Chapter Text
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.