Unexpected Expedition

June 4^th, 2026

Bing Bong Airlines was not Riley’s first choice for a flight, considering the reputation that preceded it, but they needed any flight that they could get to Hawaii. The high possibility of a cheap flight crashing would not stop them from getting some sunshine and finishing the last few badges for their sash.

Not long after they walked into the airport, they decided to stand in front of the massive mirror in the lobby. For what reason, they didn’t really know, but it never hurt to make sure they seemed okay. After all, first impressions meant everything, and they didn’t want to look like a mess to whoever they’d come across.

Their skin was light blue, which many said makes them stand out a lot. They were wearing an aviator hat, a dark brown trench coat with a lighter brown accent, and similarly colored boots and gloves. Beneath their hat were bangs that rode just above the tops of their eyes. They had a smart watch nestled right above their right glove. Draped across their trench coat was a sparkly silver sash that only Wolf Scouts wore. It had nearly every badge on it, but there were a few open spots remaining.

The trench coat was a questionable choice, considering they were flying to Hawaii, but they thought they looked cool in it. If it became unbearable to wear, they did have a tank-top on underneath it.

It seemed that Riley would not be alone on their flight, as there were three other scouts in various parts of the airport, all in varying experiences and sizes. Maybe they could get to know each other in Hawaii, but for now, Riley wanted some alone time. That wouldn’t stop them from gathering some intel on their peers though. After returning to their seat, Riley decided to scout out the three scouts.

The first scout to catch Riley’s attention happened to be the least experienced and the youngest of the bunch.

Their skin was orange, and they wore one of the typical outfits that most newbie scouts wore: an orange button-up shirt with a green skirt. They had freckles blotted across their face, much like Riley, and they looked both nervous and excited. Their hair was both curly and not very well kept. It wasn’t dirty by any means, just… not well loved, it seemed. Atop of their hair sat a cute little beret matching the colors of their outfit.

There were a couple badges, basically the free ones, carefully stitched onto their navy-blue sash—

Wait… navy-blue? Only kids that were just Scouts wore those, and if they were just a Scout… why were they here?

Never mind that. Maybe Riley would find out later.

The orange scout was near the mirror, nervously pacing back and forth, likely muttering reassuring words to themselves. They seemed to be very anxious about the trip. Riley wasn’t sure if they should approach them or not, maybe put them at ease.

They didn’t have time to capitalize on that though since the orange scout’s eyes quickly met Riley’s in the mirror. Riley quickly looked over towards the other scouts, hoping that kid didn’t notice. They weren’t really in the mood for a confrontation over that.

The second scout, who was purple, was the complete opposite of the first. While they did not have as many badges as Riley, it was evident that they at least had some experience under their belt. That put Riley at a bit of ease. They could handle one newbie, but multiple? That was surely a recipe for disaster.

Riley determined that they were a Kangaroo Scout, based on the red sash that they wore. They seemed to be quite short, somehow even shorter than the orange scout. In spite of that, they appeared to be the oldest of the bunch. They were wearing a floral shirt and khaki shorts, with aviator glasses and a sun hat fitted nicely atop their head. Much like Riley, they had some bangs as well, but it was evident that theirs was more maintained.

They were entertained by what was going on above them, which prompted Riley to look in the same direction.

They spotted a yellow scout, and the final one, that appeared to be getting angry at the rock climbing wall while holding onto it. They were a Rabbit Scout, as indicated by their yellow sash. They appeared to be between the other two scouts in age, though they were a few inches taller than both of them. They were wearing climbing gear, fingerless gloves and a crab head. Underneath that crab head seemed to be somewhat spiky hair, though it was difficult to tell based on the angle.

Based on their attire, it seemed like they were the only person that was actually prepared for the trip, minus the crab head. That was a rather peculiar choice. Riley wasn’t really in a place to judge though, given they were wearing a trench coat.

They caught a quick glance at Riley and gave them an ugly look, to which Riley immediately looked away. At least Riley was able to confirm the kid’s hair was spiky.

Since Riley last saw the orange scout, they had stepped away from the mirror and towards the miniature basketball court. They were bouncing a basketball against the wall and appeared to have eased up a little bit. Whatever they told themselves must have worked.

At least Riley would have one less high-strung kid to deal with on the flight.

Riley took a look at their watch: 10:28AM.

Plenty of time for a catnap.

Their seat wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it would do the job just fine. They started to wriggle into a more tolerable position until they noticed something orange out of the corner of their eye.

The orange scout had been hovering nearby without saying a word, observing Riley’s every move.

Awkward.

Riley met their gaze with their own. “Uh, hey…? Is there something on my face?”

“O-Oh! Sorry!” The orange scout saluted. “Scout, uh… Orange, r-ready for duty!” Their arm was noticeably tense.

Riley rose from their seat and returned the salute. “Wolf Scout Riley. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Orange.”

They dropped their arm back to their side, but noticed that Orange didn’t do the same. “Uh… you can put your arm down now.”

Orange did not move.

Were they not aware of the saluting etiquette?

Riley sighed. “At ease.” Orange finally complied.

The same question from earlier returned to the forefront of Riley’s mind: why were they here? Scouts usually weren’t allowed to venture out on their own until they were at least a Rabbit Scout, so what was Orange doing here, in Bing Bong Airlines of all places? And why such a young scout, of all people?

Something seemed off. Riley couldn’t quite pinpoint what, though.

They didn’t really have time to mull over this concern, since Orange had started gushing about… something. They were speaking far too fast for Riley to really make out anything, though they seemed to be very excited about it. Riley couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“Orange. Please. Slow down.” Riley immediately regretted how they said that. Orange immediately deflated at Riley’s demand. “It’s cool that you’re excited and all, but just slow down a bit, okay?” Orange nodded, but they never actually continued. They instead started picking at a random scab on their arm.

Rather than convincing them to continue, Riley instead took this as an opportunity to find some answers.

They knelt down to Orange’s eye level. “Hey, Orange.” Orange perked up. “I’ve got a few questions if you don’t mind answering them.” Orange gave a hesitant nod.

“Right, so what is a regular old Scout like yourself doing without your troop? You really shouldn’t be taking trips without your troop until you’re a Rabbit Scout.”

“R-Really? Uh… they– my scoutmaster said that I deserved a vacation so they sent me here. A-Alone.”

A vacation? Alone?

“...okay. Do you know why they sent you to Bing Bong Airlines specifically?”

“Uh… m-my scoutmaster said… it’s the best airline to fly on…”

And they were lulled into a false sense of safety and cast away to a shady airline in the hopes that history would repeat itself?

“I see. And, what does your troop think of you?”

“They… I think they laugh at me behind my back. A lot of the o-other scouts… they say mean things to me… and the scoutmaster doesn’t really help me when I ask.”

Everything started to fall into place now. They weren’t treated fairly by their troop and were thrown away at the first opportunity. This wasn’t just a vacation, this was an attempt at sending them directly to their grave. What a horrible thing to do to a kid that just wanted to be a scout.

“...do you know why they did these things to you?”

“T-They… they said… I’m weird and t-talk too much. And that I’m… a-annoying…”

Riley didn’t know how to respond. They were just another kid, and they were being treated like shit. If Riley ever found Orange’s scoutmaster…

“Uh… i-is everything okay, Riley…?”

Riley wanted to tell them the truth, but… maybe it would be better to put them at ease, instead.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. And uh, don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Riley ruffled Orange’s hair and gave them one final salute before turning arou– the purple scout had been watching.

Once they were spotted, they suddenly straightened up and saluted. “Ah, hello Wolf Scout Riley. I’m Kangaroo Scout Jade!” Riley silently returned the salute.

“Hello, Jade. You know it’s rude to eavesdrop, right?” Great track record for being unintentionally aggressive, Riley.

“I’m aware. Just got curious about what was going on here. I’m not really buying Orange’s story.”

So Riley wasn’t the only one with suspicions, then. “...Yeah. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Riley signaled towards the yellow scout. “So, uh… what about them over there?” They were still getting angry at the wall for some reason. Riley almost wanted to laugh, but figured it’d be rude to.

Jade let out a deep sigh. “...right. That’s Jamie. They’re my little sibling. They’re super moody, so don’t even bother with them right now. Or ever, honestly.”

Before Riley could ask Jade anymore questions, the intercom suddenly buzzed on and a tired voice came from it. “Gate 7 is now boarding. Please make your way over to Gate 7.”

Had it already been 30 minutes? Riley took a look at their watch, but it only said 10:47AM. They were actually boarding a flight early, for once? That’d be a first for any airline.

Orange darted ahead of Riley and Jade, but stopped to wave their arms. “H-Hey! We’re leaving!!”

Jade and Riley glanced at each other. “Guess we’ve got a plane to catch, huh?”

“That appears to be the case.”

Riley stepped into line right behind Orange. Riley couldn’t see their face, but based on how much they were bouncing around in their spot, they seemed excited to fly.

Riley wished they could share that same excitement. When they were younger, they enjoyed watching the clouds and the changing scenery. Now, it’s just another opportunity to take a nap.

Once Riley boarded the plane, they quickly rushed over to their seat–a window seat–and settled down. It was surprisingly comfortable. There were no mini TVs strapped to the back of the seats, but that was okay. They didn’t intend on watching anything anyways.

Orange nearly jumped into the seat beside Riley and fidgeted with their seatbelt for a moment before finally buckling themselves in.

Orange gave Riley a huge grin and leaned over to whisper in their ear. “I’m not s-supposed to sit here, but… n-nobody else is getting on, so… I’m sitting here!”

They seemed so proud of themselves. How adorable.

Riley chuckled. “Look at you, already getting yourself in trouble before we even leave.”

“…D-Don’t tell on me, please?”

“I won’t, don’t worry. Your mischief will go unnoticed.”

Orange yawned. “...okay.”

It seemed like their anxiety and excitement wore them out.

“Hey Orange. Let’s get some sleep and then we can check out Hawaii together. Does that sound good?”

Orange nodded frantically at question. If they could barely contain their excitement before, they definitely couldn’t now. “Mhm! I… I look forward to it! I’m g-gonna sleep now!”

Before Riley could respond, they were fast asleep.

Riley couldn’t help but smile. Orange wasn’t their kid, but they were still happy to be in their presence. They went through so much. It’s only fair that they finally get their lucky break.

Riley wanted to get some sleep too, so they leaned their head back and put in some earbuds to drown out the surrounding noise. The sight of white fluffy clouds and the slight turbulence of the plane made them feel drowsy.

There was a constant feeling of unease that had been tugging at Riley all morning, but they had Z’s to catch. They could worry about that later.

Everything would turn out okay. The plane wouldn’t crash. Everyone would get their badges. Everyone would get to spend time relaxing. Everyone would go home to their families and give them a hug, maybe even share stories.

Riley would just berate themselves for overthinking it when they landed. They tended to overthink sometimes. Why would it be any different this time?

After all, the same flight from the same airline wouldn’t just crash again…

Right?

Riley woke up to a face full of sand and what faintly felt like a cozy fire off to their left.

Were they in Hawaii already? Why would they just be tossed in the sand and not woken up?

Orange would’ve definitely disturbed Riley’s sleep if they made it, right?

Something seemed off.

Despite their body protesting against them, Riley tried to force themselves upward. However, they were stopped dead in their tracks by a sudden sharp pain in their right forearm.

They immediately cringed at the pain and tried to identify the source. Their eyes landed on a massive cut that pierced through their coat. The area surrounding the cut had been soaked in blood. The sand where they once rested was stained in a similar fashion.

No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t recall what actually happened leading up to the injury.

Maybe they got a little too crazy and blacked out and just didn’t remember it?

No… they wouldn’t ever do such a thing. They knew better than to do that, especially around children.

What happened, then?

They rolled themselves over despite the pain and couldn’t believe what they saw.

It almost looked like something you’d only see in a movie.

The plane was split nearly perfectly down the middle into two pieces and had several charred marks across its body. A lot of the luggage had been sprawled out across the shore. All of the windows had been destroyed. Ironically, the wings were the last remaining pieces of the plane that were structurally sound.

That would explain the cut on their forearm, then.

A panicked voice suddenly came from behind Riley. “—iley??? R-Riley!!!”

Orange.

Orange suddenly popped into Riley’s view. Their face was stained with a mix of wet sand and tears and they were desperately trying to tell Riley something, but all that came out was a flurry of gibberish. Their entire body was erratically shaking and they seemed pretty scratched up. Their injuries weren’t major, but would need to be addressed eventually.

Riley spotted a first aid kit in Orange’s hands. Was Orange trying to find something to help them this whole time? Poor kid.

Orange suddenly grabbed Riley’s forearm unannounced to examine it. Riley nearly yanked their arm away out of impulse, but they managed to keep their composure.

It was just Orange trying to help. There was no need to overreact.

For a brief moment, Orange struggled to roll up Riley’s sleeve. Riley had considered offering assistance, but before they had a chance to, Orange managed to roll it up on their own.

The look on Orange’s face was indescribable. Whatever they saw must have looked nasty. The cut didn’t feel bad. Did it really look that bad?

Riley tried to speak, but they couldn’t. Their throat was too dry. Instead, they offered a look of both confusion and concern towards Orange.

“Y-Your forearm… it-it’s… bleeding. A lot. I’m… I’m g-gonna help you… okay?”

Riley simply nodded.

Orange grabbed the first aid kit that they had tossed to the side and pulled out some gauze and a bandage roll. They also grabbed the nearest water bottle and set it aside with the other supplies.

Riley looked at the bottle in confusion.

It seemed like Orange understood the gesture and explained. “J-Just using this to c-clean your arm before I cover it up… c-can’t let it get infected!”

Riley didn’t protest against what they said. They made sense, after all.

But… how much potable water did they really have?

“H-Hey, uh, Riley? I’m gonna s-start fixing you up, o-okay? L-Let me know if… if I h-hurt you at all…”

Riley hummed in acknowledgment. That hurt their throat, just a little bit.

Orange cracked open the bottle and allowed the contents to flow onto Riley’s cut.

After a moment, they picked up some gauze and waved it in front of Riley. “S-So, this one, I’m g-gonna use to dry it up.”

Orange dabbed the area with the gauze. Riley didn’t quite see the entire thing, but from a quick glance, they saw that it was soaked in bloody water.

Huh. So maybe it was that bad.

Next, Orange pulled out another handful of gauze.

They paused. “...Uh, I… c-can you… are you able to h-hold this gauze in place w-when I say to?”

Riley gave them a thumbs up, partially as confirmation to Orange’s question and that their other arm actually worked.

Orange placed a wad of gauze over the cut before giving Riley a nervous gaze.

That must’ve been their cue.

Riley moved their left hand to hold the gauze in place as Orange wrapped it with a bandage.

“O-Okay, uh… I’m done! B-But, you’re thirsty, r-right? Wait here!”

Orange ran off without waiting for a response.

Riley took a look at their right arm now that Orange wasn’t hovering over them.

It was neatly wrapped in the bandage, covering whatever horrific cut lied beneath.

Orange was really good at first aid. Maybe Riley could find out more later, maybe even learn some new things.

Orange returned with a coconut and split it into two halves. They tried their best to split the contents in each half evenly. They put one half up to Riley’s mouth to help them drink the contents. Once Orange pulled the coconut away, they put the other half up to their own mouth to drink.

Their throat still felt like sandpaper, but the coconut did wonders. It wouldn’t hold them over forever, but it would be enough for the time being. Riley cleared their throat. Orange only waited patiently for their next move.

“Thank you, Orange. Could you tell me what happened? I… don’t really know myself.”

“T-The, uh, p-plane. It… it c-crashed. I-I don’t know where the other two are b-but w-when I saw you, I… I left to l-look for s-something to help you and I…” Orange was really trembling. “I’m so sorry I didn’t know this would happen I hope I’m not hurting you Ijustwan—”

“Breathe, Orange. I appreciate your help.” Riley forced a small smile. “I think I’ll be okay now.”

“U-Uh, are you s-sure? I, uh, I d-don’t really know how bad your cut is. I… I hope i-it’s not gonna be i-infected…”

Orange was still shaking. Riley needed to do something to calm them down. They gave Orange a reassuring pat on their arm. “I’m okay. I promise. If it was infected, I think we’d know by now. Thanks for the help. You’re really good at this stuff.”

Orange seemed to light up at the gratitude. “W-Well, uh, n-never abandon a f-friend in need, right?”

Wow, they actually paid attention to their guidebook? Not many scouts could say the same.

“Right. You know a lot for being a new scout.”

Orange rubbed the back of their neck. “U-Um, thank you… I s-studied really hard for t-this! Uh, b-being a scout, I-I mean. Not… a plane crash.” They let out an awkward chuckle.

Orange cleared their throat. “A-Anyways… i-if you feel like moving, we n-need to look f-for the others. But, uh, I already tried l-looking for t-the pilot, they’re… gone.”

“Gone?” Riley was completely dumbfounded.

“Y-Yeah. Like… like they were n-never here.”

That was… interesting, to say the least. Unfortunately, that mystery would remain unsolved for now, though. Orange made a valid point. They needed to get moving to find Jade and Jamie. Who knew where they ended up, or if they were even alive? They could’ve left to look for help, or…

No. There was no time to ruminate on those kind of thoughts. Jade and Jamie were still alive. They had to be.

Without another word, Orange began to move more inland. They only made it a few feet before they stopped and looked back at Riley. That appeared to be their cue. Riley slowly rose up from where they were laying before walking up to Orange’s side.

Orange looked up at Riley. “I’ll j-just, uh, f-follow you.”

Riley subconsciously grabbed Orange’s hand. “Right. Let’s go, then.” Orange lightly squeezed Riley’s hand in response.

The two of them cautiously walked inland and looked all around for any traces of Jade and Jamie.

They were instead greeted by palm trees and bushes. Some of the palm trees had coconuts dangling from them and some of the bushes had berries ripe for the picking. Riley spotted some luggage which would likely contain some supplies, but they decided against opening them. There were a few urchins and jellyfish along the mountainside, likely dangerous, so Riley made a mental note to avoid those. Beyond all of that was a mountain that they would likely have to climb. They couldn’t actually see the peak, but they assumed there was going to be a long climb ahead of them.

Riley was interested in exploring more of this island with their ragtag troop, but they needed to focus on actually finding the other half of it first.

The silence gnawed at Riley. Usually, they reveled in silence. It meant that people left them alone so they could focus on the task at hand. Now? It only allowed negative thoughts more space to manifest, and that was the last thing they needed right now.

Their curiosity about Orange gnawed at them, too. There were still a lot of questions left unanswered about them.

Riley stopped and knelt down to Orange’s eye level. “Hey, Orange. You doing okay, buddy?”

If their body language was anything to go off of, then the answer was already apparent.

“N-Not really… I’m… I’m s-scared, Riley… I wanna go home…”

“...yeah. Me too. Where’s ‘home’ for you?”

No response.

“Orange?”

“I don’t… I don’t actually h-have a home.”

Oh.

On top of everything else, they were homeless too?

If—no, when—everyone got off of this island alive, Riley was going to find and strangle Orange’s scoutmaster, and give Orange a place to stay. A home.

They deserved to have a better life. Not whatever this was.

“I’m sorry.”

“I-It’s o—”

“It really isn’t okay. None of this is okay. Your troop took advantage of you and tried to kill you. This isn’t okay, Orange!”

Orange recoiled from the sudden outburst and fell silent.

“Wait, Orange, I… I’m sorry for getting loud.”

Orange only continued to stare at the ground.

Riley felt horrible for that outburst. They didn’t mean to scare Orange, and yet they did anyways.

“...Orange?”

“L-Let’s go...”

Riley stood up and tried to reach for Orange’s hand again, but Orange had already tucked their hands into their pockets.

They didn’t really have time to mull over it, since some noise from behind startled them from their thoughts.

It sounded like… footsteps and muffled voices?

Riley and Orange warily looked at each other before climbing over a nearby mound to get a better view.

And what they saw were…

Two faces they never thought they’d see again.

As Riley and Orange climbed atop the mound to identify where the sound came from, they couldn’t believe their eyes. Jamie and Jade were standing just a few feet away, near the base of the mound. They were alive! They were slightly worse for wear, but still, alive!

Riley slid down the other side of the mound and Orange practically jumped off of it to rush over to them. Orange charged towards Jamie with their arms out, but Jamie sidestepped them and watched as they face planted in the sand. Jamie only cackled at the sight.

Orange lifted themselves up off of the ground and briefly had a look of betrayal on their face. Jade walked up to them and helped them dust the sand off of their clothes. In response, they gave Jade a hug. Jade returned the hug with no hesitation.

Jamie awkwardly coughed and crossed their arms. “So, uh, you slowpokes finally caught up! We might’ve left you behind if you took any longer!”

Jade rolled their eyes at Jamie and spoke up next. “Sorry for leaving you two behind. Jamie freaked out and ran off, so I was left with no choice but to follow them.” Jade spotted and motioned towards the bandage on Riley’s forearm. “You doing alright?”

“I’ll live. What about you two?”

“I’m alright. Jamie’s pretty beat up, so now we’re trying to find some first aid to patch them up.”

As if a switch got flipped, Orange suddenly perked up. “O-Oh! Uh, I have a f-first aid kit here f-for you!” They grabbed and proudly waved the first aid kit in front of themselves.

Jamie locked eyes with the first aid kit and grinned. “Yessss!!!! Maybe I’ll live after all!”

Jade looked over at Jamie, confused. “You were never going to die in the first place…?”

Once again, Orange ran up to Jamie. They attempted to reach out to examine their injuries. Jamie reeled back almost immediately and hissed at Orange. “Has no one ever taught you what ‘personal space’ means?! Back off!”

Orange winced at Jamie’s hostility. “I-I’m just… t-trying to help…”

Jamie looked down at Orange. They then looked over to Jade, who gave them an approving nod. They groaned. “Fine. Take a look.” They extended both of their arms out towards Orange.

Orange scanned both of Jamie’s arms with their eyes this time, before looking up at Jamie. “W-Well, uh, y-you have a lot of cuts on your arms, so I’ll clean and c-cover those up.”

They dug into the first aid kit and pulled out a handful of Band-Aids and a tube of ointment.

Jamie cringed at the sight of the Band-Aids. “What, so they—” They pointed at Riley. “—get a cool bandage wrapped around their arm, but I only get Band-Aids?”

“Um… Riley… has a k-kinda big cut on their arm. Y-You don’t. So… yeah. You g-get Band-Aids.”

Jamie rolled their eyes. “Whatever.”

“...do either of you have any w-water? To, uh, c-clean the cuts?”

Jamie scoffed. “We’re surrounded by water. Of course we do.”

Orange shook their head disapprovingly. “N-No… not water in the ocean… that w-will only make it worse.”

Jamie cocked their head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Uh… the w-water in the ocean… it isn’t r-really that clean. S-So… if you put that in a w-wound… it could get infected.”

Jamie and Orange looked to Jade for an answer, but they shook their head.

“Guess that’s a no, then.”

“O-Okay… that’s… okay. I’ll, uh, j-just cover them up, then…”

Silence fell across the entire group as Orange slowly ripped open each Band-Aid to put on Jamie’s arms.

Orange fell into a steady rhythm; fish out a Band-Aid, rip off the paper, put some ointment on it, stick it on a cut, put the trash back in the kit, repeat.

“A-and… done!” Orange exclaimed as they put the last Band-Aid on. They took a step back to allow Jamie to examine their work. Jamie looked Orange in the eyes and, just for a moment, their frown wavered. “Thanks, I guess.” Orange responded with a grin and a thumbs up.

“Uh, w-what about…?” Orange pointed at Jade. “I…” Jade examined themselves for any sign of injury. “...strangely enough, I’m fine. Must’ve been in a pretty good spot during the crash. Oh, and, my name is Jade.” Jade pointed over at Jamie. “And that’s Jamie. What about you?” Orange stood proudly. “I’m Orange! And this…” Orange tugged at Riley’s arm. “…is Riley!” Riley waved.

Jamie groaned. “Look, can we stop with these dumb introductions already? We have a really cool mountain to climb!” Jamie turned around and spread their arms out in front of the mountain. “Last one to the top is a rotten egg!” They scrambled to climb up the mountain before anyone could protest against them.

A shift in the shadows caught Riley’s attention. The sun had started to slowly creep towards the horizon. Maybe recklessly climbing a mountain they knew nothing about as it was getting late wasn’t the best idea, so they wanted to concoct a new plan instead.

“Listen up, scouts!” Everyone except Jamie snapped to attention and saluted. “The sun is starting to set, so I think it’d be a good idea to find a place to settle down for the night.” Jamie reemerged atop a cliff directly above the group with an irritated look on their face. “So, not only do you wait to say that until after I climbed up here, but you also decide you’re in charge now?”

Riley chose to ignore their hostility and motioned towards Jade. “Jade, did you two find anything while you were exploring?”

Jamie scaled back down the mountain and butted in before Jade could answer. “Hey, I asked you a ques—” Jade slugged Jamie in the shoulder. “What the fuck was that for, Jade?!” Jamie whined and rubbed their shoulder. Jade shot an angry glare at Jamie, but bit their tongue before they could say anything. They then nodded their head in response to Riley’s question.

Jamie opened their mouth to speak again, but Jade suddenly snapped their head towards them. They firmly placed their hands atop Jamie’s shoulders despite Jamie’s whines at the pain it caused. “I am so tired of you running away and whining when we’re in the middle of nowhere on an abandoned island. If you have nothing to say, please, JUST. SHUT. UP!”

Jade didn’t wait for anyone to say anything. They simply began to walk along the mountainside, signaling for everyone else to follow. Orange hesitantly followed behind Jade, but neither Riley nor Jamie made an effort to move. Instead, Jamie only sat down and brought their knees up to their face. What Riley didn’t expect was for Jamie to start crying, especially in front of them.

Riley was unsure how to respond. On one hand, everything in their body was screaming at them to comfort Jamie. On the other hand, they knew that Jamie had been acting very cold towards them since they met. They were afraid to say or do anything in fear of invoking a worse response from Jamie.

Despite their worst fears, they decided to take their chances and sit down a few feet in front of Jamie.

After a few minutes, Jamie mumbled something that Riley barely made out. “Why are you still here?”

That was a good question. Why were they still there? They could’ve just left knowing Jamie didn’t like them. They could’ve left someone else there to deal with them. They could’ve done a lot of things differently, but they didn’t, because they knew they shouldn’t.

Riley sighed. “I’m here because I refuse to leave anyone behind.” Jamie looked up at them. “Yes, that includes you, too. I’m not gonna make you talk, but I’m not gonna leave you here either.”

Jamie drew a ragged breath. “Jade… never got that mad at me before… usually they’d get annoyed, but not like that…” They pulled away long enough to rub their eyes before burying their face again.

Riley hummed in contemplation. All things considered, it was more likely that Jade was stressed rather than mad. They were in the middle of nowhere and as much as Riley hated to admit it, Jamie was likely only making things more difficult for them. Riley echoed these thoughts to Jamie. Jamie hesitantly acknowledged them with a nod.

Orange suddenly reappeared in Riley’s line of sight, but Riley motioned for them to stay away. However, Jamie also caught sight of Orange. “I guess they’re looking for us… maybe we’re the slowpokes now…” They softly chuckled at their own remark. Jamie got up without another word, and Riley followed suit shortly after. They both followed Orange as they led them somewhere.

Orange stopped both Riley and Jamie right before a turn. “Uh… f-friendly warning… m-maybe don’t talk to Jade r-right now… they s-seem a bit… sad? So, uh, w-when we get there, just… p-pick a spot and… try to relax, o-okay?” The two of them nodded in response.

As the trio turned the corner, they came upon a very shoddy camp within an alcove. All that Riley could see was a campfire and both Jade and Orange’s belongings separately piled up near the fire. It was far from luxurious, and it’d probably leave them very sore in the morning, but it’d work for the night.

Jade was in the midst of carrying extra firewood when the trio arrived. They gently placed the firewood near where they stood and gave a small wave to the trio. Jamie and Riley hesitantly returned the wave, and Orange responded with a more enthusiastic wave. Wordlessly, Jade picked the firewood back up and placed it down near the wall of the alcove.

Both Jade and Orange returned to their spots, which left only Riley and Jamie to pick their own. Jamie opted to sit across from Jade, much to Jade’s dismay. Riley settled down beside Orange, to which Orange immediately attached to their side.

For a few minutes, all anybody could do was stare at the fire or at each other. The air was extremely tense after the day’s events. It was too suffocating to be able to say anything. What was there to say, anyways?

Much to everyone’s surprise, Jamie was the one to break the silence. “Riley, right?” Riley hummed in affirmation. “So, uh, is… Orange… you know… yours?” Riley took a glance down at Orange, who was now sleeping, before responding. “You’d think they were because of how attached they are to me, but… no. No, they’re not…” Not yet, at least. Jamie seemed content by this answer, as their gaze returned to the fire with no further questions.

A few more moments of silence passed. This time, it was a tired yawn from Jade that broke the silence. Right. Fatigue was very much a problem still, even when stranded in the middle of nowhere. Riley gave Jade a worried look. “Get some sleep, you two. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” Neither Jade nor Jamie dared to contest as both of them appeared to be very tired.

Riley didn’t wait for further confirmation, instead leaning back themselves. The ground beneath them was cold and hard, and they had nothing to cover themselves or Orange with. Not the most comfortable place to sleep, but they couldn’t be picky either, given the circumstances. They were lucky to even be alive.

Despite the newfound tension between Jade and Jamie, Riley felt more at ease knowing that everyone was reunited and alive. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and they needed all of the rest they could get, so they closed their eyes and drew Orange closer to them. They were tired themselves, and did nothing to protest the fatigue that suddenly emerged and enveloped them in darkness.

A stray ray of sunlight caught Riley’s eyes at a bad angle, startling them from their sleep. They groggily opened and rubbed their eyes. As expected, their back felt stiff and their limbs ached, but they weren’t exactly in a position to be picky. They made it through the night alive. That’s what mattered the most.

The ground was still cold, yet the warmth from the fire still raged on. They’d half-expected the kids to be noisy or complaining, but… there was nothing but silence. The crackling of the fire and the faint sound of crashing waves were all Riley could hear. In any other circumstance, it’d be therapeutic. They had no time to enjoy it now, though.

After a small groan, they forced themselves upward and scanned the camp’s current conditions. It seemed that the fire had fresh firewood, which would explain why it hadn’t been reduced to ashes yet. Jade and Jamie were sitting near a cliff, talking among themselves. Orange was still asleep, softly snoring besides Riley.

For a moment, Riley considered waking Orange up. However, with everything that Orange did yesterday, maybe it was for the best that they got as much as sleep as possible.

Riley slowly moved Orange so they’d be laying on the ground, then stood up themselves. They froze when Orange let out a small whine and tightly clutched their Bing Bong plushie, but otherwise they showed no signs of waking up. Riley let out a breath that they were unaware they were holding.

Riley’s first thought was to approach Jade and Jamie, but they assumed that those two wouldn’t appreciate them prying. They instead looked around for anything else that stood out.

They noticed a stray granola bar by their feet. It was mostly untouched aside from the dirt and dust on the wrapper. It still had a few weeks until it expired, so one of them must’ve dropped it without knowing. They scanned the camp for something to store it in, but found nothing, so they instead stuffed it in their trench coat to save for the future.

Speaking of their trench coat…

They rolled up their right sleeve and took another look at their forearm. The bandage appeared to be mostly intact, albeit a bit dirty. It’d likely need to be replaced with a clean one sooner than later. Their arm still felt fine to move, and it didn’t hurt to touch. At least it wouldn’t get infected anymore.

Nothing else stood out to Riley to clean up, so they decided to sit down near the edge of the cliff. They wanted to take this time to scope out the area. It wasn’t entirely for leisure, but to also try to map out a route from the camp to the top.

They set their sights on the shore. Aside from the palm trees and bushes they had spotted before, there were some other things they hadn’t spotted until now. Gray pillars of stone in various proportions protruded from the ground in a seemingly random fashion. Luggage was haphazardly scattered around, presumably from the crash. Though… they couldn’t recall anyone carrying on any luggage themselves. The plane had also stopped smoking at some point during the night, leaving behind charred remnants of what was once carrying all of them in the air.

Focusing their sights upwards, they spotted a few bridges connecting to… floating islands? Never mind that; not the most pressing matter at the moment. They saw multiple patches of sand that jutted out from and led up to the top the mountain. They’d also spotted the same hazards they spotted before: jellyfish and urchins.

There was a small problem, though. A route was not readily apparent. With all of the mountains they’d hiked on in the past, there was a clear path. With this mountain, though, there was no such path to be seen.

Maybe they could consult with Jamie on where to go, assuming they were in the mood to talk. They didn’t forget that Jamie had some kind of vendetta against them. They may have had a moment of vulnerability last night, but they didn’t expect them to continue to be docile today.

They’d find out very soon though, since Jamie flopped down beside them unannounced… or maybe they did announce it and Riley was too zoned out to notice.

“Huh. The slowpoke is also one of the last to wake up. What a surprise.” Jamie rolled their eyes, then shifted their gaze up toward the mountaintop. “Guess I’m not the only one trying to figure this mountain out. Honestly, it’s a complete pain in the ass trying to figure out how to climb up it.”

So they were in a talkative mood today. Good. They did seem a bit less rough around the edges after their chats with Riley and Jade. Riley just hoped that they’d continue to be this way.

Riley rubbed their chin and hummed in acknowledgment. “Mhm. I’m struggling to figure it out myself. I was actually gonna try to talk to you to help me figure this out. And, uh, before you can say anything, cut Orange some slack. They really worked themselves down to the bone yesterday.” Jamie let a giggle slip before they covered their mouth. They then looked down at the Band-Aids Orange had applied, before letting out a sigh. “Guess so.”

Jamie stood up and paced back and forth, humming what sounded like a song to themselves. Riley couldn’t make out the tune, but it seemed that they got lost in thought. Maybe they didn’t know a way up, either? This mountain was really shaping up to be a challenge, especially when the kid that seemingly loved climbing struggled to figure it out themselves.

Jamie suddenly stopped. “You wanted my help, right?” Riley nodded. “Well, being lazy isn’t gonna help us figure it out. Guess we’ll just have to wing it. Y’know, climb up to one of the patches, if it doesn’t work, climb up to another one, blah blah blah. I think even a moron understands the idea.” Jamie shot a mischievous grin at Riley. “Do you understand?”

Riley chose to ignore the very blatant insult and looked back at the patches they had spotted earlier. Maybe those were the route after all? They were just not familiar with climbing. Hiking was more their forte than anything. They did see some kind of path if they could all muster the stamina to do that much climbing. It’d have to work for now.

“Yeah, I guess that’ll have to work. No other way around it. Thanks, Jamie.” Riley smiled at them. Jamie scoffed. “Yeah, whatever.” They started walking back towards the fire, but stopped and turned towards Riley once more. “Oh, and… thanks… for not leaving me behind last night, I guess.” They hurried along before Riley could respond. Riley’s smile grew wider for just a moment.

A blur of orange suddenly barely missed a collision with Jamie and darted directly towards Riley. Orange skidded to a stop right before Riley, with the first aid kit in their hands. “G-Good morning, Riley! I’m s-sorry for sleeping too long…” They sat down beside Riley and unzipped the first aid kit to grab more bandage and gauze. “W-Well… let’s g-get you a new b-bandage, okay?” Riley nodded.

Despite Orange’s caution, it still stung to remove the bandage, but Riley knew better at this point than to complain. They got a good look at the wound. It had started to scab over and they thought it looked kind of cool. Maybe it’d leave behind a cool scar. How would Jamie feel if they saw it?

Orange repeated the same process as the first time. Dab it with wet gauze, then have Riley hold some dry gauze down while they wrapped it with a new bandage. It felt like the process went quicker this time, since Orange was a lot less shaky than before. Like clockwork, they scooted over after they were finished and smiled at their work.

Riley nodded approvingly at the new bandage. “Appreciate it, Orange. Good morning to you too, but please don’t apologize for sleeping. You did a lot yesterday, and we weren’t really ready to leave regardless.”

“Oh, o-okay… uh, what w-were you and Jamie t-talking about?”

“Just figuring out how to get up to the top of this mountain. From what we can see, there’s a whole lot of climbing ahead of us.” Riley frowned. “I was really hoping there was a safer path we could just walk on, but…”

Orange softly patted Riley’s right hand. “It’s okay! W-We’ll be j-just fine! We s-survived the crash, we c-can do this!” They gave Riley an unapologetically toothy grin. It seemed like their confidence had increased overnight.

Their hunger must’ve increased too, since their stomach suddenly growled. “O-Oh… uh…” Riley grabbed the granola bar that they found earlier from their pocket. “Here. Might be a good idea to eat something before we get going.” Orange shamefully accepted the granola bar. “S-Sorry. Thank you…”

Riley wasn’t sure how to respond. How do they respond to a kid feeling bad about accepting food? Especially when they’re clearly hungry? They opted to just let Orange enjoy the granola bar in peace. No point in pressing that matter at the moment.

Orange finished the granola bar and held the trash in front of them. A very confused look swept across their face; maybe they were trying to find somewhere to get rid of it?

Riley put out their hand. “I’ll take the trash from you and throw it away if we find a trash can, okay?” Orange placed the wrapper in Riley’s hand without any hesitation, and watched as they stuffed it back in the same pocket they had grabbed it from.

Orange slowly rose up from where they sat. “O-Okay, uh, I’m g-gonna talk to the o-others before we go…”

Riley noticed them fidgeting with their hands. “Something on your mind, Orange?” Orange said nothing for a moment. “Uh… O-Orange… isn’t a-actually… my name, but… I d-don’t know what it is…”

Riley had a suspicion that this was the case, but at the time, they didn’t want to pry into that part of Orange’s life. Especially since they had just met at the time. Maybe now was a better time since they’ve grown a bit closer?

“Well… here, I have an idea.” Orange sat back down and looked at Riley expectantly. “Why don’t we come up with some names once we make it to the top?” Orange cocked their head in confusion, as if they weren’t expecting that response. “W-Wait, really?” Riley nodded. “Yeah, maybe we can find a name that you like.”

Orange tapped their chin. “I think… I t-think I’d like that… I’ll t-try my best to come up with some!”

“Great, I look forward to hearing what you have.”

“O-Okay! Well, uh, I’m g-gonna talk to t-the others now! T-Thanks, Riley!” Orange skipped away, gleefully.

Looked like it was Jade’s turn to talk to Riley. Riley was really popular today, it seemed. “Thank you for giving them both a chance to talk.”

“And what about you?”

Jade hummed. “Not much to say that hasn’t already been said. Jamie and I are on better terms now, though. Maybe not perfect…” Jade finally sat down. “…but at least I’m not drowning in my own guilt anymore.”

“Your… guilt? This is about last night, right?”

“Indeed. And before you ask, I… I didn’t stay behind last night because I didn’t think I’d be the right person for them to talk to. I appreciate you talking to them, even if they weren’t very fond of you.”

“Weren’t?” That had to be a deliberate choice to use “weren’t” over “aren’t.”

“Yeah. I won’t lie, maybe they’re still a bit of a jerk in general, but that’s just how they are. They… talked about you in a more positive light this morning. And they seemed content with how your conversation went with them, too. So… thanks.”

That was the first time Riley saw Jade smile.

“Anyways, I think those two are starting to pack up. At least, they were before I came over here. We should probably help so we can leave.”

Riley let out a sad sigh. “I… forgot we were stranded for a minute. Just taking in the view and having chats. Felt like were just on another camping trip…” They stood up and stretched. “You’re right, though. No point in lingering here when we should be climbing.”

Jamie was helping Orange gather their belongings as Jade and Riley returned to the campsite. Jamie held Orange’s Bing Bong plushie while Orange was tidying up their first aid kit. Riley couldn’t help but smile. As much as Jamie wanted to be seen as a tough and stubborn kid, it seemed like they still had a heart deep down.

Jade was busy sorting out their own belongings, which left Riley to tend to cleaning up the campsite. They took a look around to see if anything stood out. Based on previous camping trips, they’d come to expect a mess. However, none of them left any trash or stray belongings scattered around. Furthermore, the campfire had been dealt with, and properly, at that. These kids weren’t messing around, were they?

Riley looked over at the pile of firewood that Jade set up the night before. For a moment, they had considered moving it. They ultimately decided against it, though. If someone were to be unfortunate enough to end up a similar predicament, maybe they’d end up here and have a pile of firewood already ready to go.

So much for leaving no trace, but the circumstances here were just a little different from a normal trip. Riley internally accepted that they’d take all of the blame if it ended up being a problem.

Everyone shuffled over to the now-extinguished campfire, indicating that they’d finished their share of work. “Good work on cleaning up after yourselves, everyone. So, based on what me and Jamie found, it seems like we’ve got a lot of climbing ahead of us. We’re going to climb for the rest of the day and find another spot come nightfall. Questions? Concerns?”

Nothing but silence.

“Well, then I suppose we should go ahead and leave, then. Please stay close, and if you really need to split up, take a buddy with you. Got it?” Everyone nodded in agreement. Riley stepped out from within the alcove, with their troop in tow.

Riley wasn’t sure how they ended up being in a leader role, or why everyone silently decided to follow them, but they weren’t going to back down from it now. Not when they had their own little troop depending on them for survival.

The prospect of Riley being a leader left them with an uneasy feeling. Sure, they accepted the role, but that didn’t mean they were comfortable with it. They were never meant to be a leader. They knew that, as did their fellow scouts. Hell, even their own scoutmaster had no faith in them. And yet, here they were, leading three kids to what would be either their salvation or their demise.

They didn’t have a great read on Jade, but they seemed like just as capable of a candidate. They didn’t have Jamie seemingly hating them and their every move. Orange appeared to have no problems with them either. Why couldn’t it have been them, instead?

A sinking feeling suddenly emerged in Riley’s stomach. They felt like they didn’t deserve to take charge. They were an experienced scout, yes, but leadership was not their forte. What if they made a poor choice? Came across something they didn’t know how to solve? What if they just got mocked for not knowing it all? What if—

Ugh. Get it together, Riley. Why do you always overthink everything? They obviously had a reason to choose you.

That reason was fairly obvious when it came to children. They gravitated more towards adults, especially ones that were friendly towards them. Conveniently, Riley fit quite comfortably into that category.

Jamie had been staring intently at Riley since they stopped. They might’ve noticed that something was off, but they chose not to say anything. Instead, their eyes told Riley everything they needed to know. There was… a hint of concern, definitely some irritation and impatience too. Beneath all of that, as much as they tried to hide it, was trust. Trust in someone that hardly trusted themselves not to fuck everything up.

Riley decided to tuck away their doubts for the moment. There was no point in dwelling on what-ifs, not when the deed was already done. It was just a waste of time and sunlight. All that mattered now was the survival of them and their troop as well as making it to the peak of the mountain.

They traced the side of the mountain with their eyes to see if they could find anything. Their eyes landed on what appeared to be a plateau, roughly twenty feet above them. Maybe their best bet would be to climb up there and get a better angle on the mountain. It was a pretty lengthy climb, but there were no other options readily apparent.

Well… it was a pretty lengthy climb for an unexperienced climber, anyways. Like… everyone in the group, except for Jamie.

Riley pitched their idea to the rest of the group and was met with a mixed response. Jamie accepted the idea, and even seemed eager to, in their own words, “give it a shot.” Jade… not so much. Orange only shrugged their shoulders and hummed an “I dunno.” Not exactly the response that Riley was hoping for, but it’d work.

“Okay, so, uh, who wants to climb up first?”

Riley was immediately met with a death glare from Jamie. “You came up with the idea, you go up first. End of discussion.”

Guess it was decided, then.

With their left hand, Riley latched onto the side of the mountain to the point where their knuckles were brushed with a lighter shade of turquoise. They repeated this motion with their right hand, but a little bit higher. Their feet mirrored these motions, pushing their weight upward.

The climb felt like forever. Every motion they made felt like dragging through mud. Their lungs struggled to suck in all of the air. Their muscles ached and their fingers burned. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise, since more strenuous physical activity generally left behind these effects. And yet, above all else, it felt embarrassing.

Finally, they made it to the top of the plateau. Sure enough, it was flat, so they allowed themselves to detach from the mountain. Immediately after landing, they collapsed to the ground and scrambled to lay down on their back. The aches and pains from the climb eased up just a bit, and their lungs finally got the air they sought out. That took a lot of energy out of them.

Jamie had a much more graceful landing. They slid closer to the ground and let go from the mountain, landing gently on their two feet. The look on their face when they turned around and saw Riley was indescribable. “Really? That itty bitty climb knocked you down?” Riley was too winded to give a response, but they likely would’ve just apologized if they could. They instead looked away shamefully.

Jade was not too far behind Jamie. Their landing was nearly as rough as Riley’s, though they were able to recover. They decided to lean up against the mountain to regain some stamina. It was hard to tell from the outside, but from the looks of it, they seemed to be a bit tired as well. It seemed like Jamie wanted to make a snide remark, but they withheld it.

Then came Orange. Unsurprisingly, they were a natural. Their climbing was nowhere near as polished as Jamie, as evident by the fact that they nearly lost their grip, but… they were a natural. They stopped to catch a breath for just a moment, but they just as quickly perked back up and looked ready to go. “T-That, uh, w-wow! I… climbed some s-stuff in the city, but, a m-mountain? T-That was…” They trailed off when they saw Riley and Jade.

Jamie scoffed. “Well, at least someone can climb!”

Orange giggled and blushed at the backhanded compliment. “W-Wow, how n-nice of you, Jamie!” Riley could sense… sarcasm? From Orange?

Jamie really did not appear to be a fan of that response. They crossed their arms and cleared their throat. “Uh, whatever. Anyways… you two gonna just sit around, or what? We’ve got a whole mountain to climb still!”

That sinking feeling that Riley pushed away had returned in full force after their climbing performance. Jamie belittling them for it definitely didn’t help. If they couldn’t make a simple climb, what hope did they have in leading everyone out alive?

Riley slapped themselves this time. You’re such an idiot, Riley. Stop. Over. Thinking. It.

It was Jamie’s turn to speak. “Okay, seriously Riley. That’s the second time you’ve spaced out today. What’s your problem? Just gonna pretend you’re fine again?”

Riley didn’t respond. Jamie wouldn’t understand, anyways. They opted to just stand up despite their body screaming at them not to.

Jamie shook their head disapprovingly. “Of course you will. Whatever. Suit yourself.”

Orange butted in with their own thoughts. “H-Hey, uh, are you…” They shook their head. “N-Nevermind… I s-see another way up. Uh,” They pointed behind them. There was, in fact, another way up. “S-Should we split up?”

Jade spoke up for Riley. “I think so. I’ll stay behind with Riley. I’d like to… talk to them, alone.”

Orange nodded in response. “O-Okay! We’ll, uh… w-wait, is everything—”

“Yeah, sure, that works for me, I guess.” Jamie walked away and motioned for Orange to follow. “Let’s go check this out, Orange.” Orange hesitated for a moment but eventually complied and headed over towards the other path with Jamie to check it out.

Jade joined Riley by their side. They didn’t look quite as worn out as Riley, but the climb clearly took its toll on them too. “Well, if it makes you feel any better… I also suck at climbing. Jamie always lectures me about it when we go rock climbing together.”

Riley didn’t say anything. They barely even processed what Jade had said. They couldn’t get over the fact that they couldn’t even make a short climb. How was anyone supposed to take them seriously when someone nearly half their age did it better and belittled them, at that?

Their gaze drifted down towards the shore. They noticed some kind of mysterious fog slowly creeping in. It had nearly engulfed the plane, perhaps to be lost to time forever. What if that was…

A pat on their back from Jade startled them from their thoughts. Jade opened their mouth as if they were going to say something, but it seemed like the words got stuck in their throat. They instead offered a small smile.

Riley groaned. “Look, I just… I don’t really think I should…”

Jade cocked their head to the side. “Burden a kid with your problems?” It almost sounded like they were trying to imitate Riley. “You were going to say that, right?”

“I… Uh… Yeah. Something like that.”

“Look around you, Riley. Do you see anyone else that you can talk to? Bottling up your emotions is a bad idea, especially when you’re stranded on a remote island.”

Riley opened their mouth to contest, but Jade put up their left hand before they could continue.

“I’m wiser than I seem, Riley. I…” Jade fidgeted with their hat for a moment. “I’ve taken care of both me and Jamie for a while. Maybe I can help you help us.”

“You two don’t have someone to take care of you?”

Jade stiffened up ever so slightly. “What makes you think that?”

“You said, word for word, “I’ve taken care of both me and Jamie”… wouldn’t that suggest you don’t have someone to take care of you?”

“Well, you’re certainly wiser than you seem, too.” Was that a backhanded compliment? “Anyways, you’d be correct, yes.”

Riley’s heart sank. “Oh. Sorry. Uh, do you…”

Jade sighed. “Long story short, our parents…” Their tone suddenly shifted to be more solemn. “They aren’t in the picture anymore. And our grandparents… they don’t really do anything for us. If I was old enough to have my own place, we’d be there instead.”

Jade kicked a rock and watched as it plummeted towards the base of the mountain.

“Now, your turn.”

Riley hesitated for a moment. “I’m… having doubts.”

Jade raised an eyebrow. “Doubts?”

“Yeah. I was never really, uh, “leader” material, and struggling with that climb didn’t help my self-esteem. I just… doubt that I’m supposed to be the one to be in this position.”

Jade hummed, then turned to face Riley. “Let me ask you a question, Riley. What do you think it takes to be a leader? Not whatever your Leadership badge material said, I want your interpretation.”

“That they should be able to do everything they expect others to do, have all the answers to everyone’s questions, those kind of things…?”

Jade shook their head in disapproval. “Well, there’s your problem. You’re approaching this completely wrong.”

Riley tilted their head. “Wrong?”

“Mhm. In fact, leaders are usually the complete opposite of your interpretation. They don’t know all of the answers, and should not pretend to, either. Instead, they ask their team for help if they need it. While having a leader is important, they aren’t the only person making decisions or figuring things out. That’s where the team comes in.”

“But… if they just ask their team for help… what’s the point in, you know, leading?”

“Leaders provide direction, structure, purpose. That doesn’t mean they do everything themselves. Let’s put this into a real example. Say you don’t know whether or not something is poisonous. Would you eat it and find out, or ask around and see if anyone else knows?”

Riley decided to put their newfound knowledge to the test. “Uh… ask… around…?”

“Correct. You and the others learn something new and that person feels like they’ve contributed and that they’ve been listened to. They’re more likely to cooperate and be cordial now that you’ve acknowledged them and utilized their knowledge.”

“How did you learn about this?”

“Mostly trial and error while taking care of Jamie.”

“So… I should continue to take charge, but also ask for help if I don’t know something?”

“Essentially, yes.” Jade paused briefly and tapped their chin. “For the most part, you’ve already been doing a good job. You just have the wrong mentality about it, which is why we’re talking now.”

Riley didn’t respond for a few minutes. Instead, they decided to trace out a route on their side of the mountain. That’s what they were supposed to be doing, after all. However, it all only seemed like a massive wall. “No way up from here…”

“I’m getting that impression, too.”

“Uh, thanks… Jade. I’m… I’m sorry, for putting that on yo—”

“Enough of that. You’re welcome. Just don’t forget what I said.”

Before Riley could respond, they heard footsteps running towards them from behind. Orange ran up to Riley and Jade, with Jamie walking briskly behind them. “H-Hi again! We, uh, f-found a really q-quick way up!! W-What about you t-two?”

Riley and Jade both spoke in unison. “Nothing.”

Jamie stepped up near the edge and looked for themselves. “Huh. Whaddya know? There really is nothing here. Welp, I guess we know which way we’re going, then.”

Orange waved from where they had come from. “T-This way!”

Jade gave one final look at Riley and gave Jamie a nod before they headed in Orange’s direction. Jamie looked at Riley curiously, wondering why they weren’t making an effort to move.

It almost appeared as if Jamie was going to say something, but Riley spoke up first. “Uh, hey… Jamie… could you… maybe help us with climbing?”

Jamie scoffed. “About time you asked.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the fact that you had a hard time making that climb, figuring out where to go, and nearly having a friggin’ breakdown over it told me everything. You suck at climbing and need someone to help you out with that. Luckily, that someone…” They pressed their thumb into their own chest. “...happens to be me.”

“Jamie…”

“But don’t think that this means we’re buddies now, got it? We just have a common goal.” The look in Jamie’s eyes betrayed the intent behind their words. Riley chose not to press it, though, in case Jamie would have a sudden change of heart.

Riley sighed. “Alright. Go ahead. I’m right behind you.”

Jamie led Riley back to Jade and Orange, who were patiently waiting. “Listen, you two. Riley asked me to lend a hand with climbing. So, uh, just follow me. Understood?” Jade and Orange nodded. “Good. Let’s stop wasting time here, then.”

Now that Riley wasn’t at the helm for now, they had more time to think about what Jade had said.

Help, both receiving and giving, were foreign concepts to them. They didn’t necessarily view it as a sign of weakness, but working alone meant that they were… alone. They had to figure things out on their own. It felt weird to acknowledge that they could be helped.

Maybe Jamie was right. There was no “I” in “team,” after all.

It just… still felt weird.

Regardless, it was a bit clearer now, too. It was okay to ask for help. Nobody wanted or expected them to be perfect. As usual, it was just you, Riley. Their team just… needed someone to give them purpose. To listen to them. To work together with.

And that is exactly what Riley will do to ensure everyone makes it out alive.

After what felt like forever, the group finally reached a flatter and larger area of the mountain to spread out and rest on. It was quite rocky, so it wouldn’t work long-term, but it was at least safe. As much as Riley didn’t mind being around the kids, they could tell they were getting antsy with climbing and being so close to one another.

Jamie beckoned for everyone to meet with to them. “If you wanna get some rest, now’s your chance. Dunno when we’ll get another spot like… this…” Their gaze suddenly drifted away from the group. “Wait… is that… smoke?!” They pointed over towards the peak. Riley followed where Jamie pointed and… there really was smoke. And where there was smoke, there was fire. “Alright, scratch getting rest, we’re getting the hell outta here!”

They all raced to reach the peak of the mountain. What they found at the top was nothing short of a miracle. There was some food already skewered and placed near an already ignited campfire; one marshmallow and three hot dogs. Wait… isn’t that unsafe? There was also a backpack and a statue. The statue in particular confused Riley. Maybe they’d investigate that later. To top it all off, there was a lone palm tree, though unfortunately it bore no coconuts.

They didn’t feel so bad about leaving a trace now.

Both Jamie and Orange spotted the marshmallow and raced to grab it. Orange reached out for it, but Jamie swiped it just out of their reach. Orange appeared to be upset by this action, but quickly forced their expression back to a more neutral one. Jamie noticed this and attempted to offer the marshmallow, but Orange refused.

“You were just making a pouty face when I grabbed it, and now you suddenly don’t want it?”

“I-It’s okay, really!” Orange hastily grabbed a hot dog. “S-See? I can eat t-this, too!”

Jamie’s eyes darted between the marshmallow they held and Orange. They repeated this several times before sighing and offering the marshmallow to Orange. “Just… give me the hot dog and take the friggin’ marshmallow already. I’m hungry.”

Orange eyed the offered marshmallow warily. “B-But… you g-got it fair and—”

“Oh, shut up with the ‘fair and square’ crap.” Orange winced at Jamie’s sudden hostility. “Uh, I mean, clearly you want this more than me. So, just take it. Please.”

Orange slowly raised their right hand to grab the skewer from Jamie’s hand. They stopped just before grabbing the skewer, their hand trembling in place. Jamie carefully placed the marshmallow in Orange’s hand, then grabbed the hot dog from their left hand.

Jamie and Orange decided to sit across from each other, then proceeded to toast their own snack. Riley picked up their own hot dog and sat down beside Orange to do the same. Jade was busy digging through the backpack and sorting out everyone’s supplies, so Riley decided to leave them alone for the moment.

Rather than join the rest of the group, Jade instead shifted their attention towards the broken statue. Truth be told, Riley was curious about it themselves. They grabbed the hot dog that would’ve belonged to Jade and toasted it. They weren’t sure if Jade actually wanted it that way, but… it was too late to dwell on that now. They slipped away while both Jamie and Orange were distracted by their food.

Jade was sitting on their knees and staring intently at the writing on the statue when Riley walked up. They’d been muttering to themselves about their observations. “Is this… some kind of ancient language? Huh.” They let out a sigh of defeat and stood back up. They nearly jumped out of their skin once they looked to their left and noticed that Riley was standing beside them.

Riley held out the hot dog as a peace offering. “Uh… hot dog?” Jade hesitated, but when their stomach growled, they snatched it out of Riley’s hand and took a huge bite out of it. Poor kid must’ve been hungry.

After Jade finished eating, they stood up and brushed themselves off then staked the skewer in the ground nearby. “Thank you for the food. I’m sure you heard me talking to myself, but the text on this statue is indecipherable. I’m… not really sure what purpose it serves.” They then stepped aside to give Riley a chance to analyze it themselves. “Take a crack at it if you’re interested.”

Just as Jade stated, the text on the statue was indecipherable. Not only was it a language they were not familiar with, but time and the elements had clearly taken their toll on it. Various chunks of the statue had eroded away and most of the color was muted. It appeared to be sculpted as if it was supposed to be holding something… but nothing was there. It was an interesting find, but it left Riley with more questions than answers.

Riley walked around to the back and to no one's surprise, they found nearly the exact same details as they did on the front. However, they noticed a bundle of papers stuffed in a divot. They grabbed the papers and discovered that there were three of them for them to read.

The first page was a diary entry.

Dear Diary, bad news!!!

The ship captain made an oopsy, and we’ve wound up crashed on this mysterious island! Mysterious… island…? Thankfully, mysterious islands are my speciality.

With our whole troop working together, we’ll reach the top of the PEAK and signal for help in no time! The power of friendship prevails…

In the meantime, I’ll take this opportunity to add some additional pages to my famous guidebook.

Riley’s eyes drifted down to the signature… Scoutmaster Myres.

Scoutmaster Myres. The same scoutmaster that met his untimely demise yet lived on as a legend. Something akin to… Bigfoot. A scary story you’d tell around the campfire. And Riley just… had one of his diary entries? Why here? Was this… the same mysterious island that he…?

Riley shook their head. Never mind that. They decided to take a look at the second page. Just like Scoutmaster Myres’ journal entry stated, it was an additional page educating scouts on proper precautions with any mushrooms they find.

BONUS RULE 1

SCAN YOUR SHROOMS!

Mushrooms can be a valuable source of nutrition in the wilderness. Riley knew that from experience. But watch out!! Some of them can kill you, or even make you poop your pants. They… unfortunately also knew that from experience.

There’s always a way to tell the poisonous ones apart. Here’s just one example!

Just below the text, there was an illustration of two mushrooms. One of them looked almost like the head of a screw with a thumbs up beneath it; the other one was dotted and had a skull beneath it. Would’ve been nice to know back then. Oh well. Nice to know now, at least.

Riley suddenly heard a giggle to their right. They turned their head to the source and it turned out to be Jamie. They must’ve read the “poop your pants” line and got a kick out of it.

“Haha! ‘Poop your pants.’ That’s funny! Whoever wrote this definitely had that happen to them!” Jamie swiped their hand across the statue, leaving behind a thick layer of sand and dust on their fingers. “Why are you two lookin’ at this dusty old thing anyways? There’s nothing cool here!”

Jade joined the duo at the back of the statue. “As funny as it may sound with the mushrooms, it is true. Some of them have adverse effects. I can tell you which ones are good and bad if you’re uncertain. Just come find me and ask.” Riley nodded while Jamie rolled their eyes. “As for your question…” Jade shrugged. “No idea. It just caught our attention, I suppose.”

Riley looked at the final page which contained an informational spiel about gathering around the campfire.

BONUS RULE 2

GATHER ‘ROUND THE FIRE

If you find a nice place to light a campfire, make sure to bring your friends close by first! The fire brings something even better than heat and cooked food… and that’s motivation.

Riley scoffed at the last part. Would “motivation” bring you back from the cusp of death? Heat you up so you don’t suffer from hypothermia? Jamie scoffed in a similar manner at the same thing. “That’s a fat lie. ‘Motivation’ isn’t better than some good food, nuh uh.” You and me both, Jamie.

“Welp. That was incredibly boring and useless. I’m going back to the fire.” Jamie stopped in their tracks. “Oh, and, Riley? I think Orange wants something from you. They’ve been looking at you kinda funny for a bit. It’d be a real shame if you kept them waiting.” They walked back towards the campfire without waiting for a response.

Riley re-organized the papers and went to put them back, but was stopped by Jade. They held out an open hand, as if they were requesting the papers. Riley complied and watched as Jade tucked them away in their backpack. “You never know. Maybe these will come in handy sometime soon.”

A wave of confusion, then concern, swept across Riley when they didn’t see Orange at the fire. Their eyes darted around the campsite before landing on the palm tree that Orange sat beside. Just like Jamie had said, Orange was staring at Riley. However, once Riley spotted them, Orange tore their gaze away and towards the ground.

Riley sat down beside Orange, leaned up against the tree and gazed out towards the horizon. They always took the sunset for granted, but it wasn’t until they were in a life threatening scenario that they truly appreciated it. It marked the end of another day, their continued fight for survival.

It was nice, but that wasn’t the reason why they were there. Jamie had tipped them off to Orange’s antics. Orange needed something, they just weren’t saying it out loud. They had briefly acknowledged Riley’s presence, but they seemed to be afraid to speak their mind. As much as they hated the idea, it was likely that Riley would have to probe a bit for answers.

They looked over at Orange, who continued to be avoidant. This would likely be the best time to get through to them. “So, uh, Orange… is everything okay?”

Orange stopped fidgeting with the stick. “I… I haven’t f-figured it out yet…” They appeared to be on the verge of crying.

It? A confused look swept across Riley’s face. “What do you mean?”

“M-My…” Orange drew a jagged breath. “My… new name.”

“Ah. Well… I did say we could work it out together, didn’t I?”

Orange rubbed their eyes. “I… I guess so… I just…” They sighed. “Had t-too much fun climbing to, uh, t-think about it…”

“If it makes you feel any better, I was too busy struggling to think about it, so…” Riley shook their head. “Well, regardless, we’ve got plenty of time now.” They turned towards Orange. “Maybe some questions will get some ideas going?”

Orange nodded then mirrored Riley’s motions; the two of them now seated and facing each other.

“Okay, let’s start with this: what are some things that interest you? Maybe things you like to do, favorite objects, things of that sort.”

“W-Well, uh…” Orange looked around for something, but couldn’t find it. “I l-liked that Bing Bong plushie, but uh…” They giggled. “M-Maybe I shouldn’t n-name myself that…”

Riley laughed. “But imagine this, every time you get squeezed, you squeak and then say something random.”

“W-Wait… like t-this?” Orange squeezed themselves and let out a small squeak. They put on the most deadpan face they possibly could. “I’m Bing Bo—” They didn’t even finish their sentence before erupting in laughter.

A grin crept onto Riley’s face, but they managed to keep their composure. “Exactly! But, uh, maybe you’re right. Not the best thing you could name yourself after…”

After the final laugh escaped from Orange, they laid on their back. Their eyes moved over to the moon, which was now shining brightly in the sky. “Uh… I… I do l-like looking at the moon sometimes.” Riley turned to face the moon as well. “The city was r-really quiet at night… s-so I liked to just w-watch from a r-random roof…” That sad look returned to their face. “I’d g-get in so much trouble i-if I got caught… t-then I’d run away…”

Okay, mountain be damned, I’m adopting this kid and nobody will stop me.

Riley almost echoed that thought out loud but felt it’d be too sudden. Instead, they offered a name idea based on that spiel. “Hmm. How about… Luna?” They had heard that name before. It was Latin for, well, “moon.”

“L-Luna…?”

“Yeah. A while ago I heard it, it’s Latin for ‘moon.’ Very pretty name for an equally pretty ball floating in the sky.”

Orange repeated it to themselves under their breath several times. “I… I’ll k-keep that one in m-mind…”

“Oh! Uh, I… it’s k-kinda silly because— well, uh, I was t-thinking of ‘Scout’ but…”

“But?”

“N-Now that I’ve t-thought about it… I r-really like Luna… a lot. It, uh, f-feels like… ‘me,’ if… if that makes sense…?”

Riley nodded. “It does. ‘Scout’ is a good one too, but it’s your choice at the end of the day.” They hummed. “And… if nothing else, you could always pick out another one later if you don’t like what you’ve got. Just… maybe have it decided before we go? I know that’s a lot to ask.”

Orange sat up. “N-No. I t-think I’ve decided.”

“You have? Already?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m gonna… I w-wanna be called ‘Luna.’” Luna smiled as their new name left their mouth.

Riley ruffled Luna’s hair, much to their dismay. “Well, that’s settled then, Luna.” They stood up. “Why don’t we go tell the others?”

Luna froze up. “Uh… o-okay…”

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll do it for you.”

Luna simply nodded and grabbed Riley’s hand. The two of them headed back to camp, where Jade and Jamie were mid-conversation.

Jamie was the first to spot the two. They appeared to be slightly irritated. “Took you two long enough!” Jade laughed and had a smug look on their face. “Jamie was reallllllly worried about Orange.” A mix of embarrassment and anger spread across Jamie’s face. “I was NOT!” Jamie let out a defeated sigh and crossed their arms. “Okay… Maybe a little. But that’s all!”

Luna couldn’t help but giggle at the siblings’ antics. They tugged on Riley’s sleeve and motioned for Riley to come close, to which they complied. “M-Maybe I should… t-tell them. Uh, m-maybe when you s-say we picked t-the name out.” Riley nodded.

“Anyways… we’ve got something that we need to tell you two. Back at the previous camp, Orange asked if the two of us could come up with a new name for them when we got here. That’s why we were gone for a while.” Both Jade and Jamie nodded in understanding. Riley gave Luna a reassuring pat on the back. “Why not tell them what that new name is?”

Luna hesitantly stepped up towards the campfire. They opened their mouth, but clammed up the moment they saw Jamie and Jade. Maybe they just had a little bit of stage fright? Luna looked back at Riley for reassurance, who then gave them a nod in response.

“Uh… it’s… uh, L-Luna.” Luna immediately darted behind Riley afterwards.

Both Jamie and Jade echoed their name in unison. “Luna.” They then both gave Luna a thumbs up. For the first time since Riley met Jamie, they couldn’t sense any malice in what came next. “I like it.” Luna must’ve got the same vibe, since they peeked out and smiled in response.

Luna stepped out from behind Riley after the positive response to their revelation. Though, Riley wasn’t sure why they hid in the first place. Were they expecting a worse response? Neither Riley nor Jade were ever mean to them, and while Jamie was rough around the edges… their display just now revealed a nicer side of them.

Luna sat down and yawned almost immediately after. The climbing plus the stress from their name likely wore them down. Riley decided to sit down beside Luna, but they wouldn’t be going to sleep themselves for a moment. That didn’t matter for Luna, though. They rested their head on Riley’s lap and fell asleep almost immediately.

Jade laid back, and much like Luna, fell asleep immediately which left Riley and Jamie as the last two awake. Jamie gave a small smile at the sight of Luna, then looked up at Riley. “You know… you’re not so bad after all. Always thought adults sucked, but…” Jamie’s gaze returned to Luna. “You’re okay. Never got to say that with everything going on.”

“Likewise. Can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“I guess you’re right. And uh, thanks… for everything so far. But you didn’t hear any of that from me.” Jamie immediately flopped down on the ground, bringing the conversation to an abrupt end before it could continue.

Just like that, a wave of fatigue crashed over Riley. They had exerted a lot that day themselves, it was only fair that they got to get some rest. They gently moved Luna’s head before laying down on their back to do some stargazing.

The group felt as unified as it would ever be. Which was… quite unfortunate, since they were about to part ways. They’d made it to the top. In the morning, there would be a helicopter waiting to take them all home and that’d be it.

That’s what they wanted to believe, anyways.

As Riley opened their eyes, they saw the ever-so familiar blue sky that they’d acquainted themselves with over the past two days. It was cloudy today. The sun struggled to creep through the fluffy white clouds in the sky. It felt a bit colder than usual, but perhaps the fire had gone out during the night. They’d grown used to it at this point.

The ground felt a bit softer than usual. When they went to sleep, they recalled it feeling grainy and warm. What they felt now was soft and fluffy. Maybe someone found a blanket or something and gave it to them? That begged the following question though—who would’ve been selfless enough to give up that comfort for them?

They rose from where they laid and were greeted by a hill dotted with flowers. They had laid at the base, surrounded by a bed of flowers of varying colors and proportions. How did I get here? There was not a single soul in sight. Where is everyone? All that stood at the peak was a flag and a box of… flares? What…?

They heard a grotesque crunch behind them. For a moment, they dared not to look. Maybe if they ignored it, it’d go away. Unfortunately for them, it only got louder until it got so loud and so close that they simply couldn’t ignore it anymore.

When they turned around, they were face-to-face with a tall, lanky monster towering above them. Upon closer inspection, it looked like… Scoutmaster Myres? He still wore his scoutmaster attire, but it had clearly been mangled by his transformation and by time. Why does he look like that?

They had no time to process their own questions, because he immediately grabbed them by the neck with his right hand and lifted them up effortlessly. In his left hand, he pulled up a singular piece of paper.

RULE 0

RULE 0 RULE 0

RULE 0 RULE 0

Never Abandon a Friend in Need!

Never Abandon a Friend in Need!

Never Abandon a Friend in Need!

Never Abandon a Friend in Need!

DON’T FORGET

RULE 0!

Big, red, erratic writing stood out in front of the otherwise neatly written page.

THEY LEFT

ME

BEHIND

Scoutmaster Myres gave a disapproving shake of his head. Did I… abandon everyone? Why… would I…?

Riley was suddenly thrown off of the side of the mountain. They rapidly reached terminal velocity and could only helplessly watch as they fell closer to the ground. They couldn’t cry. They couldn’t scream. It didn’t matter. Nothing would stop the inevitable. They deserved this. They left everyone behind.

They accepted their fate and closed their eyes as they neared the ground.

But…

Nothing happened. In fact, it felt like they had stopped falling, too.

They opened their eyes and immediately shot up in a cold sweat. They were back at camp. The sun had just started to rise above the horizon and the campfire was still faintly crackling. Everyone was still asleep. Well, everyone except Jamie and Riley. Great timing to have a nightmare, I guess.

Speaking of Jamie… where did they go? After a quick scan of the camp, Riley spotted Jamie staring out at—wait… where’s the fog? The wall of fog that was once there was now gone, which left behind… more of the mountain to climb. Fuck. I guess that question’s answered now.

Just as quickly as Riley’s motivation spiked the night before, it crashed down with the newfound revelation. They really didn’t know how to feel. They really thought that was it. Just… climb a small mountain and leave. That’s it! But no, there’s just more to climb. Who knew what would happen at the next peak? Maybe more would spontaneously appear? What a sick joke.

They rubbed their eyes and rose from where they laid. They took a few steps towards Jamie, but stopped to look back at Luna. Surprisingly, they remained undisturbed. Maybe they were really tired… Can’t blame ‘em. Yesterday was a busy day.

They continued their trek onward. Jamie glanced back after they heard Riley’s footsteps, but said nothing. They instead returned their gaze back to the mountain ahead of them. They exhaled a defeated sigh and sat down. They gave Riley another glace, which Riley took as an invitation to sit beside them.

As soon as Riley sat down, they felt the need to apologize, for some reason. “Jamie, I’m s—”

Jamie finished their sentence for them. “Sorry. Why?”

That was a good question. Why were they sorry? “I… I thought… we’d be free. But now? I feel like I’ve just… failed us all, somehow.”

“Lemme ask you a question. Were you the one to put this mountain here?”

“…No?”

“Then stop apologizing already. Because…” Jamie scoffed. “Surprise! I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at whatever sick fuck put this here.”

“But…”

“Don’t even think about giving up, ‘cause I’m not. We’re getting out of here and beating up whoever did this, got it?”

Riley appreciated Jamie’s determination in a moment like this. It was… admirable. Someone so young had such strong resolve to survive, even if their heart wasn’t exactly in the right place. They never thought Jamie could be the one to pull them out of a rut, but… these kids proved to have plenty of surprises up their sleeves. Anything was possible at this point.

“Right. Let’s… add it to the list of reasons to get out of here.”

Jamie raised an eyebrow in confusion. “There’s a list?”

“Well… my only reason to get out was for you three, but we can also add kicking this mystery person’s ass to the list, too.” Riley quickly cleared their throat after noticing their vulgarity. “Uh… I mean, kicking their—”

Jamie laughed at Riley’s slip-up. “Oh please, Riley, I’ve heard worse. And besides, you said nothing about me saying ‘naughty words.’ Who cares? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“I care. It sets a bad example. And I said nothing because it’s not my place to control how you talk.”

Jamie rolled their eyes. “Whatever you say.” A few moments passed before they spoke again. “Oh, it might be a good idea to check out what we’re working with here.” They shook their head. “Already looks preeeeetty gnarly from a first glance, though.” Riley nodded and focused intently on what was ahead of them.

Jamie was not kidding when they said it looked gnarly. It was certainly a change of pace from what they had dealt with before. The worst they dealt with on the shore was the occasional urchin and jellyfish, but this? This was a complete nightmare in comparison.

The biome ahead was a redwood forest with giant mushrooms and extraordinarily tall trees. Some of the trees had vines and bridges connecting between them, and the others had platforms built upon them. A handful of these platforms had luggage, but from what Riley could see, it’d likely be dangerous to go for them. They couldn’t make out much else because of all the foliage and… mysterious red clouds?

A tired voice came from behind the duo. “I figured there would be a catch…” It was Jade, and while they were not as expressive as Jamie, their disappointment was just as apparent. To make matters worse, Luna was right behind them. They didn’t say anything, but waved at Riley and Jamie. They both responded in a similar manner.

Jade sat to Jamie’s left and allowed Jamie to lean their head on their shoulder. Neither of them told Riley to leave, but they assumed that the two of them wanted a moment alone. They stood up and motioned for Luna to follow, to which they complied.

The two of them returned to the campfire and sat in silence. There really wasn’t anything to say. Riley wanted to tell Luna that everything would be okay, but they weren’t even certain of that anymore. The words slipped past their grasp, so instead, they wrapped an arm around Luna. It probably didn’t mean much in the moment, but they wanted to believe it did. Luna returned the gesture and let out a content sigh. Maybe it did mean something after all.

After a few more minutes, Luna broke the silence. “I’m… I’m okay, really. Just… a l-little sad about…” They pointed towards the next part of the mountain. “...that.” They raised up a pinkie to Riley. “P-Pinky promise! Y-You can’t b-break those!” They softly giggled.

Riley interlocked their pinky with Luna’s. Pinky promises. That was something Riley had learned about when they were younger. They didn’t really do them now, but they still knew that it was a serious gesture. Luna had a point though. You couldn’t break a pinky promise.

“Oh, Luna?”

“Y-Yeah, Riley…?”

“I’m gonna tell Jade and Jamie once they’re done too, but… please… stay close. I have a bad feeling about what’s to come.”

Luna’s eyes widened in horror. “W-What do you mean!?”

“Wait, no! I just mean… there’s a lot of trees and some strange looking clouds. It’s probably going to be very easy to get lost. I just think we need to stay closer so none of us can be separated.”

“O-Oh! I… thought y-you meant like—”

An awfully familiar voice—Jamie—chided in from behind Riley. “Oh, like, I dunno, zombies?”

Jamie suddenly darted past Riley with their arms raised up like a zombie, and grunted and groaned as they ran towards Luna.

“Z-Zombies?! Aaaaah! Nooooooooo!” Luna jumped up and ran away from Jamie. Their laughter betrayed the act of fear that they tried to put on.

To Riley’s surprise, Jade popped up beside them. “Hello—” Riley jumped at the sudden contact. Jade took a step back. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Riley smiled at Luna and Jamie roughhousing. “Looks like those two are in a better mood now.”

Jade returned to Riley’s side. “That would appear to be the case. It looks like it’s rubbing off on us, too.”

Riley didn’t respond. Instead, their mind started to drift back to their nightmare.

Was it a bad omen? Did those pages they found yesterday have something to do with it?

Scoutmaster Myres did hold up a page that looked eerily similar to the other pages. The theme of “never abandon a friend in need” being repeated on that page stood out to Riley. Maybe Scoutmaster Myres really hated the idea of scouts abandoning each other, even in death?

It made sense. It was rumored that he was abandoned by his troop and presumed to be dead. Of course, his troop survived to tell the tale. Maybe that’s why he went after Riley in their nightmare? They had no recollection of ever abandoning the children, nor would they ever think about doing such a thing, but… clearly they had. It had to have been a warning.

A hand popped into their view and waved in front of them, but they failed to process it as such. It began to wave more erratically at the lack of response. When it was met with no response once more, it decided to slap Riley across the face. That was what got their attention. It turned out to be Jade’s hand.

After being snapped back to reality, Riley noted that Jade had a concerned look on their face. Luna and Jamie were still roughhousing, but Jamie had pinned Luna to the ground now and emulated biting them. Luna was in the midst of a laughing fit despite the unfortunate predicament they were in.

Riley once again looked at Jade with a hint of befuddlement on their face. Jade was immediately apologetic. “Sorry for doing that. You zoned out and didn’t respond, so I… didn’t exactly have a choice.”

“It’s… okay. Sorry. Just… thinking.” Yeah. Thinking. Good one, Riley.

It seemed that Jade didn’t buy that excuse, based on the unamused look on their face. “There’s more to it than that. Just be honest with me, please.”

Riley sighed. They didn’t really want to retell the nightmare, but… they needed to. At least, so someone else could know. “Scoutmaster Myres. Remember him?” Jade nodded, prompting Riley to continue. “Right. So… I had a nightmare. About him, I mean. Saw and felt some interesting stuff. I was alone on some hill, then he grabs me and shows me a page that repeated Rule 0.”

“Rule 0… that’s ‘never abandon a friend in need,’ correct?”

Riley nodded. “Yeah. That’s the one. Anyways, he seemed pretty upset that I was alone, then picked me up and threw me off the mountain. He looked kinda… disheveled? And he looked more like a monster than a human. Maybe it’s some kind of warning to stick together?”

Jade hummed. “Maybe. We probably shouldn’t find out regardless. If he looks or acts even remotely close to what you saw…” They shuddered at the thought. “Well, let’s hope we never find out.” A small yet warm smile crept onto their face. “Thank you for trusting me with this, Riley. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Riley returned their gaze towards Luna and Jamie. The two of them were splayed out on the ground, smiling and laughing. Truthfully, Riley never got to see this side of Jamie, and based on Jade’s reaction, they likely hadn’t seen it in a while.

Jade let out a wistful sigh. “They haven’t been this happy in a long time. Uh, Jamie, I mean. They… also haven’t really had any kid take this much interest in them, either. Usually, anyone that comes up to them ends up just walking away. They’re… not the greatest at making friends.” That same small smile once again crept onto their face. “I’m glad that Luna has broken through to them, even if it wasn’t entirely by choice, given the circumstances.”

The younger duo had been talking about something until they noticed the elders watching them. They stood up and ran over to chat. Jamie was the first to speak of the two. “Who would’ve thought I’d make for a badass zombie?!” Luna laughed, then chimed in with their own input. “Y-Yeah! Uh, you’re… r-really good at it!”

Jade hummed. “You’re good at a lot of things, Jamie, but I’ll add being a zombie to the list. Just, uh, don’t actually turn into one, okay?” Jamie rolled their eyes in response.

Riley couldn’t help but smile at their antics. It was likely that neither child really had the opportunity to “have fun” for a long time, so it made them happy that both of them got to experience it. However, it was time to go. The day was still young, but they didn’t want to spend that time idle. Especially not with the knowledge that he could be around.

“As much as I enjoy hearing about you two having fun… unfortunately I think we need to leave.” Both Luna and Jamie whined in disappointment at the news. To no one’s surprise, Jamie was vocal about it. “You’re so boring…” They blew a raspberry at Riley. Nevertheless, they did end up cleaning up after themselves.

With all of their belongings in hand and children in tow, they began the trek down the opposite side of the campsite. The redwood forest was rather intimidating, but as long as everyone stuck together, they’d make it out alive.

Out of the corner of their eye, they saw a silhouette lurking behind a tree. They couldn’t make out all of the finer shapes, but it looked eerily similar to… no. It can’t be.

Scoutmaster Myres.

As the group trekked down towards the super dangerous forest, a lone vine caught Jamie’s attention. It connected from a small plateau to a tree with a platform. Was it super dangerous? Sure. Would it be super badass to climb across and impress their frie—they’re not my friends—fellow scouts? One thousand percent yes.

Fortunately, Riley had decided to take charge—finally—which left Jamie with plenty of opportunities to slip away. As soon as the group passed by the plateau, Jamie slipped away and quickly jumped onto the vine. Despite its appearance, it wasn’t thorny at all. In fact, it felt pretty nice!

Jamie only made it halfway across when they heard their name being shouted from below. They decided they’d dangle from the vine with one hand to get a better look at who it was. Unsurprisingly, both Jade and Riley appeared to be annoyed—what a surprise—and Luna appeared to be freaked out. The words they were all saying were nearly indecipherable. Jamie almost frowned when they saw Luna’s reaction. Am I seriously feeling bad for that kid? They shook their head and blew a raspberry at the group before continuing onward.

A small breeze of wind brushed by them, but they paid no attention to it. Not long after, they made it to their destination. Though, there was a slight issue. The end of the vine hovered roughly ten feet above the platform. They could land that fall, but—oh, who am I kidding? This is awesome! They let go of the vine and landed gracefully on the platform on both of their feet. They gave themselves a small clap before a rush of embarrassment suddenly washed over them.

They scanned the platform from where they stood. Nothing immediately stood out to them, aside from the worn down boards holding the platform together. Dangerous. Cool! Just how I like it. It wasn’t until they walked around the tree that they noticed a large suitcase laying down. A suitcase? Here? Huh. Neat.

Just as they were going to open the suitcase, they heard hurried steps and shouting from the other side of the tree. “J-Jamie!! W-Where are—o-oh! Uh, h-hi!” Great. The last person I wanted to be up here. Jamie groaned then stepped away from the luggage. Luna paced nervously. “Uh… hi, Luna. Who invited you to my awesome tree house?”

“Uh, I… I g-got scared, so I…” Luna looked back at the vine, then at Riley and Jade—now even angrier—then back at the vine. Their eyes widened in horror as they realized what they had done.

“Climbed across all by yourself despite the grown-ups telling you no, right?” Jamie stepped up to Luna’s right and gave them a pat on the back. “Congratulations! You’re learning how to become a rebel, like me!”

Luna started shaking more than they usually did. “N-No, I… I d-didn’t w-want t—” A sudden gust of wind cut Luna off. This time, it was strong enough to knock both of them off of their feet.

Without a second thought, Jamie scrambled to their feet and grabbed Luna’s hand. They hadn’t intended on doing that. They weren’t about to let go, though. They used their other hand to grab on to a stray branch and silently prayed that it’d do the trick.

Sure enough, the wind eventually died down, allowing the two to detach from the tree. However, neither child made an effort to return to what they were previously doing. The wind had startled Jamie, probably enough for them to reconsider being up there. Okay, maybe a little too dangerous. They felt a tight squeeze around their hand. Oh. Right. Luna. Luna made it clear that they were not disconnecting any time soon.

Jamie sighed before finally detaching from the branch. “As much as it sucks to leave… this might be too dangerous, even for me.” They expected a response from Luna, but they heard nothing. They turned around to see Luna, who was beyond scared and on the verge of breaking down into tears. A twang of guilt overwhelmed Jamie for just a moment. “…Yeah. Maybe we should get down from here.”

They spotted some kind of fungus jutting out of the tree just beneath the platform. They dragged Luna along, who offered no resistance, to find an opening. Luckily, there was a hole just above the fungus. Jamie stood above the hole and looked at Luna, who gave a hesitant nod.

For a moment, Luna allowed Jamie to let go of their hand. Jamie then jumped into the hole and landed on the fungus. It was firm, but soft at the same time. It appeared to be safe to stand on, so Jamie waved for Luna to jump down as well. Luna climbed down to the fungus and almost immediately after landing on it, they grabbed Jamie’s hand once more.

For a moment, Jamie considered pulling away from the contact but… it felt wrong in the moment, even if they weren’t really comfortable with it. Consider this your lucky day, Luna. They instead tightened their grip just a little bit before they returned their focus to their next move.

To their front was a thick branch. It was just a few feet down and wide enough to fit the two of them, but it’d barely leave them with any safe space. Behind them was yet another fungus, though it was a bit more of a fall than the one they were on now.

“GO BEHIND YOU!” Jamie snapped to the source of the sound. It came from Riley, who was at the base of the tree with Jade. Jade appeared to be just a little more irritated than usual. “THE FUNGUS! THERE’S A WAY DOWN FROM THERE!”

Jamie groaned. “Jeez, you don’t gotta yell! I can hear your loud mouth just fine without you hollering!”

Riley responded with a death glare. “I’m really not in the mood for your attitude right now, Jamie. Get. Down. Here. Now.”

Jamie shuddered at Riley’s sudden switch-up. They’d never seen this side of Riley before. Though, to be fair, they also never pissed Riley off enough for that. They only tested their patience a few times and made some snide remarks. Completely disregarding their orders though was a whole new level of bad.

Luna stifled a sob then gave it their all to speak. “D-Do… d-do you t-think w-we’re in… t-trouble…?”

No shit we’re in trouble. Jamie sighed. They weren’t particularly excited about that. “Yeah… for sure.” Luna started crying on the spot almost immediately. You really can’t handle being in trouble, can you? Jamie crouched down to once again be on their eye level. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but here goes nothing… “Look. If they give you any crap, I’ll get ‘em off of you, ‘kay?”

Luna wiped their nose across their arm. Gross. “B-But…”

“You have a believable excuse. I don’t. You’ll… be fine, maybe.”

Luna cocked their head in confusion. “W-What do y-you mean…?”

“Well. I went across for the hell of it, and you went across because you were scared, right?” Luna nodded. “Right, so… if you had two kids in front of you with those excuses, which one would you be least likely to get angry at?”

“Uh, I w-wouldn’t g—”

“Okay… let me rephrase it, then. Which one would you be more likely to believe?”

Luna hesitated for a moment. “T-The… scared… one…?”

“Exactly. So…” Jamie stood up and offered a hand. “Let’s go. No point in crying over it.” Luna stared at the offered hand in confusion for just a moment before they grabbed it. They allowed Jamie to pull them up. Again, Jamie considered pranking them. Why does it suddenly feel so wrong to think like that…? They shook that thought from their head. Ugh. Stupid kid. Stupid forest. Stupid EVERYTHING!

Once Luna rose, Jamie once again dragged them along to the opposite end of the fungus. Just as Riley had pointed out, there was another fungus for the two of them to jump down to. Just like last time, they both landed on it without a problem. Luna appeared to be gaining confidence, though they also appeared to be very scared still.

However, as Jamie peered over the edge of the fungus, they came across a pretty big issue: there was no way down from there. They did see the ground, but it was a pretty high drop and would most definitely break something. They didn’t even want to think about what kind of trouble they would be in then, or… abandoning Luna.

Luna hadn’t noticed the problem yet, but was growing concerned that Jamie had once again paused. As much as Jamie wanted to tell them the truth, they had a feeling that would be the worst thing to do. They’d freaked out over something less insignificant just moments ago, who knew how they’d react if they knew they were stuck?

It turned out that Jamie wouldn’t have to worry about that, because Riley spotted them in their predicament. “Hey! I, uh… crap. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that was a dead end… guess that’s why you’re in charge of climbing, Jamie…” They tapped their chin for a moment, before they caught sight of something out of Jamie’s line of sight. They pulled out and revealed a fungus that looked almost identical to the one Jamie and Luna were standing on, but smaller.

“You know… as soon as I grabbed this, it felt like some kind of magic was flowing through it? Dumb, I know, you can mock me later for it, but… maybe if I…” Riley threw the fungus at the tree with all their might. To everyone’s surprise, it exploded into a much bigger fungus that had embedded itself into the trunk. “Well, uh, you two have a way down now.” Jade was entranced by their own bewilderment of what unfolded.

Jamie looked back at Luna, who only shrugged in response. They were still nervous, but noticeably less tense now that they knew they weren’t far off from safety. Without further hesitation, the two of them jumped onto the newly grown fungus, then onto the ground.

Almost immediately after Jamie and Luna landed, Riley and Jade ran up and scooped up their respective kid. Much to Jamie’s discontent, they pushed Jade away before they could smother them in hugs. That’s enough physical contact for today, thank you. Jade seemed to be saddened by the notion, but chose not to pursue it any further.

Riley sighed. “Alright, now that our heartfelt reunions are done… would either of you care to explain why you did that?!” Luna almost immediately flinched at Riley’s frustrations which only fueled Jamie’s irritation more. Okay, seriously, what’s wrong with me?

“Look. If you’re gonna be angry at anyone…” Jamie glared at Luna. You owe me a marshmallow for this, Luna. “Luna’s not the one. If it weren’t for me being stupid… they wouldn’t have followed. They’re too… caring… for their own good.” Luna eased up just a little bit.

Riley and Jade looked back and forth between Jamie and Luna for just a moment. Jade shrugged their shoulders, while Riley shifted their focus towards Luna. Luna tensed up, but Riley gave them a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “If what Jamie said is true… I can’t exactly be mad at you. But… please… don’t do that again. I was scared I’d lost you…” Riley looked at Jamie. “Both of you. I’ll save you both the lecture, since this isn’t really the place to do it, but…”

Jade finished Riley’s sentence for them. “Do better. Please. I…” Jade sighed. “I was worried about losing you two, as well.”

A heavy feeling of guilt weighed on Jamie’s heart. They hated it. They hadn’t felt this for such a long time, and now it returned in the worst possible place at the worst possible time. They knew why they felt that way. They disappointed Jade and put Luna in danger. Yet, they didn’t want to acknowledge it. Things were easier when they ignored their true feelings.

Jamie was snapped out of their thoughts when Jade placed a hand on their right shoulder. “Look, Jamie… as much as I want to be upset, I’m just glad you came around and made the right choice in the end.” Jade looked back at Luna, who was considerably warmer and back to their normal self around Riley. “You could’ve let Luna fend for themselves, but you didn’t. I think both them and Riley appreciate you for that.”

Heh. Appreciate? Who? The kid that caused another kid to be put into danger? The kid that is reckless and mean and stupid and—

“Jamie. It’s okay. I forgive you.”

And just like that, the walls Jamie had forcefully placed around themselves for years collapsed. Without a second thought, they threw themselves into Jade’s arms and they cried. All of the pain and frustration they had bottled up… they let it all go. Forgiveness is what got through to them. Not a life-altering event, not the aftermath, not barely scraping by. Just… forgiveness. Deep down, they knew it was just because of their stupidity today, but even deeper… they wanted it to be for everything, so that’s what they chose to believe.

Jamie pulled back from Jade and only stared at the ground. As good as it felt to get everything out, they felt shame for it. How would everyone else feel about someone like them being broken down like that?

They’d find out soon enough. Luna and Riley walked up to the two of them. Luna spread out their arms for a hug, to which Jamie hesitantly accepted. While they were embraced, Jamie muttered something to Luna. “I… I’m sorry, Luna.”

“S-Sorry…?”

No point in hiding it now. “For being so mean to you. For scaring you. For… everything, I guess.”

“I-It’s okay, really! I-I’m just…” Luna grinned. Jamie felt butterflies fluttering in their stomach. Ugh. “Happy w-we made it out alive! And, uh, y-you’re not mean…”

Jamie scoffed. “Liar.”

“N-No, I-I mean it! I’ve…” An agonizing look suddenly washed over Luna’s face. “D-Dealt with worse…”

“If you say so.”

Their reunion was brought to a screeching halt when they heard a groan from behind. Jamie laughed. “We just left camp and you’re hungry again? Hah!”

Nobody laughed. In fact, they were all paralyzed in fear.

There was another groan. This time, though, Jamie didn’t have it in them to crack a joke. Instead, they turned around.

They were nearly face-to-face with a… scout? Though, they looked… weird. They had mushrooms growing out of them and appeared to be lifeless. The scout took one step forward towards Jamie; Jamie took one step back. They were suddenly trembling in fear too. “H-Hey! Back off!”

No response. Instead, the scout only took another step forward. Once again, Jamie took another step back and grabbed a branch off of the ground. “I-If… If you don’t step back, I’ll… I’ll…”

Without warning, the scout lunged at Jamie, their mouth wide open revealing sharp blood-stained teeth. Jamie raised the branch up in front of them as quickly as they could. Only one thought raced through their mind now.

I don’t want to die.

The branch had made contact with the “scout,” though it dared not to pierce any skin. Nevertheless, it provided enough of a distraction to pause it in its tracks. Its lust for violence and blood had been replaced with confusion for just a moment, as it looked down and noticed the tip of the branch pressed up against its shirt.

The pause gave Jamie enough of a chance to make their next move. A very quick analysis of the situation gave them a couple options. One: they could run, maybe shake that thing off of them. Two: they could fight it, maybe deal with it once and for all. Instead of picking either of those options, though, they decided they’d get a better look at it. I’m such an idiot for doing this.

Starting with the face, it had endless pits of void in place of its eyes. It had a small, innocent smile, though it was stripped of its innocence when paired with the eyes. Atop its head were mushrooms sprouting amongst its unkept hair. Wait… mushrooms? Like, the things I eat sometimes???

Moving downward, it was wearing a sandy-yellow shirt and an olive skirt. It bore a navy-blue sash, suggesting that this poor soul was once an ordinary Scout. Much like its head, its arms and legs were also covered in mushrooms.

Another fact that Jamie desperately tried to ignore was that its skin was orange. Just like Luna. Why did that matter? An unwelcome feeling of dread settled in their chest after the fact. It could’ve been Luna. They desperately tried to shake the thought out of their head. But it wasn’t, dummy. It’s… not them. Just some other idiot.

Suddenly, the pieces started to click in Jamie’s head. If this scout was covered in mushrooms and looked like… this… They were hit with a shattering realization. I think this kid’s a zombie. That’s… not good.

They didn’t want to die or become a zombie themselves. As much as they wanted to pretend to deny it, they also didn’t want their newfound friends to suffer. Above all else, they really didn’t want Jade to have to live with that guilt either.

They were going to do everything that they could to make sure that none of those things had even the slightest chance to happen.

Jamie forced the branch forward, fully expecting to be met with resistance. What they didn’t expect, however, was that the branch would instead glide effortlessly through the zombie’s chest and out the other end. Furthermore, they didn’t expect it to actually bleed, even with the stick still in place.

Out of fear, Jamie yanked their hands, and consequently the branch, backwards as quickly as they could. It was all for naught, though. The sudden shift in momentum had caused blood to fly out from the wound, splattering Jamie’s hands and forearms in the process. To make matters worse, blood began to pour out of the wound at an alarming rate without the stick embedded to slow it.

In response to Jamie’s sudden hostility, the zombie simply looked down at the wound in confusion, then screeched out in pain and collapsed on the spot very quickly after. It laid, unresponsive and unmoving, in its own pool of blood, never to wake again.

Jamie dropped the branch and looked down at their own hands and froze when they saw the blood. The sight… all it did was dig up an extremely unpleasant memory for them. It was one that they chose to bury for so long, but now it reared its ugly head once more. It couldn’t have picked a worse time to invade their mind.

…

Jamie could barely contain their excitement as they rode down the highway with their family. To their right sat Jade, who was tinkering with something on their phone. Their dad was driving and their mom was fast asleep.

They’d just turned ten a few months ago and had an excellent year in school. Their parents had promised to take both them and Jade to Disneyland in the summer if they did well in school, which they did, and they could do whatever they wanted there!

Well… not exactly “whatever,” but… whatever.

They tugged on Jade’s arm, who immediately looked up at them in confusion. Their mind conveniently drew a blank on what they were going to say, so they just gave Jade the biggest grin that they possibly could. Jade responded with a somehow bigger one, which spiraled into the siblings having a silent grinning contest.

Their father must’ve noticed the content because he let out a soft chuckle and asked the following as quietly as he possibly could. “What’re you two goofballs doing back there?” Jamie and Jade froze up for a moment then returned to what they were doing initially. He simply laughed and shook his head in response.

The car rolled to a stop at an intersection. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, so after just a moment, the car resumed moving. However, within a second, a truck was barreling directly towards them. Not a single person in either vehicle had time to react before they collided.

The last thing that Jamie remembered before being hit with darkness was that the front of the vehicle had almost been completely crushed.

When they woke up again, they were outside of the vehicle laying down on the road. They ached a bit, but they certainly felt worse in better circumstances. Surprisingly, they had very few scratches and bruising.

As soon as they sat up, they saw a horrific scene.

The car that they were once in was completely crushed in the front. To make matters worse, the person that had hit them appeared to be gone. There was not a single siren within sight or earshot, so they assumed they weren’t being helped for a while. Or at all.

The next thought they had when they got up was Jade. Fortunately, they didn’t have to worry about them for long, since Jade reappeared from the other side of the car. Jade appeared to be extremely panicked, though none of the words they said really made sense. They grabbed Jamie by the hand and dragged them to the other side of the car.

Jamie saw both of their parents propped up against a tree. Once Jamie approached them, it became very clear that neither of them were conscious. Their first thought was to attempt to comfort their mom. A lot of blood had dried onto her skin and clothes, though they made contact with some that was still damp. They stared blankly at the blood for just a moment before they reattempted to make contact with her.

At the exact moment that they reattempted to grab her, everything around them disappeared and she melted into… water? The water washed away the blood that was once on their hands, and a more familiar scene began to materialize in front of them.

…

They felt something—tears—drop from their face and make a small drip in the puddle in front of them. They quickly rubbed their face, but noticed that their hands and forearms were wet. Additionally, the blood was gone, though the light red tint in the water suggested it was recently washed off. Luna and Jade sat close by, deep concern painted on both of their faces. Riley was leaned up against a tree a little further away, seemingly keeping an eye out for threats.

They flexed their fingers then looked back and forth between Jade and Luna in confusion. “What…?”

Jade was the one to answer their question. “You… zoned out after… ‘taking care’ of that zombie. Luna noticed the blood on your hands and tried to ask if you were okay, but… you didn’t respond. So, we brought you here to clean you up.”

Jamie stared at their hands once more. The blood was still gone. “I… uh, thanks.”

It was Luna’s turn to ask a question. “Uh, a-are you… o-okay, Jamie?”

Okay? I just relived the worst time of my life and you think I’m okay?

No… Luna couldn’t know. Jamie had to come up with some excuse. Jade wouldn’t buy it, but they could deal with Jade later. They just needed to convince Luna.

Jamie sighed. “Not really, no. I thought I was gonna die there. And… that used to be a scout. It could’ve been…” This, they did feel horrible about. “It could’ve been…” One of us? “Me.”

Good enough.

Neither Jade nor Luna responded. Jade had a look in their eyes that they knew it wasn’t the full story—what a surprise—but held out on calling it out. Luna appeared to believe their response, so they’d backed off a little bit.

Welp. That’s enough wasting time. Jamie dried off their hands as best as they could and cleared their throat. “It’d kinda suck if one of us turned into a zombie and bit everyone else. So… maybe we shouldn’t camp here. Just, uh… trying to be safe.”

Luna nodded in agreement. “Y-Yeah… I… I think we s-should just… go….” They shuffled uncomfortably where they sat. “I’ll… uh, g-go with Riley and l-leave you two alone for a bit…” They stood up and returned to Riley.

Time for the moment of truth. Once Luna was out of earshot, Jamie hesitantly looked over at Jade, who had an unimpressed look on their face. “You… didn’t buy all of that, did you.” They had meant to frame that as a question, but it came out a lot flatter than expected.

Jade shook their head. “I’m afraid not. There’s no way that’s the whole story. Not with that kind of reaction.” After a moment, a more saddened look swept across their face. “I was scared, Jamie. You… were unresponsive for a while. If you don’t want to tell me, I can’t make you, but…” They trailed off, but Jamie fully understood what they meant.

“...When I saw the blood on my hands, it… reminded me of…” Please don’t make me say this… “It…” The wince that Jade gave in response told Jamie that they knew what they were getting at.

After a few moments of silence, Jade finally broke it. “I… I’m sorry, Jamie. I wish I knew what to say, but… I don’t know.” They pulled Jamie in for a side hug. “I miss them too.”

As much as Jamie wanted to relish the moment, they really didn’t want to do it here. “Can we… do this later? We’re still kinda in the middle of a creepy ass forest and I don’t really wanna stick around here.” Jade looked offended for a split second before they took on a more understanding look on their face. “Just… don’t wanna get bit by a zombie. That’s all.”

Jade stood up and offered a hand towards Jamie. “Agreed. Let’s get moving, then. Probably shouldn’t keep the others waiting for much longer.” Jamie grabbed Jade’s hand and allowed them to pull them up. Jamie muttered a “thanks” in response before returning to Riley and Luna.

Riley stopped leaning against the tree once they spotted Jamie and Jade. “Everything okay?” Jamie nodded, but they knew that wasn’t the truth. “Alright…” They looked up at the sky and noticed the sun creeping towards the west. “Maybe we should settle do—”

Jamie interrupted them in a slightly panicked state. “Uh, w-what if we don’t stop instead?” Riley immediately cocked their head in confusion, prompting Jamie to continue. “I mean… we’re… in the middle of a massive forest with zombies and who knows what lurking in the shadows. Do we really want to camp here for the night, or just suck it up and keep going?”

A strong gust of wind only confirmed Jamie’s fears of lingering. The group clinged onto eachother and whatever was nearby. Once the wind passed, everyone regrouped and appeared to be slightly more on edge.

Riley hummed as they processed the information. “Hm. You have a point, Jamie. This place is… brutal. Well… can we get a raise of hands in favor of continuing?” Almost immediately, everyone else raised their hands. “Okay. We’ll just keep going, then.” Phew. Really didn’t want to stay here for the night.

The group continued onward, but the zombie scout returned to the forefront of Jamie’s mind. It really nagged at them, and they also wanted to know how everyone else felt. “Uh…” Everyone stopped and looked at Jamie, which caused them to clam up for just a moment. Get it together, Jamie… “That, uh, zombie. Pretty creepy, right?” Great job, doofus.

Luna shivered at the thought. “Uh, y-yeah… I… didn’t l-like that it looked like… me…” They picked at a random leaf that attached itself to their skirt.

It did look a lot like Luna, which only frightened Jamie more. “What if… that was one of us…?”

Riley reached out to give Jamie a pat on their shoulder. “Jamie, as long as I’m alive, nothing is happening to any of you. I might not be good at anything, but I will sure as hell try my best to keep you all alive.”

This sentiment eased up Jamie’s worries just a bit. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. You suck, but…” They gave Riley a slight smile. “You’re pretty good at keeping other people alive. I’ll give you that much.”

Riley reciprocated Jamie’s niceties with their own smile, then returned to walking without another word. Jamie felt just a little better about everything again.

After some more time, the group came across a massive tree stump. Much to everyone’s confusion, Riley randomly stopped near it and sniffed the air. “Hey… does anyone else smell that?”

Jamie smelled the air themselves. Now that Riley mentioned it… they did smell something strange. They couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, but it was unpleasant nonetheless. It couldn’t have been the water, because there was none nearby. Was it another zombie? Maybe something entirely different?

Riley raised up their hand to signal for everyone to stop. “I’ll go check it out and—”

Jamie cleared their throat. Riley appeared to be annoyed by the interruption. “Hey. The, uh, buddy system. Remember when you lectured us about that? You’re du—uh, I mean… maybe you shouldn’t go alone.” They almost wanted to let the others fight over volunteering, but they were very curious about it themselves. “I’ll save everyone the headache and go with you.”

“Alright, then. Let’s get going, Jamie.”

Luna and Jade stayed behind to keep watch as Riley and Jamie approached the tree stump. The smell got stronger the closer they got, so whatever they were looking for was certainly close by. The stump itself appeared to have an opening, so they both peeked inside and couldn’t believe what they saw.

Not only was the stump hollowed out from the inside, but there was a body leaning up against the interior wall. It looked almost like…

A pilot?

A pilot was the last person that Jamie expected to find in the middle of nowhere. In most circumstances, that could’ve been their golden ticket out of that living nightmare. Considering the fact that the pilot was clearly dead though, there was no point in getting excited over the discovery. Nevertheless, their morbid curiosity yearned for answers.

From a first glance, they showed no signs of being tampered with. Their skin was a shade of red, though there were some darker patches predominantly on their right arm. Their attire was unlike any other pilot they had seen before, though. They wore a floral shirt, jeans and some old sneakers. Was this person really a pilot? Pretty tacky outfit if so.

Jamie noticed a bite just above the pilot’s right wrist. Based on the mushrooms forming around it, it was likely that they got bit by a zombie and died not long after. Good thing I didn’t get bit, then. The skin immediately surrounding the bite appeared to be rotting and was accompanied by an unpleasant smell. So that’s what that was.

They spotted a folded piece of paper sticking out from the pilot’s left pocket. It had something written on it, but they couldn’t tell what it was from where they stood. They reached out to grab it, but much to their dismay, Riley grabbed it first and read it to themselves.

Jamie paid particularly close attention to Riley’s face as they read it. They initially started out curious, but that curiosity developed into confusion, then into frustration. After reading it, they stared at the paper for a few more moments. “What the hell… That is… so messed up…” they muttered to themselves. Must be bad. They then offered the paper to Jamie to read, who quickly snatched it out of their hand.

They re-folded the paper to see what it said on the front.

In very neatly written cursive were the following words: For Pilot Romero.

Romero. Why did that name sound so familiar?

…

Some time after the flight took off—and after that obnoxious orange kid fell asleep—a slightly irritated voice came on over the plane’s intercom.

“Hello passengers, this is your pilot Romero speaking. I, uh, apologize,” The strange emphasis on ‘apologize’ did not fall on deaf ears. “For forgetting this message. We’re going to be flying to Hawaii today. Please make sure you stay buckled up and keep your devices in airplane mode for the duration of the flight and all that stuff.” They groaned before forcing a more chipper voice. “Thank you for choosing Bing Bong Airlines, and enjoy the flight!” A click indicated that the transmission had completed.

What a strange pilot. Who waits until after they’ve taken off to say this stuff? Are they even qualified to fly this thing? And why the hell were they so weird about it?

Jamie nudged Jade, who popped off an earbud in response. “Hey, uh, Jade. Am I the only one that has a bad feeling about this?”

Jade hummed. “Well, now that you mention it… I’ve got a bad feeling too. Maybe we’re just overthinking it though.”

“Hm. Whatever you say. I’m bored, so I guess I’ll just go to sleep. G’night Jade.”

“Good night, Jamie.”

…

Jamie rubbed their chin in contemplation. So this wasn’t just some random pilot, then. It was our pilot. How the heck did they end up all the way here, though?

They opened up the paper to read the contents. They almost wish they hadn’t, though. They really weren’t prepared for what was inside.

If you can, crash the plane on some remote island in the middle of nowhere. I don’t care which one it is. And make sure there’s no survivors. If there are, at the very least, make sure that orange little shit is out of the picture. I’d hate to have to deal with them again. They’re a stray I picked up and need to keep gone.

Once you’ve done all of that, just climb as high as you can and light the flare I’ve given you. DO NOT LOSE IT. It’s blue, so I will know it’s you specifically. I’ll pick you up and give you payment once I know the deed’s been done.

After all that, we go our separate ways and never speak of this again. Well… at least until the next batch of morons stroll into town.

-SME

They only stared blankly at the paper for a while. They struggled to fathom the thought that someone would pay to get rid of four people, or why they placed emphasis on getting rid of Luna. It did explain how Romero ended up against the tree, though. This “SME” must’ve had a lot of money to be able to convince Romero to do something as stupid as this.

Wait… the note mentioned a flare… where…? Their eyes landed on a blue flare that laid to the right of Romero. Aha! They grabbed the flare, but noticed it had already been used. They clenched it tightly out of frustration. For a brief moment, they considered throwing it against the wall with every ounce of energy they had, but instead they just tossed it back to where they grabbed it from.

“They must’ve tried to leave early when they realized they weren’t making it…” Riley sighed. Their eyes were locked onto the flare. “Dying was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to them.” You’re damn right it was.

Jamie could feel their blood start to boil. Who in their right mind would be swayed by money to leave anyone to die on a random island? And who would be depraved enough to even make that offer in the first place? Also, what was it with Luna specifically that this “SME” wanted them gone so badly? That was the most concerning part of all of this. Did Luna…? No. Nothing they could’ve done would justify this. They had so many questions and so few answers.

Their knuckles took on a lighter shade of yellow, so out of fear of accidentally tearing the paper to shreds, they shoved it back into Riley’s hands. It’d probably be a bad idea to tear up the only evidence we have.

Riley hesitated for just a moment then tucked the paper into one of their coat pockets. “Well? Pretty messed up, right?”

Jamie only clenched their fists even tighter, though it wasn’t because of Riley. “’Messed up’?! Yeah! I’d say it’s pretty ‘messed up’ to pay a pilot to try to kill us and single out Luna!” Riley only nodded in agreement.

They knelt down and stared at Romero’s cold, lifeless eyes. “You’re lucky you’re already dead.” Their fists trembled and they felt tears roll down their face, but they didn’t care. They were too angry to care. “I… I hate you for what you’ve done.”

They rose up to leave. There was nothing left there that they wanted to see. It was likely for the best anyways, since based on the lighting, the sun appeared to be creeping closer to setting by the minute. They’d prefer not to be lost in the dark on top of everything else going on.

Just as Jamie stormed outside of the tree stump, a strong gust of wind nearly knocked them off of their feet. They were yanked back inside by Riley by the collar of their tank top. From within, they could hear the wind howling, though they were safe from its effects. Riley still—likely subconsciously—held on to Jamie’s collar, though Jamie chose to say nothing about it.

Once the wind dissipated, Jamie attempted to leave the tree stump once more. Much to their dismay, though, Riley was still holding onto their collar. Now it started to get on their nerves. “You gonna let me go, or…?”

Riley let go of Jamie’s collar. “Right… uh, sorry. Let’s get out of here. I don’t really want to stick around, and I’m assuming you don’t either.”

“Yeah. I don’t. I’m mad enough without even looking at their face.”

Jamie once again walked outside of the tree stump, but collided directly into Luna. Luna started giggling and apologizing almost immediately, but once they saw that Jamie was not reciprocating their laughter, they stopped.

Jade appeared to be slightly concerned. “You two were taking a while, and the wind spooked Luna, so we came looking for you.” They looked down at Jamie and Luna, who were both still seated on the ground. “Seems like you two were doing the same.”

Jamie stood up and offered a hand to Luna, who graciously accepted. They then rubbed their nose and whined at the slight discomfort it caused. Today really isn’t my day, is it? Almost immediately, Luna appeared to be panicked. Jamie cut them off before they could say anything, though. “Relax. I’m fine. Can we get going already?”

“What did you two find?” Jade asked inquisitively.

Jamie met Jade’s question with a very agitated glare. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

Jade was only more concerned by Jamie’s response. “Jamie…”

“Jade.” Jamie growled. They really weren’t in the mood for this. “I dunno if you forgot, but we’re in the middle of a creepy forest. Can. We. Leave. Now.”

Jade once again attempted to contest. “Ja—”

A gust of wind suddenly cut Jade off. They were able to grab on to a nearby tree, but unfortunately, Luna crashed directly into Jamie. Jamie was able to re-stabilize quick enough to save them both, but it still gave them quite the scare.

After the wind dissipated, Luna clung onto Jamie for a little while longer. The fear and fatigue in their eyes were very apparent. Poor kid… You don’t deserve to be dealing with any of this. Luna eventually let go, but subconsciously, Jamie reached out and grabbed their right hand. Luna appeared to be confused initially, but then shifted more towards gratitude.

Jade sighed. “You know what? You’re right. We should get going. Sorry for being pushy.” Their eyes drifted down to Jamie and Luna’s hands, which were now interlocked. They smiled softly at the sight. “Just… tell me when we get somewhere safer, okay…?”

Jamie didn’t understand Jade’s shift in expression, but they still rolled their eyes in response. “Fine. Can we leave now?”

Fortunately, Jade appeared to get the hint and nodded in response. Finally. Neither Luna nor Riley seemed to have any objections either, so they all headed off with Jamie leading the pack.

They didn’t really ask to take charge, but assumed that role regardless. They didn’t mind it; it gave them some time to think while also scouting out some routes up ahead.

Scouting a route proved to be a challenge, though. The trees obstructed most of their vision the higher they looked. And those red clouds… What do they even do…? To make matters worse, with the sun setting, they’d soon have very little light to work with.

They eventually approached a small hill they wanted to climb. They attempted to pull their left hand towards the wall to climb… but it was met with some resistance. They looked to their left and… Luna was holding their hand. Luna? When…?

Jamie echoed their confusion out loud. “When did you…?” They shook their head, then immediately blushed once they fully processed what happened. “Uh… Can you… let go for a minute…?” For a minute…? What am I saying???

Luna let go of Jamie’s hand on command. “Y-You, uh, g-grabbed it earlier. I d-didn’t want to say anything, b-because…” Luna looked at the ground bashfully. “I… I k-kinda liked it.” Some kind of feeling bubbled in Jamie’s chest, which they attributed to… Affection. Ew. Gross.

Jamie sighed. “Whatever. I’m gonna check out what’s at the top of this hill. You coming or not?” Luna nodded eagerly in response. What a weirdo.

They then pointed at Riley and Jade. “You two, stay down here and make sure nothing catches us off-guard. Got it?”

“Sure, but if you wanted to spend more time with Luna—” Riley nudged Jade before they could finish. “…We’ll stay down here.”

Jamie chose to ignore the first half of what Jade said, instead shifting their focus towards climbing.

The hill wasn’t particularly tall, so it only took a minute to get to the top. Luna was a bit slower than them, so they offered a hand, to which Luna accepted. Jamie let go once Luna made it to the top. Luna’s smile faltered for a moment, which Jamie noticed, but they forced it back to where it was. For some unexplainable reason, Jamie felt a twang of guilt. They decided to reconnect with Luna, who appeared to brighten up at the gesture. The guilt faded just a little bit.

A random question popped into Jamie’s head. Why do I suddenly feel like I need to look out for Luna…? They already knew the answer, though. Right… this… “SME” person.

They pushed that concern to the back of their mind for the moment. They were at the top of the hill for a reason: to find a way up. They weren’t going to figure that out if they just stood around and sulked in their own head.

Out of the corner of their eye, they spotted some kind of entrance. Maybe it’s to a cave…? They tugged at Luna’s hand to get their attention. “Hey Luna,” Jamie pointed towards the entrance. “Let’s go check out whatever this is.”

For a moment, Luna hesitated. They appeared to be… scared? You’re such a big baby. Why’d I get stuck with you? Jamie gave their hand a reassuring squeeze, which appeared to ease their tension a bit. “Uh… y-yeah. I’ll… go with you.”

Jamie lingered around no longer in case Luna decided to change their mind at the last second. With Luna in tow, they arrived at the entrance and peered inside. It was a quite small cave, though it appeared to be safe from any threats from the outside. As a bonus, there was nothing hiding inside. Even if it didn’t serve as any kind of path up, it was safe at the very least.

The idea of resting did contradict Jamie wanting to leave as soon as possible, but… they were starting to get tired. At the very least, they wanted to get off of their feet for a moment. They turned to face Luna, who was noticeably less tense once they realized it was safe. “Make yourself comfortable. I’m gonna get Jade and Riley over here too.” They motioned for Luna to go inside.

Luna gave Jamie a scared look. Now what? “Y-You’re… not gonna l-leave me here… are you…?”

Jamie rolled their eyes. “Yes, of course I’m gonna abandon you in the middle of nowhere.” They groaned. “No, you doofus! I’m just gonna shout for them! Did you really think I was gonna just dump you somewhere and run off?”

“…I-It’s… happened b-before…” Oh… I don’t like the feeling in my chest I just got.

Jamie struggled to formulate a response to that. How do you even respond to something like that? “…Look. I’m just gonna go back outside and shout for them. I’ll even stand by the entrance so you can see me. How’s that sound?” Luna gave a hesitant thumbs up in response, then entered the cave. “Cool. Be back soon.”

Just as they said, Jamie stood right outside of the entrance and called for Jade and Riley. “Hey! I don’t know if you two can hear me, but, we found a cave up here! Nice and roomy and safe from the wind!”

Within minutes, Jade and Riley scrambled up the exact hill that Jamie and Luna had. Without a word, Jade entered the cave. However, much to Jamie’s confusion, Riley remained near the entrance. Riley must’ve noticed Jamie’s confusion, so they explained why they’re not moving. “I’ll keep watch, make sure no zombies or who knows what shows up.” They grabbed a nearby branch as if they were trying to prove a point. “Get some rest. Who knows when you’ll have a chance to again.”

Jamie didn’t bother to argue with Riley on that. They definitely weren’t going to say “no” to getting some rest, especially when the opportunity presented itself.

When they re-entered the cave, Jamie noticed that Luna had settled down into a corner of the cave. Jade was close by, fidgeting with a random twig they found. Luna was hugging their Bing Bong plushie tightly, but they did momentarily free up a hand to wave at Jamie. Jamie waved back in response.

They settled down beside Luna and felt a sudden surge of fatigue wash over them. They hadn’t been on their feet for an unusual amount of time, though the forest had taken quite a toll on them mentally. Something rested on their shoulder, and they would’ve missed it had they not noticed movement out of the corner of their eye. Once they turned their head a little bit, they realized it was just Luna.

Under any other circumstance, they likely would’ve tried to push Luna away. Holding hands was one thing, but getting comfortable like this was another. They were too tired to care, though. It’s kinda nice, too… Instead, they just rested their head on top of Luna’s and closed their eyes.

I’ll just get a little rest, I guess. No big deal. Not like I wanna leave, or anything…

Yeah…

Just…

…

A little…

…

…

Rest…

Jamie gently landed in a field of marshmallows and lollipops. The ground was very soft, yet very easy to pull apart. Wait… cotton candy?! Awesome! They pulled up a tuft of cotton candy and ate it. Just as good as I remember it being… Almost immediately, the patch they had pulled out reappeared, as if they never took any.

For someone that loved sugary foods, this was heaven. They could stay here forever! The only thing that would make this even better was something to drink. Conveniently, an oasis filled with Dr. Pepper appeared in front of them. They cupped their hands and drank it. Wait… isn’t that unsanitary…? Meh, who cares? This is awesome!

They laid down near the oasis to soak everything in. They had everything that they loved. Well… Jade was missing, but… maybe they’d appear soon. This was the best thing that ever happened to them. Even their birthdays didn’t come close. It was only fair that they got such a sweet reward after all of the suffering they endured.

Out of nowhere, a giant beetle scurried up to them and nudged them in the leg. They looked at the bug in confusion, that appeared to be irritated at their presence. What is this thing doing here…? A stifled squeal from their right caused them to turn in that direction, though they saw nothing. Huh… weird.

The beetle nudged them again, this time sending them flying into the oasis. Once they were completely submerged, they passed by specters of their parents as they sank. Jamie heard whispers of “you’re a failure” and “why did you kill us” and it nearly drove them mad. It’s not true…

The voices and specters disappeared almost as quickly as they came. It felt like forever, though.

The feeling of sinking was replaced by a damp, cool feeling, with something weighing in by their side. They’d broken out in a sweat, likely because of that nightmare, and felt quite uncomfortable. They blinked their eyes rapidly and pinched their left arm. The pinch left behind a slight pain. So I’m not dreaming anymore…

They looked to their right and spotted Luna, who appeared to be disturbed by something. Once they looked in front of them, they identified what they assumed was bothering Luna—the same beetle from their nightmare.

Jamie patted the beetle on its head and laughed at Luna. “This—” For a moment, they forgot Jade and Riley were still asleep. They lowered their voice to a whisper before continuing. “This thing is what’s got you spooked? Really?”

Luna initially grunted in frustration at Jamie’s teasing, but eventually laughed it off themselves. “Y-Yeah, how d-dumb of me… haha…” They appeared to be pained after saying that.

Jamie suddenly felt bad about teasing Luna, but decided to play it cool. “Meh. Everyone’s got things they’re scared of.” They hesitated for a moment. Will they pick on me for this…? Guess I’m about to find out. “Like, I’m scared of spiders. Don’t care if it’s ‘friendly’ or not. If it’s a spider, I’m gone.”

They fully expected Luna to deliver the same treatment that they received, but Luna just smiled softly instead. “I’m, uh… a-also scared of spiders… s-so…” They frowned. “I’m… I’m just a c-coward… aren’t I…?”

Jamie mirrored Luna’s frown. As much as they wanted to tease them and confirm their statement, they knew deep down it’d only hurt both of them in the long-term. And that I don’t actually mean it… They weren’t any good at reassurances, but they couldn’t let Luna cling onto the thought that they were a coward either.

Jamie hummed in contemplation for just a moment. “I think the word you’re looking for is… uh, ‘brave’?” You’re terrible at this, Jamie…

Luna cocked their head in confusion. “B-Brave…?”

“Yeah. I think that’s it. I mean… would a coward be sitting here in a creepy forest with a bunch of people they don’t know?”

Luna didn’t respond. Instead, they just shifted their gaze over towards the beetle, which appeared to be growing increasingly bored.

“Would they?” Jamie wasn’t taking silence for an answer.

Luna hesitantly returned their gaze to Jamie. “M-Maybe—”

“No. The answer is no. A coward would’ve stayed behind, hid in the wreckage and cried until things magically got better. But, surprise! Things don’t just get better without doing anything. And considering you’re here… I don’t think you’re a coward. Scared? Definitely. But you’re not a coward.” Jamie pulled Luna in for a side hug. They ignored the fluttering feeling rising in their chest. “I mean it. So shut up with that.”

Luna returned the hug, though they said nothing in response at first. After a few moments though, they finally spoke up. “T-Thank you, Jamie… y-you’re very nice…” If the bare minimum means I’m “very nice” then sure, I guess I am.

“O-Oh. Uh, are… are you okay…?”

“What do you mean?”

“Y-You, uh, seemed u-upset when you woke up…”

Jamie paused for a moment. They considered telling Luna about the nightmare, but… “Bad night, I guess. I mean… after everything I—we went through…” I’m not entirely wrong with that…

That answer seemed to satisfy Luna, since they didn’t press Jamie for any further questions about it.

The beetle ended up getting bored and decided to skitter towards the entrance of the cave. Jade woke up as it passed by them and was very confused at the sight. “Is that… a giant rhino beetle…?” They rubbed their eyes and were impressed when the beetle hadn’t magically disappeared. “Huh… neat.”

“A… what now?”

Jade jolted in surprise when they noticed that both Jamie and Luna were awake. “O-Oh, uh, didn’t expect you two to be awake too.” They cleared their throat. “Anyways, that was a rhino beetle. They appear to be dangerous, but they’re actually passive. Though…” They hummed. “They usually aren’t that big.”

Jamie took a moment to process all of that information. Jade’s comment on its size was interesting, though they had a more pressing question in mind. “If it wasn’t here to hurt us, then… why was it here?”

“Good question. I wish I knew the answer.”

Jamie rolled their eyes. “Of course you—” A yawn from Luna rudely interrupted them. “Well, if it’s not gonna hurt us… I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get some more sleep.” That was probably for the best, considering it was still dark outside.

“Well, I was going back to sleep regardless, but agreed. Rest well, you two.” Almost immediately after Jade said that, they were softly snoring. How do you fall asleep so fast…?

Jamie shuffled a bit to get more comfortable. Luna leaned a bit more into Jamie to do the same. Jamie noticed that they were both still side hugging each other, but they weren’t particularly interested in letting go. It seemed that Luna wasn’t, either.

Jamie yawned, which they took as their cue to go back to sleep. “Mmm… good night, Luna…”

Luna likely responded, but Jamie slipped too far into unconsciousness to process whatever they said.

…

The next time Jamie opened their eyes, it was much brighter in the cave. Must be morning time. Or somewhere around there. Riley was seated just outside of the entrance nibbling on a mushroom, and Jade was nowhere to be found. Real nonchalant about a missing kid, huh? Luna was awake, though they were staying quiet and fidgeting with their Bing Bong plushie. However, they perked up when they noticed Jamie was awake.

Jamie put a finger up to their lips to tell Luna to stay quiet. Then they pointed over towards Riley. Luna softly giggled in response and made a zipping motion across their lips. Jamie gave a thumbs up in response then rose from where they sat.

Almost immediately, they stepped on a stray branch. It made a snap sound. Jamie froze and waited for what was to come. However… nothing happened. Riley appeared to be unfazed by the branch. Are they deaf, or…?

Huh. Jamie looked back at Luna, who simply shrugged. Since Riley didn’t respond, Jamie resumed creeping towards them. This is gonna be so funny…

“Good morning, Jamie.” Riley stated as flatly as possible. Jamie stopped dead in their tracks once more.

“W-What?! How did you…?”

Riley turned around with a smug look on their face and shrugged. “Dunno. Lucky guess, I guess.”

Jamie huffed in frustration, then honed their focus on the mushroom Riley was holding. Riley must’ve noticed, because they offered an extra mushroom to them. Jamie stared at the mushroom for a moment. It didn’t exactly look sugary or appetizing to them. However, their stomach growled, so they decided to snatch it without any further thought.

Just as they put the mushroom up to their mouth to take a massive bite out of it, they suddenly had a couple questions they really wanted the answers to.

One, was it even safe to eat?

Two, what was Luna going to eat?

Jamie forced themselves to resist the urge to eat the mushroom for the moment. “…Hey, Riley.” Riley hummed, which Jamie understood as their cue to continue. “Is this safe to eat?”

Riley stared at Jamie in bewilderment. “If… it wasn’t safe to eat, Jade wouldn’t have given it to me, nor would I have given it to you.”

“Wait… Jade got these?”

“Yes.” Riley nodded. “That’s why I’m sitting here. I’m keeping an eye on them while they find some food nearby while also keeping an eye on you two while you slept.”

Well, that’s one question answered… but…

“What about Luna?” Did I really just say that out loud?

“Oh! Right. Here—” Riley looked in their lap but appeared to be panicked when they found nothing there. They quickly regained their composure, though. “I’ll… uh… figure something out for them.” They muttered angrily under their breath, though Jamie couldn’t make out the words.

Jamie stared at the mushroom in their hands very intently. A few of thoughts swirled in their mind. They could hoard it for themselves—I am hungry after all—or they could give it to Luna, instead. They didn’t stand to gain anything from giving it to Luna, though at the same time, the thought of eating it in front of them made them feel guilty about even thinking about it.

They walked back to Luna and sat down beside them. Almost immediately, Luna caught sight of the mushroom that Jamie held. In response, Jamie offered the mushroom to them. They reached out to grab it, but stopped just inches away from it. Jamie pushed the mushroom forward, but Luna only pulled their hand back.

Truthfully, Jamie was confused at how Luna was acting. Clearly they were hungry, why were they refusing to eat now? Jamie pushed the mushroom forward once more. Luna folded their hands in their lap and smiled at Jamie rather than make an effort to grab it.

Jamie’s patience started to run thin. “You hungry or what? I don’t feel like playing games with you right now.”

“I-I’m, uh… uh, y-you’re hungry… you eat…”

It took every ounce of energy in Jamie’s body not to get angry. “It’s clear that you’re hungry too. Why do you have to be so damn difficult about this?”

Luna flinched at Jamie’s final remark. “I… I’m sorry… I’m f-fine, really!”

Defeated, Jamie sat down beside Luna and stared at the mushroom again. Suddenly, an idea popped into their head. Why couldn’t they just split the mushroom and share it? It really took me that long to figure that out…? Idiot.

They pulled apart the mushroom as Luna watched. It wasn’t a perfect tear, but it’d work. They held up the two halves to analyze the size of them. I should give myself the bigger half because of this headache…

Contrary to their inner thoughts, they offered the bigger half to Luna. “Problem solved. You’re welcome. Now eat.” Luna finally grabbed their half of the mushroom and began to nibble on it.

Jamie scarfed down their half of the mushroom almost immediately. It didn’t do much to satiate their hunger, but it’d at least hold them over for a little while longer. It was rather bland, but given the circumstances, they weren’t about to complain. Food was food no matter the taste, at the end of the day.

They continued to stare at their lap. They didn’t really have anything to do, and Luna was preoccupied with their food. After all, it’d be rude to watch someone eat, right? They picked up a random twig and fidgeted with it for a moment, but immediately got bored. Having nothing to do sucked. Not being able to do anything about it sucked even more.

I know it’s rude, but… They peeked over at Luna, who was… not eating the mushroom? They were simply staring at it. They had taken a few small bites out of it, but they appeared to feel guilty about eating it. What a weird kid. Jamie must’ve been staring for too long, because Luna’s confused eyes met theirs, and awkward silence followed after.

Luna was the one to break the silence. “Uh… is… is there s-something on my face…?”

Jamie’s face felt hot from embarrassment. “Uh, no. No. Sorry. Just, uh, looking. Yeah.” Great job, Jamie! You killed it!

“Oh… okay!” Luna resumed staring at their mushroom.

“I, uh, do have a question for you though.” Luna once again looked at Jamie. “Are you… not hungry, or…?”

Luna held out the mushroom to Jamie. “Y-You… want it?”

Jamie waved their hands in front of them. “No, no! Just… you’ve barely eaten it. I don’t want your food. I gave it to you for you to eat.”

“I… I’m just…” The look on Luna’s face made it seem like it’d hurt them if they said what they wanted to say.

“Not hungry?”

“N-No! I am, but…”

“But?”

“Just… not used t-to being g-given food, I guess…”

That truly took Jamie off-guard. “What… do you mean by that?”

“Uh… w-when I… lived alone—”

“You lived alone???”

“Y-Yeah… b-but, uh, I… didn’t r-really get… food… I had to…”

Looks like I’ll have to fill in the blank here… “Steal it…?”

Luna looked away in shame. “Y-Yeah…”

“Well, on the bright side, you don’t gotta worry about that with us.”

“What…?”

“I mean, you don’t gotta steal, or… be alone, anymore. I’ll be nice and not intrude on your past, but…”

Luna suddenly embraced Jamie. “T-Thank…” Luna stifled a sob. “Thank you…”

Jamie returned the hug and clutched Luna tightly. Luna trembled in Jamie’s grasp, then sobbed silently. They really wished they could do something to make things better, but… they couldn’t. They felt helpless, and they hated it. The next best thing they could do was to just be there in the moment and reassure them for the future.

“Hey, uh… Luna?” A soft hum was all that Luna could manage. “I’m, uh, sorry. For… whatever happened. But…” Jamie paused. “Don’t, uh, let all of that drag you down anymore. You’ve got us now.” Luna’s grip tightened in response.

Luna eventually pulled away and returned to eating their mushroom. They quickened their pace, but still took plenty of time to finish it. Once they were done, they gave a shaky smile to Jamie and rested their head on their knees. I guess they’re not in the mood to talk anymore…

Jade returned shortly after, which prompted Jamie to get up and investigate. However, Luna didn’t follow. Jamie offered a hand, which Luna stared at warily for just a moment before accepting. They felt bad for making Luna feel like they had to get up. “Sorry, but… I think it’s about time to go.” Luna nodded solemnly in response.

Jamie didn’t know the full picture of Luna’s past life, but with all of the pieces they did know…

Well… whoever did all of this to them was certainly going to have hell to pay, and they were going to see it through to the end by any means necessary.

By the time Jamie and Luna made it over to Jade, they were in the middle of a conversation with Riley. Though, they did take a moment to wave, which also prompted a wave from Riley. Jamie and Luna returned the gesture with their own waves. Almost immediately after, some mushrooms from inside Jade’s backpack caught Jamie’s attention.

Most of the mushrooms appeared to just be the ones Jamie had already seen plenty of times, though there were some colorful ones that caught their attention. There were both red and yellow mushrooms with some kind of pattern on their caps. The red ones had spots, while the yellow ones had swirls. They wondered if they tasted as good as they looked.

Jamie must’ve been looking at the mushrooms for too long, since they managed to catch Jade’s attention. Jade placed the backpack on the ground and fished both a red and yellow mushroom out of it. They then held one in each hand and stuck them out, not as an offer but as a display. “I’m guessing you two are interested in these?”

Without missing a beat, Luna immediately hummed an enthusiastic “mhm” and Jamie nodded. It seemed like they both really wanted to learn more about those strange mushrooms. Jade’s soft smile turned into a much wider grin after the pair responded. It’s been a while since I saw them smile like that…

Before Jade could speak though, Riley butted in. “You know, this would actually be a good lesson for those two to work on their Mycology badge.”

“Oh, right! I, uh, actually just got that one recently myself.” Jade tucked the colorful mushrooms back in their backpack.

Riley clapped. “Oh! Well, congrats! That one was a bit of a rough one for me.” Jade beamed at the praise. “Well. Don’t let me distract you any further from teaching those two.” Riley returned to watching out for threats, though they remained within sight and earshot of everyone.

Sometime during that interaction, both Jamie and Luna sat down beside one another, eager to learn more about those colorful mushrooms. Jade set their backpack down and sat down beside it.

Jade clasped their hands together. “Right. So, what do you two know about mycology?”

Luna tilted their head in confusion. “M-My… cology…?”

“Uh…” Jamie really wanted to say something snarky, but they chose not to. “I’m gonna be honest, I don’t even know what that is.”

Jade hummed. “Mycology is the study of fungi, which includes mushrooms, like the ones you two ate earlier.”

They moved the backpack to rest between them and Jamie and Luna. “You’ve probably already noticed, but I’ve come back with a bunch of mushrooms. Both plain mushrooms and some colorful ones.”

There were, in fact, colorful mushrooms. There were plain ones too, but those didn’t catch Jamie’s interest as much as the former. Just as they observed before, there were only red and yellow ones, though they didn’t know why. It seemed like Luna was curious about that too, because they decided to inquire about it. “Uh… w-why are there… only r-red and yellow ones…?”

Jade hummed. “Good question! I’ll answer that soon, but… I should probably tell you what these actually are, first.”

“They’re mushrooms, duh.” Jamie scoffed. “I think anyone would know that without even thinking about it. Just look at it!”

“Hmm. Not quite.” Jade shook their head. “They’re actually shroomberries.”

Jamie was very bemused by that name. “Shroom… berries…?”

“Correct. The ‘shroom’ part stems—” Jade giggled at their incidental pun. “—from the fact that it looks like, well, a mushroom. The ‘berry’ part is because they taste and are colored like berries.” They tapped their chin. “Though… I can’t quite figure out what the correlation is between the color and their effects. Like… wouldn’t a blue shroomberry be good… because blueberries are good… and the color green is generally a good color, but it’s bad here—” They were interrupted by Jamie clearing their throat. They immediately appeared to be embarrassed once they realized they’d been rambling. “Oh… sorry.”

Jamie shrugged. “Meh. It’s fine. So, now that we know what they are, will you answer Luna’s question about only bringing back red and yellow shroomberries?”

“Right. Of course. There’s five different colors of shroomberries: red, yellow, purple, blue and green. Red and yellow are always safe to eat, while blue and green are never safe to eat.”

Luna appeared to be perplexed by something. “W-What about purple…?”

Jamie butted in before Jade could answer. “Lemme guess. Sometimes they’re safe to eat?” Jade simply nodded in response. “And how did you figure that out?”

“Remember when you laughed about that one page saying something about pooping your pants if you ate a bad mushroom?” Jamie giggled again at that phrase. Jade was clearly unamused. “Seriously. I know it sounds silly, but… do you think people automatically know whether or not something is safe to consume? It’s all trial and error until it’s done and documented.”

“What if you come across something that hasn’t been documented? Then what?”

Jade shrugged. “Either try it out yourself and document it or don’t take your chances. Though, you’ll probably not be thinking about that in a life-or-death scenario.”

“What do they taste like?”

“Huh? Oh, the berries?” Jamie nodded in response. “The red ones are sweet, the yellow ones are tart and the green ones taste sour. The blue and purple ones are deceptive, because they both taste like grapes. You know, something that you’d assume is good.”

Jamie drooled at the descriptions of each berry. Sweet… berry… give it to me…

“However!” Jamie was suddenly snapped out of their daze. “We should really try to conserve these as much as possible.”

Luna raised their hand, to which Jade nodded. “W-Why should we save them…?”

“Well, like any other food we’ve come across, it’s not exactly a commodity out here. Furthermore, it’s not really easy to find something that’s actually safe to eat. Though… you two probably know that by now.” They paused in anticipation of further questions, but their face lit up as if they remembered something extra. “Oh! One more thing. They each have their own effects when consumed. So, might be worth holding on to them unless we absolutely need to eat them.”

Jamie cocked their head to the side. “Effects…?”

“Yes. The type of effect correlates with the color of the mushroom. The safe mushrooms will always have a positive effect, while the bad mushrooms will always have a negative effect. Purple is a bit of a toss-up because it could be either good or bad. Nobody has figured out the pattern behind the effects though, because it changes between person, even with the same color.”

Luna once again raised their hand. “O-Okay, but… what are the effects…?”

“The positive effects include faster running and climbing, curing any sicknesses or hunger and improved stamina. The bad effects, on the other hand, include temporary blindness, unconsciousness, or a slow and painful death in the worst case.” Luna shivered at that final effect. “So, try not to eat the blue or green ones if you can help it.”

This information was quite intriguing to Jamie. Not only were these “shroomberries” tasty, but they also had effects attached to them. Interesting… Though, they had one more question. “So, uh, where do you even find them?”

“These type of mushrooms, you will only find in forests like this. They prefer the damp and roofed environment, so they’re a bit tricky to come across in the wild.” Jade sighed wistfully. “I wish I had a camera right about now… this would be cool to show to the other scouts.”

The three of them sat in awkward silence for a moment. Eventually, Luna pointed towards one of the ordinary mushrooms, and inquired about those. “W-What about… these mushrooms…?”

Jade’s face lit up at the question. “These are just ordinary mushrooms, but still just as important to know about. They’re not colorful or tasty or cool, but… they can still be food, if you get the right ones.”

“H-How would I k-know if they’re good…?”

“Well… usually by how they look. One example of this…” Jade fished out one of the pages they’d grabbed at the last campsite. They handed it to Luna, who accepted and observed the contents. “Is on that page. And yes, Jamie, it’s the one that you keep laughing about. But, that mushroom in particular is called a ‘button shroom.’ It looks like… a button. As you can see, the one with spots on it is bad.”

“A-Are there other mushrooms t-to know about…?”

“There’s one that’s always safe to eat, called the chubby shroom. You can identify it by it having a chubby base. It looks…” Jade paused as they thought of a description for it. “Kinda like a vase. You don’t gotta worry about it being poisonous. There’s also cluster shrooms, which you can identify by a bunch of smaller mushrooms being clustered together. The bad ones will have skirts just under the caps. The final mushroom to look out for is the bugle shroom. Much like the cluster shroom, the bad one will have skirts beneath its cap.”

Luna hummed, though they appeared to be a bit overwhelmed by all of the information. To be fair, I kinda am too… “S-So… basically, if t-there’s s-spots or skirts… it’s bad…?”

Jade gave a thumbs up and a grin. “Correct!” They noticed that Luna was a bit overwhelmed and appeared to feel guilty about it. “Uh, sorry. I realize now that was a lot of information to take in, but I’m glad you understood nonetheless.”

Jamie recalled the mushroom they ate earlier. It looked almost exactly like the one on the page Luna held in their hands. “Wait… so we ate a button shroom earlier then? Cool.”

“Y-Yeah! I think t-that’s what we ate!”

Jade smiled at the small exchange between the two. “You’re both fast learners. Keep that information tucked away and you may both walk out of this with your own Mycology badge. Might even have an easy time with it with all that we’ve seen so far.”

Luna looked down at their sash, which was still just as empty as before. “M-My… first badge?” Jade nodded in response, which elicited a wide grin from Luna. Luna was suddenly very giddy after the fact.

Jamie appeared to be less than pleased by the exchange. “That’s cool and all, but is there anything else we should know about?” Luna deflated almost immediately, making Jamie feel bad.

“Well, you can cook them, but be warned that you can’t cook the poison out of the poisonous ones. It likely won’t taste much better than it would be raw, but it’ll be a little more filling.” Jade shrugs. “Wouldn’t hurt for you two to try next time we come across some fire. Learning how to cook them is part of earning the badge.”

Luna perked up at the prospect of cooking food. “O-Oh! That… that sounds fun!” Jamie shrugged nonchalantly.

Jade put out their hand to receive the page from Luna and tucked it away in their bag once more. After sorting out the contents, they stood up and tossed the bag over their shoulders. “Well. That’s all I’ve got for you two. Hopefully you learned a lot from that.” Jamie and Luna both rose up in a similar fashion, and both gave a thumbs up in response.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Riley was close by, listening in on the lesson. They’d been leaning up against the wall. “Pop quiz!” Jamie groaned, Riley appeared to be amused by this. “So what do you need to look out for when picking a mushroom?”

Luna jumped in almost immediately. “Spots and skirts!” Riley gave them a thumbs up, which elicited an excited clap from them.

“Which shroomberries are safe to eat?”

Jamie opened their mouth to speak, but Luna once again jumped in. Jamie was visibly frustrated now. “R-Red and yellow!”

Jade seemed to notice Jamie’s frustration. They pulled out a fat mushroom from their backpack and displayed it. “Jamie, which mushroom is this?”

“Uh… a chubby shroom? Because it’s, you know, chubby?”

“Exactly! Good job, Jamie.” Jade clapped and Jamie felt slightly embarrassed at the gratification. Jade returned the chubby shroom to the backpack.

Riley pushed themselves off of the wall. “Okay. I think that’s good enough for now. Seems like you two will be cooking them the next time we find fire, so maybe we can test you again then.” Jade nodded in agreement.

Jamie let out a sigh of relief. Finally done with this boring lesson… They returned to their former spot and sat crisscrossed. Luna sat close by and mirrored their position.

Just as Jade walked by the two of them, they paused. They fished for a red and a yellow shroomberry and held it out to the duo. “I know I said to conserve these, but since I made you two sit through that lesson, I figured I’d reward you. I’ll let you two decide who gets what color.”

Jamie held a special place in their heart for sweet stuff, so they nearly impulsively grabbed the red shroomberry. However, something else in their heart insisted that they give Luna the chance to pick first. From the sounds of it, they never really had an opportunity to be picky, and Jamie would’ve felt bad for taking that from them.

They didn’t know it at the time, but that’s also why they let Luna have the marshmallow back at camp. As much as they wanted it themselves, for some reason, they would’ve felt bad for taking that away from Luna.

Luna likely came to the same conclusion but for Jamie, because the two of them ended up staring at each other awkwardly for a while. However, Luna’s stomach ended up growling, so they decided to end the staring contest. Their hand hovered over the yellow shroomberry for a moment before grabbing the red one, leaving the yellow one for Jamie.

Before Jade could walk away, Jamie grabbed them by the wrist. “Hey… uh, thanks. Appreciate it.” Jade smiled, then walked away after Jamie let go.

Jamie took a small and hesitant bite out of the cap of the shroomberry. They weren’t particularly fond of tart things, so they wanted to start out easy just in case. It… actually wasn’t that bad. It was obviously tart, as described earlier, but it wasn’t overwhelmingly so. The stem was rather bland, but they didn’t mind. They felt a rush of energy course through their veins, though it didn’t last for long. They felt a little more full after eating it, too.

They heard a sniffle from Luna, which prompted them to look. Luna had ate about half of the shroomberry, though they stopped and appeared to be sad. Jamie had a suspicion as to why they were this way. “Don’t get to eat this kind of stuff often, huh?”

Luna was slightly startled by Jamie, but they shook their head in response. “I… I’m s-so used to… stale or rotten food… t-this is… nice… m-maybe I should t-thank Jade when I’m done.”

Jamie suddenly felt good about letting Luna have that marshmallow at the last campsite. As much as they enjoyed having sweet stuff, they also enjoyed letting their… new friend… experience something as wonderful as that. Are we really…?

Luna rose from their spot, but stopped when Jamie beckoned for them. Jamie tucked away as much shame as they possibly could before asking the following question. “Hey, uh. I’ve been giving it some thought. And, uh, do you… uh… want to… be friends…?”

“F-Friends…?” Oh god, I messed that up, didn’t I? Luna laughed. “I… I t-thought we already were!” Oh. Maybe I didn’t.

“Huh. Okay. Well…” Jamie cleared their throat awkwardly. “Cool. Uh, don’t let me stop you from doing whatever you were doing, then.”

Luna skipped away with a smile on their face. Jamie couldn’t help but let a smile creep on their own face too. Luna was a strange kid, but Jamie grew to appreciate their quirks. They’re not so bad after all…

Luna approached Jade and gave them a hug. At first, Jade was confused at the gesture, but eventually happily returned it. They told Jade something, which Jamie was just barely able to make out. “T-Thank you for the s-shroomberry, Jade! I-It was good!”

Jade was taken aback by the gratitude. “Oh! It’s okay, really. Happy to hear you enjoyed it.” Luna skipped back towards Jamie after the small interaction.

Before Luna could sit down again, Jamie rose up from their spot. “Shouldn’t we get going now? As much as I don’t really wanna go back into the forest, I… still want to get out of here.”

Riley sighed. “They’ve got a point. We should probably get going. Thoughts?” Everyone nodded or hummed in agreement. “Great. I’ll be outside waiting when you’re all ready.”

Jamie took another look around the cave as Jade and Luna went on ahead. Even though it was dark and the floor was hard, it did shield them from the dangers outside. In that regard, they were comfortable inside it. However, as much as they weren’t ready to face whatever was out there again, they were ready to go home.

They walked to the opening of the cave, then paused for a moment. With a deep sigh, they stepped out of the comforts of safety and back into the unknown.

Aside from the occasional chirp from what Jamie assumed were bugs, the forest was relatively quiet. The tension of a zombie flanking any of them unexpectedly was still very much lingering over the group. With the little bit of rest and comfort they got, they felt as good as they were going to get. They really wanted to just hide in that cave a little longer, but they weren’t going to make it home if they did that.

Unfortunately, Jamie failed to do any proper scouting prior to spotting the cave the night before, so they didn’t have a great read on what was ahead. Nevertheless, they silently fell into place leading at the front of the group. In a way, it felt empowering knowing that everyone wanted them to take charge without even having to say anything.

Their next course of action then was to map out a path up. Not necessarily to the top of the mountain, just up. However, nothing really stood out. Parts of the mountain was obscured by some mysterious red fog, and other parts were obscured by the trees. What they did see appeared to either be a dead end or simply unreachable from where they were.

They were shoved out of their head by a sudden gust of wind. As much as they’d grown acquainted to it, they’d grown to hate it too. Not only did it completely distract them from what they were doing, but it often came with the risk of displacing them and possibly even injuring them as a result. Not to mention the feeling of helplessness when both them and their fellow scouts had to cling onto something for dear life and hope it’d hold them in place.

Shortly after the wind subsided, a loud crash was heard in the distance. Everyone frantically looked around to see if it was something nearby, though nothing appeared to be out of place. Nevertheless, tensions were heightened and they all only wanted to get out sooner.

After some time, Jamie spotted what appeared to be a battered path off to their side. It looked quite sketchy with the mysterious red cloud nearby and what looked like some lumps on the ground. Though, they didn’t exactly have many options, either. They faced their group and pointed over at the path. “Let’s go this way.”

Luna looked over towards where Jamie pointed and was immediately visibly distressed by what they saw. Though, in spite of how they felt, they hesitantly gave a thumbs up. It seemed that Riley and Jade were waiting for Luna’s response, since the two of them only approved after Luna did.

“Cool. Let’s go—” A familiar skitter stopped Jamie in their tracks. “Then…?” Another rhino beetle was hurriedly charging towards Jamie. They sidestepped out of the beetle’s path in anticipation of an attack, but instead, it stopped directly in front of them. It appeared to be panicked and scurried around Jamie erratically.

Jade hummed. “Looks like it’s upset about something. Why don’t we try to figure out what it needs?”

Jamie glared at Jade. “Seriously? I’m trying to get us out of this place and you want to help a beetle?” They shook their head in disapproval.

Jade sighed. “With… all due respect, Jamie… I don’t think anyone actually wants to take that path. And, who knows? Maybe helping this beetle means it’ll help us.” Luna nodded in agreement, though they appeared to feel guilty for it.

Jamie took another look at their proposed path. To be fair, it did look really sketchy. They’d already been taking enough risks with the zombie encounter and all of this wind. It was entirely possible that nobody was particularly interested in taking even more risks. In any other situation, they likely would’ve said something along the lines of “suck it up” and taken the path anyways. This was… not any other situation, though.

They returned their gaze to Jade and groaned. “Ugh. Fine. Let’s help this beetle, then we leave. Got it?”

“Got it.” Jade smiled.

Jamie looked down at the beetle, which stopped once it noticed it was acknowledged. It suddenly turned around and began scurrying off in the opposite direction, occasionally looking back. Jamie reluctantly followed the beetle with their companions in tow.

After a few minutes of walking, it stopped in front of a tree that had collapsed. Maybe this is what that crash was earlier…? It then turned around and looked up at Jamie expectantly.

The tree was presumably blocking a path, since it appeared to create a complete dead-end. Well, a dead-end for the beetle, anyways. It wasn’t high enough to prevent Jamie and the others from stepping over, but it was simply too high for the beetle to overcome.

Unfortunately for the beetle though, the tree appeared to be too heavy to move, even if all four of them gave it their all. Jamie echoed this thought to the rest of the group, who appeared to be saddened by the news.

However, Luna’s face lit up as they got an idea. “W-What if… you just p-pick it up and t-take it over to the o-other side…?”

Jamie had a completely dumbfounded look on their face. “Huh. Guess I never thought about that.”

They then crouched down to scoop the beetle up. It initially was startled by the gesture, but quickly settled into Jamie’s arms. It was actually quite light despite its size, so they had no complaints with carrying it.

They stepped over the tree and set the beetle down on the other side. The beetle waddled and appeared to be appreciative of the gesture. They then turned around and began to vault the tree, but the beetle made a small chirp, prompting them to turn around. It once again walked forward, occasionally looking back.

Riley rubbed their chin. “Maybe it wants us to follow it?”

“Nnnnope! I helped it, so now we’re leaving. That was the agreement.”

Luna sniffled. “B-But… it’s so c-cute! W-We can’t just leave it now!”

“Don’t care. Let’s go.”

Luna pouted at Jamie’s insistence and put on the most pathetic display of puppy-dog eyes that Jamie ever saw. There was no way that was going to work on them… and yet…

Jamie sighed. “Fine. You win. Happy?” They and the remainder of their group dropped down from the tree and returned to the beetle.

Luna’s face lit up and they clapped at their own daring act of manipulation. As much as it frustrated Jamie, they couldn’t help but also respect Luna for that. They seemed so friendly and naive on the outside… but clearly they had their own tricks up their sleeves too.

For a while, the group walked in complete silence. Only the sounds of footsteps and distant skittering filled the air. The trees grew more plentiful, which ended up being beneficial because the wind seemed a lot less intimidating when it blew through.

After some time, the trees started to become sparse once again. Near the point where the path started to widen, the beetle stopped, turned around and shook its head. It then turned back around and continued, only to stop and shake its head again when Jamie attempted to follow it. Jamie was confused by the gesture but made no further effort to follow it.

Jade opened their mouth to speak, but Jamie promptly cut them off. “Nah. I think I got this. It wants us to stay here, I’m guessing?” Jade nodded. “Cool. Guess we’ll wait, then.”

The beetle seemed to appreciate that Jamie got the hint. It scurried off then returned after a few minutes with a purple shroomberry. It was rather dirty since it had been rolled around on the ground, but perhaps they’d come across some water later to rinse it off. Once Jamie picked up the shroomberry and lodged it into one of the handles on their belt, the beetle once again took off.

After another minute or so of walking, a massive opening revealed itself. Within the opening were a lot of beetles that looked exactly like the one they’d been following. Once one beetle caught sight of the new visitors, every single beetle turned to look. This act made Jamie feel extremely uncomfortable.

Maybe the beetles were “cute” and “friendly” on the outside, but the scouts were massively outnumbered and could easily be overwhelmed. Jamie couldn’t count exactly how many there were, but there were certainly more than four.

A handful of beetles attempted to approach the group, but the beetle that lead them to the opening stepped forward to interfere. After a few little waddles from each beetle, they all backed off. Consequently, every other beetle that was observing also backed off just a little bit, even if they were farther away.

Jamie let out a breath they didn’t realize they were holding. It was far from the scariest moment of their life, but they would be lying if they said they hadn’t felt tense that entire time.

Out of the right corner of their eye, they spotted some more movement. Once they turned their head to get a better view, they noticed several beetles were moving out of the way to create a new opening. Their guide beetle then headed towards the opening, so they followed behind it. As they got closer, they randomly glanced upwards and figured out why the opening was being made.

A bunch of large fungi was conveniently laid out along the side of the wall to lead up to what they could only assume was the top. It almost seemed too convenient, but they weren’t going to pass up on an easy way up now!

Once they reached the wall, the beetle stopped and turned around once more. It looked up at Jamie, though it did nothing more. For some unexplainable reason, Jamie decided to crouch down and give it a pat on the head. It fluttered its wings, then walked past the group. Luna smiled and waved as the beetle walked by, to which it waddled in place briefly. It then resumed walking away, eventually reuniting with its fellow beetles.

Jamie hummed. “You know what? I’ll admit it. I was wrong for being a jerk about helping the beetle, considering it gave us a pretty easy way out.”

Jade smiled. “I understand your skepticism, though I do appreciate you coming around. Your generosity seems to have paid off for all of us.” They then rested a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “So… you’re forgiven.”

“W-Wait…” Luna was trembling at the sight of the wall. “Y-You’re… you’re not a-actually… c-considering this, are you…?”

“What?” Jade scoffed. “Suddenly scared of a little bit of climbing?” They began to laugh, though a sharp nudge from Jade stopped them in their tracks. “Sorry.”

Luna shook their head. “N-No… not that… i-it just… seems unsafe?” They were picking at their sleeves now.

“Look, I’ll make you a deal.” Jamie held out a hand towards Luna. “If I hold your hand the entire time, will you climb up this wall?” Even though they intended on mocking Luna, their softer tone betrayed their intent.

Luna hesitantly reached out to grab Jamie’s hand then nodded. “Y-Yeah… I’ll… I’ll do it...”

“Cool.” Jamie looked between Jade and Riley. “You two got a problem with this too, or can we get going?” Both Jade and Riley shook their head in response.

Everyone climbed atop the first fungi without a hitch. It was very close to the ground, so Jamie was able to step atop it without letting go of Luna. Jade and Riley were able to climb atop the fungi too with no issues.

The second fungi was quite a bit higher than the first, though it was still a relatively short climb. Luna let go so both them and Jamie could climb up. Once Jamie reached the top, they offered a helping hand to pull their fellow scouts up.

The third, fourth and fifth fungi were also just as easy to climb. Nobody else seemed to be suspicious about it, but it rubbed Jamie the wrong way. There was no way the beetles would just allow them to take such an easy path and not have a catch attached to it. There was definitely going to be a rogue beetle waiting or a gust of wind that would decide to screw them over.

Speaking of wind, a gust suddenly came out of nowhere. Jade, Jamie and Riley all clung on to the wall as tightly as they could, while Luna hugged Jamie as tightly as they could. It didn’t last quite as long as the other gusts, which they were all very grateful for.

Everyone let go, except for Luna. Jamie gave them a light nudge, but they just whined in response. What a crybaby… Once they gave them a harder nudge, they finally let go, their face painted with fear. Jamie gave their hand a reassuring squeeze, which seemed to ease their fear ever so slightly.

Upon climbing atop the sixth fungi, Jamie froze once they saw something they never wanted to see again. There was a zombie lying down near the middle, and a beetle was sleeping just a little farther away. Unfortunately, running wasn’t the easiest option, but they really didn’t want to fight the zombie either. Irrational fear washed over them, rendering them immobile and non-verbal.

“Is everything alright up there, Jamie?” Jade inquired, their tone laced with concern. When Jamie didn’t respond, Jade climbed up. “Did you not hear…” Jade’s eyes landed on the zombie. “…me… Oh.” The zombie still remained dormant, though Jade placed themselves between it and Jamie.

Suddenly, the zombie woke up!

Once it spotted Jade and Jamie, it immediately charged towards them. Jade went into a more defensive stance, fully ready for an attack. However, the beetle also woke up and spotted the zombie. It charged towards the zombie and completely caught it off-guard. It rammed its head into its side, sending it flying off of the fungi and into the forest below.

For a moment, it stood there and did nothing, but upon noticing Jade and Jamie, it became hostile again. However, once it spotted something, it stopped. It calmly walked past Jade and up to Jamie and nudged them softly on their left ankle. It looked up at the purple shroomberry that they had on their belt and did a little waddle at the sight of it.

Jamie was still frozen in fear, so they hadn’t entirely registered everything that was going on. It wasn’t until Jade pinched them that they were snapped out of it. “Huh? What… where did the…” They looked around frantically for the zombie, but it was nowhere to be seen.

They then looked down at the beetle, which was waiting patiently. “Oh. Hey there.” The beetle continued to stare at their belt. Jamie hovered their hand over the shroomberry. “Want this?” The beetle’s face lit up, which Jamie took as a ‘yes.’

They placed the shroomberry down and the beetle immediately rolled it into the crevice it once rested at. It laid down and began to nibble on the shroomberry, no longer interested in anything else in the world.

Luna and Riley climbed up shortly after and smiled when they saw the beetle. With all of the immediate threats subdued, Jamie set their sights upwards again. The fungi was starting to come to an end. I feel like there’s still a catch… They started climbing once more with everyone close behind them.

The remainder of the fungi did not pose any issues. Once they reached the top, they spotted something that they never thought they’d see again. Smoke. However, before they could go much farther, they tripped over something in the ground.

Once they stood back up, they turned around and saw some kind of skull. Out of morbid curiosity, they picked it up and inspected it. It was dark gray and covered in numerous cracks. A soft pink glow emitted from both the cracks and the eye sockets. They could very faintly hear the sound of… voices? What an interesting find…

They looked up to gauge how the others felt. They expected the others to be curious as well, but Riley was as pale as a ghost. Jade was quite tense as well, and Luna was a bit clueless about what was wrong.

Riley stepped forward and attempted to grab the skull, but Jamie pulled back. “You… you need to put that down… now.”

Jamie stuck out their tongue at Riley. “Or what? You gonna ground me? Ha—” A small gust of wind suddenly knocked it out of their hands. Riley attempted to grab the skull, but they barely missed it. Neither Jade nor Luna were fast enough to respond either.

Almost immediately after the skull came into contact with the ground, it shattered into several pieces.

They all stared at the pieces of the skull in complete silence. Jamie didn’t feel any different after the fact, but they had a feeling that they probably shouldn’t have been so careless in handling it. If Jade and Riley’s concerns had any merit, then…

Well, it didn’t matter now. Nothing happened to them. Even if there was a chance something could’ve happened, they couldn’t just go back and fix it anyways. They’d have to deal with the consequences now, assuming there were any.

Once Jamie looked up from the skull, they could see that Jade and Riley were still deeply disturbed. Why exactly, they were unsure. To Jamie, it was just some cool looking skull. If anything, those two should’ve been sad that they couldn’t take it with them, not afraid.

Luna tilted their head in confusion. “I-Is… everything o-okay…?” They were primarily looking at Jade and Riley, though they stole a few glimpses at Jamie too.

Jamie shrugged. “I’m fine. Dunno what the deal is with those two though.”

Jade finally broke eye contact with the remnants of the skull. “Like, you don’t feel any different? At all???”

“Nnnnnnope! So I dunno why you two are freaking out over this.”

“I… see.” Jade eased up just a bit. “We should probably just keep going then.”

“And ignore that whole part where both you and Riley freaked out over this?” Jamie sighed. “Yeah. Sure. Fine. Whatever. Let’s go.”

Jamie waved for Jade to move forward, who reluctantly complied. Riley gave them a look that made it clear that this would be talked about later, which Jamie dreaded, but they followed Jade shortly after. Luna gave them a confused look and they both shrugged at each other before continuing onward.

Since Jamie was tagging along in the back, they decided to go a little slower to “take in the scenery.” They weren’t particularly interested in sightseeing, but they were interested in stalling an impending lecture. With the reactions they got, there was no way they were getting away with breaking that skull.

Off to their right, they spotted a waterfall gushing off the edge and into the fog beyond. How they didn’t spot or hear it while they were climbing was beyond them. The water itself appeared to be crystal clear, though it was unlikely that it’d be safe enough for them to get any. Almost immediately after, they suddenly felt super thirsty. When was the last time I even had anything to drink…?

There was a beetle wandering aimlessly around the source of the waterfall. It waddled when it noticed Jamie and returned to wandering once Jamie responded with a wave. As corny as it made them feel, they were grateful that the beetle and its friends decided to help them. Who knew where they’d be right now if they chose to ignore the beetle?

Almost directly in front of them, they spotted some more mushrooms, both of the ordinary and shroomberry variety. Jade had already been picking some and putting them in their backpack. However, once they ran out of space, they took a step back. Luna picked out a couple mushrooms themselves, but put back a few that Jade disapproved of. Once the two of them noticed that Jamie was staring, they waved. Jamie hesitantly waved in response.

They didn’t expect to see a whole lot behind them because of the trees, but they decided to take a look anyways. As expected, the roof of the forest made it impossible to look back down into the hellish landscape they were once in. It was probably for the best anyways, since they had no good memories in that place.

Regardless, watching the trees sway felt oddly therapeutic, so they decided to sit down and just watch them for a while. They got bored very quickly, but there was still this feeling of dread that prevented them from moving. Maybe if they stayed there long enough, both Jade and Riley would forget what upset them in the first place and move on.

They were caught off-guard by some footsteps from behind. They had fully expected Jade or Riley to be right there to capitalize on them being alone to lecture them. However, Luna was the one to join them by their side. They sat down and picked at some grass. “Uh, weren’t you just picking mushrooms a minute ago?”

“Y-You’re trying t-to avoid getting in trouble, a-aren’t you…?”

“Answering my question with another question, huh?” Jamie sighed. “I… yeah. Yeah.”

“I d-did that a lot…” When Jamie didn’t respond, Luna continued. “If I w-was in trouble… I’d go s-slower and hope they’d forget… b-but it only m-made them more mad…”

Jamie cocked their head to the side. “What’s your point?”

“U-Uh… I don’t think… t-that doing what you’re d-doing will make them happier…” Jamie once again didn’t respond. “A-And… I don’t t-think they’re even mad at you! Just… w-worried…” Wow, what a deal sweetener.

Jamie groaned. “Ugh. Fine. I was getting bored looking at these trees anyways.” They rose up from their spot and offered a hand to Luna, who accepted. “Let’s go.”

Neither of them said a word as they made their way to camp, and to be honest, Jamie wasn’t really in the mood for a chat. The only thing that weighed on their mind was that they likely weren’t getting away with messing with that skull. They weren’t concerned about the consequences of it, they were concerned about getting an earful about it.

The camp itself was just as boring as the previous one. Near the middle was a campfire surrounded by not one, but two marshmallows! Both Jade and Riley held their own hot dogs over the fire patiently as they roasted. Riley waved at the younger duo as they approached, though they said nothing after and returned their focus to their hot dog.

Another backpack laid close by, but it was evident that it had remained untouched. Maybe once everyone settled down, Jamie would check it out and claim it if nobody else did. They weren’t particularly excited about carrying it though so maybe they’d just pawn it off to Luna instead.

Sitting right beside the… what was it called… stem of a giant mushroom was another one of those crumbled and ancient looking statues. Much like the previous statue, there was a bundle of papers that had yet to be touched, so it was possible that neither Jade nor Riley took interest in it at the moment. Maybe if nobody else has checked it out by then, they’d go check it out themselves later.

They had considered asking Riley about it, but they were already sprawled out on the ground near the fire. They were still awake, but based on how they moved, it was apparent that they were tired.

Instead, they took the final marshmallow and sat beside Luna. Luna was already halfway through their own marshmallow, though they were currently struggling with it. Since it was so gooey from being over the fire, some of it inevitably got stuck to their fingers. They whined softly at their own struggles, but stopped and smiled at Jamie when they sat down.

Jamie cared not to chat, but instead enjoy the delicacy of the marshmallow in front of them. They had considered eating it as is for a moment, but they much preferred a toasted marshmallow over a cold one.

For a few minutes, there was complete silence. All Jamie could hear was the crackling of the fire and the occasional breeze. As much as they hated silence, in the moment, it was honestly bliss. After all of the chaos of the forest they’d just endured, they were perfectly fine with just… slowing down for a bit.

They blinked.

The marshmallow in their hands disappeared. Then the fire. Jade, Luna and Riley too.

They were thrown into the middle of a desert directly in the scorching hot sun. The ground was replaced with sand. It was quite hot to the touch, but for some reason, their body had no reaction to it. Huh. Weird.

All they could see in front of them were a lot of cacti with the occasional tumbleweed darting across the horizon. They could’ve sworn they saw an oasis as they were scanning the environment, but it had disappeared when they looked in that direction again.

What am I doing here…?

They rose from where they stood. Unsurprisingly, nothing different popped into view. They couldn’t really identify what the “correct” way was, so they decided to just walk in a random direction in hopes of coming across something.

They suddenly tripped over something hard, though they had no time to see what it was. As they fell, the ground was replaced by an open void and they were engulfed in darkness. They fell for quite a while before landing on something firm.

When they got up again, they tried to observe their surroundings. However, only darkness surrounded them.

They were suddenly grabbed on the shoulder. When they snapped their head towards where they were grabbed from, they saw nothing. Instead, whispers started swirling around them. They were very faint at first, though they quickly grew louder. Jamie covered their ears in a vain attempt to block them out, but to no avail.

Please… make it stop…

And just like that, the voices stopped.

A raspy chuckle came from behind. They again turned to search for the source.

This time, their eyes landed on a tall, lanky man. He had green skin and wore an outfit that only scoutmasters wore. His arms and legs were a lot longer than they normally would be and his clothes had definitely seen better days. There was a white glow in place of his eyes and he had a full face of facial hair.

They attempted to ask who he was, but to their surprise, nothing came out of their mouth. Instead, it just relayed in their head. Who… are you…?

“Scoutmaster Myres.” Myres offered a hand for Jamie to shake. Much to his dismay, they chose not to shake his hand. He pulled it back. “Do they not teach kids like you to respect your elders anymore?” He sighed. “Never mind that. It is so nice to meet you, Jamie!”

How do you know my name…? (And… why did that sound so sarcastic?)

“It’d be rather unfortunate if I didn’t know the names of the scouts that fell vict—ah, that I’ve met, no?”

…

“Hm. Well. I won’t keep you for much longer then. Though, I do have a warning for you.”

He suddenly ran up to them and picked them up by the throat. They had no time to react, nor the strength to fight back. Instead, they squirmed helplessly in his grasp.

“With what’s next to come… One wrong move and you will kill your entire troop. Do not be reckless.”

They closed their eyes and accepted their fate as he slammed them to the ground. Almost immediately after, they let out an exasperated gasp as more familiar sounds and feelings rematerialized around them.

The ground turned back into a more comforting grass. The fire in front of them was still alight and crackling. It seemed like they dropped their marshmallow and snapped the skewer while they were out. Jade kept glaring at them with the occasional side-eye, but they didn’t actually say anything. Riley was sprawled out on the ground, inattentive to everything around them.

There’s no way I’m back here after all of that… this has to be another trick…

They pinched their own arm really hard. It left behind a stinging pain, which did dispel the theory that this was a trick. They were alive and well and back in the company of their friends, which did alleviate some of their tension. Though, they still had one question.

What was that all about then…?

Suddenly, Luna set their hand atop Jamie’s right hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Jamie hesitated for a moment, but did eventually return the gesture. Such a simple—and stupid—gesture helped ground them and ease their anxiety just a little more.

Jamie staked what remained of their skewer back in the ground and looked solemnly one more time at the marshmallow that was now covered in sand. Not only were they not able to enjoy a sweet treat, but a lot of things were weighing on their mind. First with being forced to relive their parents’ deaths, now whatever this “Scoutmaster Myres” wanted from them.

Maybe breaking that skull did have some effect and it only reared its ugly head now. Or… they were just wired up and paranoid after what they went through back in that forest. They wanted to believe that was the more reasonable theory, anyways. Why would breaking some random skull suddenly make them hallucinate about some dead scoutmaster?

They were broken from their thoughts by a yawn from Riley. Riley finally acknowledged everyone else’s existence. “Well. If we’re not going anywhere for a little while, I’d like to finally get some rest. Anyone got a problem with that?”

Jamie scoffed. Maybe if they tried to lighten the mood, they’d feel a bit better. “Jeez. It’s mid-day and you’re already tired? C’mon, you’re really just old.”

Riley was clearly unamused. “Some of us didn’t get a chance to get a good night’s sleep in that forest.” Jamie noted that Luna shrunk in on themselves after that jab. “And, if you think 24 is old…” They sighed. “Whatever. Good night.” They dropped back down onto their back and fell asleep immediately.

Jade scooted the backpack to be directly behind them and they leaned back on it. They stared at the fire for a moment before shifting their gaze directly to Jamie. Jamie felt a chill roll down their spine, but they couldn’t quite pinpoint why. It was hard to read Jade in the moment.

“I think I’ll get some rest too while we’re stopped. You two don’t wander off too far without us.” Their eyes moved up towards the sky. “And, uh, Jamie? I know you don’t want to, but I think we need to talk later.” Of course… “But… until then, good night.” Just like Riley, they fell asleep almost immediately.

And then it was just Jamie and Luna remaining.

Without a word, Jamie rose from where they sat and relocated to in front of the fog wall. Much like the last camp, it veiled what was ahead. They were really hoping that it’d eventually reveal a way out for them, but unfortunately, they didn’t put a whole lot of faith into that.

What it would probably actually be was what they had seen in that vision. If it was really legitimate, then they should expect to be dealing with a desert next. They hoped—at the very least—that it’d be a lot easier to navigate than they were shown. They also hoped that none of their friends would meet a brutal ending there either.

On the other hand though, it was just a vision. They had no way of actually proving whether or not it was true, nor did they have any incentive to believe anything they saw. Whoever—or whatever—gave them that vision was definitely trying to capitalize on the paranoia they already had and get under their skin.

They weren’t really going to find out either way until the fog decided to recede though, so there was no point on dwelling on it now.

After another minute or two, Luna sat down beside them with a handful of Thick Mints in their hands. Jamie was left starstruck at the sight. “Since when did you have Thick Mints???”

“I, uh…” Luna looked down at their hands in guilt. “Uh…”

“Stole them, didn’t you?”

Luna said nothing, but the slight nod they gave confirmed as much.

Jamie gave Luna a hard pat on the back—maybe a little harder than they should’ve—and laughed. “Nice! I knew you had it in you. But, uh… who did you even get them from?”

“Uh… J-Jade found them in t-the forest and said t-to save them for a s-special occasion…” Luna’s eyes finally met Jamie’s. “Y-You, uh, seemed p-pretty upset earlier and I t-thought surviving the forest w-was special… so…”

Jamie tilted their head in confusion. “They had Thick Mints?”

Luna nodded. “I g-guess so. M-Maybe they found them w-while we were asleep and… t-tried to hide them from you… they said s-something about you l-loving these…” They chuckled softly and popped one in their mouth. They waited until they were finished eating to speak again. “I… I can see why. T-These are good!”

Jamie cupped their hands expectantly. “Well? You gonna share, or what?” Almost immediately after, Luna dropped some in their hands then went back to eating their own.

For a few minutes, Jamie slowly nibbled on the cookies. Under any other circumstances, they likely would’ve inhaled them almost immediately, but they weren’t sure if they’d get to eat these again. These were their favorite cookies after all. It’d be a shame to not enjoy them when they’re so hard to come across.

Jamie dusted off their hands once they were finished with the cookies. “Thanks. And yeah, they’re pretty good. I guess I’ll share with you if I have to.” Luna smiled in response.

They laid down on the ground and looked up at the sky. They never really noticed it before, but it was strange how the fog wall went all the way up to the sky. Any clouds that passed through it were immediately veiled and not a lot of light passed through from the other side. For a moment, they wondered if they could even walk through it, but they weren’t interested in testing that theory.

They felt Luna’s arm brush up against theirs, prompting them to look to their right. It seemed that Luna mimicked their motions and laid down beside them. In spite of the predicament they were in, they seemed fairly content and at ease for once.

“So, Luna. Whaddya think will be behind this fog?”

Luna hummed in contemplation. They went silent for a minute before finally responding. “Uh… h-hopefully a h-helicopter or plane or something… I w-wanna leave…”

“Yeah… I hope that’s what it is too… but I doubt that’s what it’ll be.” Jamie once again recalled the vision they saw earlier. “Hm. Maybe… a desert?”

Luna echoed those last two words. “A… desert…?”

“I mean, maybe? Just a guess. Could also be a tundra too. Who knows?” You know, idiot. That was definitely a warning for what’s next.

“I-It’s a good guess! Not… q-quite as good as a h-helicopter, but…”

“Nothing we can really do about that.”

“…Yeah.”

The conversation promptly ended after that. The two of them were once again side by side in silence. In a way, it was… nice. Nice that they’ve met someone their age that they have grown to appreciate and… like? And as far as they could tell, Luna reciprocated those feelings.

Jamie remembered when Luna assumed they were already friends. They really had no reason to make that assumption, especially with how Jamie had been treating them, but they decided they were friends anyway.

A small smile managed to creep onto Jamie’s face. They had a friend. Maybe not exactly by choice, considering they were all stranded together, but… a friend, nonetheless. Luna was a bit weird but… Jamie didn’t mind. Not anymore.

Stars slowly began to creep into view as the sun grew ever-so closer to the horizon. Jamie took that as their cue to make their way back towards the fire. However, as they rose up, Luna grabbed them by the arm. They looked at Luna, confused.

“C-Can we… just s-stay here for the night…?”

Jamie sat there and gave Luna’s question some thought. They would miss out on the comforts of the campfire, but…

“Oh, what the hell. Sure, why not?” They then returned to where they laid.

Luna let out a sigh of contentment and closed their eyes. Their chest steadily rose up and down as their breathing stabilized. This was probably the most relaxed that Jamie has ever seen them. They were usually quite anxious, but now? They were at ease.

Jamie felt a bit odd for watching them as they fell asleep, so they decided to just lay down themselves and look up at the stars. They still felt quite uneasy following the forest and that vision, but it was probably for the best if they got some sleep. Who knew how tomorrow would look?

They closed their eyes, and for the first time in a while, they were able to fall asleep without nightmares haunting them.

The next time Jamie woke up, they were greeted not by a gruesome nightmare, but by the sun. With the kind of vision they’d seen the night before, they fully expected to be haunted in their sleep too, but it never actually happened. Instead, they felt somewhat rejuvenated and ready to go. They ached from not having a proper bed, but they were getting used to it.

For a moment, they considered staying put and watching as the clouds passed by. However, they had yet another day of climbing ahead of them, as well as that… talk… that Jade wanted to have with them. They weren’t particularly excited about doing either of those things, though they didn’t really have any other options at their disposal.

As much as they wanted to avoid the talk, they needed to get it over with. If it was anything like the previous talks they’ve had with Jade, it’d probably go fine. Jade was never a particularly angry person. In fact, they were usually understanding and sympathetic. That didn’t stop Jamie from dreading it every time, though.

After a moment of hesitance, they lifted themselves up off of the ground and—Wait… so it was true…

As expected, the fog receded at some point during the night to reveal their next challenge. What they weren’t expecting, however, was to actually see a desert. Maybe that Scoutmaster Myres guy was actually trying to help me then? Many of the details they saw in the vision were also present in the desert. However, something that they didn’t see before was a giant hole in the ground. Maybe they’d take a detour to investigate it if the opportunity to do so arose.

Luna was still fast asleep to their right. They had forgotten to hide the box of Thick Mints they stole from Jade the night before. They also forgot to wipe all of the evidence off of their face and hands. For such a cautious and stubborn eater, they appeared to be quite messy when they did eat.

Jamie considered sneaking the box back into Jade’s backpack, but they decided against it. Maybe they’d want some cookies later which would be a challenge if they went back into Jade’s possession.

However, they did want to have a quick chat with Luna. For a split second, they felt odd coming to that conclusion, but just as quickly remembered they were friends now. They did feel bad about being the one to bother them, but they didn’t really have anyone else to talk to. They weren’t ready to talk to Jade yet, and while Riley was an adult, they didn’t trust them quite as much as they trusted Luna.

They gave Luna a slight nudge on the shoulder and waited patiently for a response.

After a few minutes, Luna slowly opened their eyes and blinked in rapid succession. They initially appeared to be confused—and quite possibly overstimulated—but that washed away when they saw Jamie. They didn’t really say anything, but they did smile before turning back towards the desert.

“Good morning, sunshine.” Jamie finally returned the smile and tucked away any shame that tried to creep up. “Sleep well?”

“Mhm. D-Did you?” Luna rubbed their eyes and let out a yawn.

“Could’ve been better, I guess.” Luna appeared confused, so Jamie clarified. “I mean, I didn’t really have a bed to sleep in. So… like I said, could’ve been better.”

The two of them fell into awkward silence after that. Was I not supposed to say that…? Jamie cleared their throat. “Uh… anyways,” they pointed towards the desert. “Check it out. There’s a desert over there now.”

Luna rose to see what Jamie was pointing at. Almost immediately after their eyes landed on the desert, their smile quickly switched to a frown. “Oh…”

Jamie winced at how their entire interaction with Luna had gone so far. It was only back-to-back discomfort or pain and they were growing worried. They had just become friends not too long ago and they were already messing things up.

“…Sorry.” Jamie turned away. They didn’t really have it in them to look at Luna anymore.

“H-Huh…? W-Why are you…” Once Luna noticed Jamie wasn’t looking, they tugged on their arm to get their attention. However, Jamie refused to look. Luna gave up and continued regardless. “I-It’s not your f-fault…” They then leaned their head on Jamie’s shoulder.

Jamie finally turned back towards Luna, though they couldn’t see their face. Regardless, if they were truly upset, they would’ve had a different reaction. The more appropriate description of how they felt was likely closer to “sad.” Sad that the truth crushed their hopes of leaving, no matter how foolish they were.

As much as they wanted to revel in the contact and soak up the moment, they still needed to talk to Jade. They almost didn’t want to break that to Luna and risk getting a third strike, but they had to regardless. “Sorry, but I guess I’ve gotta talk to Jade. Something about yesterday, or something.”

Almost immediately, Luna moved their head from Jamie’s shoulder and gave an understanding nod. They didn’t say anything, instead choosing to observe a tornado that randomly appeared in the desert. They gave Jamie a concerned look, who simply shrugged, then once again looked over at the desert. The tornado had disappeared in that small window, leaving them extremely confused.

After a small laugh—which earned them an annoyed look from Luna—Jamie stood up and gave one last look at the desert. They breathed in and let out a deep sign before turning around and making their way to the center of the camp.

They didn’t spot either Jade or Riley at first, so they decided to just settle down near the now-extinguished fire. They tried to occupy themselves by fidgeting with the stake they broke the night before, though it did nothing to abate the underlying anxiety that had begun to resurface.

Fortunately, they wouldn’t have to dwell on that for long, since Jade soon joined them. “I apologize for keeping you waiting, Jamie. I wasn’t expecting you to be ready so soon.”

Jamie’s face was painted with confusion. “You… you weren’t?”

Jade shook their head. “Not after everything that happened over the past few days, no. I expected you to drag it on hoping I’d forget about it.” They eyed Jamie for a moment. “Though… I can tell you’re nervous. Is something bothering you?”

“No… just always nervous about these kind of talks…” Jamie chuckled. “As usual…”

“I won’t try to take up much of your time then. I just need a few minutes of your time and then I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing, okay?”

Jamie hesitantly nodded. “Okay…” That sounded simple enough. Just… talk it out and move on. That’s definitely all it would be.

“Great.” Jade sighed. “So, the biggest thing I wanted to go over was that skull that you—uh, the wind, broke yesterday. Maybe this is an odd question, but do you feel okay?”

Physically? Sure. Mentally? After last night? They weren’t entirely sure. They were afraid of opening up about that, though. “Okay? I mean, I’m sitting here and seem fine, right? Why wouldn’t I be—”

“You zoning out at the fire last night in combination with what Riley told me this morning suggests otherwise.” Jade glared at Jamie. “So, let me ask you again. Do you feel okay?”

Jamie let out a defeated sigh. They weren’t really in the mood to keep up the jokes. “I dunno. I mean, physically, I feel fine. But, uh…” Jade stared intently. “Please don’t think I’m crazy when I say this, but… I think that skull breaking did something to me. When we were sitting at the fire, some creepy guy named ‘Scoutmaster Myres’ was in my head and showed me something.”

Jade hummed. “So… exactly what Riley was worried about.”

“You’re… you’re not gonna question why he’s there?”

“You’re not the first to tell me that.” Jamie’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Riley’s been dealing with him too. So, no, I’m not really questioning it anymore.”

“Of course they’d somehow mess up too…” Jamie shook their head.

Jade rolled their eyes at the remark. “I suppose that leads into my next question then. You mentioned him showing you something. What did he show you?”

Jamie shuffled in their seat anxiously. “I saw the desert. Kinda like the one over there.” They pointed over towards the desert. “Though, this one seemed kinda endless. Eventually, I tripped over something, like I did over the skull. I couldn’t see what I tripped over though, because I fell into complete darkness. I heard a lot of screaming, but then it randomly stopped and was replaced by laughing. Then he showed up, told me not to be reckless or I’d get everyone killed, and after that…” They considered commenting on him nearly killing them, but chose not to. “I was back at the fire.”

Jade hummed as they processed the information. That was a lot, after all. “So, if I understood all of that correctly, he warned you on both what’s ahead and to be cautious then?” At least they seemed to understand.

“I guess so. He didn’t actually hurt me or make me feel more tired or anything, so I don’t know how to feel about all of this…”

“Perhaps it’s just that for now: a warning. From what Riley told me about their nightmare involving him and what we already know about him… he seems to get unhappy if anyone gets left behind. So, maybe if we stick together, nothing will happen…?” Jade appeared to be a bit uncertain of themselves.

Jamie hummed. “Makes sense, I guess. I mean, if he wanted to hurt me, he would’ve already done it, right?”

Jade nodded. “Right. And he could’ve hurt Riley by now too, considering they’ve been cursed for longer.”

They both sat in silence for a while. They weren’t entirely sure how to carry the conversation forward, but it felt awkward to end it on that note. Jade did mention Riley several times, but never really elaborated on why they did. Maybe they could ask about that?

“Hey.” Jade looked at Jamie in anticipation. “Quick question, if it’s okay.” Jade nodded. “So, uh, you keep mentioning Riley with all of this. What do they have to do with this?”

“Good question.” Jade trailed off for a moment. “They mentioned having a nightmare about him back on the beach and seeing him occasionally since then. It only felt appropriate to consult with them about all of this.”

Jamie wasn’t really following. “But what do they know that you don’t?”

“The fact that something was definitely up with that skull. It appeared to be inactive to me, but to Riley, it had some… spirits? Flowing out of it and screaming. Its eye sockets were lit up too.”

Jamie lit up at the reminder of what they had seen. “I saw that too! It was pretty cool! You seriously didn’t see any of that?”

Jade shook their head. “No. So, we’re assuming that those that are cursed also gain a keen eye for cursed items.” Jade sighed. “And… as ‘cool’ as it may be, we really shouldn’t be messing with stuff like that, or…”

“You end up with two morons that are cursed.”

“Jamie…” Jade growled. They hated when Jamie talked bad about themselves.

Jamie shrunk in on themselves immediately. “Right… sorry.”

Jade let out an irritated sigh, then continued. “Anyways, that’s the reason why I kept mentioning them. They have a better idea about this stuff than I do.”

Jamie was content with the answer they got. They weren’t entirely sure how to reply though, so they instead stared at the fire, hoping that Jade would get the hint and push the conversation forward.

It seemed like Jade got the hint, since they followed up with another question. “Did you have any other questions?”

Did they? The only thing they were confused about was answered, and besides, it seemed that Jade was asking all of the questions earlier. “Not really, no. What about you?”

Jade hummed in contemplation. “If you’re really okay like you say you are… then I suppose that’s where my questioning ends.”

Jamie raised an eyebrow. They weren’t really buying that. “Really? That’s it?”

“Were you expecting more?”

“Yeah…? Like, maybe a lecture, or…”

“I’m sorry for not meeting your expectations, then.” Jade rose from their seat and offered a hand to Jamie. “But seriously, we’re all done here if you’ve got nothing else to say or ask.”

Jamie felt a bit sheepish after that. As usual, they overthought it. Jade really just wanted to know if they were okay, but they thought they were in for an interrogation. Had they known that, they would’ve come around a lot sooner… but they’d also likely forget about all of that by the time the next talk happened, so it didn’t really matter.

They still felt a bit skeptical about how fast that went, but they grabbed Jade’s hand regardless and allowed them to pull them up from their seat. “Okay then… I’ll, uh, go hang out with Luna for a bit, I guess.”

“Sounds good. Thanks for chatting. And, uh…” Jade giggled. “Try not to eat all of the cookies before we leave.” They winked, then promptly walked away before Jamie could respond. How the hell did they find out about that…?

All things considered, Jamie felt better after the chat. Fortunately, it didn’t drag on for long and it really was just a few simple questions. Other than the snide remarks that Jamie made, Jade didn’t show any frustration or anger, just concern. That’s all they always showed. Jamie wondered if it was even possible for Jade to get angry.

They still weren’t entirely sure what the implications of this “curse” were, but they weren’t going to dwell on it. As long as it didn’t hurt them or inhibit their ability to climb, they didn’t really care too much about it. They could handle a couple nightmares and creepy visions. They’ve seen, and been through, worse.

They shifted their focus back to Luna. Unsurprisingly, they were still seated in the same spot as earlier. Riley was seated to their right, observing them. They were fidgeting with something, but it wasn’t until they returned to Luna’s side that they could actually see it.

In the time that Jade and Jamie were talking, Luna had claimed the second backpack. They had already tucked the box of Thick Mints and their Bing Bong plushie into it. They were absentmindedly fidgeting with it and didn’t notice Jamie at first. However, once Riley waved at Jamie, Luna finally noticed and performed a similar gesture.

“I assume it went well?”

Jamie shrugged. “I guess so. All they wanted was to check on me and make sure I was okay.”

Riley said nothing in return, opting to just nod in response. They got up not long after and walked off. Was everyone really just satisfied with their answers? There was no interest in probing them for more, especially after dropping that bomb?

Luna poked Jamie on their arm and offered a single Thick Mint to them. They weren’t particularly interested in it at the moment, so they declined it. Luna appeared to be saddened by the refusal and dropped the cookie back into the box. They then closed the box and put it back in their backpack.

Luna raised up from their spot and suddenly ran off, presumably to find Riley. Jamie was appreciative of this, since it gave them some time alone to think about everything.

They couldn’t quite wrap their head around this “curse” still, nor how Riley was also affected, but again, it wasn’t really worth worrying over. The desert appeared to pose a formidable challenge, but they weren’t about to back down from it. Of course… their friends and Jade would have to be ready to tackle it as well, since they weren’t particularly interested in going alone. Not after… all of that last night.

They were ready to get moving, but they probably needed to do some clean-up as well. They learned by now that leaving any trace was frowned upon, and they weren’t really interested in a lecture. So, after taking one more look at the desert, they stood up and headed back into camp to help with clean-up so they could get going. Everyone else was already beginning to clean too, so the timing couldn’t have been any better.

Jamie shuffled into camp in search of something to clean up. However, it was already mostly spotless. None of them were particularly messy in the first place, aside from Jamie’s marshmallow mishap last night, so clean-up ended up being a breeze. They were okay with this outcome. Cleaning was boring, so the less they had to do, the better.

Speaking of the marshmallow, Jamie nearly stepped on it as they were passing by the fire. They weren’t sure how they, or anyone else for that matter, failed to notice it sooner. Though, once they crouched down, they realized why. It was almost entirely covered by ants, so it was probably better to just leave it be and let the ants take care of it.

They recalled the statue from the night before and how it was untouched. However, it seemed like someone had messed with it when they weren’t paying attention. Its head was completely missing and there were no pages like the last one had. There were some signs of tampering near the hands of it, given the imprints in the dust.

They stared at it in discontent and wondered who could’ve messed with it. It was unlikely to be Jade knowing how Riley got cursed, and Luna was too scared to do anything on their own, so the only other person who could’ve done it was Riley.

Since the statue would no longer provide them anything of value, they gave up on it and instead sought out Riley. They wouldn’t have to worry about that for long though, since Riley was already approaching them by the time they turned around.

The two of them greeted each other with a small nod. Jamie then pointed towards the statue. “I’m guessing you’re the one that messed with this?”

Riley nodded in response. “That would be the case, yes. I would’ve done it the night before, but…”

“It’s because you’re old!”

“You’re not gonna let that one go, are you?”

Jamie couldn’t help but laugh. “Nope!” They dropped the teasing not long after though. “Meh. Yesterday sucked anyways. I feel better after getting some sleep.”

Riley let out a long sigh. “I didn’t even deal with the worst of it, but… yeah. I’ve got a feeling that everything that went on in that forest left all of us drained.”

Jamie wasn’t particularly interested in thinking about that again, so they chose to steer the conversation back on track. “Anyways, enough chit chat. You messed with the statue, right? What’d you get from it?”

“Oh! Right.” Riley pulled some pages from the inside of their coat. “So, I got three more pages and… something else.”

That last thing definitely piqued Jamie’s interest. “Something else?”

“I’ll show you in a second. But, uh, the pages. The first one said something about the statue reviving dead scouts, or it doing something else if everyone was alive.”

Reviving… dead scouts…? What if they had that when… No. It’s not worth thinking about that now. Not like they could do anything about it anyways. They’d just have to accept that they’re gone for good.

Riley continued, unaware of Jamie’s thoughts. “The second page talked about huddling together when we get cold, but…” They looked over at the desert for a moment. “That’s probably not useful to us right now. The final page talked about some moon-shaped fruit and I can only assume that Scoutmaster Myres ate it and went to sleep. So, maybe we should watch out for that.”

“Okay… and what about this ‘something else’ you mentioned?”

“Right. So, when I touched the statue’s hands…” Riley once again dug around in the inside of their coat, before pulling out a rope spool. However, this one was blue and floated up, rather than hanging down. “It gave me this! Seems to be some kind of… anti-gravity rope spool? Strange, but it might be useful later.”

Jamie couldn’t quite draw their attention away from the first page. Why were they so focused on the possibility that this statue could bring back the dead? What were the limits? Who could they revive? How does that even—

Riley waved a hand in front of Jamie, snapping them out of their thoughts. “Hellooooo? Are you there, Jamie?”

“Huh? Uh, what’s up?”

“I asked if you wanted to take a look at all of this yourself. Maybe you’ll have a better idea of what to do with this rope.”

“Oh, uh… sure, I guess?”

They probably shouldn’t answer any of those questions anyways. As fascinating as this discovery was, they weren’t really keen on seeing anyone, especially Jade, dying. They’d already been there with their parents. They weren’t ready for that again, not even with the guarantee that they could just magically come back after touching a statue.

Jamie first took the rope from Riley’s hands. Upon closer examination, it made a very faint humming noise. They gave it a little bit of slack and watched as it raised into the air. They weren’t entirely sure how rope would be useful if it went up instead of down, but maybe they could use it if they got stuck in a pit somewhere. They reeled it back in and gave it to Riley in exchange for the pages.

The first page was… quite ominous, to say the least.

BONUS RULE 3

EMBRACE THE OCCULT

Wuh woh! One of our scouts stepped on a sea urchin and died!!! I was about to get really sad… but one of the other kids touched a weird statue, and brought their friend back to life!

Both halves of the page were separated by imagery of… some weird flames? They didn’t really seem like they were from a fire… so what…? They kept reading, more confused than when they started.

Seems like this island bends the rules of mortality itself… how wacky! Perhaps something else interesting might happen if we use a statue when everyone is still alive…

They drew their attention back to the graphic in the middle… and the mention of some “occult,” whatever that meant. It probably didn’t mean anything good if messing with the statue was truly the cause for Riley being cursed. Now they really didn’t want to test if the statue actually revived scouts in the off-chance that it’d either curse Jade or Luna or somehow make theirs or Riley’s curse worse.

Riley took Jamie’s pause as an opportunity to provide commentary. “It’s a lot to take in. Not only the fact that the statue can somehow revive people… but also give some… magical item, as we saw. Not to mention that it mentioned some kind of occult, as well as the fact that Scoutmaster Myres has been haunting us and that statue cursing me in the first place… gah.” They sighed. “We’re really playing with fire here, Jamie. Seriously. We cannot let Jade or Luna get involved in this.”

Jamie nodded, though they didn’t really understand a lot of it. “Yeah. I’m gonna be honest, I wasn’t really following any of that or whatever the page said… but… yeah.” They then tucked away the first page behind the others and proceeded to the second.

BONUS RULE 4

HUDDLE UP!

As we approach the PEAK, the temperature has begun dropping dramatically. Seeking constant cover is a must, and getting caught out in the open when the wind is strong can be a death sentence.

As if the text and massive rule text weren’t descriptive enough, whoever wrote the page was gracious enough to depict two scouts huddling together while freezing to death. But… it did mention some kind of “peak.” Did that mean that there was really some end goal here…?

If all else fails, huddling with your friends to share body heat might just save you from an icy grave.

“Well, that’s kinda useless considering we’re about to head into a desert.”

Riley shrugged. “Maybe it’ll get colder as we get closer to the top?”

Jamie rolled their eyes. “Really? Because it just seems to be getting hotter the higher we go.” They shook their head. “Whatever. It mentioned some kind of peak, so does that mean we really have a chance at going back home?”

“Assuming we survive what it throws at us, sounds like it.”

Satisfied with Riley’s answer, Jamie continued to read the final page.

BONUS RULE 5

I JUST NEED A NAP…

There was a drawing of a moon-shaped berry surrounded by sparkles. However, the artist appeared to fall asleep before they could finish the drawing, considering a line strayed away from the berry and went through the text beneath it.

I saw such a pretty sight… a beautiful moon-shaped fruit surrounded by fireflies…

I feel so relaxed now… maybe a nap wouldn’t be so bad…

They thought it was a bit funny that the line strayed away, as if it was trying to drive home the point that this berry would put them to sleep if they ate it. It was nowhere near as interesting as the first page, but if it gave them information to help them out… well, they weren’t really going to say no, were they?

“That first page kinda made the other two boring, but… cool, I guess.” They re-organized the pages and handed them back to Riley. “Thanks for showing me.” They considered returning the rope, but decided to keep it for themselves.

Riley tucked the pages back into the inside of their coat, but suddenly appeared to be reminded of something. They then pulled out that little slip of paper that they found on Romero’s body and sighed at the sight of it. Jamie felt a bit uneasy about being reminded of that again.

“I know that look on your face.” Was I making a face…? “I’m not happy about it myself. I’ve been giving it some thought though, and I think I have a theory.”

“Well?”

“Upon closer examination, the handwriting looked oddly familiar. I didn’t identify it at first… but it looked an awful lot like Scoutmaster Edmond’s writing.” Riley chuckled under their breath. “And if that’s the case… he did a terrible job at covering his tracks. But… like I said, that’s just a theory.”

They vaguely recall hearing that name before. They never actually saw the guy, but they did hear about him through other scouts. A majority of those scouts were ones that transferred out of his troop and to theirs, mostly with negative experiences. However, there was one conversation they overheard before that stuck in their mind…

…

A blue scout was sitting beside a green scout on a bench outside. They were both Rabbit scouts and were just wearing their own casual clothing. They were just two of a handful of scouts that left Scoutmaster Edmond’s troop for something better.

Jamie had strategically placed themselves behind a nearby hedge to eavesdrop on them. They likely had some rumors of their own since they came from Scoutmaster Edmond’s troop, and Jamie needed to hear about these.

The blue scout was the first to speak. “It’s crazy how much different Scoutmaster Tina is from Scoutmaster Edmond…”

“Right, like she actually wants to be here?”

“Mhm. And she’s not a complete jerk, too.”

“Like he was to that poor orange kid. I swear, he really seemed to enjoy picking on them in particular, and allowing other scouts to bully them too. I heard he’d often yell at them or tell them they’re worthless if they did something even remotely close to being ‘bad’…”

He was mean to this one scout in particular and let others gang up on them? Interesting…

“I don’t wanna judge or anything but… they seemed kinda poor. Or homeless. I dunno. Maybe he’s taking advantage of that? Doesn’t help that they’re also new to scouting too. They’ve got the standard turtle-colored outfit and all.”

“…I kinda got that impression myself. If so…” The green scout shook their head. “I don’t know how to feel. I kinda regret not dragging them along with me. They seemed nice.”

“Yeah… I told my mom, she said she’s gonna tell the headmasters. Hopefully they’ll check it out or something soon.”

The two of them fell into a silence, which Jamie assumed meant that the conversation was over. How unfortunate.

Jamie wasn’t particularly interested in the scout themselves, but… a scoutmaster allegedly harming a scout behind closed doors left an uneasy feeling in their chest. Scoutmasters were supposed to help scouts, but… adults were crummy, as usual. This wouldn’t be too surprising if it were true…

…

“I… heard about him a while ago.”

Riley cocked their head in curiosity. “You did?”

“Yeah. Some new scouts were talking about him, and how he was cruel towards an orange scout.”

Perplexion swept across Riley’s face. “An… orange scout?”

“Yeah, that scout was pretty new, too.”

“New…?” Riley’s perplexion slowly morphed into horror.

“And they were wearing… a turtle-colored outfit…” Jamie started to understand why. “Which is what Luna’s… wearing… wait.”

“Could Luna be…?”

Suddenly, Luna’s voice popped up from behind. “Y-Yeah. T-That’s me…” Jamie nearly jumped out of their skin in response. It seemed that both Luna and Jade were eavesdropping, though Jamie couldn’t pinpoint when that happened.

“S-Since when were you two…?!”

Jade’s face was… indescribable, to say the least. “We got curious.” Their frown deepened. “We probably shouldn’t have come over here. For several reasons.”

Luna interjected. “W-Why are you two t-talking about my scoutmaster…?”

Jamie and Riley looked at each other with deep concern. “Riley… maybe you should…”

Riley looked at Jamie in shock. “But… won’t they…?”

“Look. It’s too late to turn back now. They’re not gonna get off of our backs until they know why we’re gossiping about them and their scoutmaster.” Jamie paused to figure out what they were going to say next. “And honestly? It’s just gonna hurt more if we keep hiding it from them.”

Luna tilted their head in confusion at Jamie’s mention of “hiding” something, though they said nothing about it.

Riley whispered something under their breath that only Jamie could hear. “Fuck me…” They groaned, then spoke up to where everyone could hear them. “Just, uh… here. Take a look at this. Maybe that’ll… give you the answer you’re looking for.” They then hesitantly offered the note to Luna, who took it after a brief pause.

As Luna’s eyes scanned the note, Jamie’s anxiety skyrocketed through the roof. How were they going to react? Were they going to cry? Run away? Deny it? Were they going to say anything about it? Luna’s unpredictability was scary in the moment.

Instead, Luna only responded with an “oh” and shoved the note back into Riley’s hands.

“H-He wants me…” Luna scoffed. “A-And I was s-stupid enough to think he’d… he’d…”

Jamie frowned at the ‘stupid’ comment. “You’re not stu—”

“Shut up. Leave me alone.” That was the coldest that Luna had ever sounded. Jamie dared not to push them any farther. “I deserve this.”

Luna clenched their fists for a moment. Their scowl was replaced by an incredibly forced smile, their tone matching it. “Let’s go! We have a lot of climbing to do!” They then headed towards the desert without waiting for anyone.

The three of them scrambled to their feet and chased after Luna. As much as they wanted to comfort them, it was abundantly clear that they were closing everyone out for now. That really was a terrible time for Luna to find out, given how harsh the desert seemed. Jamie was really hoping that everyone would be feeling great so it’d go smoothly… but they’d have to live with the consequences of this now.

They’d have plenty to think about between the pages and the confirmation that SME is, in fact, Luna’s scoutmaster.

Jade wasn’t entirely sure how to feel after all of that. After the forest, they’d been made fully aware that someone was trying to discreetly kill, or at the very least, get rid of Luna. However, they didn’t expect it to be a scoutmaster, let alone Scoutmaster Edmond.

They’d heard rumors about Scoutmaster Edmond in the past, but they always dismissed them because they knew rumors could hurt innocent people. Anyone could’ve been rough around the edges on a bad day, and more serious claims were dangerous to spread without substantial evidence. Jamie may have scooped up those rumors early to get in on it, but Jade was far more cautious about it.

From what they heard from eavesdropping on Jamie and Riley’s chat as well as what was on the note, they weren’t sure how to feel. They couldn’t really dismiss any of the rumors anymore since Luna confirmed them to be true. In a way, they felt bad about not doing something about it sooner, but at the same time they didn’t know how bad things really were then.

They were completely wrong about him, it seemed. They didn’t really think of him a lot before, but they didn’t think he was like that. They simply couldn’t fathom the thought of an adult in that position treating a vulnerable child like that. It didn’t sit right with them. And yet, it happened anyways.

Luna was in pain, that much was evident. Even if they were trying their best to hide it, the signs still slipped through the cracks. Their random outburst towards Jamie, their sudden shift into being cold and silent and acting fine told Jade everything. They were hurting and pretended like they weren’t.

That seemed quite odd though. Jade’s impression of Luna was that they were the type of kid to put their heart on their sleeve. So why now would they act contrary to that? It didn’t make sense…

As much as Jade wanted to let their big sibling instincts kick in, they knew from experience that they’d have to be patient. Maybe Luna would come back around soon. Right now, there was no point in pushing them because it’d only make them push everyone farther away from them.

There was nothing they could do for Luna at the moment, so they needed to focus on more immediate issues. With a deep sigh, Jade shifted their focus back onto the descent into the desert. They noticed they had fallen behind considerably, so they quickly jogged back up to the remainder of the group before any of them could ask questions.

While the camp was warm, it paled in comparison to the desert. As they approached the desert, they noticed that it was getting hot quickly. They could feel beads of sweat forming on their forehead and they weren’t even there yet. They were likely going to need to express extreme caution if they wanted to survive.

“Hey, you three.” The other three scouts stopped on command. “Just so we’re on the same page, we’re probably going to have to stay in the shade as much as possible. It’s too hot to be out in the sun for long.”

“Yeah… this sucks. Like, really sucks. It’s too hot…” Jamie whined.

Neither Luna nor Riley said anything, but nodded in acknowledgment.

The group continued their descent in complete silence. The only sounds that occupied the air were the occasional tumbleweeds and tornadoes wandering aimlessly in the desert, as well as everyone’s breathing and footsteps. Under any other circumstances, Jade would’ve been fine with it. However, the air felt too tense to revel in it.

The ground slowly transitioned from dirt to sand, marking the beginning of another adventure. They all grouped up at the bottom of the hill, unsure of where to go next. With all of the looming threats in mind, there was no clear path forward.

After some time, Jamie pointed towards a rock formation. “Hey! I see some shade under those rocks!” They paused to wipe sweat off of their forehead. “Might be easier to figure out where to go when we’re not distracted by the heat.” Jade, Luna and Riley all nodded in unison. Shade sounded really nice right about now.

Immediately after, a cheeky grin formed on Jamie’s face. “Cool! Last one there’s a rotten egg!” Before anyone could protest, they made a run for the shade. Jade didn’t appreciate how reckless Jamie was. They could’ve easily been caught off-guard by a tumbleweed and they were more concerned about racing?

They weren’t really in the mood to confront them at the moment, so they decided to tuck that concern away for another time. It’d probably come back to bite them in the future, but they instead decided to focus on more important issues.

Since everyone stopped to catch their breath, Jade decided that now was a good time to check out their surroundings. They were safe, even if only temporarily, and Jamie was going to need time to figure out a way forward so it felt appropriate.

Plenty of cacti dotted the landscape, some of them with thornberries sitting on top of them. A few of them had flowers blossoming, but the remainder were uninteresting. They were all thorny though, so it’d be incredibly unwise to make contact with them.

They weren’t particularly fond of thornberries. They were sour and prickly, but they were edible. If they had room in either their or Luna’s backpacks, they’d make an attempt to pick a couple of them and hold on to them. There were far better things they could eat, but if they were desperate…

The occasional tumbleweed rolled by the group, though they were quite large. This was their first time ever being in a desert, and consequently didn’t know much about them, but… were tumbleweeds supposed to be that big? Those things were nearly half their height! A hit from one of those would definitely knock any of them off of their feet.

Suddenly, they caught something glistening out of the corner of their eye. Once they turned to get a better look, it turned out to be a white suitcase. It was strange how that got all the way out there, but maybe it would have some sunscreen in there. After all, they were going to Hawaii originally, so it made total sense.

They’d have to find the right time to make a run for it, though. They weren’t particularly interested in being caught off guard by a tumbleweed—

Out of nowhere, Jamie decided to make a run for the suitcase. They didn’t bother to look out for tumbleweeds, their vision completely tunneled on the suitcase. Jade couldn’t stop them in time, so they helplessly watched as Jamie ran up to it. However, it randomly disappeared in front of all of them, making Jamie’s stunt worthless. Jamie stood there, completely dumbfounded by this.

Before anyone could react, a tumbleweed quickly tumbled directly towards Jamie and hit them squarely in the chest, sending them rolling back in the direction they came from. Luna instinctively jumped out of the way, but Jade was there to stop Jamie from rolling. The tumbleweed itself was gone, so they could only assume it was redirected when it hit Jamie.

For a moment, Jamie laid motionless. That moment felt like forever to Jade. A lot of thoughts suddenly invaded their mind. Are they hurt? Are they… They shook their head before they could finish their last thought. Jamie was alive. They were breathing. They were… going to live, at the very least. Would they be hurting? For sure. But they were alive.

Jamie groaned before sitting up, revealing that their chest and stomach area were covered in thorns. They panicked almost immediately upon seeing them, but Luna grabbed them by their wrist before they could do anything.

“…L-Let me help you.”

That was the first time Luna spoke since they lashed out at camp. Their stutter appeared to make its return, but their tone still felt cold. At least they were still willing to offer medical assistance, which Jade was extremely grateful for.

Jamie nodded in response, adjusting their position to make it easier for Luna remove the thorns.

Luna knelt down and gently grabbed the first thorn. After another nod from Jamie, they carefully pulled it out. Right after they pulled it out though, Jamie yelped in response and pulled away from them.

Luna cringed at how Jamie reacted, but closed in on Jamie in an attempt to try again. “It’ll h-hurt more if they s-stay in there.” Jamie glared at them for a moment, but took a deep breath and once again nodded. They seemed to be muttering reassurances to themselves, but Jade couldn’t make out the words.

Luna managed to pull out the remaining thorns with few issues. They left behind several tiny holes, as evident by the tiny blotches of blood that stained Jamie’s tank top. They’d likely need to find another first-aid kit soon to patch those up before they could get infected.

Once they were finished, they took a step back to give Jamie back their personal space. They said nothing else but forced a small smile on their face.

Jamie gave Luna a thumbs-up. “Thanks, Luna.” Luna flatly hummed in response.

Jamie’s gaze immediately turned to Jade. “Jade, I—”

“Just stop being so reckless. Is that too much to ask?” They hastily added on the next part before Jamie could respond. “I let it slide when you decided to race everyone to get here, but… just stop.”

An unwanted sense of frustration washed over Jade. They had every right to feel this way, and yet, it felt wrong. They were never deliberately mean to Jamie before, but their patience was running thin by both this journey and Jamie constantly ignoring their pleads for caution. All they wanted was for them to not get hurt, and they just…

Jamie stared at Jade for a moment, then their face shifted towards guilt. “S-Sorry. I won’t do it again. I swear.”

They tried a more gentle approach. “I don’t want an apology, I just want you to be more careful.” They mulled over the next words that sat on their tongue for a moment. “I don’t want to lose you. Just… be more careful. Please.”

Jamie appeared to be pained by that last part. However, they simply nodded in response then got up. They let out a small grunt, presumably from the discomfort the tumbleweed left behind, but were otherwise not verbal about it. Once they stood up and brushed themselves off, they focused on moving forward.

Jade felt a tug at their right sleeve. They turned around to see that it was Luna, who pointed at the ground. Jade didn’t notice what they were pointing at at first, but they soon realized that they were slowly losing shade. They were going to need to make their next move soon.

“Got any ideas, Jamie? We’re running out of shade here.”

“Uh… I do see a bigger rock formation up ahead. Maybe we can go there?”

“Well, if nothing else, it’d buystutter us a little more time to figure out what to do next.”

“Okay. Let’s go then.”

The four of them ran to a much larger structure which had shade at all angles. This was much better than sitting under a tiny patch of shade. Barring any other hazards, this would give them plenty of time to figure out where to go.

Hiding almost out of sight was another suitcase. If it weren’t for how reflective it was, Jade likely wouldn’t have noticed it. They walked up to it, fully expecting it to disappear. However, it didn’t. It just sat there, waiting to be opened. They opened it up, revealing a first-aid kit inside. How convenient.

Jamie caught sight of the first-aid kit and sighed in relief.

Jade offered the kit to Luna so they could help Jamie patch up their wounds. Without skipping a beat, Luna gently took the kit from them and opened it up, revealing plenty of Band-Aids and ointment inside.

Luna pointed towards one of the pillars of the structure and Jamie sat there without asking any questions. “S-Shirt off, please…”

Jamie’s eyes widened in confusion, a blush sweeping across their face. “Seriously? You need me to take off my shirt???”

Irritation quickly replaced the concern on Luna’s face. “D-Do you w-want me to help o-or not?”

“Ugh. Fine.” Jamie hastily removed their tank top. “Make it quick.”

Luna sat down in front of Jamie and pulled out a fistful of Band-Aids and the tube of ointment. Jade sat down beside them to observe the process. Luna first applied a drop of ointment to the pad of the Band-Aid and then covered up the wound, starting with the ones on their stomach.

As they got closer to Jamie’s chest, they paused and waited for their approval. They nodded, prompting Luna to continue.

Once they were finished, they took a step back to make sure they covered everything up, then gave Jamie a thumbs-up. Jamie wasted no time in putting their tank top back on then quickly rose up. Again, a small grunt slipped out, but evidently they didn’t want to waste time standing around.

Jade made a mental note to inquire on Jamie’s condition later once they were in a safer place.

Luna put the remainder of the supplies back in the kit, then took off their backpack to stuff the kit into an open space. They then put their backpack on and nodded, suggesting that they were ready to continue.

There was a cactus with a red thornberry close by. That same cactus caught Jamie’s attention and they pointed it out to Jade. “What’s that on top of the cactus, Jade?”

“That’s a thornberry. They grow naturally in deserts and despite their thorny appearance, they’re actually edible. Sour, but edible.” Jamie’s face scrunched up when they heard “sour”.

“Really? That prickly thing is edible?”

“Sure. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable thing to eat, but if you’re desperate enough… or… if you have the time, you could pull off all of the thorns then eat it.”

“Probably a good idea to grab it then, huh?”

“Well…” They caught a glimpse of the near-empty box of Thick Mints in Luna’s backpack. “Considering you two ate almost all of the cookies… that’d probably be a good idea.”

Riley stood up and volunteered to grab the thornberry. “I’ll get it.” They effortlessly plucked it from the top of the cactus and removed all of the thorns from it. They then offered it to Jade, who took it and put it in their backpack.

“I should clarify that there’s also golden thornberries. I’ve heard that they can heal your injuries a bit too, so… if you spot one and it’s not too far out of the way, feel free to grab it.” Everyone nodded in response.

Something off to the left appeared to catch Jamie’s attention. “Oh, check it out!” Everyone looked in the same direction and spotted an oasis. “Maybe we should—”

“No. We shouldn’t.” Everyone stared at Jade in confusion. “It’s just… so far out of the way. Is it really worth it?”

“Worth it for water? You tell me.”

Right. Water. They’d forgotten about that. They weren’t quite sure how they’ve made it this far without a lot of water… which only made Jamie’s desire to go there more understandable. They’d be lying if they said they weren’t thirsty themselves. “Right. I forgot about water. If we can get over there safely, we can check it out, okay?”

Jamie seemed content with that response and begun to trace out a route. However, they quickly became frustrated. “I’m gonna… look around for a bit. I won’t go far.” Their wary eyes met Jade’s. “And I won’t be so dumb this time.”

“Okay, but take someone with you when you go.”

“I’ll take Luna with me then.”

Luna stared at Jamie for a moment. “Okay. I’ll g-go with you.”

“Cool. Let’s go then.” Jamie walked around to the other side of the structure with Luna in tow. The two of them disappeared from Jade’s line of sight, leaving them alone with Riley.

With nothing else to do, Jade sat down and rested up against the same pillar that Jamie did earlier. Riley sat down beside them and absentmindedly dug in the sand.

They were starting to regret letting Jamie go without them, but they didn’t want to be too overbearing either. They’ve been through worse. They didn’t need, or want, to be pampered all the time. They were getting older and wanted their independence. They needed to accept that.

Riley nudged Jade’s shoe with their own. “You good?”

“I’m fine. Just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Hm. Okay.”

After a few more minutes of silence, they heard a pair of footsteps rushing back towards them. Their first thought was that something went wrong and fully expected two panicked, potentially even injured, kids to re-appear. However, the exact opposite was the case. Neither of them were hurt. Jamie appeared to be excited about something though.

“Hey! I found that hole we spotted from the camp earlier!”

Riley tilted their head. “Oh?”

“Yeah! We didn’t get to check it out for long because the sun kinda hurt, but… it seems cool!”

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to check it out, right?” Riley looked over at Jade, who simply shrugged in response.

“Yesssss!!!! Let’s go!” Jamie started to excitedly run in place. “This is gonna be awesome!”

Jamie led all of them back, and they did indeed find that same hole again. Jade stepped out into the sun to get a look. They could only see what the sun above illuminated, but it appeared to lead down into a dark tunnel. They couldn’t see any farther than that.

Jade raised an eyebrow at Jamie. “Is it really a good idea to go down there?”

“Is it really a good idea to run between rocks and get hit by tornadoes and tumbleweeds?”

“Fair enough. Let’s get going then. The sun’s starting to sting.”

Everyone began to climb down the hole one by one. Jamie went first, followed by Luna and Riley. Jade was the last to enter and plunge down into the unknown.

They didn’t have a good feeling about this… Going down into total darkness and not knowing what was down there was not the most comforting thing. If nothing else, it did keep them away from the surface’s threats, so they couldn’t complain if that was the case.

Regardless of what was down there, they could only hope that it’d be worth taking the detour for.

After what felt like forever, they made it to the bottom of the tunnel. It was very dimly lit, but it was better than the near darkness that the tunnel had at some points. It was unlikely that they’d be able to make out finer details, but at least they could see farther than a couple feet again.

The air was noticeably cooler, and somehow more humid, than the surface. There was a bit of a draft from the hole above them, but the air was still otherwise. In spite of the humidity, it still felt much better than sitting out in the sun and sweating.

It actually reminded them of their—no, their grandparents’ home. That wasn’t Jade’s home, or Jamie’s home. Their grandparents made sure it couldn’t feel like one to them.

Jade sighed and shook their head. They had far more important issues to worry about at the moment. They could sulk over how their life wasn’t the best with their grandparents later.

Jamie unknowingly pulled Jade out of their rut when they called out from behind. Jade turned around and spotted another hole that everyone was standing around. They decided to walk up to it and see for themselves what was down there.

Once they approached the hole, they noticed that it was fairly lit inside, which made it easy to scope out the area. There was a mound of sand directly beneath the hole, and from the angle they were looking, they could see the bottom of… a pillar? They moved to another side of the hole and saw yet another pillar. How odd…

This was very interesting. These pillars were definitely man-made. Maybe they stumbled into some kind of tomb? Temple? Whatever it was, it was undoubtedly some kind of structure.

”Pretty cool, huh?”

“It… uh, definitely caught my attention, that’s for sure.”

“Things can be cool, you know. You don’t have to be so boring all the time.”

“I think we have different definitions of ‘cool’, Jamie…”

Riley butted in before they could argue any further. “So… are we going down or…?”

“Sure, but I call dibs on going first!”

Without another word, Jamie dropped down near the hole and allowed their legs to dangle for a moment. They then turned around and eased themselves into the hole, now hanging by only their hands. They groaned, presumably from placing strain on their chest, then dropped into the hole.

And then…

Nothing?

“Is everything okay down there, Jamie?”

“I guess you’ll have to come down here and find out!”

Jade sighed, but they weren’t sure if that was a sigh of annoyance or relief. “Of course…”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, Jamie. I’m on my way down.”

Jade mimicked Jamie’s actions and dropped down onto a sand mound in the middle of the room. Somehow, they failed to notice it earlier, but it was convenient that it was there nonetheless.

They immediately spotted Jamie leaning up against a pillar. To the right of Jamie was an unlit torch, and a little more to the right was a hallway with a lot of those statues they saw at both camps lining it. At the end of that hallway was a lit torch, which would explain where the light came from.

They remembered that Luna and Riley still needed to come down as well, so they stepped off of the mound to give them space to do so.

They grabbed a nearby torch and shook it. Somehow, that actually worked and illuminated the entire room. The walls surrounding the mound were rather uninteresting, but what did interest them was that one of the pillars had collapsed right beside it. Had they fallen a little more to the right, they probably would’ve been in quite a bit of pain.

Both the fallen pillar and the standing pillars had some engravings on them. They were interested in getting a better look at them, so they approached one of the standing pillars to investigate. Near the bottom, a hand was depicted on one side and a skull on the other. Above that was a depiction of what appeared to be a scout with their arms spread and their eyes closed. On the other side was a skeleton in that exact same pose.

At some point, Jamie had joined Jade in observing the pillar. They only knew once Jamie hummed in confusion. “What does this mean…?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t know if I like that it’s alluding to death.”

“Is that what it is? I thought it just looked kinda…”

“Cool?”

“Nah, creepy.”

“Oh sh—” That sounded like Riley? Before they could confirm though, they heard a thud followed by an “oof” from behind. When they turned around, they saw Riley rolling towards them. They stopped just in front of them and Jamie.

“Oh hey, Riley.”

“…hi, Jamie.”

Jade offered a hand to pull Riley up. Riley stared at their hand for a moment before accepting. Once they got up, they brushed themselves off and looked a bit embarrassed after all of that. Jade had greater concerns though.

“You feeling okay?”

“Yeah. Just missed the landing, that’s all.”

“Okay.”

Jamie’s eyes darted around the room before landing on Riley. “So… where’s Luna?”

“Uh…” Riley looked back at the mound, but Luna wasn’t there. “They were supposed to follow me…”

“You… didn’t let them go before you???”

“They said—”

Jamie sighed. “Let’s just get them down here so we can go deeper.”

Riley nodded then returned to the mound and extended their arms upward. Luna’s legs then dropped into view, and once they were reassured that Riley would grab them, the remainder of them came into view. Riley grabbed them and eased them down onto the mound gently then let go of them.

Luna stepped up to the same pillar that Jade and Jamie investigated earlier. Once their eyes landed on the skull then the skeleton, they shivered and took a step back. They gave Jade a look that looked a lot like genuine fear.

“I… I d-don’t like this place…”

“Jeez, you’re such a scaredy-cat…” Jamie sighed and offered a hand to Luna. “Would it make you feel better if you stuck with me?”

Luna stared at Jamie’s hand for a moment, then backed off. “I don’t w-wanna be a… n-noo.. nuis…”

Jamie finished what they were trying to say. “Nuisance?” Luna confirmed with a nod. “Where’s this coming from?”

“W-When I… n-needed help… Edm—uh, S-Scoutmaster Edmond…” Luna trailed off, but Jade knew very well where they were going. They were considered a nuisance… It seemed that Jamie knew too, since they frowned immediately.

“Okay, well, news flash buddy! I’m not him, so… you coming with me or not?”

Luna once again took a step forward towards Jamie, who still had their hand out. They stared at it, before finally grabbing onto it. They shuffled a little closer to Jamie than usual, but Jade figured it was just due to anxiety. After all, they had every right to be nervous. This wasn’t exactly the most inviting or comforting place to be in.

“Cool. Glad that’s settled. Can we go now?”

Jade nodded. “Sure. I’ll take lead since I have the torch. Everyone okay with that?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Jamie looked over at Luna and smirked. “Need to make sure this crybaby doesn’t run off or get lost anyways.”

“And I’ll stay in the back.” Riley fell in line behind Jamie and Luna to prove their point.

“Very well. Let’s go.”

“Actually,” Jade paused. “Can we check these statues out?” Jamie inquired. They walked up to the nearest one and pointed at it.

Riley interjected before Jade could answer. “Before you answer, Jade… I don’t think these are worth our time.”

Jamie’s brows furrowed. “Why not?”

“Well, for starters, none of these statues emit a dull hum.” Jamie raised an eyebrow. “The statue I interacted with after being cursed hummed until I interacted with it. After it gave me that anti-gravity rope, it stopped.”

Riley sighed then continued. “Second of all, there’s six statues perfectly lined up in the middle of some underground… whatever this is. You don’t think it could be a trap if they did do something?”

Jamie stared at the statues for a moment then shrugged their shoulders. “Okay, I’ll… leave them alone then.”

Jade entered the hallway and noticed a slope leading down to yet another opening. It seemed unassuming, but it also appeared to be their only way forward, so they had no choice but to continue that way.

They began their descent towards the opening. As they walked by the statues, they couldn’t help but brew up a ton of questions about them. How did they get there? Were they like the other statues? Were they rigged to trigger a trap? Why were there six specifically?

They all walked in silence until they reached the opening. They stopped just in front of it and held their torch out just a little farther so they could see what was inside. All they could see though was… a hallway. No pillars, no statues, nothing. Just… a hallway. A narrow hallway, at that.

They weren’t claustrophobic themselves but… it could become an issue very quickly as well. They could only hope the others weren’t either, because panic and disorder were the last things they needed in a tight place.

Their eyes scanned what little they could see for any signs of traps, but they couldn’t spot any. It was entirely possible that they were well-hidden though. With this in mind, they cautiously continued forward, their eyes constantly scanning what they could see along the way.

However, they quickly came across their first problem, a fork in the path. Or, well, would be first problem if it weren’t for the fact that the path leading forward was completely obstructed by debris. The path to their left was unobstructed, so they went that way.

Jade shrugged. “Well, that was easy, I guess.”

The light from behind them began to fade as they took several turns down the path, leaving them with only their torch to light the way.

A new concern arose as a result: the torch likely had a finite amount of time before it extinguished. Fortunately, there were several torches dotted along the walls, but the possibility of being plunged into complete darkness in a maze frightened them nonetheless.

They once again came across a fork. This time though, both paths appeared to be open and branched off to the left and right.

“Well,” Jamie sighed. “Guess we don’t gotta worry about who’s going with who, at least. Luna is basically inseparable from me right now, so…”

“I suppose that leaves me with Riley then. But… who goes which direction? And how will we meet up again?”

“Let’s go right. And…” Riley hummed in thought. “If we either find something or a dead-end, go back and tell the others? Or… worst case scenario, yell and hope that they hear?”

“Maybe just walking back would be better but… that plan sounds about as good as it can be.”

Jamie grabbed a nearby torch and shook it, providing them with another source of light. “Well, I guess we should go then. We’re wasting time just standing here.” Jade nodded in response. “See you two soon!” They then dragged along Luna and disappeared around a corner.

Jade wordlessly led Riley down the right path. The two of them walked in complete silence for a while, but something started to gnaw at Jade.

The absence of Jamie and Luna was starting to get to them. While they weren’t necessarily interested in pampering the two of them, they weren’t exactly interested in not having any idea on where or how they were either. Furthermore, simply not being in their presence made them feel uneasy.

They could be hurt. They could be missing. They could be lost. They could be stuck. They could be d—

They were shaken by Riley, who was now standing in front of them. They weren’t sure how, or when, that happened. They simply responded with a confused look on their face.

”Check this out.” Riley moved just enough to reveal a massive chamber in front of them.

The first thing that Jade noticed immediately was the seemingly bottomless pit. Their anxiety spiked at the sight. They could handle a steep drop knowing how far down it was, but this? This was genuinely terrifying for them. This would most certainly lead to someone’s death if they fell.

It was nearly enough for them to have second thoughts about all of this.

At the very least, it was illuminated, so they could at least see where they were going. It didn’t ease their tensions at all, though.

The chamber was rather long, and it seemed like the only way forward would be by the ledges jutting out from the walls. Their only way to each one would be to scale the walls, which would seriously test everyone’s endurance. With nothing to catch them if they fell, they’d really need to be cautious.

In each corner of the chamber they saw the same pillars they saw at the beginning. They all had the same engravings as before, so they had no interest in continuing to focus on them at the moment.

To be completely honest, they were scared. They hadn’t felt like that in a long time but… this chamber was very dangerous and intimidating. They weren’t really concerned for their own safety, but if Jamie or Luna fell down there…

Riley put a hand on Jade’s right shoulder and crouched down to their eye level. They seemed to be a bit nervous themselves, but they were trying their best to be sympathetic too.

“You’re nervous.”

“Honestly, I’m scared Riley. I don’t want those two getting hurt or… you know.”

Riley winced at the possibility. “…Yeah. We can turn back if you don’t want to do this.”

“We can?”

“Jamie has that anti-gravity rope, we can probably make something work.”

Jade mulled on that possibility for a bit. They knew that Luna would almost certainly agree to this considering they didn’t want to be down there to begin with. Jamie, on the other hand, would likely put up more of a fight. They seemed to be stoked about exploring it, so it’s unlikely that they’d be happy to leave. It seemed that both them and Riley ultimately went with the flow rather than having their own reservations, so…

“Maybe we should wait until we can talk to them about it. I… have my reservations about this, but I’d be willing to go with whatever happens.”

“Agreed. Should we backtrack and find them?”

“Sounds like a good—”

They were cut off by two sets of footsteps behind them. They turned around to find Jamie and Luna, hand in hand, right behind them.

Jamie waved. “Hey. We found a dead-end, so we decided to come the way you two went.”

Jade waved in response. “Hi, you two. Riley and I were actually about to come find you two. Come check out what we’ve found.”

They leaned up against the wall to create an opening for Jamie and Luna to check out the chamber. As expected, Jamie seemed stoked about it while Luna seemed to be deathly afraid. Though, Jamie did appear to be slightly tense too, but they couldn’t pinpoint exactly why. It was possible that the bottomless pit spooked them.

Jamie’s eyes scanned the walls, potentially in an attempt to path out a route. Jade assumed they’d be doing that for some time, so they decided to give Luna some attention in the meantime.

Luna had already stepped back from the opening. They didn’t need a thorough analysis to decide that they weren’t excited about this. Their body language only confirmed as much. They were fidgeting with their hands in the absence of Jamie’s, which was probably the only thing keeping them anchored.

Even though it likely wouldn’t change anything, Jade still felt the need to reassure them, comfort them, something to calm them down a bit.

They spotted the Bing Bong plushie poking out of Luna’s backpack and figured that’d be a good starting point.

They managed to pull it out without alerting them and then placed it in their hands. Their eyes darted between the plushie now in their hands and Jade several times. It was abundantly clear that they were confused by the gesture.

Regardless, they eventually looked back down at the plushie and smiled softly. They gave it a gentle squeeze and then held it up to their heart. They smiled at Jade then stepped back up to the opening. They were probably still not keen on climbing, but they seemed to be a bit more at ease with the situation now.

Jamie took a step back from the opening and turned around. Luna mimicked their motions. “Okay, so uh, do you all want the good news or bad news first?”

“Bad news.”

“Bad news is, there’s not really a ‘safe’ way across. That was probably obvious, but, uh… yeah.”

“And the good news?”

“The good news is, there is a way across.” They pointed to their right, but Jade couldn’t see what it was. “If we start over here, we can scale the wall to each of these ledges. For some, we might have to go one at a time, especially since some of us have backpacks.” Their finger started to trace what Jade assumed was the wall. “We just keep following along the wall until…” Their finger landed on the opening on the other side of the pit. “We get to the other side. Sounds simple, but… we’ll see how it goes.”

Riley put up a hand before anyone could move. “Wait.” Jamie tilted their head. “You still got that rope Jamie?”

“Uh… yeah…? How is that gonna help us…?”

“You reckon we could use it to go back?”

“Go… back…? Do you hear yourself?”

“You actually want not just you, but everyone else, to take their chances on this?”

Jamie stared at Riley blankly then sighed. “You could’ve just said ‘no’ when I asked to come down here, you know.”

“I didn’t know it’d have all of this.”

“So let me get this straight. Your curiosity told you to come down here and check it out, but only now since there’s a challenge to overcome, you want to back out?”

“And you’re willing to endanger everyone in the pursuit of sating your curiosity?”

It was becoming clear that this was going to devolve into an argument. Jade wasn’t sure when to intervene though.

“Everyone made the choice to follow me. I didn’t make anyone do anything.” Jamie growled.

“P-Please stop…” Unfortunately, Luna’s plea only fell on deaf ears.

Well, except for Jade’s. Jade heard them, and they were going to make sure everyone else did too.

They forced themselves between Jamie and Riley, bringing the argument to an abrupt halt. Someone needed to mediate this.

“We don’t have time for this. Riley, I understand that you want a way out, but realistically, there’s no way back up. Even if we did have enough rope, we need to account for the fact that there’s a lot of twists and turns and jagged edges going back up. Either way we’re taking a huge risk.”

Riley sighed. “I just… I don’t know how I feel about this now.”

“I know. But, we don’t exactly have a lot of options anymore. I’m afraid our last chance to turn back was before we jumped down from the tunnel above.”

“I guess so.”

Jamie’s eyes warily darted between Jade and Riley. They knew they were next. “Uh… what about me?”

“Just be extremely cautious. While we don’t exactly have a way out at the moment, let’s not throw ourselves in the pit either. If you have even the slightest concern about it, don’t do it. This isn’t just some mountain or giant mushroom. It’s life or death, Jamie.”

“…Right. I’ll try my best. Can’t promise anything though.”

“Are we done arguing then? We need to focus on moving forward.” They looked over their shoulder at Luna, who had eased up since the arguing ceased. “And, uh, you two were spooking Luna. We really don’t need any of this, especially not here.”

Jamie and Riley looked at each other and nodded. Jade let out a sigh of relief. That definitely could’ve gone worse.

“Thank you. Now… can we get moving?”

Jamie turned their back on Jade to observe the chamber again. “Yeah. Sure. Just… listen to me while we’re doing this, please?”

“Of course.”

The first spot that Jamie climbed over to—the spot that Jade failed to spot earlier—was both large and flat. It’d serve well as a starting point.

Jade mimicked Jamie’s motions and landed with no issues. They let out a breath they weren’t aware they were holding. Luna followed after them while Riley stood near the opening and watched. After Luna similarly landed with no issues, Riley made the climb over. Part of the wall broke off when they grabbed it, but were able to quickly recover. They then landed themselves, but it wasn’t the most graceful landing.

“Hey, maybe once this is all said and done, I’ll be strong enough to climb anything,” Riley jested between ragged breaths.

Jamie scoffed in response. “Yeah, maybe. Bet you won’t ever be as strong as me though!” They dramatically flexed their muscles.

Well, it seemed like those two were able to drop their differences quickly. In fact, they seemed to be more lively around each other than before. Jade found the turnaround a bit odd, but chose to dismiss that concern for now. They had a far more important issue in front of them they needed to focus on.

The next ledge, as Jamie warned it might be, was quite small in comparison. Even someone Jamie’s size didn’t have a lot of space, so they were definitely going to have to go one at a time. Fortunately, the ledge following that one had some more space so a few of them could stop for a moment and rest.

Luna silently chose to go first. Once they made it to the smaller ledge, they made the mistake of pausing and looking down. It only took a quick glance for them to look back up and freeze in fear. They then stared at Jamie, as if they needed some reassurance before they continued.

Jamie groaned and crept closer to the edge and spread out their arms. It felt like a silent promise to catch Luna if they fell, which seemed to be sufficient for them since they continued to climb afterwards. They made it to Jamie with no issues, leaving it up to Jade and Riley to make the climb across.

Before either of them could do that though, Jamie put out a hand. “Hold up. I dunno if both of you can also stand here. There’s another bigger ledge up ahead though, so Luna and I will meet you there.”

Luna whined shortly after and the reason quickly became apparent. They were getting tired of carrying the backpack. Constantly fidgeting with the straps and the little groans when they adjusted it suggested it was taking its toll on them. Jamie was quick to catch on to this and snatched their backpack without asking.

“Better?” Luna only nodded in response. “Cool. Let’s go.”

With Luna situated and them and Jamie continuing onward, it was time for Jade and Riley to move too. They were able to make the climb to the next two ledges with few issues. After walking over the peak of the second ledge, it was clear that from here on out, it was going to be much easier. All of the remaining ledges were larger, so as long as everyone could endure scaling the wall, they’d be fine.

For a while, things were going well, but it was becoming abundantly clear that Riley was struggling. Jade had picked up on it after they were drawing ragged breaths from the first climb. They’d only made it halfway through before leaning against the wall with heavier breaths.

Jade approached Riley, concern painted on their face. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah… just… still not… good at this… I guess.”

“If it makes you feel any better, Jamie was the same for a while. Unfit, couldn’t really climb a hill if you wanted them to. They weren’t unhealthy, but clearly not built for that stuff at the time.”

“Really…? They weren’t just… born like that…?”

“Nope. I know, what a surprise, right?” Jade chuckled. “But, uh, no. It took a lot of practice. It’ll likely take you a lot too. But… honestly? I think you’re already getting a lot of it from all of this.”

“Yeah…” They paused and looked over at Jamie and Luna. The latter was patiently waiting; the former less so. “Alright… let’s keep going.”

Fortunately, the remainder of the climb concluded without any further issues. It seemed that the small break and pep talk was all that Riley needed to muster the energy to make it the rest of the way.

Once Jade stepped into the entrance of the new hallway, they were very grateful to be back on stable ground. They took a moment to sit and breathe. It seemed that Riley had the same idea, but Jamie and Luna went a bit farther ahead. This time, Jamie made sure they stayed in Jade’s line of sight.

However, they didn’t have much time to revel in it though, since Jamie gasped in awe at something ahead. Luna appeared to be very interested in what was ahead too, so it had to have been good.

Jade and Riley rose up to get a look and… well, the two younger kids had a good reason to be intrigued.

There was what appeared to be some kind of golden statue sitting in the middle of a massive room. It was set upon a pedestal and raised up above the floor. Surrounding it was a large platform with pillars in each corner. Beyond that was a seemingly dark and endless void, much like the one in the chamber they just crossed.

The statue looked a lot like the Bing Bong plushie that Luna carried. Luna seemed to notice this as well, since they looked back and forth between the statue and their plushie several times before making the connection.

In the background was a giant statue, identical to the ones they saw at each camp and in that structure. They almost expected Jamie to jokingly ask if there would be a giant item inside of it, but their attention was honed in on the statue.

It seemed innocuous… but it felt wrong. It just felt too good to be true. There’s no way there would just be treasure sitting out in the open for the taking. There had to be a catch.

Jamie didn’t seem to have the same concern because they decided to run down the ramp and towards the statue. They paused just inches from it and observed it for a moment. Without any warning, they yanked it off of the pedestal.

There was a “click” noise that came from a pressure plate hidden on the pedestal. Everyone simply stared at it in silence until everything started to rumble.

That was the catch.

The “click” from the pressure plate on the pedestal was definitely the activation of a trap. The rumbling coupled with the debris now falling from the ceiling confirmed as much. They could’ve sworn they also felt the ground beneath them shaking, as if it wanted to cave in and drop them into the void below.

They needed to go, but where to? All they knew was that backtracking to the start wasn’t an option. Even if they did make it through the chamber and maze, they’d still have to contend with the climb back up to the surface. Not to mention that the falling debris would either crush them or block them in before they even made it that far.

They had to find another way. They had to.

Jamie was frantically scurrying around on the platform, presumably faced with the same predicament as Jade. They seemed to have a mix of guilt and panic on their face. Their eyes were darting all over the place, but froze when they landed on something.

Jamie waved to the group with both arms. “Over here, you three!” They shouted over the rumbling.

The three of them ran over to Jamie as quickly as they could. They soon spotted the same thing that Jamie spotted. It was a ramp going… down? How was that going to help any of them? Weren’t they trying to go up?

Jamie seemed to have spotted Jade’s confusion. “Got any better ideas?” Their eyes were frantic, their fidgeting erratic. They were clearly not in the mood to linger or argue.

Out of nowhere, a giant boulder crashed down and blocked off the hallway they came from earlier.

Jade sighed. “Not anymore I don’t.”

“Cool, let’s get the hell out of here then!” Jamie ran down without waiting for a response. Jade followed quickly behind them. They could only pray that Luna and Riley were doing the same.

They spotted yet another hallway at the bottom of the ramp. While they were getting tired of running around in a confined space, they didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter, so they continued full speed ahead into it.

They took only one turn before they noticed a ramp going up. It didn’t appear to be terribly steep, as evident by Jamie running up it, so they decided to run up it themselves.

Jamie had paused at the top. They were doubled over and heaving. Was something wrong?

Jade caught up to them. They were a little short of breath themselves. “Hey… is something wrong…?”

The statue that Jamie had been holding onto was now on the ground. “Statue’s… heavy…”

Jade suddenly remembered they had a backpack and tossed it on the ground beside the statue. They then made a spot in it and stuffed the statue in there. When they put it back on their back, they noticed the increase in weight immediately. They weren’t kidding… I can handle this though.

Jamie stretched for a moment. “Thanks Jade… appreciate it.” They then continued up the next ramp without waiting for a response. However, they were considerably slower than before. Jade chalked it up to their fatigue, but kept an eye on them nonetheless.

Speaking of the next ramp, they noticed some light peeking out near the top of it. Whether it was a torch or natural light, they couldn’t tell, but it was a good sign nonetheless.

Once they reached the top of that ramp, they were able to confirm that it was natural light. However, they also spotted what appeared to be massive stairs leading up to that light. They weren’t particularly excited to make that climb since they were tired and carrying a heavy load, but anything beat being crushed by falling rocks.

With a deep sigh, Jade approached the first step and grabbed onto it. Surprisingly, while the ascent was rather steep, the stairs themselves weren’t terribly high. Even with as short as they were, they were able to grab the top of each stair and pull themselves up. The extra weight did make it a little more difficult, but they managed to reach the top with few issues.

The others were already waiting at the top. They expected Jamie to berate them for going slow, but they didn’t say anything. They instead just nodded. They also seemed to be doing a little better, which was reassuring.

“They couldn’t at least give us an easier time with climbing up?” Riley whined.

Jamie rolled their eyes. “Really? I thought escaping was the easiest part. All we had to do was a bit of running and climbing!”

Riley hummed. “Fair enough. Let’s get going.”

The group approached the exit, though they couldn’t quite figure out who would go first.

Jamie huffed and pushed ahead towards the exit. They hissed once they stepped outside. They retreated back into the shade for a moment before rubbing their eyes and stepping back out.

Jade followed Jamie outside and immediately found out why they were bothered. The sudden change in light overwhelmed their vision and made them feel dizzy. They stumbled back into the shade until their eyes could re-adjust. The dizziness dissipated shortly after.

Jamie groaned and rubbed their forehead. “I really didn’t miss being out here…”

Luna and Riley stepped out and had similar complaints. However, nobody would have a chance to go back inside since the exit collapsed after those two left.

“I suppose there’s no going back now.” Riley sighed.

Jamie shrugged. “I guess not. I’ll start looking for a way forward.”

Suddenly, Jade noticed something green out of the corner of their eye. They almost dismissed it as another cactus, but it was far too vibrant to be that. They did a double take to confirm and instead of a cactus, they spotted several palm trees.

They soon made the connection that it was that same oasis that they’d seen before. It was very convenient that they ended up exiting the tomb close to it.

“Hey Jamie, remember that oasis you found earlier?”

“Yeah? What about it?” Jamie was still scoping out a way forward.

“Well, check it out.” Jade pointed over in the direction of the oasis. Jamie’s eyes lit up once they spotted it. “Since we’re close, maybe we should take a detour to see what it has.”

“Nice! What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Jamie bolted towards it, but were stopped dead in their tracks when Jade firmly placed a hand on their shoulder. “R-Right… no more being reckless and dumb… sorry.”

“No… it’s not that.” Jade could hear some sand swirling around, though it was very faint. “Do you hear that?”

“Uh… no. I don’t—”

A tornado suddenly materialized in front of them. Fortunately, it ended up going a different direction, but had Jade not stopped Jamie…

No. It wasn’t worth thinking about what didn’t happen.

“Oh. Uh. Okay.”

Jade finally let go of Jamie. “Can you at least go slow enough for us to stay together? I don’t want us to get split up.”

Jamie nodded. “Yeah. I can do that.”

“Okay. Go ahead whenever you’re ready then.”

Without another word, Jade followed behind Jamie as they set off towards the oasis once more. Luna and Riley followed not too far behind them.

Fortunately the oasis wasn’t too far away so after a few minutes of chasing any shade they could, they made it to their destination. They were very pleased to note that it wasn’t a mirage, otherwise their efforts would’ve been for naught.

The first thing they noticed was a small pond with two capybaras sitting inside of it. One of them had a yellow winterberry—wait, a winterberry, here?—and the other had a cowboy hat. They both seemed quite relaxed and didn’t have any visible reaction to their four new friends.

There were three palm trees surrounding the oasis. They carried five coconuts in total. This meant that everyone would have something to eat and drink and have one to spare for later. They did still have some shroomberries, mushrooms, a thornberry and a couple Thick Mints, but diversifying their selection of food was still welcomed.

Something they didn’t notice earlier was that there were also bushes near the base of each tree. The bushes themselves didn’t contain any crispberries, but it was still interesting to note. Greenery wasn’t exactly common in a place like that.

They noted that Jamie slipped out of their shoes. They assumed Jamie just wanted to relax and dip their feet in the water, so they paid no mind to it. What they didn’t expect was for Jamie to just… jump into the water?

Everyone, except for the capybaras, managed to avoid the water that Jamie splashed up. The capybaras seemed to have no issue with it though.

Jamie sighed in contentment once they re-emerged from beneath the water. “This is amazing… never thought I’d like cold water.”

Jade couldn’t help but chuckle. “Never thought you’d like getting a rash either.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re gonna be walking around with wet clothes and sweating while climbing. You will most definitely end up with a rash somewhere after all of this.”

“Do you always have to be such a killjoy, Jade?”

“I’m just looking out for you.”

“Whatever.”

Jade gave up on arguing with Jamie and opted to sit down near the edge of the pond. They kicked off their sandals haphazardly and tossed their backpack off to their right.

After a moment of hesitance, they allowed their feet to rest in the water. It was cold, just as Jamie stated, but not uncomfortably so. In fact, it felt extremely comforting after everything they had endured in the past few days. They could sit there all day and just soak it all in, and honestly? That didn’t sound like a terrible idea.

As much as they wanted to do that though, they had to snap themselves back to reality. Even in the comforts of the oasis, they weren’t safe, nor were they making progress that way. They didn’t want to move so soon, but they couldn’t linger for long either.

Jamie swiped the yellow winterberry from the capybara’s head and inspected it curiously. They then held it out to Jade with a confused look on their face. “Hey Jade, what’s this? Looks like… some kind of berry?”

“Correct. That’s a winterberry. I don’t really know how that capybara got one of those though, since they usually only grow in colder climates.”

“Maybe it was somewhere cold before it came here?”

Jade hummed. “Maybe.”

“And the taste?”

“Sour.” Jade laughed when Jamie’s face scrunched up. “Just kidding. It’s sweet and savory. You’d enjoy those a lot more than the thornberries.”

“So… should we save it for later? Sounds like it’s kinda rare to come across.”

“I’d say so. It’s one of our sweeter treats… like the… full box of Thick Mints that magically disappeared?”

Jamie rolled their eyes in response. They then tossed the berry to Jade, who nearly dropped it in the sand. Jamie laughed at the act, but stopped when Jade glared at them.

Jade reached for their backpack to search for a spot to stuff the berry into it. However, they struggled to find an open spot. They had accumulated a lot of things on their travels but ran out of space to carry any more. So instead, they simply stared at the berry. They didn’t want to eat it now, but they didn’t want to throw it away either. That was quite the conundrum to be in.

Suddenly, two coconuts rolled up to them on their left. They failed to notice until one of them gently collided with their thigh. They looked around in an attempt to identify who, or where, they came from. They did notice that Riley and Luna were now sitting beside them with their own coconuts. It was likely that one of them did that.

Luna waved, but their attention immediately shifted to the berry in Jade’s hands. “Uh, I c-can hold that for you, Jade!”

“Oh, thank you Luna. I appreciate that.” Jade began to get up, but Riley held out a hand before they could. Jade put the berry in Riley’s hand and watched as it was passed to Luna. Luna then quickly stuffed it in their backpack and put it behind them.

“Thank you for the coconuts, Riley.”

“Sure. I wasn’t sure if Jamie wanted to come out of the water for theirs yet so… I’ll leave it up to you to give it to them.”

“Jamie—” Jamie had already emerged from the water. “Oh! Here. Riley got a coconut for you.”

They grabbed one of the coconuts from beside Jade and sat to Jade’s right. They tore into the coconut, paying no further mind to anyone around them.

Now that Jamie was taken care of, Jade focused on their own coconut. They cracked it and turned it horizontally to ensure they wouldn’t lose the water. Once the halves were separated, they held the half with water in their hands and set the other half on their lap.

They remembered just how thirsty they had gotten, so they quickly gulped down the water with zero hesitation. They then scooped out the meat with their bare hands and stuffed it in their mouth. It wasn’t exactly the most sanitary thing they’ve done, but cleanliness wasn’t easy to accomplish given their situation.

They repeated the same procedure with the other half, then dropped both halves in the same spot they grabbed the coconut from.

Jamie laid down with a loud “thud” once they were finished with their own coconut. Jade decided to do the same.

“You’re gonna get a lot of wet sand stuck to you, you know that right?”

“Meh. That’s a problem for future Jamie.”

“Feeling any better after all of that?”

“After all of what?”

“Well… that tomb we were in and after being hit by that tumbleweed.”

“Oh. Still kinda worn out from that place and carrying that statue.” Jamie groaned as they re-adjusted their position. “But… I’m feeling better after being hit by that tumbleweed. My chest just feels a bit sore now.”

“Okay. That’s good.”

“Yeah. I’ll admit, Luna did good in taking care of that for me, even if I was a baby about it.”

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence after that. Jade stared up at the sky. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing to see up there, aside from the sun.

Though the sand was grainy, they still felt comfortable. Under any other circumstances, they could probably take a nap there. However, they weren’t really able to in the moment.

While they were worn out because of all of that climbing and running back in the tomb, they were still very aware, and anxious, of the dangers of the desert. They couldn’t fully be at ease even if they wanted to be.

In spite of all of that though, they really didn’t want to get up. It wasn’t until they laid down that the aches and pains really settled in. They’d probably sleep very hard after everything was said and done at the next camp.

They weren’t going to be able to enjoy that moment for long though.

“Once you two finish your coconuts, we’re leaving. I think we’ll be safer in the caverns up ahead,” Jamie declared.

“Sounds good to me,” Riley said between swallowing bites. “Hey Luna, you got room for an extra coconut?”

“Mhm! J-Just, uh… c-can I…”

“You can finish your coconut. Just wanted to make sure.”

Jamie nudged Jade’s right arm. “Hey. I know you wanna lay around all day. Hell, I do too! We can’t stay here though,” they said in a lower volume.

“I know. I’ll… get up when those two are done.”

Jamie sighed. “Whatever works for you, I guess.”

A few minutes passed by. The only sounds were the occasional chewing and swallowing of coconut meat as well as ever-so faint breeze. The sounds of the desert beyond the oasis seemed to fade into the background.

They heard a gentle thud followed by another shortly after. That was likely the sound of both Luna’s and Riley’s coconuts being tossed into the sand, so Jade took that as their cue to sit up. For Jamie, that appeared to be their cue to stand.

Jade didn’t really want to get up, but now that Luna had slipped on their backpack and Jamie slipped on their shoes, that meant that everyone was waiting on them now.

They pulled their feet out of the water and stood up. They stretched with a groan, then shook off whatever sand they could from their feet and put their sandals back on. They then grabbed their backpack and slung one of the straps over their right shoulder.

“I’m guessing we’re all ready then?” Jamie asked. Everyone nodded in response. “Cool. Let’s get moving towards the caverns up ahead then.”

Jamie moved past everyone and forward towards the caverns. For a moment, Luna did nothing, but then they waved at the capybaras and then followed Jamie. Riley stood there and motioned for Jade to move ahead. Once Jade passed them, they fell into line in the back.

Their luck with dodging tornadoes would continue. Any that did appear were far away, and before any could get close, they dissipated. The tumbleweeds were still just as scary, but with everyone on higher alert for those, they were easily avoidable.

Fortunately, there were several rock structures dotting the landscape to provide them shade along their path. When the sun got too unbearable, they’d all duck into shade temporarily before stepping back into the sun.

They soon came across yet another obstacle. Their heart sank once they noticed what it was. It wasn’t something they were really looking forward to, nor was it something they really wanted to see.

A canyon.

The four of them stood over the edge of a canyon that cut deep into the ground. It had ledges of varying shapes and sizes jutting out of both sides. It seemed like a nice change of pace from the tomb with the added benefit of protecting them from the sun.

A small detail that they noticed was that there were small cacti balls spread intermittently across both walls of the canyon. While they were far and few between, they was still worth keeping an eye out for. They doubted anyone would want to have to deal with thorns stuck to them, especially after what happened to Jamie with the tumbleweed.

Jade couldn’t actually see it from their angle, but they presumed there was visible ground at the bottom of the canyon. The depth of it was yet to be known, but it was better than staring, or falling, into an endless void.

Looking past the canyon, they could see more clearly the cave system sprawling out and up to the top of the mountain. It had the advantage of being mostly shaded, so they could start to take things a little easier if—no, when they got there.

But… they needed to focus on the canyon for now. Their mind was thinking too far ahead… and far too pessimistically, too.

“Well, what are we standing around for?” Jamie jumped down to the ledge just a few inches below them. “Let’s go!” They then turned around, but rather than seeming pleased, they seemed… confused? Concerned? Whatever it was, they were looking just past Jade.

Jade looked behind them to figure out what Jamie was looking at. They spotted Luna staring blankly down into the canyon. Had they zoned out? Maybe something was on their mind? Either way, they needed to be snapped out of their daze so everyone could begin the descent.

Jamie climbed back up from the ledge and gave Luna a shake. It wasn’t too rough, but just enough to get their attention.

Luna blinked rapidly and looked around. Once they realized that everyone’s eyes were on them, they blushed in embarrassment. “S-Sorry… w-we can go.”

Jamie rolled their eyes. “Do you even know what we’re doing?”

“Uh, i-it’s a canyon. I-It can’t be t-that hard, right…?”

Jade chuckled. “You’ve really been rubbing off on them, haven’t you Jamie?”

Jamie raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know, the sarcastic comments? Stuff like that?”

“They’re just learning from the best!”

“Riiiiight.”

Jamie cleared their throat. “Anyways! We’ve got some more stuff to climb, so let’s go already!” They then dropped back down to the ledge they were once on.

Luna giggled at the siblings’ antics then followed Jamie down. Maybe Jamie rubbing off on them wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

The ledge appeared to be too small to hold anyone else, so both Jade and Riley stayed behind. They only jumped down once both Jamie and Luna safely jumped down to another one just a few inches lower.

This trend of short descents continued until suddenly…

The four of them reached a wider ledge overlooking a massive drop. They could very clearly see the bottom of the canyon from there, and that only put into perspective just how deep it went. If one of them fell, they were unlikely to survive. Even if they didn’t suffer physical trauma from hitting every ledge on their way down, they’d still hit the ground too hard.

“Huh. We can actually see the bottom here.” Jamie rubbed their chin. “Gimme a sec to figure this out. But, uh, feel free to look around too.”

Luna made no effort to search. In fact, they only got a little closer to Jamie. Jamie didn’t seem to mind though. Riley, on the other hand, started scouting off to the right. Jade took that as their cue to do some scouting to the left. It was unlikely to yield any results, but it was better than staring down hopelessly towards the bottom.

It felt strange to be alone again. For the past few days, they’ve been constantly surrounded by people, both familiar and unfamiliar. They had wandered off to forage for food back in the forest, but even then, they were being monitored by Riley the entire time. This time, they were unsupervised.

They were thankful for the change. As much as they loved Jamie and liked the others, they were starting to get antsy constantly being in close proximity to them. The space gave them some time to think and work things out alone.

They wandered for a few minutes before coming across a short drop. They had considered turning back and telling the others, but they didn’t want to lead them to yet another dead end. They knew it wasn’t wise to wander too far away, especially in wake of Scoutmaster Myres making his presence known, but they preferred to do this alone.

That was, until they were reminded of the so-called “buddy system.” They remembered that Riley had brought it up a few days ago back on the beach, and that Jamie had scolded Riley for almost forgoing that same system in the forest. It was entirely possible that if they went alone, it wouldn’t go unnoticed, and they would certainly get some kind of lecture about it.

They sighed and turned back before anyone could notice they were gone. They’d just scoop up whoever they saw and send the other with Riley. Being alone seemed like too much of a luxury to have here anyways.

When they returned, they noticed that Riley had already partnered up with Jamie. Luna was close by, constantly scanning the area until their eyes met Jade’s. They then waved at Jade and approached them.

“H-Hi Jade! Riley t-told me to wait for you t-to do some s-scouting. Y-You weren’t here, so…”

“Hello, Luna.” Jade suddenly felt bad for making them wait. “I apologize for making you wait. I wasn’t aware that you were.”

“I-It’s okay!” Luna smiled, though that did little to ease Jade’s guilt. In the grand scheme of things, it was extremely minor, but they still felt bad about it.

Jamie groaned. “Cool, everyone’s happy now. Can we get moving?” They tapped their foot impatiently.

Riley nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. Let’s get going, Jamie.” They waved to Luna and Jade. “See you two in a bit. Stay safe.” The two of them then went to the right and disappeared around the corner.

Jade stared at that same corner until Luna tapped on their right arm. They didn’t say anything, but it was clear that they were ready to go.

They returned to the drop that they were once at. Now that they had Luna with them, they didn’t feel so guilty about jumping down. There was a ledge just a few feet below them, so neither of them should have any issues reaching it.

As anticipated, both of them scaled down to the ledge with no issues. However, Luna did almost fumble the landing, but Jade was there to catch them.

The two of them walked around for a while, scouring every inch that they could. Jade peered over the edge and spotted a ledge a little off to the left and beneath them. The drop was a little farther down than the previous one, but it seemed relatively safe, so it was certainly an option. It seemed like the only way down—

“W-What’s this over h-here, Jade?” Luna inquired. They were pointing at what appeared to be a shortcut. It was a few feet from where they stood. “Y-You, uh, I t-think you missed it.”

“Oh.” Jade felt silly for not noticing the shortcut. “I… didn’t notice that. I did find another way down over here, but we can check out what you found if you’d like.”

“C-Can we…?”

“Sure. It doesn’t hurt to have multiple options.”

Luna responded with a warm smile and led Jade over to the shortcut. Jade wasn’t entirely sure why Luna responded the way they did, but they didn’t bother to pursue it. They seemed happy in wake of all of the bad things happening to them, so Jade didn’t want to disturb them.

They noticed that part of the ledge they were standing on had a small protrusion pointing towards a much larger protrusion from the ledge all the way across the canyon. It was wide enough that it’d support whoever decided to cross, and the gap itself was maybe a few feet at worst. The ground on both sides seemed stable enough to support everyone’s weight.

Assuming everyone would be on board with making the jump, they could clear the entire canyon this way and scale up the other wall. If not, Jade did have another path figured out. Deep down, they hoped that everyone would be fine with the shortcut though. The sooner they could make it to the caves, the better.

“What do you make of this?” Jade asked.

Luna peered over the edge and into the depths of the canyon. They shuddered. “Looks s-scary…”

“Yeah, but… consider this.” Luna tilted their head. “You made it through the tomb with that scary endless pit, right?”

“R-Right…”

“Now, I’m not saying you should be arrogant because of it but… give yourself some credit. We all overcame that, I think we can overcome this too.”

Luna seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. However, they examined the gap one more time and then gave a thumbs-up. “Okay. I t-think I c-can do this.”

Jade smiled. That was a better response. “I think so too. Let’s go tell Jamie and Riley about this and see what they think.”

They didn’t have to worry about seeking out Jamie and Riley though, because as soon as they turned around, they spotted those two heading down towards them. They seemed to be a bit disgruntled, so it was possible that going to the right only led to a dead-end. As expected, Jamie was the one to lead the duo.

Luna nearly tackled Jamie in a hug. Jamie stumbled back from the sudden shift in weight, but they managed to keep their balance.

Jamie seemed confused by the affection. “Jeez, you act like I’ve been gone for a long time.” When Luna didn’t respond, Jamie decided to return the hug. Jade could’ve sworn they saw the corners of their mouth curl up a bit. “You happy now?”

Luna finally let go and hugged Riley too. Riley was much more willing—and much less vocal—to return to gesture.

Once Jamie spotted the shortcut, they ran up to it and gazed at it in awe. This didn’t come as a surprise to Jade; they were fully expecting that response. Jamie loved these kinds of challenges after all.

That left them with only needing Riley’s approval now. Everyone else seemed to take interest in it, but it could all fall apart if one person said “no.” Riley often erred on the side of skepticism, so it was entirely possible they’d refuse to go.

“Yo! Check it out, Riley! I think we found our way across!” Jamie beckoned to Riley.

Luna let go of and decided to trail behind Riley so they could investigate the shortcut.

Riley frowned when they noticed the gap between both sides. ”You sure this is the right way?”

Jamie huffed and crossed their arms. “Well, it’s either this or going down that one creepy way!”

Jade’s brow furrowed. “Creepy… way?”

“Well, maybe ‘creepy’ isn’t the right word but… it was sketchy even for me.”

“I see.” If Jamie thought it was sketchy, then… “I think we’re better off taking our chances here.”

“I…” Riley groaned. “Okay. I guess this is safer than what we found. The jump doesn’t seem so bad, so I think we can go this way.”

Jamie shrugged. “Eh. We either take one kinda risky jump or keep climbing deeper and risk falling or… something like that. What sounds better to you?”

“Well… in terms of speed, the risky jump, but—”

“That’s what I thought.” Jamie took a step back. “Alright. Make some space for me!” Everyone complied, giving Jamie adequate space to jump across.

Jamie cleared the gap by a considerable amount and landed on their feet. They turned around to face the group and gave them all a double thumbs-up. They then took a few steps back to give everyone some extra clearance.

Luna was the second one to ready themselves for a jump. This took Jade by surprise since they always got the impression that Luna leaned more towards going last, or as close to last as they could. Regardless, they cleared the jump with ease and beamed with pride when Jamie praised them.

Jade motioned for Riley to go next, but they shook their head, so Jade instead jumped across themselves. Much like Jamie and Luna, they had no issues. They did stumble a bit when landing, but recovered quickly.

Riley was the last to jump across. They didn’t get quite enough speed, so their right ankle ended up catching the lip of the ledge. They face-planted just a few feet away from the kids, much to Jamie’s entertainment. Jade nudged Jamie very hard in the side—stopping their laughter immediately—and Luna dropped down to their knees to ensure that Riley was okay.

Thankfully, Riley only suffered minor scrapes as a result, none of which required any attention. They did whine a bit and rub the arm that had been messed up from the crash, though it appeared to not be bleeding, so they chose not to pursue it.

Riley got up and brushed their front side off. “Well, that mishap aside, it seems like we got a lucky break from that canyon.”

Jade nodded. “Agreed. It probably wouldn’t have been too bad regardless, but I’m glad we could skip most of it.”

Jamie groaned. “Yeah yeah, that’s cool and all, but can we get going? We’re still in the middle of a desert.”

“Well, do you have any—” Jade suddenly spotted a slope out of the left corner of their eyes. “Nevermind. I think I found our way up.”

They all approached the slope. It didn’t seem too steep, so they decided to walk up it. Conveniently, the slope led all the way to the top. They definitely got a lucky break.

With the canyon behind them, they could finally start making some progress again. All that stood between them and the cave system now was another stretch of the desert. Many of the threats were still present here, so while they were on the home stretch, they still needed to be alert.

However, the sun was starting to creep towards the horizon, which also meant that it was starting to cool off. That did eliminate a couple threats, but that didn’t mean the others would magically disappear.

Jamie hummed. “You know… I just had a random thought. I haven’t seen any tornadoes on this side of the desert.”

“Really?” Jade inquired.

“Yeah. Or tumbleweeds, as a matter of fact. I think we can take it easy now.”

“Huh. Good to know. We should probably still make our way to the caves though. We’ll have plenty of shade there to ‘take it easy.’”

“I guess you’re right. Let’s stop wasting time here and go then.”

Everyone seemed to agree, so they all set off towards the caves.

Having survived both the tomb and the canyon, Jade felt pretty good about their odds. They still needed to remain alert though. If the desert was any indication, there was no way the caves would be merciful to them.

Nothing could be worse than a tomb rigged to the brim with traps or a canyon though… right?

Much to their fortune, and as Jamie had predicted, many of the threats they faced prior to the canyon were not present on their way to the caves. While the heat and sun would remain as persistent threats, neither the tornadoes nor tumbleweeds appeared. It seemed as if they remained isolated on the other side of the desert.

In regards to the heat and sun, they did have the grace of nightfall to help them out. In that time, they wouldn’t have the sun beating down on them or the heat slowly cooking them alive. It’d provide them with the perfect window to navigate the caves. However, there were still a few hours to go before nightfall, so they’d still need to contend with those threats for some time.

In reality though, it was unlikely that any of them would even want to continue through the night. Barring how it would be disruptive to their sleep patterns, everyone had to have been worn out from the tomb and canyon. The desert was really shaping up to be a huge step-up in difficulty from both the beach and forest.

Jamie stopped to stretch and yawn dramatically. After a moment of stretching, they returned to walking.

Neither Luna nor Riley had yawned yet, but it was starting to become evident that both of them were getting tired. Their eyes seemed to be a bit more heavy and their movements more sluggish.

Jade could feel their own fatigue tugging at them, but they chose to ignore it.

If it wasn’t the fatigue from the heat and sun, then all of the climbing in the tomb and canyon certainly wore them all out. Jade really hoped that the caves would at least be safe enough to get a few minutes of rest in. All of them could really use a nap.

As they approached the caves, they ripped their focus away from the desire to sleep and towards what was in front of them. Much like what they’ve seen already, there were both cacti and cacti balls spread out on the ledges and walls. They were still just minor nuisances, but could make things more difficult especially in the caves. The possibility of reaching a dead-end because of a well-placed cactus was much higher.

Jade wasn’t sure if they were seeing things or not, but they could’ve sworn they also saw a pickaxe sticking out of the side of a wall high up. One of the suitcases they saw earlier was a mirage, so it wouldn’t surprise them if the pickaxe was also a mirage. Regardless, it was interesting to see in this environment.

Jamie pointed up towards what appeared to be a ledge that was tucked in near the back. The wall leading up to it seemed relatively simple to climb and had the benefit of being accessible from where they stood. It appeared to be shrouded in shade, at least for now, so maybe they’d be able to take a break from the sun for a bit.

“I think that’s our way up. And if it’s not, well… it at least gives us some shade.” Jamie stopped to yawn. “And… a nice spot to maybe take a nap or something like that.” It seemed their fatigue dulled their edge just a bit.

Jade stifled a yawn. “Agreed. Let’s not waste any time. I think we could all use some rest.” Okay, they definitely weren’t climbing overnight.

Jamie was the first to climb up the wall. They nearly slipped when they grabbed onto a weak chunk of rock and it fell effortlessly out of the wall. Thankfully, they were able to quickly recover and instead grabbed onto where the rock used to be. Once they reached the top, they peered over the edge and gave a thumbs-up to everyone.

Jade decided to go next because they were ready to get up there and settle down for a bit. However, once they lifted themselves off of the ground, it suddenly felt like the whole world was weighing them down. They weren’t entirely sure if it was due to the statue in their bag or if they were tired, but they assumed it was the latter since the former wasn’t an issue before.

Their entire climb up was a struggle. Fortunately, they didn’t have to deal with parts of the wall crumbling, but they still felt excruciatingly heavy. They were barely able to pull themselves up each time. They convinced themselves that if this went on for any longer, they’d just let go and fall back onto the sand below them.

Jamie’s upper body popped into view over the edge. Once they spotted Jade struggling, they clasped one hand to the edge and put the other down towards Jade. Without skipping a beat, Jade grabbed onto Jamie’s hand.

They did everything they could to help with being pulled up. In spite of carrying the statue, due to Jamie’s strength, Jade was pulled up quite easily. Immediately after, they collapsed face-first in the sand and blacked out.

…

Jade groggily opened their eyes.

They immediately noticed that they were on a new surface at a new angle. They were also moving. The material felt a bit soft, but also a bit damp on their face and it smelled… strange. Not a horrible strange, but an indescribable strange.

They lifted their head up just a bit in an attempt to identify where they were. Their eyes darted around for a bit. They saw just sand and cacti, so they were still in the desert. They turned to their right to identify what they were just laying on. It turned out that they were riding on Riley’s back, and what they felt and smelled was their trench coat. Gross.

A few questions entered Jade’s mind: How did they get there? Weren’t they on the ground? Why were they being carried anyways?

They didn’t feel like finding the answers to any of those questions though. They were too tired to. They instead rested their head in the same spot it laid originally and closed their eyes.

Riley must’ve noticed this though, because they stopped immediately after.

A voice, Jamie’s voice, inquired about this. “Why’d you stop, Riley?”

“I think Jade’s waking up.”

“Oh! Wait… set them down over here.”

Jade’s weight was suddenly shifted off of Riley’s back—they whined at this—and was leaned up against something hard. They figured it was another wall, but they weren’t terribly interested in confirming.

They opened their eyes a little wider. They noticed immediately that it was much darker than before. Faint traces of the sun were still present on the horizon, and from what they could see, stars were starting to appear in the sky.

Jamie and Luna sat in front of them, awaiting their return to consciousness. Riley stood a little farther away, their eyes constantly darting around. Were they not safe here?

Luna smiled gently and waved at Jade once they noticed they were a bit more awake. Jamie said nothing, opting instead to nod as a greeting.

Jade groaned and rubbed their forehead. It seemed that they had developed a headache while they were out. “Where are—what happened? Why was I being carried?”

Jamie hummed. “Well… once you collapsed, we decided to just sit beside you and let you get some rest. Luna and I got to take a small nap as well, but then we were shaken awake by Riley because of a scorpion!” Luna shivered at the mention of it. “It was pretty freaking big. We all tried to wake you up, but I guess you were super asleep because you didn’t move. So, I grabbed your bag and Riley put you on their back and… now we’re here.”

Well, that answered all of their questions. The four of them must’ve not been as safe as they initially thought they were, which would explain how they ended up here.

“That… makes sense.”

“Anyways, if you want, you can get some more rest. I don’t think any scorpions will get us here.”

“…And what about you two?”

“Since the desert and tomb have been kinda rough, we’re just gonna settle down here for the night. And, uh, I already worked something out with Riley. Luna gets to be lazy for once. Me and Riley will be on like… ‘shifts’ or something. I forgot exactly what they said. But, uh, I’ll get some sleep while they watch us, then I’ll wake up and take over, blah blah blah.”

“I can keep an eye on you all too, you know…”

“Yeah, I do know. But I also know that you need to get some more rest.”

Jade sighed and conceded. They didn’t really have the energy to argue. Instead, they just closed their eyes again and waited for unconsciousness to creep back in. They hoped they’d feel better when they woke up again so they could relieve Jamie of their duty.

“Good night, Jade,” was the final thing they heard before falling asleep again.

…

The next time they woke up, it was still dark. This time though, it was Jamie that was on guard. They were seated near the edge staring out towards the sky. Jade couldn’t see their face so they couldn’t tell how they were feeling, but they were slouching a bit. That didn’t raise any immediate red flags though.

Sometime during the night, Riley had settled down beside Jade with an arm wrapped around Luna, both of them sound asleep. Riley seemed to leave Jade alone though, which they appreciated. They hadn’t formed that kind of connection with Riley yet.

They considered going back to sleep but they probably had enough for the time-being. They needed to relieve Jamie so they could get some more rest, and aside from the grogginess, they felt pretty alright.

They leaned forward off of the wall and massaged their forehead for a moment. It seemed their headache had dulled sometime during their second bout of sleep since it no longer hurt when they dared to move.

They tried their best to not make any noise, but Jamie seemed to detect them anyways. They didn’t say anything, but turned towards Jade and patted the ground beside them.

Jade slowly got up then crept over to Jamie then sat down. Neither of them said anything for a while, instead choosing to stare up at the stars in the sky.

Jamie softly chuckled. “This is… nice. I can see why Luna likes this so much.”

“Did you know ‘Luna’ is Latin for ‘moon’?”

“No, I didn’t. But… it’s a very fitting name for someone like them.”

Jade couldn’t help but smile. Just a few days prior, Jamie seemed to hate Luna’s guts, but they grew on each other very quickly. For so long, Jamie struggled to find someone that’d actually give them a chance, and it sounded like Luna never really had friends. So, for that, Jade was glad that things worked out between them.

However, that sweet little moment didn’t last long. Jamie’s smile soon turned into a frown.

Similarly, Jade’s smile disappeared. “What’s wrong?”

“They don’t have anywhere to go after this, do they?”

Jade almost wanted to bring up Scoutmaster Edmond, but figured that’d just fuel the fire. Instead, they remained silent.

“It’s not fair.” Jamie clenched their fists. “Someone as nice as them having such a crappy life.”

Jade glanced back at Luna, who had made themselves a bit more comfortable in Riley’s side. “I have a feeling that someone would have their back.”

Jamie turned around as well. However, they didn’t seem any happier about that. “Yeah… I guess so.”

Jade definitely noticed. “…Jamie?”

“Maybe I’m gonna sound like an idiot for this but…” Jamie sighed. They hesitated to speak for a minute. “Do you… think Riley would have our backs too?”

Jade hummed. “I don’t see why not. I mean… we’ve only known each other for a few days, but they seem to care about all of us quite a bit.” They stopped in search for what to say next. “And… they had no incentive to care about us either. This isn’t an ordinary trip. They’re not responsible for us, but they took care of us anyways so… I believe they would.”

“Yeah…” Jamie sighed. “Hopefully they at least take care of Luna after all of this… or help find someone that will.”

“’At least?’” Jade had a suspicion that this choice of words was deliberate, but they weren’t certain.

Jamie picked at the frills on their tank top. They didn’t make eye contact with Jade.

“Jamie.”

“I don’t wanna go back to Grandma and Grandpa. I wanna… go with Riley instead.”

That confirmed their suspicion, but…

“I’m sorry Jamie, but… I don’t think it’s that easy.”

“I know.” Jamie’s tone sounded so… defeated.

Maybe Jade could salvage this. “If Riley and Luna are still in the area after all of this, maybe we could… still hang out with them sometime?”

“I guess so.”

That seemed to have no effect. So much for that.

Jamie got up. “Guess I should get some sleep while I can. Night, Jade.”

“Good night, Jamie.”

Jade wanted to watch Jamie to make sure they settled down with no issues.

Jamie settled down to Riley’s other side and was surprised to notice that Riley subconsciously slung their free arm over them. Jamie took that as their cue to settle in for the night. Once they were comfortable, they closed their eyes. Surprisingly, they seemed content.

Once they knew Jamie was safe and sound, Jade returned their gaze back to the stars. They weren’t particularly happy about how they handled that, or what they learned. They were bothered by how Jamie felt afraid to confide in them about all of that. They hated how much the truth hurt Jamie and that they couldn’t even do anything about all of that.

They never gave it any thought before, but it’d only make sense that Jamie had no interest in returning. Jamie had a ton of friction with their grandparents, often times sprouting from unusual or over-the-top punishments for such minor things. Jade tried their best to avoid them, but always came to Jamie’s aid when needed.

And of course, Jade was the one to take care of Jamie most of the time. Their grandparents did provide them with the bare minimum, but there was hardly any love behind it.

Jade’s own underlying resentment towards their grandparents had begun to grow once they found out over a year ago about their true intent for taking the two of them in.

Even now, they didn’t fully understand it, but their grandfather had mentioned some kind of “credit” for keeping them around. Something about taxes, too. Regardless, even if they didn’t know what that credit was, they knew there was some kind of gain from their continued presence. That gain wasn’t love, either.

It didn’t sit right with them then, and it still didn’t sit right with them now.

They only stuck around because they assumed that Jamie was okay with their situation. Well, at least okay enough to not want to consider homelessness. But… if Jamie was saying they didn’t want to go back and that they’d prefer to go with someone they met just a few days ago…

It only made Jade feel horrible. Had they known sooner…

Well, all that mattered now was fixing this. Granted, they couldn’t do much if their grandparents refused to let them go, but… it did give them something to reach for. At a minimum, they could just endure the next two years then scoop up Jamie and get out of there. Maybe they could also seek out Riley too for a place to stay, even if temporarily.

At the end of the day, all they wanted to do was make sure that Jamie was happy. They loved them very much and would do anything for them. And, since crashing on this island, they’ve come to learn that Jamie felt the same. They had to look out for each other since nobody else would.

But… they needed to focus on the present. They needed to actually get off of the island before they could even worry about their future.

Their night had been pretty rough, but… that was okay. Not everything had to, or would, be sunshine and rainbows. They had adopted that mentality after their parents’ deaths.

They leaned back and did some stargazing. It felt oddly therapeutic in wake of everything that happened that day. Maybe Jamie’s conversation didn’t quite go over well, but they at least got some clarity out of it.

They once again looked at Jamie. They’d nestled into Riley’s right side, just like Luna did on their left. It seemed that Jamie had really grown to appreciate and trust both Riley and Luna, which gave Jade a flicker of hope.

Maybe…

Maybe they could be a family, after all.

The next time Jade gained consciousness, the sun was just starting to creep back over the horizon. The air was a bit warmer, but not by much. Their head was leaned up against something both fuzzy and lightly damp. Quite an odd combination, but also oddly comfortable too.

Their headache was still faintly present. It was nowhere near enough to debilitate them anymore, but they’d probably still need to keep an eye on it. The heat, lack of water and exertion from climbing would all likely work together to make it worse in the near future.

Last they remembered, it was still the middle of the night. They knew they weren’t a time-traveler, so it was strange that it suddenly went from the dead of night to dawn.

The unexplainable time-skip, the fact they were leaning up against something or someone…

It dawned on them pretty quickly. They had to have fallen asleep during the night. That didn’t make any sense though. They were well-rested and alert and—

They felt a gentle touch on the back of their left shoulder. “Relax, Jade,” Riley whispered.

Once their breathing re-stabilized, they sat up and stared at a random scorpion down below. “Riley? Was I asleep all night?”

“Well, not all night. You were still barely awake when I got up. When I sat down with you though, you immediately collapsed into my side.”

“Sorry, I thought I was—”

“You don’t need to apologize for sleeping, Jade.” Riley sighed. “It’s fine, I was awake anyways. No harm, no foul.”

It was then that Jade finally looked at Riley and softly smiled. However, they quickly noticed that Riley’s trench coat was missing, which prompted the following question.

“Hey Riley, where’s your coat?” Jade inquired.

“Well… when I woke up, I noticed both Jamie and Luna were sleeping with me. I didn’t wanna wake them up, so I gave them my coat as a blanket. Figured they’d be a bit more comfortable since it was chilly when I got up.”

Jade couldn’t help but smile at the visual that popped up in their head. It only proved how close they’ve grown since meeting. However, it also pained them that much more that they’d have to part ways eventually. Everyone had their own lives to get back to, whether they liked it or not.

They were also reminded of the conversation they had with Jamie during the night. As much as they wanted to bring it up with Riley, they wanted Jamie to be present for it too. So instead, they sought confirmation for one thing.

“Riley?”

Riley hummed in acknowledgment. Jade took that as their cue to continue.

“Once we get back to the airport, could you… keep an eye on us until we have to go back with our grandparents?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t leave until you’re all taken care of.”

“Okay, thanks…”

“Why do you ask?”

The real reason is because they secretly hoped their grandparents wouldn’t show and that Riley would scoop them up. If not for themselves, then for Jamie, at a bare minimum. Riley couldn’t know that though.

“I, uh… I’d just prefer if you stuck around until we’re accounted for.”

It was evident by the look on Riley’s face that they absolutely didn’t buy that.

Riley shook their head. “Neither of you actually want to go back to them, do you? Is that why?”

Jade’s stomach dropped. That was exactly why, but how did Riley even figure that out? Were they… eavesdropping earlier?

“H-How—”

“Just an observation from what I can tell. Maybe I’m wrong. Willing to bet I’m not though, based on your reaction. So…?”

Well, they’ve figured it out. No point in hiding it now.

“…You’re right.”

“I figured. Well, unfortunately, the best I can do is make sure the transfer is peaceful. Can’t really do much else while they’ve got custody over you.” Riley hummed. “Though… I do have an offer for you in spite of that.”

Jade tilted their head to the side. “An offer?”

“Yeah. While I can’t actually take you in, assuming that’s your end goal, I can at least keep my door open for you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, if you need to talk to me, or if you just need to get yourself or Jamie away from the noise… I’d be happy to let you visit. Don’t gotta call or anything.”

That seemed like a fair compromise. It also seemed a lot more reasonable than what they wanted too, given the circumstances. In the event that Riley couldn’t actually take them, at least having the opportunity to visit seemed nice.

Jade smiled for the first time that day. “Okay. I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Riley extended a hand. “Cool. Let’s shake on it.” Jade grabbed their hand and shook it without skipping a beat. “Oh, and, I’ll give you my address and everything once we get out of here.”

Not long after the two of them let go, Riley’s eyes widened suddenly, as if they remembered something. “Also, hypothetically speaking, if your grandparents decided they didn’t want you two anymore, you’ll be taken care of. That much I can say.”

Jade immediately wrapped Riley in a hug. “Thank you, Riley…” The gesture felt odd since they weren’t a terribly affectionate kid, but their emotions dictated they do it.

Riley returned the hug and patted Jade on the back. “Of course, Jade.”

After the hug ended, the two of them smiled at each other and returned to where they sat.

A lot of pressure had been lifted off of Jade’s shoulders, and they felt truly good for the first time in a long time. While the lack of assurance on actually staying with them was a bit disconcerting, the guarantee that they’d at least have someone to fall back on made them happy. It was so tiring growing up and having to deal with life alone.

The two of them had fallen into a comfortable silence, though it didn’t last for long. Jade’s stomach growled, which meant they were hungry. They’d almost completely forgotten they needed food. Oops.

They started to get up in search of food, but Riley gently pushed them back down. They seemed confused by the gesture.

“Sorry, but I think you deserve to just sit still for a minute.”

“Riley, I can…”

“Get your own food? I know that, silly. I also know you’ll just try to scrape by with the bare minimum too, and that’s not gonna fly under my watch.”

“But…”

“No ‘if’s, ‘and’s, or ‘but’s, got it?”

Jade nodded. “Got it.”

“Cool. Just wait here until I dig through Luna’s backpack.

Why Luna’s backpack specifically? They weren’t carrying much aside from medical supplies, the likely spoiled Thick Mints and—

Riley pulled out the yellow winterberry from Luna’s bag.

Ah.

Riley returned to Jade’s side and began fidgeting with the berry, likely plotting a way to split it evenly.

“What about Jamie and Luna?”

“They devoured the Thick Mints, didn’t they? I think we deserve a sweet treat every once in a while too.”

Jade felt conflicted about this. On one hand, maybe they did deserve something nice every once in a while. On the other hand though… they couldn’t help but feel bad about taking that away from the younger kids.

With a soft grunt, Riley managed to split open the winterberry. It wasn’t the most pretty split, but it was still a split. Some juice escaped from both halves, but it still looked very delicious otherwise. If they had no self-control, they’d be drooling at the sight.

Riley dropped the larger half in Jade’s hands and quickly bit into their own. It seemed that this decision was not up for debate.

They glanced over at Riley as if they needed confirmation. Riley gave a reassuring nod. Jade then pulled the berry up to their mouth to take a bite and…

Fortunately, it seemed neither the heat nor the climb ruined the berry. It tasted incredibly sweet and savory. They couldn’t quite pinpoint what fruit it closely resembled… but it had hints of both lemon and raspberry, maybe even others. The juice that gushed with every bite was so refreshing that they could swear off water and survive off of only the juice. It felt invigorating.

The worst part of it was actually finishing it. After no time, they’d swallowed the final bite and frowned once they noticed it was over. It did make them feel really good though, so they couldn’t complain too much.

They went to brush their hands on their shorts but noticed that several splotches of juice had already stained them. They felt embarrassed at allowing themselves to be so messy while eating, but it was too late to do anything about that now. Instead, they folded their hands in their lap in a vain attempt to cover up their mess.

Riley chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Jade. I’m not gonna judge you for it.”

“Still… it’s not very clean—”

“Look, no offense Jade, but for several days you haven’t showered, you’ve been sweating and you’ve been sleeping on the ground, but that’s where you draw the line?”

Jade couldn’t even argue that. Riley did have a point. It was difficult to argue cleanliness when they were the complete opposite of that—albeit not by choice—and couldn’t do anything about it. At the same time though, it was still inappropriate to make such a mess, and if they could control even one thing about their cleanliness, they absolutely would.

“I get it. Just… trying to not make a mess where I can, I guess.”

Riley sighed. “Yeah. I know. I’m sorry, just…”

“We have bigger problems to deal with. It’s okay, I’m just being dramatic.”

“Stop. You’re fine.”

“…Okay.”

The two of them sat in an awkward silence for a little while until Riley mournfully sighed.

“Riley?”

“I do miss being able to take a shower.”

Jade smirked. “Thought we had bigger problems to deal with?”

Riley playfully, and very gently, elbowed Jade. “Hush.”

Their little moment was interrupted by soft grunts and whines from behind. It was most likely just one of the younger kids waking up, but they were curious as to who it was.

They looked back for just a moment and confirmed that it was Jamie arising from their slumber. They didn’t want to stare though, so they instead watched the sunrise.

Well… they weren’t going to stare, until Jamie made a very disgusted “blegh” sound.

Jamie had turned their nose up and pulled Riley’s coat off of themselves as best as they could. They crept out from beneath it and from besides Luna, but froze when Luna started muttering something.

“P-Please… don’t leave me…” Luna whined. It appeared to just be sleep-talk, but still caught both Jade and Jamie by surprise.

Jamie scrambled to find their Bing Bong plush and then shoved it in Luna’s hands. Luna hugged it as tightly as they could as a smile formed on their face. Jamie then gently covered up Luna with Riley’s coat.

“You should wash that thing some time, Riley,” Jamie whispered.

“Let me know when you come across a washing machine out here, okay?”

“Sure,” Jamie replied sarcastically.

Jamie then sat down beside Jade. Jade gave a small wave and Jamie returned the gesture with an equally small wave.

“Good morning, Jamie. Sleep well?”

“Mornin’, Jade. Yeah, I—” Jamie’s gaze moved down. Oh no. They smirked. “Didn’t know you were a messy eater, Jade.”

Jade scrambled to justify the mess they made. “I, uh—”

Jamie scoffed. “Jeez, relax. I’m just messing with you.”

Riley stood up and approached Luna’s backpack once more. “You hungry, Jamie?”

“Kinda, yeah.”

“Alright…” Riley pulled out the box of Thick Mints. “You feeling these this morning?”

“Hmm…” Jamie grabbed the box and opened it. They frowned immediately. “Guess not.” They pulled out the bag, revealing a mess of cookie and fudge on the inside of it. “Still got that winterberry?”

A pang of guilt suddenly hit Jade. It turns out that they ate the very thing that Jamie had taken interest in. However, before they could apologize, Riley spoke up.

“I’m afraid not. I split it with Jade earlier.”

Jamie stared at Jade for a moment, then shrugged. “’kay. I guess I’ll just take whatever’s available..”

Jamie once again glared at Jade. “Don’t even.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I know that look. You feel bad about eating it, don’t you? Well, don’t.”

“But—”

Jamie shoved an open hand in Jade’s face. “Nope! Not listening to it!”

Riley cleared their throat. The siblings turned around to Riley holding out some food. “Hey, uh, I’ve got some choices for you Jamie.” They held an ordinary mushroom in one hand and a red shroomberry in the other. “Didn’t think you’d want the thornberry so… here’s your options.”

Jamie rubbed their chin as they thought about their options. Jade assumed they’d immediately pick the shroomberry, so this came as a surprise. They didn’t think Jamie would even consider the other mushroom given the other choice they had.

Jamie, surprisingly, pointed towards the mushroom. “I’ll take that one. Let Luna have the shroomberry.”

Riley smiled. “Of course. That was the plan.” They then handed the mushroom to Jamie. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks.” Jamie turned back around and immediately tore into the berry. Jade ended up watching the sunrise while Jamie ate.

Riley sighed. “I suppose I should get Luna up. We can’t stay here all day, and they need to eat too.”

Jamie nudged Jade in the side. “You good?”

“Uh… yes? Why do you ask?”

“Just making sure. You seem a bit on edge this morning.”

“I’m alright.” They paused, deciding whether or not to disclose what they talked about with Riley. “I ended up having a chat with Riley about what we talked about last night.”

Jamie seemed much more interested now. “Yeah? And?”

“They can’t exactly take us, but… they’ll leave their door open for us at a minimum.”

“And what if… you know…?”

‘You know’ was code for ‘our grandparents giving us up’ or some variation. Jade knew that very well.

“They were kinda vague about it, but said we’d be ‘taken care of,’ whatever that means.”

Jamie hummed. They seemed to be satisfied by that response. “Thanks for that.”

“I figured you’d be upset about me doing that without you.”

“Nah. I… uh, was kinda afraid to talk to them about it, I guess. So… thanks.”

Jade patted Jamie on the back. They didn’t say anything, but Jamie seemed to understand the gesture nonetheless. Jamie leaned in for a side hug, which Jade happily provided.

It made them feel warm and fuzzy in their heart. Like… they didn’t feel hopeless for once. With Jamie on board with this arrangement, Jade felt a lot better about their situation. Maybe they couldn’t actually be a “family” with Riley but at the very least they could confide in them and they also had a safe space with them.

”Hey, you two!” On cue, the two of them turned around. Riley stood not too far behind them with a freshly bandaged arm and Luna glued to their side.

Jade waved. Riley and Luna responded with a nod and wave respectively. “Oh, hello you two. Sorry, were we taking too long?”

“Huh? Oh, no.” Riley shook their head. “You’re fine. Luna just finished eating and tending to my bandage, so…” Riley’s eyes shifted over to Jamie. “Jamie, I’d suggest having Luna check your cuts out while we’re here.”

Jamie glanced over at Jade, who silently responded with a nod.

Jamie shrugged. “Sure. Guess it wouldn’t hurt.”

Jamie then got up and walked past Riley with Luna to be examined. Jade wanted to give them some semblance of privacy, so they looked away. Jamie would likely follow up with them anyways if they felt the need to, so they didn’t need to observe.

Jade finally got up themselves. They felt a bit wobbly when their headache surged, but it quickly subsided and allowed them to re-stabilize. If it was going to stick around, it’d likely be a problem in the future. For now though, they chose to ignore it. After all, it was just a headache, it’d go away eventually… right?

“I take it we’re leaving soon?” Jade inquired.

“Correct. As much as I don’t want to go back out into the heat and sun, the sooner we get to the next camp, the better.”

“Agreed. At least there we can actually relax.”

Riley hummed in agreement. “Well, if there’s nothing else you need to do or talk about, we’re gonna get moving once Jamie is taken care of.”

Well, they did have that headache, but that was a lot harder to cure than open wounds so…

“I’ve got nothing else, so that sounds good to me.”

They weren’t entirely happy about lying about that, but they didn’t want to cause more of a burden over something that couldn’t just have a Band-Aid slapped over it. They’d probably bring it up at the next camp if it continued to be an issue.

The conversation abruptly, and awkwardly, ended there.

It seemed that Riley was not the greatest at socializing. It didn’t change how Jade viewed them, but it was still interesting to take note of.

Rather than stand there awkwardly, they grabbed their bag. They had forgotten how heavy it was because of the statue, but nevertheless, they slung the straps across their shoulders. The sudden addition of weight made their arms ache, but they chalked it up to simply being worn out.

They’d likely end up messing with the statue when they were somewhere safer. Their curiosity wanted answers. It was way too enticing and well-protected to not have any value or purpose.

They took a glance over at Jamie, though it seemed that Luna was not applying new Band-Aids. In fact, they gave a thumbs-up and Jamie put their tank-top back down. Had the wounds healed enough to not need to be covered? They were smaller cuts and scrapes, so it made sense if that was the case.

“Hey, listen up, you three!” Riley exclaimed. “If everyone is done with their business here, I propose that we continue moving. As always, I’d like for you to take charge Jamie. Uh, well, if you want to, that is.”

Nobody objected. Jamie seemed to be in agreement with this arrangement.

“I’ll take your silence as being ready.” Riley looked at Jamie and nodded. “Whenever you’re ready Jamie, we’ll follow.”

Jamie took a step towards the ledge and scanned the surrounding area, presumably for a way up. After a few minutes, they pointed over towards another shaded area. “Let’s head over there and work from there.”

Riley looked over at the area and nodded. “Sounds good. After you.”

Jamie started scaling down the wall, and as expected, both Riley and Luna followed behind them. It seemed that Jade would be trailing in the back again, which they had no problem with. They gazed at their makeshift camp before silently wishing it farewell and made their descent after the others.

They held their head a little higher today. A lot of things had gone well in the morning and they felt pretty confident that things would go their way from here on out.

All they had to do now was actually survive to be able to see all of that through.

For a few hours, everything seemed to be going relatively well. Aside from the occasional scorpion skittering by in the sand, some of which tried to be aggressive, the caves had actually been treating them quite well. They had seen some red cylinders—later identified as dynamite—during their travels, though they were fortunate enough to not have to deal with any of it up close.

While everyone was content with their morning, they spared no time for conversation. Unless it was to call-out something or to request aid, nobody said a word. Even with the rest they’d gotten the night before, it was abundantly clear they were still tired of being there. While the shade did provide solace from direct sunlight, it was fleeting and it did nothing to make the heat more bearable.

Jade’s headache hadn’t improved much, though at the same time, it hadn’t gotten worse either. While they were grateful that it decided to spare them from the worst of it, they would’ve been more appreciative if it was gone entirely. Regardless, they likely weren’t going to be fully relieved of it until they made it somewhere where the environment was less brutal.

Following the thought of making it somewhere, a question popped into their mind: When were the caves going to end? They’d been climbing for quite some time and there was no clear indicator they were reaching the end. Any time they thought they were making progress, they were either met with a dead-end or just more caves.

The only indication of their progress was to peer over the edge and look back down into the desert, though that had been completely shrouded by fog some time ago. Fog in a desert didn’t exactly make sense to them, but climbing a mountain with varying climates taught them to just embrace the unexpected.

Jade’s thoughts were disrupted when they collided with Jamie. Fortunately, neither of them fell down, but Jamie was irritated nonetheless. When Jamie saw that Jade was utterly confused, they just laughed if off and swiftly moved on from it.

Jamie pointed up towards the sky. “Check it out! There’s a cloud. Haven’t seen one of those since we got here.”

Jade soon spotted the cloud that Jamie was pointing out. From what they could see, it was light gray with darker tones, wispy and long. It seemed like an odd cloud, but clouds did come in all sorts of shapes, colors and sizes, so perhaps they were looking into it too much.

Riley hummed. “Is it really a cloud? It’s strange that we’d only see one this far into our travels in the desert.”

“Duh! It’s a desert, what did you think would happen? Cloudy days like back in the city?”

“I mean…” Riley sighed. “I suppose you do have a point, but it’s still just strange…”

Riley raised a valid point, which made Jade question whether or not it was a cloud. It was entirely a possibility that a stray cloud could be passing through, but… it was strange.

They suddenly picked up on a waft of smoke. It was a rather suffocating smell and an ugly reminder of what ended their happy little family. They hated that it reminded them of that every time they smelled it, but if nothing else, it at least meant they were getting close to another campsite. To that extent, they’d welcome it.

At the same time, their head randomly throbbed in pain. It wasn’t unbearably so, but it was enough to break their focus on the smoke. They instinctively rubbed their head where it hurt even though they knew it’d do nothing. Thankfully, it faded quickly, allowing them to once again focus on what was in front of them.

They were really starting to wonder how they even got a headache in the first place. They didn’t really know the causes of a headache, but it must’ve had something to do with the fact they’ve not been getting adequate food or drink, or that they’ve been running around in a literal desert. Regardless, it was a nuisance to deal with.

Jamie sniffed the air twice. “Wait, that kinda smells like smoke! I think we’re gettin’ close!” They almost immediately started excitedly fidgeting. They also understood what the smoke meant.

Riley seemed confused. “Smo—” They too sniffed the air. “Holy sh—uh, yeah, you’re right!”

Luna sniffed the air too but seemed disheartened. Had they not picked up on the smoke like everyone else? Their sadness ended up fading quickly though because everyone else’s excitement rubbed off on them.

Riley cleared their throat. “Listen, I know spotting this smoke is something to be excited about, but… we still need to be careful. While we are getting close, we don’t know how we’re getting up there yet, so… let’s just continue to take it nice and slow, alright?”

Jade silently nodded in agreement, while both Jamie and Luna visibly deflated. Even though Jade wasn’t the one to make that statement, they still felt bad to an extent. Those two just wanted to leave, so they had the right to be excited. At the same time though, Riley was correct. Rushing and being reckless now would only hurt them.

Jamie let out a deep sigh. “You got any ideas on where to go then?”

Riley shook their head. “Figured that was your thing.”

“Well, excuse me for asking.” Jamie then crossed their arms, turned away from Riley and grumbled something under their breath.

Riley seemed to regret making that comment, but Jamie didn’t give them an opportunity to reconcile if they truly felt bad.

Jade’s eyes soon landed on a path that seemed to wrap around to the outside. They weren’t entirely sure if it led anywhere, or if it was even safe, but… maybe it’d give them a lead. It was better than wandering around aimlessly if nothing else.

“Whatcha lookin’ at, Jade?” Jamie tilted their head.

Jade stared at the path for a while longer before pointing towards it. “Looks like a path. Not sure if it leads anywhere and it’s in direct sunlight, so…” They shrugged. “Seems sketchy, but we could check it out and see if it leads anywhere.”

“It’s something at least. Beats wandering around until we find something.”

Riley sighed. “I really don’t think we should go that way.”

Jade’s eyebrows furrowed. “Who said anything about going that way? I just suggested checking it out.”

Their headache once again flared up. Now really wasn’t a good time now that they were starting to get irritable. They did their best to keep their composure though. They really didn’t want their ragtag troop to start fracturing now of all times.

Riley struggled to come up with a response. Jade sighed. “I’d like to check it out. I’ll come back if I find something or if things get sketchy. Promise.”

Riley’s gaze narrowed. “Fine, but you’re not going alone and you need to come right back as soon as you find something, or if something goes wrong, got it?”

Jade nodded. “Got it.” They then glanced over at Jamie. Without even saying anything, Jamie seemed to understand and joined them by their side.

“Well, then I suppose Luna and I will snoop around in the area here. The way up from here isn’t really clear, but I’d prefer to stay in the shade than go out there.” Riley shrugged. “Regardless, any way up is better than lingering here.”

”Sounds good. Jamie and I should probably get going. The sooner we check this out, the sooner we can get back inside.”

“Finally! I’m itching to do some actual exploring!” Jamie groaned.

Riley seemed entertained by Jamie’s sentiment and chuckled. “Alright, well, I’ll leave you two to it then.” Luna sneakily slipped their hand into Riley’s. The two of them smiled at each other. “I guess it’s time for us to head out too. Meet up back here?”

Jade glanced over at Jamie, who simply nodded. “Sure, sounds good. See you soon and good luck.”

“Thanks, you too.”

Once Riley and Luna departed to explore other parts of the caves, so too did Jade and Jamie to explore the outside path. They were both really curious to see what was out there.

The two of them stopped once they approached the line that separated them from the brutal sun.

Once they took a step over it, they’d be dealing with much more intense heat and being in direct contact with the sun. Neither of those things sounded particularly exciting, especially considering their headache, but they’ve come too far to back out now. If nothing else, they had Jamie there to help them if the worst happened, but they really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“We’re not even outside yet and it already feels hotter here. This sucks!” Jamie whined.

Jamie was correct. It was noticeably warmer where they stood as opposed to being deeper in the caves. It didn’t really come as a surprise since it was basic knowledge they picked up both from their science class and from experience, but they still empathized with Jamie all the same.

On the topic of class, they were suddenly reminded of… well, everything else they have gone without in the past few days. They were really starting to miss—

Jamie gently pat Jade on the back. “Yeah, I’m ready to get out of here too. Let’s just… uh, focus on this for now, okay?”

Jade sighed wistfully. “Right. Sorry. Let’s go.” They then motioned for Jamie to continue, which they did with no objections.

They were quickly met by a blast of both heat and light. Fortunately, their hat did have some effect in lessening both of those, but they were still caught off-guard nonetheless. Unfortunately, in spite of their hat, their headache didn’t seem appreciate the change.

The pain wasn’t unbearable by any means, but it was probably the worst they’ve felt since it started. Their head started throbbing immediately. They subconsciously groaned and rubbed their head in response, earning a glare from Jamie.

They were quickly regretting suggesting to investigate the path, but again… it was too late to back out now.

They shook their head and continued forward, but stopped once they noticed Jamie was looking up at something. They decided to look where Jamie was looking and spotted what appeared to be a pickaxe sticking out of the wall. Maybe they could use that to their advantage?

They then looked back down at Jamie, who was already staring at Jade with this look on their face: the kind of look that said “let’s check this out!”

Jade shook their head. “No, Jamie. We need to go back to Riley and Luna before we go up.”

That wasn’t really the entire reason, but they didn’t want to concern Jamie with their headache. Was it really lying if they “accidentally” forgot some details?

“And what if this ends up leading nowhere? We’d be wasting everyone’s time, not just ours, by checking it later instead of now.”

Jade sighed. “Fine, but come back down whether you find anything or not so we can report back to the others, okay?”

“You’re not coming up?”

“You think that pickaxe can hold the weight of both of us?” They figured that wouldn’t be enough, so they came up with another excuse to cover up their headache. “And, uh, I want to stay down here… just in case.” Great job, Jade!

Jamie’s gaze narrowed. “Uh… okay, sure.” Just as they began to climb, they muttered something under their breath. “Weirdo…”

Jade watched Jamie intently as they scaled up the wall. They seemed to be doing it so effortlessly, as if it was second nature to them. In a way, Jade envied them for having that much stamina to climb like that.

Their headache once again throbbed, making sure they didn’t forget about it. They instinctively winced at the pain but couldn’t brush it off like they did last time.

Jamie dropped down in front of them with concern painted on their face. It seemed like Jade’s luck had run out with dodging confrontation on this.

“Seriously, what’s wrong with you?”

“It’s noth—”

“Liar.”

Jade blinked in confusion. “…Huh?” What Jamie said hadn’t quite registered in their mind yet.

“You’re lying.”

Now it did. Ouch.

“I’m sorry,” Jade weakly muttered.

“I don’t want an apology, I want an explanation.” Jamie’s scowl eased up when they noticed Jade shrinking in on themselves. “Actually… just save it for when we’re back in the shade. I saw enough up there.”

Jamie marched back towards the caves while Jade dragged themselves along.

Both the pain and the guilt from being called a liar weighed heavily on them. Jamie wasn’t wrong for it, but that didn’t make it feel any better to hear. They’d spent a few years trying their best to be honest with Jamie, and a headache is when they start being dishonest? A headache?

They soon reached the cave and were greeted by Riley and Luna, who were waiting close-by. The two of them tried to approach Jamie and Jade to figure out what was going on, but Jamie put out a hand to stop them. They then pointed towards a wall and Jade slinked over to it and sat down without question.

Jamie glanced over at Luna and waved to them. “Hey, uh… Luna? Could you… maybe figure out what’s up with them? I dunno if I can.”

Luna quickly jumped into action and nearly collided into Jade as a result. They barely skidded to stop just in front of them and dropped to their knees. Much to Jade’s displeasure, Luna examined their face and other visible skin for any signs of… anything, really. At a minimum, they did take care not to be too invasive.

Luna frowned. “I… I d-don’t see anything…” Their voice started to crack. “I don’t k-know. I’m s-sorry.”

As much as they didn’t want to, Jade mustered the energy to speak. “Head hurts, that’s all…” They then tried to bring a hand up to give Luna a pat on the arm, but they slipped just out of reach.

Riley hummed. “Must be pretty bad if it’s got you like this… You sure it’s just a headache?”

“I think so?”

Riley rubbed the bridge of their nose. “Damn it… We’ve really gotta find some food or water or something.”

Luna lit up as if they suddenly got an idea. “Oh! W-What about…” They haphazardly tossed their backpack on the ground and dug out the spare coconut from the oasis. They cracked it open and shoved it into Jade’s hands. “T-There! It won’t h-help immediately, but… m-maybe you’ll feel better w-with some food and s-something to drink…?”

Jade stared at the coconut. “What about—”

“We’re fine. You need it more than us,” Jamie said, their voice laced with irritation.

“Okay…”

Jade then dug into the coconut without further hesitation. They quickly gulped down the water and scarfed down the meat. It had no immediate effect, but it’d at least put their hunger and thirst at bay for now.

Jamie flopped down beside Jade and leaned up against the same wall. “So, what’d you two find?”

Luna and Riley sat down in front of the siblings. They then stared at each other until Riley volunteered to speak up. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Yeah. Just…” Riley sighed. “More dead-ends…” Luna frowned.

“Well… Jade and I found some pickaxe in the wall out there. I climbed up there and only scouted out the immediate area before… well…” They pointed at Jade. “Anyways, it seems like it could be a quicker way up.”

“What about Jade?”

Jamie raised an eyebrow. “Sorry?”

“What do we do about Jade? They’re not really in any condition to climb.”

“You carried them before, didn’t you? Maybe carry them and I’ll carry their backpack again?”

Riley hummed. “We could do that.”

“I mean, if it’s really a headache… climbing in the sun isn’t gonna help them.” Luna hummed in agreement.

Jade turned their head to meet Jamie’s eyes. “Aren’t you… mad?”

“Meh. Holding grudges isn’t healthy. I’m just concerned about you now.”

Jade smiled softly. “I… thanks, Jamie.”

“Sure, whatever.” They re-focused on Riley. “So… how’s that sound, Riley?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Jamie rose and scooped up Jade’s backpack following Riley’s approval. “Cool. Let’s get going then. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner Jade can start recovering.”

Riley too stood up and then turned around and crouched in front of Jade.

“What are you…?”

“Offering you a piggyback ride.”

“Oh. Okay.”

With Luna’s assistance, Jade was able to stand up and approach Riley. After they draped their arms over Riley’s shoulders, Riley grabbed the back of their legs and lifted up.

To be able to properly lean up against Riley, they took off their hat and just tossed it to the ground. Luna picked it up though and placed it atop their own head. How cute.

Once Jade was secure, Riley started moving. When they made it outside, they instinctively buried their face completely in Riley’s coat to shield themselves from the sun. With the newfound darkness, their headache dulled. They decided to remain there to revel in the comfort.

“Ready to go up, Jade?”

“Huh…?” They pulled away just long enough to see Jamie beckoning to them from above. They didn’t remain there for long though since their head started hurting again. “Oh, sure.”

“Okay. Hold on tight.”

Jade did as they were told and tightened their grip on Riley. At the same time, fatigue crept in. They were probably tired after everything, but it felt wrong to sleep again so soon.

Their fatigue didn’t give them a choice though. The edges of their vision began to blur. They had no choice but to accept it as their eyes slowly closed and their senses slowly slipped away from them. There was just one thing that stuck in their mind as they slipped into unconsciousness though.

They couldn’t help but feel they’ve let Jamie down.

The next time Jade woke up, and actually stayed awake, they were laying down on the ground, though they weren’t able to identify where they were. They didn’t see any caves, or the sky, but instead an umbrella shielding them and their upper half from the sun. Riley’s coat was draped over the lower half of their body. They could also smell the same smoke they smelled earlier, but it was much stronger this time around.

What they did know is that they had to have been safe. There’s no way they’d be left unattended and covered up like this unless they were somewhere safe. Neither Jamie nor their friends would allow that to happen. Maybe they were at that campsite they were looking for earlier?

Their headache had once again been reduced to nothing but a dull ache. Though, at this point, they knew better than to think they were in the clear. If that episode from exploring with Jamie was any indication of their condition, they really needed to take it easy while they could. They couldn’t afford to keep being out of commission, else they’d just start being a liability.

Although they didn’t really want to get up, they needed to. If nothing else, they at least needed to figure out where they were and where everyone else was at. After that, they’d probably be able to relax again if they really wanted to.

Almost immediately after sitting up, they spotted the ever-so familiar campfire and statue present in every camp. If those two objects were there, that could only mean they were in yet another campsite.

A campsite meant they were safe. That was a relief.

Though… that meant Riley ended up carrying Jade all the way to the top. A twang of guilt tugged at Jade. Why didn’t Riley, or anyone else for that matter, bother to wake them up?

Something else they noticed was a bottle of…

Uh…

That can’t be a real drink, right?

Tryhard Sweat?

Upon further examination, the bottle did mention that it wasn’t real sweat but… really? Why was that the name? Who even left it there? Why’d nobody drink it?

They decided that such a menial matter wasn’t worth working themselves up over. They wanted another, and more deeper, look at the camp.

The fire was still raging on, though three of the four stakes had been picked clean of its food. The other stake still had a hot dog impaled on it, waiting for them to gobble it down. They didn’t feel hungry at the moment though, so they’d eat it some other time.

They also noticed a third backpack sitting with the others by the fire. They were uncertain of who claimed it, but it seemed to already be carrying a few items. They knew Jamie was in possession of their backpack, but that was supposed to only be a temporary arrangement, so who…?

Oh well. They’d figure it out later.

They spotted the others standing around the statue near the west side of camp. Riley and Luna were watching Jamie intently as they read the two pages in their hands. One of the pages seemed inconspicuous, but the other…

They couldn’t make out what the smaller black text was, but what they could make out was the jagged red text that read:

THEY LEFT ME BEHIND

What does that mean? Who was “they?” Hell, who was “me?” Why were they left behind? There were too many questions with not enough answers. That was not the conclusion they wanted to reach with such an ominous page.

Riley took that page and stared at it for a long while. The look on their face contorted from concern to horror as something seemingly clicked in their head.

Wait.

Jade suddenly recalled that Riley mentioned something about seeing some kind of page in their nightmare on the beach. They didn’t mention any text specifically, but they did mention Rule 0. If that page had that written on it… and if Scoutmaster Myres was the one to show it to them in their nightmare…

It was starting to make a little more sense now.

Those had to have been Scoutmaster Myres’ journal entries leading up to his demise. The nightmares and visions he planted in Jamie and Riley’s heads weren’t just to mess with them, they were warnings. Warnings so they all wouldn’t end up like him.

Huh. Maybe he’s not evil after all.

Riley returned the page to Jamie. Jamie shrugged and tucked the pages into their pocket. They then hovered their hands just inches over the statue’s.

Jade almost sprung up from their spot to stop Jamie but then remembered Jamie was already cursed, so what was the worst that could happen? A double curse?

Jamie glanced over at Riley, seemingly to seek approval for something. Once Riley nodded, their hands came into contact with the statue’s and its upper half crumbled almost immediately. Additionally, what appeared to be a white lantern materialized out of thin air and dropped into its hands. The three of them stared at it momentarily before Jamie took it then showed it off to Riley and Luna.

So that’s where Riley got that weird rope from…

Jade folded Riley’s coat and set it in the sand by the handle of the umbrella. They then stood up and paused, almost afraid to go back into the light. They wanted to check in with the others though, so after a deep breath, they took a step out from beneath the umbrella and…

They were fine? Their head didn’t start screaming in pain, nor was it really that bad outside. The air was significantly cooler and the sun didn’t hurt anymore, so maybe they’d gone high enough for it to stop being an issue. That didn’t mean their headache was gone though, it just meant that the conditions were better for them to recover.

Now that the umbrella wasn’t shielding them from the sun, they noticed that the sun was far past its peak and closing in on the horizon to the west. Even though it was close to being nighttime, they weren’t exactly ready to sleep. The others would be though, especially Riley, so they’d end up being alone for the night.

They weren’t too pleased with that realization but it wasn’t fair to expect anyone to mess up their sleep for them. One person disrupting their sleep pattern was already bad enough. Adding three more on would just make things worse. Instead, the best they could do was catch up with them while they still had the chance.

They slowly raised their weight off of the ground. After a moment of re-stabilizing and anticipating pain that never came, they took a step out from beneath the umbrella.

They fully expected the sun to still be brutal enough to knock them down, but instead…

They were fine? Their head didn’t even scream in pain or try to force them to pass out. It was just… okay. They still wouldn’t let their guard down though, because that could change in an instant, and they weren’t really ready to be treated like a baby by everyone again.

They slowly shuffled over towards the statue where everyone was still standing. They were all deep in conversation though, so none of them seemed to notice as Jade approached.

Well, none except Luna.

Luna slipped away while Jamie and Riley were chatting to meet Jade. Jade attempted to sidestep them, but instead got dragged along to the fire.

Jade really wanted to reconvene with Jamie, but Luna clearly had other plans in mind for them. Maybe they’d find an opportunity to talk to Jamie later. For now, they’d listen to what Luna had to say. They seemed quite anxious after all.

Once the two of them got comfortable around the fire, Luna spoke up. “I-I don’t w-wanna go back…”

“Huh?”

“He’s gonna be m-mad at me…” Tears immediately pricked at the corners of their eyes. Poor kid. “I c-can’t even d-die—”

“Enough.”

“B-But…”

Jade pulled Luna in for a hug before they could continue. Luna folded immediately and broke down in Jade’s arms. This kid had a lot of weight and pain on their shoulders. Jade could relate to an extent.

The commotion seemed to attract Jamie and Riley over to the fire. They ended up joining Jade in enveloping Luna in a big group hug.

They stayed like that for a while until Luna pushed back a bit. Everyone got the hint that they wanted some space, so they all backed off and once again sat down around the fire.

Riley sighed. “I think Edmond’s gonna have more important issues to worry about before we get back.”

“Huh?” all three kids inquired in unison.

“I told my friend Eve, you all probably know her as Evelyn, that if she hasn’t heard me in a few days to start raising…” They paused. “Hell… about me being missing. I always make sure if I’m going somewhere to call her and let her know I’m okay so… she’ll know something is up.”

“And how does that relate to Scoutmaster Edmond?” Jamie asked.

“Well… maybe it doesn’t directly relate to him but… I’m sure it’ll put pressure on him knowing the flight he paid to have crashed will have a lot of attention on it. I don’t think he accounted for us three joining Luna on that flight.”

Jade hummed. “That doesn’t make sense though. Why wouldn’t he cover up his tracks more?”

“Bing Bong Airlines isn’t frequented by anyone. You pretty much only fly with them if you want a cheap flight. Most people avoid them because of their reputation with flights like… ours.” Riley tapped their chin. “So… my guess is that he was confident that nobody would take that flight so maybe he didn’t care to cover up his tracks better? Or maybe he just didn’t care about being sneaky anyways and just wanted—” Luna whined and wrapped themselves around Riley’s left side. “Sorry Luna. But, uh, yeah.”

That meant, for better or worse, their return would be met with a lot of paparazzi. They didn’t really want all of that attention though. They just wanted to get back to somewhere safe so they could just… live again. They were getting tired of surviving.

“You think he’s gonna be there?”

“Of course. I think with all of the noise though he’ll have a harder time getting away with Luna. And, if he does…”

Jamie pounded a fist into an open hand. “We kick his ass!”

“Uh… maybe not at first but…” Riley threw their hands up in defeat. “Oh, what the hell. If he wants a fight, we’ll give him one.”

“Yessss!”

That seemed to ease Luna’s tensions a bit. For the first time since that conversation started they allowed themselves to giggle and smile. However, nobody expected the bombshell that they dropped next.

“I love you all very much,” Luna very warmly stated. Their smile echoed their tone.

The other three shared stares at each other as a very uncomfortable silence settled in. It seemed that nobody was sure how to respond. After all, they’ve only known each other for a few days, so that felt like such a strange thing to say.

Strange, but not unwelcome.

The minuscule possibility of ever getting a family out of this ragtag troop felt a bit less minuscule. Even then, it still felt a bit… odd… to respond in equal to Luna’s sudden outward affection. Even if it was what Jade wanted after all. Even if…

Jade couldn’t quite find the right words to say. They already knew that anything they did, or didn’t, say would just make things more awkward, so instead they responded in a way that Luna had become quite comfortable with.

Luna seemed to pick up on the silence and almost pulled away in shame, but Jade was quicker than them. They were wrapped in yet another tight hug, but rather than crying, they just giggled and returned it even tighter. Once again, Jamie and Riley joined in to create a ball of warmth and joy.

Jade wanted to shoot their shot. Maybe not so obvious, but enough so everyone would hopefully get the hint.

“So Jamie… you ready to be the middle child?”

“Heck no! You hear about how they get ignored and stuff like that?”

Riley hummed. “Well, you wouldn’t have to worry about that with me.”

Okay so… Riley got the hint and decided to one-up Jade. They couldn’t even be mad, they just had to respect the hustle. They really were on the same page after all.

“That… that sounds nice,” Jamie said in such a soft tone. Jade almost confused them for someone else.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, but just like last time, Luna whined a bit when they were ready to be let go.

Everyone complied immediately and settled back into their previous spots. This time though, the silence was very gentle and calming. The tone had been set in a way that everyone was much more comfortable with.

Maybe they could still be a family, after all.

Jade’s eyes landed on the third backpack again which reminded them that they wanted to ask about it. “So, uh… who’s got this third backpack?”

Jamie was briefly confused by the question. “Huh? Oh, well, we kinda haven’t figured that out yet?”

“Then I can take mine back and—”

“No.”

“What?”

“No,” Jamie stated more firmly.

“But—”

“I’m not letting you carry it until you feel better.”

Jade sighed. “Okay. Maybe I can carry it again later?”

“You gonna feel better later?”

“Ideally, yes.”

“Then sure, you can carry it later.”

“I suppose that means Riley will be taking the third one then.”

Riley nodded. “Works for me.”

“And what about what you found at the statue?”

“Oh! I got a lantern and as usual, some pages.” Jamie then picked up the lantern that was sitting beside them. “It doesn’t seem super useful but it also feels strangely comforting to hold. Maybe we should just keep it and see?”

Jade shrugged. “If we’ve got space to carry it, I don’t see why not.”

Jamie dropped the lantern to their side again and nudged Riley. Riley seemed confused for a moment but then fished out the pages from their coat and handed them to Jade.

This time there were only two pages. They already deducted what one of the pages were from earlier observations, but they still wanted to read the other one. It didn’t seem educational like the others, which only supported their theory that this slowly devolved into a journal into Scoutmaster Myres’ demise.

BONUS RULE ?

WHERE’D EVERYONE GO?

There was a depiction of a capybara with a berry on its head in the middle of the page. It didn’t really seem fitting given the topic of the page though…

I had such a wonderful nap, but when I woke up the rest of the troop was gone!

I’m sure they’re just around the corner. They wouldn’t be so foolish as to break Rule 0 just because I needed a little lie-down!

If only he knew. Such a tragic fate, to be abandoned by the people you entrusted your life in. His obsession with Rule 0 made so much sense now considering he died as a result of others disregarding that.

Riley sighed. “What do you make of this, Jade?”

“I see it as both a look into his eventual demise and as a warning. That page he showed you in your nightmare is this one with the red writing, yes?” Riley nodded. “With how obsessed he sounds with Rule 0, I think these pages give us a glance into why he ended up the way he did.” Jade then offered the pages to Riley.

Riley took the pages and stuffed them back in their pocket. “Makes sense to me. That’d explain why he’s been pretty passive since our first meeting too. We’ve been sticking really close to each other so he has no reason to bother us.”

“Well… let’s keep sticking together. I don’t want to start finding out now what he’d do if we—”

Riley suddenly yawned, earning an irritated glare from Jade. “I… wait no, I’m not bored of listening to you Jade! I’m just tired is all.”

Jade sighed. “That’s fair, considering you carried me all the way up here. And, uh, thanks for that, by the way.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Riley glanced over at Luna who yawned on cue. “I suppose this is a good point for us—well, me, Jamie and Luna at least—to get some rest. I’m assuming you’re not really tired, but you should try to get some more as well.”

“I’ll try.”

“Great. I’m hitting the hay then. Good night everyone.”

“Good night,” the kids all said in unison. However, Riley was already asleep by then.

Without skipping a beat, Luna and Jamie quickly laid down to sleep. Luna quickly snuggled into Riley’s side while Jamie set up their backpack as a pillow and laid back. They both fell asleep just as quickly as Riley did.

And then they were alone.

Their stomach growled so they decided to creep back over to their umbrella to grab the hot dog waiting for them. Somehow, it felt just as hot as it would’ve been had it been fresh off the fire. Even more surprising was that it actually tasted fresh too. Yet another mystery on this island that would go unanswered…

They hesitantly took one big gulp of the Tryhard Sw—hydration drink then screwed the cap back on before they could get any ideas. As much as they wanted to keep drinking, that would’ve been a terrible idea. Food was plentiful enough that none of them would die of starvation, but liquid? That was an entirely different story.

They weren’t really tired enough to go to sleep. They didn’t really want to just stand around though, so they ended up laying in the same spot they woke up in. They unfolded Riley’s coat and rather than just covering up their legs, they ended up curling up into a ball so the coat would cover their entire body.

What Luna said never left their mind. The fact that they’d only known each other for a few days and they started to love them like family left Jade feeling conflicted.

On one hand, it’s what they really wanted in the end. It’d be hypocritical of them to critique Luna for it. After all, they confided in both Jamie and Riley their feelings about it. On the other hand though…

They suddenly had a revelation: Perhaps things weren’t moving too fast given the circumstances.

They’d been placed in a very extraordinary and life-threatening situation. Bonds tended to deepen a lot quicker in those kind of scenarios. So… maybe things were going at the pace they were meant to be.

They liked that a lot more than the alternatives.

It was clear they were destined to be a family. Maybe it was a… weird and disjointed family, but still, a family.

A family that’d actually love them and care about them, not use them for some kind of benefit or ulterior motive. A family that’d actually want to make lifelong memories with them, not constantly neglect them or ignore their pleas to do anything. A family that would… give them hope again.

Hope for a better future.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Jade had actually fallen down a good string of dreams. Every other night had either been a nightmare they repressed or just… nothing.

These dreams were most certainly fueled by the tender moments they shared with their… friends? Family? They couldn’t call them family yet, could they?

Whatever they were, the moments they shared with them gave them hope and in turn, gave them something nice to manifest in their head while they were asleep.

They’d just been drifted away from a pleasant pool party with… the others and now they were all seated at a table. They all held cards, UNO cards to be exact, in their hands. In the middle of the table were two piles of cards haphazardly stacked up. Jade seemed to be losing miserably given they were holding fifteen cards, but at the very least, they all seemed to be having fun. That’s all that mattered.

Strangely, all details beyond the table were just simple shapes and colors. That was alright, all they really cared about was the moment unfolding in front of them.

They just wanted this to stop being a dream and start being their reality. They wanted to share these moments with everyone without having to be asleep for them, without having to wake up sad on a remote island knowing they weren’t real.

Suddenly, everything started violently shaking. Strangely, nobody else seemed to react to or be affected by this, but everything still came crashing down regardless. Everything seemed to fracture piece by piece, slowly ripping their dream away from them.

Why? Why me? Why can’t I just—

Just as they were yanked back into consciousness, the shaking stopped.

The haze that came from waking up alongside the distress they just felt made it difficult to parse anything they could’ve seen or heard. They opted to just mutter something incomprehensible and try to swat away whoever, or whatever, was trying to disturb them.

They assumed that did the trick since what followed was complete silence and stillness. They had a feeling they were still being watched though.

When they finally opened their eyes, their suspicion was confirmed when they spotted both Jamie and Luna looming over them. While neither of them showed signs of being guilty of shaking them, they deducted based on their personalities and mannerisms that Jamie was likely the culprit.

It didn’t really matter who did it though, it would’ve made no difference in their reaction. They were simply confused as to why they did it.

“What’s going on? Why’d you have to wake me up like that?” Jade growled.

Jamie stiffened up in response to Jade’s sudden hostility. “I, uh, there’s… something we gotta show you and it’s almost noon I think, so…”

Wait, it’s almost noon? “Oh. Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be mean, just…” Jade exhaled deeply. “Nevermind. You two had something to show me?”

Jamie’s face contorted into something… indescribable. “Oh, yeah. There’s a whole field of lava and a volcano ahead of us. It’s… kinda gnarly, honestly.”

Jade shot up immediately. “A what now—” Jamie was correct. There was, in fact, a volcano in front of them. They couldn’t see that aforementioned “field of lava” from where they were sitting, but from just the volcano alone, they knew they were about to be in for a bad time.

“But hey!” Jamie’s sudden chipper tone felt forced. “Look at the top!”

Their eyes drifted to the top, but nothing stood out. It was just the top of a volcano. What was so significant about it?

“The… top? What am I looking for, exactly?”

“Well… me and Riley found out about some ‘peak’ from one of the pages and…” Jamie seemed hesitant to continue.

“And…?”

“Nevermind. Forget it.”

“Okay…?”

“Anyways, looks like that’s where we gotta go.”

“Are you sure?”

“You got any better ideas?”

“Not exactly…” Jade turned around to confirm that the desert was completely shrouded in fog. “Not like we can go back now.”

Jamie ever so slightly winced at that reality. “Yeah. Guess we just gotta move forward then.” They then walked away without giving Jade an opportunity to respond. Luna decided not to follow and instead lingered.

Something that stuck in Jade’s mind was the fact that Jamie seemed quite hesitant about this. Were they already having second thoughts?

Regardless, if Jamie of all people was concerned, it had to be bad.

Jade and Luna stared at each other in an awkward silence for a moment. Luna seemed to be incredibly anxious about something, presumably what they saw up ahead, so Jade figured now would be a good time to try to talk to them about it.

“What do you make of this, Luna?”

“It’s scary…”

“Yeah, I’m not terribly excited about it myself, but we don’t really have a choice unfortunately.”

Luna frowned and crept a little closer. “It… s-sounds nice that we can l-leave soon, at least…” They didn’t seem so confident in their statement.

“I suppose that’s true. I imagine everyone’s getting tired of not having air conditioner or food or water or—”

“I don’t w-wanna go back.”

Jade was completely dumbfounded by that statement. “Huh?”

Luna started to tremble. “H-He’s gonna be m-mad—”

“No, hey… buddy, listen.” Jade invited Luna with open arms. Thankfully, Luna complied. “It’ll be okay. Riley already said they’d handle him. Jamie and I are on board to make sure you’re taken care of too.”

“Mmm. Okay…” Still, Luna didn’t seem too confident. Jade wished they could do more for them.

Well… there was one thing. They knew this would be a big commitment to make but…

“Promise.”

Luna pulled away just enough to hold out a pinky. “Pinky promise.”

Jade chuckled. “Okay. Pinky promise.” They then locked pinkies with Luna.

That seemed to do the trick, since Luna perked up a little after that. They were still quite anxious, but seemed a little more composed now. Jade would take whatever progress they could get, given the circumstances.

Luna pointed over towards Jamie and Riley, who were now peering over the edge. “M-Maybe you should check it out too…”

“How bad is it?”

Luna’s frown deepened in response. “It’s so s-scary that it even has J-Jamie scared… I…”

That confirmed their suspicions. “Noted. I’ll go take a look. It’s worth knowing what we’re dealing with.”

Jade finally let go of Luna so they could give them some space. They’d been in each other’s personal bubbles a lot lately, so they were probably getting tired of it. They then promptly removed the coat from their lap so they could stand up and head towards Jamie and Riley.

Luna seemed to be trailing behind them with gentle footsteps. For a split second, they figured Luna would be really good at being sneaky. However, given the kind of life they lived, they probably were sneaky, but not for good reasons. Poor kid.

Riley spotted the two of them immediately, but Jamie seemed to be engrossed by what they were seeing. It wasn’t until Jade tapped them on the shoulder that they responded and nearly jumped out of their skin in the process.

Jamie heaved and grasped at their chest. Had they really scared them that badly? “What the… why… hah… hi Jade… Luna.”

“Hi Jamie, hi Riley. Sorry for scaring you like that.”

“Don’t worry about it.” They then glared over at Riley. “Doesn’t help that someone didn’t say anything.”

Riley feigned guilt and threw their hands in the air. “Guilty!” They then giggled, much to Jamie’s dismay.

Jamie groaned. “Whatever. Anyways…” They pointed out in front of them. “This is what we’re dealing with.”

Jade diverted their gaze from Jamie to observe what they were pointing at.

The first thing they noticed was the lava gradually rising around pillars of rock. They noted that it did stagnate at a certain point and recede just as slow as it rose. They had no stopwatch on them so they couldn’t get an exact time, but they did wait until it rose again to determine that they had maybe a few minutes at a time to make their move.

The pillars themselves seemed to loosely form a path through the valley, though very few were actually connected. The ones that were connected were simply connected by a chain. While they were unable to avoid the possibility of jumping and falling into lava, they’d much rather cross with a chain rather than sheer luck.

They spotted a couple nests with massive eggs inside of them. Whether or not those eggs contained food was an entirely different story though. Given they were in nests though… probably not. Regardless, they may still be worth checking out if they end up coming across any.

The last obvious thing was a white suitcase at the very top of a massive pillar. They only spotted the latch and the front of it, but figured it’d be way too far out of their way to go for. However, that did open up the possibility of finding luggage here, which would definitely be a boon given the circumstances.

Jamie sighed. They didn’t say anything, but their eyes did the talking for them.

They were scared. This was… vastly different and significantly more threatening than anything they’d dealt with already. This wasn’t just climbing up a mountain anymore, this was a genuine threat to all of their lives. It was completely reasonable to be afraid of something like this.