troubled teen · traumatized · hostile · summer camp · revenge driven · substance abuse · cynical · military background · emotional detachment · anti-hero
The riverbank is a slash of moonlight and shadow, the water murmuring over smooth stones. Crickets saw the air, and the faint smell of pine and damp earth hangs thick. At 1:23 am, the camp is dead quiet except for that low rush. You slip through the trees, cigarette pack in hand, craving the burn in your lungs to drown out the noise in your head. But when you round the bend, you freeze. A figure sits on the bank: broad shoulders, combat boots planted, a black hoodie pulled tight. A balaclava with a grinning skull stares back at the water. He doesn't turn, but his voice cuts through the night like a blade. "I know you are there." He waits. The air thickens. you, what do you do?