Chapter 3: Running and Running, Gone With the Wind

Breaking eye contact with me as he nods off, Ace grips his hands firmly around the scaly tree branch, “That's too bad. You know, I was wondering…”

“Okay! Can everybody come and meet near the supplies!”

Being cut off by Code, I ask him, still intrigued, “What were you about to say?”

"Nothing… it was nothing. Looks like things are finally getting started.”

He’s disappointed, perhaps even ticked off by the interruption. Still, it seems Ace can get his head on straight when necessary. That’s good to know. Moving forward, he will also be dependable like Code.

Adjusting his body, Ace drops down and sticks the landing without any issues, his muscular physique making it look easy. He glances back at me, his eyes no longer exhibiting any hint of disappointment, rather replaced by a fiery excitement.

“Let's see what the wait was all about.”

Shifting my body into position, I drop down next to him. As we walk over to the supplies together, Code glances over at us. Most likely only recognizing Ace, Code hurriedly hops off the crate he is sitting on and starts walking toward us. This is my first time looking at him from a face-on view. His hairstyle is by far his most noticeable and coolest feature, a fade with curly hair on top. He's got brown eyes, and his jawline is firm. His build isn't as strong or tall as Ace’s, but he isn't physically weak; he is just average in each aspect.

After a few seconds, we meet close to the supplies, and Code says, "I'm going to need your guys' help. Do you mind?"

We both shake our heads in agreement, and he sighs in relief, "Thanks."

Averting his eyes, he scans the camp until he finds Sky near the food basket. As she meets his gaze, Code waves her over.

Once she joins us, Code says, “Look, I'm going to need you all to help keep everyone calm. I haven't even looked through this stuff, so everything will also be new to me.”

He glances over his shoulder at the supply crates, each unique in size and shape, “By the looks of it, all we know is that some basic survival supplies are here. I don't know how they got here at all, though."

Confused, Sky asks, “Wait, no one dropped it off or explained anything to you? They were just sitting there?”

Code shakes his head, “I was the first one awake, and…”

The gradual rise in noise growing behind us forces Code to tilt his head and quickly glance at everybody gathering.

“I'll explain it to you all in a bit. Can you each stand next to a crate for now?”

Scanning the group, Ace asks, “Wait, what about the girl who refused to leave her tent?”

Code waves off the idea, “She's not budging. There's no point in waiting for someone who has no interest in taking part, right? Anyway, it's about time we start.”

As the three of us head over to the crates, Code sits on top of his crate while everybody gathered sits on the ground.

"Hello everybody, glad you're all here. I was the first one awake this morning, and waking up here, without knowing…" Code lets out a chuckle for a moment, "...anything… I understand we are all probably a bit stressed out."

Shifting his attention from the crowd to the three of us standing behind him, Code continues, "I haven't touched these crates here, and I only briefly looked over some of the supplies in that pile of materials off to my right. I wanted to make sure we all checked over this stuff as a group."

Hopping to his feet, Code walks over to the pile. Crouching down, he begins to sift his hand around the materials, eventually grabbing onto the handle grip of a shovel.

"Just looks like we got some basic survival supplies here. There are two pots, a pile of firewood, a few axes, six or so shovels, some rope… ah, flint and steel, that’ll help with making fire. And this is a bit random, but we also have a notebook and a few pens…"

Standing up, Code points to the other side of the camp, and the crowd follows the direction of his index finger.

"And as you all know, there is a food basket with bread and fruit. We'll have to make that last until we find another food source."

As Code walks back over to his crate, his footsteps grab everybody’s attention again.

“Now, here's the mystery: we have these four storage crates that haven't been opened yet."

Rubbing his fingers along the top of the crate, Code’s tone sharpens, "On the top of each crate, the emblem of a sword has been engraved. The sword is facing downward, and at its center, the number six is etched into it. This is true for all the crates here, not just this one…"

Looking down the line at the three of us, Code says, "Let's open them."

Given the go-ahead, we all try to pry off the top of each crate. Sky easily opens hers and cheers as the three of us struggle. Attempting to haul the top of my crate off with all my might, I can’t help but question why it’s so difficult to open.

Ace mutters under his breath, trying to pry open the tallest crate, "Mine won't budge."

"Same here,” says Code, his crate the widest. “At least yours opened, Sky."

Gathering at Sky’s crate, the four of us peer inside, curiosity making us ignorant of all those seated behind us. Inside are wooden swords piled on top of one another. Reaching inside, Sky seizes a sword and drags it into daylight for all to see.

"Wow! An actual wooden sword! This is so cool!" exclaims Sky, examining the sword while we shift our focus back to what’s inside the crate.

We retrieve the rest of the wooden swords and drop them into a pile just outside the crate.

"There's two left,” remarks Ace, his attention drifting off to Sky swinging the sword, pretending as if she were in a duel.

"Yeah, I got them,” I say, grabbing the last two.

As I drop them onto the pile, Ace kneels and inspects them.

Code says, "Wait, there's some other stuff here too."

Her ears catching those words, Sky walks back over to us.

Reaching down to the bottom of the crate, Code’s feet shuffle as he tries to retain his balance. Grasping one of the items, he holds it out behind his back for somebody to take from him. He repeats this process until all the items have been removed from the crate.

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Ace grabs the first item, a small, tiny scrap of paper. After fiddling with it for a few seconds and flipping it over to check both sides, Ace declares unenthusiastically, "This is just a ripped piece of paper. It’s blank, too."

Sky takes the next item. Like Ace, she inspects all aspects as her face creases in confusion. She eventually holds it up for us all to see much more clearly, the item being a small wooden plank with holes in it, as she exclaims, "Yeah, I don't know what mine is either."

I grab the next item, and it doesn’t take long to figure out what it is, "It seems this is just a standard compass."

Hearing labored grunts beside me, I look over to see Code struggling to lift something out.

"What… is this?"

Ace walks over to support Code, "Here, I'll help."

"Thanks..."

Together, the two slowly lift out a heavy stone slab and carefully place it on the ground.

"What is it?" I ask, Sky and I peering over them.

"I don't know, it just looks like a smooth rock,” replies Ace.

Various people sitting down toward the front start talking over one another.

"There's something on the bottom!"

"Flip it over!"

Sky decides to sit next to a girl with purple hair and another girl with hazel eyes, letting the three of us figure out what this mysterious stone piece is.

By digging my hand under one of the sides of the slab, my fingers drag through the dirt as I create a small indent for Code and Ace, allowing them to wiggle their fingers under and gain a better grip. With that, we lift the stone to the top so it stands straight up before pushing it back over, flipping it. A small thud goes off as a caw echoes from above.

While Code and I study the slab, Ace thanks everybody for the help. Purple hair girl and hazel eye girl fist bump.

"Nice work!" compliments Sky.

Crouching down and softly grazing the stone slab, Code says, "Yeah, this side definitely has something. There are all these markings, almost like something is inscribed into it."

Trying to find a new angle, I walk around the slab until I'm standing across from everybody else, and that's when I recognize our language.

"Let's turn it around and lean it up against the crate with this side facing outward. There's writing here," I say.

Just as before, we slowly lift the slab and rotate it, this time so the writing is right side up. We then lean it back against the crate, allowing gravity and the weight to do the work for us.

As we step back to read the engravings, Ace says, "Scar, you better be right about this. I'm not moving it again.”

"Same… here,” concurs Code.

Taking a seat as we catch our breaths, everybody focuses on the slab to read.

Skimming over the lines, doubt festers within me. After I finish reading, I check on Code and Ace, and they bore expressions of fear; however, unlike me, they show no attempt at hiding their fright. Somebody toward the back of the seated crowd then called out, confused, "What is it? We can't see that much from our angle!"

The girl with hazel eyes shakes Ace’s arm, snapping him out of his daze, "Hey, are you okay?"

Startled, Ace darts his head around, unsettled.

The girl continues, "Yeah, sorry… we can't read what it says because you guys are so tall, mind telling us?"

"Y– yeah, I can do that,” falters Ace.

Code glances over at Ace and notices he’s too distressed to speak.

"Don't worry, I can do it,” reassures Code.

Thankful, Ace’s lips curl into a grateful smile. Clearing his throat, Code refocuses back on the slab.

"This is what it reads…

Running and running, gone with the wind;

Searching and hunting, the game begins;

Numbers and people, what's one to say;

That suffering and pain, isn't the way."

As people who were unable to read the slab themselves soak in the information, an eerie, ominous silence returns once more.

Caw!

With a raspy crow’s caw breaking the silence, I scour the crowd of people filled with mixed reactions. Some are confused, some are scared, and some show no reaction, probably still in shock, or perhaps they just don’t care.

"What does that mean?" asks a girl toward the back.

Another voice speaks up from off to the right side; this one is really deep, "Yeah, an explanation would be nice. I don't understand."

I'm able to locate the voice back to this one guy, who is towering over all those sitting around him. If Ace was tall, this guy must be a giant.

"I'm not sure. I really have no idea what that could mean,” responds Code, still studying the slab.

Clapping her hands, Sky rises to her feet and looks out at everyone with a smile from ear to ear, "It’s like a fun game! I think this is a riddle, and if we figure it out, we might be able to open up the other crates! So, for now, let's not worry too much about it. Maybe we'll even get treasure or something cool like that in the other crates!"

Various people start chatting again as the mood lifts, relaxation returning to people’s faces.

I don't know if Sky thought that through, but that was incredible. But I can't ignore this… riddle. She may have lifted the mood, but this riddle is important. It wouldn't have been in that crate if it wasn't, along with the rest of the items. Does it have something to do with the numbers? What could it mean…

As if he and I both assess the same scenario playing out, Code stands up and joins Sky, announcing, "Okay, that's everything I wanted to cover. I guess this meeting is now over. Does anybody have anything else they would like to add?"

Well played. He took advantage of the brief influx of positivity Sky gave them.

However, a girl toward the very back stands up. She's got smooth brown hair and eyes colored a deep blue. Her lips are puckered out, and it looks like she has lipstick on. The bone structure on her face is chiseled and well-defined; she could easily be mistaken for a model.

Gazing at her long, deep red-colored fingernails, she spouts, "Finally, that was just a huge waste of time. Can we actually explore now, or will you keep us stuck here at camp like before?"

I immediately can tell by her voice that it is the same girl who had asked about the riddle on the slab earlier, but her change in attitude is clearly apparent.

"Of course, go ahead. I didn't mean to make it seem like you were forced to stay here. Do as you wish, Delta,” says Code.

Delta… so that’s her name. It’s obscure, like Ace and Code.

“Disgusting…” mumbles Delta, brushing some dirt off her shorts as she looks down at the girl beside her. “Let's get going. Keep up with me, don't fall behind."

Delta turns and walks off as the girl next to her quickly stands up and goes after her, "Please, wait for me! Please… Delta!"

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good look at this other girl before she ran off, but she is the only one of the bunch with ginger hair.

"I'd appreciate it if some of you stayed at camp. We have to count how much food we have to figure out a rationing plan,” says Code as people begin to disperse.

As for myself, I shuffle my way over to the stone slab with my arms and legs. Sitting against it, I sigh, trying to work through what it meant. Gazing at the cloudless sky, I place my hands behind my head.

After reading that message, the last thing I want is for people to leave and go exploring. It's best to stick together as a group until we have more information… but people seem eager to learn what’s out there. I hope Code and Delta know what they’re doing. Human curiosity can be a dangerous thing…

Hearing somebody walk over, I remain quiet as they sit beside me on my right. They have a welcoming scent of vanilla and lavender.

When they open their mouth and begin to speak, her voice is raspy but smooth at the same time.

"You know, it's easier for me if I keep thinking about happy things. Those two girls might find something really helpful for us."

I open my eyes, "You're right, but we haven't even been here for a few hours. As far as we know, this campsite is safe. But if I'm being honest, I'm not too sure about that anymore, especially after reading this message behind me. It's unsettling that we don't know where we are and what dangers are out there."

Looking over at the person next to me, her knees are tucked up close to her chest, with her arms wrapped around them. Her smooth skin wears a light brown tone, she’s got brown eyes, and her hair is coiled into a bun with braids falling elegantly down one of her shoulders.

As we make eye contact, she replies, "I've thought about that too. But in my opinion, there's no point in worrying about things we can't control. I believe… I have hope that our new home, for however long we may be here, will bring many happy moments worth remembering."

I force myself to bobble my head into a nod, eventually cutting off eye contact.

"Let's hope so."

I can’t see her, but I have a gut feeling that this woman trusts me. Getting up, she begins to walk off but then stops and turns back around.

"The name’s Faith, and I believe in them, and today, I think you should, too, Scar.”

I return those words with a nod. After offering a gentle smile, Faith continues walking off.