Camp “joy”

Content Warning: This story contains themes of violence, child abuse and gore that some readers may find disturbing.

Age Rating: 18+

*********

“Gaf! What was that?”

Inquired a young girl in a hushed tone, prone on the ground, reaching with her hand for the boy beside her.

“I’m… scared!”

The boy reached for her hand, grabbed it and gave it a gentle squeeze, whispering back.

“Don’t know, but don’t worry. We’ll make it out of here. Nannies will come looking for us soon, I’m sure of it.”

A few meters away, beyond the bushes, rustling and growling was heard. Soon, the rustling got closer. He squeezed her hand and shut his eyes. A quiet, frightened whimper was heard from the girl.

“Noo…”

“It’s okay.. It’s gonna be okay.”

But it wasn’t.

The rustling stopped. Gaf opened his eyes slowly at the eerie silence that befell the forest. Slowly his gaze wandered upwards, until he locked his gaze with a terrifying white face. He jumped up, pulling the girl up with him.

“Sam! RUN!!!” He shouted, turning on his heel and sprinting off, dragging the girl along.

The creature let out a low groan, it almost sounded like ‘R-U-NNN’, or at least so Gaf thought while sprinting away. A tree in their way caused him to release Sam’s hand as he swiftly pushed himself around it. When he came out on the other side, she was gone. He gasped, glanced around but no trace of her was anywhere to be seen. A quick glance over his shoulder reminded him that he had no time to stop.

The creature was fast on his tail.

“SAM! HIDE!!”

He called out, sprinting off in the opposite direction, praying that she was hiding, and that she was well and safe. He ran and ran. His lungs burned. The creature kept chasing! Until suddenly, a pleading gasp caught his attention.

“W-AIT!” 

He stopped in his tracks, breathing heavily, almost fainting, a glance over his shoulder revealed the creature doing much the same. ‘No time to waste, hide,’ he thought to himself, quickly ducking for cover in the overgrowth. A quick roll to the side and a hand over his mouth, trying to silence his breathing, to get it under control. Steps could be heard approaching him. He took a deep breath and held it, slowly releasing it, trying to stay quiet, hidden. 

Exhausted heavy breathing accompanied the heavy, staggering steps. He watched the creature part bushes, wheezing. He waited. Before long the creature moved on, failing to find its prey. He scrambled to get out of the overgrowth and hurried to the tree where he had lost Samantha before. Each step he took was careful and calculated, tiptoeing around twigs so as not to make a sound, he watched the bushes for movement.

“Sam!?” He whispered while sneaking around the tree. 

He gasped when he parted bushes ahead. Blood.

“No… Sam!? SAM!?”

He called out, louder this time. Following the trail of blood on the ground in haste. His heart raced and his chest ached from all the running.

“No! Please! No! SAM?? SAMM!!!???”

But seemingly silence was the only response, until at last, her pleasant, albeit frightened voice replied.

“Gaf?”

He gasped, dashing through the forest in the direction of her voice. ‘What if it isn’t her? No! Doesn’t matter.’

There she was, at last he could see her. Curled up against the tree, embracing her knees, whimpering.

“Sam! Oh my god! You’re alright!?”

He knelt beside her, examining her body. She raised her teary face, glancing at him.

“Gaf! You found me.”

He gave her a confident smile.

“Of course, sis!”

He examined her body, no apparent wounds or injuries, his gaze fell upon a blood stain on her thigh.

“Are you hurt?” 

She glanced down and then let out a playful chuckle.

“No… The pouch tore when I fell, and now I’m stained in tomato juice.”

Her playful chuckle distorted into a whimper suddenly.

“N…Nannies will be mad… Nannies will take me away!”

He cupped her cheeks and locked his gaze with hers.

“Sam! It’s fine… We’ll get the clothes washed up. But… let’s get out of this forest first.”

He brought his left wrist up to his ear, listening for the ticking sounds. ‘Tick tick tick tick’ the seconds handle was moving fast, way too fast. He hated it, he despised it. His gaze fixated on the hours for a brief moment.

“We got two hours still, well, more like thirty minutes, forty if we’re lucky…”

He swallowed audibly, scanning the forest and aligning the north-pointing handle of the compass that was embedded into his wrist watch. 

He held her hands and helped her up.

“Come, let’s go. The camp is to the North-West. We best hurry… And hopefully get bored.”

He remarked, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

“And t…that creature?” She asked nervously.

“I seemed to have lost it… wonder where Ralph went though.”

He pondered.

“Well, nannies will find him if he’s not back by dinner time, but we best hurry.” 

They traversed the overgrown forest with haste and care, the sound of river had gotten more prominent.

“Right… Nannies wanted some fish for fish-eggs for dinner.”

He glanced at the clock and then scanned around the forest. All seemed quiet. The time seemingly slowed down, they had more time.

“We should…” She began.

“No it’s fine, let’s check the fish traps real quick.”

He showed the watch to her.

“See? We calmed down and time slowed, we got time now.”

She nodded hesitantly, but followed him. To her, Gaf was the older brother, the sibling in charge, the bravest of the kids around, and the most impressive person she had ever met. Sure, the nannies were impressive in their own way, but they were strict, too strict, and often terrifying. They also took kids for punishment and expelled them from camp. Sam didn’t like the nannies, and didn’t look up to them. 

They made their way to the river bank and followed it up for another fifteen minutes or so before coming up on a little hill from which they could see the camp’s dormitories. Two long, wooden log cabins sitting side by side on a flowery grassy field, surrounded by dense forest all around, and a clear path to the river bank. They checked the traps, and began to splash at each other playfully. The water was refreshingly chilly but not cold. Playful giggles filled the air and echoed through the forest. But amidst the splashing and giggling, they failed to keep track of time. He did not hear the prominent ‘tick’ of six o’clock that would indicate ‘hurry back’. He checked the watch when merely ten minutes were left before seven, dinner time was at seven. Being late was bad news. 

“Oh no!” He gasped, his jaw ajar. “Hurry, grab the fish! We’ve to run.”

And run they did, but not fast enough. As he grabbed the handle of the door, the clock made a ding, and a louder dong seemingly responded from within the house. The door swung open, and a menacing grin greeted him. He gulped.

“G…greetings nanny Frin.”

His gaze darted straight to the floor, as he pushed Sam behind himself with his other hand.

“Gaf, and Sam.” The gentle voice of a nanny with a frightening grin spoke softly.

“You are late.”

Gaf nodded.

“I know nanny Frin.” He mustered the courage to look up at her. His gaze travelled up from her sandals, up the summer dress she was wearing, and then fixated on her face. Loose, hanging, wrinkly skin, but something was off about her hanging skin, sometimes it looked almost fake in the right lighting.

“I.. we were looking for, Ralph. And, collected the requested fish.”

Sam shyly held out the basket with a bit of water and splashing fish inside. The nanny glanced beyond them at the forest.

“Ralph? He’s been back for hours now! Nonsense! You will face punishment.” She spoke strictly, her voice broke into almost a hiss. 

He pushed Sam further behind himself and stepped up half a step, grabbed the fish basket out of her hands and held it out to nanny.

“I will face the consequences. Please do not take my sister.”

The old nanny glanced at the basket full of fish, and then nodded slowly.

“You’ve collected many, well enough, you’re our special boy, we’ll make an exception for you. After dinner, you’ll come with me.”

He nodded submissively, admitting his guilt and willing to face the consequences.

They hurried to the dinner table, it was at the boy’s dormitory. After the dinner the girls would be led to their dorms and put to sleep, and boys would do the same. Ralph, a black-haired boy with a boonie hat on his head leaned back in his chair.

“Oufff… you’re late! Mmhh… Not good, leader.”

He teased with a playful smirk on his face. Gaf eyed him for a moment.

“We got chased in the forest by some creature.”

“Oh? Well, that’s a darnnnn shame.” He replied teasingly. 

Something was off about Ralph, something caught Gaf’s attention. A trace of makeup, face paint in the corner of his eyes, white paint at that.

“Ralph??” Gaf inquired curiously while slowly enjoying his meal.

“Whaddap leader?” He mocked.

“What’s with the paint on your eyes?” Ralph’s eyes widened for a moment as he cleaned the corner of his eyes with a finger.

“Ohh, flour uhm, fell on me while I was grabbing some.” He obviously lied. 

The dinner came to an end. The girls left, the boys scattered, and only Gaf remained at the dinner table. Two nannies came into the dining room, they quickly glanced at each other, and then turned their attention to the boy.

“Gaf, being late is a serious punishment, you know that.”

He nodded guiltily.

“I know but…” His group’s nanny, Frin, interrupted him harshly.

“NO BUTS! NO EXCEPTIONS!” But the other nanny attempted to calm her.

“But he is an exceptional boy, everyone considers him to be so.” 

Frin nodded.

“But not an exception to the rules.” She snapped her fingers. “Up, boy! Come with us.”

He pushed the chair away with a loud screech and got up, took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

“Yes nanny.”

The second nanny, the one in charge of the fourth group, the younger kids, smirked at his nanny. Excitement glistened in her eyes. A chill ran down his spine, but he followed obediently. 

“Nanny?” He inquired.

“What is it?” Asked Frin, walking in front of him, guiding him out of the house.

“What is the punishment?” He inquired.

An annoyed sigh came from behind him.

“Disobedient children do not get to ask questions.”

Spoke the other nanny. He gulped and silently followed them.

Out the house, and into the forest. They walked fast. His heart raced, panic was brewing within his chest. Nanny Frin stopped, pulled out a device he had never seen before, and whistled into it. A low rumble echoed through the silent forest. In the dim moon light, the ground parted, revealing a staircase leading down. He gulped, frozen from fear, but a forceful nudge on his back got him moving once more.

“N…nanny?” But his plea was met with silence.

For the next few minutes, the only sounds he could hear were their footsteps echoing through the underground tunnel. At last they reached the bottom of the stairs. The nanny in the front turned around, grabbed him by the wrist and forcefully pulled him along, making sure he has no chance to escape.

She dragged him along a stoney tunnel and then into a room that would forever remain in his memories, however long, those were to remain his. The room was filled with cages, and in the cages sat husks that barely resembled humans. They moaned and groaned in pain and misery. Cages stacked atop one another. His eyes widened from terror. He pulled, trying to break away from the nanny’s grasp, trying to flee. “NO!!!!” He cried out from fright, but her grasp remained firm.

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO!? LET GO OF ME!” He cried once more. The barely human groans became louder, echoing around the room, calling out for him, as if pleading to be freed from their captivity. 

His jaw dropped and his voice fell silent when his gaze met that of one of the children. There she sat in her stained night gown. Scrawny and frail, filthy, barely human looking. Half her hair was missing, a massive scar on the side of her face, drool dripped from the corners of her lips. She gasped and let out a groan that resembled more a sound that a primate would make, than a human child. ‘Kate…?’ His jaw trembled; tears formed in his eyes. She was his best friend besides Samantha, she was late one night and taken away by the nannies, they said they expelled her from the camp. 

He gulped and his knees gave way. He tumbled down, but the nannies didn’t stop. He was being dragged along the stone floor by his hand.

“Come boy. Disobedient children get punished.”

He let out a weak whimper.

“No… Please…”

But his pleading was in vain. He got dragged through the entire room and into an elevator at the far end of it. His mind had gone blank from the horrors he had just witnessed. The door closed with a cheerful chime. His wrist was released at last. She had been grasping him so hard that the blood circulation was cut off. He rubbed his tingling hand, trying to get the blood flowing to it again, a few drops of blood decorated his pale skin where her nails had dug into it so hard that they punctured it. He whimpered quietly, sitting on the floor between the two nannies.

The lift came to a halt, a playful bounce made his stomach turn at last, Frin reached for his hand but he jerked it away, fell to all fours and vomited. The nannies watched him with despise for a moment, until his body’s reaction finally came to a stop. After which he was grabbed by both wrists and dragged through the puddle on his knees. He didn’t care, he didn’t want to care, he was afraid, petrified. He was dragged down the exceptionally well and brightly lit hallway. Doors lined both sides of the hallway, text on placards was in a language he couldn’t read, but the layout vaguely resembled what he had read about in the books, a ‘hospital’.

“Room?” Inquired Frin.

The other nanny took a moment to respond.

“23 is ours for gathering.” 

They reached it, the door opened with a hiss, he weakly looked up to see a mostly empty room, with a single chair in the middle, and a strange apparatus hanging above it. He was dragged into the room and thrown into the chair. His head slumped to the side, slow, steady, deep breaths. One of the nannies strapped his hands in, and the other did the same to his feet.

“Snack?” Inquired Frin.

“Oh yes that would be delightful.”

Replied the other nanny. She left the room, while the other nanny proceeded with the preparations. After he was thoroughly strapped in, she pulled out a buzzer and shaved off few parts of his hair on his head, leaving behind bald spots. ‘Ah, that explains their hair..’ He remarked weakly in his mind as his head was now held straight, and the strange apparatus was fitted to his head. The device was tightened down, the cold, metal probes dug into the bare skin of his scalp. He whined and shrieked as the ratcheting mechanism continued to click with each pull of the lever, pushing the cold metal deeper into his skin.

“Oh hush you disobedient child!”

Spoke the other nanny in an annoyed tone, and then slammed a gag into his mouth to silence his pained shrieks. Tears poured down his cheeks as he awaited what’ll happen next, terrified.  The door swung open, through it entered Frin. A plate and two empty cups on the tray. Two, beautifully alluring caviar sandwiches rested on the plate. Her face distorted into a grimace.

“Ah! All strapped in and ready to go, how delightful this will be, my child. Do, feed us well!”

She commented, setting the tray on the small table at the corner of the room, and taking a seat in the small chair beside it. The other one grinned, walked off to the side and grabbed a device that was hanging on the wall, attached to a few cables. She took a seat beside Frin and nodded.

“Enjoy the meal.” Frin smirked.

“Likewise, sister.”

A feint click echoed through the room, and then the silence was replaced by pained squeals and whimpers. Sharp pain jolted through his skin, and pierced into his head. He whimpered. His head felt like it would explode. Sharp, stabbing pain dug into his brain. As if a scorching knife slowly dug into his flesh, the pain became almost unbearable. His teeth sank into the soft material of the gag! His fingers dug into the armrests of the chair. He desperately jerked his arms and legs. Restrains dug into his skin, cutting it and bruising it, but the pain of that only mildly helped.

His mind blanked out, he found himself on a table. Arms and legs spread like a starfish, and pulled. His skin tore, as did the muscles. He screamed from pain, his eyes shot open, he gazed at the nannies who were slowly chewing, pleased expressions on their faces.

“Wonder what he’s seeing.” Asked one.

A tube protruded from the ceiling, strange, glowing, purple’ish fluid slowly dripped out of it into a cup. 

He blanked out again, in the forest at night, sharp claws tore through his skin. He screamed; an inhumane growl battled his screams as the creature tore through his skin. He gasped, sharp pain still jolted through his skull, his head throbbed, his throat too weak to scream any longer, only groans were left escaping from him. This time he was on a kitchen table, a knife slowly cut through his young, soft muscles, and then the cleaver chopped through his tendons. 

Each nightmare was seemingly more terrifying than the last. He reopened his eyes once more to see in his blurry vision, the nannies, make a toast and then savor the mysterious fluid. Darkness overcame him at last. When he awoke, he was exhausted, drained of all will to live and fight, he found himself in a cage. Whimpers and groans echoed throughout the night, but he didn’t care, he was too exhausted to care. 

Night after night for the following months his life turned into a living nightmare. Every night he was dragged to the ‘gathering chambers’ and forced to live through nightmares. They collected his fear and agony, that’s what that strange fluid was. These creatures, they feast upon misery and fear, and he was nothing but livestock. He had at last realized why they had the kids at the camp read so many books, but that did not matter.

In the end his mind fractured,

he lost all sense of self,

he lost all feelings,

desires and hopes,

he was their feast,

until the day he would pass.

But as his resilience for the horrors grew, so did the intensity of the sessions, until at last his heart gave way, and his suffering

ended. 

Audience prompts for this tale

• I actually want a scooby-doo type of villain

• How about: What if the correlation of time to fun ( It goes faster when you have fun, or slower if you are bored)  would be an actual law

• Maybe something along the lines of listening carefully to a clock for the right time? 

• But…only using the sound.

• mmm, trying to listen for specific time of day by only the sound of the clock

• I was thinking, if Viki weaves fish balls idea it would be quite fun