Rock Climbing Conundrum

Chapter 9: Back At Camp

It didn't take long for Max and Gwen to hear the results. Apparently, Max had fractured his arm pretty badly to the point where the bone was almost snapped in half. It would take up to 10 weeks for his arm to heal completely and advised him not to participate in any camp activities during that time. Max wasn't disappointed since he never liked camp activities to begin with. The two didn't have to wait long before Max got his cast as well as treatment for the more minor wounds he had on his arm from the fall. Once Max was discharged, Gwen took him back to the car and began the drive home. 

Back at camp, Neil woke up during the night to use the bathroom, but heard something coming from outside. "What's that noise?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. He went to wake up Nikki and shake her gently. "Nikki. Wake up." Neil whispered, causing the girl to slowly open her eyes. "Neeeiill... I'm trying to sleep." Nikki whined. "Sorry, but there's some weird buzzing noise coming from outside our tent." Neil said. "Quartermaster is probably just using a weed whacker again. Don't worry about it." Nikki replied, covering her head with a blanket before Neil yanked it off her. "This doesn't sound like a weed whacker, Nikki." Neil began to feel nervous. "Have fun investigating, then." Nikki yawned before falling back asleep. Neil sighed and went closer to the tent flap, the noise got louder the closer he got. He opened the flap and what he saw caused him to let out a high pitched, ear piercing scream, waking up the other campers. Nurf was the first to emerge from his tent. "Neil what the fuck?!" He shouted before noticing the recent discovery. Nikki's gift was ruined thanks to a swarm of hornets. "OH MY GOD!" The bully exclaimed, gaining the attention of his fellow campers. "Ooh, hornets!" Nikki mused taking notice of the nest. "Stay back, Nikki!" Neil sheilded the girl from possibly getting stung by any hornets. "Now we just need to move away slowly." He said in a slow voice as he stepped around the hornets, Nikki following from behind. The two kids were in the clear before Nikki tripped and landed face down on her gift. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shit." Neil said. "I'll go get the Quartermaster!" Nurf said before running from the scene. 

Max was quiet for the most part during the car ride. Mostly because he was tired from all of the waiting he had to go through. One could say the same for Gwen since she was the one who took care of him during this time. Gwen smiled and looked at Max. "Y'know, I'm proud of you, Max..." she said. Max hummed in response. "You did great back there despite how scared you were before." Gwen replied. "I mean...I guess I was a little scared." Max admitted, feeling embarrassed. "Aww, no need to be embarrassed. We're all scared of SOMETHING." Gwen said. "Yeah, but when you're 10, you'd expect to be over a lot of that stuff by now." Max responded. "Did you literally forget the conversation we had earlier?" Gwen questioned. "About how you're afraid of doctors? No, I didn't forget. I don't forget ANYTHING." Max said. "Whatever you say, twerp." Gwen replied. She noticed the "Camp Campbell" sign and turned to the direction it was pointing. Once the car pulled up, both of their jaws dropped at the sight before them. "Wow. I'm gone for almost 10 hours and I already miss out on Nikki getting stung by hornets?" Max exclaimed before unbuckling his seatbelt the best he could. "Stay put, Max. I'm gonna get some bug killer." Gwen ordered, quickly unlocking the car and running out as fast as she could. "NIKKI! RUN INTO THE CABIN! I'LL GET TO YOU IN JUST A MINUTE!" Gwen shouted. Nikki obeyed and rand to the cabin. Half of the items stuck to her body. 

Neil turned his head and saw Max watching everything. "MAX!" He called out, running to the car. "You're ok!!!" He exclaimed. "Yeah, I'm fine Neil. I handled it all like a champ." Max said, trying to downplay the events that went down. "Why am I not surprised." Neil shook his head. The kids turned their heads and saw Gwen spraying something at the hornets, killing them in the process. "Awww, my get well gift is ruined...." Nikki pouted, scratching at her arm. Her arms and legs were practically COATED in bee stings. "Come on, Nikki. Let's get you cleaned up. EVERYONE BACK TO YOUR TENTS!" She ordered, going back to the car to get Max. She took the two kids into the cabin as quick as possible while the other campers scrambled back to their tent. This event likely scarred them for the rest of the summer. Thanks to Nikki. 

In the counselor's cabin. Max was in David's bed, just staring at the ceiling while Gwen was tending to Nikki's stings. "My God, kid! What did you do?!" Gwen asked. "Well, I made a get well card for Max, and I guess the hornets took an interest to my card..." Nikki said. Gwen raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did you put on your card?" Gwen asked sternly. "Let's see... Sticks, pebbles, some dirt, and honey to help everything stick!" Max facepalmed in the background. "Well, no wonder you got stung to death, kid!" Gwen said, tending the last of the hornet stings. "I know I know... I just really wanted to make my card special!" Nikki admitted. "In fact, we were all gonna-" The girl stopped. "Actually, I can't tell you." Nikki hopped off the bed and went to the doorway. "See you in the morning!" She said before leaving the cabin. "That Nikki....What are we gonna do with her, right Max?" Gwen said before looking to see Max had fallen asleep. She went to tuck him in before Max grabbed a hold of her arm. Gwen managed to get her arm out of his grasp, but this only resulted in him whimpering a few times. "Let me just clean up here real quick." She muttered before putting away the first aid stuff. She went back to Max, scooped him up into her arms, and put him in her bed. She placed Max closer to the wall, to prevent him from falling off the bed. The counselor then climbed into bed and tucked herself, and Max, in. Max inched himself closer to Gwen and she held him. "G'night, Max..." She whispered before planting a kiss on his forehead. Max didn't say anything, indicating that he was finally out. It didn't take long for Gwen to fall asleep either. She felt proud of herself that day. As she should.

....The End.