Chapter Text
When light had filtered in through the tents and the campers awoke on their own, Max hadn't thought too much about it. Sure it was weird not immediately seeing that overly cheerful grin and even cheerier voice acting as their very own unwanted alarm clock, and sure getting up on his own was suddenly alien and confusing in no way that meant he cared about the idiot counsellor, but as far as Max was concerned, it was a moment of Eureka!
Had he finally gotten through to that stupidly thick skull? The man was surely broken and crying in bed by now, refusing to work at this 'horrible camp filled with hell spawns'.
Yet the grin and pep in his step quickly died as he opened the doors of the mess hall, only to come face to face with his worst fucking nightmare.
David.
The happy-go-lucky red-head was rushing around the tables, plating up oddly good smelling pancakes. And. That. Stupid. Smile. Was. Still. Fucking. There!
"What the fuck are you doing?" Max almost startled as David, spun around to meet his gaze.
"Language!" The voice was oddly stern, a hint of roughness to it, "Now Max, this sort of language is getting out of hand! Especially after I went through all the effort to make you guys pancakes!"
Max observed the oddly acting David, his movements were stuttery and his neck angled oddly every now and then, a soft crack being elicited upon the action. While his voice began to even out, to be more... well David-y, Max couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the behaviour.
"Still haven't answered my question, David. Why didn't you wake us up this morning? I mean I'm not complaining, to be honest it's a goddamn miracle! So what's the catch?"
David's smile widened even further- somehow- and he shook his head at his accusation.
"Why Max, whatever do you mean? The only catch here is you campers enjoying a nice breakfast meal, well-rested and ready for the day!" The enthusiasm in his voice grated on Max's ears and soon enough all his suspicions were forgotten in favour of ending whatever conversation he'd initiated.
As the rest of the campers filtered in, Niel and Nikki taking their places beside him, Max hesitantly took a bite of the pancake stack on his plate. Not a moment after he almost demolished the whole thing, not only was it edible, it was good! There was no way he was enjoying food from Camp Campbell! It wasn't possible! The very sentence was a paradox!
"What the actual fuck is going on?!" Gwen glanced up from her book to glare disapprovingly at Max.
"Hey! Little shit, can't you see everyone's quiet for once? Don't you dare ruin it! For my sanity's sake!" She pinched the bridge of her nose before mumbling, "God knows I need it..."
Max's eyes widened when he realised that, yes everyone was quiet... too quiet... from a quick scan Max found that the rest of the campers were so focused on the food they weren't fighting or making a mess. Who knew food could be so powerful?
He turned his watchful eye onto David, he was grinning cheerfully next to Gwen, watching the campers dig in. After a moment, David noticed Max's eyes on him and much to Max's horror, twisted his neck towards him, the movement was slow and menacing, like something from a thriller, and it was made all the worse with the awful cracks it caused.
Max watched as David tilted his head in an act that would normally be inquisitive, this however looked downright terrifying, like the man's head was barely holding onto his neck. David's eyes were an off-shade, dull and almost lifeless as they bore into Max's soul.
Before David could utter a questioning statement, Max had feigned annoyance and glared at his half eaten pancakes.
Fortunately the day seemed to pass without any further... 'events' coming from David. In fact, as the day continued he slowly became his normal cheery self. Max didn't bother really thinking on the matter any more than he had already done.
A week and a half eventually passed, and Max opted to ignore David's new behavioural traits. Like how whenever Niel, Nikki and he would play a prank on the counsellor he wouldn't laugh it off, instead he would be oddly stern in his distaste for the children's actions, giving them a long and hard lecture. Or like when he would stare unblinking for an unnaturally long amount of time, until he seemed to remember blinking was a thing and do so. Or like when he started having coffee, much to Gwen's surprise. Or like- ok well, Max had to admit something was going on with his Counsellor...
As much as he tried, he couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that David gave him now. How was that even possible- it was David for fuck sake! The guy was annoying sure, but he'd never made Max feel so... terrified...
Not to mention the lack of attention he was getting from him. David always went that extra mile for Max, trying to get him to participate in camp activities or just letting him know how much he was appreciated and how he could enter his cabin whenever he needed someone to talk to. He hated to admit that, while at the time, those little acts of kindness were annoying and overbearing, he missed them...
Whatever David was doing that was making him act this way, Max would find out.
It started slowly, Max would follow David around whenever he wasn't helping in activities or just in his cabin, for a few days he didn't find much. However, it didn't take long for him to realise Gwen had also started staring at David scrutinisingly, studying him just as Max had been doing.
"Gwen."
Said co-counsellor ceased her staring at David to glare at Max.
"What do you want, Satan?"
"I'm just gonna cut to the chase. I know you've been suspicious of David too. So, what the fucks up with him?" Gwen's eyes widened at that, she quickly glanced in David's direction, then leant down, voice low.
"I don't fucking know! He's been acting like a goddamn weirdo- well more weird than David standards anyway- for like two weeks!" Her voice was a harsh whisper, panic picking up as she went along.
"Yeah, that's what I noticed too." They both spared a glance at the oblivious counsellor. "Has he said anything to you? Done anything in the counsellors cabin?"
"No, not really... I'd do some investigating but he always seems to know I'm there and almost catches me in the act! It's creepy." She took a moment to shiver, "He seems pretty protective of his room too... which is so unlike David, he practically has the door open 24/7 and doesn't bat an eye when I go in."
Max hummed in thought. "David always said that I could go into his cabin whenever I want, if I needed to talk... I could pretend something bothering me and take a chance to look around a bit..."
Gwen looked at him oddly, a small smile lighting up her usually tired features. "So you do care. Never knew there was a heart in that little gremlin body of yours."
Max bristled at the comment, a scowl quickly in place as he stomped off, "I don't! I just want to fucking expose whatever stupid thing the idiots got planned!" He tried to ignore the smug look directed his way from Gwen.
Later that night when the campers had all been sent to their tents, Max took the opportunity to sneak out, and he gradually made his way to the counsellor cabin. Knocking angrily on David's door, Max waited with a frustrated scowl. He did not care about David. He just wanted things to go back to normal for once.
A moment later David opened the door a crack, a smile lighting up his face, "What can I do for you, Max?"
"Something's bothering me. Can I come in?" He mustered his best "innocent" act, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
David chuckled, "Why, I'm quite busy preparing tomorrow's activities, I'm sure whatever it is can wait until tomorrow?" Max narrowed his eyes at that.
"You told me I could go to you to talk about anything, anytime, no matter what."
Just as David's staring and silence started to border on too long, he gasped, "Oh golly! I did say that, didn't I? Well then of course I'll let you in. Just give me a moment to clean up this mess."
The door slid shut and a moment later it was fully opened to reveal David gesturing excitedly for Max to come in.
"What's on your mind, kiddo?" Max ignored the chair offered to him, and instead made a show of pacing the room, hiding his subtle glances for anything suspicious.
"Well, you see I've recently noticed Mr Honeynuts has gone missing..." he prepared the fake tears, "I can't go to anyone else, they'd make fun of me..." he mustered up the best puppy eyes he could, "Could you look for it for me?"
For a split second, Max could have sworn he saw a flash of annoyance in David's expression before it was gone just as quickly.
"Of course I will, Max! Now where was the last place you saw this friend of yours?"
"In my tent..." Max kicked the ground absentmindedly feigning a kicked puppy look "I mean if it's really a bother, David, you don't have to look... I'm sure you've got more important things to do that isn't helping me..."
"Oh Max! I would never! Nothing's more important than the happiness of my campers! I'll get you back Mr Honey- uh, whatever in a jiffy!"
Max raised an eyebrow at the stumble and observed as David gave a stiff little salute and left the cabin. What was weird was, he didn't give the Camp Campbell salute...
Instead of thinking on it further, Max quickly began to search the cabin, the drawers, the closet, under the bed, careful to put everything just as he left it. When nothing came up, he scowled. Until of course he noticed the light on in the bathroom.
The air seemed to cool as he approached the door left ajar, yellow light spilled onto the wooden floor of the cabin. A whole new atmosphere had suddenly settled upon the young boys shoulders. The wood was cold to his fingertips as he slowly pushed the door open.
At first glance the cabin seemed normal, nothing out of place, yet upon further inspection Max's eyes zeroed in on the hair dye, or more specifically the red hair dye, left abandoned next to the sink. Furthermore a contact lense container was just beside it.
Max furrowed his brows, "Why the fuck would David need hair dye? And- the fuck? Why does he need green contacts?" Nothing was making sense, Max knew something wasn't adding up, but he had no idea what to make of it. That was until he looked in the cupboard under the sink.
A large faded book sat tauntingly on one of the shelfs, Max moved to grab it before he read the title. 'Xemüg's Guide to Eternal Salvation'.
Everything suddenly clicked, like the final missing puzzle piece being restored. This was the reason why David had been acting so un-David-like. It wasn't David. It was fucking Daniel!
He heard a movement outside the cabin, and quickly flushed the toilet beside him. He hid his shock, as he "washed" his hands.
"Max?" Hearing Daniel impersonate David's voice sent a shiver down his spine, now that he truly listened to him he could tell it wasn't him, there was something off about it. Like a lion pretending to be a kitten, it was blaringly obvious.
"Yeah, yeah, give me a fucking second to wash my hands, camp man." When Max finally built up the courage to leave the bathroom, he gripped the doorknob and pulled it open.
Dav-Daniel was standing innocently just outside the door, almost giving the young boy a heart attack at his proximity. The older man looked between the boy and the bathroom door suspiciously, wide eyes and cheap grin firmly in place.
"Now Max, you know you should really ask before you use someone else's bathroom." His voice was low, unsettlingly low. Max tried to scoff, placing his shaky hands in his hoodie in an attempt to act aloof.
"What? So I have to ask to use the toilet? I'm not a fucking kid, I don't need permission to do my business. Anyway even if I wanted to ask, you were taking forever." He bit his lip hoping the lie was convincing enough.
"Oh! My mistake! I forget you campers are all so mature~" The sarcasm dripped from the David-imposter's mouth with such venom Max felt chills. Had he caught on? There's no way he'd figured out that Max knew, right? "Well! Guess who I found!" Daniel pulled out Mr. Honeynuts, the arm was half ripped, and stuffing peeked out through the newly made hole. Max stiffened, before quickly snatching the precious item.
Daniel didn't react to the violent act, instead crossing his arms and shaking his head in mock sadness, "Poor thing, was left abandoned on a tree. Some little rodent must've taken it during the days activities." He paused, smile back in place, "Looks like your little problems all fixed now! Go back to sleep so you can be ready for a whole day funfilled with adventure!"
Max nodded numbly, if it had been David, he would've offered to stitch Mr. Honeynuts back up... he would've personally escorted him to his tent rather than kick him out and slam the door in his face. Max rubbed his eyes when they blurred slightly, he wanted his camp counsellor back, he didn't want some psychotic replacement.
Before he could stop himself Max was knocking softly on Gwen's cabin door. The lights were off, which was no surprise from the bright stars littering the pitch black sky. He felt guilt gnaw at his insides, but pushed it to the corner of his mind, this was important. If it truly was Daniel- which Max had no doubt about- he needed to be stopped, and arrested before anyone was sacrificed to his fucked up cult.
After another- this time more aggressive- round of knocking, Gwen's dishevelled appearance opened the door, unlike Daniel, she opened it fully, her face not bothering to hide behind a facade of lies, as her exhausted glare bore into his own tired eyes. There must've been something in them, because soon enough she closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose and haphazardly waved the camper in.
"What do you want you little brat? Do you even know what the time is?" She glanced at the bear he had hugged to his chest protectively. "Hey, what's wrong? Did something happen to your, uhh bear friend?"
Max shrugged half-heartedly. He placed Mr. Honeynuts on Gwen's vacant bed before sitting next to it. His mind was running wild trying to figure out how best to explain what the fuck had happened. He sighed loudly, mentally preparing himself for whatever reaction she would have.
"David's not David. It's Daniel. He's back." He observed Gwen's shock turned to laughter. Shit, she thought he was joking.
"Very funny, ya' little shit, why would Daniel be back- not to mention why would he impersonate David?"
"Because he's a fucking cult leader who tried to kill us!"
There was a beat of silence before Gwen wordlessly marched to her desk chair and all but collapsed into it.
"What the fuck is wrong with this camp?" Her head was in her hand, speech muffled and tired.
"Fuck if I know!" Max jumped up stomping towards her, "What we need to do is call the fucking cops or something!"
"Right, cops." She slowly nodded her head contemplating the idea. "Yeah, no. We can't do that."
"What the fuck? Why?!"
"Campbell has a big 'no police' protocol. And after the various trouble you shits get us into, he sorta got rid of any working phones..."
"Well don't you have a fucking cellphone?!" Max pulled at his hair in frustration.
"Yeah, but good luck getting any reception out here." She mulled over the situation. "Wait. So Daniel's impersonating David, right?" Max groaned, but nodded, "Then... Where's David?"
...
The cabin door was flung open and two panicked figure's tumbled out.
"I'll check around camp, you wake the other kids and round them up in the mess hall!" Gwen gave one last look to Max, "As soon as I get reception I'll call the police, ok?"
As she darted off, Max followed suit.
The tents soon came into focus and Max rudely woke all of their inhabitants.
"Wake the fuck up idiots. Don't ask questions cause I don't have the time or the fucks to answer them, just get your lazy asses to the mess hall! Oh, and if you see David, don't tell him anything."
Confused whines and complaints leaked out if the campers mouths as they trudged grumpily towards the vague direction of the mess hall.
"Why are we waking up at- two in the morning?! What the hell Max?!"
"Shut up Niel, did you even listen to what I said? No questions."
"Ooo! Is this a new adventure!? Are we hunting for treasure that could save the president!? Why do we have to keep it from David? Is he the bad guy!?"
"Once again, did you even listen to me, Nikki?"
"No, not really." She shrugged.
"Fuck it. Daniel's back and he's been impersonating David for... I honestly have no idea, probably a week? So before we become cult sacrifices and 'reach ascension' we're getting to the mess hall. Since Gwen thought that was a good idea apparently."
Everyone went silent at that. The 'Cult Situation' as it had been dubbed was something not many dared to being up. Being 'purified' hadn't necessarily erased the memories of what happened, and while everything turned out fine in the end, finding out you almost voluntarily decided to drink poisoned kool-aid to be sacrificed, wasn't all rainbows and sunshine. It wasn't unnatural for a few campers to awake from 'Cult Situation' related nightmares in the middle of the night.
It only took the mention of the cult freak for everyone to quickly and quietly continue forwards, all complaints ceased.
As everyone piled into the mess hall, Max spotted a panicked Gwen in the corner muttering to herself and pacing.
"Where's David?" He whispered harshly.
"That's the problem! I don't know!" She dug the heels of her palms into her eyes, "I've looked everywhere! Even... the Quartermasters shed..." She shivered in disgust.
"Then where the hell is he?! He's gotta be here somewhere, did you look properly? Otherwise- Daniel. He could've..." Max's raged simmered down, he bit his lip in an effort to stop the lump forming in his throat. "What if Daniel killed him, Gwen? What if his body was dumped somewhere in the forest?"
"Oh, Max... I'm sure David's fine, it's ok. We just need to look a little bit harder, ok?" She gently rubbed the 10 year-olds back, aware of the tears now softly flowing down his cheeks. "Before we find David, we need to deal with Daniel. He'll know where the happy idiot is, I'm sure of that much."
Max nodded, angrily rubbing the tears from his eyes and looking up at Gwen, "Ok, what's the plan?"
"First of all we need reception. Max I want you to keep everyone here quiet and make sure the lights are low, if you see Daniel, the back up spot is Spooky Island, got that?"
"Yeah, so what are you gonna do?"
"I'm gonna start driving into town, the receptions shit there but it's reception, and that's what matters." She stood from her crouch, this time directing her voice towards the other campers, "Until I come back, you listen to Max or the Quartermaster, got that, you brats?" She looked to the Quartermaster who just grunted, so she rushed off without listening to the soft questions and groans echoing through the room.
"Shut up! We need to be quiet." Max's harsh whisper was effective enough and soon everyone was sat obediently and muttering amongst themselves. He stalked the windows, trying to find any glimpse of Daniel wandering around. "Ok, if we see 'David' we go straight to Spooky Island as quickly and quietly as we can. If he sees you, try and lose him or make some shitty excuse, and pretend your just going back to your shitty tent."
Max didn't bother listening to the tired affirmatives, he was too busy trying to ease his paranoia by going window to window. It felt like hours had passed by the time Max saw something. A dark figure stalking out of the forest, they turned their head, looking around suspiciously, before walking towards the cabins.
"Shit!" Max gripped his hair, that was definitely Daniel, it couldn't be anyone else. The real question was, why was he coming from that part of the woods, the only thing there was- Campbell's bomb shelter! David had to be there! He whipped around to the startled campers.
"Daniel's going back to the counsellor cabins, but that means that he'll probably notice that Gwen and the car's gone! So everyone move to the back up point! I'll catch up with you guys!"
"Max? Where are you going?" Niel stepped in front of him.
"I don't have time for this! Just fucking listen to me and go with everyone else!"
"But-"
"Niel look," Max schooled his expression and placed a hand on his friends shoulder, "to be honest, you're the only one I can trust to look after everyone... I mean, you are waay smarter than me."
Max knew the exact moment Niel took the bait, his eyes lit up and he quickly joined the rest, a "leave it to me!" And he was gone.
The Quartermaster looked at Max with his one eye, "I don't got time for this crap." But nevertheless he joined the campers, most likely so that they at least had some kind of adult supervision.
Before Max left, he quickly found a pen and paper and left a note for Gwen, 'David in bunker, everyone else at back up.'
Believing it to be good enough, Max rushed out of the mess hall and into the forest. The moonlight illuminated the way, and Max was able to keep from tripping over loose soil and rocks. Up ahead he noticed the entrance haphazardly covered with leaves and other easy to find objects. He wasted no time in all but throwing them off and rushing down the barely-holding-on ladder.
He awkwardly stood in front of the large bank-vault-like-door, what if he opened it, only to see a corpse? Did he want to go through that kind of trauma? Nevertheless, he'd come all the way to this fucking place, he needed to know if David was here, dead or alive.
"Fuck it." With a small grunt and all the effort his tiny body had, he pushed the door open, cringing at the loud screeching it made.
Apprehensive eyes scanned their surroundings, cult shit decorated one half of the usually barren bunker, while the rest was left bare, making Max frown, was there really nothing here?
A chain-like rattle sounded from the far corner of the room, when he glanced over all Max could make out was absolute darkness, he squinted in frustration. Soon a soft mutter pierced the delicate silence. Curiosity got the better of him, and soon Max was creeping closer, the noise getting clearer as he closed the gap.
"Please-I'm sorry, please just leave me alone... I'm sorry-I'm so sorry..." The voice trailed off into broken apologies and sobs.
"David...?" All at once the sobs ceased, cut off in one small hiccup, Max swallowed nervously.
"M-Max?" As his eyes finally adjusted to the pitch black corner, Max finally took notice of a figure huddled against the wall. One hand was shakily wiping the tears from his eyes, while the other was curled protectively towards his chest. A spark of... Well- something Max couldn't quite make out- flashed in those bright green eyes. "Max!" The figure surged forwards, arms extended and smile as bright as the sun. Max quickly found himself trapped in a tight hug, a loud clatter echoed around the bunker as both figures were tipped off balance.
Max lay frozen, a half-sobbing, half-laughing, yet very much alive, David holding him close. It was as if the very moment they part, the older man thought he'd disappear. Soon enough, Max felt hot tears trail down his own cheeks, David was alive he wasn't just a corpse in the middle of the forest, he was here.
As Max's mind eventually rejoined his body, he scowled, roughly pushing the frantic- and somehow very light- counsellor off of him and wiping the evidence of his tears on his jumper. There was a second of resistance from David, before he immediately got off and stood, hands on hips and smile lighting up the whole room-albeit shaky.
"Max! You came to rescue me! I always knew that deep down-"
"Don't ruin this." Max's usually cold remark was lacking any actual bite, much to his chagrin. He eyed David's expression, barely catching the unusually slow attempt to recover from the comment.
"How did you know Daniel wasn't me?" There was an edge to his voice, a desperation Max couldn't quite figure out.
"To be honest, I only realised when I saw that freaky cult bullshit book about fucking Xemore- or whatever the fuck his shitty God's called." Max shrugged, trying to ignore the embarrassment and guilt at realising how long it had taken for him to figure it out.
David's expression faltered slightly, a soft "Oh." leaving his chapped lips. Max took in the state of him, his left arm was being held almost unconsciously tightly by his right, previous pose quickly forgotten. He was leaning heavily against the nearest wall, and various bruises and cuts peeked out from under his dirt-ridden clothes. The more he looked the more he found another injury of some kind, and then Max finally realised why he was so light.
David was naturally skinny, but as Max took in the sunken eyes, twig-like wrists and pale- bordering on grey- skin he could tell David hadn't had much, if any food- or even water from the chapped lips- in awhile.
"Ok, come on, camp man, I don't wanna be down in this fucking cult bunker for any longer than absolutely necessary." Max turned around, ignoring the nervous hand David raised in an attempt to say something- he wasn't a fucking kid, he didn't need permission to fucking talk.
"Uh, Max?" Max loudly sighed, about to tell the idiot to 'hurry the fuck up', before the bunker's door was screeched open, banging hard against the wall opposite them. A very disgruntled- and very angry- Daniel burst in. His pale blue eyes- unnatural with his David disguise- zeroed in on the two of them, had Max not known any better, he'd have thought they looked like they were glowing in rage.
Max noticed David flinch harshly, a frightened yelp escaping his lips, as Daniel made eye contact with him. However, as Daniel took a step towards them, David- rather than running- actually moved forwards, to place himself protectively in front of Max. The smaller boy blinked at the sudden action, David seemed to stand taller than he had been before, and while his weight was fully shifted onto his left leg, there was confidence- or perhaps determination- in his posture.
Max peered around David's legs, only to be stopped as David, gently used his right hand to push him back slightly. The counsellor was trying his best to smile reassuringly at the camper, but Max could see through the shaky façade, there was fear building up in those emotion-filled eyes. "It's ok, Max." his voice was soft, "Stand back, I'll protect you, ok?"
Max could only nod, ignoring the lump building in his throat, as he stepped back slightly. There was no way David could win against Daniel, even if he weren't injured or malnourished. The odds were stacked against them, and Max would be no better, he was just a kid. Something told him David knew this too, deep down. He was only trying to buy time for when Max could escape.
He hated the feeling of uselessness that settled deep in his gut, a stone of dread only gaining weight as he watched the way David shook before him.
"Finally decided to grow a spine? Why, David, I never thought you had it in you." Daniel shot him an unsettling smile. His blue eyes flitted towards Max, who inwardly cursed himself for shrinking under the gaze. "And you. How did you see through my flawless disguise? I thought we could have a little more fun before I sacrificed you and your little friends to Xemüg."
David's hand shot out again, trying to hide Max from sight, "Leave him alone, Daniel. He's just a kid." While his tone was doing it's best to stay level and serious, David kept glanced around, Max could tell he was trying to stall for time. "Why are you doing this? What did we ever do to you?"
"Oh, David! It's nothing personal towards the kids! I'm only doing as the great Xemüg desires!" Daniel's eyes darkened and he began to slowly step forwards, "You on the other hand, well, David. Do you not remember what you did to me?" David gulped nervously, "To be outsmarted by a bumbling fool-!" Daniel paused, recollecting himself and calming down, "Well, let's just say it really had me thinking... I deserve a reward for all I've done for Xemüg, and that reward will be watching the light slowly fade from those innocent green eyes."
By the end of his little speech, Daniel was almost nose to nose with David, his jagged knife resting threateningly just under his eye. Max had observed David when he'd frozen at the very sight of the object, body stiffened and hands clenched.
"I-I didn't- I didn't mean t-to..." Panic overtook David's expression as he stared into the malicious blue eyes before him, seemingly trapped under the other's gaze.
Daniel smiled at the look in David's eyes, "Oh, David... It's ok, I understand." hope glistened in David's expression for a moment before Daniel slowly dragged the knife down his cheek, blood spilled from the rough cut, mixing with the salt of newly shed tears. "But, I'm still going to kill you and those children." Daniel's eyes dragged over to Max, who had been watching the odd exchange with furrowed brows, "Starting with that one!"
He carelessly whipped around- pivoting on his heel, knife cutting David's cheek even more as he did so- and grinned at the now cowering child.
As if a spell was suddenly broken, David's panic-filled eyes zeroed in on the cultist as he approached the defenseless child. He hurriedly wiped the tears blurring his vision, smearing blood across his face at the action, and tackled Daniel just as he was about to pounce, the knife landed a few feet away. "M-Max!" the boy startled, eyes meeting David's as he tried to use all his effort to keep the psychopath pinned, "Run!"
Max's legs moved quicker than his mind, and he found himself half-way across the bomb shelter before he had half the mind to stop. He turned around, "I can't just leave you!"
David startled, confused at the boys words, his eyes momentarily drifted away from the man underneath him to the scared boy by the door. "You have to find Gwen! Please!"
Not a moment later, Daniel took advantage of the other's distraction, and soon enough David was pinned beneath him instead. A loud gasp escaped his lips at the forceful action, he winced, eyes hazily moving back to Max, "Max please go!"
Finally Max was out the door and running for his- no David's life. The ladder seemed to stretch upwards forever, but Max didn't let that stop him from scaling it within the second.
His tiny legs pounded against the ground as fast and loud as the heart beat ringing in his head. It was almost distracting enough for him to miss the arm that shot out of nowhere, which picked him up with ease by the hood of his jumper.
As his racing brain tried to process the sudden change in height, his legs slowed, only to begin thrashing in panic, as he vaguely recognised someone stopping him- stopping him from finding Gwen, from saving David-!
"For fucks sake! Calm down, Satan!" He paused, only one person called him that. Max looked up, neon green met annoyed purple.
"Gwen!"
"What the fuck are you doing? I told you to stay with the other campers! Then you leave me a shitty note, I could barely make out the letters!" She sighed, dropping the boy in favour of massaging her temples, "I got something about David? And back-up?"
"It doesn't fucking matter! I found David!" This seemed to get her attention, "He was in the bomb shelter! He's been there this whole time!"
"Then why isn't he with you? And why were you running?"
"Because fucking cult freak Daniel showed up! We need to hurry up and get back to the fucking bomb shelter!" He swallowed thickly, "Or else, David- David he..."
In the back of his mind Max knew there was a slim chance David hadn't died yet, there's not way he could hold out against that psychopath.
The other part of him had foolish hope. He wanted to believe that they'd get back and David would be fine- some convenient miracle would've happened and Daniel would be incapacitated somehow. Another shitty adventure in their fucked up summer camp and they'd wrap up the day with David giving his 'Now, what did we learn today?' speech.
"Alright, kid." A comforting hand was on his shoulder, Gwen's mouth was set determinedly "Let's hurry, ok? I managed to call the cops, but they won't be here for another like 20 minutes."
With that the two sprinted back, dread nestling uncomfortably in their stomachs.
---
As David's eyes followed Max out of the bomb shelter, he let out an audible sigh of relief. He didn't know if he could ever forgive himself if anything happened to the young boy.
Daniel scowled down at him applying more pressure on his chest, "Are you happy? Now that that kid's gone, there's no one to save you."
David smiled, ignoring the pain blossoming from old wounds that had accumulated over- however long he'd been stuck in the dark. Daniel's scowl deepened at the response.
"You're going to die. Or are you too oblivious to even realise that much?"
"As long as Max is safe, that's all I care about."
Daniel scoffed, blue eyes rolling at the words. "Well, he won't be for long... As soon as I'm finished with you, I'll be coming for him next." David's eyes widened.
"I won't let you!"
"As if you could do anything, you're already half dead. Have you even looked in a mirror? At this point I look more like you than you do." His voice slowly and smoothly changed into David's, a cruel echo of himself.
The sapphire gleam of Daniel's eyes above him darted towards the corner of the room where David had first been. David quickly strained his abused neck towards whatever it was that had captured the other's attention. The silver glint of the knife had David's heart stopping. The rush of fear from just seeing the object had David berating himself, it was stupid to freeze up from an inanimate thing, he knew that. So why was he frozen watching as Daniel hastily crawled towards it?
A sudden instinct jolted him from his fears, much like before. He didn't have time to be afraid, he needed to keep Daniel busy for as long as he could, so Max could escape. That was his whole purpose at the moment, protect Max. With a grunt he pushed himself up and scrambled after the blond, a tired and shaky arm secured itself around the other's ankle. Daniel whipped his head around in anger, David couldn't help it as his own face twisted into fear, yet his hold remained firm.
Daniel fought against him, quickly overpowering the red-head. Without hesitation David used his other hand- his injured one- to push himself, and Daniel back and away from the knife. There was a moment of pure agony, a white hot pain that erupted into a guttural and forced back scream. Tears stung his eyes, but he refused to back down, with a suppressed half-scream half-groan, David began to pull Daniel away from the knife.
Soon enough Daniel began to kick, trying to free himself by any means necessary, the action caused more pain in David's arm but he wouldn't- couldn't let go. Just a few more seconds- If he could buy just a few more seconds, Max would have a better chance. He tried to imagine the boy was already at the mess hall, safe and sound with Gwen.
Just a few more seconds!
Their tug-of-war started to grow more violent as David scrambled to find purchase on Daniel to keep him from going anywhere. An elbow was thrown back, effectively stunning David and slackening his grip enough for Daniel to wrench himself away. However instead of going for the knife he stood to his full height, glaring at David with those cold ice-like eyes. He staggered towards him, practically falling over him as he pinned the other once more.
When David's vision finally stopped swimming nauseatingly, he felt frigid fingers wrap themselves tightly against his already bruised neck, it snapped him to attention, his eyes widened in shock.
"This is all your fault!" His hands tightened, "I wouldn't have been humiliated by the other Believers, if it wasn't for you!"
David gasped, attempting to draw in the quickly fleeting air supply. His hands weakly reached up to the ones choking him, patting uselessly at them.
"Now they all mutter about how I'm lucky to still be forgiven by Xemüg and allowed to live! As if I'm not the one who's been there since the beginning!" Daniel let go arms splayed outwards dramatically, "I've been there for every single one of those idiot's initiations and they have the audacity to even think of sacrificing me! Like some commoner!"
David involuntarily drew in a gasping breath, only to splutter it out in weak coughs. To be honest he was barely listening to Daniel's odd vent session, too focused on trying not to suffocate. He didn't notice the weight disappear from his abdomen, nor see Daniel stumble exhausted towards the knife laying only a few feet away until he was breathing semi-normally again.
He gasped as Daniel bent down and retrieved the sharp-angled object. As he straightened back up, that stiff too-wide smile was back in place, his neck bent too much to the right eliciting a loud crack and pop.
David tried to drag his tired body away from the threat, the animalistic instinct of flight taking over. He got half-way across the bunker before he was startled to a stop with the sound of a loud clatter and the harsh pull on his leg. David already knew what he'd find as he looked down, yet the action was too painful- too much to stand the sight of, his face twisted in anguish as he looked at the chain secured uncomfortable tight around his right ankle. He was trapped.
Daniel seemed to find amusement in the realisation that David was helpless to run. He moved his cruel stare towards the chain linking David to the far wall and began to tug. Panic erupted in David's chest as he scrambled to stop himself from being pulled right into the lions den. Except the bomb shelter was barren on his half, leaving David with no choice but to dig his nails into the rough cement flooring.
Laughter echoed mockingly throughout the small space, "But that's ok, once I'm done here, I'll sacrifice them next!" David struggled to remember who Daniel was talking about, he wondered if he should have been listening to the other man when he was screaming at him... "Xemüg only needs one loyal follower after all!"
When David was close enough, he felt Daniel roughly pick him up by the back of his hair. He yelped, clawing at the hands holding him painfully up. Daniel rearranged his grip, holding him in close to his chest, and knife positioned above them. "I'm surprised at how long you managed to evade death, David. But that doesn't matter, you'll be another valuable sacrifice to Xemüg soon."
As Daniel brought the knife down in a deadly arc, but he was quickly stopped by a loud "No!" from the entrance of the bomb shelter.
David willed his dazed eyes to focus in on the two figures across from him, "Max...?" his throat was hoarse and it took all his willpower to stop from coughing his lungs out.
The taller figure stepped forwards. "David!" he recognized the worried voice immediately.
"Gwen?" His senses eventually came back to him and he realised Daniel had the knife held against his throat. With dread he understood that he was his hostage. Max and Gwen were frozen, he could tell they were desperately trying to figure out how to get around the situation. "Wh-what're you doing here?! Call the police and run!"
"I already ran once, I'm not running again you idiot!" Max sounded panicked, it hurt David to hear him so upset.
"David, I've already contacted the police, they'll be here soon." David felt Daniel stiffen behind him, knife digging a little more into his neck. "We're here to save you!"
David was embarrassed at how shocked he was to hear those words. "Oh." Was all he could mutter.
"Sorry to ruin this touching reunion." Daniel emphasized the knife and hostage in his clutches, "But nothing you say is going to stop me from sacrificing all of you to Xemüg."
"Fuck you Daniel! Let him go!" Max stepped forward, brows furrowed and scowl in place. "He's an idiot but he wasn't responsible for last time! I was the one that realised you were a cultist! I tricked David into thinking you were gonna steal his job so that he would get rid of you!" the young boy looked desperate now, breathing heavily at the intensity of his words, "It's my fault! Not David's so let him go!"
Daniel grinned, "No can do, Max. See, I already knew all that. I just don't care." he lifted the knife once more, blue eyes meeting neon green, "After all, you'll all be dying anyway!" and he brought it down, directly into David's stomach.
David gasped, hands fumbling to the knife still buried in his torso, blood was quick to stain, and soon his legs gave out on him, leaving him laying on his back and sputtering for air on the cold concrete.
"David!" two voices overlapped, but they were far away, it felt as though he were underwater, floating down into the dark depths. It was peaceful but there was that terror of the unknown keeping him from feeling completely at peace. The pain was beginning to dull, alongside everything else, until he was alone with his thoughts.
Had he bought enough time for Max? He couldn't quite remember... Had Daniel killed him? He stared half-lidded at the ceiling of the lonely bunker, unable to do much else in his final moments. His numb hands rested over his wound, funnily enough he couldn't quite feel where the knife was... Had it fallen out? He knew somewhere in his mind that without the knife still in his wound the bleeding would have nothing stopping it.
He felt light-headed- wait, when did the light turn off? Oh, he'd just closed his eyes for a moment, the bunker ceiling was still there, unchanged, the leak in the corner besides the bomb shelter's entrance was still there, water droplets pit-pattering against the floor at that constant tempo. He'd been thinking of making a new campfire song from it when he first noticed it, but the lyrics wouldn't come to him no matter how long he stared at it. It was hard to find inspiration in such a dreary atmosphere...
He missed the campers, his co-counsellor and the song of the birds in the morning. He wished the bunker wasn't soundproofed...
Pain abruptly had him opening his eyes- when had he closed them again?- only this time the roof had changed, or actually, something was covering it... There were bright green eyes, red-rimmed and dripping salty water over him. On his other side, a taller figure with purple eyes was pressing their whole weight against his stomach. The pain was unbearable and David tried to push the hands away from him so that he could breath.
"David!" The smaller figure noticed him awake, and the voice was so familiar David was left trying to decipher where he'd heard it before. He stared at the figure like the boy was a puzzle he had to solve.
"Max, keep him alert and awake."
"Shit ok, David!" The desperation in the boys words had David- trying his best to reassure him that he was listening- turning his head as best as he could. "You gotta stay awake, ok?"
He thought he'd nodded, but it probably came across as an awkward twitch. "Wh-Who...?" his voice was barely above a whisper, and as he said he it, he thought back on the taller figures words. His eyes lit up in sudden recognition "Ma-x...?" Max nodded vigorously, David frowned, "Are you o-k?"
"Why the fuck are you asking that!? You're the one bleeding out, you fucking idiot!"
"Bu-t, you're cryin'..." Words started to become difficult, as the numbness spread throughout his body once more, his eyes began to droop.
"Hey! Stay the fuck awake!" A harsh slap brought him back from the brink of sleep.
"S'rry..." He paused, "Wh't were you say'n 'gain?"
"I didn't fucking say anything..." The unusually crestfallen look on Max's face worried David, had he said something wrong? Why was his head so fuzzy?
"Are you 'k?"
"Stop fucking asking that! How fucking stupid are you?!"
Max broke off into sobs, David's heart melted at the sight, while he hadn't realised he'd already asked the question, he felt guilty nonetheless. He weakly reached a trembling hand up, Max observed in shock as the dying man gently wiped away a tear from the top corner of his cheek, just under his eye. David smiled softly, his attempt to reassure the camper, "I's alr'ght, Max..."
"No- no it's n-not! You're f-fucking dying, Dad!" The title went un-noticed by Max, who continued to sob, holding onto the thin hand that had fallen sometime between wiping the tear and Max's yelling- David was struggling to concentrate, Max's figure began to blur against his will.
"It'll be alr'ght, Max. I'm st'll here..."
"Fucking barely!" Max was just a blob of colour at this point, he squinted, only to realise the action was futile.
"'m j'st g'nna take a qu'ck nap, m'kay? R'lly t'red..." David relaxed, eyes finally closing as relief rushed over his exhausted body. He could vaguely hear the muffled noises of Max yelling, and the numb thumps of tiny fists hitting his chest, but he couldn't find the energy in him to react or try and stay awake. Darkness closed in and David felt himself descend gently onto the seabed.