Path Chosen: Explorer

𝟷𝟹:𝟶𝟾 | 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝟸𝟻𝚝𝚑, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟷
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙸𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍

Footsteps rattled the wooden steps to the treehouse as Celeste was leading the group, with Clementine taking up the rear. Trailing behind was the youngest of their group, Kayden. "Come on, Kayd," Clem was saying, "last one there is a rotten egg, remember?" She knelt so she was eye-level with the girl. "Are you a stinky, rotten egg?"

Kayden's eyes filled with tears as she looked up.

"Oh, damn it," Clem muttered, sure that she had taken it too far.

"Cem, owie," Kayden held out her tiny index finger. Embedded in her fingertip was a small, black splinter, the skin around it beginning to turn red.

Clementine was already reaching for the first aid kid on her hip. "You got an owie?" she repeated.

Kayden nodded, watching the counsellor unzip the bag to retrieve the tweezers.

"Alright, big breath, ready?" Clem held the tweezers to the girl's skin, anticipating the squirming as she held Kayden's hand firmly.

Kayden nodded again, filling her cheeks with a gasp full of air. Clementine pinched the tweezers closed and the girl started to whine.

"Hang on, hang on," Clem urged. "Stop, stop." She yanked the splinter out as Kayden yelped, her bottom lip trembling. "Got it, see?" Clem showed her the splinter gripped within the tweezers. "All gone."

"Am I still a stinky, wotten egg?" Kayden pouted through sniffles.

"Yep," Clem nodded, "but no more owie." She brushed away the splinter and tucked the tweezers into the pocket again, pulling out a yellow plaster. "And you get a Spongebob Band-Aid."

"I want Patrick!" she whined.

Clementine closed her eyes to avoid cursing before swapping the Band-Aid. She removed the backing and wrapped it around Kayden's finger securely. "Better?"

The pain of the ordeal seemed to have passed as Kayden nodded, hurrying to catch up with her friends with her finger held up in pride. Clementine stood, sighing as she wiped her sweating palms on the sides of her shorts. The thuds of her boots echoed beneath the platform as she begrudgingly followed. "Goddamn kids," she whispered.

"What was that about?" Celeste asked, her arms folded over her chest as she watched Kayden rejoin the group.

"Splinter," Clem explained. "Every fucking time."

"Cool it," Celeste warned, dropping her arms. "These kids are like parrots. They'll repeat everything you say, and who gets in trouble? Me." She handed Clementine one of the sandwiches. "Go and sit with them."

"Yes, mom." Clem sauntered over to the small group of kids, sitting cross-legged on the wooden platform with them.

Celeste smiled, rolling her eyes and shaking her head before she noticed something hanging from the fencepost across from her. Her eyes narrowed and her head tilted to the side, recognising the item immediately.

Collectible Found: Clementine's Binoculars
A pair of khaki-green binoculars. There's a small crack in one of the lenses and the engraved name has been scratched off. Who owned these before Clementine?

"There you are," Celeste frowned, grabbing for the fabric strap of the binoculars. "What are you doing out here?" She walked over to Clem, handing them down to her. "Missing these?"

Clem looked up and her eyes brightened. "Yesss!" she cheered, holding them to her face and focusing on Celeste through the lenses. "My, Celly, what big eyes you have."

Celeste shook her head again, her hands on her hips. "All the better to roll at you, Clem."

𝟷𝟹:𝟹𝟶 | 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝟸𝟺𝚝𝚑, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟷
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚘𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

Laid back on the dock with her eyes closed and her head tilted upwards, Cassie was enjoying the early afternoon sun, its warmth on her skin contrasting the cool water around her legs as they hung over the edge. She could hear the four boys goofing off beside her, unsure if they were arguing or laughing.

"Dude, how could you possibly think that Bigfoot could beat the Loch Ness monster?" Sam disputed to Aidan. "Nessie can swim away. Bigfoot is only successful on land."

"We don't know that," Aidan defended. "His coat could be hydrophobic, he could be a really good swimmer."

"Gorillas can't swim," Sam countered, "what makes you think Bigfoot can?"

Astrid laughed but it sounded more like a sigh. "Sam, you're missing a key point."

"What?" He shoved the final bite of his sandwich into his mouth.

"Gorillas are real," Astrid emphasised.

Sam held up a finger. "Until Bigfoot's existence been disproven definitively, I refuse to entertain such absolute nonsense normativity."

Conrad chuckled. "Wow, big words, Sammy."

"You're also missing something else," Cassie finally spoke up.

"What's that?"

Cassie turned her head, smirking. "Mothman could annihilate them both."

"Bullshit!" Sam and Aidan called in unison, causing Cassie to beam with laughter as she laid back down again.

"Enough with you lot," Jackson announced, getting up after dusting off his hands. "I'm going in."

Sam held his fist to his mouth, making the sound of a radio transmission. "Hot Stuff to Tower, repeat, Hot Stuff to Tower. Otter-Pop ready for takeoff," he smirked.

Aidan chortled, almost snorting into his juice as Conrad then joined in. "Tower to Hot Stuff, go for takeoff."

"In three, two..." Sam continued before Jackson cut him off.

"I'll give you takeoff, Hot Stuff," Jackson jested, gripping at the hem of his t-shirt before pulling it up and off over his head. The group went silent, with most of them unknowingly having their mouths ajar. Jackson flipped Sam off as he grinned, taking a run down the dock and diving into the water.

Cassie and Astrid exchanged an awe-filled glance before giggling to each other.

"Swim, little Otter!" Aidan encouraged jokingly as Jackson resurfaced.

Jack looked over from the water. "You know, otters are more floaters!" he called back.

Sam then cupped his hands to his mouth. "Swim, floater!"

Jackson flipped them off again before backstroking further into the lake.

Sam and Aidan exchanged a grin before Sam clambered to his feet, running to jump into the water, whooping with joy.

"He's got the right idea," Aidan admitted, handing his whistle to Astrid and stripping from his orange tank top. "Later, losers." He ran towards the water, opting for a bomb-dive instead.

Cassie caught herself staring for a moment too long before she was able to look away, her thoughts getting the better of her. "When did Jack become a total washboard?" she commented, to no-one in particular.

"He was like that last summer," Conrad replied. "You just didn't notice."

Astrid grinned. "And you did, Connie?"

"I, uh," Conrad cleared his throat. "So, Mothman, huh?"

𝟷𝟻:𝟶𝟸 | 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝟸𝟺𝚝𝚑, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟷
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚘𝚍𝚐𝚎

"Honestly, that camp song is gonna be stuck in my head for three days," Clementine sighed as she and Jackson lead the worn out campers to the lodge, the remaining counsellors following behind. "Constant, over and over and over, and it doesn't even rhyme! What song doesn't rhyme?"

"Some don't," Jackson gave a one armed shrug as he carried the now emptied cooler. "Like haikus, they usually don't rhyme."

Clementine looked at him, a frown fixed firmly to her brow. "Shut up." She pulled open the door and instinctively counted each camper that entered.

Cassie was the last to enter. "All present and accounted for, Sergeant Clem?"

Grinning, Clementine nodded. "Fifty-four campers, eight counsellors, one red cooler, and a partridge in a clementine tree."

Throwing her head back, Cassie let out a full-bodied laugh, making Clementine smile. Cassie hooked her arm within Clem's as the two entered the lodge, leading the group towards the dining area.

"Counsellors," the young adults heard from near the kitchens, and they turned to see Mr Hackett beckoning them over.

"You lot," Cassie hovered her hand over the group of older campers, "chill. Watch the others." She and the counsellors made their way over to Mr Hackett, who spoke to them with his voice lowered.

"There's been a," Mr Hackett started, "family emergency. I need to take Caleb and Kaylee, so tonight's activities are cancelled, and everybody needs to stay in the lodge."

"Aw, come on, Mr H," Jackson sighed, "we were gonna do a pizza night. I already made the dough."

"Sorry J-Man," Mr Hackett shrugged. "Can't predict these things. We need everyone in one place tonight, not running back and forth between the pizza ovens and the lodge. Your dough can wait another day."

"We're lucky it's a cold-ferment," Jackson muttered, folding his arms.

Sam's look of concern began to voice itself. "Everything okay, Mr H?"

"Nothing you kids need to worry about." Chris Hackett gave a rare smile. "We'll be back tomorrow, just... stay in the lodge. There's a storm rolling in, keep everybody inside, understand?"

"Yes sir," the group responded, and Mr Hackett turned, exiting out the doors, providing a short-lived glance of Caleb and Kaylee Hackett, waiting by the car.

The doors closed and Jackson sighed.

"Loosen up, Jacky," Astrid patted the boy on the shoulder. "It could be fun! We'll watch movies, eat a bunch of junk food, tell scary stories..."

"You know what this means, right?" Sam grinned and the group turned to him. "It's Fright Night."

Chapter One Complete
2 of 2 Collectibles found