Chapter 21: The Divot

Scar’s POV

Thunk!

Wood chips fly as I make the final chop, causing the small tree to tip and tumble over slowly.

"Finally."

Fatigued, I wipe my forehead and stare at the fallen tree. With my right arm outstretched to my side, the circular bottom of the ax handle rests under my palm as the head of the ax creases into the ground. Looking toward the firepit at Code, I see him writing something down in the notebook.

Making my way over, he notices me and stops writing.

"I'll put that tree with the others in a few. I need a break,” I tell him.

Code places the pen between the pages and shuts the notebook, "Don’t blame you."

I look back at the tree I just cut down.

He’s right. Between the six of us here, we were able to keep the fire going as well as chop down a ton of trees and branches, giving us extra wood we could use for a variety of tasks, perhaps for some shelter or just as extra firewood, that was the idea at least. We also sorted through all the food to accurately ration it going forward.

A cheerful voice shouts, "Hey!! We're back!!"

That’s Sky's voice… right?

Coming into view from behind some stocky trees and bushes, Sky and Ember lead from the front as all five of their group safely return to camp.

Walking over to meet them with Code, he says, "I'm glad you're all safe. Welcome back."

With a sword resting against his shoulder, Falcon asks, "How have things gone here?"

Code glances behind him toward the rest of camp, "Pretty well, I think we've made a lot of progress."

I ask, "What about you all? How did things go out there today?"

Sky nods and smiles enthusiastically, "Yeah, it was fun! We found a ton of cool stuff! We only went out so far… but there's still a lot, even close by!"

"That's good news. I'm looking forward to hearing more."

Ember surveys the campsite, uninterested in our awkward conversation, "Now, I don't mean to ruin the mood, but where is Ace? It’s getting late. Wasn’t he who warned us to be back around this time?"

Code sighs, "He hasn't come back yet, but as you said, they should be back soon."

Ember doesn't respond as I look at Code, "We should get everything they found written down now while it’s all still fresh in their minds."

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"That's a good idea."

Code walks back toward the campfire and gestures to the group, "I'm sure you're all tired. Let's relax by the fire as you inform me about everything we need to know.”

The five exchange glances in agreement before following Code. Meanwhile, I return to my tree duties, real fun stuff. Too lazy to continue chopping the rest of the branches off this one, I hoist one end of the tree trunk onto my right shoulder, dragging it over to the pile where all the other severed tree trunks and branches have been gathered throughout the day. Dropping it onto the pile, I brush some bark off my shoulder as I gaze at the sky.

The sun is about to set, and it is getting pretty late… I wonder where Ace's squad is. I remember him saying that the sunset is their final sign, so what is taking them so long?

Looking toward the campfire, Code is nodding and writing something down in the notebook as Sky moves her hands around while she speaks. I then notice Ember squinting in one direction. A moment later, my ears pick up on the rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot two figures suddenly emerging from the forest.

"This can't be good…"

Jogging toward them as people begin to notice, I recognize it’s Delta and Blue, and more importantly, Blue is limping. At first glance, it must be Blue’s ankle or some injury to his leg.

Maybe he tripped? Is his injury the reason they are separated from the other two? No, that’s not right. If that were the case, it begs the question of why they are rushing back to camp at such a frantic pace, even though Blue is hurt…

After getting close enough to camp, they both collapse, exhausted.

I shout as I approach them, "Code, go get some water for them!"

Code and the group of five gazes from afar, all a little staggered. Shaking his head, Code snaps back to reality.

"R– right!"

I turn back to Delta and Blue, "What happened out there? Where's the other two?"

Delta wipes away some of the blood from Blue’s mouth as he winces from discomfort. I honestly couldn’t tell if he was disgusted by Delta helping him or from the pain stemming from his injury. Perhaps both.

"Grace… is gone. And as for Ace, he not only injured Blue,” responds Delta, matching my gaze, her eyes bearing trauma. "But he’s the one responsible for killing Grace."

***

Ace repeats that line over and over in his head as he plods along the bank of a stream. His tattoos, hair, and eyes are still glowing, lighting up the eerie darkness settling in as the sun slowly sets out of view. Putting one foot in front of the other, Ace finds himself carrying a corpse again, frowning every step of the way.

"Two days... two deaths…"

His body begins to shudder as his voice cracks, dreading the future.

"We– we are trapped in a living hell… we are just going to run around and around, waiting to be picked off one by one. It's just like that riddle said, only one can remain..."

"Of course… of course you had to die!” stammers Ace, his head jittering back and forth. "It's all my fault. I could've just had us stay as a group… I could've been quicker with the rescue…! I let two people die…!"

With nothing else to say and on the last of his strength, he continues walking.

After taking a couple more steps, Ace collapses from pent-up exhaustion, losing his grip on Grace on the way down. Ace falls face-first into a divot, landing directly on top of the symbol he found earlier, which he was never able to touch. Grace's body is reflected off the symbol, and she lands a few feet outside the divot, face down in the stream.

The symbol begins glowing as Ace's tattoos unravel and fade away. His flaming hair returns to normal, losing its' blaze as the iris aura previously enveloping his body disappears. His torso completely recovers, with a small line remaining as a scar. His burnt arm then heals and returns to normal, with a much larger scar compared to the torso left behind. Then, the rest of his minor injuries are completely healed, and not even a scratch is left behind.

A tiny tattoo then embeds itself into the scar on his right arm, practically hidden in plain view. The tattoo resembles a target with a flaming arrow hitting its bullseye. The divot begins to level out as the large symbol disappears.

With both individuals now motionless, Ace remains passed out on the bank just a few feet away from Grace, who lies deceased, face down in the stream.