Part Two: Summer Camp

Mikey doesn't want to let go of Em when she hugs him and he's glad that she doesn't seem too eager to break the embrace either. Somehow, it feels like she understands him, at least a little bit.

They move apart when Annie lands dramatically on the ground next to them and Mikey breathes a deep sigh of relief when she announces that she knows the way. He briefly wonders if Jaden was ever as goofy as he is now in her body. He must be enjoying this. Understandably.
"Let's go then. We already lost a lot of time," Mikey says, wiping his eyes to make sure no tears are in them. "Kim or Cuckoo might find us any moment!"

Watching Annie land on the ground he tried hard not to notice or even look anywhere near the direction of Em and Mikey hugging, but somehow he saw them and felt a new feeling that didn't feel so nice. Happy to be distracted by running off to the next thrilling thing he decided he might as well enjoy it rather than fear it. He used to be a thrill-seeker. What the heck happened?

"Yeah, let's skedaddle to the bunker and finish this so we can all go home. I miss my ... my bike."

A technique the Andy of old sometimes used on the soccer field during a big game was counting to stay calm. He decided to try that now. "1... 1...." he said under his breath, but he couldn't get past the number 1. His nerves became so jangled when he thought of his desperation to go home. "1...1." Then he gave up and took off towards the bunker

"Octogenarian? That's a big word for a little girl," he starts flailing as he's attacked. "Argh, not in the face!"

He looks once more at the helmet. "I think it's broken but not badly. I think if we don't bump it then we will be okay. But... I think I should try it first. If it doesn't get me to the right spot in time, I'm the only one who can attempt to adjust it and try again."

He doesn't say the real reason, that is it doesn't work, the rest of them have real lives they can build here. He looks at Em, Devon and Andy. Even if it's just with each other.

"Nuh-uh, Georgie," Mikey replies immediately. "What if it fries the brain of whoever uses it? You're the one who needs to fix it, as you said." Emboldened by Em's cheering up of him, he puts an arm around Georgie's shoulders. "I'm not going to let you get hurt. You do all you can to make it safe and then I will try it on. I trust you, Spud. But I'm not going to let you risk your brain."

Despite his dour mood, he looks at his feet, willing his eyes to remain dry. He can't say what those words mean, because he doesn't understand himself, not really.

But deep down, Rey feels a glimmer of hope,

Morgan is quiet after hugging Mikey, and stands apart from the group for a moment so they can fuss with the helmet and decide on the right path after Annie climbs -- and jumps -- back down. It also gives the girl a moment to dry her eyes, and peer around them, making sure they are indeed alone and haven't been followed...

You hunker down behind the roots of a particularly impressive tree, and watch the bunker entrance as you decide what the next move is. You see the chain lock hanging from the bunker door.

Before any of you even mutters a sound in planning, you hear the snap of a twig somewhere off to the side. And then the sound of feet being scratched through foliage. The sound of someone not really lifting their feet as they wander through the woods.

You look over, and you see young Martin Hernandez approaching your direction. His eyes are red, and wet. One is swollen and angry looking. His hands are… on top of his head. He stumbles his way through the forest towards you, looking down at the path, but kicking his way through fallen branches all the same. Before he reaches where you have set up your post, he turns sharply, following the path towards the bunker.

When he moves aside, you see another figure coming up the trail behind him. Kim Johnson, gun aimed at Hernandez’ back, and muttering into her walkie-talkie.

"… the bunker. The girl said he knew something…"

They both make their way to the bunker door, and Kim pockets the radio. She keeps the gun aimed at the young man, who doesn’t dare move, as he goes for her keys. In a moment, she has unlocked the door, pulled it open and forced young Cuckoo inside. You see the chain go stiff again as it’s seemingly relocked from inside.

"Well, that's going to complicate things," Em says quietly from her hiding place in the bushes. "But at least we're all in the same spot -- all the time travelers. Maybe now we can finally figure out what Kim is trying to do, and whether we should really help Cuckoo the walking PETA crime stop her."

Looking at all the boys, and at Annie, she adds in a whisper, "And she has the gun Mikey told us about. We're going to need to... uh... Mikey? Mikey?!"

As the two approach the bunker door, Mikey suddenly jumps up and walks into their field of view before his friends can stop him. "Miss Kim?", he says loudly. He positions himself in a way as to try and obscure where he came from and where the others are. He can't help but glance at the gun. Maybe this was a stupid idea. "I have your helmet, hidden away. Let's talk!"

Mikey's eyes keep darting to the gun as Kim does not seem receptive to his approach. Maybe this was a really bad idea...

As Kim seems distracted by an apparently suicidal Mikey, Annie remembers he's still Jaden; then, adrenaline kicks in.

I've always stood up for my friends and sure as hell I'm not giving up on them.And so does he, as he runs and uses a rock to get some height and launch himself. After all, he had watched Karate Kid, hasn't he?

As he's mid-air, he calls out to Kim: "Say hello to my friend, Mr. Boot-in-your-face!"

Kim ushers Hernandez closer to the bunker, setting aside her radio.

"…Miss Kim?…"

The woman swings around, gun leveled at whoever calls out to her. There’s a wild look in her eye of being caught. A voice crackles through the radio. Kim’s voice:

"Report back in ten…" and the radio goes quiet.

Something like relief passes across Kim’s face as he realizes she recognizes Devon. And confusion. And then anger:

"You have my helmet!?" incredulous.

"You little jerk-off. You think you’re calling the shots here? Get beside him!" she waves the gun in the direction of Young Cuckoo. There’s just enough crazy in her eyes for you to feel real, genuine fear. This woman is not your friend. Maybe she’s evil, maybe she’s just… driven. Whatever it is, it weighs on her mind so heavily you fear she might snap.

Fear drives you to survive, and you start to sidestep over to where Hernandez stands, wet-cheeked and shivering. He looks at you, as you approach and gives a pained expression. Only one way for this to have gotten worse: kids got caught up in whatever this is.

---

Annie crouches low, watching as Mikey shimmies and shimmies to a position that puts Kim Johnson’s back to the rest of the group. Summoning her courage, the young girl kicks off from her hiding spot, mounts a large rock among the trees, and jumps at the camp nurse, driving all of her energy forward into a kick.

"… Mr Boot-In-Your-Face…"

The woman spins at the last moment as Annie makes her battle-cry, before the kick takes her heavy in the chest and she stumbles back to the forest floor. In shock, Kim clenches her body for the blow, squeezing the trigger of the gun. It rings out loud around the trees, and you all duck for cover instinctively. The impact on the floor sends the pistol spinning out of the crazy woman’s hand and it skitters across the floor, near where the remaining friends are huddled and hiding…

…PWRAP…

The sound of a single shot rings through the woods around the bunker. The Man in The Woods bolts upright, and turns his head to the sound. It was sharp, cutting through the general hum that attacked him at all times between his ears.

Something, the thought, had gone terribly wrong. But… he couldn’t remember what.

He starts in the direction of the bunker, as fast as his deteriorating mind and body would allow.

Bursting from cover, Em is running for the gun, arms and legs pumping!

Kim flips over, pain blossoming in her chest, and bits of foliage gathering in her hair. She crawls across the forest floor, looking for the pistol. Before she can get a hand on it, Robin is there, stopping to pick it up. The girl stands over the scientist, pistol in hand. The scientist gets to her knees, but doesn’t move too much, waiting to see what happens next.

Mikey lets out a scared yelp when the pistol goes off. For a second, he's sure that he has been shot. That's what I get for putting myself in harm's way. But the pain doesn't come. After a moment, he opens his eyes and looks down at himself but there is no blood. He breathes a sigh of relief and then gets up on shaky legs. It takes him a moment to take in the changed situation, then he runs over to Em and Kim. "Don't shoot!", he tells Em. Then he turns to Kim. "We got you. Now we can talk. We don't have to fight, okay?"

Andy jumped then ducked, his heart racing when the pistol went off. He had been eyeing the lock and was planning to break it with a rock he had seen near the cabin. Once he saw that everyone was not shot and bleeding, he looked for the gun. Robin had the gun!

They had the upper hand! Robin was pointing the pistol at Kim! He shouted, "Give us the key Kim, right now!"

"Or we shoot the lock," Rey adds. Either way we're getting in.

Before she knows it, Em has the pistol, and she's indeed pointing it at Kim. Her heart is pounding and thinks more than once about just throwing the firearm away, chucking it into the woods. But for the first time, they have the upper hand -- because of the gun.

"D-don't move!" she says through gritted teeth. "You're not a nice person, and we're going to stop you!"

The blonde has both hands on the pistol, but her finger isn't on the trigger. She's afraid of guns, but puts on her best show. "I know how to use this! You heard them! Talk, and open up the bunker!"