Devil's Daughter

Chapter 7

The sour look on Ziggy's face wasn't hard to miss as the two friends made their way back to the nurse's cabin, the cause of her mood was the sound of Nick's footsteps landing close behind them, it seemed to only bring more annoyance to Ziggy.

"Tell him to go away." She mumbled to Artemis before wiping the remaining blood away from under her nose. "He's just trying to help." Artemis whispered, as Nick drew closer to them. "Well, I don't want his help."

"Hey." Nick called out as he stopped on the other side of Ziggy, "You should probably have Nurse Lane check that burn out." He advised, nodding down to the red welt on her arm.

"No, I think I'm just gonna let it get infected and die." Ziggy muttered out in annoyance.

Artemis exhaled softly, annoyed and hoping that the counselor would drop the situation entirely and let them deal with it later.

"What? I don't even get a thank you?" Nick questioned cheekily, causing Ziggy to stop in her place.

"Oh, he wants a thank you. I'm sorry, Nick. I forgot. Thank you, King of Sunnyvale, future Police Chief Nick Goode, for rescuing us poor, helpless Shadysiders. How could we ever repay you? Bat our eyes at you, like all the other dumbass girls?"

The cheeky grin on Nick's face slowly turned into one of resentment as he tried his best to not glare at the camper.

Artemis tried to hide her smirk as Ziggy flicked the counselor off before stomping off towards the camp entrance, dragging Artemis with her.

"I don't even get a thank you? Who does he think he is?" Ziggy complained.

"He's a counselor, Ziggy. And a Goode, from what you told me about them, he's bound to be a little full of himself." She said as they made their way past a few campers that painted the red and blue banners for Color War.

"Well, he can suck it." Ziggy mumbled earning a sarcastic eyeroll from Artemis.

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The door to Nurse Lane's creaked as the two girls entered the usually empty cabin. "Nurse Lane! Hello?" Ziggy called out as the door knocked into the bell that hung just above it.

"I'm in trouble again. Help." Ziggy's voice held no tone to it as the two came to a stop in the waiting area of the cabin.

"Nurse Lane, come on! I could die any minute now." Ziggy continued to yell through the empty cabin, causing Artemis to laugh before making her way into Nurse Lanes office.

" We probably shouldn't be in here." Ziggy whispered as the two looked around the empty office.

"I'm sure we'll be fine." She stated once it became clear to the two that Nurse Lane wasn't around.

A notebook, or maybe it was a diary, laid on top of the nurse's cluttered desk. The page it was left opened on revealed an old new's clipping from the '60s, while the other was a sketch labeled as the 'Witch's Mark'.

Catching a closer glimpse of the new's clipping, Ziggy's heart sank slightly at the still-image of the smiling girl on the paper.

Ruby Lane.

Nurse Lane's daughter, she'd apparently just snapped in '65. Ruby had killed seven of her friends with a razor blade before turning it on herself.

But Ziggy knew not to blame the killing on a mental break. Ruby was a sweet girl, a girl who had a bright future ahead of her. One that the Shadyside curse could never let see the light of day.

As Ziggy reached to move the book closer to them, the sound of the office door creaking behind them caused her to jump out of shock, pulling Artemis with her.