CHAPTER 8: THE CABIN AND THE CAVE

Octavia was frozen in fear, her breath caught in her throat. She found herself face-to-face with someone or something, and her body was paralyzed. She didn't know if she should move or if that would provoke it. As she stared at it, something felt off. It didn't move, it didn't breathe, it was completely still. Its two black eyes stared back at Octavia unblinkingly.

A white light illuminated the hallway as Courtney turned on her phone's flashlight, and Octavia heard footsteps approaching the bedroom. She didn't break eye contact, but she knew she couldn't keep her glowing eyes open. They would give her position away to Courtney.

Hesitating, she looked the shape up and down one more time before closing her eyes and steadying her breathing.

Courtney's voice echoed through the hallway, startling Brutus from his work. "Um... Brutus, baby?" she called out, her tone anxious. "I think I just saw something moving under the bed."

Brutus furrowed his brow, his heart racing as he tried to make sense of Courtney's words. "What do you mean 'something?'" he asked, his voice low and unbothered.

"I don't know!" Courtney stammered, stepping back. "I can't tell what it is! What if it's a wild animal or something? You handle this!"

Brutus let out a grunt of disapproval before heavy footsteps pounded down the hall and into the bedroom. The floorboards seemed to shake as he approached.

Hesitantly, Octavia cracked open her eyes, a sense of fear and uncertainty washing over her.

In an instant she felt a large hand reach under the bed. She scooted away from it as it fumbled, searching for something to seize. Large meaty fingers larger than sausages reached and grabbed blindly under the bed, knocking the bedframe to and fro. The hand finally snagged onto something and tightly grabbed it. Not Octavia, but whatever it was lying next to her.

It stared unblinkingly into Octavia's eyes, even as it was grabbed and yanked into the light. Octavia held back a gasp of relief.

"Gotcha, Cameron! You weasely little shi-IT! OH SHIT!" Brutus yelped, dropping the decapitated head of a wild boar to the floor with a thud. It rolled after hitting the ground, facing directly towards Octavia with a slack face and dead eyes.

"Oh my god oh my god OH MY GOD! Did you fucking touch it, Brutus?!" Courtney shrieked, dropping her phone to the floor.

"Babe, chill! It's not moving," Brutus tried to reassure, but it was useless as the Hellhound cried out in distress.

"No! No no no no noooo!" Courtney shrieked as she barreled out of the cabin. Brutus uttered a string of profanities and ran after her. The cabin was finally vacant, but Octavia stayed put, hiding until she heard the screaming from Courtney and the retching from Marbles fade into the distance.

"A head. A decapitated head," Octavia thought in disbelief, still staring at it. She had a chilling revelation. She looked down slowly, and in the light from Courtney's phone, she saw red. Lots of it. Surrounding her was a dried-up pool of blood caking the floorboards she lay on.

Octavia grimaced in disgust, crawling out from under the bed covered in flakes of blood. She brushed herself off, looking back down at the head. Who could have done this? It couldn't have been a camper; the cabin was abandoned. Maybe a hunter? That would explain why they took the head: it was a trophy. But why hide it under the bed?

She gave the boar head a light tap with her foot. It was heavier than she expected and barely budged. Judging by the head size, the boar must have the size of a donkey or something.

She turned her attention to the light illuminating the room. Courtney had left her phone behind. Despite the circumstances, Octavia couldn't hold back an evil grin as she picked it up.

The phone felt clunky in her hands due to all the cheap plastic jewels stuck over the pink cellphone. The glamorous, bedazzled case made Octavia sick just from looking at it.

She pressed the power button, and the phone blinked to life. It was still 80% power, meaning Courtney had been smart enough to bring a charger. Smarter than Octavia, who had left her charger at home. Unfortunately for Courtney, her password choice was not so smart. A simple 12345, and Octavia was on the Home Screen.

"What to do with you…" Octavia muttered to herself, a mischievous grin on her face. Her options were endless – with how much Courtney lived online, Octavia now had access to the hound's entire life.

Should she post a bunch of slurs on Voxelgram under Courtney's account to get her canceled? No, too edgy. Nobody would buy it.

Post Courtney's nudes everywhere? No use; her photo gallery was a bottomless sea of selfies, she couldn't hope to find anything.

Throw the phone in a lake? No, that was too simple.

Octavia sighed. She decided to have mercy. She would settle for a simple, harmless prank.

Kneeling, Octavia held the decapitated animal head next to her face and held Courtney's phone out for a selfie. She put on her silliest face as she snapped a pic and set it as Courtney's Home Screen.

She took one last look at the Home Screen picture. A smug, winking Octavia with a mangled animal head next to her, it's tongue lolled out of its maw. She had made sure to angle it so some of the gore was on camera. That would make for a really good scare when Courtney got her phone back.

"Yo, Octavia, what is that?"

Octavia lifted her gaze, catching sight of Cameron, who was staring at her from across the hall. He stood at the far end of the corridor. It was then that Octavia remembered she was holding a chopped-off boar head.

"Oh hey. Check it out." Octavia tossed the head towards Cameron. It bounced off the floorboards with a meaty thud, rolling across the floor until it bumped into Cameron's boot.

Cameron yelped in horror and disgust. "What the hell?!" he cried, "Get it away!" Cameron kicked the head across the hallway, letting it roll across the floor back to Octavia's feet.

A mischievous grin appeared on Octavia's face, and she kicked the head back at Cameron.

Cameron retreated a few steps back as if the head was going to come to life. "No! Stop!" He kicked it back to Octavia. "I'm not going to play soccer with a head!"

"You mean football," Octavia chided playfully, punting it back to him.

The boy scoffed. "Of course, Hell calls it football; I always knew Britain was just trial edition Hell." He put his foot on top of the head, bringing it to a stop, and squinted. "Is this a boar head? Where did you even find this?"

Octavia casually remarked, "I found it under the bed," while shrugging her shoulders. As she started to walk down the hallway, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, perking up at the sound of a whisper emanating from the bedroom.

At first, she dismissed it as a figment of her imagination, but a few moments later, she heard it again—a faint and barely audible whispering voice coming from the bedroom. Octavia's curiosity piqued, and she turned back, peering into the bedroom. Her senses heightened as she tried to identify the source of the hushed whisper.

"Think someone left this to threaten Brutus?" Cameron asked from down the hallway. "Who would hate him that much? I mean, besides us."

Octavia ignored him. Normally, walking into a dark room with whispering would only be done in horror movies, but she entered against her better judgment.

The whisper was coming from the bed. But as she ripped off the covers, she found nothing there. Only when she leaned over the side of the bed did she realize the whisper was coming from underneath.

With trembling hands, she reached down and grabbed hold of the bedframe's leg. She gritted her teeth and pushed with all her might, using every muscle to move it. The bedframe slowly began to budge, inching towards the wall until she finally shoved it into place.

The whispers were coming from below the floorboards. They were much more audible, and she could even make out what it was saying.

"Seventy-four… Seventy-four…Seventy-four…"

Octavia held up Courtney's phone, letting the flash illuminate the floor. She saw a hatch with an old-fashioned iron handle sticking out from the floor. The whispers were coming from there.

Hesitantly, she grabbed the handle, her heart racing as she lifted the hatch.

Rather than a ladder to some secret web-infested cellar like she had been expecting, she saw merely a small box space about the size of a crate. And as she opened the hatch, the whispers fell silent.

At the bottom of the small hidey-hole was a book. It looked homemade, too, its dark brown leather cover stitched together. On its leather cover was a metal emblem with the words "In memoriam sagae" engraved.

Octavia reached in and picked the book up. It felt strange in her hands, as if it was heavier than it had any right to be. She ran her fingers across the cover, noting its strangely misshapen and bumpy texture. She could only wonder what animal the book's cover was made from. She grabbed the lip of the cover, opening it.

"Via?"

Octavia jumped nearly three feet in the air, letting out a startled yelp. She spun around, clutching the book close to her chest.

Cameron stood in the doorway to the bedroom, appearing bashful. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I don't know why I called you that; my bad," Cameron said with an awkward smile before smacking himself on the forehead. "Octavia, not Via. Jesus, Cameron," he chastised himself.

Hubert leaned around the corner, peering into the room. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. "What is that you have in your hand?" Hubert asks.

"Oh. Just… I found a book. Looks like a diary." Octavia walked past them, looking the book over. "I thought I heard whispering, but when I saw the book, it stopped."

Beside her, Cameron took a cautious step back. "You heard a book whispering in a potentially haunted cabin…and you decided to pick it up?"

Octavia paused, turning around with a raised brow and a smirk. "No way…" she gave an amused scoff. "After all those ghost stories you told, and you're scared of ghostly books?"

"Not scared!" Cameron said indignantly as he eyed the book. "I'm just wary. I've seen plenty of weird magic stuff in Hell. I'm more worried that the book might be cursed or something."

"Cursed…?" Octavia said with a grin, "...or haunted?"

"Who cares! Leave it!"

"Ooooo~" Octavia let out a spooky groan as she moved the book towards him.

The human boy backed up. "I'm not touching it!" he snapped before taking a second to compose himself. "Look, if you want to bring a vengeful spirit home from summer camp, that's fine by me. Just remember, five people supposedly died here in this cabin."

Hubert groaned in annoyance. "Ugh! Enough of these childish games." Cameron and Octavia looked down at him with quirked eyebrows. Hubert threw his hands in the air in exasperation. "You know what I mean! In case you've forgotten, Brutus and his goons have teamed up with Courtney. Should we delay, we may wind up in third place."

As the three companions exited the old, dilapidated cabin, they set their sights on a withered tree before them. Its gnarled and barren branches twisted and spiraled—any life they had once bore was long gone. As they approached the tree, they noticed an altar beside it. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was hollow and made of cheap plastic, which Octavia figured was probably a leftover Hell-o-ween prop.

On the altar, they found a skeletal arm with its index finger outstretched, pointing to a map. The map was hand-drawn but appeared to be surprisingly accurate compared to the official maps the group carried. They noticed that two landmarks were circled in red - a lake and a river. Resting on the corner of the map next to the lake drawing was a mossy chunk of tree bark. Octavia couldn't help but cringe in disgust at how furry it looked, wondering how long it had been there.

Cameron looked over the map, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Going off the last hint, I'm guessing only one of these spots is correct." He peeled the corner of the map up, checking the underside. "I don't even see a riddle."

"Great," Octavia said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Maybe we can throw this pile of moss at Courtney if we run into the douchebag patrol."

"Mold," Hubert corrected. "It's clearly Darkstalk mold, not moss. It's abundantly found in caves due to its…" Hubert trailed off as Octavia leveled an unamused glare at him. "What? I'm right."

Cameron suddenly stood up straight. "Mold… Mold! That's it!" He abruptly spun around, pointing at the map. "The first riddle said that in the bony gaze, the answer lies. The answer lies. Lies!" he proclaimed as Octavia stepped back, startled by the sudden excitement. "And what was the answer on the skull? Choose one of two; the lie is beneath a shroud of mold. The skull was lying about the mold lying. It cancels out," he said, crisscrossing his hands.

It began to make sense to Octavia. She had thought the moldy bark was just a paperweight. She hadn't even considered it might be deliberately placed. She picked up a stick and nudged the gross moldy bark off the map. Sure enough, surrounded by a thin outline of stubborn mold, a drawing of a cave was hidden.

Octavia opened her map. She found her group's cabin and then looked for the cave. She ran her finger across the map before a horrifying realization set in.

The cave was twice as far as the walk to the cabin had been.

"Well, let's get moving," Cameron said, stretching his quads before walking down the trail, away from the Dark Woods. Octavia looked up to see, miles away, a cave opening.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

The trek was long and arduous, and the extra weight of Hubert clinging onto Octavia's back made it no easier. Traveling with a walking encyclopedia of knowledge had its upsides, but unfortunately, the encyclopedia of knowledge was waist-high and out of shape, meaning he needed lots of help traversing the woods.

Just as she felt that she was going to collapse, she saw it – ahead of her was a dirt trail that fed into the large gaping maw of a cave. The entrance was nearly as wide and tall as a small mansion! Jagged stones littered the trail the closer they got, an assortment of grey and black, some rocks covered in the same mold from the map. The dirt path was pockmarked with small craters and filled with fallen leaves and twigs. Despite beams of light from the red skies shining down through the trees onto the cave, it seemed to devour all light in its dark abyss.

Octavia squinted, noticing a yellow light coming from within. As she walked up the path and past the mouth of the cave, she found what was casting the light. Before her lay a trail of electric lanterns, all casting their harsh, artificial yellow light on the cave walls.

"This is the right spot," Octavia muttered. "Do you think this is the last spot we have to hit? We've been at this for hours."

Cameron nodded, stepping over a rock and carefully trod down the uneven path. "Should be. Can't imagine anywhere else they'd send u-US-" The rock under Cameron's foot suddenly gave out, sliding from under him. He began to stumble down the jagged rocks, tumbling towards the rocks below.

Before even thinking, Octavia surged forward, wrapping her arm around his waist and catching him. Though Cameron was light, he still carried enough momentum to knock her off her feet, and both of them fell to their sides, skidding down the slope and deeper into the cave.

They soon slowed to a stop; Octavia was left coughing on the dust and dirt that had been kicked up while Cameron hit his head into one of the wooden poles holding up an electric lantern. He groaned in pain before the lantern fell right on his face.

She thought she heard someone let out a stifled laugh, but when she looked up, she only saw Hubert carefully descending the pathway toward them.

"Was that you just now?" Octavia asked indignantly.

Hubert cocked his head, confused. "Was what me?"

Octavia shook her head, rubbing her face as she sat up. "Never mind. Cameron, you good?"

Patting himself down, Cameron inspected himself for broken bones. Satisfied, he gave a thumbs-up. "Thanks for that. I could've broken something there," he said bashfully.

Octavia nodded as she brushed herself off. She turned back to Cameron and offered him a hand. Cameron gingerly accepted it after a moment of hesitation. "Don't worry, dude. Just watch your step. I'm not doing that again," she said with a smirk, wincing as she felt a bruise coming on in her ribs.

"Yes, that would be wise indeed," Hubert said, shouldering his oversized backpack. "Now, I propose we hurry along. I'd rather not spend more time in a dark cave than needed."

Cameron grinned as the three of them walked down deeper into the cave. The walls started to narrow until they walked down a rocky path with stone walls far enough apart to form a natural hallway of rock. "What's got you spooked about these caves, Huey? Afraid of ghosts? That's more of a surface-level thing. I hear that there are big scary insect creatures down here that'll gobble you right up," he said, wiggling his fingers around in a spooky motion.

"No, I'm not scared of the fauna," Hubert said, rolling his eyes as he pointed at the wooden support beams upholding the stone ceiling above them. "I'm more worried about a cave-in. After all, the support beams were laid in place by a construction company located in Greed. They're infamous for cutting corners."

Cameron looked at Octavia, his grin having vanished. She couldn't help but chuckle when she saw him gulp audibly.

The further down they went, the more cave-like the atmosphere became. The air turned stale and musty, and the silence was oppressive. The chirping of birds and rustling of leaves had vanished, and all she could hear was… nothing. Movies and games had always portrayed caves emanating a constant, low-pitched whooshy sound like an AC vent. But it was dead silent – unnervingly so. She could only hear the breathing and footsteps of her cabinmates.

As they ventured onwards, they soon came across a wooden wall with a large plank door. Several signs were nailed to the wall, some of which were newspapers and some of which were warning signs. One particular sign that stood out to Octavia was a biohazard sign.

"Are we supposed to have gone this way?" Octavia asked hesitantly. She had never been much of a germaphobe, but biohazards and caves were two things that did not go well together.

Cameron leaned in close, inspecting the wall. He pointed to one of the papers. It was a wrinkly, yellow-stained paper with familiar handwriting on it.

"Amidst a glow of sapphire hue,

Where fungi grow, a sight so true.

In this cavern, with secrets deep,

One mushroom hides its magic to keep,

Not like its kin, with subtle light,

But radiance bold, a beacon bright.

In shimmering glow, its hues abound,

The mystical one, easily found

With cap so wide, and stem so tall,

Defying norms, it stands over all.

Beneath its crown, the truth shall gleam,

The final hint to end this dream."

Cameron clapped his hands together excitedly before flinching at how loud it sounded in the enclosed space. "Great, this is good!" Cameron declared, looking at Hubert. "We've got a walking encyclopedia with us. Go on, Huey, find us the magic mushroom."

Hubert repeated the hint a few times, repeatedly muttering the properties to himself. He rested his chin in his palm for a few moments. He looked up to Octavia and Cameron with an embarrassed expression. "I'm not sure."

Cameron gawked. "What? You're the brains of this operation! Don't you have a book on plants?"

"Fungi are not plants!" Hubert snapped, stomping his foot on the ground. He huffed. "Besides, do you know how many different types of fungi there are? How am I expected to know every single one?"

"You gotta be kidding," Cameron rubbed his face, groaning into his palms. He sighed, taking a deep breath. "There's no way that Brutus and his gang will find this cave any time soon. They've got two red herrings to go through." He grabbed the iron door handle and pulled open the door, letting it loudly creak open. "We're looking for a wide-capped mushroom taller than the others. It shouldn't be too bad."

They descended further into the cave, and for some reason, the musty smell turned dank as the air started to feel moister and crisper. It was then that they started to see a few blue mushrooms. They glowed blue with a subtle, barely noticeable light, their glow fading in and out slowly.

Hubert was sure to inspect each one, intrigued by the fungi's bioluminescent capabilities. None of them particularly stood out as a "beacon bright," but they had yet to reach the bottom of the cave.

Octavia wondered how much further it could go. The mushrooms were becoming increasingly frequent, to the point where no more lanterns were left; the path was illuminated entirely with glowing mushrooms.

A little ways ahead, Octavia spotted a bright blue glow around a corner. Eager to finish the trial, the three stepped forward hastily, rounding the corner. Octavia had expected to see a single glowing mushroom but was met with a far different sight. Her jaw dropped in awe.

It was a massive cavern the size of a football field, with a sprawling sea of tens of thousands of glowing blue mushrooms casting a mesmerizing blue light that filled the low-hanging fog with a dream-like haze. The smell of damp earth and moss filled the area, and a small pond glistened in the distance, reflecting the mushrooms' rhythmically pulsating glow.

Octavia stood in awe. Even she had to admit it was beautiful.

"Holy fucking shit…" she mumbled, her hands moving to her Polaroid camera as she snapped a couple of pictures. She would have killed someone for just three percent battery power on her phone, enough to take a longer-lasting photo, but Polaroid would have to suffice.

"Oh god... Are we supposed to find the magic mushroom in all... this?" Cameron's voice echoed in the cavern, his words reverberating off the smooth, curved walls. His eyes darted around, trying to take in the sheer quantity of mushrooms surrounding them. The fungi grew in all directions, creating a dense shroom field covering the ground beneath their feet.

Hubert stepped past him, cautiously entering the cavern and wading through the mushrooms. His head scanned left to right as he looked for the mystical mushroom. "We're looking for one that's particularly bright. It's a wide-open expanse where we all have a line of sight of each other. There is no danger in splitting up."

Octavia followed Hubert, her boots sinking into the spongy surface of the shrooms as she moved forward. The rubbery texture of the fungi was strange beneath her feet, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the sheer quantity of mushrooms that surrounded them. As she brushed against the shrooms with her boots, they would glow slightly brighter, their light rippling out around her like the waves of a pond. She couldn't help but smile as she watched the light dance around her, feeling a sense of wonder at the strange and beautiful world surrounding her.

Octavia took the left side of the cave system, her eyes scanning the walls and floors for anything unusual. Walking deeper into the cave, she noticed an array of mushrooms growing off a stalagmite. Each mushroom brightly glowed as she approached, making it difficult to tell which one was the brightest. However, one mushroom looked a little bigger than the others, so she knelt to take a closer look and plucked it.

As the stem was ripped from the ground, the mushroom's head glowed brightly – to the point that it was nearly blinding. Cameron, who was exploring nearby, rushed over to see what was happening and was equally impressed. "Wow! Good find, Octavia!"

Octavia smiled, proud of her discovery, but her smile faded as she watched the mushroom's head swell and inflate.

Thinking quickly, she tossed it into the air. Not a moment later, the blue mushroom popped like a small firecracker, leaving behind a puff of blue.

"Holy shit! They explode!" Octavia yelped, drawing her hand back.

Hubert stood in amazement, his eyes fixed on where the mushroom had once stood. "Fascinating!" he exclaimed as though he had just witnessed a miracle. "This must be the mushroom's reproductive cycle. They explode and spread spores all around as soon as they die."

Cameron's face twitched with concern. "Is it safe for us to breathe in these spores?" he asked, his voice trembling with fear.

"Of course not," Hubert reassured him with a chuckle. "I cannot say what the consequences of prolonged exposure could be. We should be quick."

For the next ten minutes, Octavia's heart thumped in her chest as she heard loud pops echoing off the cave's damp walls. Each time a pop rang out, startled yelps and curses from her companions followed. Octavia knew the bursting mushrooms were harmless, yet the fear they instilled in her was palpable. Whenever she reached out to touch a stem, she hesitated, fearing what might happen next.

As Octavia reached for another mushroom, a sudden overwhelming sensation hit her head. It wasn't a painful sensation but rather an intense sensory overload that made her feel as if her brain had just pulsed. Although not painful, she knew that feeling one's brain throb was generally not a good sign.

The throbbing feeling soon passed, leaving a strange sense of something's presence. It felt like something was tugging her attention, demanding she turn her eyes toward a nearby Stalagmite. Despite nothing appearing out of the ordinary, Octavia felt compelled to inspect it.

As she stepped closer, she looked behind the Stalagmite and discovered a new mushroom. It was unlike any she had ever seen, with a flat and wide cap twice as tall as the others. Moreover, it was glowing with an ethereal and wispy blue light that swirled around its cap.

For some inexplicable reason, this mushroom felt different to Octavia. It was as if the mushroom itself was urging her to pluck it. She bent down and picked the mushroom from the rock, but unlike the others, it didn't burst upon being plucked. Instead, as she pulled it from the ground, a slim scrap of paper taped to its stem was revealed.

On the paper was no hint but a number. Eight seven five four.

Octavia was dumbstruck. She opened her mouth, taking a moment to find the words. "I… I found it! The code is eight seven five four!" she called out.

Cameron leaned around the Stalagmite, looking at the mushroom in her hand. "What? Holy crap! Hubert, come here!" He crouched beside her, holding the note up to his face. "Whoa, holy cow, you did! You must have paid attention in herbology class. Unlike someone…" he said, gesturing to Hubert, who only crossed his arms and glared.

"Fungi aren't herbs…" Hubert muttered under his breath.

Octavia shook her head, unsure what compelled her to check the one particular spot. "It just felt right. I don't know why."

Hubert scoffed. "Please. The odds of randomly yet accurately identifying the correct mushroom in this cave is one in a million."

"No, it wasn't a random guess," Octavia said, standing up as she tossed the mushroom to the floor. "I could just… I don't know. I felt a pulse in my head, and then-"

"Oh god!" Cameron cried. "It's the spores! They're turning us into spore zombies!"

Hubert shot him an unamused glare. "Have you felt any throbbing?"

"Well, no…"

Hubert harrumphed. "Neither have I. Clearly, the magical properties had an effect on Octavia which was not shared by you and I." Hubert spun around and pointed at Octavia. "We will talk about this later. I must form my notes. For now, I advise we leave this pit while we're still in good health." Hubert marched ahead towards the entrance they had come from.

Octavia and Cameron exchanged glances at each other. Octavia pointed to Hubert and whispered, "Is he always like that?"

Cameron chuckled. "Nah, he's usually meaner. He likes you."

The march towards the finish line was much less tiring than the previous treks. Octavia could hardly wait to fall back into bed and lay there until dinner. All things considered, the day could have been worse. Brutus could have caught her in that cabin. While she was sure he wouldn't have hurt her, she couldn't say the same about Courtney. Honestly, she was rather impressed with herself. By the time Beauty and the Beast completed the trial, Octavia would be long gone, napping in bed.

"Hey, Hubert," Octavia called out. "How long do you think our stalkers will be hung up in that cave? Marbles, Brutus, Courtney..."

Hubert, who had finally decided to walk alone, gave a snarky chuckle at the question. "Given their collective IQ, I'd be surprised if we saw them again before sundown. Brutus may have the physical advantage, but this trial requiring problem-solving puts us ahead of his group."

Octavia nodded, her smile faltering. "His group… uh, where is his group? I only saw the cat and Brutus back at the cabin; weren't there two others?"

"They must have split up to cover more ground," Cameron rationed. "Perfect way to get killed first in a horror story, but in real life, it's a legit strat."

"You don't think they'll…you know, be waiting at the end for us, right?" Octavia asked. She recalled what Cameron had said happened last year.

"Nah, no chance," Cameron quickly said with a shake of the head. "There'll be counselors by the lockbox to make sure nobody's cheating."

Octavia nodded hesitantly. She had a bad feeling about it all.

The three walked into the area on their map designated as the finish line. It was a clearing that overlooked camp deadwood, next to a trail that led back to their cabins.

Before her stood two counselors, Cole, and some other counselor she didn't know. He was a chubby, muscular Baphomet: a goatlike biped with large, curling horns. She knew he was the gym coach back at school, but that was it. He was in the middle of a heated conversation with Cole.

Cameron tapped Octavia's foot with his. "Uh oh, look out. Angry Maxson sighted, twelve o'clock," he whispered. She looked straight ahead to see their cabin counselor standing by the lockbox, hands on his hips. He scowled at the three campers. Octavia could only guess what they did wrong this time.

"Mr Maxson! Didn't expect to see you here today," Cameron said with as much fake enthusiasm as he could muster.

Maxson held up his hand. "I may be your counselor, but today, I am the lockbox guardian. Enter the code, and only then will I award you with-"

Octavia grabbed the lock and began spinning the numbers. Eight seven five four. It clicked open, and Octavia opened up the lockbox. It was empty. Octavia felt a pang of surprise at seeing nothing inside. She looked up at Maxson for an explanation.

"We don't keep the completion tokens in there," Maxson said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a gold token. He placed it in Octavia's palm.

Cameron sighed in relief. "For a second, I thought we didn't place first!"

The math teacher crossed his arms and glared. "You didn't," he said with a scowl. Upon seeing Cameron's confused look, Maxson gestured towards a huddled group of Campers. Eight of them. Among the two groups, Brutus and Courtney.

Cameron's jaw dropped. His shoulders sank as he looked to the lockbox, then at Brutus. "How? We were ahead of them the whole game!"

Maxson gave the three a disapproving look. "You three failed to ensure you weren't being followed. Tis a sad sight when those who play with honor are bested by the least honorable of-"

"Why do you care?" Octavia asked sharply. "It's not like you're competing."

Maxson sneered at Octavia with unbridled contempt. "Brutus is in Hogtusk Cabin. And guess who the counselor is for Hogtusk Cabin? That fat bastard 'Coach'!" he bellowed, slamming his fist on the table. Octavia glanced down at Maxson's bulging belly, then back up at him with a raised brow. "Oh, whatever! I have an excuse: I'm your math teacher! He's the physical education teacher!" Maxson snapped before glancing back at Coach and lowering his voice. "I refuse to be shown up by a fat person claiming to teach bodily fitness."

Maxson's voice lowered, and he leaned in, firmly putting his hands on Octavia's shoulders. "Octavia, if we win this Nature's Path tournament, I will excuse the stunt you pulled on the final day of school. I…" He grimaced as if he were in physical pain. "I will also give you extra credit."

Octavia perked up at that. She always got high marks. Extra credit just meant she could skimp on a couple of homework assignments without fucking up her grade too much. "How much extra credit are we talking about?" Octavia asked, leaning in to whisper conspiratorily before immediately leaning back as Maxson's foul breath washed over her.

Maxson clicked his beak, frowning at the question, before dipping his head. He was displeased even to negotiate. "Five points."

"Five?" Octavia's eyes narrowed. "That's one homework assignment's worth of points. Twenty, at least," she said, crossing her arms.

Maxson's eyes bulged at the number. "Are you out of your mind? I can't do twenty; the faculty will notice!" Maxson checked over his shoulder before lowering his voice. "Look, I can do ten. Not one point more."

A sadistic smirk found its way onto Octavia's beak. "Eleven."

Mr. Maxson looked like he was ready to burst a blood vessel. He slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting go. "Fine, eleven. But only if I get the Honor Counselor award."

As they entered the final area, Octavia spotted Brutus and Courtney's crew huddled together, exchanging loud laughs and boasts.

Marbles was leaning far too close to the bigger of the two hellhound girls, attempting some half-baked flirtation while she rolled her eyes.

Brutus and Courtney were wrapped around each other, whispering sweet nothings and grinning smugly. The two seemed to bask in their supposed victory, relishing the moment as if they'd already won the entire camp.

Brutus noticed Cameron out of the corner of his eye. Without the slightest bit of consideration, he abruptly pushed Courtney off of him, his focus falling entirely on the human.

He had a challenging glint in his eyes as he strutted forward to meet Cameron, his stance practically dripping with the arrogance of a victor. "Cameron!" Brutus clapped his hands together once. "I don't understand, what happened?"

"You cheated, that's what." Cameron glared at Brutus, crossing his arms.

The giant Hellboar only laughed at the boy's attempt to look serious. He scoffed with a shit-eating grin. "No such thing. This is the real world, buddy." He took a few slow, cocky steps forward. He shoved Cameron roughly, causing him to stumble back into Octavia.

Counselor Cole cleared his throat from across the field, giving Brutus a stern glare. Brutus nodded and gave a nervous smile. He acknowledged Cole with a friendly wave before leaning toward Cameron. "Was that you in that cabin?" he asked, his voice low. His arrogant demeanor dropped to one of suspicion.

Cameron shook his head. "We were there, but I had nothing to do with that boar head."

Brutus leaned in a little closer, grabbing Cameron's shoulder. "You're fucking lucky I didn't catch you," he said lowly into Cameron's ear. "Luck runs out eventually, shrimp."

Courtney stepped forward, rolling her eyes. "Oh my god. Literally, who cares?" Courtney sneered with her resting bitch face as she stood next to Brutus, leaning into his arm. "We came in first place, pretty sure that makes you last. L-O-L. Like, take the L and log off, lil' sis."

As always, it was the sinstagram gremlins who were the worst of society. The hellhound poodle somehow gave Hell an even worse name.

Octavia pinched her brow. "It would put us third place, not last." She didn't even comment that Courtney's cabin wasn't even in first but second. She was somehow dumber than Brutus.

Beside her, Cameron was baffled. "How?" he said in disbelief. "How did you guys even manage to follow us?"

Octavia felt someone tap her shoulder. She looked to her left, seeing nobody. When she looked back, Marbles stood before her, a smug grin on his face.

"That sneaky fucker," she thought. She rationed Marbles was likely the brains of Hogtusk cabin, and Glitterfang was just along for the ride.

Marbles yawned condescendingly, stretching his arms. "I saw you all walking down the hill towards the cave. We decided I'd follow you all since I'm the quietest. Black cats are hard to see in a cave, even with all those glowing shrooms."

Marbles cleared his throat and brought two fingers to his throat. He then did something that caught her off guard – he perfectly mimicked her voice. "The code is eight seven five four!" he said. The cadence, pitch, delivery, and everything else were spot on, like a recording had been played back to her. It was uncanny. She must have been visibly gawking because Marbles just gave a smug wink. "Maybe you should've kept that to yourself."

Octavia brought a palm to her face, realizing it was all her fault they had lost the first trial. "Oh fuck… I'm an idiot," she grumbled, dragging her hand down her face.

"Hey, don't feel too bad, chica," Marbles said with a smile. "That trick with the perfume was pretty smart. Burned my nose bad." He paused for a moment before leaning in and waggling his eyebrow. "You know, I always liked the crafty girls."

"Fuck off," Octavia said without hesitation.

Marbles shrugged. "Eh, worth a try," he said, unbothered.

Courtney grabbed Marbles by the arm, yanking him away. "Oh my god, stop flirting with fucking Octavia Scissorhands," she said, looking back at Octavia with a smarmy grin on her face. "I'd say it's nothing personal, but, like, it totes is. Bye, Octavia, good luck catching up to us~!"

Octavia clicked her beak in disdain as her brow furrowed. "Oh, it's on, you fucking brat," she muttered to their backs, her fists clenched. She had been mostly indifferent before. Her accepting Maxson's deal had really just been to maybe get out of a few bullshit assignments. But then it became personal.

She was going to make Courtney eat her shit if it was the last thing she did.

"I just don't think we should be sending those kids off into some damn caves," Coach said, shifting on his feet. "Seems like a bad idea. What if someone don't come back?"

Cole sighed. "Coach, listen. Y'all may have a way of doing things back at Hubris High, but this ain't high school. Deadwood don't just toss its campers on in some lil' kiddy pool and let 'em splash around for two months."

Coach scoffed, seeming ready to object, but Cole placatingly raised his hands. "I'm just saying, let these kids have an adventure. Ain't nothing gone wrong in…" He counted on his fingers. "Seven years!"

Coach looked side to side nervously. "Man, that's what I'm worried about. I feel like something bad's gonna happen soon."

The head counselor waved him off. "You're just being paranoid. Ain't nothin' gonna hurt these kids. You got my word on it."

"Coach!"

Coach and Cole looked up to see Brutus approaching, a determined look on his face. Cole nudged Coach. "Don't freak the kids out. Walt does a good enough job of that."

"Amen to that…" Coach muttered as Cole walked off. Coach spread his hands, greeting Brutus with a big smile. "Well, if it ain't the big guy himself," he said as the Hellboar stood toe to toe with him.

Brutus was nearly as tall as Coach himself, merely a head shorter. It was an impressive feat, given how large Coach was. Brutus grabbed Coach's hand, dapping him up as Coach reciprocated with a hard slap on the back, hard enough to evoke an "oof" out of Brutus.

Brutus suddenly ducked low and shot forward, wrapping his arms around Coach's waist. He attempted to tackle Coach to the ground, but Coach was no pushover. He let out an amused grunt and positioned his feet in a stronger spot to hold his ground.

Coach maneuvered his arm around Brutus' head, putting him in a headlock and bringing him to the ground, pinning him. Though Coach appeared out of shape, he was surprisingly strong, and his technique was unmatched. He wished Brutus would get through his thick head; strength was only half the battle. Technique was the other half.

"You're gonna need to do better than that if you want to come in first place for the wrestling trial," Coach said with a chuckle as Brutus laughed heartily, conceding defeat as he lay face down in the dirt.

"Yes, sir!" Brutus stood up with newfound determination as Coach let go of him.

Coach looked the muscular titan of a Hellboar up and down. "You ain't been doing steroids, right, boy?"

"No sir," Brutus said with a proud smile.

Coach knew Brutus was all-natural. He could tell roids from real any day of the week; he'd turned away plenty of students because of steroid abuse. No, he just wanted to boost Brutus' confidence. The boy deserved it because of how hard he worked. However, Brutus' smile fell as he panted, looking away momentarily.

"Coach, been meaning to talk to you about something," Brutus panted, catching his breath.

Coach immediately knew what Brutus had come for, and his smile fell. "This ain't still about the tryouts, right?"

Brutus stepped forward, clasping his hands together. "C'mon Coach, please! You know I'm good. I'm bigger than everyone on the team." He slapped his meaty shoulders, flexing his arms. "I can run faster, hit harder, just give me a chance!"

Coach sighed, putting his hands on his hips. He had already told the boy "no", and he didn't want to be mean. He knew how much it meant to Brutus, but it wouldn't work. "I can't let you on the team," Coach said, watching the Hellboar deflate. "If we're gonna secure funding for the football program this year, we gotta win for once," he added, turning away from Brutus.

"So put me in," Brutus said confidently, his cocky smile returning to his face. "I could run through everyone; it'd be like we're playing against toddlers."

It was tempting. Coach knew that Brutus was right. At high school level football, most of the kids were under seven feet, under three hundred pounds, and only half of his football team consistently hit the gym. Brutus could easily bench five hundred pounds, charge through brick walls, and probably shrug off a collision with a damn Prius by shoulder-tackling it.

But, as Coach knew, strength was only half the battle. Technique was the other half.

"Brutus," Coach said after a long pause. "You don't let nobody tell you what to do. I respect that." He put a hand on Brutus' large shoulder. Brutus had lost his smirk – he knew where this was going. Coach pressed his lips together, giving Brutus a sorry look. "That's why I can't let you on the team."

"But Coach, I-"

Coach raised a hand, cutting off Brutus. He shook his head. "I need discipline, cool heads, and most of all, teamwork. I don't got room on the team for firebrands." He clapped Brutus on the shoulder. "You a one-man army. But I need a forty-man army. Sorry, big man. Maybe next year."

Brutus stood still, his shoulders tightening as his fists clenched. Coach could hear his ragged, furious huffing from his nostrils. "What if there isn't a next year?" Brutus asked.

Coach sighed, knowing full well that was a possibility if they lost again. "Then there won't be a next year," he said solemnly. Brutus didn't flinch, but his breathing suggested anything besides a cool head. "Anything else?" Coach asked, not enjoying the conversation much. Brutus glared at the ground before forcing the glare off his face. He looked back up to Coach with a blank expression.

"No, sir."