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Chapter Text

  Max sat outside the Mess Hall doors, frustrated with life (and David) as always. He was waiting for Nikki and Neil to finish whatever the hell they were eating so he could go back to working on the prank that he was SURE would break David. Max could be eating with them, but he wasn't hungry. Or, more realistically, he wasn't hungry for David's food, as David was cooking today for God knows why. Just another form of defiance. Don't get him wrong, he didn't COMPLETELY hate David, he just hated his overly optimistic outlook on the shitfest everyone calls "life."

It was oddly chilly outside for summer, so he sat with his hood up and his arms crossed tightly. Despite being outside for only around maybe five minutes, he felt like he'd been sitting there for hours. Then again, every single fucking thing he did at this godforsaken camp felt like it took an eternity.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard the whirring of the camp bus as it pulled over at the entrance. That was... weird. Why would it be pulling up? That would mean it left, which can only mean one thing...

 There's a new camper... But how?

 Despite being unjustifiably pissed at the concept of a new camper, he decided it would be better to go check it out than to just sit there in the same place forever, especially since David would inevitably introduce everyone to them anyways. Sighing in frustration, he began stepping his way begrudgingly toward the entrance of the camp. Confusion and irritation rested in his stomach as he walked, his cyan eyes half-lidded with a hatred towards the world.

As he reached the entrance, he heard the signature "New kid's here" of the quartermaster. Once he turned the final corner and reached the short pathway that led to the entrance, he froze. He saw in front of him, standing in the entrance like a marble statue, an all too familiar silhouette. 

He saw himself.

Petrified, he stared at the figure, studying it wearily. The shape, the height, all those things were exactly like Max. However, everything else differed.

The skin, it was lighter. Not WHITE, but much lighter than Max's. Comparing their skin would be like comparing cinnamon powder to a pumpkin spice latte. The mimic's hair was a thick warm dark brown, like semi-sweet chocolate, which contrasted with Max's black hair. The jacket appeared to be pearly white, but when viewed closely, turned out to be a VERY light bluish purple. His smile was unnaturally wide and his head was tilted to the side as if no neck existed within him. But the creepiest part in Max's opinion...

Were the EYES.

They were violet, BRIGHT violet, and they glowed with an unnerving hunger that made Max shiver once they landed on him.

Fear riddled Max's body as he witnessed the mess in front of him. This was basically Daniel, Max edition. The poor Indian kid refused to step forward, or even wave as the kid stared at him, THROUGH him. 

"Why HELLO there Max!" said an overly happy voice. Max jumped in terror as David's voice suddenly broke the thick silence around them.

"God DAMMIT David!" cried Max in a mixture of anger and fear. The poor young ten-year-old took in a few deep breaths to regain his composure before looking up to his "enemy."

David chuckled. "Sorry for scaring ya Max!" said the counselor apologetically. "I was just coming by to greet the new kid!" The dark redhead motioned his hand towards the stagnant child in front of them. There he still stood, motionless, with an everlasting smile that froze Max to the ground the longer he stared.

Max couldn't help but shiver as he took notice of just how sharp the boy's canine teeth were. It was as if they were meant to tear off flesh. Max swallowed uncomfortably.

Suddenly, the child began to approach them. He was slow, observant, and light on his feet. His eyes zipped around the environment rapidly, as if he could see every individual atom or speck of dust fly past his face. He was like a wild animal. Max was tense for the entire minute or so that the child took to finally reach them. Once he did, he waved with a quick flick of his wrist. It was more of half a wave.

"Hi!" the child said enthusiastically. "I'm Matthew, but please, call me Matt!" The smile never left his face as he spoke. This kid was nothing like Max!

Max felt immediate discomfort from hearing Matt's voice. Although Max's was almost always laced with anger, fear or sadness, Matt's was coated with a sickeningly sweet happiness. It was like a poisonous flower that looked so beautiful that an innocent bystander wouldn't even notice their demise slowly approaching them until it was too late. 

"Well, HELLO Matt!" exclaimed David in his usual irritatingly happy tone. "My name is David, your camp counselor! And this," he started, motioning to Max, "is Max! He's a bit of a jumpy camper and has quite the attitude, but I'm sure you'll get along!" Max froze in disbelief and even some disgust. Did David TRULY believe that he would go anywhere near this freak? Especially after the Daniel situation!?

Oh, right, David didn't learn anything. Max almost forgot that his happiness made him stupid.

"You have GOT to be fucking joking!" shouted Max with rage and a hint of fear. "There is NO way in Hell that you ACTUALLY believe that I would go anywhere NEAR that fucking freak!!!" He pointed towards Matt in a viciously accusing manner.

As if to spite Max, he continued to smile and stare as if Max had said nothing at all.

"Max!" started the slightly irritated camp counselor. "What have I told you about language?"

"Eat a di-!" began the exasperated child. However, he was cut off by his own interruptive voice.

"Excuse me?" began Matt all too cheerfully. "I've come to interpret that you two have some personal issues, and as much as I hate into interrupt, I feel I have the right to ask if I may continue on to the camp?" He ended his exaggerated tangent with a friendly smile.

Yeah, this kid was nothing like Max. 

Max was frozen in pure disbelief just from hearing Matt speak. Was this kid a living book report or a sociopath? Max had the feeling that the answer was both.

"Wow!" said David with his usual elation. "Quite the vocabulary you have, little guy! Well, since you asked so politely, I'll take you on the grand tour of Camp Campbell!"

With that, David turned around and began strolling back to the campgrounds with the usual skip in his step. Max eyed the forest lover as he walked away, and the moment he was out of sight Max speedily turned to face Matt with his teeth gritted tightly in frustration. Matt continued to stare, his eyes boring into Max's soul. Growling with irritation, Max stomped up to Matt and leaned into his face, speaking with nothing but pure aggression in his voice.

"Now you listen here, 'Matt'!" stated the angry camper. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, but I'm not having it! I already went through this with a guy named Daniel and I am NOT dealing with this shit again! You may have David fooled, being the dumbass that he is, but you can't fool me! I'll be watching you! Every move you make, every step you take, I'll be watching! And I swear to you, 'Matthew,' if I see or hear you do ONE thing out of line, game over! Fuck up even ONE time, and you're OUT!" Max stated the final claim with a quick slicing motion across his neck with his index finger. "You got that?!" With that, Max backed a few steps away.

Matt tilted his head to the right in a seemingly condescending manner before replying.

"Understood, Maxwell," replied the strange child. "I'll try not to stray to your bad side." He smiled confidently.

Wait a minute-

...Maxwell?

"Did you just call me 'Maxwell'?!" asked Max agitatedly. His only reply from Matt was a brief nod.

Max growled again. "Don't call me that! It's just Max!" And with that, he turned his back to Matthew and stormed off back towards the camp, Matt's cold gaze burning holes in the back of his neck.

Chapter Text

Stomping off after his interrogation with Matt, Max went to search for his friends, Nikki and Neil. After a minute of angrily searching, he found them standing outside of the Mess Hall. They seemed to be casually talking.

Welp, not anymore!

"Guys!" exclaimed Max as he ran up to them agitated. "Have you been here the whole damn time? I couldn't find you anywhere! Where the Hell WERE you?!" 

"We'd just finished eating," stated Neil calmly, shrugging in some sort of subtle surrender. "Sorry, man. If we'd known you needed us we would have left."

"Whatever, it's fine I guess!" grumbled Max in his naturally angered tone. "Anyway, that doesn't matter! What matters is that we have a HUGE problem!"

Both Nikki and Neil tilted their heads slightly in confusion.

"What do you mean?" asked Nikki, intrigued.

Max sighed at the thought of having to explain, but he knew it was necessary.

"Okay," started Max, irritation obvious in his voice. "So you remember Daniel, right?" The two nodded. "Well, we just got a new kid, and this is basically Daniel, except it's ME!" He exclaimed angrily, exaggerating the word "me" as he pointed to himself.

That froze Nikki and Neil in their place.

"W-what did you say...?" asked Neil wearily.

"Daniel, 'Max Edition'!" said Max blatantly. He was getting more pissed by the second.

For a moment, they remained frozen in silence. Then, out of nowhere-

"Wow!" exclaimed Nikki excitedly. "This is SO COOL! Can we see him?!"

Max was stilled with disbelief. "What?! You WANT to see him!? Do you NOT get the concept of 'Daniel, Max Edition'?! I literally just told you he's a freak that is MORE than likely going to slaughter us all and your first thought is "Hey, let's talk to him'!" Max stated the last sentence with sarcastic happiness. Nikki paid no mind to the obvious mockery.

"Well, yeah!" she replied happily. "They say to get close to the enemy after all, so if we become his friends, we can learn his weaknesses!" She finished her statement with as grim of a smile as she could muster. Max sighed deeply in disappointment.

"Or," Max said, feigning kindness. "How about we stay the fuck away from him? Yeah? Yeah!" Sarcasm had never been more present in his voice. He donned a painfully fake smile as he spoke, slightly hurting his jaw. Regaining his natural composure, Max dropped the smile and looked at Nikki with seriousness.

Nikki sighed, for once in her life defeated. "Alright," she mumbled hesitantly.

Max nodded satisfied. "Thank you! Anyway, let's get out of here before the bastard shows-"

And speak of the Devil there he was. Max froze where he stood as his eyes caught the sight of David and Matt standing before him side by side. David, of course, smiled happily as Matt stood still and silent right next to him. The violet eyes of Matthew continued to pierce Max the way they had only moments earlier, and now they were piercing Neil and Nikki as well. He was so still they could barely tell if he was breathing. Max's initial shock turned to anger again.

"What do you assholes want?!" he growled aggressively, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Language, Max!" said David in response, then gesturing to Matt. "Well, I was simply showing Matt around the camp! He was very eager the entire time, much like ME at his age!" If David could smile any wider, he definitely would have, but at this point, he was smiling wide enough to split his lip in three different places. 

Matt, once again, was smiling eerily and tilting his head to the side. "Hello again, Maxwell!" he stated freakishly optimistic.

Max never wanted to flip someone off more than at that moment. However, he kept to himself and shoved past Matt, making sure to avoid contact as much as possible.

"Come on, guys!" growled Max as he stomped away. "And DON'T call me MAXWELL!" shouted the child. Neil followed readily like a scared dog to its owner. However, Nikki stayed back, looking Matt over with interest. Matt silently let her look and spoke only when her eyes met his.

"Hello, ma'am," began Matt politely. "Is it correct to assume you are Nikki? I've been told quite a lot about you!" he smiled happily. 

Nikki stared at him in slight confusion for moments before smiling. "Yep, that's me! So, you must be Matt!"

"Correct!" replied Matt enthusiastically. Nikki, although intrigued by Matt, was a bit shaken. Matt was nothing like Max.

"Well!" began Nikki in response. "You're about as....creepy as I imagined you!" She smiled ironically.

David somehow managed to smile even wider at the friendly exchange. "Well, I'll leave you kids to get to know each other!" And with that, he walked off to observe the other campers in their afternoon sessions.

Once he's gone, Matt smiles in a friendly manner towards Nikki. Nikki jumps slightly in surprise as she catches red stained patches of skin around his mouth.

But she shrugs it off.

"So!" started Nikki, enthusiastic once again. "What are you here for? What camp? Adventure Camp?! Cause I am!"

That froze Matt instantly. Shit.

He wasn't here for a camp. He didn't even sign up for anything. He simply saw the Camp Campbell bus parked in front of an adult toy store and jumped on quickly to hide from police investigating a nearby robbery. Sure, it wasn't Matt's doing, but if the police were to find out that Matt was alive he'd be fucked! So without thinking for much more than a good 30 seconds, he ran onto the bus.

When the driver, who he now knew as the Quartermaster, came back to the bus, he hid under the furthest seat from the front. They made three more random stops, and at each one, Matt would come from under the seat due to pain in his back and knees from crouching. Each time, he cautiously checked for police. However, it was at the third stop that the Quartermaster caught him. Matt had fallen asleep, having not slept the night before in a slight panic from almost being caught for the fifth time that month. He was awoken by the feeling of eyes watching him, and when he woke up, he jumped in fear as he stared into the terrifying eyes of the Quartermaster.

"What're you doing on the bus?" asked the old creep nonchalantly.

Matt had no other response except for "Uh...h-heading to Camp Campbell?"

And without asking any more question the man shrugged, sat down in the driver's seat and called an obviously annoyed female to tell her that a new kid's coming. There was a confused altercation between them about Matt until a man, who Matt believes to have been David, interfered excitedly.

And at that moment, Matt was set for Camp Campbell with truly no idea of what he was getting into.

Now, here he stands, faced with the question that no one else seemed to care about. Shit think of an answer! Think of an ANSWER!

"U-um..." he begins quietly. "C-COOKING camp! Yeah, Cooking Camp!" He smiled nervously, internally praying that Cooking Camp was a thing.

Nikki was surprised by that. "Really? I didn't know Cooking Camp was a thing! That's kinda gay."

In the distance, both children heard what sounded like Neil screeching "STEREOTYPES."

Matt shrugs casually. "Yeah, I assumed you'd say that. Not many guys are into cooking, but my mom taught me quite a few tips and tactics for cooking properly. She was also an avid baker and took care of me the most out of my two parents, so I kind of grew an attraction towards culinary arts." He ends his statement with a light chuckle.

"Oh, that's cool!" replied Nikki with a smile. "Too bad you're not in Adventure Camp with me. You could've hung out with wolves all day!" Nikki growled playfully as best as she could.

Matt didn't respond. He took a moment to look over Nikki the way she looked over him moments ago.

"You know," began Matt. "You look a lot like a friend of mine back...home." Matt had to painfully stop himself from mentioning the nearby camp he'd come from, or everyone would be caught.

"Really? Who?!" asked Nikki excitedly.

Matt thought for a few moments. "Well..."

-

About fifteen minutes after stomping away, Neil noticed-

"Hey Max, I don't think Nikki followed us." Neil's nervousness was evident in his voice.

Max was too busy pacing angrily to hear him, ranting on and on about the few things Matt had done upon arrival.

Noticing how Max paid him no mind, Neil silently walked out of the tent to track Nikki back to the Mess Hall, the repetitive sound of Max's angry ranting filling the background.

-

Neil walked into the Mess Hell to find Matt talking calmly and Nikki listening intently, her eyes wide with intrigue. Then, as Neil gently shut the door, her eyes darted towards him.

"Hey Neil!" she shouted excitedly. "You won't BELIEVE who Matt's friend is!"

Immediately, Neil was confused. "What?"

"Ah, is this Neil?" asked Matt as he subtly pointed in Neil's direction.

"Uh, hi..." responded Neil awkwardly.

"Yep, that's him!" said Nikki happily.

"I see," responded Matt. "He looks like my other friend from home." Matt smiled.

Now Neil was majorly confused. "Who?"

"Well," began Matt. "His name is Norman. He looks a lot like you! He is quite intelligent when it comes to handling various poisonous substances, solid, liquid and gaseous. He also creates multiple concoctions using miscellaneous chemicals. His specialty is a myriad of tranquilizers for different animal species and even humans when necessary." He broke off his spiel with a gentle smile hoping what he had said did not sound too odd or suspicious.

"Really?" replied Neil with sudden interest. "Well, I'm pretty intelligent also if you ask me! I also create a bunch of mixtures for stuff, but never tranquilizers. I should try that!" With that, Neil sat down with Matt and Nikki.

"Tell him about Natalia now!" Nikki said in an excited mixture of pleading and demanding.

"Ah, alright," Matt started. "Natalia is a lot like Nikki. She looks similar and loves nature! She even has small, black tiger-like stripes traveling up her lower jaw and trailing towards her eyes. Around my hometown, there is a story that she was raised by White Tigers and has tiger fangs and cat-like nails. Her eyes can see very well in the dark, and she hunts just like an animal! Some say not to anger her because she has the spirit of a white tiger following her at all times, and those who fight her disappear with nothing but bloodstained concrete left behind to show their last moments!" With that, Matt laughs quietly.

Nikki's eyes shined with excitement. "Wow! I want to meet her! She sounds SO AWESOME!"

"Norman doesn't sound too bad either!" replied Neil.

"I'm glad they sound nice to you!" said Matt happily.

Suddenly, Max bursts through the door angrily.

"Neil!" shouted Max. "What the fuck man? You walk off like that to talk to THIS fucking freak?! Thanks!" Max rolled his eyes condescendingly.

Nikki began speaking happily. "MAX! You HAVE to hear about his frie-!"

"Don't care!" interrupted Max, grabbing Nikki in one hand and Neil in the other. He began pulling them away once again, looking back at Matthew to say:

"Stay the hell away from my friends!" And with that, he marched them out of the door, flipping off Matt as he wanted to earlier.

Once they were gone, Matt sat there thinking. If anyone was going to believe that he was supposed to be there, he would have to actually do camp activities. He thought about his Cooking Camp excuse. He was actually capable of cooking as his mother had actually taught him a lot.

And Daniel, alongside Jen, had given him food spiking tips back at their hideout after taking him in. Maybe, with permission, he could cook for the campers, and he could possibly grab a bag of "food" and supplies overnight if he was fast enough.

Yeah, that wasn't a bad idea. Matt smiled eerily cheerful.

This camp would be an interesting and challenging harvest.

Chapter Text

Max woke up after another restless night, except this time, his nightmares were plagued with Matthew's face. Well, they weren't total nightmares. In some of them, he got to punch the douche in the face, which was nice. Sitting up in his bed, he yawned deeply, rubbed away the sleepiness in his eyes and half-assedly pulled on his hoodie. Not bothering to unruffle his hair, he started slowly shuffling towards the Mess Hall for breakfast.

As he approached the large wooden doors, he smelled an oddly delicious aroma floating through the building. Suspicion filled him and he was about to back away until the grumble in his stomach made a more hunger-satisfying decision. Sighing in self-loathing, he opened the doors and found everyone sitting happily, eating the food in front of them as if they hadn't eaten for weeks. Confused, yet still hungry, he approached the kitchen window to receive his food.

"Eh, Quartermaster," began Max drowsily. "Give me a plate of whatever you made. Smells good, for once." He said the last two words under his breath.

Then he heard a voice that woke him up completely.

"Maxwell?" replied Matt's overly happy voice.

Slowly, Max turned his head to face the window, his eyes widened in slight fear. Against his hopes, he found himself looking into the eyes of, you guessed it, Matthew. Max was silenced.

"Good to see you!" said Matt with what seemed like genuine kindness. "Are you looking for breakfast?" Max was still quiet. Matt laughed at his frightened face. "Of course you are! Stay where you are, I'll prepare a plate for you!" Matt smiled widely and disappeared behind the counter.

In the fifteen seconds Matt stayed back there, Max regained himself and shook his head free of the fuzziness. Instantly, he plastered on his signature angry face and stood agitated, internally daring Matthew to lean back over the counter.

And Matthew did just that.

"Here!" said Matt smiling, handing Max a plate of odd-looking food. "You can come to get seconds if you wish to! I have more than enough food in storage to prepare!" Smiling for a final time, Matt disappeared permanently behind the counter.

As Max hesitantly took the plate of food from the countertop, a shiver traveled down his spine as Matt's smile flashed across his mind. He couldn't help but notice the reddened edges of each of his abnormally sharp teeth.  Max shook his head again, quite roughly at that, and walked over to where Nikki and Neil were sitting. Nikki was, as usual, scarfing down her food while Neil ate calmly with a smile on his face. Things were way too happy.

Letting the small headache settle, he took a deep breath and let his head clear completely. 

"Hey, Max!" stated Nikki loudly. "You've GOT to try this stuff! It's DELICIOUS!" 

Max flinched as his friend's voice suddenly intruded his eardrums. He gritted his teeth in irritation.

"Nikki," he spat in a whispery voice. "Don't do that." He sighed deeply, desperate to fill his lungs and avoid passing out. His lungs felt like they were way too small and couldn't take in the air he needed. Nikki and Neil both sat silently, Nikki still eating of course, as they waited for him to calm down. At this point in their friendship, they knew better than to mess with him while he's like this. Once Max regained himself with yet another breathless sigh Nikki smiled and more quietly said-

"Sorry, Max. But seriously, you HAVE to try this food." She smiled her traditional toothy grin.

Max doubted that. He doubted that he HAD to try this food. He doubted that he wanted to try this food or should try this food. He eyed his plate and the particularly well-tanned reddish pink fillet on it. Although the smell was something to kill for, something Max probably would've killed for if not for the chef behind it, there was something unnaturally wrong with not only the appearance but the overall atmosphere the meal let off among the entire Mess Hall. He paused for the hundredth time and looked around. Although every other kid seemed extremely pleased with the food, almost every one of them going back for seconds, Max felt an instinctual discomfort from it. The overwhelming cheeriness that Matthew displayed every time he presented a child with more and more food did not help. Max couldn't help notice the extreme lack of hesitance Matt showed when giving them extras, as if he solely lived to feed people. Hell, even the Quartermaster occasionally stopped someone from eating a shit ton of food, often saying in a particularly vulgar manner to "lay off." But from what Max's peripheral vision told him, Dolph-of all people-had taken at LEAST fourths by this point, and Matt gave them to him without so much as an "Are you sure?"

Max had felt this uncertainty before. It was the one time his parents seemed to give a damn about him. They were being particularly "friendly" towards him, the same sort of 'friendly' that someone pretends to be when they're hiding a deep personal hatred for you. However, Max was ten. Despite being a little shit, he was still a kid that, not admittedly, still needed affection and care. And with the way they've treated him all his young life, he would have taken straight up abuse and torture if it meant being fucking noticed. So he took it, and now he was here at this hellhole camp for what, the third time? The FOURTH time? He didn't remember or care, but he DID care about whatever shit Matt was pulling.

Despite feeling his guts being ripped apart by hunger, he shrugged with a barely audible groan and pushed the plate to the side. "Actually, I'm good. You can have it, Nikki."

With no hesitation, Nikki muttered "Yes!" and happily pulled the plate towards her, scarfing down Max's food as well.

"What's up, Max?" asked Neil, concerned. "Did something happen?"

Max groaned again and pressed his hands to his temples, trying to relieve the lingering pounding in his head. "Matt happened," he spat with disgust. "Look, I don't care what the food is or what it looks like! I don't care if I've been starving for hours or for weeks! I am NOT eating ANYTHING that asshole makes! I don't trust any of the shit he's pulling! He's up to something, he has to be! He's a CLONE! We've already dealt with Daniel, we ALMOST dealt with Jen, and NOW we're dealing with MATT! I am not taking this shit!"

Just as he finished his tangent, Gwen stepped in, sleepiness and irritation both very evident on her face. David followed in annoying optimistic pursuit. Gwen's hair was particularly messy, especially around her ponytail, and she was slouching to the point of falling on her face. The bags under her eyes were almost as bad as Max's and there was an odd grey tint to her face. Max would be lying if he said he didn't flinch in slight surprised. He was used to seeing her exhausted, everyone was, but today she just looked particularly dead. She looked as though she was barely staying on her feet, that the only way she was staying up was by some miraculous otherworldly force.

Neil and Nikki followed Max's widened eyes to Gwen and were equally shocked at how bad she looked. 

"Damn," said Max in quiet surprise. "What the Hell happened to her?"

Solemnly, she walked to the countertop and leaned on it tiredly. David, although trailing straight behind her, seemed to ignore all of this and continue on to greet all of the kids. As Gwen leaned on the counter, Matt suddenly popped up over the edge. She was so tired she barely reacted. Matt smiled ear to ear and said: "Good morning, Gwen!"

She responded with a simple nod. 

"Hm," started Matt with a gentle grin. "I can see that you're quite tired. Here, this should help!" He disappeared behind the counter again and came back only seconds later with a glass bottle. "I hope you like Starbucks!"

Those words made Gwen perk up. "Starbucks?" She took one glance at the bottle and after a moment of silent staring she snatched it, popped off the safety cap, and walked away while drinking rapidly.

"What the fuck?" said Max loudly. "How the HELL does he get that shit here?!"

Matt looked right at Max as those words left his mouth. And for a moment, just a moment, Max saw true madness. 

No, it wasn't a blood-soaked face with an array of red-stained teeth, or an inhumanly large smile, or eyes so wide and foggy they could replace the clouds.

It was a small grin, a true grin with no hint of malice, and gentle eyes resting on him the way they would rest on a friend. Matt's head was tilted back and his limbs had gone stiff. It was hardly noticeable whether or not he was breathing. Matt looked right at him, and simply stated-

"I have connections."

And again, one final time, he disappeared behind the counter.

-

About 5 hours prior Matt had snuck out of camp, as he wasn't truly meant to be there anyway, meaning he could sneak away and no one would be flawed. He made his way around the back of the camp and through the nearby forest that bordered it. For about twelve straight minutes, Matt ran through the dense trees and woodland until he finally came upon the pure emptiness of what the average person would consider a desert. At least, in appearance. Few plants grew here and the only true animals here were different types of birds and bugs. It was still dark-ish outside, lightly dimmed due to the 4:30 a.m. sun. He wandered through this emptiness until he came upon a lonesome gravel road that practically served no purpose all the way out here.

For about forty-five minutes he followed it, not a single car passing by, and knowing exactly where he was heading. More than halfway through the journey, he passed a useless road sign to see Viktor, a young Russian girl, sitting silently on its edge. She only acknowledged him with a nod and he responded the same in return. After following the road he was greeted by another forest. He calmly walked through this one, unlike the one that outlined Camp Campbell, for he knew THIS forest and he knew what lied within it. 

As he walked towards the center clearing, he heard familiar footsteps behind him.

"...Forest Kid?" he calmly asked the open air.

"...Yeah..." was the response he received.

Turning around, his eyes rested on the small figure of Forest Kid. His t-shirt and shorts were brown and green with dust, dirt, and grass stains and he had a small square varmint-hunting cage stuck over his head, as usual. His face was coated in dried mud and dust and his hair was indescribably messy and tangled. His eyes were an amber hazel color, his hair was dirty blonde and his skin-although painted in dust, mulch, and moss-was greatly pale.

He stared up at Matthew with his amber irises almost expectantly, like a dog that wants to be fed.

"We thought they caught you," began the quiet nature child. He was referring to the police. "We thought we would have to stage a break in but we didn't see any reports, so we figured you were fine." He ended off his tangent with a careless shrug.

Matt chuckled. Although Forest Kid seemed to not truly care for Matt, none of the kids in Clone Camp really showed care. They either were too afraid to care so it would hurt less to lose a friend, or they simply did it to get under each other's skin. That's just what you do when surrounded by killers, drugs, and demons. Especially when they're kids, young kids who make shitty decisions.

"Well," he replied. "Glad to see you would've at least broken me out." He patted Forest Kid on the shoulder and turned his back to him to continue walking to the camp. Forest Kid followed him.

After seven minutes, they were pretty much at the edge of the camp. Then suddenly, they heard a guttural growl. The growl of a wild animal.

"Matt?" asked a familiar female voice.

"Ah, Natalia!" responded Matt, looking behind him straight into the ice blue eyes of a white tiger.

On the back of the white tiger was Natalia sitting calmly, staring down at him with her piercing crimson eyes. Her deep blue hair was frayed and swaying in the light breeze as she sat quietly. Her pure white shirt pretty much glowed in the dim sunlight apart from the two large black stripes on either of her sides.

"Where have you been?" asked her sultry voice. "We thought you got taken away! Are you leaving us behind already?"

"I could never! You're my friend! Plus, Norman makes too good of tranquilizers to leave so soon. I'd at least have to nab a good fifty before I could even CONSIDER leaving!" Matt smiled throughout his tangent. Then suddenly, his bright violet eyes went dark with discomfort.

"Plus I fear that Daniel would hunt me..."

Natalia froze at the claim but then nodded as if to confirm his fears. "So, where have you been then?" She asked again.

Quickly, Matthew explained the nearby camp that was just like theirs except for activities. Both Natalia and Forest Kid listened intently, but Natalia was the most interested. He also explained that he needed "supplies," as he was going back.

"So you're gonna feed human flesh to a bunch of kids that look like us?"

"In technicality, yes," replied Matt with a nod.

Natalia didn't need to hear much more, simply chuckling in response and giving him a thumbs up. After exchanging a quick 'goodbye' with him, she left with Forest Kid and her tiger back into the woods while he went into the camp and grabbed what he needed.

While walking back to Camp Campbell, he decided to stop by the road sign and actually interact with Viktor. It had been about a month since her arrival into not just the camp, but the country, and they hadn't talked to each other for about two weeks. Not because of anything personal, but they simply didn't talk much. 

"Excuse me, Viktor?"

The young girl slowly turned to him. She was clad in an oversized trench coat that reached down to her knees and covered her almost completely. She had a simple grey fabric hat with a red star in the center and simple stitches. Her hair was about hip length and followed a phenomenon of naturally white hair at a young age. Her silver eyes were wide, damaged, and staring right through him. Her whole body, every inch of her skin, was pale as snow and her face was tinted light grey around the eyes from sleeplessness and trauma. She was also slightly ill.

"Yes..." she responded.

"Does there happen to be a convenience store anywhere near?"

"Yes... There's one over that way...but it's about a quarter mile." responded the 10-year-old girl in a thick Russian accent. She pointed out into the openness of the world around them to the distant left.

Matt nodded and began walking, dragging a large bloody bag behind him.

Around 7:00 a.m. was when Matt returned. He walked into the cafeteria area with his large bag and encountered the quartermaster. It seems as though he was begrudgingly preparing to make meals for everyone. Matt gently tapped on his arm and got his attention.

He proposed that he could cook for the children and give him a day to relax. The quartermaster didn't question it in any way and simply walked out of the cafeteria, shrugging with lack of interest.

And that's how Matt showed off his cooking skills.

Chapter Text

For the remainder of the morning and afternoon, Max wandered aimlessly. He spent every minute trying his damn best to avoid Matt like the plague. Every now and then, he would involuntarily catch Matt's eyes as they glanced at each other. What was weird to Max, though, was how Matt seemed to share the sentiment of keeping his distance. Not that Max was complaining, but it was odd. Very odd. 

As night fell, the sky slowly darkening, Max felt an abnormally cold chill travel through the air.

What the hell? It's summer!

As if it were an omen, silence fell over the camp following the chill. It was dark, WAY too dark for a summer night, even with the moon missing. 

Max was standing outside the doors of the mess hall, simply staring at the starless sky. It was around ten thirty p.m. at least. He had snuck out of his tent because he couldn't force himself to shut his eyes with the parasite known as Matthew still scouring around the camp. So here he sat, outside two giant locked doors waiting for nothing in particular. His eyes slowly, yet observantly, traveled over every tent. He was on a self-appointed night watch. Every inch of the camp was under his cyan gaze as he made sure not a trace of Matt was anywhere that it didn't belong. His skin had a greyish tint due to the stress and sleepiness from years of neglect. Now, thanks to Matthew, it had only worsened.

He took a deep breath and leaned harder against the wooden doors, his eyes starting to desperately droop as his young body demanded sleep. Despite continuously screaming in his head not to fall asleep, he felt his body begin to sag and his mind lose consciousness.

Suddenly, his eyes shot open as the sound of rustling bushes in the near distance invaded his ears. Slowly, he turned his head to the left, eyeing the dense forest the surrounded the camp near the entrance. He would've ignored it due to the possibility of it just being an animal. However, the sudden flash of faded white cloth erased said possibility completely from his mind.

Glaring in the direction of the sound, Max slowly rose from his place and began to follow, his footsteps as silent as a floating feather. Ignoring the unnatural chilliness, he removed his hood in the hopes of following the noises better.

More rustles and shaking ensued as he cautiously made his way over logs, rocks, and a small crick he had never seen before. With the sudden appearance of such random dangerous obstacles, he swore he was in an entirely new forest. The rustling began to gain distance on him. In a desperate hurry, Max starting skipping over rocks and stumps, constantly risking serious cuts and falls.

Suddenly, the rustling stopped. There was a scream of pain.

As he approached an opening between a wall of trees, he heard...noises. Sickening noises. Noises that sounded just wrong in every way.

Hacking. Cracking. Splitting. Ripping.

He dared to inch closer.

Dripping. Sloshing. Squishing. Wringing.

He dared to look through the trees.

Slashing. Slicing. Dicing. BREAK.

He almost vomited.

Max was frozen in utter shock and horror. Terror filled his body to the brim, crawling up his spine and filling his brain with fuzz. He was disgusted. He was entranced. He. Was. MORTIFIED.

He wanted to run, but he was stuck. He wanted to scream, but he was muted. He wanted to wake up from this horrible, terrible nightmare...

But he wasn't dreaming.

Max felt his stomach twist as he watched Matt crack open the torso of a strange man. He stared, immobilized by fear, as Matt took a nearby bloody cleaver and hacked away at the man's chest cavity, ripping out a lung moments later. The man's eyes were grey and lifeless, so at least he wasn't suffering. That's something, right?

There was blood everywhere. The man's right arm had been sloppily hacked off and was thrown to the side, bite marks having been taken out of most of it. Matt's arms, shirt, and what little of his face Max could see were glazed with blood, shimmering in the light of a nearby street lamp.

Max's legs felt weak. He knew he was going to fall down, but he couldn't look away despite his horror. He grasped at the trunk of the tree he stood near, hoping to hold himself together until he could move well enough to run. Against his better judgment, he stayed in place, as if praying it would all be over soon.

Surely, surely it could NOT get worse than this. Right?

Wrong.

Max almost fell unconscious as he witnessed Matt slice open the man's other arm, rip off a huge chunk of arm muscle dripping with blood and stringy with sinew, lean his head back and slowly eat the tender meat.

He then did it again. And again, and again until there was very little left of the forearm. Bones and organs were scattered on the ground and blood stained the grass permanently. 

That's it. He had to run.

Max backed away a few steps and nearly died of a heart attack as he stepped on a large twig with a deafening snap.

Wait...shit.

 Max slowly lifted his head and was met with the devil himself. Matt's eyes were crazed, more than usual, and actively checking every detail of Max's body, as if analyzing him to prepare for the kill. The monster's teeth were sharp like a lion's fangs and they were soaked red with blood. His entire mouth area was painted with the red syrup, drops sliding down his neck and staining an old white t-shirt that was two sizes too big for Matt. The shirt was already stained beyond repair and only served to get worse. Matt's small fist clenched the cleaver tightly, the strength of a bear rushing through his arm to back up his every swing.

Matt stared at Max with murderous intent as he cracked his neck violently to the side. It reminded Max of Daniel.

Well, Max was fucked.

Faster than Usain Bolt could even manage, Max turned on his heels and went speeding back to the camp. In spite of his speed, he saw every obstacle and managed to jump, dodge, and twist his way around. He heard the thumping footsteps of Matt chasing him, getting tantalizingly closer and closer.

Still mute and unable to find his voice, he ran silently to Camp Campbell, blindly hoping someone would be there to save him and witness what a monster Matt really was. Max had always been scarred throughout his short life, but now he would be mentally fucked up for his entire existence.

Soon, Max was right outside the camp. Max slightly tripped on a small rock and smacked his body against a tree, catching himself and holding it tightly. The footsteps had stopped and Max needed to breathe.

Glancing behind him fearfully, Max sighed with immense relief as he saw nothing behind him.

"Oh thank fucking God!" breathed Max in pure happiness. The emotion was so rare and new that he swore he felt physically ill because of the intensity alone.

Slowly, he turned again to reassure himself-

BAM!

His body felt limp as a great pain flooded the back of his head.

A demonic chuckle rang through the air.

___________

Max woke with a start, sunlight flooding the room he resided in. He shifted slightly and felt the softest bed he'd ever been in. Wincing in pain as a headache hit him without warning, he attempted to sit up.

"MAX!" screamed to concerned voices in unison.

His surprise worsened his headache and made him lie back down. He shut his eyes in pain.

"MAX! Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" cried the familiar voice of David.

Max groaned, hoping his apparent pain would shut him up. And it did. It did shut David up.

But not Gwen.

"You're lucky your crazy ass was found when you were! You were COVERED in blood! We thought you'd gotten seriously hurt! You looked EVISCERATED!-"

"Gwen, please!"

At Gwen's words, Max's eyes shot open. Covered in blood? Eviscerated? Why do those words ring a bell...

Suddenly Max remembered what happened the night before. 

And Max passed out once again.

Chapter Text

Thirty minutes later, Max awoke once more.

An ice pack had been placed on his head and the nightstand beside him had a glass of water and a small fan running on medium.

For a moment, Max relished in the tranquility if it all.

Then he remembered Matthew.

"HOLY SHIT-!" shouted the Indian child.

Throwing the sheets off to the side, he jumped rapidly out of the Counselor's cabin bed and stood to run to the door. Then he went light-headed.

Max's world tilted back and forth like a seesaw. In the distance, loud familiar footsteps approached quickly. He fell to his knees and swayed dizzily, leaning forward until he fell to his chest. Laying on the floor, his earth continued to spin irregularly. He was seeing double, no TRIPLE vision. He desperately attempted to blink away the clones of everything, taking deep breaths in and out. The footsteps continued to get closer, echoing loudly with every approach until they became a numb ringing in the back of his head.

Suddenly, a familiar laugh rippled through the air like the song from a broken wind chime. Max's eyes shot open and caught sight of shoes he swore he'd seen before. His breath hitched. He looked up.

Matt stood above him calmly, hands stuffed into the pockets of his pearlish blue sweatshirt as if he was hiding something. His violet eyes glimmered in the firey orange sunlight pouring through the window and his hair was a muddy brownish gold. 

He was also bloody. Very bloody.

His sweatshirt was soaked around the waistline with the stuff and his forearms, including his sleeves, were red, wet and sticky, like honey mixed with watered-down paint. His face, particularly around his mouth, was painted with the crimson paste. It was even running down his neck and into his shirt. His black jeans were clinging to his legs, their color having gotten somehow darker from the thick scarlet milk-like liquid. They were so full of it that they even squished with every movement and blood pooled onto the floor.

As Matt caught Max's gaze, he smiled menacingly, flashing his bloodstained dog-like teeth for the world to see. 

"Don't get ahead of yourself now, little boy," hummed Matthew ominously. "You might just get someone killed."

Suddenly Matt unsheathed a blood soaked butcher knife from his pocket. There were bits and pieces of raw flesh hanging from the edge and stuck around the hilt. The burning yellow sky outside glimmered violently off of the cold red steel. Matt toyed playfully with the weapon as if it posed no threat, gently running his finger tips over the edges of the blade. His smile grew wider making Max shiver in terror. 

Max felt like he was being weighed down, forced to the ground by some immense invisible force. He was muted again out of fear. He prayed internally that someone, anyone, even DAVID, would come in and see Matt for the sick fuck that he is. He prayed someone would help him before this bastard child carved and gutted him like he had the poor man last night in the woods.

However, the longer he stared at Matt's bloody form, he began to think that there was no one left to save him.

Abruptly, Matt keeled down on one knee and leaned in close to Max's face, keeping that disgusting smile plastered on his face. He pointed his butcher knife directly in front of Max's eye, so scarcely close to piercing it. Max began to hyperventilate with horror.

This is it. He was gonna die. No matter how much he struggled or shook or rejected this situation, his body had other rebellious plans.

Perhaps this is karma.

 Max, in spite of himself, felt tears begin to sting his eyes and flow down his face. This made Matt, the sick bastard, smile even wider, which Max didn't think was possible.

"Don't be scared little guy," purred the crazed killer as if talking to a pet. "This will be quick and easy if you don't act like the little shit you always are!"

With that, Matt pressed his open hand down harshly on Max's head, muffling him against the floor. He then raised his knife high into the air, summoning all of his strength into his arm. Max watched with baited breath as the knife shimmered viciously, Matt stalling more as to increase the tension.

"Night night," muttered Matt quietly, throwing his arm down violently, slicing Max's neck with the knife.

Max woke with a start, panting and sobbing heavily. Tears were running down his face like waterfalls and his chest ached badly as it expanded and retracted with each desperate heaving breath.

"S-shit," coughed Max painfully. He could barely breathe.

His headache was pounding hard against his skull but he could care less. Wiping the tears from his face with his arm, he slowly rose to his feet and shuffled slowly to the door. He snatched his blue sweatshirt from coat rack on the way.

Before opening the door, he was hit with a jarring coughing fit. His body was in agony and he was miserable, more so than he had been before. His ears began ringing again. 

Finally, he opened the door.

And Matt was standing right there.

Max screamed in terror and threw himself back, trying to scramble away. Matt smiled a sadistic smile as he watched this display, trying to stifle a chuckle as Max crawled to the other end of the room.

"What's wrong, Maxwell?" Asked the monster sarcastically. "Are you scared?"

The wolf in boy's clothing then turned around and called out.

"DAVID! GET OVER HERE, QUICKLY! MAX IS HAVING A PANIC ATTACK!" 

Before walking away, Matt smiled cruelly at Max once more and stepped out of sight.

The last thing Max's foggy mind registered before shutting down again was David and Gwen running to his aid, panic and concern evident on their faces.

Chapter Text

Max was running.

He was running harder than he ever had in his life.

Because if he didn't, he would soon be alive no longer.

Matt was chasing him like a fox chases a rabbit. The crazy fucker was abnormally quick for a kid his size. Max could feel his heart bursting from his chest, as if trying to escape. 

He needed to go faster.

Every breath was torture on his lungs. Every step sent fire shooting up his skinny legs. He was sweating bullets and every time he tried to push himself faster, he felt his body slow down.

As his breaths got shorter and his strength evaporated from his body, he saw something in the nearing distance.

A lone pine tree. 

Once his eyes fell on it, he felt a force pulling him towards it. As if the tree was calling his name. 

Pushing himself one more time, he finally came within touching distance of the tree. He reached for it.

He reached, and reached, and reached-

And he went plummeting.

Well, almost. The ground disappeared beneath him and Max felt a shot of adrenaline shoot through him. Impulsively, he grabbed for something to stop his decent and almost cried with relief when his small arms wrapped themselves around the oddly bent trunk.

That relief was short-lived.

Slowly, eerily, Matt waltzed into Max's view. He stood above him, so tantalizingly close to him, that Max could feel the bastard's fingers tracing his spine amd tearing his skin. Max's eyes widened with fear and his body trembled in panic.

What a way to go...

Calmly, Matt tiptoed his way onto the twisted trunk and stood above Max, looking down on him with a piercing stare.

A stare that said "You Are Below Me."

"Aww, isn't that cute?" taunted Matthew happily, crouching down to get closer.  "The little kitten can't climb a tree."

Matt's arm suddenly shot out and gripped Max violently by the hair. In a not at all gently manner, Matt lifted Max to eye level and held him over the endless abyss that lay below.

Max gripped and clawed desperately at Matt's arm, trying to take hold so he wouldn't fall. If Matt's hold even slightly loosened, Max would go falling. 

"Do you wanna know what happens when you don't stay out of my way?" sneered Matt viciously. Max was still helplessly kicking the air, searching for ground that wasn't there.

Matt chuckled at the pitiful sight. He continued speaking.

"If you don't step back, I'll cut you!" Matt hissed the word 'cut' venomously. 

"I will cut your little. Heart. OUT." 

With each word, Matt leaned farther into Max's face, getting disturbingly close.

There were hundreds of questions storming through Max's head, all of them screaming in fear to be answered.

'Why are you doing this? What do you want? Where did you come from? Why do you wanna kill me? Why were you eating that guy? 

'What the actual FUCK is wrong with you?!'

However, he never got the chance to ask. His throat closed entirely, choking him with his own neck. His small heart made a sudden stop as the grip on his hair loosened.

Looking pleadingly into Matt's eyes, Max silently begged for him to not let go, to let him live.

Max never begged. And Matt never spared.

"Say hi to the bears for me!" chuckled Matt in a sing-song tone. 

And with that, Max went plummeting.

And he plummeted, and plummeted, and plummeted...

------

Max shot up with a start. His body was trembling like a tree in a wind storm. He could barely look straight. His breathing was labored as if he'd run a marathon. Grasping painfully at his chest, he let stray tears fall pitifully down his face. He would never let someone see him like this.

"Ahem, excuse me, Maxwell," came a disgustingly sweet voice.

Immediately, Max acted on instinct and grabbed the nearest object. In his hands he held a random flashlight and brandished it like a knife. 

Matt merely chuckled at the sight.

Slowly raising his hand, he gently placed his index finger on the end of the flashlight and started pushing down on it, making Max lower it.

"Now now, Maxxie, let's not get violent," purred the psychopath. "We don't want someone getting hurt now, do we?"

Matt wrapped his hands around the flashlight and, like a mother prying a toy from their child's hold, pulled it gently out of Max's own. Setting it on a nearby nightstand, he calmly shuffled closer to Max, who was trying to curl into himself on the end of the counselor bed.

"Hey, hey," he ushered quietly. "Calm down, Maxwell. I'm not going to hurt you. I just need you to look at me, okay? Please?"

Max wanted to ignore him. He really did. But he really couldn't. Hesitantly, he uncurled himself and looked into Matthew's piercing stare.

"There we go," sung Matt sweetly. "That's what I like to see! Don't be afraid of me, Maxwell~"

In that instant, Matt reached into his pocket, grabbed something, and with the speed of a bullet, blew a strange powder into the poor boy's face.

Before Max could even comptehend what had happened, he felt his mind slipping. His eyes stung and his mouth tasted like some sweet and sour concoction. All awareness of his surroundings dissipated like mist on a sunny day in July. His pupils dilated to the point of filling his entire eye. His body relaxed and he could barely sit up straight.

He became a zombie.

Matthew giggled, pleased with himself.

"Dragon's Breath," muttered Matt happily. "Perfect! You can thank Norman for that, Maxxie! Now, follow me."

And like a dog, Max followed.

Chapter Text

3:15 a.m.

That was what Victor's watch, which she totally hadn't stolen, read as she, her two accomplices, and their victim slowly sailed across the open ocean.

The night was dark and hot, the air so thick with fog that one would suffocate without taking deep breaths every five seconds. Silence was all that could be heard, save for the subtle flow of the deep, murky waters below the raft.

Victor turned her cold grey eyes toward her partners in crime. Kang Min, a North Korean escapee, was sitting tensely with his arms crossed and legs strewn defensively in front of him. His vibrant red eyes were wide and angry, and his void black hair was ruffled and unkempt. It looked like a mess of crow feathers. The young boy kept a constant hold of his now bloodied kitchen knife, ready to spring at a moment's notice. He mainly directed his attention to the young man he'd violently stabbed, who was now desperately struggling to breathe as he lay trapped in Arthit's arms. Arthit, the young Thai boy, had a more calm and collected stance. He sat casually, legs crossed and arms swung lazily over the pale body in his grasp. He barely needed to hold the man, as the poor bastard was hardly able to open his eyes. Arthit's hair was equally as dark as Kang Min's, but much more cared for. His eyes were deep brown and almond shaped, his sharp gaze more directed at the endless veil of mist surrounding them.

All three of the kids were sweating heavily, but no one made any complaint. They needed to focus. They had to arrive at their destination by 3:35 a.m. at latest. At least, if they wanted to keep his favor...

The journey was slower than usual, as the waters were oddly calm. As far as the trio knew, they were headed in the right direction, but could only go off of pure instinct. Surely, he would guide them the right way, right..?

The albino Russian girl scratched irritably at her arms and neck, experiencing minor withdrawal symptoms from lack of alcohol. Kang Min grumbled, rubbing the blood from his knife onto his once pure white tshirt  and Arthit occasionally poked and prodded at the near corpse in his lap, making sure it wasn't quite dead yet. None of them spoke even slightly. The three weren't used to casual conversation outside of murder and their master, and even if they were, they had to save their voices for the ritual that would be taking place mere minutes from now.

Suddenly, in the nearing distance, soft orange light peaked through the waterlogged air. Victor's watch read 3:32. Perfect! They were just in time.

In seconds, the fog broke away to reveal Silent Island. The island was normally a calm, serene little island in the middle of the ocean, covered with trees and a wide array of flora and fauna. Tonight, however, it was literally in flames. Bright, blinding fire reached from the center point of the land mass into the air, smoke licking the sky.

The children slowly sailed to the shore and lifted themselves, and their sacrifice, onto the land. The only noise other than the hissing and crackling of fire was the pained groans and hopeless pleas of the man as they dragged him limply along. Blood stained a trail into the grass.

Victor led the way valiantly through the burning forest, paying no mind as flames threatened to swallow her and her companions. By the time 3:35 struck, they'd made their way to the ritual location. A large, foreboding waterfall rushed down between two tall, jagged rocks. Whilst all other things in the forest were glowing brilliantly with the light of the flames, the rushing waters were blacker than the darkest oil, and equally as thick. Kang Min and Arthit violently pulled their victim forward, ignoring his pained whimpers and begs, and tossed him haphazardly into the shallow pool they stood before. Immediately, all three children took their places around the pond and readied themselves. This ritual was the only thing that struck their nerves and made them feel fear.

Carefully, with all the respect and honor they could display, they gazed dutifully at him, their master. They did not know his true name, very few did, but perhaps, with time, they would soon earn the privilege, and he would bless them with the safety and security they  desperately required to accomplish each of their goals.

Over the rushing waters and violent sparks, they felt the wind of their God's power rush over them, icy cold, and shivered as they stared into his lifeless amber eyes, his head trapped within a small varmint cage...

---

Forest Kid looked down upon the three foreign exchange children standing below him. From his rocky perch above the waters, he saw their efforts displayed before him, a soul ripe for the taking. Taking a single deep breath, he slowly began to build up his power. His body tingled with raw energy and dark force. Combined with the oppressing heat and loud noises assaulting him from all sides, he became an unholy timebomb.

The smoke of the flaming forest slowly gathered around him, molding around his body and running through his fingers. With sharp movements, he channeled his power accordingly and raised his left hand to the sky with great care. The pure energy trapped within him rocketed into the clouds, rumbling through the sky like thunder and creating a dark electric storm.

In the eye of the storm, a large, volatile spirit showed himself and looked down upon the three children, whom were now chanting vigorously, and their offering. The cold creature smiled before diving upon the poor man like a hawk and dragging him into the once shallow pool, which had now become as deep as the sea. Once the sacrifice was taken and Forest Kid's hunger was satiated, the storm cleared. The flames of the forest slowly died, disappearing and leaving no trace of ash, burns, or even a spark. The sky above was black and empty, no visible stars or moon. The island was calm again, empty of all chaos and life. It would of course return, but not for many days.

The trio below looked up to Forest Kid for approval, to which he merely nodded, no sign of emotion on his face. With that silent permission, the kids fled to their raft and left the island with haste.

Once they'd disappeared, Forest Kid stood silently, staring after them as he heard a familiar voice grace him from over his shoulder.

"How much more of this?" purred a smokey voice. Manifesting beside Forest Kid, the spirit from within his storm showed its face.

The occult being was translucent, and foggy white, with pitch black sockets for eyes and no real bodily features other than those and a mouth.

"How much longer will we have to do these stupid rituals? Can we not just attack the camp now? Surely you of all ethereals are strong enough to topple it!"

Forest Kid shrugged casually. "Same answer as always. Just wait and see. It won't be too much longer."

The spirit groaned in annoyance. "It's not my fault I'm impatient! I've been trapped here on this damned island for over a decade, waiting for a chance to finally achieve vengeance, have a purpose, and you promised to give me one! But now I'm stuck waiting all over again!" The ghost twisted and molded intimidatingly around the forest child, growling angrily.

Forest Kid didn't react.

"Trust me, Jasmyne, you'll get your revenge. You're not the only vengeful spirit out there, nor the one who's waited the longest. Things take time, you of all people should know that. Now stop being childish. Despite how you look, your not ten anymore," spat the filthy God, still emotionless. His bright eyes were the only thing that showed and sense of life.

Jasmyne was caught off guard by the retaliation, but he growled again and begrudgingly silenced himself for a few moments, staring off into the distance towards the Clone Camp.

Forest Kid casually observed the child spirit. His story was an interesting one. When Forest Kid had first arrived here, the young boy was a scorned, vengeful poltergeist, trapped on the island after being murdered by his only friend of the same age. After finding him, Forest Kid offered him assistance, a chance to gain vengeance and be freed of his wrongful damnnation. For many years now, they had worked together to achieve both goals, while also gaining Forest Kid more power and many souls in the process. It was about three years into their arrangement that the young God took his current form. It was annoying, but convenient, as very few people wished to involve themselves with a bloody dirty child with a cage stuck impossibly over his head.

Suddenly, a hard pulse of power rushed through his body, and Jasmyne groaned angrily.

"It's fucking Daniel, of course!" he hissed. "Can I please hang up on him?"

Forest Kid pondered for a few moments. "Answer him," he ordered.

Jasmyne grumbled irritated. "Yes, sir, Xemug!" spat the spirit, using Forest Kid's real name.

Xemug listened subconsciously to Daniel's usual stupid prayers. Daniel was a decent prophet, but quite incompetent. Adjusting the itchy cage around his neck, he told Jasmyne to answer for him with the usual mumbo jumbo, not even looking his way. The dark god walked away deeper into the woods, preparing to return to 'camp'. The opposing Camp Campbell had already been infiltrated by Matthew, so it was time to place the other pieces. Careful planning was important.

Everything had to be perfect.