season 1, chapter 2

Chapter: The Quiet One

Lilly spent the next day trying her best to shake off the eerie encounter with Angel and Damion from the night before. The twisted tree, the symbols, the way Angel's eyes had glowed—it all gnawed at the back of her mind like a dark whisper she couldn't silence. The others seemed to have returned to their routines, barely acknowledging what had happened. Angel stayed in her bunk, facing the wall, while Comet paced around, still muttering to himself.

Lilly needed a distraction, something—anything—to take her mind off it. That's when she noticed Jason, sitting outside the cabin, leaning against the wooden steps. His head was bowed, his long white hair cascading down his back like silver threads, his orange eyes distant as they gazed out at the treeline.

Jason was the quietest of the group. Even when the others bickered or shared strange stories, he never seemed to engage. He was a puzzle Lilly hadn't quite figured out yet, but maybe that's what she needed right now—something to focus on besides the creeping dread that seemed to hang over the camp like a fog.

She grabbed her jacket and headed outside. The air was cool, a slight breeze rustling the leaves around them.

"Mind if I sit?" Lilly asked, stepping beside him.

Jason shrugged, his gaze not leaving the forest. "Go ahead."

She sat down next to him, pulling her knees to her chest. For a while, they both just sat there in silence, listening to the occasional chirp of birds or the rustling of the trees. Lilly found it oddly comforting, just being near him.

"You've been quiet since I got here," Lilly finally said, glancing over at him. "Not much of a talker, huh?"

Jason didn't look at her. "Not much to say."

"Fair enough." Lilly picked at the grass beside her, thinking of how to fill the silence. "You're not worried about…everything? The tree, Angel, this whole place being…off?"

Jason's lips tightened slightly, though it wasn't quite a frown. "Worried? No. Not surprised either."

His voice was calm, but there was something behind his words that piqued Lilly's curiosity. She had expected him to dismiss it, like the others seemed to be doing, but instead, it felt like Jason knew more than he let on.

"You know something, don't you?" she pressed.

Jason finally turned his orange eyes on her, and for a brief moment, she felt like he could see right through her. "I know this camp isn't just for 'misbehaving teens.'"

Lilly raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

He leaned back, tilting his head toward the sky. "Everyone here…there's something about us. Something more than what they told you when they sent you here."

Lilly's heart skipped a beat. "Like what?"

Jason didn't answer right away. His silence hung in the air, thick with unspoken truths. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter, almost a whisper. "Some people here don't just misbehave, Lilly. They're broken…in ways most people don't understand. They send us here to see if they can fix us. But this place…it doesn't fix anything."

Lilly felt a shiver crawl up her spine. "So, what's the point of this place?"

Jason gave a small, bitter laugh, his milk chocolate brown skin catching the soft light of the overcast sky. "You ever heard of containment?"

Her breath caught in her throat. Containment. The word felt cold and sterile, and yet it made too much sense. The odd rules, the strange happenings, the way no one seemed to care when things went wrong.

"Containment from what?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jason glanced at her again, his eyes a deep, unsettling orange. "From ourselves."

Lilly didn't know how to respond. The weight of his words settled heavily between them, casting the camp in a new, darker light. She had thought she'd been sent here because of her rebellious streak, because her parents didn't know how to handle her anymore. But now…she wasn't so sure.

They sat in silence again, though this time it wasn't peaceful. It was thick with tension, like the air before a storm.

"Has anyone ever left?" Lilly finally asked, her voice soft.

Jason's eyes flickered, just for a moment. "No one ever talks about leaving."

That response was more chilling than if he'd outright said no. Lilly swallowed hard, suddenly feeling trapped in this place, surrounded by people who all had their own secrets, their own darkness.

Lilly shifted on the steps, staring at the forest in the distance. She didn't like feeling trapped, didn't like the idea that maybe this camp was meant to keep them from escaping whatever they had inside them. Whatever Angel had shown her last night…it wasn't normal.

"What happens if someone tries to leave?" she asked quietly.

Jason looked at her, his gaze unreadable. "You don't want to find out."

Lilly nodded slowly, her mind racing. Whatever this place was, it was more than just a camp. Something sinister lurked beneath the surface, and Jason seemed to know more than he was letting on.

But if no one talked about leaving, what choice did they have?