Page 9 of Dollface

“Well then, if it’s all fake… Explainthis!” He pulled something from his back jeans pocket. We all gasped and fell quiet. The color in my face drained as I stared at the man-made triangle, much like the one I unexpectedly ran into my first night here.

Solomon stood and snatched the strange object from Doug’s hand. “Where the hell did you get this?” I watched as he examined the bones closely. “Hell, do you even know whatthisis?” Doug drunkenly shrugged. “It’s called a totem, Doug. The occult uses them to ward off evil spirits and unwanted visitors. You really shouldn’t be messing with this stuff.”

Doug snatched the totem from his hand. “I’m not messing with anything. I found it, just off the path that leads from here to the thick part of the redwoods. It’s mine! Why do you care anyway? It’s not like there’s actually anyone else out here. Thisthinghas probably been hanging in that damn tree for God knows how long. I mean, you know how old this place is. Hell, I bet Nurse B put it there.” Nurse B?

Solomon shook his head. “Yeah, well, you should really put it back. Out of respect for whoever left it there.”

Doug blew a raspberry and tossed the totem into the bonfire. He then made an exaggerated face and pretended to be shocked. “Whoops!” The totem made an odd whistling sound as the bone cracked and popped in the flames. Solomon jumped to his feet and quickly grabbed a stick. He used it to flick the totem from the bonfire and onto the ground before pouring his beer over it and extinguishing the flames. “You fucking idiot!” He then removed his jean jacket and used it to carefully pick the totem up. Sol examined it closely and walked back to his seat. He whacked Doug on the back of the head before sitting down.“Whether you think this shit is real or not, you should respect the redwoods, dumbass!” He gave us all a look. “As should all of you.”

We sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Sandy spoke up. “Do you really think the rumors of this place are true, Sol?” I’d heard mentions of rumors surrounding this place since the day I arrived but never actually heard what they were. They were obviously enough to shake the entire staff here. And whatever they were, they had Solomon acting almost fearful of them. Considering Sol was one of the biggest dudes I’d ever met, aside from Sabbath, that was concerning.

Solomon sighed and ran his fingers through his curly hair. “I mean, all rumors sprout from some kind of truth, right? They have to start somewhere. Look at this totem.” He held the charred triangle of bones up. “People don’t just make and leave this anywhere. This place—these woods—they’re surrounded in mystery. Saturated in it. Hell, this camp has been here for over sixty years. I’ve never heard of a summer camp operating that long.”

Kaila chimed in. “Yeah, well, not much longer. I overheard Nurse B telling Willie that at this rate, we’ll be lucky if Camp Redwood makes it to the end of the summer.” Oh shit. Things must’ve been worse than I was led to believe.

Solomon nodded. “Yeah, well, Nurse B says the camp is struggling because of the world and how parents don’t want to send their kids away. I call bullshit. No, I think it’s something else.”

We all looked at one another. “Like what?” I asked.

Sol’s demeanor shifted. “You know how we always hear of the occult? How they sacrifice and kill people for devil worship or some shit? What if it’s not just scary movies or ghost stories? What if all that shit is real?” He stared into the flames of the bonfire, as if entranced by some deep thought. “Back in spring,I did some digging on this place. There’s only so much about it available outside these woods, but what I did find was pretty interesting. You see, tons of people go missing out here. But every ten years or so, it seems people tend to die here.”

“Stop playing,” Kaila snapped.

Solomon shook his head and crossed his heart. “Dead serious. People die in these woods. And it’s not like accidents or some basic shit. No, they die in the most bizarre and strange ways, ways no one can explain, tied up and drained of all their blood.” He took a sip of beer before smoking his cigarette. “Every year, someone claims to see shadows in the trees or hear voices in the wind. And now this?” He held up the totem. “No. That can’t all just be made up. I mean, Nurse B has worked here for what, twenty, thirty years? If anyone knows these damned woods well enough, it’s her. And what’s the one thing she always says?”

“Never disrespect the redwoods.” Kaila spoke the words even I knew Nurse B to say.

Solomon nodded. “Never disrespect the redwoods. You don’t just start saying something like that without cause.” He looked across the bonfire at all of us. “It’s not just about whether I believe all this hocus pocus or about the rumors, it’s a matter of truth. And the truth is, shit happens in these woods. Shit no one can explain.” He looked at the totem in his hands. “I don’t know who left this, but I know whoever it was must’ve been trying to warn or protect someone or something. Which means there’s something out there. Something bad. Something they felt was worth making this.” He examined the totem closer. “And that scares the shit out of me,” Sol whispered.

We all fell silent and sat on edge after his eerily freaky words.

Rodney turned towards Solomon. “When were the last ones?” We all looked at him as he clarified his question. “The deaths, I mean. You said they happened every ten years or so.When were the last ones?” An interesting question that I knew we all kind of wanted to know the answer to.

Solomon stared straight at Rodney. “As of today?” He exhaled a mouthful of smoke. “Ten years ago.” You could cut the fear in the air with a knife, it was so thick.

“Ah, fuck this!” Doug stood. “Cut the bullshit, Sol. There’s no occult people or witches, or monsters, or whatever in these woods! Only trees and dirt!” He slapped his neck and groaned. “And goddamn mosquitoes! Now, this is not how I plan to spend my last night of freedom. Those little fuckers arrive tomorrow and I need this! So—” He rubbed his hands together. “I say we play a little game!” Doug made a sinister face.

“Did someone say game?” Willie stepped through the trees with a giant grin and a case of beer. Wolfe was with him, wearing his glasses and dressed in his camp uniform, unlike the other guys. “Doug, what the fuck are you doing?” He pointed to Doug, now standing on the bench. “Get the hell down before you fall into the fire.”

Doug scoffed and jumped down as he muttered to himself. “Don’t know why everyone keeps saying that. I mean, hell, it was one time, and I’m fine.” He sat down next to Rodney and cracked open a new beer with a snarl. Wolfe silently sat next to Rodney. Wolfe, like Rodney, was quiet. He kept to himself and seemed to really enjoy being outdoors. And like Rodney, he didn’t make sexual jokes or harass the other counselors. He was just… Wolfe.

Willie sat down next to Sandy and flashed her a smile. “So, what are we playing?” She blushed and handed him a cigarette as she straightened her posture. He gave her a cheeky wink and stared at her chest. I heard Kaila groan at them.

Doug shot from the log bench with yet another beer in hand. “Truth or dare!” We all groaned at the childish suggestion. “Hey! You all wanted to tell scary stories about the woods and be some sour pusses! So fuck you and your tree stories!”

“Tree stories? Seriously?” Willie shot a look at Solomon. “Come on. You know all those stories and rumors are bullshit!” He popped a beer and handed it to Sandy.

She bit her lip and gently touched his arm. “Nurse B seems to believe it’s all real.”

Willie made a face. “Yeah, well, Thisbe is an old fashioned widow who thinks chocolate is a drug and TV is a portal for the devil.” He handed a can to Kaila and me. “You can’t trust a word she says about anything. Trust me.”

Willie acted so differently when it came to Thisbe. It was like he could breathe and speak freely until she was near. Then, he had to pretend and hold his tongue for her sake. I guess it made sense with her being the boss, but it just struck me as odd. If he could disrespect her so calmly around us, what else could he do? I wasn’t sure what it was, but something in my gut told me there was something off about him. And knowing that he might be married and fucking around with Sandy, well, that bothered me too.

I drank the beer quietly and watched everyone interact with one another as they played the game. They took turns asking questions and shouting dares while they laughed. Even though I wasn’t personally involved in the game, it was still entertaining to watch. I could see the stability of the relationships between them and noticed who favored who. It was so intriguing to learn so much about them in such a short amount of time. Obviously, something was brewing between Willie and Sandy. Kaila wasn’t a fan, but she loved Sandy too much and simply played along for her friend’s sake. It was sweet. Doug and Rodney were close, despite their completely opposite personalities. They had been campers for years prior to becoming counselors themselves. Out of all of them, Solomon had worked here the longest, aside from Willie, and seemed to look over at Wolfe a lot. Which wasodd, considering Wolfe was quiet and didn’t speak much. Doug, however, did speak a lot. Enough for all of us.

As I looked around at the group, I noticed movement off in the distant trees. My smile faded as I looked past the bonfire and into the redwoods. I had to squint to see, but I swear I saw something. Something odd staring back at me. But what? Wait.

“Alright, Aster. Your turn.” My body jolted. I snapped my head towards Doug.

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