The waterfall next to the campsite glimmered under a pale sun, framed by pine trees that look more like watchful sentinels than greenery. After Principal Barry’s inspirational speech for their arrival at Camp Jericho (now proclaimed as Camp Outcast for the weekend that Nevermore is there). He wraps it up with, “— and no normies for two miles!” To which everyone cheers. However that’s when they’re interupted by a old, sergeant appearing man who looked like he was more of an army drills commander than the leader of cadets.

“That’s where you’re wrong. Boys! File out!” Ron Kruger projects, and boys in their mid teenage years surround the circular stand that he and Barry were on. A standoff was brewing. “This is our reservation for the weekend. Your little drama school wasn’t on the calendar. I’ve been training my boys for the last 364 days and I’ll be damned if you don’t back down and pack your bags.”

Enid leaned toward Wednesday, whispering, “It’s not a drama school.” Wednesday, deadpan; “To them, it’s either that or a cult.”

After a few back and forth, it was decided that they had double booked the reservation for the same weekend. But after the misunderstanding, Wednesday pressed down on the sac of an air horn, a loud, sharp high pitched sound blaring through the camp. She slowly stepped forward, almost pleased that she had their attention.

“I have a proposition. Let’s have a challenge to decide who leaves and who stays.” She said in an almost bored tone, her eyes flicking between her principal and the cadet leader.

After some though, the terms were decided and the challenge would be colour war. The exercise was that there would be two teams, one from the normies and another for the outcasts, with each group consisting of eight people. From each team there would be four defenders and four attackers. Each team would have one area in the forest where there would be an egg— a zephyr. Whoever made it back to the watchtower and put the zephyr on the pedestal first, won.

What the Nevermore students didn’t know was that the Phoenix Cadets had long since over-prepared for their wilderness survival trip, and had planted multiple boxes of gas masks and tear gas amongst other things that they could use to even out the playign field against people who had literal supernatural abilities.

Wednesday, Ajax, Bruno, Enid, Bianca, Kent, and Eugene were huddling around each other, discussing who will defend and who will attempt to steal the other team’s zephyr. That’s when she realised that they needed one more outcast to be on their team. Preferably someone competent from the same grade as they all were— someone capable of not jeapordising the entire challenge. Which in truth, not many fit the category of standard that Wednesday found useful and expendable at the same time.

That’s when her cold, unblinking eyes landed on {{user}}.