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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.

Chapter Text

Siren's echoed faintly above the bunker, Max numbly watched Gwen perform CPR on the unconscious body before him. In his hands was a too-thin hand, limp and lifeless.

Just a moment ago David had told him that everything was alright, that he was still there... He wanted to curse the cheery counsellor for lying to him, for looking him in the eyes, that stupid smile on his face and uttering those fucking lies. David was always bad at lying, so why did he believe him this time?

He eventually snapped out of his stupor as a medical team rushed in and gently pried him away from the man, he felt his blood run cold as David's hand slipped from his. All that was going through his head was that the man he reluctantly wanted to call a father-figure, was dead, well and truly. Max was half-aware of the medical shit the wall of people- people who were keeping him from David- were spouting before he heard something that stopped his heart, all thoughts of hatred swept from his mind as something cold gripped his heart.

"-need someone to take care of the chain before we lose him!"

Max fearfully peered his head around the crowd, and through the smallest of cracks he saw it. A fucking chain around David's ankle, how the fuck hadn't he noticed it!?

As Max replayed the nights events, he recalled multiple times where there was the odd scraping of metal against concrete that had- at the time- seemed unimportant. It's what David had been trying to tell him before Daniel barged in. It was why he'd been favouring his left leg, he'd practically been limping around the bunker and not only did Max not notice, but he had fucking left him! David- the fucking idiot- had known he couldn't escape and still told Max to run!

A reassuring hand rested firmly on his shoulder, and Max tore his gaze from the medical team up to meet Gwen. Her hands were covered in blood- David's blood- and Max knew there would be a stain on his hoodie from it, but he couldn't care less. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he needed Gwen to be his rock, to keep him grounded as they eventually freed David's leg and rushed him out of the small space that he'd been forced to live in.

The police had long ago handcuffed and dragged Daniel's unconscious body out- Max was glad Gwen had found a nearby chair to smash over his head before the psycho had managed to inflict any damage on them.

Max shivered as the image of David stumbling and all but collapsing on the floor like a sack of potatoes came back to him, Daniel had knelt down and roughly yanked the knife out of the man- seemingly unnoticed by David- and advanced on them. Max hadn't been able to stop the anguished scream from escaping at the sight, he remembered staring past the deranged cultist, unable to take his eyes off of the form of David spluttering and coughing up bits of blood, until Gwen came out of nowhere and knocked Daniel out.

They'd both rushed over, abandoning the cultist immediately in favour of saving David. When they reached him his eyes were closed and his breathing weak, Max had been crying before seeing him move, the idiot was dazed and obviously unaware of what had happened.

It hurt seeing David fail to recognise him at first, until of course the counsellor began to fret over him. Only David would ask about another's wellbeing over his own- even if it was his blood soaking the ground.

When David had passed out, Max's whole world collapsed, he yelled and hit the unresponsive red-head, to which Gwen quickly took notice of and checked his pulse. Seeing the look on her face was more than enough for Max to realise there was none.

Now as he stood in the hospital waiting room with Gwen beside him, he felt more alone then ever.

---Two Weeks Prior---

"-And that's why you don't throw pinecones at your counsellors!" David addressed the bored campers cheerfully. His clothes were filthy, and bits of pinecones were stuck in his disheveled hair. Gwen leant against the nearest tree, annoyance clear in her expression- while she hadn't taken the full brunt of the pinecone attack, one of the campers had knocked her phone out of her hand and almost broken it.

"Now fuck off back to your tents you little shits, no campfire night tonight." She grunted and stalked back to her cabin, leaving David to herd the tired campers towards their tents, his smile unwavering.

"Ughh... This fucking camp sucks!"

"Now now, Max, I know you didn't mean to hit Gwen's phone-"

"No I definitely aimed for it."

"-but you still need to face the consequences of your actions, ok?" David completely ignored Max's comment, voice soft and nothing like it should've been when scolding a child.

Max wanted to roll his eyes at how disgustingly kind David was- he couldn't even get angry at a kid! Nevertheless they all reached the tents in one piece, leaving David to make the lonely trek back to his own cabin.

"Goodnight kids!" David never received a goodnight in response, but his parting words never lost their enthusiasm. As the last of the campers disappeared into the tents, David spun around and walked back up the path.

Due to the pinecone incident and following lecture it was much later than he had anticipated, meaning he'd forgotten to bring a torch and was solely relying on the waning moonlight to reach his cabin. A rustle sounded from the bushes besides him, making David jump, a yelp escaping his throat. He squinted trying to see what had made the noise, upon only finding silence, he shrugged and continued unperturbed.

He quickly approached the door to his cabin, unlocking it and stepping inside. While he was upset he hadn't had the opportunity to play his guitar on their weekly campfire night, he knew that Gwen knew what was best for the campers and tried not to think too much about it. Maybe he could play it softly before bed? He'd need to be careful not to wake- a figure outside his window caught his eye, and all other thoughts were quickly swept from his mind.

He watched the figure step into the forest, it couldn't be Gwen, her light was on, and music was still softly playing. The Quartermaster never went near that part of the woods- something about squirrels...? David tried not to unwrap whatever the Quartermaster said... It always led to more questions than answers.

All evidence pointed towards an intruder, and while the thought scared him, David had a responsibility to his job! What would happen if the mysterious figure hurt the kids?

So without further ado, he rushed out of his room- hesitating around Gwen's cabin, before deciding she needed her rest after the hectic day- and into the forest.

The initial wave of confidence began to dwindle as he crept further into the dark forest. Gwen's music had long since disappeared and it left him feeling oddly uncomfortable. Once again he'd forgotten his torch...

"Hello...? Is anybody there?" The forest was silent around him, only the rustle of leaves in the wind and faint hooting of a distant owl permeated the night air. David squeaked in fear, hugging himself as a particularly cold gush of wind swept through the woods. "I'm really sorry but could you leave? Please?" His voice embarrassingly wavered, "You're not supposed to be here, it's private property."

A twig snapped, David whipped his head around to see a dark figure saunter out of the shadows. As the moonlight exposed him, David quickly recognised the figure as Daniel! Pure white clothes reflected the dim light, his hair was styled just the same as last he'd seen him and those blue eyes and smile were as bright as ever.

David relaxed at the sight of him, "Oh, Daniel! It's just you!" He laughed, "And here I thought the intruder was a psychopath trying to harm the campers!" he scoffed at the notion. There was a beat of silence where Daniel just continued to stare, "What are you doing all the way out here? I didn't realise you wanted to continue with the job after that horrible food poisoning incident. You should've come to my cabin."

Suddenly Daniel changed his expression to concern, it was so fast, David almost got whiplash. "David! Well you just came at the perfect time!" He came up next to him, a hand on his back and quickly steering him deeper into the forest.

"I-I did...?"

"Of course! You see, I was just about to find you, when I saw the most suspicious of characters walking around the camp!"

"Oh golly! That's awful." David covered his mouth in shock.

"Exactly! So I did the responsible thing and followed them, only, I seem to have lost them somewhere over here, at this inconspicuous clearing." David observed the area, right in the center was the bomb shelter, it was crudely covered as usual and it seemed that Daniel hadn't noticed it.

"This is where the bunker is!" He smiled while directing Daniel's gaze towards the hatch as he uncovered it. "I'm sure our misled intruder's in here!"

"Oh why David you're a genius! I would never have found this secret-chamber-in-the-middle-of-the-forest-in-which-no-one-can-hear-you-scream all on my own!" Daniel spoke the last part in a single breath, voice low and head tilting slowly as he did so.

David blinked, before smiling giddily, his hands clasped in front of him "Oh Daniel! You're too kind!"

"Well, let's go in and report this fellow to the proper authorities!"

David paused at that, swallowing the lump of fear in his throat, "A-are you sure we shouldn't... You know call them now? We don't need to go in all on our own, do we?" The red-head wrung his trembling hands nervously. A hand roughly patted his back.

"Oh David, you needn't fear! I, myself just happen to be a master of martial arts! I'll protect us." He opened the hatch, gesturing for David to go down, "Now come on, you go first!"

"O-oh, but shouldn't you go first...?"

"Oh, of course not, David! It's much safer for you to go first, trust me I'm a professional!"

"Well, alrighty then!" David wasted no more time before descending into the bomb shelter, he watched as Daniel followed him down and gestured for him to stand by the door. However, instead of a more sneaky approach, Daniel practically pushed David into the bunker. The other man didn't question it, he looked around, hands on his hips as he scanned the room.

"Hm... What odd decorations," he observed, half the room was full of odd markings and what looked to be Halloween skulls and candles, "unfortunately, it seems as though our intruder isn't here." David shook his head, arms crossed and disappointed.

There was complete silence from Daniel behind him, and as David turned to see if he was ok, a cloth was suddenly covering his mouth. David inhaled a sickly sweet breath, confusion turning to panic as he realised something was wrong. He suddenly felt light headed, the room spinning around him, his breaths were shortening and he couldn't help it as the chemical invaded his airways.

Daniel's voice suddenly purred in his ear, "Oh, David... To think you'd practically help me capture you. You're dumber than I thought."

Any struggle David attempted was quickly shut down by the pure strength of Daniel's hold. It took about five- surprisingly short- minutes for David to finally feel himself pass out, his last thought being worry for the campers and Gwen.

When he next awoke, David expected to hear the call of nature, birds chirping and the beginning of the day beckoning him awake. However, it was oddly silent, and his normally hard- yet comfortable- bed was no longer comfortable, only hard. He blinked blearily, a headache quick to begin in the base of his skull. David groaned as he sat up, his limbs were heavy with fatigue- unnatural for an early riser such as himself- and as he looked around in a daze he noticed he was in Mr. Campbell's bomb shelter.

He wracked his aching brain for information on how he'd gotten there... Had Max tricked him into drinking again? Sometimes David hated being a lightweight... Suddenly he saw the odd Halloween-like decorations and everything came rushing back to him. Daniel! Daniel had come back- something about an intruder...? Then they'd went to the bunker... and- and then he'd passed out... David felt anxious, if he'd been left there, then had Daniel been attacked as well?

Daniel wouldn't have just left him there, and someone had to have knocked David out for him not to remember. He quickly stood up, brushing the dirt from his clothes and cheerfully made his way to the exit, it would all be fine! Daniel was a master at- was it martial arts? Yeah, that felt right, David must've only been out for a few minutes, so Daniel would've been coming back for him soon, he might as well meet him halfway, it was only right.

Suddenly, as David went to take another step, the world tilted and he found himself laying flat on the ground, his chin burning in pain from the harsh fall. He blinked, glad his tongue was still in one piece and then look back to see what he'd tripped over.

He felt nauseous as his green eyes spotted the metal chain wrapped tightly around his right ankle, as if seeing it suddenly made it's weight all the more noticeable, David panicked. His frantic eyes followed the chain all the way back to the wall he'd been laying in previously. He gulped, a trickle of sweat running down his temple. This was fine. He could get out of this. He tried to remain positive forcing a wide smile.

He walked back to the attachment on the wall, then looked to the other half of the room and spotted a rusted key. He sighed in relief, everything was fine, he'd unlock the chain and then find Daniel!

Unfortunately it didn't take long for David to realise the extent of his movement around the bunker. As he walked up to the key, mindful of the heavy chain- he'd somehow not noticed earlier- he found resistance around an arms length away.

He bit his lip, looking from the chain attached to his ankle to the key just out of reach. Surely if he could just try and reach he'd make it!

The next half hour was spent with David straining against his bonds, leg pulled painfully and arms so close, yet so far. He finally stopped when he felt something pull in his ankle. He limped back to the corner, defeated.

Sitting alone in the uncomfortably quiet and dark space left David's already wavering optimism diminishing. His eyes never left the door, and as the hours dragged on his smile grew more and more shaky.

He was worried about Daniel, if the blond hadn't come to save him yet, there was the chance something worse had happened to him. He nervously drummed his fingers against his thigh. There wasn't much he could do but wait.

As his hunger began to reach its peak, the loud screech of the rusty hatch interrupted the nauseating silence.

David's smile returned anew as the door opened soon after to reveal- himself...? He scooted backwards slightly, apprehensive of his sudden doppelganger.

The mirror image of himself looked towards him, an uncomfortably wide smile firmly in place.

"David! I'm so glad you're awake!" The deep voice was so sudden and unexpected that David couldn't help but jump in surprise. However he knew that voice, it was Daniel.

The man laughed, turning around and fiddling with his eyes, before spinning back around, blue eyes meeting green.

"Whoops! I forgot I was still in this disguise."

"Daniel...? Wh-what's going on? Why are you dressed like me?"

"Oh David, do you not remember? I kidnapped you." The words crept coldly across his skin.

"B-but... Aren't you here to rescue me...?" Daniel's stare seemed to intensify, his smile straining slightly.

"Maybe I shouldn't have let you hit your head when you passed out..." he turned away for a moment, mumbling to himself, "Oh well! Can't do too much about it now!"

David felt dizzy, nothing was making sense, why would Daniel kidnap him? Why was he dressed in his clothes?

"What... Why...?"

"For revenge of course! I was so close to sacrificing all your beloved campers before you intervened!" The harsh words were said much too cheerfully for David to feel comfortable.

Even though he was already seated, David had to put a hand against the rough concrete in an attempt to stop the room from spinning. He hadn't even noticed Daniel approach until the man was face-to-face with him, his condescending smile made David feel sick to his stomach.

"Oh, David... Did you really not see this coming?" Daniel reached a hand up, his fist tightening in David's hair, tears pricked at the corner of David's eyes at the stinging sensation. "How truly pathetic!" His head was slammed down into Daniel's knee, leaving him stunned for a moment, before the feeling of his hair being pulled was back and this time his forehead came into contact with the floor.

Daniel's laughter echoed mockingly in his ringing ears. He could vaguely hear the man walking away and slamming the door shut once more.

It took- what seemed like- hours before David managed to recover from the pain and overwhelming disorientation. He hesitantly lifted a hand to his forehead, wincing as it came in contact with the sensitive area. Blood was slowly dripping from his nose, and he tried his best to wipe it away.

Now that he knew nobody knew where he was, the bunker grew darker, colder... lonelier... he wrapped his arms around himself and curled inwards, tears blurred his vision.

Daniel's words echoed in the back of his mind... David hiccupped, wiping away a stray tear, maybe he was pathetic... How had he not realised Daniel was bad? Max would have noticed something was wrong with the other man. He would have told David... But had David even listened last time...? Guilt ate at his insides, he'd ignored the worries of one of his campers just because he'd been too trusting. Even Gwen must have noticed something about him, after all she ran into town the moment she saw Daniel.

Suddenly a thought came to mind, Max! Max would realise that Daniel's impersonating him! Then he'd come find him and everything would be fine! A bright smile lit up David's face. There's no way he'd lose hope! Not when he has faith in his campers!

He crossed his legs- albeit painfully with the chain in the way- and resumed staring at the door. He felt silly, how could he have been crying when he's got Gwen, Max, Nikki, Niel, Nurf, Preston, Harrison, Nerris, Ered, Space Kid and Dolph!- He wasn't quite sure about the Quartermaster, but David was sure somewhere in his... heart? There was just a whole lot of love for Camp Campbell!

As he remained vigilant in his hope, a particularly uncomfortable grumble from his stomach had his smile wavering slightly. He attempted to swallow in order to ease his dry throat, only to be met with discomfort. While he didn't mind waiting, he kind of hoped they would come quickly...

---

What felt like a day later, the hatch opened once more, waking David from his sleep with a start. Hope fluttered like butterflies in his chest as he locked his eyes on the door. Only his smile quickly fell as Daniel walked through instead of the comforting scowl ever-present on Max's face.

It's ok, they're just trying to come up with a foolproof plan! They were sure to have noticed by now! David was positive of it.

The more David observed Daniel's disheveled appearance the more he realised the man looked furious. He scooted as far into the corner as he could, but it wasn't far enough and soon those burning blue eyes were boring into his skull.

"You." the words were laced with venom, "How do you put up with those brats everyday?!"

David gulped, yet he felt a tiny bit of victory over the cultist. Not just anyone could look after the campers, it's what made David's job worth it, it made him feel like he was the only one giving those children a chance. He couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his lips at the thought of the kids. He missed them...

A moment later David was quickly regretting the action as it only seemed to reignite the- usually- blond's anger. He strolled- in what one would call a calm manner if not for the murderous intent in his eyes- towards him, an oddly shaped knife in hand, David squeaked raising his arms up to cover his face.

The action proved futile as soon as Daniel yanked on his shirt, bringing him uncomfortably close to the other's face. David panicked, squirming in the others iron hold uselessly.

"You're lucky I plan on killing you after your precious campers, David." He looked him up and down, "But that doesn't mean I can't have my fun with you in the mean time."

The knife glinted maliciously in the dim light, Daniel lifted David's shirt, eliciting a yelp from the counsellor. He felt the cold tip of the dagger fleetingly before a sharp pain forced a scream from his throat.

The pain didn't cease even as Daniel pulled the knife away, mesmerised by the blood dripping off of it lazily. David's side was screaming in pain, and he tried to calm his erratic breathing the best he could under the circumstances. The moment of reprieve was quickly ended as another long cut was made along the opposite side. David squirmed with renewed vigor, biting his lip until the metallic droplets covered his tongue.

Daniel didn't seem to care for his wriggling captive, instead taking his time to inflict as much pain as possible into each cut. "You know..." he began casually, like he was talking about the weather and not torturing him, "It doesn't seem like anyone's noticed anything for the past few days."

David gasped as Daniel dug the knife in further, twisting it lightly within the cut.

"Y-you're wrong! There's no way they'd get me mistaken with you!" His certainty faltered, "They- they have to know... I'm sure of it..."

"Oh, poor Davey... To think you thought they cared about you..." David flinched, as if physically struck, "They're too busy actually enjoying camp without you're overbearing personality getting in the way. Did you ever think to consider that it was you that made them hate this place?"

"B-but all I've ever wanted was for them to find their own unique love for Camp Campbell, just like I did..."

"Exactly! And they've found that. Without you." David jerked his head towards Daniel, those blue eyes holding so much faux understanding it was dizzying, "So, don't you think this arrangement works out? I give the campers the experience you wanted them to have, and you stay safely tucked out of their way."

"But-"

"David! Are you truly so selfish you would sacrifice the kids- Gwen's happiness for your own benefit?" Daniel tutted, waving a finger in front of David's face. "Don't worry, they'll be safe... You can trust me."

David wanted to protest, but there was an ugly feeling of guilt in his gut that he couldn't shake. What if Daniel wasn't lying, what if he was right... What if David was the problem...? The thought hurt more than a thousand cuts, his tears were renewed- half of David's face cradled in a shaky hand- eyes filled with internal anguish and wounds currently forgotten.

"I-I'm so sorry." His voice was small to his own ears and he struggled to breath steadily, "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to..."

Daniel watched on in glee as David's sentenced cut off into broken apologies and self loathing. With the other too stuck in their own thoughts, Daniel cleaned his knife casually and left the bomb shelter.

---

When David eventually received food and water, he inhaled it, while the bread was dry and scratched his dry throat, and the water was barely enough to satiate his thirst he was genuinely grateful to Daniel. Of course that didn't mean he would get away without a few scratches and bruises before Daniel left again, but nevertheless he was glad he wasn't being left for dead.

Eventually David began to associate the outside noises with pain, rather than someone coming to save him. The moment Daniel would peek his head in, jagged knife in hand and eye's filled with either seething hatred or mirthful sadism, his hopes would be crushed, so David decided to give up. He knew it was against his nature, but it was getting too much- even for him.

No one was coming...

After awhile David's eyes adjusted to his dark surroundings, Daniel would turn the light off when he left- and David always found himself squinting for a solid few minutes after the light was turned on upon his entrance. The room soon became familiar to him, it's unique sounds and patterns a comforting rock he could lean on when he was recovering from another one of Daniel's visits. It took him a few days to figure out that the sound of dripping water was coming from inside the bunker, and another few minutes of tired searching to find out where the leak was. At first he was excited as he recognised the steady beat to be around 87-90 beats per minute- while it took him a few tries at counting the droplets and simultaneously counting a minute- he thought of making a new song, something to kill the time while he was there.

Unfortunately that never worked out. Most- if not all- of his songs were composed while he was outside, either by the lake or on a healthy nature walk, so he found it difficult to get into the song-creating state of mind in such a dreary atmosphere.

Fortunately, after five consecutive visits from Daniel, David had worked out an escape plan- he knew Daniel didn't want him leaving, but he needed to see with his own eyes, if the campers were safe and happy. It was his duty as camp counsellor after all.

Unfortunately constant blood loss and lack of food, could easily make one forget particular details- specifically a certain chain attached to ones ankle...

So, as Daniel finished a light cut along his arm and smirked at the crimson droplets leaking out of it, David took the fleeting distraction and pushed him to the side, momentarily wincing at the way the other hit his head against the corner of the wall, before staggering to his feet- ignoring the black dots that danced in his vision and the sudden vertigo- and ran as fast as he could towards the exit.

He was stopped short as Daniel- furious and trembling in anger- stomped on the slack end of the chain, effectively knocking him down not even at the half-way point of the bunker.

The dawning realisation of 'whoops' was quick to enter the forefront of David's mind. He quickly turned around onto his back, still on the floor, and tried to tug himself free of Daniel's grasp. In a second he felt the chain go slack and David's head hit the floor from all the momentum.

"Oh, David. You stupid fucking idiot, where were you going to go? You should know you can't run from me." David trembled as he watched Daniel walk straight past him, he rummaged around in a box beside the door. "And you hurt me, David. That wasn't very nice, now was it?"

As Daniel turned back around, David felt his heart skip a beat, his breath hitching in his throat. In the hands of the madman was a metal bat and while the grip was loose, the intention was no less obvious.

David could only stare, frozen, as Daniel approached- any and all pretences of a smile gone and replaced with a sinister blankness, "You know, this," he gestured to the bat, "was just a last resort, I had no intention of using it, but that stunt you just pulled? Well, it made me angry. Angrier than I've ever been. No one has ever hurt me, David. No one."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to get hurt- I'm so sorry!" As the words spewed from his mouth, David vaguely realised that recently it felt like all he ever did was apologise. It became instinctual, anything to stop the pain. This time however, his useless pleas fell on deaf ears.

Daniel flashed a grin as he arced the bat backwards over his shoulder, then in a beat- a truly terrifying moment of anticipation- metal collided with flesh and an anguished cry filled the bunker.

David knew he'd heard something crack in his ribs, warm blood quickly seeping through the material of his shirt from the past cuts Daniel had inflicted on him.

The bat was brought down again- and again- and again. David was howling in pain, curled up as protectively as he could on the cold floor. He tried to catch a glimpse of his attacker, only to see Daniel change his aim, preparing to hit his head.

David's reflexes kicked in and he raised his left arm to shield his face.

While he'd successfully kept his head in tact, David felt his arm immediately go limp, he wanted to pass out from the alarming burning sensation that tore up his arm. It felt as though his nerves were on fire and David couldn't help the cry of pain that tore from his throat.

A muffled voice echoed in David's ear, but he couldn't- wouldn't dare move, just breathing was like swallowing thousands of icy needles. He just made out the sound of the bomb shelter's door closing before he passed out.

David had no way of telling how long he'd been unconscious in the middle of the dark room, he only knew that when he woke up he was blind sided by the pain.

He couldn't help the sobs that wracked his beaten and bloodied body. Each jarring breath left him in more and more pain.

Once he'd run out of tears, he dragged himself to his feet, wobbling as he did so. It took all his willpower to stay standing, and the thought of moving was too much, but he needed the comfort of the corner- a stupid thought that somehow made sense to his scrambled mind- and he'd gotten back up from worse, right?

It took his disorganised brain a moment to figure out if getting hit by a bus could even possibly be compared to the pain he was currently in, but eventually he inched his way forwards, all but collapsing onto the harsh ground with a pained grunt as he reached his destination- a miracle really.

David quickly rearranged his gangly- and startlingly thin- limbs into the most comfortable position, or more accurately the position that caused him the least amount of pain.

When the agony finally abated, David tried his best to assess the damage, he knew his arm was most likely fractured- he ignored the thought of it being broken- and his ribs and stomach were covered in dried blood and black bruises. As he tested his breathing, he barely made it past the first large inhale before he was sputtering and coughing from the knives digging into his lungs.

He coughed up unsettlingly red-tinted mucus and cringed. He mentally added broken ribs to the long list of injuries he'd sustained within the bunker.

David was left huddled in the corner of the dark bunker for much longer than usual and while food was usually sparse, his stomach cramps only worsened. As the hours passed he could feel the beginnings of a fever, chills wracked his body and his muscles ached. His clothes weren't nearly enough to keep him warm and a headache was quick to form.

Eventually- after an undetermined amount of time of David trying his best to break his own fever- Daniel came back, by then the chills and aches had retreated- albeit slightly- enough for him to recognise Daniel's smirk, and feel cold dread settle in his empty stomach. He tried not to show his disappointment at seeing a lack of food or water in the other's hands.

"Good evening, David. You won't believe how close I am to finishing my..." Daniel's smile widened, "Project... Why I was so caught up in it, one of your campers- Max- almost caught me, I'm so glad I managed to hide it in the roof just in time."

David squinted at the words, "What project...?" he almost startled at the hoarse tone of his voice.

"Oh, David! It's nothing!" The other man paused for a second, thinking over his next words, "Well, I guess I could tell you!" suddenly David was regretting asking, "You see, the whole 'poisoned Kool-Aid' idea didn't work out. So I started thinking... What else could I do to help your tainted campers reach ascension? And then it came to me from The Great Xemüg himself!" he paused as if for dramatic effect, "Why not just blow the whole place up! Surely none of their taint could escape from the purifying blast of C4!"

David's breath hitched, "No! You can't do that! Their just kids!"

"Exactly! Which means it's not too late for them! They can still reach ascension! Unfortunately, that means you and the other adults will just have to be necessary sacrifices for the greater good. Xemüg would understand, after all that will be three more tainted ones sacrificed for his cause."

David felt sick- how had he let someone so deranged near the kids?! He reflexively brought a hand up to cover his mouth, his throat was tight and his stomach was rolling.

"Oh, David... You don't look so good. Are you feeling alright?" He flinched back as Daniel put a hand to his forehead, faux worry emanating from the other's tone. "Don't worry, you'll be free of your disgusting impurities tomorrow." Daniel turned back towards the entrance ready to leave.

"You- You won't get away with this..." While his voice was hesitant and shaky, David tried his best to convey his determination through his watery green eyes.

"Oh, but David, I already have... After all, it was you who helped me the most! Actually, I should be grateful to you for all you've done to make this all possible!"

"N-No I didn't- I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I would never help you!"

"Are you sure? I mean, you practically handed yourself to me on a silver platter. Anyone else would have caught on to me the moment I stepped out of those bushes, but you didn't! You're too gullible, naïve... too trusting. And that fatal flaw of yours is the reason why your campers, your co-counsellor and Quartermaster will die!" His happy grin, melted into a mocking smirk, "It's all your fault, David. Their deaths will be on you and you alone."

With those final daggers piercing David's heart, Daniel slammed the door shut and left, leaving David to curl in on himself, tearing at his hair in order to silence Daniel's final words.

It wasn't long before Daniel returned- had David lost track of time so quickly?- he didn't dare look up, even as the silence stretched on for far too long. As David began to question his own sanity- perhaps he had imagined it- a shuffle of clothes could be heard as Daniel looked around.

Panic seized David's heart, was he looking for the bat again? he didn't think he could last another round of torment from either the dagger or the bat, it was all becoming too much, he struggle to repress his flinch and following sobs.

He knew he was muttering useless apologies at this point, but he couldn't stop them from spilling out of his mouth like a broken record- maybe he'd listen one day? Then he heard it, a voice- not Daniel's voice, Max's voice!

"David...?" He tried his best to recollect himself, half his mind was trying to convince him this was a trap, he had to be losing his mind- that's what isolation did, right?- except the part of him that was hanging desperately onto the withering hope in his heart dared to believe Max was truly there- and if Max was there he needed to be strong. What kind of friendly camp counsellor would he be if he didn't at least try?

He wiped his tears, "M-Max?" He could see the boy now, he was squinting into the dark corner- obviously not as used to the dim lighting as David was- as soon as recollection lit up in those neon green eyes, David couldn't help but surge forward, Max's name flying from his lips in glee.

Unfortunately, David didn't quite take into account his battered body as he held the younger child into a hug, and they quickly tumbled over- but David didn't mind, he was too busy crying and laughing as he felt the warmth of another person, other than Daniel, in... Well however long it had been.

David really shouldn't have been as surprised as he was when Max eventually pushed him away, but of course he had to respect Max's boundaries- he felt guilty having forced the other into an obviously unwanted hug, but tried his best to brush it off and put on his signature smile, which was surprisingly more difficult than he remembered it being.

When was the last time he'd smiled...?

As he placed his hands on his hips, David fought back a wince as pain shot through his left arm and the bruise from the chain around his right ankle flared.

"Max! You came to rescue me! I always knew that deep down-"

"Don't ruin this." Something about his flippant tone, had David's heart wilting more so than usual.

"How did you notice Daniel wasn't me?" David tried his best to keep the pleading tone from his voice- but he needed to know, he desperately wanted Max to turn around and assure him that everyone had known from the moment they saw him, that Daniel wasn't David. But as Max glanced away, an out-of-place sheepish expression flickering in those eyes, he knew that that wasn't the case.

"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."

Somehow the realisation that no one cared hurt more coming from Max than Daniel, and a broken "Oh." was all he could mutter from his numb lips.

Then Daniel came back and everything went downhill.

---

For the first time in days- weeks?- David opened his bleary eyes to a bright room, the walls weren't concrete- no water stains, no skulls that looked too real to be mere Halloween decorations anywhere in sight. The brightness, while appreciated, was quickly becoming too much for his pupils and he was immediately squeezing his eyes shut in order to quell the headache building behind them.

"David!" Max was sat on the chair beside his... bed? The heavy feeling of the chain was missing from his ankle and he was... warm.

"Max...? Where am I?" He looked down and noticed his left arm was in a cast. "What happened?"

"Daniel fucking stabbed you!" tears gathered in the youngers bright eyes, "They lost you twice on the ride back to the hospital... You fucking lied David... You said that- that everything was alright- and then you fucking died in my arms!"

David blinked down at Max as the boy cried into his hospital gown. The night was a complete blur to him, but he felt guilty nonetheless, with his uninjured arm, he smoothed Max's unruly curls. A soothing smile shaky on his face when tear-stained eyes met his own.

"I'm sorry, Max."

"You fucking better be, camp man!" Max's words held no malice, and he knew the boy was just showing his care and relief in his own Max-like way.

As he heard movement from the door, David looked up- ignoring the way his heart clenched and he felt his whole world sink slowly back into the bunker, preparing himself to see those icy blue eyes- he sighed in relief as Gwen came into view. She was trying to open the door with a handful of cards and flowers bundled in her arms, he missed Max's concerned gaze boring a hole into his head.

"For fuck sake- Max! Help me out, will ya?" At hearing no response she finally looked up from the precariously juggling items and glared towards David's bed- only it fell as soon as she saw him. She dropped all the items carelessly and rushed to his bedside. "David! You're awake!" She checked him over like a worried mother, "How are you feeling? Wait! Let me get the nurse!"

And just as quickly as she had appeared she was sprinting away- almost tripping on the forgotten items.

David smiled awkwardly as she left- he felt uncomfortable with everyone fretting over him so quickly after waking up. It didn't take long before Gwen had returned, a nurse in hand and frantically shoving her way towards the other side of his bed. Max had already reluctantly let go of him, choosing to hold his hand as tightly as possible instead. The gesture felt oddly familiar.

The nurse checked him over, asking questions and writing on her notepad before leaving the three alone.

"Are you... ok, David?"

David ignored Gwen's somber tone, forcing the cheeriest smile on his face, "Why of course, Gwen! The doctors here are amazing! I can't feel a thing!"

"That's because they've hooked you up to the strongest shit they have. You were in so much pain, you were crying in your fucking sleep." David blinked at Max's annoyance.

"Oh. W-Well, I'm sure I'll be good as new in a jiffy, Max!"

"You're covered in fucking cuts and bruises, you had five fucking broken ribs, you're arm was practically shattered by- something, the doctors think it was a fucking crowbar-"

"Oh, that was a metal bat!" David regretted the cheerful words as soon as Gwen and Max's faces dropped, but the younger boy continued anyway.

"You were seriously malnourished and they suspected you'd gotten pneumonia when shards of your ribs pierced your lungs." he crossed his arms, "And I'm not even mentioning the fucking mental trauma of being tortured, chained and isolated in that fucking bomb shelter."

David opened and closed his mouth dumbly, unsure of how to respond to that. Instead he cleared his throat, opting to ignore it completely. "So... Uh, What happened to- to, uh..." He waved his hands around as his throat had closed of its own accord, refusing to even say his name.

Max and Gwen's concern only seemed to grow as he struggled with his words, nevertheless he received his answer, "He's gone David, the cops arrested him." Gwen's unique eyes made sure to hold his own as the spoke the next words, "He can't hurt you anymore."

While her reassurance was a small weight off of his shoulders, David still bit his lip, "And, the campers? Are they safe? Are you two alright?" Bandaged hands hovered over the two beside him, "He didn't hurt you did he?"

"We're fine, David. You're the goddamn idiot covered head to toe in injuries." She pinched the bridge of her nose, speaking softly, "Maybe worry about yourself for once..."

With that the conversation quickly died off into an awkward silence. Concerned glances kept flitting back and forth towards the eccentric camp counsellor, while he tried his best to make light hearted small talk.

The sun melted into the horizon beside the trio.

---

When he was finally released from the hospital, David had helped the authorities find the stash of C4 Daniel had hidden in his counsellor cabin. The police had panicked at the shear amount the cult-leader had intended to use- something about blowing up half the country-side.

Nevertheless, Max was just glad to have the chipper counsellor back.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean his return didn't come with it's own ups and downs. There were always moments where Max would notice something off with David. While, sure the man was freakishly obsessed with nature for whatever reason, it seemed as though after the... "incident" he would be mid conversation only to interrupt himself at the sound of a birds song, or the soft gushing of a nearby river, or even the sight of the sun.

Max never commented on the odd behaviour, since it would last a few minutes before he was back on track and finishing his sentence as if it hadn't been interrupted in the first place.

Then there were other things... David had received more than his fair share of scars from the ordeal, but some seemed to cut deeper than just the surface.

Food became difficult, after weeks of sparodic meals, David's body still hadn't quite recovered. The doctors had issued him a strict diet, but it soon became obvious that David wasn't going to enforce it himself. He would forget constantly, leaving Max and Gwen to remind him throughout the day, and while it was absolutely terrifying when he all but collapsed after the first day back at camp because he'd literally forgotten that food was a necessity, Max was almost thankful that it had happened earlier rather than later. It made him more observant of everything the red head would do.

Another issue was the new phobias that David had accumulated.

He would stiffen and jump every time it got dark, or when he was left alone for too long. Of course the idiot had refrained from mentioning it to anyone, leaving Gwen to find out during a sudden power outage when she and David were going through the weekly camping activities.

Max was glad he'd been near the counsellor cabins at the time, yet the voice that had attracted him to the panic was surprisingly Gwen's. David's usually high pitched scream was eerily absent.

Upon practically breaking the door down in all his tiny fury, Max froze at the sight in front of him.

David was unnervingly quiet, back pressed against the corner of the room, and knees brought to his chest, stiff as a board with the barest hints of a tremor. His hands were brought up defensively and what little Max could make out of his dimly lit face was pure anguish and terror.

Gwen was waving her hands around him frantically trying to break him out of whatever trance he was stuck in.

Max had never acted so quick in his life as he spotted a flashlight. He rushed to the two adults, turning it on and trying his best to illuminated the area around them. Gwen caught on immediately, she grabbed her blanket and covered the three.

It took lots of patient encouragement and soft reassurances before David had returned to reality once more. He was half-way hysterical and Max didn't resist as he and Gwen were pulled into a sobbing hug that lasted until David had calmed down enough to smile- albeit shaky- and thank and apologise to them.

Knives became a problem as well, where once David would happily take over the cooking when the Quartermaster was... somewhere- no one really knew, or wanted to know where he would go sometimes- now he was more hesitant.

Anything that required him to cut something ended up with him trying his best to ignore the involuntary tremors that overtook his hands whenever he held the sharp object. The food would be chunky and everything would be sliced haphazardly and in different sizes.

One day, Max found Gwen studying a cooking book in the kitchen, she held a knife in one hand and the book in the other as she analysed the carrot in front of her. At first Max had made fun of her for not even knowing how to cut a fucking carrot- to which he was angrily kicked out of the kitchen for- but the next time the Quartermaster hadn't shown up for dinner, Gwen was easing David out and taking the chore upon herself.

When dinner wasn't a mess of misshapen vegetables and meat, Max realised why she'd learnt. David seemed slightly at ease at the arrangement, even though he would guiltily spare glances towards Gwen's easy nonchalant pokerface every time she'd cook for them.

The nights after in which she'd cook, Max would casually follow her in and assist her, all the while adamantly saying how he was only doing it because her cooking was "shit" and he needed to make sure she didn't fuck up.

Of course no matter how much the two tried to make David's life easier at camp once more, there were always hiccups, little events that they couldn't have seen coming, like when Nurf made the mistake of pulling his knives out and threatening David, or when he accidentally tangled himself up in some loose rope- the tight feeling strangling his right ankle- and he couldn't escape. He was trapped and no one was coming and suddenly the air was too thin and- Max was there in a second cutting the panicking counsellor free with ease and pulling him back into the present.

Soon enough Max and Gwen had accepted that David wasn't just going to go back to normal- as much as the eccentric counsellor insisted otherwise- and they didn't mind their new roles as his guardians, even when Gwen would have to rush out of her cabin in the middle of night to wake David from a particularly vivid night terror that had him whimpering and flailing in his sheets. Even when Max would remain patient as David's thoughts would scatter mid conversation, leaving the red head confused and dazed for a moment before he'd remember what he or another was saying.

It brought them all closer somehow, a happy little family, plus an emotionally and physically traumatised father-figure, but it all worked out in the end. They knew how to react to each and every little twitch that would signal a trigger or flashback, every voice inflection that told them David was close to a breakdown- even though he refused to admit it.

It became tradition for the three to stay up on particularly bad nights and watch Bob Ross in Gwen's cabin. Snuggled together on her couches,- both of which had been pushed together as close as physically possible- Max on David's lap and Gwen leaning her head on his shoulder, a cheap blanket shared between them.

It was... nice.

Afterwards David and Gwen would walk Max back to his tent, all the while the red head would speak animatedly about something or other, his excitement filling up the silence of the night. Gwen would chuckle at his enthusiasm dropping in her two cents every now and then. Max, between them, would pretend like he wasn't holding their hands and would half-heartedly say something insulting in his own Max way.

David would still jump at the smallest of things, he'd still get that look on his face sometimes, the empty stare of someone who had been through too much. He'd avoid even looking in the direction of the bomb shelter, and every time it was mentioned he'd make some lame excuse about having to go and do something. However, he was steadily getting better, and Max and Gwen refused to rush him.

It was a seemingly normal day and David was anxiously supervising a particularly risky camp activity that Gwen had given up on within the first few seconds. It became obvious that the campers were getting increasingly frustrated with David's constant worries and concerns on their footing and overall safety and Max eyed the situation warily.

"Erid! Please be careful we don't know how stable the wood is and you could get seriously hurt!"

She sighed, "Whatever dude."

An ominous groan from the wood had David's panic sky-rocketing, "Ok, maybe this was a bad idea! I shouldn't have let you kids use this old obstacle course in the first place! What was I thinking?" He quickly began ushering the kids off of the falling apart contraption "Come on campers, let's do something else!"

However his frantic attempts to keep them safe had reached the breaking point for the kids. Erid planted her feet firmly on the wood an expression of disgust on her face.

"Ugh! You're so fucking overbearing, David! It's pathetic! You're not our fucking dad!"

Max's concern piqued as David jolted at the words as if physically struck, he furrowed his brows as he noticed that look in David's green eyes, he was hearing someone else, and Max knew exactly who. However before he could come over and help, the counsellor was quickly chuckling in his typical brushing-off-insults way, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"S-sorry, Erid. I was just a little worried is all. You campers keep having fun, while I go and... uh, check on our next exciting activity!" Everyone watched in silent concern as David cheerfully marched back towards the main camp area.

Gwen made eye contact with Max, and immediately he could understand exactly what those anxious purple orbs were trying to convey, 'Go after David, I'll handle this.'

It didn't take long for Max to find David, the counsellor was sitting on a log beside the lake, eyes eerily empty and posture slumped.

"David...?" The red-head jumped, as if a switch was flicked he was back to his happy self, all traces of the earlier expression were swept away in a split second.

"Oh, Max! Wh-what are you doing here?" A beat of silence, "Why aren't you having fun with the other campers?"

"David. You can drop the fucking act." David's eyes widened at Max's flat tone. "I'm not gonna fucking judge you for being sad, so don't pretend around me."

Just as quickly as it had been flipped on, the switch was off again. All happy pretences were abandoned, leaving David to look back towards the glistening water, back hunched and arms resting slackly on his knees.

"Sorry, Max."

"And don't fucking apologise either."

The smaller boy walked up to the log, pulling himself atop it so that he could casually swing his legs back and forth. He'd left a comfortable space between himself and his counsellor, yet he couldn't help looking up and observing the tired expression that was so wrong on David's face.

While Max was glad David had listened to him, it felt so unlike David to not even try and disregard the notion of faking his happiness, it had his stomach rolling.

They sat in comfortable silence for awhile, Max didn't want to push him to talk about anything he didn't feel comfortable bringing up and David was just... lost in thought.

"When- When Daniel was... me, were you- was everyone happier...?" The words were so sudden, Max almost jumped, however as he looked back up to David, watching as the man averted his gaze and unconsciously hugged himself, he felt at a loss for words. David seemed to take the silence as an answer, "I'm sorry... I know it must be annoying having to deal with me all the time."

There was a chuckle as David brought his hand up to scratch the back of his neck, but it was empty. "I'm a terrible counsellor... I've always wanted everyone to find a... sanctuary of sorts in camp, a place that you can feel comfortable enough to be yourself." The arm dropped and the sad smile was gone, "But that was selfish of me. I can't force my perspective onto you, Gwen... the campers. It's not fair for you. I realised that in... there."

"I guess he was right..." he laughed again, yet it sounded more like a choked sob than anything, "I really am pathetic, overbearing... naïve..." tears rolled down flushed cheeks, "I should've stayed down there, because at least then you'd all be happier, right?"

For the first time since he'd begun speaking, David turned his head to meet Max's gaze. That sad smile was there, it was shaky and barely holding on, but there nonetheless.

Max's heart almost shattered on the spot as he took in what David had just said. David looked away again, that self-deprecating expression clear on his face.

"I'm sorry, Max. I didn't mean to ramble. Forget everything I just said, ok?"

Max watched on as the idiot had the audacity to stand up and wipe his eyes, like the conversation was over.

"No." The words spilled from his lips desperately, a plea hidden behind stubborn denial. David did a double take.

"Wh-what?"

"I said no. I'm not forgetting it." Max crossed his arms and hopped off the log in the most intimidating way he could under the circumstances.

"But-"

"No! Shut up!" David flinched, "Whatever the fuck that psychopath told you, it's complete bullshit! Do you really think we were happier with some fake- and frankly creepier- version of you!?" Max huffed, "Sure I didn't know it was fucking Daniel but don't think I was completely oblivious! He wasn't nearly as attentive as you. He tried to win the kids over with pancakes and that's the best he could do!"

"Oh."

"He never walked us to our tent every. goddamn. night. He never actually listened to any of us, and he was a shitty fucking counsellor!" Max took a few breaths, before studying the anxious green eyes in front of him, "You're the only thing in this fucked up camp that makes it bearable... because, you care. And not in that condescending way adults normally do, no, somehow your stupid brain is so fucking dumb that you see something in us fucked up kids." Suddenly embarrassed by his own admition, Max kicked the hard dirt below him, "When you... when you were dying in that bunker... I wasn't afraid of losing my camp counsellor," David stiffened, "I was afraid of losing my fucking father-figure..."

"Oh. Oh, Max..." The taller man knelt down, his face twisted into concern, "I'm so-"

Yet the apology never left his lips as the young boy rushed forwards and practically strangled him in a hug. "Shut up, don't fucking say sorry."

David smiled softly, genuinely, as he wrapped his arms around the small boy. They stayed like that for awhile, only the muffled sounds of nature could be heard.

"Don't say shit like that again, ok? You don't deserve to fucking rot in that shit hole, if anything Daniel fucking does." Finally Max pulled away, giving David a 'I mean it' look as the red-head stood back up again.

"Ok, Max."

"Good." He started marching back to the group, before he quickly glanced back at David's tall figure, "David?"

"Yes, Max?"

"Did you... uh, ever give up? On us finding you, I mean." As soon as he'd asked, Max knew the answer, David's sad eyes said it all. He almost wanted to punch himself, of course not even David would be able to stay insanely optimistic under those circumstances. He felt foolish for asking. "Whatever, let's just fucking go." There was a beat of silence, "Dad."

David's eyes shone, practically sparkling with excitement, all previous sadness forgotten. He took a deep breath trying to calm his racing heart as he strode up beside the smaller boy, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Ok, son."

Of course upon returning to the rest of the campers and Gwen, the two received a stern lecture from her, since she'd been 'this fucking close to giving up her responsibilities to fucking find them.'

That night, Max and Gwen fell asleep half-way through Bob Ross, Gwen's head rested on David's shoulder, and Max's against his chest.

David looked down at them, a fond look on his features, before pulling out his phone and snapping a picture of them.

'A happy little family.'