Chapter Text
Ricky Thomas wasn’t stupid.
Stupid pranks? Yep, that checked out. Stupid reasons to get into fights? Ok, so he wasn’t exactly a responsible boy, but who the hell is. And the reasons that he had now were all perfectly reasonable, if only the others could just stop picking on Angela.
But Ricky felt pretty certain that the Camp Arawak killer was Angela. And if he was wrong about his cousin being the killer, well, then Ricky would decide that he was wrong about everything. Hell, if he’s wrong about this, he may as well admit his mom is actually sane.
His suspicions started after Artie. Mel had told the campers that Artie went off to find another job or something like that, but word from the other campers had told him they had seen Artie being wheeled away, skin nastily burnt as he wailed in pain. Rick was very comfortable saying good riddance to that bastard.
If Rick were to be completely honest, he wanted to kill that pervert himself, not after what he walked into. He couldn’t imagine walking in minutes later, or else, what could’ve happened to his cousin?
Being at camp for so long, it wasn’t hard to spot the creepy staff at Camp Arawak, and honestly, Ricky wanted to shake the hand of whoever did it. Even if it was his cousin. Angela was shy and quiet, sure, but Ricky probably knew deep down that she could probably do something like that. And it should scare him, but he knew Angela well enough to know she wouldn’t hurt him. And maybe Ricky should be thinking on the logical side, maybe it wasn’t Angela who tried killing Artie. But after telling him she had to do something, disappearing on Ricky and coming back, to then, an hour later, Artie leaving the camp boiled from head to toe, Ricky thought it was perfectly justified to make the link.
It was after the social that Ricky decided to see if his hunch (not exactly a hunch, a theory) was right. Ricky figured it had to be Mike or Kenny who had to go, seeing as the two of them were bothering Angela before he intervened. And so, later that night, the fifteen year old followed the group of older boys and girls to the lake, making sure he was hidden within the shadows behind a nearby cabin, and rolled his eyes when the boys took off all their clothes and jumped in, looking like idiots. It was a pitiful scene, the boys trying to convince the other girls to join in, said girls watching with both amused and annoyed expressions.
Ricky perked up when Kenny asked some of the girls if they wanted to go canoeing, watching him be inevitably rejected, but when Lesie, another older girl camper, came along, Kenny turned his efforts towards her, to which she actually accepted. Ricky had to admit he was becoming bored, watching as Leslie and Kenny set sail on a little canoe out the the middle of the lake, Mike waving them off teasingly, though he had to stop himself laughing when Kenny decided to flip them over. That didn’t stop Ricky from feeling sympathy towards Leslie, she probably showered and all and she’d have to do it again before going to bed.
As he saw Kenny slip under the canoe and Leslie swimming back towards the dock, Ricky spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A figure stood by the edge of the lake, far from the group and unnoticed by everyone but Ricky, their hair past their shoulders. The lack of light obscured their face, and based on the silhouette, they wore nothing but shorts and a t-shirt, but Ricky already knew who it was.
Angela.
Ricky watched his cousin wade into the water before diving without making a splash, and once she disappeared, he forced his gaze towards the group of girls leaving, shooting strings of curses at the boys as they teased Leslie about water snakes. And after the boys humour Kenny’s asshole-y behaviour, Mike turned towards the capsized canoe.
“Kenny, let’s go!” Mike yelled, cupping a hand over his mouth. There was no response, other than the boat slightly shifting from side to side. “Come on, we’re out of here!” He shouted, clenching his jaw from the lack of response.
“Fuck him, Mike, he's being a wise-ass again! We'll catch him back at the bunk.” Billy said, turning in circles to make sure Mike was going to follow before he and the older boys started running back to their cabin. Casting one doubtful look towards the lake, Mike finally relented, and jogged towards the others, not exactly thrilled at the idea of being caught. The lakeside was now silent, and Ricky, swallowing the lump that had made itself comfortable in his throat, creeped closer.
Certain that there were no older campers left hanging about, Ricky snuck towards the canoe rack, hastily ducking down as the canoe shifted and the waves bulged. The figure swam towards the shoreline, and sure enough, Angela emerged, completely drenched yet otherwise standing with a calm expression on her face. The most Ricky could make out was a slight hint of annoyance as the sand stuck to her shoes, and then to her ankles when she had accidentally kicked the sand up.
Ricky felt all types of emotions at once, not one of them positive. Ok, maybe a hint of self-satisfaction for getting it right, but that was where that stopped. Dread, that was what best described how he was feeling right now. He knew he had to confront Angela. But how would she react, would she turn on him?
She wouldn’t do that, this is Angela we’re talking about! Ricky told himself confidently, though that immediately faltered. What if he didn’t know his cousin that well, what if she turns on him? He doesn’t want to believe that would happen, but Ricky had just seen her drown someone, so what would she do to Ricky if she found him here-
“Ricky, you aren’t good at hiding,” Angela’s quiet voice drifted from the shoreline, squeezing water out of her t-shirt. A hint of a smile ghosted her lips. Oh shit.
He stepped out from behind his hiding spot, slowly approaching his cousin. She looked up, her face blank, with that familiar look of innocence that would have no one suspecting she would kill a fly. Ricky knew better, though. “Did you…” Ricky’s eyes drifted to the capsized canoe, where Kenny probably lay floating face down. He gulped down any fear, he wasn't afraid of Angela.
"Did you kill him?" He asked calmly. But apparently not calm enough because he immediately spotted the panic pooling in her wide, brown eyes, and Ricky quickly added, "I just want to know!"
"Shh," Angela said, holding up both her hands before wrapping her arms around her waist. "Can we get near the cabins, at least?"
"You sure?" Ricky lowered his voice, realising how loud he'd probably been.
"We might get spotted out here," Angela looked around wearily, and so, the two cousins set off towards a cluster of cabins, far from their own, and ducked down. Angela was still dripping, but with a few more hair squeezes and letting the wind do most of the work, she didn't seem to bothered about being drenched. They duck down behind an empty cabin, and, after a somewhat comfortable silence, Ricky decided to open his mouth.
"So, you killed Kenny then?" Ricky asked, stating the obvious. Angela nodded easily then frowned, sitting on the grass as playing with the blades between her fingers.
"You don't sound too mad," Angela hummed.
"Think I already knew after Artie. Did you really pull the stool out from under him?" Ricky implored, curiosity winning over any fear he should be feeling. Angela simply nodded, and Ricky copied her action in approval. "Cool," He settled on, realising how bizarre this all was. Sitting with his cousin behind a cabin, in the middle of the night, discussing the people she had attempted to murder and had murdered.
"But he got away, so..." Angela sounded mildly disappointed in herself.
"Last I heard he was squealing, maybe that'll be enough to kill him," Ricky shrugged, and Angela looked somewhat elated by that possibility.
"Hopefully," She agreed. Now, Ricky sat beside her with about ten thousand questions at the ready, though he wasn't sure if his cousin would want to answer all of them. Being out here drenched is giving Mother Nature the chance to give Angela pneumonia. "What is it, Ricky?" Angela broke another pause of silence, easily reading her cousin's inquisitive stare without looking at him.
"How did you do it? Kill Kenny, I mean," Ricky opened his mouth before he could stop himself. Curiosity kept building and building.
"Held him underwater, it was kinda easy," Angela said comfortably. "Thought it would be more of a struggle, I guess," She thought slowly, staring off into the darkness of the camp.
"Do you enjoy doing it, or something?"
"I don't know," Angela answered honestly. "But I don't like it when they do me wrong, I guess that's why I did it."
Ricky nodded in consideration, then asked, "Are you gonna keep killing?"
The other teen considered this for a moment, then shrugged. "Are you gonna kill me? You know, now that I know?" Angela's eyes snapped towards him, as if shocked he would ever consider that a question.
"No, I wouldn't. Aunt Martha-"
"Probably wouldn't care?" Ricky finished off teasingly, though that only earned him a hard poke from Angela to the ribs. "Ow- Angela!"
"She would care," Angela protested, but Ricky could tell that defiance was being weakly supported by all the times the responsibility was placed on Ricky to take care of Angela while she doted Angela with gifts and overwhelming affection. If people were shocked Ricky was actually the child of Martha instead of Angela, Ricky couldn't say he blamed them. "Besides, I wouldn't kill you, don't be dumb."
"I thought it was fair to ask," Ricky said weakly.
"Well, it's dumb, so don't ask again," Angela grumbled. He studied her for a moment, figured she was telling the truth, and felt any bit of doubt and tension leave his body. Meanwhile, Angela busied herself drying her t-shirt, frowning at the feeling of her clothes stuck to her. "Don't think I'll kill anyone else in the water. I didn't like it." Angela said considerately.
"Would hate to be the next sucker that faces whatever shit you'll put them through," Ricky huffed.
"I'd hate being them too," Angela agreed with a gentle grin. It was strange, Ricky could admit that much, talking about murder like it were a nightly hobby. Ricky should've been freaking out, but here he was.
"Scared you'll get caught?" Ricky asked, his own worries starting to get to him. He couldn't imagine his cousin getting caught for just dealing with some assholes. Ok, that was understating her actions, he knows, but regardless, he didn't want Angela getting thrown into jail.
"I think so, but I'll be ok," Angela reassured him. "I can hide better than you can."
"Bullshit!" Ricky scoffed, starting to get up.
"It's true," Angela simply stated, taking Ricky's hand when he offered it to her. They started sneaking back towards the cabin, reaching Angela's cabin first.
"Just gonna creep back in?" He asked with mild amusement. Just imagining his cousin casually strolling back inside the cabin after killing somewhat made for a hilarious image.
"What else can I do?" Angela fixed Ricky with a 'seriously?' look before approaching the stairs. Quickly squeezing her clothes and hair so she wouldn't leave a trail, she stepped on the porch, ready to enter when Ricky held her wrist.
"Wait, Angela," He said in a hushed whisper. Angela turns, waiting for him to continue. "Do you regret doing it?" It felt like a critical question to ask. Angela seemed to think for a moment, her blank stare gazing off to the distance, and even before giving her answer, Ricky knew what it would be.
"No," Angela answered firmly. Ricky nodded, then let go of her wrist.
"Alright then. Night, Angie. Make sure you get dried up, don't wanna be sick," He said, smiling tiredly.
Angela returned the smile. "Good night, Rick. Don't tell anyone about this," She warned jokingly, without a hint of threat beneath it.
"No matter what you do, I'll never tell." Ricky said, closely mirroring what he'd told his mom when she gave him their physicals for camp. That got a grin from Angela before she entered the bunk, quiet as cat. Ricky made quick work going towards his cabin, and, as he stepped on the porch, he looked towards the direction of the lake. The events of the night really catch up to him there and then. His cousin was a killer, she had killed someone by holding their head under the water, Ricky wasn't as freaked out as he would be, even after his theory was proven correct. Though, Ricky wasn't in a rush to snitch.
Hal would probably find Kenny's body, police and ambulance would come by 9 to take him away. And another camp day would go on ahead.
With Ricky knowing who had drowned the older camper under the canoe.