1.2 The Campout

Chase: "Don't worry. I have a tent pole."

A clearing in the woods outside of town. Quiet. Peaceful. Birds sing. Suddenly, they stop. Three upperclassmen in Phillipi t-shirts tromp into the clearing. We'll call them Clown, Blue Eyes, and Raven. "This looks like a good place," Clown announces. They drop backpacks and begin pulling out camping equipment.

In the forest, something paces... pants... watches...

"They are going to have a blast! What?" Blue Eyes stares at clown in horror as the beast jumps, slamming Clown into the ground with flashes of claws and matted fur. The horror-stricken man bolts, running through the forest, slapping at vines, tripping, and jumping back up. Noise and breath behind him quickly prove he is followed. He doubles his pace, trips, and slams into a tree, sliding to the ground. The woods part and Raven steps to the edge of the clearing, blood streaking across her face and shirt. "Are, are you OK? Is Ryan, uh, gone?" Blue Eyes whispers. Raven answers coolly tone, "The word is dead." "And the beast? Is it gone?" "The word is still dead. And I'm sorry, my friend." Raven steps into the clearing and sunlight glistens on a face no longer quite human as she continues, "But all this... fun... just gets me riles up for more." The leap is silent, but the screams reverberate.

Chase: "I'll help you scratch itches."

"Ah, somebody who owes me a favor!" Geoff nods a goodbye to his supervisor and makes a beeline for Chase. Setting himself on a couch arm in the lobby of the hospital, he beams at her good-naturedly. "I'm being punished once again for being responsible, and have been put on poison ivy patrol for the freshmen campout. I'm supposed to find some other poor sap to help out as well. And I know that it's a long shot that a beautiful, talented, intelligent woman would have nothing better to do on a Thursday night. But if you, don't... By the way, the missing and stabbed corpses are taken care of."

Meanwhile at Gabe's place, Jade convinces him to attend the campout to search for spell ingredients in the woods. She even helps him pack and slips something into his bag.

Raveena: "It's like a bunch of meat hanging out to dry."

At a gathering behind the admin building, Kyp reads out the rules to a rowdy group of students. Students are required to buddy-up and keep track of their buddies. As they head into the forest, Gabe and Jade buddy up, as do Geoff and Chase. Deaver wanders about, ushering the fencing club. Raveena quickly finds Gabe and Jade and asks if they can do a three-way buddy system. They wander into Kalissa, a dramatic artist type who is sketching a flower. Gabe and Jade find out that she has no partner and foist her on Raveena. Raveena is not pleased.

In another area of the marching, Geoff asks Chase what actually happened to the bodies. Chase gives him a brief rundown on the events of the last week, and is surprised when Geoff states that his job at the morgue has convinced him that that is completely possible.

A scream fills the air. The gang rushes to the source to find a girl goggling at blood. Kyp rushes over and, beating branches apart, discovers a large "animal" corpse. He assures the girl that dead animals are a common occurrence, and hustles her along with the group. Jade, Gabe, Raveena, and Kalissa stay to check it out. They quickly determine that it's a dead demon, and take hair and blood samples to determine what type later. Kalissa quickly sketches it, but denies that it could be anything supernatural.

Later, at the campgrounds, Kyp tells scary stories around the fire. His vast knowledge of the area's legends doesn't make up for his lack of storytelling ability. Our heroes join in as he finishes a tale of the haunted Boyd-Townsend mansion downtown. Next he tells the legend of the Wendigo. As he slashes the air melodramatically, yet another scream resounds around the camp. Kyp rolls his eyes and stand up, but before he gets far, a tent is thrown open to reveal a pair of campers slashed to death. The back of the tent is ripped to shreds. A panicked girl clutches a branch nearby, staring off into the woods. Chaos ensues in the camp, with several campers running headlong into the forest.

Kalissa: I don't think any of you have a frickin' size 29 footprint."

Kalissa goes tearing off into the forest, muttering about a vision and Raveena takes off after her. Chase, Deaver, Geoff, and Gabe search for lost campers, then leave Geoff and the fencing team in charge of the camp while they search for Raveena and Kalissa. Jade and Gabe send off a spell to trace their route, and soon the three of them are chasing little balls of light through the forest. They end at a cave where Raveena and Kalissa have stopped. Kalissa reveals that she had a vision about this cave in which four Wendigos performed a rite and released a monster. They debate the validity of the dream, until they notice the enormous footprints leading away. Gabe notices a magickal aura surrounding the mouth of the cave. They decide that Jade and Gabe should stay and try to figure out what it is while the rest will track down the monster.

Raveena leads the trackers, and eventually they find that the footsteps return to the camp. Chaos has moved to violence. Geoff hides under a table, attacked from above by a member of the fencing club. Other freshmen engage in fist fights and sword fights all over. One person waves a log from the fire. As the group moves closer to the action, anger takes them over as well. Raveena decides that talking takes to long and begins knocking out the more belligerent campers. Chase rescues Geoff from the table and they begin bickering over how he "let" this happen. Deaver unsheathes his epee and takes on the fencing team.

Gabe: "Show me your stuff!"

Meanwhile, back at the cave, Gabe and Jade successfully complete a spell of revealing (ending with Gabe's oh-so-traditional quote above). The energy around the cave mouth coalesces into a man in Native American garb who stares at them in confusion. They talk for a bit, and slowly they get the story from him. He is Nat-an-hai (Naht-un-hie' or Nathanial to his white friends) and he has been guarding the mouth of this cave since the early 17th century when the Berzerker first terrorized this area. Nathanial announces that they need to recover the beast and return it to the cave. Jade and Gabe follow as he tracks the footprints.

Raveena: "So you're the fox in the chicken coop!"

Back in the camp, things are worse. Then the Wedigos attack. Four of them. One leaps at Raveena, who has just knocked out Kalissa. Another heads for Chase and Geoff, one takes on the fencers, and another attacks a group of wailing campers. Raveena quickly beats hers to a pulp, but can't seem to kill it. Geoff and Chase dodge theirs as best they can, and Deaver and the fencers turn their angst on the newcomer. About then, Nathanial, Gabe, and Jade appear in the clearing. Nathanial grabs the one attacker the campers and twists it's head, instantly snapping it's spinal cord. The creature disappears into a blue flame. "Break it's neck!" he yells to Raveena. She quickly does so, and then tackles the one attacking Chase and Geoff. Deaver manages to subdue his attacker. He attempts to snap it's neck, but doesn't have the strength. Nathanial steps over, but bows to Deaver. "It's your kill." He hands him a blade. Deaver slashes, but doesn't sever the spinal cord and the creature begins to rejuvenate. Nathanial grabs the creature's head, holding it still. Deaver swipes and finally beheads it.

Deaver: "Was that supposed to make me feel better?"

The group reconvenes and decides to lure the Berzerker back into the cave. Nathanial explains to Jade and Gabe how to perform the spell to put him back as the cave's mystical guard. They head back to the cave to prep and the others find and follow the tracks of the berzerker. As they get closer to the beast, they decide to send out Raveena as bait to lead the creature back to the cave. Kaliss and Deaver silently head back to the cave to warn the witches. Nathanial warns Raveena about the berzerker's ability to send anyone into a murderous rage. She must try to resist at all costs. They reach the beast and Nathanial stays out of sight. Raveena takes off and the berzerker gives chase. Nathanial follows behind at a safe distance.

Raveena: "Come on now, I'm taking you to grandma's house."

When they reach the cave, the berzerker stops, realizing the plan. It backs up, but Nathanial is there to stop him. Nathanial, Raveena, and the berzerker tussle with help from Deaver and Kalissa. Finally, with a mighty kick, Raveena sends the berzerker through the beginings of the magickal barrier Jade and Gabe have created. Nathanial quickly steps into its beam. Before he evaporates into the shield, he nods, "It has been an honor fighting with all of you," and he is gone. The berzerker retreats deeper into the cave.

Kalissa: "Country, why did it have to be country?"

Back at Lone Star, the local hang out, it's country night. The gang congregates at the bar with Geoff. Shannon Arquette, the bar owner, heads over to them and pours each a beer. She looks at Chase, and with a thick drawl questions, "Can I see some ID?" Chase flashes hers. Shannon smiles, "Just so I could say I asked. I can never repay y'all for saving my sister's life. Anytime, you come on over here. No questions, no problems. Country music on Tuesday's and Thursdays." With a brilliant smile she moves to help another customer. Freshman and fellow camper Kelly Lowell waves from across the room.

At a table nearby, Kevin, a med student, waves Chase and Geoff over. "Hey, we're getting together at the party next week about the weird stuff that's been going on at the morgue. Y'all in? Geoff, I know you don't hang with us, but you'd be an asset since you work there and all." Geoff shakes his head and heads back to the gang. Chase looks questioningly at the group. Kevin answers, "He doesn't come around to our parties. Chicken. It's a BYOB, bring your own... whatever. It'll be fun. And we'll discuss." Chase agrees.