𝙼𝚊𝚡 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛-𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚖.

Chapter 26

You hadn't even noticed how long your hands had been interlocked while you walked what seemed to be an endless road.

You and Max spent the majority of your walk in silence with a tiny conversation every now and then.
"When do you think we'll be back?"
"..I don't know."

"Do you think Neil and Nikki's alright?"
"I don't know."

"I'm happy you're here with me. What do you think it'd be like if you weren't here with me?"
"I don't know, Y/n.."

Eventually, the two of you had been walking for so long the sun had come up. It wasn't entirely there, but it left a warm sunrise that either of you could see if you stood just up on your tippy toes.

That also meant you could see the massive sign just a little further away from you.

"What's that?" You say, pointing at the large billboard.

'This way to FUN!'
The large billboard had that message plastered on the very top.
Near the bottom, there was what seemed to be an old man giving a fake smile.
You recognised him.
'Cameron Campbell', someone who made a large controversy when evading the government earlier this year.
He seemed like a sketchy guy.
Why would they put him out of all people on a billboard?

"That's..the sign!" Max said, his enthusiasm raising as he spoke.
"I'm confused. What's the sign?" You question, giving him an odd stare.

"That dude is—"
"Cameron Campbell, I know. Why do you recognise the sign?"

He turns towards you, and then back at the sign. Squinting his eyes, his mouth games open and he squeezes your palm.
"It means we're close! C'mon!"

And just like that, the two of you were running to the left path and back to Camp Campbell.

You'd find a way to get help, you just knew it!

Running for what seemed like minutes, you immediately recognise the large flagpole.
The mess hall.
The lake.
The driveway.
The bus.
David and Gwen!

Max let's go of your hand to dash his way up to the two counsellors, who were busy talking on the phone to someone. As the two of you got closer, you could hear their faint conversation.
"So you haven't seen them?" Gwen said, her eyes fixated on David - who was considerably freaking out. He was doing the little foot tap you do when you're nervous and it made you quite sad to see how worried he was.

"..Okay, thanks anyways."
She hangs up and turns sighs before David yelps:
"Anything..?"
She gives him a distraught expression.
"Nope. Apparently they didn't even make it to town—"

And then she saw you.

David saw Gwen's immediate surprise and jerked his head around.

"Max! Y/n!"
And just like that, he was sniffling and crying as he wrapped the two of you in his arms.
He was too busy crying to even be mad.

His tight grip actually made your leg hurt even more. He was squeezing it, and you knew that it probably wouldn't take much more pain. It was either broken or deeply wounded - and either option wasn't good. However, you attempted to ignore it for the time being.

Wait, David was still crying.

Why—
Why is he still—
It was kind of embarrassing, actually.
He wouldn't stop.
Why wouldn't he stop—

Eventually, he let the two of you out of his tight embrace and his eyes widened.

"Where's Nikki and Neil..?"

~~~