suffering of others, him especially. She was cold, she was heartless, she was well... she was Susie. That was always enough to make the campers question her reasoning for doing things with them.
Hedgehog takes a second from snuggling up to Oliver and looks over to Oscar. "Don't worry Oscar. If she tries anything I will personally see to it myself." She wraps her arm around his and pulls him in close. The stress subsides and melts away into comfort in an instant.
"Ok, Hedgehog." Oscar laughs. He didn't know what he would do without Hedgehog. She was a guiding light, his guardian angel, and everything he wanted to be as a person. She was every bit as brave as she was foolhardy. "Like what exactly?" She was fearless though Oscar does wonder what she could possibly do against an all-powerful witch like Susie.
"Don't worry. I have my ways." She says before going back to Oliver's side, leaving Oscar cold and alone. She wasn't far, but she felt far.
The night air was ominous. The ambient cracking of twigs beneath the camper's feet makes Oscar jump every second of the night. The trees towered above them, lumbering like tall monsters ready to devour each and every kid there. The woods were always more different the further Oscar stepped in. It was always creepier and more silent. A much different world compared to what he was used to. Oscar could swear there had been something watching from the thick brush of the old woods. Maybe it was his imagination, though no matter how hard he tried. The feeling wouldn't leave.
He wanted to leave, turn around and head back to his cabin. Surely Hedgehog would understand. She was a little too busy at the moment anyway. He's sure she wouldn't notice if he were to slip away. The boy begins to put his plan in motion but as he turns to head in the opposite defection, an arm reaches out, tingling itself around his. The sudden touch startled him before he realizes it was only Max.
"Hey, man." The bat smiles softly. "This is gonna be fun right?" Max looks away and back to Oscar. The other boy was always looking at him on and off. His cheeks go red and that only ever happened when Max was embarrassed. What did Max have to be embarrassed by Oscar thought.
"Haha- yeah, it's gonna be...fun" Oscar stammers. As soon as Max spoke, Oscar realizes that there was no turning back. He was in it for the long run. "Has to be with you there." He wasn't sure why but having Max with him, so close to him made Oscar feel more confident and that confidence rises with each passing moment he spends with the bat. Even in the tensest of situations. If Max was with him, there was nothing to worry about.
Hedgehog had noticed the sudden shift in the mood. When she turns her head, she sees what causes the shift. Max was cuddled close to Oscar. Uncomfortably close to her Oscar. Of course, he would be here she thought. She had been too busy with Oliver and Betsy lately. Oscar needed someone to gravitate toward, and Max was there to fill that rule.
"Max." She said bluntly as he and Oscar passed. She was going to start a conflict with him so early into the night. Hedgehog knows she has to start reallocating her efforts.
"Hedgehog" He responded. He had a smug look of his own. After yesterday's skirmish for Oscar's attention, he had since learned a little more about the elephant mainly that he was good at fighting games if he could call using the same one move good, though he was not too fond of them.
They finally come upon the site where they were meant to be spending the night. A big open field, surrounded by wilderness with a big campfire at the center. Oscar thinks this wasn't so bad and with all the campers that were present, he wouldn't feel like he was at risk of danger. For the most part that is.
The campers go about setting up their tents and sleeping bags all in one large, neat circle that covers the length of the open field. Their camp away from camp. Susie had insisted that the open field be the spot they would stay.
She never gave a specific reason for why it had to be there, only that it did. There they were, at their destination in the deepest darkest part of the woods. Oscar would pass out if he wasn't too afraid to close his eyes.
"Hey, don't worry about it, Oscar." Max must have sensed his fear or hesitance because the bat moves to comfort him with more reassurance. "Let's find a spot." He didn't have to do much to cheer Oscar up. Simply being there was enough for him. Max had that way about him, always the cool one, always sticking up for Oscar without him having to say a word and always making him feel better when he was down or uncomfortable. If anything, Max was now eligible to be his second-best friend after Hedgehog of course. No matter how much someone did for Oscar, nobody could possibly replace her in his heart.
"Yeah alright." He stops. "How's right here?" He points to a spot. It had been unoccupied until a sleeping bag was violently thrown onto the ground before them.
"Nuh-uh. we called that spot first." The familiar voice from a familiar pink-haired menace spoke to them in an all too familiar unfriendly tone.
"Wha- but there's like a million other spots you could have taken." Oscar retorted. He could have said the same for him and Max but the thought of giving into Michaels's demands was a nauseating thought for him.
"Exactly, so why don't you go find one" Aubrey chimes in from behind Michael, popping his knuckles in an attempt to come off as intimidating. Oscar wasn't worried, a simple knee to a certain area would deal with the wolf easily.
Oscar begins to prepare a comeback but before he could say anything, Max pulls him back. "You know Oscar it's cool. This spot looks like where trash goes anyway." From what Oscar could tell, Max's comment left a noticeable mark on Michael's ego. If it weren't for the witches' presents, he was sure another fight would have broken out between them.
"Yeah, yeah. Push off homo." They begin to walk off and Oscar catches Jason mouthing the words "sorry" to them when they pass. He had a noticeable black eye That makes Oscar feel bad. Despite Max promising to accompany Jason, it wasn't enough to protect him the next time the purple-haired boy was alone. Even then, he was still smiling anyway. There had to be a way to get him away from Michael. Jason didn't deserve any of the beds he had gotten.
They didn't have the spot they wanted, but it was no big deal. They were able to find one near Hedgehog and Oliver even though Oscar felt like striking out on his own this time around. In the safety of Max obviously. He was able to sit next to his best friends with Pepper and Lucy on the other side of them although Pepper wasn't on speaking terms with him at the moment due to yesterday's events. If they didn't want Oscar to play that way though, they would have designed the game differently, right? It wasn't his fault Peppercorn couldn't stack up.
So, with Hedgehog swooning all over Oliver and Max acting a little awkward around him, Oscar estimated that Lucy was his only option then. Conversation wishes anyway.
"Hey, Lucy. "He leans over Max, making him blush. Oscar would pay it no mind, it's something the bat was doing quite often lately, and the boy couldn't figure out why. "What do you think going on tonight?"
The girl sighs, adjusting the round glasses to her eyes. "Heck, Oscar I don't know. It's not like I'm Susie's planer or anything." She said with the slightest hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Right... you think you can ask orrr...?" He just wanted to get a better grasp on Susie's plan. He didn't want to be caught off guard like he normally would. He wanted to be prepared at least.
"Ugh Oscar, please." She was more than slightly annoyed with him by that point. Lucy didn't much care for Oscar's well-being or anyone really. At the moment she was fed up with all the pointless summer events like this one and was more concerned about what she'd be doing once she was off the island and back home. "Besides Oscar, your too old to be this scared. Nothing's even happing yet."
"Oh," Oscar mutters, climbing off of Max and shuffling back to his spot. "It's probably nothing right Max?" Max sat up with a quick nod, still blushing and facing away from Oscar. Why was Max acting so strange? Between him and Hedgehog, Oscar felt like he was fighting a losing battle.
Everything to Oscar seemed to be going great for everyone else. Kids were chatting amongst their respective friend groups. The night despite it being so dark was cool and the woods they had set up camp in was surprisingly cozy. The fire in the center of it all illuminated the surrounding area quite well.
The only thing that had worried him was the witches or lack thereof suddenly. Funnily enough, it was always when the trio where nowhere to be seen during these events that made Oscar anxious beyond belief.
It was always a sign of trouble for him, and any other kid Susie had deemed weak and easy to antagonize. But he was determined to keep his cool and to not be caught off guard by the three maidens of mayhem "They will not get the better of you, Oscar. Just take deep breaths" Oscar whispers, trying his best to calm himself down, though he was still a nervous wreck.
Max notices that Oscar had been sweating profusely and had taken it upon himself to comfort Oscar by wrapping his arm around the nerve-wracked boy.
"It's okay Oscar. There's nothing to worry about." He rubbed the boy's back in a circular motion. Oscar feeling the hand moving on his back actually does wonders for his mind.
"Ha... thanks, Max." Oscar breathes a relieved sigh and then leans into Max. He held him there as tight as he could not wanting to let go. The two had sat for so long that neither noticed the pair of eyes resting on them. Max specifically, had attracted the ire of Hedgehog who had been holding onto one of Oliver's arms. She was angry that much was clear. So much so that she hadn't even noticed how hard she was squeezing Oliver's arm until he yelps out in pain.
"Oww -ouch, Hedgehog! Ease up!" He shouts quietly, causing her to let go immediately. "Jeez, what was that about?"
"I-I'm sorry Oliver, I was just looking at Oscar and-" Oliver waves his hand out, stopping her.
"Hedgehog, you have to calm down. This isn't good for you and it's not going to be good for us." He pleaded with her. This thing between her and Max was taking its toll on him, and he begins begging her to apologize. "Could you just... say you're sorry?"
"I'm sorry. You want me to what?" She whispers to him shocked at what he was asking of her.
"Please just apologize to him Hedgehog. Please." Oliver continues to plead with her. He just wanted her and Max to put all of the arguing and pettiness aside. The young musician couldn't stand it anymore. Them fighting each other the way they had been was driving him insane. "Please?"
"I-I... ffffuu- fine." Hedgehog turns to the two boys cuddled up next to each other. She begins to formulate the words in her mind and proceeds to do the deed. "Hey, Oscar... Max?" They look at her. "I just wanted to say... I just wanted to say I'm-" Before she can finish their interrupted by none other than the witches, flying in via broomstick. Hedgehog would have never guessed Susie would be her saving grace.
"Alright you babies gather around" Susie had gathered the attention of the entire camp. She was standing on her broom with the other two counselors riding beside her. She brings her hands up and begins gesturing for all of the kids to come closer to the campfire. "Tonight, I have something really special in mind for you lot. Tonight, I will be telling you all, my young children... a story." The kids collectively groan. The sound of disgruntled campers was nearly enough to shake every piece of bark in the dark woods. "Alright, alright! Enough!" Susie rises her voice and brings her campers to a calm. "I know what you must think of me. Susie's so boring, Susie so lame, Susie his bad taste, Susie's such a stick in the mud." She mocks in a deep tone. Her generalization of the entire camp. "But tonight, is going to be. The. Best. Night. Of. Your tiny miserable lives."
"Excuse me, Susie?" Oscar called, raising his hand in the air. She only rolled her eyes before pointing toward him. "Did you have all of us hike all the way out into the woods, just to tell us a story?" She stares at him and him alone with a fed-up look.
"Yes, Oscar. A story." She spoke, getting closer and closer to his group around the large fire that had been burning in the open field. "Though it's not just any story." She whispers to him when she gets close enough. Susie stares daggers into his eyes. Her frustrated gaze was a deep red, worse than any blood moon. Then a smile stretches across her face before she turns to face the rest of the camp. "This is a story about persistence. Bravery. Stubbornness if you might. And one stupid baby's need to be the most well know little bear by anyone and everyone capable of hearing about him." She goes silent. "This is the story... of brazen Bayley." Susie sat in silence, letting the wind carry the name past every single child's ear.
"What?" A snicker comes from the quiet crowd. Originating from a certain Hedgehog. "Brazen, Bayley?" Susie looks at the girl with much the same expression Oscar was always able to squeeze out of her.
"Yes, Hodgepodge." The witch groans. "The brazen, Winchester Bayley. I gotta say, I'm surprised it's a story you haven't heard." She flashes a knowing smirk. "Given you're meddling in island secrets." Hedgehog lifts a brow and leans back along with Oliver. "Now then, if all questions are satisfied." She says to Oscar's group specifically. "Allow me to regal you all with a tale of longing for greatness, hubris, and even... death." The last part succeeds in getting the hairs on the back of Oscar's neck to stand on end. He tenses up and sits as stiff as a board on his sleeping bag. "The story begins a long, long time ago. A baby boy is born. The process of his birth was no easy thing. The mother had spent 13 growling hours in labor with her husband by her side the entire time until the boy finally..." Susie hooks a finger inside her cheek and then brings it back out with a loud pop. "Pops out. Despite just coming into the world, the child was antsy, and restless to get going. His arms would flare, and his legs kicked endlessly. The father was through the roof with joy, seeing his newborn son so lively, the mother, however..." Susie takes the pointy witch's hat from her head and rests it over her chest, doing so with a smile. "She never got the chance to see it for herself. The little tike was so enthused about the world he had gone and taken his mother's energy along with him on the way out."
Oscar moans. His face scrunches up in concern and sorrow. Susie said this would be a special story. To him so far, it felt less special and more painful, and it was just the beginning.
"The further was devastated, but the boy was alive. That's all that mattered." The witch continues, placing the hat back atop her head. "Though that energy would never cease to exist in the young lad. From a very young age, in his earliest mounts, he's always shown a great aptitude for exploring and adventuring. He'd always managed the obscenest of feats. Building a makeshift ladder, they get to an out-of-reach cookie jar, escaping cribs and baby cages and even winding up in the walls of his old family manor from time to time. Yes, Winchester was certainly meant for great things, everyone could see it. Though his father would think that the boy was a bit too curious for his own good." Susie let the last bit sit once again. The story by all means should not have had Oscar as on guard as he was. That was the kind of story he liked but between the way Susie had been telling it and knowing her in general, the boy would keep his guard up firmly.
"The young bear was always so playful and so fearless of anything life had to offer. Some of his favorite spots he'd go to for peace were always somewhere high up, as far from the ground as he could get. Defiantly not a person afraid of heights." Susie outstretched an arm to the night sky. "As the years went on and the boy grew, so did his ambitions and need to know about the world. His university years were some of his bests. I'm sure he would agree if he were here." She broke out into a wide smile. "You see kids, Bayley was always smart, as smart as he was brave. There was never a challenge the boy would back down from. Be it physical or otherwise. That's how he fetched the nickname, brazen Bayley. There came a point in his time at school where had grown too weary of his professors and the pace that he had been learning. He wanted more and he wanted it fast. Naturally, he would turn inward. Bayley was never a spiritual person, but mouths of research had led him down a road I imagine he would only come to regret at the very end in his pursuit of knowledge."
"Knowledge?" Hedgehog interrupts Susie again. "What kind of knowledge, exactly?" Susie scowls at the girl, but soon that scowl would turn into a maniacal grin.
"Why the occult of course." She steps closer to where Hedgehog sat. "But not this dinky magic you or I know. Something much older, much more powerful... and much darker." Hedgehog peers away from the head witch. Oscar had to admit as bad as Susie was, he was impaired then. No one had ever left Hedgehog speechless. "All of his work would lead him to seek out something tangible. He had come across something strange though he had no way of proving it himself. That in turn led him to seek out the help of a witch. One experienced enough in matters such as that anyway. He was only simply looking for help, but this witch. She had enticed Bayley to go even further in his pursuits. She wanted him to become directly involved. She was only able to convince him because Bayley had fallen in love with the witch and unbeknownst to him, she had as well." Susie crosses one arm over her stomach and presses a finger to her cheek. She had a familiar look of remembrance on her face. She had been recalling a past event. Though Oscar doesn't know what it was. "She would bring into the organization she had been a part of. Fellow men and women in pursuit of the same thing as he was. Ancient magic, left by the old ones." As Susie speaks a gust of wind would blow through the campgrounds and through the dancing bonfire that had grown even larger.
"It had taken some time, more than Winchester wanted. The group had researched, study old scripture, and worked endlessly. But all of their hard work would pay off and they would lead an expedition to find what they had been seeking for so long. Or a single peace anyway."
"What was it?" Oscar pipes up with a question of his own. At first, Susie looks frustrated, though her frustration would quickly give way to relief when she realizes it was Oscar doing the interrupting this time.
"That my dear boy is the Millon dollar question, isn't it. Do you really want the answer?" Oscar nods slowly. "Well then... what he found... in those deep dark caverns leading to some lost civilization..." The boy gulps down his fear, anticipating the answer he sought. "Was a book," Susie answers simply.
"Just a book." Oscar was relieved, but still disappointed.
"Well, a book inked in blood and bond in the flesh of man that can summon the undead. But that's neither here nor there." Oscar gulps again. That was more of the answer he was expecting.
"What happened then?"
"Well... from what I'm told anyway... he was the first to go for it. He had been waiting so long for an opportunity like the one in front of him then. Although he was the more reasonable one in the group... he was also the most eager. He quickly snatched the book up and opened it. His party had advised against reading the thing, though now would actually try to stop him... maybe except for the witch." Her eyes begin wondering again before shaking her head and continuing the story. "But by the time she had gotten to him, it was already too late. He had already muttered out the words I dear not reutter before you all. He was still him, but she could tell that he had become something more. His body was still, his voice was silent and he, well..." She stops. "He was clearly changed."
"Changed?" Oscar said.
"Well, I'm glad you asked Oscar. When the witch came to him. Once he turns around to face her. His eyes were as dark as ink, darker than the woods that surround us now. Something was wrong, his mouth was moving though no words were leaving. She could barely make out the words he was mouthing with how fast his lips were moving. Then he stops, his eyes return back to normal and then he passes out."
Oscar stood up with a distracted moan. "Come on Susie. Can't you just scare me and get it over with? Why'd you have to tell a whole story."
"Oh, Oscar." She smiles. "We're getting there. Plus, there are our other children enjoying the story too." She was right, there were others. Some had already been asleep most were still up and paying attention. He quietly sets back down. "Don't worry, we're coming up on the end now." The witch waves at him, or she waves off his concerns more like it. "Once they managed to get back to basecamp, Winchester had come through. He looked good too. The bags under his eyes and his gaunt hollowed-out cheeks from mounts of sleepless nights had seemed to vanish. He sprung up from his bed with ten times the energy stacked on top of what he had already been hiding away."
"Winchester Bayley was back to normal. The witch was happy, without a doubt. Though she was also uncertain. He was back to his normal self so quickly. She knew something like that could only be done with magic, but Bayley refused to partake in the said of the organization, despite him wanting his studies to move along faster he still wanted to do things the proper way. He felt magic would have made it too easy. And there he was, not even a week after the expedition and his little accident, and he using the stuff anyway. Levitate books over to him, lighting candles with the snap of his fingers and all when he thinks the witch wasn't watching. But she had been watching closely. Not everything was fine and dandy though. When I say Winchester Bayley had changed. I meant it. He'd always mumble to himself, not just during his study and research for new artifacts mind you, but all of the time. Muttering barely audible words only a few members of the organization could make out. The witch didn't care the learn all that, she was only there for her friend and her sister." Susie rubs her eyes.
"The worst part about the new Bayley was the nights. Winchester was always the last the go to bed, sometimes he wouldn't go at all. Once he did however, once he would finally crawl his way up to his room when the moon hung high in the air, he wouldn't go to bed immediately. Instead, by all accounts, he would start causing a commotion. Nearly sounded like he was jumping off the walls, screaming nonsense, howling, and even chanting things nobody understood. And it would go on for hours. On the next day whenever someone went to confront him about the noise, he'd swear up and down that he had no idea what they were talking about."
"What did it mean?" Oscar rises his hand again. "Did they ever find out?"
Susie shrugs at the boy. "Don't know, wasn't there." She brings both her hands over her face. She was getting tired, which meant the story was coming to an end. "But now our little story comes to a head. Winchester had found another artifact, another book to be precise. It hadn't taken him long to achieve this feat and he wanted to celebrate by going after it himself. And he wanted the witch to be by his side when he found it. She would indulge in his ambition; she was still in love even if the man was a bit deranged as of late." She looks at the ground To make a long story short they would reach their destination, a place called... what was it again?" She whispers. "Ah, right. Kandar. The second book had been placed in an underground tomb surrounded by the skeletons of fallen soldiers, ill-fated explorers, and other unspeakable monstrosities I couldn't even begin to imagen. Much like the first time, he rushes up to the book and opens it up. Rather than reading a random passage, he knows what he's looking for this time. Once he finds the proper page, he does the same for the first book and places the two together. The books looked like they fit together to form a simple. Though there was still one more missing book."
"After that Bayley would go on an endless tired about 'ceaseless knowledge' and 'the return of the old ones' The witch didn't like where his tangents were going, the implication of what he wanted to do was too much even for her. Her love was far gone and the only thing she could think to do was stop him. And she tries but whatever the first book did to the man, it was clear he wasn't a run-of-the-mile delusional madman. They fought for close to an hour. Ancient magic may have been strong, but Bayley had underestimated the witch's strength. Never underestimate the strength of a witch Lucy." The girl throws her hands up in bewilderment when Susie singles her out. "Eventually the battle would end when the witch gained the upper hand. Winchester was defeated but she couldn't pull herself to end his life... so she collapsed the tomb with him still inside. And that brings us to the end of our story. I hope you can all take something away from it. I encourage you to do so."
"Wait." The story may have been done but Oscar's questions still remained. "What about Bayley? Did he... you know? And whatever happened to the witch?"
Susie looks at him. She hadn't considered the events that had unfolded after the fact. "Well... the witch would leave her little group, her friend, and her sister behind. She had finally come to realize that they did not have the world's best interest at heart, but she would return years later to tie up loose ends. As for Winchester Bayley." She pauses. "He most likely didn't make it out of that tomb. But who knows..." She gives off one last deranged smile. "The next time you should find yourself out past midnight and you hear the wind howling through the trees. Consider that it might not be the wind." Yet another shiver runs up Oscar's spine. He would have a hard time sleeping that night. "Alright see you babies in the morning." The witch bids farewell to the kids and teleports a few feet away from the bonfire and contuse to walk.
"Oh, man..." Oscar huffs out a sigh. "That was a rough story, right Max." He looks over for comfort and some validation, but the bat had already been asleep by now. Oscar has no idea when it happened, but Max was out cold. "Oh, my bad man." He apologizes and looks over to Hedgehog.
"What about you H-" Though she was gone, along with Oliver too. "What? Where did..." He stops himself when he gets an old familiar feeling. The call of nature. "Oh no." He had to use the bathroom and his only option was to go into the woods. By himself. "What do I do?" He considers his options. He could head into the woods and never be seen again, or he could just pee himself.
He clearly wasn't going to pee himself, though the woods were looking especially dark that night. Then he thinks, maybe he could ask someone. Oscar figures he has no real options until his eyes land on a particular snooty girl with a pair of big glasses. "Ohh, Lucy." He crawls over to her sleeping bag on his hands and knees, already prepared to beg.
"What is it now Oscar?" The girl let out an irritated, and maybe a bit exaggerated, groan.
Oscar smiles nervously at her. "I have to go to the bathroom."
"So...?" Lucy sits and stares at the grown boy. "Go. No one stopping you." She had repeated what he already told himself. His problem was not being able to go. It was going on his own. In the middle of the night.
"Lucy please come with me." He pleased immediately, without a lead-up or warning to go with it.
"What!?" Lucy nearly shouts her head off. "Ew, Oscar no. What do you mean."
"Please, please Lucy. Max is sleeping and I have no idea where Hedgehog and Oliver are." She opens her mouth to deny him again, but he would cut to the chase with an offer for her services. "I'll owe you one, I swear."
She considers what he says for a moment. "Okay." And agrees on the spot. She always liked having power over others. Oscar especially. "Well let's go. We don't want you messing yourself, I suppose."
"Ah, thanks, Lucy. You're the best." Oscar said. She pats down her pajamas of any leaves and bits of dirt that might have clung to them and motions to him.
All she had to do was accompany him into the woods and she got a free favor. It was the easy thing she ever had to do for an I.O.U. And from Oscar of all people. The boy was so enthralled with keeping his promises, he'd do anything she would ask of him. With one or two exceptions but other than that. He was around his finger.
"Hey, guys?" A voice quietly calls out to them as they pass the last bit of sleeping bags. "Were you heading?" Alexa, a young giraffe with a hat none too dissimilar to Oliver asks the two.
"Oscar needs to use the bathroom and he needs my help." Lucy points a thumb at the boy, and he blushes.
"W-well, that's not technically true-"
"Can I come?" Alexa cuts his explanation off. "I'm kinda bored right now and a walk doesn't sound half-bad." She jumps to her feet before either of them could answer. Alexa was always excitable. A little nervous but a good person to be around.
"Sure," Lucy said. "The more the merrier." Lucy welcomes the other girl into the small group. Even if she had already welcomed herself.
The trek through the much too dark, and more foreboding than it needed to be, woods was sparingly peaceful. Or it had been when they were still close to the campgrounds and could still see its roaring fire.
Just a few feet in and Oscar was starting to feel the pressure creep up on him. No matter how many times he had gone into the woods at night or who had been with him and how many. Fear had to be his worst handicap. If he was too scared of the woods, or to read a horror story, or even of his own shadow sometimes, how was he meant to function in life?
Oscar felt he needed to make an effort to better himself. He needed to stop relying on others for the simplest things. He needed to be brave.
"So, Oscar." The sound of Alexa's voice suddenly cuts through the silence causing him to jump. "You usually let Hedgehog take you to the bathroom?" She asked, snickering under her breath.
"Yes." He answers without thinking, though quickly moves to rectify his mistake. "I mean-... not most of the time- I mean..." He stammers out a jumbled-up explanation. One sounds worse than the other before it. "N-never, never. Really... that often."
"I'm just kidding man." She playfully punches his arm, and he laughs along with her. Hesitant as it may have been.
"Oscar focuses up." Lucy stops in front of a tree, causing the others to do the same. "Is this far enough now? Or should we keep walking?"
The boy looks around from one end of the woods to the other. There had been nothing but trees and zero kids beside the ones who had come along with him. "It's perfect." He steps up to the large tree. "Wait for me here." He said before disappearing into the thick foliage.
"Jeez, Oscar," Lucy murmurs once he was out of sight.
"I don't get it. If he's so scared, why have us walk so far from the camp?" Alexa questions the boy's motives. She can only assume that it was to get as much privacy as he could. "So, Lucy..." She turns to the other girl. "We don't talk much, I noticed," Lucy answers with a hum. "You're usually so reserved. Makes it hard to get to know you."
"Yeah well." She starts leaning on the massive tree. "I kind of make it a habit to not get close to anyone. That way things stay simple."
Alexa winces. She doesn't think Lucy was being serious. No one willingly isolates themselves from others without reason. "Ha, good one Lucy," Alexa calls the girl out, though she gets no response in return. Only silence and a serious look.
Alexa feels awkward now. Here she was waiting for Oscar, someone she'd rather be talking to honestly, with a girl you couldn't be bothered with anyone. The giraffe feels like she should say something. Anything that could break the tension in the night air.
"Alright, I'm good." Oscar's sudden reappearance makes both girls jolt. Alexa was happy to see him, even if he almost gave her a heart attack.
"Think, god- I mean..." Alexa stops herself. "So, what now?"
"Back to the campsite obviously." Lucy pushes past them, taking the lead once again. "Okay, where to now," Lucy mutters, adjusting her glasses and squinting her eyes to the darkness. She looks at the path they were on, nothing looked familiar.
"Something wrong Lucy?" Oscar asked.
"No, no." She reassures them. They had walked straight forward from the camp. How could the directions have gotten away from her so quickly? "Just stick behind me."
"Are we lost?" Alexa interjects.
"Lost!" Oscar yelled. "Are we lost!? In the middle of the night! In the middle of the woods!?"
"No! We're not lost!" Lucy turns to them. She tries her best to keep her cool in front of the others. "We've just been walking for longer than we realized, that's all. We aren't lost." She starts walking, pushing past Oscar and Alexa who follow behind her.
They weren't lost. It was only a typical trick of the mind. Her mind was elsewhere along the path. Of course, the walk back would take longer.
"That tree looks familiar." Alexa points out.
Lucy stops and turns again. "Of course, it looks familiar. Were in the middle of the woods Alexa. There are trees." She pushes past them again and they follow. Lucy thinks Alexa wasn't helping. There would be trees in the woods, they all looked familiar to her. Though once they pass a certain tree, Lucy does get the feeling that it looks a little too familiar.
"Lucy, just admit it. Were lost." Alexa said again.
"W-we, are not lost-"
"Are we lost!?" Oscar cuts in. "Oh, man we're lost, aren't we? Oh man, oh, I knew something like this would happen. Lost in the woods in the middle of the night never to be seen again, oh man."
"Oscar!" Lucy tries to get ahold of the boy, but it's no use. He was in full blow panic mood.
"Did you hear that?" Oscar goes quiet causing the other to do the same. They listen closely. There was no sound besides a light breeze rustling through the trees. "Is that howling? What time is it?" He brought up his watch less wrist. They couldn't tell the exact time, though given how high the moon hung in the sky. It was safe to assume that it was around midnight.
"Oscar, it's the wind." Lucy takes the rational approach. She had to say, she was getting a bit worried herself, however.
"But remember what Susie said. 'If ever you catch yourself out past midnight' Remember?" Oscar panicking increases. "What if it's him? What if he's here, now, for us?"
"No Oscar that was just a stupid story... right?" Alexa turns to Lucy. The girl only shrugged back.
"Oscar." Lucy tries again but the elephant won't listen.
"Oh, he's coming for us. He might even turn us into unspeakable horrors with that book of his."
"Oscar, please," Lucy whines. Now she was getting scared. Leave it up to Oscar to get everyone riled up.
"Oh, now I gotta pee again." He holds his hands over his crotch.
"Now that you mention it, me too." Alexa sighs, also doing the same.
"Oh, God." Lucy slaps a hand over her face. These two were going to kill her. "Okay go. I-I'll wait right here-" She pauses. "What was that." The wind seems to have picked up, yet there was no breeze to accompany the more intense sound.
"It-"
"Oscar no it is not Winchester Bayley," Lucy whispers back to him. "God that story couldn't be more fake, that name is so stupid."
"Then, why are you whispering?" Alexa buts in, also speaking as quietly as she could. "You don't believe it right. You should go check."
"Wha-"
"Awoooo!" The sound comes again. More clearly this time around.
"That wasn't the wind." Alexa points out the obvious.
"Uhm-"
"It's him, isn't it? the brazen Bayley, come to steal our souls and do a ritualistic rain dance on our corpses or something."
"Oscar." Lucy goes to settle him down again when another howl rustles through the tree line.
"Awooooo!" Louder and clearer.
"Oh no." Oscar yelps when he sees a bright light begin to cut through the brush.
"Lucy, what do we do." Alexa Starts panicking and she and Oscar start looking to Lucy for answers. "Run or hide."
"What?" She was stunned, frozen in place without an explanation of what might be occurring.
"Run or hide," Alexa repeats but by the time Lucy had processed the request, it had already been to light. The bright light was right on them, just one tree away. All she could think to do was scream.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Like dominos stacked back-to-back, the others start screaming after her.
"Hey! Heeey!" They stop their synchronized hollering once they see Susie break through the brush with a little ball of light accompanying her. "What is this all about now!?" She looked angry and given how late it was, she hadn't looked a single bit tired.
"Susie? D-did you see him?" Oscar was the first to question the witch.
"What? Who?"
"Winchester Bayley!" They shout in unison. The witch glares at them with a raised eyebrow.
"Who?" She responds.
"You know." Oscar comes out from under Alexa and walks up to the confused witch. "From the story you told earlier, just to scare me. Right?"
She stares at him for a few minutes more before realization strikes her. "Ohhhh. Right. No that wasn't for you."
"What." The group once again says all at once.
"It was just a little thing for the more overly ambitious campers." Susie begins to laugh. "Trust me I'm not worried about you Oscar." The group remains silent as their tense bodies start to wend down and their minds calm.
"Hold up, hold up." Alexa steps forward next. "Then why are you out here so late? And why are you howling so loud?" Lucy and Oscar hum in agreeance to the question.
"Yeah, and how do explain us going around in circles? Like we were in some weird time lope or something." Lucy adds.
"Oh no that's not me. This island has a really bad werewolf problem. It's the full moon you know." Susie points up to the sky. There it was the moon in all its full glory. "And from what I could see from a distance, you lot were just walking around this tree for the past 30 minutes." The kids begin to rub different parts of their bodies out of sheer embarrassment.
"Oh, that's right!" Oscar puts his hands up to his cheeks. "Hedgehog must have run off before the moon got too high." He mumbles.
"What was that?" Susie asks when she notices the murmuring.
"Nothing, nothing." He waves his hands around, unassumingly. "So... was that whole story really made up?"
"Yeah. Well..." Susie bobs her head. "Not completely. I did know a guy named Winchester Bayley, but he was pretty stupid." Susie moves her head down to face the ground. "You kids get back before I really give you something to be scared of."
"Right, Susie." They say and walk right past the witch. "You were scared, weren't you Lucy." Alexa pokes at the girl with the glasses.
"Wha- as if dude."
"Nah you were scared." She and Oscar laugh.
"I was. I think I peed myself." Oscar says as the chuckling continues.
"Ha-ha. Actually, me too I think." Susie watches the kids walk off, then brings her eyes back to the ground.
"Yeah... Winchester was pretty stupid."
