Chapter 2: A Campsite Shrouded With Mystery
"Heyyy! Almost everybody is awake now. Can you two come back to camp so we can hold a meeting?" shouts a different voice behind us, his tone much lighter than Ace’s.
"We'll be right there!" promptly replies Ace, shifting his gaze to me. "You want to stay up here a bit longer or head back with me now?"
"I've been wondering… do you happen to know where we are?"
"I wish I did know. That way, I could come up here and take in this view every day. A sight like this is something special, wouldn't you say?"
Meeting his gaze, my expression remains unchanged, “Special? That's one way to describe it, I guess."
"Well, how would you describe it?"
I look back at the view, "I'm not sure."
How would I describe this?
Walking by me, Ace touches my shoulder, "Maybe one day, you'll have an answer, and I look forward to hearing it. Let's head back to camp. We don't want to hold up the meeting for too long."
Hearing the rustling of grass, I mutter while staring at the horizon, "That's a good idea."
Turning around and following Ace down the hill, my eyes magnetize directly to the black number ‘5’.
He's probably just trying to calm my nerves by bringing me here, maybe even calm his own. But he’s definitely asking himself similar questions. Where are we? Who are we? Why does he have the number five on the back of his shirt? Do I have a number on the back of mine? Why don't I know who I am? Why doesn't he know who he is? Does anybody know who they are?
As Ace reaches the bottom of the hill, he looks back toward me, waiting for me to catch up. From my elevated viewpoint, I recognize more people are out than before, and I count sixteen tents, four on each side of the campfire.
If we all have our own tent, there should be sixteen of us in total unless there are more tents somewhere I can't see, but with the given layout, that wouldn’t make any sense.
Arriving at Ace’s side, he recommends, "Let's go meet up with the guy who called us down.”
Nodding, I accompany him as he leads the way. We walk over to where a bunch of supply crates are resting, all gathered in one corner of the campsite. A young black man is sitting on top of one of the crates. I assume he's the one who shouted for us earlier when we were on the hill. As we got closer, I notice a pile of materials next to him.
It’s strange that we don't remember who we are, but I'm more concerned about why there are supplies already here for us. Ace said we were all given clothes, a backpack, and a canteen, too—and probably an equal amount. So these crates and the pile of materials suggest that they are intended for us as a group.
Slowing to a stop, I’m completely lost in my thoughts.
Where did all these supplies come from? Why exactly are we here? I feel like there is a lot more going on than what meets the eye.
I survey the campsite.
The thing that bothers me the most, though… are these numbers. Those two girls walking and talking off to the left have the numbers: ‘1’ and ‘10’. The guy sitting by the fire pit has the number ‘14’. It seems everybody has a number on the back of their shirt, and they're all different. I probably have a unique number as well.
I'm startled out of my thoughts when I feel a soft touch on my shoulder. I quickly look back to see a girl with blonde hair come into view.
"Sorry if I startled you," she says, walking to my front. "You weren't moving, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."
Letting out a sigh, I put a hand behind my head and do my best to avoid eye contact.
I probably shouldn't tell her about the numbers. I don't want anybody to panic or get more distressed than they might already be. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has noticed as well.
"No sweat, it's just this headache. Don't worry about me."
She happily smiles, “Oh, I was the same way just a little bit ago! Here, maybe this will help…!”
She begins to fumble through her backpack, looking for something. She's pretty. Her eyes stand out the most; they are this beautiful, sparkling, sky-blue. Her curly hair flows down her shoulders and back, and she’s wearing the same thing everybody else is wearing.
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Could everybody have already noticed the numbers, and nobody has acknowledged them? Am I actually the one in the dark and they're keeping the numbers a secret from me? Am I the one being tested?
“Ah! There it is!”
Retrieving an apple, she tosses it to me, "Here. Everyone got one when they first woke up, so it’s only fair you get one too. We only have so much food, though... so nothing else for now! Make sure that apple doesn't go to waste!"
Staring at the apple and not wanting to take any risks, I ask, "Food… how much do we have?"
She points toward the opposite corner of the campsite at a large basket, which must be at least two feet tall.
"You see that basket? It's full of bread and fruit. Obviously, it may look like a lot of food is in there considering the size of the basket, but we don't know how long we'll be here, so it's better to ration it for ourselves as long as we can.“
I look over toward the supply crates and notice Ace leaning against one with his arms folded, talking with the guy who called us over.
“Good thinking. Did you or anyone else find anything that stood out besides these supply crates and that food basket?”
The girl notices where I’m looking and begins to observe the two guys socializing. Ace makes a gesture as if he were picking something up, and immediately, I can tell he’s retelling the story of how he woke me up.
Maybe mentioning the numbers is a test in itself so everybody is avoiding it, waiting to see who says something first...
“To answer your question, no,” says the girl. “We haven't gone far from the campsite because of the guy sitting over there on top of the crate; he goes by the name Code. He insists we should all meet before leaving camp or doing anything else.”
I take a bite from my apple, satisfied with the sound of the crunch.
Code huh? If Ace was right in assuming that these names relate to us, Code must be intellectually astute, at least in some aspect.
After chewing for a bit, I say, “That was probably for the best.”
“I think Code was the first one that woke up here. He was the one who asked me to give out some food to everybody. I'm glad somebody took charge… I think it helped put everybody at ease.”
He's undoubtedly noticed the numbers as well then. He was smart enough to take action, too. Code will be somebody we can depend on.
The girl looks back at me and smiles, “Well, I'm going to get going now. Don't want anybody to steal any food. Nice meeting you!”
I quickly swallow and raise a hand to stop her, “Wait, what’s your name?”
Her face turns slightly red, and she hangs her head as if embarrassed about something, “Sorry, that was so rude. I completely forgot to introduce myself!”
Promptly thrusting her hand out, she says, “My name’s Sky, and you?”
Sky? I assume she was named after the color of her eyes then. She and I seem to have that in common, being named after physical qualities.
Shaking her hand, I’m internally surprised. Although I don’t show it, I’m slightly taken aback by her firm grip. It seems appearances can be deceiving because Sky has worked hard throughout her life to have a handshake like that.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you already guessed it, but my name is Scar. Nice to meet you, Sky.”
She giggles as our handshake ceases and then returns my words with a smile as bright as before, “I had a few guesses, but that name feels perfect for you. Not just because of your scar but because I feel it suits you for who you are. I love it. Anyway, I really should be going now. Don’t waste that apple!”
Waving to me as she walks off toward the food basket, she eventually looks away.
She has the number eleven; I haven't seen that number yet. It looks like my theory that everybody has their own number might really be the case, but I can't ask anyone else about this just yet.
Looking around, I spot an easy-to-climb tree nearby.
Let’s relax a bit before things get going.
Reaching up to the first large branch, I press my hand down to see if it can support a good amount of weight. It doesn't budge. Satisfied, I climb up more to make the transition and reposition myself comfortably. Resting my back against the tree trunk, I lie my legs along the thick branch and take another bite of my apple.
Camp looks a lot smaller from up here…
Someone suddenly pokes their head out in front of me, "So whatcha doing up here?"
Not having any reaction, I realize it is the same guy who woke me up earlier.
“Damn, I guess I’ll have to get more creative with you,” chuckles Ace.
As he climbs up next to me, I readjust my seating arrangement, letting my legs fall off the side of the branch as Ace sits beside me.
"Guess this is our new home for a while."
I take another bite from my apple, "Yeah, it is."
Chewing until I swallow, I ask, "Is the meeting about to start?"
“I think so, well… there's one problem. We can't seem to get this one girl out of her tent. She insisted we leave her alone and even threatened us.”
"Guess you had it coming. I was about to punch you across the face myself if you…"
"Okay, okay,” says Ace, cutting me off as he playfully punches my shoulder with a grin. “But I can't wait to see you try to get everybody up and going one day. Plus, it wasn't my idea. Code asked me to do it. Oh, you two haven’t met yet. He’s-"
“Sky filled me in. And fair enough, I'll give you that. But back to the meeting, we might have to start without her at this rate.”
“Yeah…”
Our conversation goes silent for a few seconds, birds chirping in the background. Then, Ace abruptly shifts his focus toward me and asks in a much more mature and serious tone that I haven't heard from him yet.
“Do you happen to remember anything about yourself? Or maybe, possibly know why we're here?”
"No... I know nothing at all,” I reply with a mixture of uneasiness and curiosity resonating in my voice.
And with that answer, a switch flips in my brain. I am already put off by all the events up to this point. Still, at this moment, I genuinely feel terrified and invigorated about this camp and its mysteries.