Rubie couldn’t decide whether to stop the conversation short or let it play on for just a little longer, the conversation the other two were having felt so mean-spirited in the most targeted way possible. Her, YV and Mitzi had come out WIA’s front doors and out onto the courtyard following Mitzi’s lead, she took the other two through pathways and convoluted turns, leading to the odd nooks and crannies where no student thought to go.

“So… Tell me again why you just happen to know exactly where they are?” YV spoke from behind their leader, almost disbelieving of her confidence. She groaned, tired of his voice already “Ugh… come on! You know exactly the reason why! Believe me the very last thing I wanna do is talk about that douchebag.” You could practically hear Mitzi roll her own eyes even from all the way back where Rubie was following. “I swear to God- I’ll be breathing a little off and that jerk’s ready to bury me 6 feet under...”

“Oh come on guys! Dawn’s well… Dawn! How bad can it be?” Rubie piped up from the back of the line, trying to poke her head through to the front to get a feel for where they were headed.

“You sweet summer child… Dawn, that cute little kid we all remember? You’ve probably already noticed but, they’ve gone a whole 360 since you left!”

“For starters, they've somehow managed to get weed to stick to them like a perfume. Just, you know, nastier?” Mitzi’s voice was laced with poison and what Rubie could only detect as straight frustration. “Speaking of which, you smell that?”

She paused, turning back to address her and YV. She stopped to sniff at the air, where…nothing really stuck out as odd…

“Uhh…what are we smelling?” YV looked at Mitzi like she was just a little crazy, she sighed and hung her head low for a second. “Ugh, okay nevermind that-” she turned to point out Rubie “Rubie? Dawn should be just around that corner over there- past that tree, behind that wall” She pointed in its general direction, using her hand as a guide to tell her where to go “do you think you could go ask for us…?”

Huh? Sure, Rubie didn’t mind doing this at all, but it was just strange is all… There seemed to be an invisible barrier the other two couldn't pass, where Rubie once found herself taking up the runt of the group, she now stood standing in line with the others. Mitzi must have read the confusion off her face, providing her own explanation.

“I, um… I’m pretty sure if I went I’d either get dragged into another meaningless argument, or get flat out shut down. And the same goes for YV too…” YV nodded from her other side, his arms crossed along his middle and his posture unsteady as he spoke, balancing weight from side to side. “But you? I mean, you weren’t here when it all got bad. It’s pretty clear you’re the best person to do it in this situation…”

And with that, it almost felt like it was all in her hands now. And to be completely honest? It was probably for the best too…

 • • •

The air got heavier and thicker with the scent of something else the closer she got to the area Mitzi had singled out. Rubie threw a glance behind her, only to be met with YV and Mitzi’s waving figures… With how dramatic this was making itself out to be, Rubie wouldnt be surprised if she was actually embarking on a suicide mission. She rounded the corner past the tree, poking her head behind the wall, and finally coming face to face with a head of neon pink hair and a figure slumped against the wall, lit joint in hand.

“Um… Dawn?” Their head snapped up immediately, almost like a meerkat on high alert, they scanned the surroundings in a daze.

“Wh- Rubie…?” Black eyes narrowed at the sight of her, almost like they had to make sure this was who they thought it was. “What are you… what are you doing here..??”

Something had clicked inside of them, they dropped their hand in attempts to hide the joint, bloodshot eyes sprung wide open, an unrecognisable expression on their face. The way they’d spoken made it seem like her being there in that moment was something outrageously impossible.

“I, uh, wanted to ask you something…” Rubie took a step closer, something that she swore they flinched at. This really was like dealing with a stray animal, wasn't it? “Ask me..? What, what’s wrong— did something bad happen?”

For a second Rubie swore she saw concern flash through their eyes. This was the one thing that threw her for a loop, perhaps it really was because she hadn’t been there when the other three had severed ties, so she really would have zero clue on what to expect out of them. But despite everything everyone else had said about them, Rubie had never found it to be true.

“Uh, how do I put this... Remember Lunaris? Opening night I mean.” Dawn’s expression shifted ever so slightly, they leaned back, slumping against the brick wall again. They dropped eye contact, going to stare at the trees and bush lined paths in the distance.

“Opening Night? Like hell I’d forget that.” There was a touch of snarky sarcasm in how they spoke, and a light laugh followed right after they’d finished speaking. “What about it?”

Despite how unapproachable they made themselves out to be, with an unruly uniform, messed up hair and bad smoking habit, not once in their conversation had Rubie gotten what YV and Mitzi were talking about, they were different for sure! But not to the point of them wanting her dead for talking to them.

“So, uh- me and the others were just wondering… if you’d mind tagging along so we can all talk about it?”

“The others… So, YV and Mitzi…?” Rubie nodded, and Dawn could only attempt to try to laugh off the discomfort, Rubie noticed how they moved, the hand that held the joint jolted up for a second before something stopped them. “Yeah, no. That's not doable.”

Their flat delivery and blunt wording had startled Rubie for a second, but somehow in that brief moment when confusion settled on her face Dawn piped up again, trying to reason with her just to make sure nothing was lost in translation.

“But it’s not anything to do with you, or them- I mean, it is to some extent…” they sighed, Rubie had never seen them so… panicky before. “Things are gonna get worse if you throw me into that mix. It’s chill if you talk to me about it it's just, you know- with those two? I’d probably just-”

They paused, stopping dead in their tracks just as they glanced over at Rubie, for a second she thought that unreadable expression on their face was directed at her, before she followed their gaze to something a little behind her. Rubie turned around, coming face to face with YV and Mitzi peering around the brick wall as the two of them fumbled to regain their balance after just being caught eavesdropping.

Dawn's entire demeanour had changed, eyes grew sharp, they raised their hand to hold their head in irritated dismay as they sighed, not caring if the still-lit joint burnt their hair.

“God. Didn’t know you two were interested in invading privacy.” Their tone was sharp and brittle “fuckin’ assholes.” Even though they’d mumbled the last part of their sentence barely over a whisper, YV had still caught it clear as day.

“Excuse me? I think we both know damn well I don’t do that and besides, speak for yourself! Creeping around like a total loser is more your thing, not mine.”

“Is being a bitch one of your things then?”

Rubie was sure the air around them was growing heavier and heavier by the second, YV and Dawn seemed to be on the brink of another fight and it was clear that Mitzi wouldn't be of any help either. They really weren’t joking when they said things only went downhill with the three of them together...

“Okay! Okay! Calm down!” Rubie stepped in almost like she was calming a startled horse or breaking up a nasty dog fight. “Dawn, he didn’t mean any of that, and YV? They didn’t either, alright? stop trying to pick a fight, it's not like getting along for just 10 minutes is rocket science…”

Everyone in that nook turned to look at her at that moment. She watched as Dawn slowly went to look between the three of them, lips pursed in silence before she caught something rush through the back of their mind as they kept quiet for a while. Thankfully, neither YV nor Mitzi were in the mood to start something up again too. 

“...Fine. This is important shit isn’t it…?” Dawn sighed, watching the flame of their joint extinguish, a tinge of disappointment in their eyes. “Hit me.”

.

.

.

“What else do I know about it…? Well- Not more than any of you do for sure. Haven’t been back there since, either.” Rubie felt her face scrunch up, the hope she’d been clinging onto so far melting away like snow in the sun. Even after a while of asking Dawn the same set of questions, no one had any sort of lead to hang onto. It just seemed like they all had seen a pop up delusion that only existed for as long as they spent in the festival.

“Damn… so we’re at a dead end, huh?” YV puffed air out from his cheeks like a deflating balloon, Rubie didn't know what they’d get out of this, it wasn't like she was expecting nothing… but there they all were, 4 teens spending the rest of their break, and consecutive free period, sitting on the dusty brick ground in some random nook on campus. Rubie did something here “Do we just…report this to the police?”

“No- we…we can't do that.” Mitzi answered Rubie’s thought without so much as a second guess, only thinking to elaborate on what she said once she noticed all eyes on her. “None of us captured evidence of it ever happening. We have no proof, no officers are gonna believe us! Especially taking all those Halloween prank calls into account from teens and college kids this time of year…”

“But your dad’s the captain isn’t he, Mitzi? He’s bound to believe his own daughter, right?” YV brought up an important. Captain Brynjarsson wasn't only the police captain for Willowfield, but Mitzi’s own dad too. They could have easily reached out and gotten this dealt with at the flick of a wrist. That being said… the instant grimace that came from her the moment she heard those words slip through his lips said otherwise. She stuttered before coming up with another counter.

“Police Captains don't show up on field willy-nilly, and for a case reported by a group of teens with non-existent evidence? He’s my dad, yeah, but he’s the town’s serious Police Captain too, it’s a no go!”

Aannd… they were back at square zero again. It really seemed like the only options they had now were either to leave it alone and let it fester, or to, well, investigate it themselves. YV cupped his cheeks slouching forwards and forwards until it almost felt like he’d faceplant straight into the ground. “Gosh darn it! So what are we meant to do now??”

“Ugh…” Dawn growled and mumbled a complaint. “This is so dumb… We know what we saw anyways. The cops would be stupid not to at least try to believe us.”

“Well, maybe the cops are just trying to do their jobs. Mitzi narrowed her eyes at their statement, taking offense to it like she herself was an inducted officer. Then she scoffed, her voice dropping to a spiteful whisper. “And maybe if people like you stopped prank calling operators, it’d be different…”

Dawn paused, raising their head to lock their eyes onto Mitzi in distaste. Sending a death glare her way so potent Rubie felt chills run down her spine– but Mitzi stayed impressively unswayed. Prompting the conversation to go on as she spoke. “How about we go back to Lunaris?”

Rubie felt her brows knot up. “Go back to Lunaris..? And what– find them again?”

“There’s bound to be about a hundred different people in those masks there… it’s a staple of the festival! What are they called…” his voice trailed off, dying down as he brought a hand to his chin in thought.

“Blancheur masks?” Mitzi answered for him, her brow raised in curiosity before he lit up. “Yeah! Blancheur masks!”

“yeah… then he’s right.” Dawn spoke up, their voice a pale apathetic contrast to YV’s. “There’s a billion people who go in blancheur masks, I don’t know about you but I’d go crazy trying to keep my guard up surrounded by hundreds of possible killers. Besides…”

They paused awkwardly, then never picked up their sentence again. Rubie cleared her throat. “Besides, what…?”

“...Besides, I don’t want to be caught snooping around with you guys.” they spat out, spiteful and purposefully barbed. Rubie watched as YV and Mitzi instantly shrunk back in varied levels of disgust.

“Right!” YV cooed, his eyebrow twitched in a show of hidden frustration. “‘cause obviously I want to be spending my free time with someone like y-”

“Hey– guys?” Rubie cut in. Her voice flat as she sighed in relief, glad that she managed to catch everyone’s attention before an ugly debate broke out. “Can we stay focused? Please?” She asked through a strained voice, and watched as all three of them fell quiet.

“I mean…” Mitzi cut in, her voice wary. As if she were testing the waters of their barbed silence. “If we're thinking of ways to dig a little deeper, there’s always been something I found suspicious… I don’t know if it’s just a group of campers in the woods or what, but every week or so there’s always this… Bonfire deep in the woods right outside campus. Maybe we could check it out?”

Rubie shot up at the sound of that. Bonfires. like the one she saw the first day she came? “Hey- wait, I think I know what you're talking about– I saw it the night I came here actually…”

The image of the rising smoke had thrown her off the moment she saw it– it’d been a while since Rubie had ever been out in the woods by campus but last time she checked there weren’t any registered campsites out there, that night she brushed it off as late night hunters or rebellious campers starting a fire to keep warm in the early winter weather… But, just as easily as it could’ve been from an odd camper, it might as well have been from a demonic cult. With their limited options and clashing ideals it really could have been the best option for them to explore…

Judging by the schedules the fires went by, they’d manage to catch one by Saturday night. The fires started around 10 pm, according to Dawn and Mitzi who’d spotted the flames from their dorms. That was already late enough given that WIA gates closed at the same time on weekdays, and about an hour later on weekends, but just as it’d start, the four of them would sneak out and trek through the forest in it’s direction. And from then on it’d really just be up to fate, whether they died in the forest that day or not, whether they found their way back to the dorms, whether they’d actually catch proof of a cult doing something demonic in the middle of the woods, or if they’d just stumble upon a group of middle aged men doing middle aged things out in the forest. It was really all up to fate.

Rubie just hoped that she’d at least stay alive until graduation. This was one hell of a way to start her first year back at WIA…