Chapter Eighteen - Authority

“Where the hell have you been, dudes!?” Briar half shouted half screamed. He appeared extremely panicked like he had seen a ghost. His tanned features had gone deathly pale.

Maybe he has seen a ghost?

How would you kill a ghost? Fire? Jaricko hoped it was that simple. If, ghosts and all the spectral beings of horror stories ended up being true in this System ruled world.

“In the forest,” Jack stepped in front of Timothy and Jaricko, forcing Brair to look upwards to make eye contact with the giant. The upperclassman seemed to fumble a bit before regaining his bearings. Jack’s stature was a threat all in itself, and Jaricko was once again glad he was on his side.

“Well… you need to tell me where you go. I’m the group leader and-”

“No,” Jack stated bluntly. Briar seemed dumbfounded at his words. The originally laid-back man had seemed like a nervous wreck for the past day, and none of the trio was particularly inclined toward him.

“What do you mean, no?” Briar forced out through gritted teeth. Jaricko idly wondered if the whole casual demeanor Briar had been showcasing was a facade. It wasn’t that different from what Jaricko was doing, except the upperclassman was doing a much worse job at it.

“What don’t you understand? You told us we needed to tell you our whereabouts and I refused. Simple.” Jack uttered with finality. His chiseled features were pressed into hard lines, and his lips were pursued together like he had eaten something sour.

“You can’t just all go off into the woods by yourselves!” Briar rebutted with a scowl. He ran a hand through his hair and pointed a calloused finger at them. “You missed dinner and the chore list being posted. Everyone else was here to choose what they wanted. Since you three weren’t, we’re all going to be chopping wood all day!”

Jaricko now understood why Briar was acting this way. It seemed like he had been chewed out by Clair or someone else for not knowing where the rest of his group was. If this had been a normal summer camp, Briar’s reaction would have made sense.

Although, I guess it also makes sense to be worried if three students suddenly go missing during the apocalypse.

Jaricko watched as Briar closed his eyes and attempted to calm his breathing. His face was flushed and sweat dotted his brow. A moment later the counselor smooth back his hair and gave a tentative smile.

“You’re all adults, I understand that. While you don’t seem to be afraid of what’s in the forest, I’d rather not have to talk to your parents about your behavior when we get back.” Briar explained with an easygoing grin.

Jaricko raised an eyebrow in bafflement.

“So you have a way out of the forest?” Jaricko inquired absentmindedly. Briar seemed off guard by the question and flinched slightly.

“Well, no, but, when we eventually get back-”

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but I don’t think you're in a position to be telling us what to do. If you had a way out of this forest, then I’d listen to you, but since you don’t…” Jaricko idled off, the meaning of his words blatantly clear.

“Are you claiming you do?” Briar retorted and frowned. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stepped back a foot.

“I’m doing more than just sitting around. Nothing’s going to happen if we just wait here,” Jaricko seethed in a rare moment of visible frustration. He didn’t like Briar. The man’s entire personality rubbed him the wrong way. The upperclassman’s sudden demand of them right as they stepped out of the forest where they had been fighting for their lives crossed a line with Jaricko.

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“I’m not going to sit here and wait, dithering around hoping for a rescue. I have people that need me and I won’t waste a second listening to your blathering about what we should and shouldn’t do.” Jaricko narrowed his eyes and spoke his mind. The teenager hated authority figures that had their position without earning his respect.

In defense of Briar, the counselor hadn’t really had a chance to do anything. Jaircko knew that he had stayed up all night on the watch and had likely only gotten a few hours of sleep just recently.

“And you think wandering around the woods with a…bottle of hairspray, and a fire poker will save us all?” Briar looked at Timothy in confusion. The nerdy boy flinched away but suddenly scowled back, unwilling to buckle under the judgment.

“Have you even unlocked your status sheet yet?” Timothy remarked with scorn. Jaricko noted how quickly the divide between those with the System unlocked had formed. Timothy hadn’t seemed like the type to point that out, but here he was.

“Beck mentioned something about that. Are you claiming that there is some new reality-altering thing that has imposed videogame rules on us,” Briar smirked and gave a dismissive chuckle. Jaricko rolled his eyes in response.

“Are you saying that giant spiders crawling out of the words, words appearing in your vision, and the giant eyeball showing up in the sky haven’t forced you to broaden your horizons!” Jaricko fell into a fit of laughter. Briar’s attempt at not seeing the obvious had simply been too much.

Briar’s face reddened with anger at Jaricko’s comment. “You think this is funny?” he spat out. “Am I the butt of some kind of a joke between you three? Is Beck in on this too?”

Jaricko’s laughter died down as he met Briar’s intense gaze. The counselor was mistaken. They were in a dire situation and Jaricko shouldn’t have been goading the man on. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself.

“I’m sorry, Briar,” Jaricko said half-heartedly. “There’s no joke. We shouldn’t be arguing like this, but you need to come to terms with the new reality like we have. Talk to Beck about the status sheet if you really want to learn more.”

Jaricko looked at Jack and Timothy who stood with him. They had backed him up even when he went on his rant against Briar. They were starting to become actual friends.

Briar looked at him skeptically, but after a moment nodded. “Alright,” he said, his tone slightly more conciliatory. “But we still need to know where you’re going and when you’ll be back. Clair will freak out if someone goes missing again without warning.”

Briar mumbled something to himself that Jaricko couldn’t make out.

“We’ll tell you when we leave, but we won’t be doing the chores. There are more important things we can do instead of chopping firewood,” Jaricko stated while making direct eye contact with Briar.

Jaricko exchanged a look with Timothy and Jack. They all knew what they had to do. They had to find a way out of the forest and back to civilization. They couldn’t wait around for a rescue that might never come.

“We’ll tell you where we’re going,” Jaricko said firmly. “But we can’t give you a time frame. We don’t know how long it will take.”

Briar sighed in frustration but seemed to accept their answer. “Just be careful,” he said, his tone heavy with concern. “And if you find anything that could help us, please bring it back.”

Jaricko nodded and the trio started to make their way back to cabin number four. As they walked away, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. He glanced back over his shoulder but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Still, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he quickened his pace.

He took a look up at the starry sky, gazing at the slowly blinking second moon. It had been closely following the original moon, likely orbiting around the Earth.

Jaricko wondered if he had been too hard on Briar. Perhaps the stress of the situation was finally settling in. He did know the timing couldn't have been worse to come in contact with the counselor. Both parties had been aggravated from the get-go and were looking for someone to blame.

The teenager pushed it out of his mind. Dwelling on it would serve no purpose. He had better things to do than worry about a single person’s thoughts. Jaricko fingered the small bag he had slung across his shoulder. He grabbed a small granola bar and took a tentative bite.

Timothy and Jack looked hungry so he dug out another two bars and handed them over.

“Bummer about dinner, but I guess it's on us for missing it,” Timothy lamented as he nibbled on the snack.

“It is retaliation for our absence,” Jack declare with a frown. The man’s stomach rumbled constantly. The small bar in his hand looked like a toy.

“Should we sneak into the kitchen?” Jaricko suggested with a small bit of humor. Jack and Timothy actually seemed to be considering it.

“Not worth it. We’re already going to get some ire from others when we don’t do our chores. Being labeled as a food stealer would be a social death sentence,” Timothy eventually decided. The trio had veered off from the cabin to take up a spot near one of the cold and empty fires.

“We are at a crossroads,” Jack uttered in his deep voice. Timothy and Jaricko glanced at him with confusion. The large man didn’t make them stew in suspense.

“Our actions have parted us from the rest. We have put ourselves on the path of the defenders. Our willingness to leave the camp and brave the dangers outside forces the others to consider us different. We must either show them our worth or accept to live as outcasts,” Jack explained without rushing. The man stared at the empty fire, his eyes boring into the ashes.

“You want us to starve then?” Jaricko asked with a crooked grin. He wasn’t quite sure what Jack was suggesting. The teenager didn’t want to be a defender, he only wanted to get back to his family.

Jack shook his head. “No, but we must show them that our roles are different from theirs. The soldier does not cook, nor does the butcher farm.” The sturdy young man gestured around them.

“The roles in the camp will soon be realized. Those that embrace this System will join us to explore. Those that cannot will be forced to stay here and perform other jobs. It is simple,” Jack explained with a heavy sigh. He seemed slightly troubled by the declaration, as if settling himself into his self imposed role.

“I usually think you’re right, big man, but I’m not so sure about this. Clair obviously has a fae that has created a safe zone around the camp. Monsters can’t enter. No need for defenders or soldiers when everyone is safe in here,” Jaricko countered with his own line of logic. Jack cracked his knuckles out of habit before replying.

“The monsters will grow stronger. I doubt this safe zone will last forever.”