Chapter 22: It Begins Now

"Make sure you tie it tight enough,” says Code.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Back off already,” voices Ember.

Ace’s eyes barely creep open, unaware he’s being bound to a tree.

"Are we sure this is the right thing to do?” asks Sky.

"I don't know,” I reply. “But we can't ignore something like this.”

"Yeah, I guess…"

As Ace’s vision clears, the voices he’s hearing lose their distortion. The four hazy figures come into focus as Sky and Ember crouch close to him while Code and I stand behind them. Trying to stretch his arms, Ace realizes he’s unable to; another realization follows that he’s been tied up against a tree, his arms practically glued to his.

Scowling as he struggles to break free, Ace asks, "What the hell…. why am I tied up like this?"

He looks around at the four faces in front of him. Sky is frowning as if she is sorry for him. Code is avoiding eye contact, probably feeling guilty for doing this. Ember's lips are pursued in disapproval, and I show no reaction.

Confused, Ace asks, "Why are you all looking at me like that? Why am I even tied up? Let me go. This better not be some joke."

As Ace hears the footsteps of two other people walking out from behind him, two swords are abruptly crossed both in front of and behind his neck.

"If you don't want to die, keep your mouth shut,” says Forest.

Barely lifting his chin, Ace closes his eyes, "May I just-"

The swords tighten closer around his neck.

Ace heavily exhales, "Please– please don't kill me. I– I just want to know why I'm tied up…"

Taking a step forward, I signal to the two guys to lower their swords, "Forest, Falcon, no need for that now."

The two do as they are told, drawing back their swords before filing behind us.

Falcon glances over at Forest. Falcon is Asian, has short black hair spiked up at the front, and black eyes. He's smaller than the average male, but it's clear he's worked on his physique for many years and is an all-around well-built individual.

As for Forest, he’s taller than Falcon and probably just a little shorter than Ace. He isn't as muscular as Falcon either but still appears to be as fit as the average male, while some strands of his man bun have gone astray, drooping down over his eyebrows. His tan skin has a twinkling touch of gold from the broad daylight, and his beard has slightly thickened in our short time here.

As I cool off from the sudden wake-up call, Delta says as she walks out from behind the tree Ace is tied up against, "The reason you're tied up…"

Ace’s eyes widen as the two lock eyes, "Is because you killed Grace."

Delta squats down to where her face is just a couple of inches away from Ace’s, and Ace mutters, "N– no, I didn't, did you not see-"

Delta slaps him across the face, "I saw enough, I know what happened."

Delta stands up as Ace looks back at her, the pain from the slap already gone. She then kicks him in the stomach, and Ace coughs up some saliva.

"Now, don't go trying to lie through that shitty mouth of yours."

Disapprovingly glaring down at Ace, Delta's eyes flutter in annoyance as Ace glares back at her and mutters, "Where's Blue…? He was with me, he was there for everything, he saw what happened and–"

Delta drives her foot into Ace’s gut again and then quickly follows up with a punch to the face. Spitting out blood and getting the wind knocked out of him this time, the slap might not have left a mark, but that punch definitely did. However, once again, the pain is already dissipating for Ace.

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Once more, Delta crouches back down, but this time, she grabs Ace’s hair and pins his head up against the tree.

"You…”

Readjusting her grip, Delta forcefully presses against Ace’s forehead with the back of her forearm. The back of Ace’s head slams against the tree.

Before he’s able to reopen his eyes, Delta spits on him, "I just mentioned Grace's death, and you are already asking about Blue. Do you even care? Did you even stop to think about the fact that you ended a person's life yesterday?"

Grimly scowling at Delta, the spit slowly slides off Ace’s face, "I do... I do care."

"It was only a day, only a day that we knew each other. But Grace, she was special, she was special to me because she smiled when I talked. We bonded almost instantly."

Delta stands back up and starts walking away. After a few paces, she stops and looks back at Ace, smirking at the satisfaction of how disgruntled he appears.

"You’re a murderer. I hope you get what you deserve."

Ace’s gaze drops, facing the ground as everybody else walks off after Delta.

"Scar... help me, man,” says Ace, the two of us locking eyes. "She's wrong. Scar… come on, you have to believe me!"

Yielding no reaction, I say, "I wish it was that easy."

As I walk away, Ace hangs his head once more.

"Why? Why is all of this happening to me?" mumbles Ace.

***

Eight hours pass after that interaction. The sun has now set, and we’re entering the later hours of the night. Having drifted in and out of sleep for the past hour, Ace eventually hears footsteps approaching him. Squinting toward the sound, he sees two flames slowly marching closer.

When he realizes it is me, Forest, and Falcon, Ace is relieved. Forest and Falcon are each holding a torch in one hand and a sword in the other while I'm carrying the dagger that killed Grace.

Remembering what happened as he spots the dagger, Ace’s eyes sulk while Falcon and Forest walk to either side of him. Taking a step toward Ace, I extend the dagger before me.

"Stop! Don't kill me! Please… I– I didn't kill her!" implores Ace, and we make eye contact. "Scar… you have to believe me on this."

As I take another step forward, Ace’s teeth grind together, "What– what are you going to do to me?"

I squat down, "For now, nothing."

Holding his breath, Ace tries to figure out what my comment is about.

"Look, I think you got the wrong idea. I'm not here to harm you,” I say, cutting through the rope. "But, evidence suggests otherwise about your claims of innocence."

"What do you mean by that?"

I stop cutting the rope, "We found you along the stream early yesterday morning; you were passed out. We couldn't wake you up no matter what we tried."

I stab the dagger into the tree bark just a few inches away from Ace’s ear. Ace’s eyes shift to the left as the dagger reverbs from the impact.

"But Grace was also with you. Her body was just a few feet away from you, face down in the stream. Of course, nobody knows what actually happened…"

Pulling the dagger out of the tree and sitting down, I wrap my arms around my knees.

"Her body was covered head to toe with bruises, scratches, and blood. She may have died from those injuries long before we found you both, but some believe you took the extra step towards assurance and drowned her too… washing away any life she may have had left in her."

I pause and clear my throat, "But some vouch that there's also the possibility… that you were trying to get back to camp to save her."

"I'm telling you right now, friend to friend, that was my intention. I was trying to save her Scar."

He gazes at me as I glance toward camp, "You can tell me that you're innocent all you want, but I'm not the only one you need to convince."

I look back at Ace, "The only three people who truly know what went down last night are you, Delta, and Blue... who's-"

"Blue, is he okay?!"

I sigh, "You seem to care a lot about him, considering all the trouble you went through to cripple him."

"What do you mean? No… that's not at all what happened!"

More footsteps resound as I turn around to see Code and Ember walking up.

Carrying a torch, Code states, "We're good to go. Everything is set up now."

I nod and stand up, "Then let's get going. Are you ready, Ace?"

"I don't understand… ready for what?"

Code annoyingly nudges me, "I thought I told you to tell him."

"Yeah, I got distracted, my bad."

We all look down at Ace as I inform him, "I just wanted to confirm something."

Stifling with frustration, Ace lashes out, "Can somebody tell me what is going on?!"

I rip through the rest of the ropes. Staring down at the ropes on his lap, Ace adjusts his stiff back. As he stretches his shoulders out, Falcon and Forest hold up their swords to him again.

“You can’t be serious, guys. Can’t a guy stretch around here?”

They both nod toward me, and I tell him, "Ace, your trial... it begins now."