Page 48 of Dollface

“I don’t know, Aster. Right now, everything seems off. “ He rubbed his neck. “Fuck, I just wish Sol would hurry up.”

“Aster?” Our heads fell to see Tabitha standing in the entryway of the kitchen. She was holding her little stuffed dinosaur and staring up at me with wide, watery eyes. “I’m scared.”

Wolfe stepped back, and I crouched in front of the little girl. “Hey.” I gently tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear. “There’s no reason to be scared. Everything is going to be okay. It’s just a really bad storm, that’s all.”

Tabitha sniffled. “That’s what they told my mommy.” What?

Beatrice walked up and gently patted Tabitha’s head. “Come on dear, everything is okay. Let’s get you some water.”

Tabitha rushed to me and gave me a big hug. “Please be careful, Aster. I don’t want to lose you too.” Her words nearly broke me, and I hugged her back tightly. Beatrice led the little girl away, and I wiped my eyes.

Fuck you, Sabbath. And fuck this damn cult.

“Aster.” Wolfe helped me to my feet as we looked over at Kaila. She motioned to us to join her near the cafeteria doors. “Look.” She pointed outside. Wolfe and I approached the doors and searched for what she was pointing to. And we found it. We all froze in fear at what we saw. “Y-you guys see it too, right?” Kaila asked as her breath fogged the glass. “Right?”

I stared straight ahead as lightning flashed through the night sky and revealed the very thing we all feared. Standing in the middle of the campgrounds was a plague doctor. And they were holding an axe. A bloody axe. They slowly turned and looked straight at all of us and tilted their black and brass colored mask. A whispered voice slithered along my ears and I knew the ritual had begun.

“Lock the door.” Everyone remained still. “I said lock the door, Kaila.” I tried to remain calm for the campers’ sakes, but it was becoming a real challenge.

She forced her eyes away and fumbled with the lock. For some reason, it was sticking and wouldn’t fully latch. “I can’t get it!” she shouted. Wolfe rushed over to help her, and Sandy kept looking ahead.

“Guys,” Sandy called out. Wolfe and Kaila frantically kept trying to lock the door. “Guys?” I watched them in horror. “Guys!” We all looked at her. Sandy slowly turned her head and spoke with a quivered lip. “There’s more than one.”

Kaila wiped the fogged door and looked out. The night was dark and you couldn’t really see anything. Wolfe finally got the lock to click, and we all jumped. He joined me and looked out through the cafeteria door. “I don’t see anything,” he whispered.

“There.” Sandy pointed. “There’s more out there.”

Lightning flashed again, and we all gasped in horror as thunder shook the cabin. Standing out in the middle of the camp was not one, but two, plague doctors. The second wasdressed similar, but their mask had a broken eyeglass. Just as I remembered there being in the cavern deep in the woods.

“There’s more than one?” Kaila shouted. Lightning flickered above, and just like that, they vanished. “Where did they go?” We all looked for them. “Where did they go?!”

“Wolfe, take Rodney and go make sure the other doors to this cabin are secured and locked.” He nodded, and the two ran off with a lantern. “Sandy, try to ease the campers. Move them to the other side, away from the doors and windows, so they can try to get some sleep.” Sandy hesitated but ran off to do as I asked.

Kaila moved closer, and we both kept an eye out on the campgrounds. “What’re we going to do, Aster? If there’s more of those plague doctors, and they really did try to kill Doug, how do we avoid them? We’re all funneled into one place. Like sitting ducks.”

“Almost makes you wonder if that’s what they wanted, doesn’t it?” We turned to look at one another. “I’m starting to think this entire camp is nothing more than a distraction meant to cloud our eyes while we walk blindly into their game.”

Kaila reached out and grabbed my hand. “They’re hunting us, aren’t they?” I didn’t answer. “It’s true. All of it. And these plague doctors are going to kill us. Aren't they?”

“Not if we stick together.”

We both stared out into the night. The plague doctors were nowhere to be seen, and even still, we were all on edge. Rodney and Wolfe returned, followed by Sandy. They all lined up around us and stared out the cafeteria doors and windows. “The doors are all secured,” Rodney stated.

“How’s Doug?” I asked.

Rodney exhaled. “Being Doug.”

Sandy tapped the glass. “Hey. What’s that?” We all looked out in the direction of her finger. “Oh my God. It’s the campers!” Sure enough, a group of the campers Sol went to find wererunning in our direction with a single lantern. “Unlock the door. Now!”

Wolfe quickly unlocked the doors, and we all worked together to open them to let the group of campers rush inside. They were all wet and terrified. Wolfe looked out into the night, waiting for Sol.

Sandy and Kaila rushed to help the campers. Beatrice entered the cafeteria from the back, carrying a pile of small kitchen towels. “Here.” She passed them out to the campers. “It’s not much, but it’ll help. Let’s get them dried off and situated.”

Kaila spoke with a few of the campers while Beatrice and Sandy walked the rest of them to the other side of the cafeteria. Wolfe remained at the door and was holding it open. Waiting. “I don’t see him, Aster.” His pained face looked at me. “I don’t see him. What if something happened to him?”

“No. Sol is okay. He probably just ran into Willie. They’ll be back soon. Just watch.” I felt uneasy.

What if something did happen to Solomon? And where is Willie? What could be taking them so long? The campers were already here.

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