Chapter Text
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.