by Max Jager
"I'm surprised." Elliott said as he sat up. "His girlfriend was here but he chose to stay with us. He left her in the extra tent alone."
"Chloe joined her." Brooke pointed out. She sat up as well, but there wasn't much room in this tent so they couldn't really stand in here. "But after what she said yesterday, I'm not surprised. He was in danger and she wouldn't come to help. She wouldn't even come to visit him in the hospital. I woulda dropped her too."
"Carley did say she wouldn't survive in this world, this is probably what she was talking about. Jess may have honestly believed she couldn't survive another walk through the forest. And she may have been right." Elliott pointed out. "We are strangers to her, she probably doesn't trust us to protect her."
"If she's unable to survive and protect herself then she needs to go back to the village." Brooke stated coldly. "If someone you care about is in danger you do everything you can to get to them. That goes double if you're in a relationship. I can't stand people who would sit back and do nothing. It's selfish, I hate selfish people."
Elliott shook his head "Don't be so quick to judge, Carley picked her to be her girlfriend, so there must be something more to Jess then we see."
"Unless she's taking advantage of Carley. Carley is so soft, it wouldn't be hard. I doubt Carley would leave her if she did." Brooke pointed out.
As she spoke Carley groaned quietly and slowly started to sit up. For a moment he froze and was startled when he saw other people near him, but then he remembered where he was and relaxed. "Oh… Good morning."
"How are you feeling?" Elliott questioned.
"I'm feeling alright." Carley replied. "Thank you."
Brooke hesitated a little, it was clear a question was burning in her mind and she had to ask. But she wasn't sure if she should. "Carley, personal question but it's important, I need to know. Where did the scars on your back come from?"
Carley's eyes widened a little and he immediately looked uncomfortable. "From Damion, of course."
"No Carley, the other scars. There was a lot of them that weren't from Damion." Brooke pointed out.
Carley looked more uncomfortable "U-Um, no they were all Damion." He shook his head.
"Carley." Elliott stepped in to assist. "We know for sure a lot of them were not from Damion."
Carley lowered his head. "They are from the real world."
"We won't press for details." Brooke started "But I have to know, who did it?"
"I-I'd rather not discuss that." Carley replied.
"Was it Jess?" Brooke stopped skirting the issue and got straight to the point.
"No… Of course not." Carley quietly murmured.
"Jess treats you well, right?" Brooke questioned.
"I am confused." Carley looked around at the two of them. "Why so many questions about my relationship?"
"Honestly, we met Jess before coming after you yesterday. She wandered into the camp looking for you." Brooke started to explain. "And I'm not going to go into details, but she raised a few red flags so to speak."
"Yeah, and considering your general fear of physical contact, it is a little strange that you have a girlfriend. Physical contact is pretty much a major part of a relationship." Elliott added.
Brooke nodded. "And then you didn't go with her when we returned. Which we are really happy about, mind you, but it all just paints the picture of an abusive relationship. And we know if you were in a relationship like that, you wouldn't do anything about it. That's just who you are, you'd rather make them happy then take care of yourself." She hesitated a little. "And I'm sorry for being so blunt and pushy, I know we shouldn't. It's just, you don't tell us anything. If we don't ask and push for an answer, we'll never know."
"O-Oh, I'm sorry I worried everyone." Carley lowered his head a little. "But it's okay, she's a good person. It doesn't always come across that way, and she's not good at showing it sometimes, but she's a good person. She has good intentions. She has never harmed me, and I do not believe she ever would."
Brooke let out a small sigh of relief, deciding to give Jess a second chance. "Alright, that's all we needed to know. Thank you."
Carley nodded. "I… Um, I learned my lesson with Damion." He lowered his head. "I'm going to try to talk more and hide less."
"That would be appreciated." Elliott replied and Brooke nodded.
The three of them left the tent and wandered about the camp a little. Fate was by the campfire cooking bacon and eggs.
"Where'd you find that?" Brooke asked as she approached Fate.
"In the village. George, Matthew, and I all stocked up on food for the group while we were there. I also grabbed some plates." Fate replied. She handed a plate to each of them, although Carley hesitated and didn't take his.
"There's enough for everyone, right?" Carley questioned.
"Of course." Fate nodded and Carley took the plate, then sat down beside Brooke and Elliott.
Fate would continue handing the plates out to everyone as they woke up. When Inami walked out of her tent and spotted Carley sitting on the ground by the fire she quickly ran over and tackled him to the ground.
Carley let out a panicked yelp, and at first he started to freak out but when he noticed it was just Inami he relaxed slightly.
"You okay! I worried!" Inami cheered.
Carley laughed a little and gently pat her head. "I'm okay. I'm surrounded by friends who are looking out for me. As long as they are by my side I'll always be okay."
"You need to remember that, and stick to it Carley." Sophia stated as she stepped out of the tent and joined everyone by the fire. "That wasn't the first time you nearly got yourself killed. You really need to take a step back and walk alongside us, not in front of us. We need to tackle things together, not alone."
"I'm sorry, I was just… I thought I could handle it, I was sure that even if I lost I'd take him with me. Honestly I thought that's how it would've ended, with both of us dead. But he… He wasn't human, my knife couldn't even scratch him. He claimed it was his signet skill that gave him that power." Carley shook his head. "But he was a monster, I can tell, he was a monster long before entering this game." Carley lowered his head. "I'm sorry."
"So what's the plan from now on?" George asked as he left his tent.
"Jackson and Sarah are leaving to go off on their own. So that leaves just us to tackle the dungeon, but we can handle it." Fate replied. "We should head straight there and back, so we don't run out of food."
"I need to escort Jess back to the village." Carley spoke up. "But I promise, I'll be safe and will catch up with everyone after."
"Carley, you're staying with me." Jess spoke up. "I finally found you, I'm not going to lose you again." She stood behind where Carley was sitting and placed a hand on his head, gently ruffling his hair for a moment to let him know she was there. Carley didn't flinch or freeze like he usually did when people touched him. He recognized her touch and looked a little relaxed.
Carley looked up at her and she smiled back. "These are my new friends." Carley started, then he introduced everyone. "I do not want to stay in the village, I'm going to go traveling, I'm going to stick with my friends. As much as I'd like you to come, you can't. You need to stay in the village where it's safe. We have that messenger thing we can use to keep in touch, and I'll visit as much as I can." He explained.
Jess shook her head. "You are not fit for a world like this Carley, neither of us are. People like us, we will die out here... You almost did! I need you… Don't do that to me."
"I thought you were dead, and depression got the better of me. I'm okay now. I'm not going to die." Carley countered.
"We keep each other alive, remember? We need each other, don't do this to me. Just stay in the village with me." Jess was starting to cry.
When Carley noticed her starting to cry he tensed a little, then stood up with a lowered head. As he stood, Jess moved towards him and they hugged until Jess was calm. "I made up my mind a couple days ago, that if we both somehow surv
ived that this is how it would need to be. I can't sit back and do nothing, I have to do something to try and find a way out of this game. And I can't do that in town. I have to be out here, I have to do something. And you need to stay in the village."
Jess looked like she was starting to get upset again as Carley spoke. "If it's that important to you, then I'll stay out here with you." She murmured in a defeated tone.
"No way, you can't survive out here." Carley shook his head. "You're not fit for this kind of world, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. You're controlled too much by fear."
"Neither are you." Jess interjected. "You're controlled by fear, just as much as I am. But you're also liable to just throw your life away for someone else without second thought, and you're still…" She hesitated as she searched for the right word. "I still don't trust you not to take your own life, or to not do something that you know would result in your death. You need to be in the village just as much as I do. If you're going to stay out here then I am too, someone has to make sure you take care of yourself."
"I can resist the fear when I need to, you can not, and I've gotten better. What happened before was just because I thought you were gone. Plus, I've survived worse, I'll be fine." Carley quietly argued.
"Just because you survived worse doesn't mean you will survive it again. You always go off on me about probabilities when I'm worrying about something, so take your own advice. No matter how many times you've survived, it doesn't mean you'll survive again. It just means the probability is lower that you'll survive another one." Jess stood up a little taller, and started to speak in a more assertive tone. "I'm staying with you. Nothing you can do about that." She paused for a moment. "You know I am right." She added.
Carley sighed and nodded. "I know, but I don't want you out here. I'm aware it's a selfish request, but still. You can stay if it's important to you, but please understand that I really think it's a bad idea." He relented before sitting back down in his spot, on the grass by the fire between Elliott and Brooke.
Jess shook her head. "I have to stay with you, I can't be apart from you again." She stated then took some of the food from Fate and sat down between Carley and Brooke, forcing Brooke to move aside to make space.
The others were just awkwardly standing around, unsure of what to say or do.
Everyone else began to wake up and eat their meals. Once everyone was awake and fed, they walked out of the forest. When they stepped into the big open field they had been in before, Sarah and Jackson moved in front to address the rest of the group.
"This is where we say our goodbyes." Sarah spoke up. "Jackson has something important he needs my help with, so I'm going with him. We are not going to the dungeon."
"Thank you. And good luck." Carley said to them both, but mostly to Jackson.
Jackson nodded. "You too."
"You guys are welcome to rejoin us any time you like. You know where we are going, and you can contact us if needed." Elliott offered, and everyone else nodded in agreement. "And thanks for all the help."
"I will keep that in mind, thank you." Jackson replied.
After a brief goodbye to everyone in the group the two of them left, heading south west.
"So, we no longer have our bodyguard." Elliott turned to the others. "Anyone getting second thoughts about going? If so, now is the time to say it."
"We knew Jackson was leaving before we set out." Fate pointed out and shrugged.
"Yep." George answered. "He was just here to protect those who couldn't fight, and they are all dead now. Just goes to show that you can't save any of those people. If you're not cut out for this world from the start you either adapt, or you die."
"That's a horrible thing to say." Fate interjected. "If they could have made it to the village they would have been fine."
"For how long?" George pointed out. "You'd only be delaying the inevitable by hiding in a corner."
Fate lowered her head a little. "I can understand that, but it's still better to have a safe place and have a chance to live longer, than to have nothing and have no chance. Some people will never be able to adapt."
George nodded. "True." He agreed. "It's just sad that they won't survive either way."
Fate nodded. "That much I can agree to."
"Guys?" Elliott interrupted. "What's that buzzing sound?"
Inami could hear the noise and looked scared, her head lowered and she started to hunch over. Snipes quickly ran over to her to comfort her and calm her down. George, Matthew, and Fate all took a defensive stance around Snipes and Inami.
Elliott, Brooke, Chloe, and Sophia were a little less coordinated, but they stood close together ready to work as a team. Carley started moving over to join Brooke and the others, but he spotted Jess slowly backing up and realized that she looked scared, so he moved over to stand beside her instead. Which separated the two of them from the rest of the group.
"Carley! Get over here!" Elliott called out. "You're too far away from everyone."
"Jess, we need to stick close to the others." Carley insisted, but she shook her head and kept backing away from the buzzing sound. Carley wasn't going to leave her alone, so he stuck by her side and readied his bow.
The group watched a swarm of giant wasps come flying out from behind one of the hills ahead of them. Each wasp was around five feet long, almost as big as an adult human, with a 3' long stinger. The swarm split into smaller groups that targeted the three human groups.
As the swarm approached, Carley and Sophia both started firing arrows at them. Sophia was able to fire four shots at the swarm, and struck three of them out of the sky. Carley fired three shots, and with no experience using a bow his first two arrows missed, only but hit with the last one.
The wasp swarm reached Fate, George, and Matthew first. As the first wasp flew in it attempted to stab its stinger into George. George quickly sidestepped the attack then slammed his massive hammer down into the wasp's body as it flew past. He struck it with such force that he crushed the massive wasp's body, killing it instantly. Before he could move a second wasp came flying in to stab him, but George grabbed the stinger and slammed the wasp into the ground and Matthew rushed over to bash his staff into the wasp's head.
A moment after, another wasp came at Matthew and he quickly used his staff to strike the stinger and push it aside. As the wasp flew past, missing Matthew, he grabbed onto its wing and threw it to the ground. He was about to strike it when George stepped in and slammed his hammer down into its head.
He glanced up at George, only to see the blue-haired man flash him a grin. "That's two for me, one for you." George taunted.
"This isn't a game." Matthew said flatly.
"These things are easy! We can make it a competition." George countered, then he jumped backwards just in time to evade being stabbed by another wasp. However, as he jumped back, he saw more of the group and realized that none of the others were doing well. George and Matthew were both very big and strong guys, even if Matthew was pretty out of shape. Now that Jackson and Charles were gone, the two of them towered over everyone else. To them, the wasps were big but not as big nor as strong as they were. To everyone else, the wasps were almost the same size as they were, and the wasps were far stronger than the rest of the group. George shrugged. "Loser buys the next round of drinks?"
"That's not all I care about you know." Matthew stated as he sidestepped another wasp, then kicked it to the ground and quickly slammed his staff down into its head. "And now we are tied."
George grinned even wider when Matthew took his challenge, then turned his focus back to the fight.
Not far from them, a wasp flew straight down at Fate in an attempt to tackle her. Fate quickly jumped backwards at the last second, causing the wasp to miss and land on the ground. As soon as her feet touched the grass she lunged forward and stabbed her rapier into the wasp's eye, killing it. She rolled out of the way just in time to evade another attack from a second wasp and thrust her rapier into its side as it
flew past, but the wasp's exoskeleton was too strong, she couldn't pierce it. The wasp turned around and flew at her again, aiming to stab her with its stinger. She sidestepped the attack and sliced its wing with her rapier. The wasp hit the ground and was unable to fly, but before Fate could get over to it, George stepped in and crushed it with his hammer.
Snipes stood beside Inami with his sword at the ready, although he didn't need to use it since George, Matthew, and Fate were doing a pretty good job at keeping the wasps away from the kids. "Don't worry Inami, if they get through to us I'll handle them." He reassuringly said, trying to help Inami relax.
Over in the other group, Elliott was having the same problem as Fate. He kept striking at the wasps with his sword, but he couldn't pierce the exoskeleton. He failed to evade one of the wasps and was tackled to the ground, but before the wasp could do anything, Brooke shoved it off of him and slammed her mace down into its head, breaking off a part of its exoskeleton.