Chapter Text
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.