Page 44 of Ring Around the Rosie

The three of us stuck together as we tried to push through the heavy rain and walk in the direction of the administrative cabin. Wolfe pointed to one of the nearby trees, and as lightning flashed overhead, we all noticed a cluster of those bone totems hanging from its branches. Wolfe and I exchanged a concerned look, and Sol simply shook his head. He led the way through the rain while we remained hand in hand. The entire trek back was a challenge. The lantern provided little to no light, and aside from the occasional lightning strike, we were walking aroundblind. Puddles had already formed and our feet kept sticking to the mud. What would’ve normally been a simple walk back had turned into a straining hike.

Camp Redwood was eerie without electricity. If I hadn’t known other people were here, I would’ve thought the damned place was abandoned. We made our way towards the central point of camp and only noticed the administrative building once lightning struck again. It nearly blended into the night and had no lights on. Sol looked back at us. “I guess the whole camp’s out!” he shouted. Together, we ran toward the cabin.

The three of us piled onto the small wooden porch, and Solomon tried to open the door, only it wouldn’t budge. He turned to look at me. “Did you lock the door when you came out?” I shook my head. He continued to try to force the door open, grunting and groaning as his muscles bulged.

Wolfe tapped my shoulder. My head turned as my eyes followed the direction of his pointer finger. Hanging just off the edge of the cabin roof was a totem. “Has that always been there?” he asked.

“Not that I’m aware of.”

The cabin door made a loud sound as Sol slammed his body into it and forced it open. Lightning ignited in the night sky, and we all looked deep into the dark cabin, then at each other. “Okay.” Sol picked up the lantern. “The fuse box is located in Willie’s room just across from the nursing station. It should be easy to turn the electric back on. I mean, you just flip a switch. Once we get the power on, we’ll try to locate Willie or Nurse B.”

I looked at him. “You believe me?”

He sighed. “I’m not sure what I believe right now, Aster.”

Sol took the lead and stepped inside the cabin first as Wolfe and I shadowed closely behind holding hands. I looked around and noticed how, much like my first night here, rain leaked from the old cabin roof and onto the floor. We followed Sol down thelong, ominous hallway. As he opened the door to Willie’s room, I looked across the way and into the nursing station. It was dark, but even still, I spotted the plain bottle of pills on the small counter. My hand broke from Wolfe’s, and I rushed in to grab it.

“Aster.” Wolfe followed me. I snatched the pill bottle up and looked at him. Sol suddenly appeared and held the lantern up so we could see it. “There’s no label,” Wolfe stated.

“Let me see it.” Solomon handed the lantern to Wolfe. I handed him the bottle, and he opened it. He poured a handful of the strange pills out into his palm and examined them closely under the wavering light. “These aren’t painkillers, Aster.” His eyes raised to mine. “These are Quaaludes. No wonder you got knocked so hard on your ass.”

“Oh shit.” Wolfe covered his mouth. “So, it’s true. Nurse B drugged you. But, why?”

The two men looked at me. “I wish I knew.” Thunder rolled again. “Come on. Let’s find that damn fuse box.”

The three of us stepped into Willie’s room. It was simple and didn’t have much aside from a small bed, a single nightstand, and an old dresser. Wolfe and Sol patted their hands along the dark walls and searched for the fuse box. I, on the other hand, decided to look at other things. I felt down and found an old lighter on Willie’s nightstand. I flicked it open, and the flame gave us some more light. Wolfe smiled and went back to helping Sol, and I slid the tiny nightstand drawer out. Inside, Willie had a couple of old packs of cigarettes, an empty box of matches, and other random things. Nothing important.

“Ha!” Solomon smacked something and you could hear the metal ‘ting’ as his hands hit it. “Found it!” Wolfe held the lantern up, and Sol pried the box open.

I returned to snooping and shuffled through Willie’s things. To no surprise, he had a couple of Playboy magazines stuffed under the bed, along with a VHS tape that I could onlyassume was probably a shitty porno. He also seemed to have an overwhelming amount of tube socks. I grabbed one from the floor and held it up to the flame of my lighter. “Why so many fucking sucks?”

“They help with… self pleasing,” Wolfe stated. I looked at him, confused, and he made a jacking off motion. “Keeps things clean.”

My face twisted in disgust. “Eww!” I dropped the sock and gagged.

“Wolfe, the light!” Wolfe quietly apologized and returned to helping Sol. He was switching every single switch to no avail.

“Fuck!” Solomon slammed his fist into the wall, and Wolfe and I both jumped. “The fuse isn’t working. I can’t get the power back on.” He huffed and rubbed his face. “Fuck this place!” He kicked a pair of Willie’s boots over, and something fell out onto the floor. Wolfe tried to soothe him, the two unaware of what now lay at my feet. I silently picked it up. It was an off-colored leaf from The Ancient One.

Why would one of these be in Willie’s shoes?

I dropped the leaf and jumped as the sound of heavy footsteps trampled along the cabin porch. Solomon and Wolfe walked to my side, and the three of us listened. The cabin door squeaked, and we heard whoever it was step inside. My heart raced. A second set of footsteps joined. Then a third.

Solomon inched towards Willie’s opened bedroom door and peeked his head out. A bright light shot down the hall and beamed across his face, nearly blinding him. He tried to block the light to see who it was.

“Sol?”

He squinted. “Kaila?” The light fell, and he smiled. “Thank God you guys are okay!” Kaila, Sandy, and Willie quickly moved down the hall and crowded the doorway.

Willie looked at us all, concerned. “Is there a reason you guys are all in my room?”

Sol pointed to the fuse box. “We were trying to fix the power, but it’s just not coming back on.”

Willie sighed. “Oh yeah, the wiring from this place is from the twenties. There’s no way a simple switch is going to fix it. I’m afraid we’re going to have to kick it old school until the storm clears.” Lightning flashed and more thunder boomed. We all looked around. “And by the sounds of it, that’s not going to be any time soon. Good thing we moved the campers into the cafeteria.”

“The cafeteria?” I asked.

Kaila nodded. “Yeah. When the weather gets bad, or we lose power, Nurse B has us move the campers to the cafeteria. It’s big enough to fit everyone and has all the necessities. Plus, it’s weirdly built better than any of the other cabins here.”

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