Page 45 of Dollface

“Wait a second.” Willie pointed at Wolfe and Solomon. “If you two are here, then who is watching your campers?”

Wolfe’s cheeks instantly burned red, while Sol scratched his head. “Wolfe and I were heading to the cabin when the storm hit. We ran into Aster along the way, and the power went out. But don’t worry, Doug and Rodney got it covered.”

Everyone groaned at the obvious issue.

Willie walked past us and grabbed a couple jackets from his bag. “Here.” He offered them to Sol, Wolfe, and me. “These should help keep you dry.” We each put them on. Wolfe and I looked tiny in them, whereas Sol looked like the jacket Willie gave him had shrunk in the wash. Sandy snorted and Kaila tried to cover her mouth.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, ladies.” He rolled his eyes.

“Alright. We know the power isn’t going to come back on any time soon. So, let’s stick together and head to the cafeteria.Assuming Doug and Rodney remember what to do in a time like this, we’ll meet the others there and wait out the storm.

Everyone nodded.

“We’ll be safer in larger groups too,” Wolfe stated.

Willie, Sandy, and Kaila all made a similar face and looked at him. Kaila raised the flashlight and shined it in his face. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Sol placed his hand over hers and lowered the light. He then looked at Willie. “We think there’s someone else in the camp. And if there is, then they’re dangerous.”

Willie groaned. “Not this shit again.” He rubbed his eyes. “Sol, there’s no one else here. How many times do we have to go over this?”

“I saw them, Willie,” I stated, as everyone turned and looked at me. “I saw the people in the woods.”

Kaila and Sandy glanced at each other. Willie simply shook his head in disappointment. “No offense, Aster, but I don’t believe you. There’s no one else out there. These woods just take some getting used to. And the more you, or anyone else here, listen to those ridiculous rumors and stories, the more you start to believe it. Hell, I’ve been working here for at least ten or so years, and the weirdest shit I’ve seen is Thisbe in shorts.” Wolfe snorted and Sol elbowed him. “There’s nothing out there, Aster.”

“Help!” We all whirled around as we heard Rodney screaming. “Help! Someone! Anyone!”

All six of us funneled down the hall. Kaila aimed her flashlight ahead, and we saw Rodney stumbling through the broken front door with Doug. They were both soaking wet and covered in mud and blood. Doug’s leg had a giant gash, and he was struggling to stand, let alone walk.

Willie and Sol rushed to help them. “What the hell happened?” Sol asked. He carefully helped Doug into the armchair, wincing as he rubbed his still fresh burns.

Rodney tried to catch his breath as Willie checked him out for injuries. “We were just sitting around in Cabin Six when the storm hit. We didn’t think anything of it, but then the power went out and the wind picked up. Sabbath told us we should probably head to the lake and tie down the canoes before the storm got worse.”

“Wait.” I stepped forward. “Sabbath told you to leave the cabin? And you did?” He nodded.

Doug groaned as Sol carefully propped his leg up. Blood was pouring from the deep gash that stretched from his ankle to halfway up his shin. He ripped his belt off from his jeans and used it like a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Doug ground his teeth and cried out as Sol squeezed the belt tight. He then instructed Kaila and Sandy to search the nursing station for gauze and other medical supplies.

“Yeah.” Doug trembled. “Only, we weren’t alone.” Wolfe, Sol, and I looked at him. “Rodney was down by the lake securing the canoes when I heard something up the hill near the fire pit. I figured it was one of you guys, so I walked up the path and ventured closer, you know?” He shook as blood dripped from his leg onto the floor. “Only, it was someone wearing a plague doctor outfit.” Wolfe nudged me. “At first, I thought maybe one of you fuckers were trying to pull a prank. So, I just laughed it off. But whoever it was didn’t speak. And as they turned to face me, I noticed an axe in their hand. Like a real fucking axe!” Sandy and Kaila rushed back into the room and handed everything they found to Sol. He immediately began to clean the wound while Doug laid there in pain.

“How did you get hurt?” Kaila asked.

Doug’s laughs mixed with tears as Sol poured a dark bottle of liquid over the wound. Doug clenched his teeth and screamed as it began to bubble and foam. Sol tried to be easy, but it was inevitable with how severe the wound was. Doug looked up atKaila. “Whoever it was in that plague doctor outfit, they fucking chased me down, and swung that axe into my leg!” Kaila gasped. “They were trying to kill me! The only reason they didn’t finish the job is because when I fell and hit the ground, I slid through the mud. I rolled down that damn hill towards the lake. That’s when Rodney found me.”

Willie sighed. “Did you see the person who did this, Rodney?” Rodney shook his head. “You didn’t see the plague doctor?”

Rodney sighed and lowered his head. “All I know is one minute Doug was walking up that hill towards the fire pit, and the next he was screaming, bloodied, and falling down into the mud. I mean there was so much blood, Willie. I didn’t know what to do, and he just kept yelling about someone in a mask having an axe.” Rodney grabbed his head. “I figured the best thing to do was get him to Nurse B.”

“Nurse B isn’t here,” I grumbled. Rodney and Doug both looked at me with wide eyes. “Yeah, she left earlier today, and no one's seen her since.”

Doug’s head fell back, and he groaned, loudly. “Fuck me! What the hell am I supposed to do aboutthis?” He motioned to his leg while Sol finished wrapping it up with gauze and bandages. “I mean, hello? I was attacked with a fucking axe! I need a hospital!”

Willie grunted. “As you can see, the power is out all over camp. That means we have no electricity, no power, no phones.” Doug whimpered and groaned. “Thisbe should’ve been back by now, unless she got stuck out in town during the storm. If you keep your leg wrapped and try not to run on it, you should be okay until she can take a look at it.”

Sandy gently touched his arm. “But he needs to go to a hospital, Willie. I mean, that wound is deep.”

Willie made a face. “It is, but there’s nothing I can do. The roads in and out of the camp flood every time it storms. You know this.” He slowly glanced over at Doug. “You’re going to have to survive the night and wait out the storm, I’m afraid. We all are.”

Wolfe sat down next to Solomon before he quietly spoke up. “What about the person that did that to him?” Everyone slowly moved their eyes across the room to Wolfe’s blushed face. “I mean, let’s be real. Doug didn’t just whack himself with an axe.” He breathed a cautious smile.

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