Two Sides of the Same Coin ( camp camp )

Little Monster

Leaves flew away from Max's feet, kicking up helplessly. He understood how that felt. Like a much bigger force was throwing him around, and all he could do was drift along however the breeze carried him. Wow, that was cheesy.

Max laughed to himself. When he wasn't acting annoyed or making snarky commentary, the woods were actually very enjoyable to Max. Not that he'd ever admit that. David would have a fucking field day.

The sun seemed to wane, the forest floor going darker. A chilly wind blew through Max, and he picked up his pace. This was a bad idea. How the fuck was he to get back now? There were animals in the woods! Fuck, he had messed up.

Now quite nervous, the boy's eyes darted around. But everything looked the same. Stern, towering pines, and a murky sea of grass and leaves beneath his shoes. Though the longer he walked, the more the trees thinned. It had taken him almost half an hour, but he broke into a clearing. Hoorah, he was saved! Instantly the surroundings seemed more familiar, and Max knew where he needed to go.

David often came here to chop wood for camp fires. And so, in a moment of perfect stereotypical camp and David fashion, a dull axe stuck in fhe stump of an old tree. Amused, Max went over to the stump and tapped the wooden handle. Sturdy, solid.

Then he heard the growl.

It was a low sound, guttural almost, like something wet in the back of a beast's throat. He could almost feel the drool that slid down it's jowls like rivers. Already that hyperactive mind of his raced. What could it be? A bear? A coyote? A wolf?

But what stepped between the trees was far, far scarier than that. Mostly because Max had never, and had never wanted to see one up close. A mountain lion. A beautiful but powerful wildcat that could knock over his scrawny body like it weighed nothing. Hell, if it wanted all it would need to do is step on Max and his fragile ribs would be crushed. All in all, that was very bad news.

Even worse? It looked hungry. And those wicked eyes were locked onto Max. Holding him pinned with nothing but a stare, the drooling animal slunk closer. And closer. Until Max could smell it's rancid breath and feet the heat, even from a few feet away.

It lowered it's haunches to pounce, and Max needed to think fast. Well, actually, he didn't think at all. Instead he blindly grabbed and ripped out the dulled axe, legs almost buckling with the wild movement. The mountain lion growled and hesitated for a moment. Using that to his advantage, Max swung.

The blade whacked into the animal's ribs with a sickeningly dull thunk, and it stumbled back. Not giving it a chance to recover, Max swung again. The axe was heavy, and he didn't exactly have well placed aim, but it did the job. Again it's blade struck the hapless thing, and this time it stuck.

The mountain lion yeowled in agony, wrenching away from Max. Blood began to coat it's side as it collapsed, snarling and hissing viciously whenever Max stepped close. But somehow, it didn't disgust him. Seeing muscle and bone simply intruiged him, and made him scrunch his brows.

That was real strange.

The last time Max had seen gore, he'd been pretty numb about it. But that was in Mr. Campbell's creepy mansion, and he kinda expected it. But this was different. He'd caused this. And it was graphic.

As if on autopilot, he picked up the axe and raised it again. The mountain lion swung it's claws in a feeble attempt to hold on to life, but it was too late. The sickening crunch of bone could be heard as Max forced the blade into it's breathing neck. A few drops splattered onto his hoodie and face, but he paid no heed.

It wasn't until the creature had stopped twitching that Max snapped back to his senses. With a soft thud the now bloody tool slipped from his fingers and to the grass below. Everything was quiet, too quiet. It grated on his mind and made Max all too aware of his own guilt. An innocent animal, and he'd slaughtered it without a second thought. What... what was wrong with him?!

A twig snapped nearby and Max went into panic mode. He scrambled to gain his bearings and ran towards camp. Already tired legs screamed at him to stop, slow down, take a break. But he didn't listen. Too many thoughts were whirling in his mind for him to hear the pleas of his exhausted body. Until he broke through the treeline and collapsed at someone's feet, shaking and coughing.

Vaugely he was aware of warm arms picking him up and carrying him somewhere. The stress, however, was too much. And Max found himself snuggling into the coziness and starting to drift off. Hey... since when did counselors wear white? Oh well, that didn't matter now. The embrace of sleep had long taken him.

David fussed over Max constantly, rushing around the boy and making sure he was alright. Turns out the mountain lion hadn't quite missed him, and those nasty claws left a gash in Max's arm. Thankfully they got stitched and wrapped up, but the bloodloss had knocked him out cold for a while. Adrenaline probably numbed it, Gwen said.

"Oh gosh! If you hadn't found Max when you did, he could have been in serious trouble. Thank you!" The redhead said, looking at the man across from him with a relieved smile. "Of course Davey! It's no problem, I wouldn't want the kiddo getting hurt either," Replied Daniel, grinning with those pearly whites of his. Gwen didn't like the way he stared at David. It was... hungry. Mischievous.

She didn't trust him.

Not to mention that something tickled in the back of her mind. Something urgent, about Daniel. But what? She pushed it aside. It didn't matter now anyway. "Yea, thanks man. What were you doing there though?"

The blond's neck cracked as he looked to Gwen and she flinched. "I enjoy the woods from time to time as well, Gwen." "R-right." She didn't press the issue. "Well anyway, thank you so much Daniel. Max owes you his life." David said. "Oh David, you're too kind. Just tell me if anything changes. Bye~!" he shook David's hand, gave Gwen a too wide grin, and was gone.

She watched Max rest, thinking about Daniel. Sure she understood the blood on his hoodie from the slash. But why on his face? It was like it had splattered there! What could cause that?

And what did Daniel have to do with it?

(IM NOT D E A D)