AN: Season 1 Episode 8 Into town

It'd taken longer than Max had wanted, but David was finally breaking. Manipulating the other campers into causing excessive amounts of chaos was a lot harder than he was expecting.

(Though, in hindsight, it shouldn't have been. They all had divine blood running through their veins, some more than others. The petty rumors and the other tactics he used against humans in the past weren't a guaranteed win here. He had to step up his game all the time just to stay ahead.)

(If there's one thing Max will be leaving this camp with, it's the ability to use his skills to their greatest capacity. It irritates him that this turn of events makes him feel a bit grateful to this gods awful camp.)

Anyway, David was leaving the camp grounds for the day, and Max was determined to follow him to find out what exactly the redhead does to relax. Once he knows that, Max will most certainly be able to break him.

(Show him how the world really is. How it doesn't care if you're wearing rose colored glasses or not. Show David that the best and only course of action is giving up. That way, no one can hurt you again.)

(Max had started pondering on when his goal changed from "escaping Camp Campbell" to "staying at Camp to break the only adults he had access to." He guesses it's because he's been shown too many times that escaping through anything but divine intervention is futile. And often quite painful.)

(Screw those Wood Scouts.)

Neil and Nikki, despite their respective obsessions with air conditioning and the great outdoors, have proven to be the only campers Max is even a little willing to confide in and trust in. Taking them along on this intel mission is a given.

Max will find David's weakness. He will.

"Welcome to the audio edition of the Farmer's Almanac for the year of our lord, 1972."

If he can survive long enough, that is.

When Nikki said the town of Sleepy Peak wasn't really "civilization," Max had thought she was exaggerating. Turns out, she was right on target.

Max couldn't really remember riding the bus through the town all that well. He'd honestly be surprised if any of the campers did. Unless you were a descendant of Hermes, traveling didn't really come naturally to Godlings and Legacies. Their innate possessiveness often translated into territorial behaviors. Which is why most claimed their hometowns, and rarely (if ever) left. Claiming your town unconsciously at birth can cause "separation sickness" for the first few days until the Godling or Legacy was settled in their destination.

Max knows for a fact that every camper on that initial bus ride was too out of it to bother looking out the windows when they were driven through Sleepy Peak town. So this was Max's first real look at the town that served as the bottle neck point between the Camps of Lake Lilac and the rest of the world.

It was worse than he expected.

"What fresh hell is this?" Neil said, gazing at the town in horror.

Max, equally heartbroken, fell to his knees in dismay, crying out, "There's nothing. What does anyone around here do for fun?!"

If what those two old men said was true, absolutely fucking nothing.

Gods, Max hates it here.

Neil stopped listening to Max as soon as he spotted the 1960s model radio in the electronics store window. Which was probably rude, but so was Max sometimes, so Neil honestly didn't care at the moment.

All of Neil's life, he has been drawn to the technological advances of modern science. Air conditioning was a necessity, and he was even able to convince his mother and father to purchase him a professional grade chemistry set at age 4.

Needless to say, sending him to this god awful camp was the worst thing his mother could have done.

So, when he was finally able to get a glimpse at the technology he was unable to reverse engineer for himself back at Camp Campbell, Neil was most assuredly going to cling to it like a baby koala.

He was distantly aware, in some remote part of his mind, of the actions of his (only) two friends, but even they will fall second to Neil's true passion. Max's words of expediting and Nikki's sudden sickness were negligible.

(Though, Neil will look back at this moment and wonder. Why did Nikki react in such a manner to entering a town? If that's what happens when she comes into a town of this size, will entering a city exacerbate her unknown illness? He'll have to get a sample of her blood one of these days. It's a very dangerous thing, having such an unknown illness with those symptoms in this day in age. It's no wonder she took to camp so well.)

(And not to mention Max's sometimes narrow-minded focus on manipulating and controlling others. For all of Neil's intelligence, even he often fell victim to Max's machinations and tricks. Neil takes great pleasure in the fact that he was able to befriend the other boy as soon as he did. He's better off having the other as a close ally than a distant acquaintance. Though Max may not be able to do much in defense of the physical attacks of Nerf, his silver-snake tongue can do all the more damage if he's in a bad enough mood.)

But, those contemplations are for another day. Despite the technology being as outdated as hell, Neil wanted- no, needed to get a closer look.

Oh, Max is pushing him inside the building. Neil would thank him, but the other boy was already gone and the computer screens were calling him.

Detective movies make this whole "person hunting" thing look easy. Despite how small this town is, finding David here, where Max is lacking the sufficient information to gather anything, is like trying to catch a cloud and pin it down.

(Yes, he watched The Sound of Music. He didn't enjoy it. You have no proof otherwise.)

The barkeep, after the unfortunate miscommunication in the beginning, was a wealth of information. After pointing the duo in David's general direction, he was even generous enough to tell them about the overall structure of the town.

The town of Sleep Peak was made up of 17 stores, with the general store at the far end away from the inactive volcano and towards the rest of civilization. The residents all live a few minutes walk away from town in little cabins in the surrounding woods. And all of it was under the supreme rule of the mayor.

The barkeep wouldn't tell Max the mayor's name (or his own for that matter), but as he ushered the children out of his establishment, he gave a curt warning.

"He won't hurt ya. But he will be forceful if you stay away from your camps' too long. Best be on your way back before he gets antsy."

Handing Max a complementary cup of root beer for the road (and whatever the heck that purple gunk was that he gave to Nikki), the barkeep shut his doors, and made his way back behind the counter.

With all this newly acquired information stored away, Max made his way to the Muffin Top bakery to spy on the counselor he so loathed.

Making his way out of "Muffin Top," Max couldn't be more grateful to the bouncer for carrying him, even if it was by the scruff of his hoodie. Max may have more worldly knowledge than his peers, but even he knew that what he saw in that club was not meant for prepubescent eyes.

Shaking the memories from his mind, Max caught sight of the red-headed counselor they've been looking for. Taking Nikki's hand, Max dragged the girl into the hardware store behind him.

Seeing David's homicidal preparations was more concerning than Max had anticipated when he followed the man out here.

(He wanted to break the man, that much is true. But Max knew that everyone has limits when it comes to you pushing their buttons. Max was an expert at this, and knew how to stop just before the other truly snapped. He was so sure he'd put David right at that line. Pushing someone over it is dangerous, especially when you can do so as effectively as a Godling can.)

Charging into the electronics store, Max impressed upon Neil the severity of their situation. Well, as well as he could while suppressing the bone shaking fear he felt.

(He hadn't been lying when he told the barkeep that David looked like he was the kind of guy you'd never see snapping until he did. He'd gathered as much after pushing his ability to peek through that veil of David's for so many weeks.)

"By Tesla's coils!" Neil suddenly yelled, running past Max and to the side of…

Who the hell is that?

Behind him, in the same spot Nikki had been standing this entire trip, stood a pale skinned girl, her faded teal hair in pigtails, wearing a red and yellow dress, and all wrapped up in little red bows.

"Max, what did you do to her? Is she dying?" Neil said in worry, his eyes scanning their friend with an anxious analytical eye. Like if he tried hard enough, he'd find a way to fix her right then and there.

Max didn't understand. She'd been with him the entire time as they ran around… town.

It was at this moment that Max realized, he fucked up.

Of course the Godling of the god of the wild would be sickened by the modern trappings of society. Nikki was really, honest to gods, dying.

They had to get her out of here.

Seeing the ever smiling David unlock the campmobile, Max was suddenly reminded of the equally pressing concern.

"What is all that stuff?" Neil asked, his eyes searching through the ropes, knife, hatchet, and other tools before they were concealed inside the trunk.

"He's gonna kill me!" Max cries, only noticing after the fact that he'd said that deep seated fear out loud.

"What?!"

"We went too far!"

Neil looked affronted at the statement. "What do you mean 'we'? This is all you!"

And didn't that sting. Because no matter how much he wanted to deny it, Max knew the older boy was right. He was too confident in his abilities. He thought he had perfect control over every situation he instigated, no matter what life threw at him.

And now he was going to die for that hubris.

Frustration and fear had Max spilling out something he'd held close to his chest since he got to this camp. Hell, since before then.

"I didn't want to drive him to murder! I just wanted to show him that his entire philosophical outlook on life is flawed and that the fundamental beliefs and ideologies he holds so dearly are trivial so that he'll start crying himself to sleep like the rest of us!"

It was a statement that summed up every action Max has made towards adults perfectly.

It's what he wanted to yell at all those high and mighty teachers who would smile without a care in the world as he struggled to comprehend topics they taught, because he wasn't able to hear himself think long enough over all the yelling to actually do his homework.

It was what he wanted to impart upon the other kids in his class as they played blissfully on the playground, unaware of how much the world truly hates them.

It's what he wanted to scream into the face of his Father for bringing him into such a crappy world without a single helping hand. Leaving him in a house with two parents who he can't help but care about how little they actually notice him.

"I'm not a monster."

Before his friends could reply, a shadow cast itself over them through the window.

"Max." David said harshly, his glare for once actually sending shivers down Max's spine.

Nikki, probably in a desperate attempt to find any form of comfort while she coughs up blood, says, "Hi, David."

The red head says nothing. Instead, he walks silently into the store, giving Nikki's head a pat as he passes by. After a few words with the store owner, he then starts shuffling the three campers into the campmobile. Not as a single sound passes his lips as he drives them back up the mountain towards the camp grounds.

Max endures the blame his friends throw at him (because he knows how true the words they speak are), and instead plans on how to get away when they get back to Camp Campbell.

Neil looks out the car window in horror. "He's not taking us back to camp!"

Feeling his heart drop into his stomach, it was at that moment that David decided to speak. "All I've ever tried to do is help you. I keep trying to tell you the joys of camping. Of being a team, of helping your fellow campers."

Max and Neil look at each other, the both of them feeling the ever growing tension in the car reaching a crescendo.

"But no. You never try. You just push, and push, and push."

Even Nikki, so caught up in her sickness that she can't even lift her head, looks at Max with worry.

"I don't know what to say anymore. I've got nothing left."

David's posture suddenly relaxes, like his next words don't absolutely terrify the preteens in his car.

"You've left me no choice."

The next few minutes happen fast, yet Max feels every second that ticks by. The briskly opened door and the removal of the box of supplies. The hammering and the sound of wood being split in half. Every noise and movement sent another wave of dread down Max's spine. He once told his friends that he's not scared of anything. Apparently, Max has to add a second thing onto that infinitesimally short list.

David, when he's well and truly done, is terrifying.

When the door next opens, Max is expecting to see the contraption that spells his doom. A noose on a tree. A makeshift guillotine. Anything like that.

But instead…

"Are you. Fucking. Serious?!"

Laid out infront of them was not a machine of murder, but a quant little campsite. A tent is secured to the ground, with a little doormat reading "camp sweet camp." A hammock is attached to a nearby tree, and a skillfully made campfire is at the center of it all.

Not giving Max nearly enough time to process anything, Nikki leaps out of the car, rolling around in the dirt like a starving man who's just been presented with an all you can eat buffet.

Gone is her red and yellow dress. And her matching bows.

When the dust settles, Nikki glows. Literally. Nature's daughter is back home, and she is loving it. Her Godling presence spikes, just for a moment, but it's potency can't be denied.

Max would usually be all over this. It'd just be another tidbit to add to his every growing list of information around this stupid camp.

But his focus is soundly on the instigator of this whole scenario.

"You sick bastard. Your getaway from the camp is to go CAMPING?!"

David shrugs, playing the part of innocent camp counselor, but Max sees the smug look in his eyes. The bastard knew they were terrified and he'd lead them on!

Max would be impressed if it didn't piss him off.

David replies, "I didn't know what to tell you anymore about how cool camping can be. All I can do now is show you!"

He's serious. This asshole is being as honest as Abe Lincoln. He fully intends to make them camp with him.

Max grabs Neil's shirt, stopping him from walking down the trail back to his job at the electronics store.

It may have been Max's fault that they got into this mess, but he sure as hell isn't going to suffer through it alone.

Frankly, Max wishes David would have killed them. It'd be better than suffering through a day of this.

AN: I hoped you liked Neil's little internal monologue. As I've said before, Max and Nikki are the only campers who've realized what they are (though some of them will eventually figure it out through their time at camp). Whereas Neil's mother has an idea on her parentage, Neil definitely does not. That's why he finds Max and Nikki's behavior odd at times.

In case you were wondering about the whole "separation sickness" in regard to diluted legacies, once they get diluted enough, it no longer affects them. They can't properly claim and are thus not thrown off kilter when they leave. Why doesn't Space Kid remember the bus ride, you ask? Because he saw the other camper passed out and thought it was nap time or something. The boy slept the whole bus ride, lol.

David is fully capable of "snapping" as Max described, but the circumstances in his origins all but guarantee that he never reaches that point. That information will come later, however. No spoilers here.

Oh, and if you were wondering what's going on with the mayor, well. He's a dragon. I read somewhere that Greek dragons more often than not played the role of protector. Wikipedia said they protected important objects (I think there was one guarding the golden fleece) or places. The mayor is a dragon charged with protecting the mountain of sleepy peak, its surrounding campsites and campers, and the town. The entire town is made up of either peaceful creatures or diluted legacies. While the mayor can defend against major threats, sometimes, creatures will slip through the cracks. That's why each campsite has its own form of protection against malicious entities. Can you guess what Camp Campbell's defense is?

Now, if you have any questions about what the heck is going on in this story, leave a comment. If you don't have questions and just want to say something, leave a comment. If you want to bash on my horrendous writing, leave a comment! All comments are welcome in this household!