Camp Murder (Inanimate Insanity)

Chapter 15 - Memories

Footsteps dashed through Fan's dreams. How strange that a train could run. No... It wasn't the train that was running, but somebody scurrying around the dorm.

He pulled a hand from beneath the bundled-up blanket and rubbed his eye. Perhaps it was already morning and he'd overslept breakfast - for the third time.

Fan forced himself to sit up through his sleeping state. He was fully expecting to see a sun-coated dorm, littered with lighthearted conversation and breakfast-consuming, but his sleepy eyes focused to a dark and silent room. An uncomfortable coldness wrapped itself around him like a cloak.

Through the darkness Fan could see that Apple's bed had been disturbed.

'Could someone all bundled up in bandages lay in that weird a position?' He thought, surprising himself as he pulled his sleep-ridden body out of bed.

The redhead approached the bed against his will; he stood at the foot. Fan found his hazel eyes gravitating to something in particular - a luminous sheet of paper. It stood out like a firefly in the evening sky. A chill bit at his spine agressively. He picked it up in a trembling hand.

'Apologies for the sudden murder - I've been after this one for a while.
First the brick, then the stairs - yet she survived them all! My last resort was stabbing. I pray it wasn't too painful.
I trust you, dear reader, have and will continue to keep these notes in a secretive nature. You're very observant - I knew only you would find these. I'd love to speak to you and hear your thoughts. So...
I would like you to come and meet me in the clearing where Tissues was hung. You may want to hold your nose, though...
One of you has hidden the bodies nearby, correct?'

A wave of dread hit Fan like a train. He had to look away from the note, but he couldn't. He knew what would await his eyes, ready to slide comfortably into his brain and never leave. Unwanted tears slipped coldly down his cheeks as he turned and scanned the room.

Fan looked at Test Tube's bed - empty. Paintbrush's bed - empty. The corner in which Suitcase had slept - empty.

An involuntary squeak escaped Fan's mouth. "Wh-where... Where is..."
"...Wh...Fan?" Lightbulb's slurred voice came from beside him. She rose from her pillow in a confused daze.

"Light...bulb... Can you come here?" Fan didn't turn to face her. His voice was laced with concern; Lightbulb leaped out of bed, adrenaline surging in her limbs.

The taller girl navigated through the darkness with a hand outstretched to grip Fan's shirt. "What is it, flatface?"

"Look at Apple's bed and tell me what you see, alright?"
Lightbulb complied. She approached the bed and held onto it's peeling wood. Her lacquered nails dug into the surface. Apple was laying limply, head lolled to the side, a splotch of blood across her bedsheets and over her chest and face. "Oh,"

Fan enquired, "Oh?" but he already knew what she was seeing. He joined her hesitantly, still surprising himself with the sight. "Is she dead?!"

Lightbulb held a finger to the corpse's neck. Fan hid how impressed this made him behind an overwhelming panic. "Yeah," the blonde breathed through a fresh flow of tears.

"...What?"

Both Lightbulb and Fan turned to see Marshmallow rising from her bed. She was almost fully awake, fresh tears on her cheeks and visably trembling. "Sh-she... Apple...!"

Marsh shot across the room to Apple's side. Her breaths came out in deserpate wheezes as she gripped the corpse's hand. "Oh my god... O-oh..."

A scream. It was brimming with despair and desperation, horror with the knowledge that someone so loved had been ripped from the world. Marshmallow broke into a heavy sob, screaming Apple's name and shaking her limp body. Fan had never seen Marsh so erratic.

"YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME! I WON'T LET YOU! I... You..." Marshmallow fell to her knees on the hard floor - carpet burn was the least of her concerns. Heavy, wreathing sobs erupted from her body, painful and heart-shattering. Within a second, Lightbulb was at her side with the other in a tight embrace.

Marshmallow's head throbbed. No matter how hard she tried to push away the resufacing memories, they wouldn't leave.

-

Apple held Marshmallow's hand tightly. She grinned with such childish excitement that Marsh thought the other's heart might burst. "Come on, Marsh! Season two!"

Marshmallow let out a gruelling sigh but found herself grinning at the other's goofyness. The pair walked hand-in-hand (Marsh trailing behind) into the campsite, when Apple turned to her. The redhead's emerald eyes gazed into Marshmallow's for slightly too long.

"I'm glad I get to be here with you, Marsh! We're gonna de-st-r... um, break the game! Just you wait! But - I do hope there isn't as much hurty-ness in this season. I don't wanna get all sliced up again."
Marshmallow giggled and intertwined their fingers. "You won't."
Apple chirped, "You bet I won't! Not with you around."
"What am I now, your savior?"

Apple lunged at Marshmallow and lifted her above the ground, much to the others shock. "I dunno what that means, but... You're my hero and I trust you to keep me safe!"
She surpressed a laugh at how reliant Apple was.

"Alright Apple. You have my word - I'll keep you safe."