Chapter 6: That Suffering and Pain, Isn’t the Way
Not wasting any time, I stand and walk toward the tent she just exited. As I pass her, she smirks and releases Code. Code, who seems to be on the verge of passing out, is unable to brace himself and hits the ground hard, emitting a brief groan.
A moment later, he pushes himself up and asks, "What are you two even saying? What…"
"Just shut up and watch. This guy knows what he's doing."
I arrive at the entrance of her tent and hold open the flap.
"Since you were kind enough to physically harm my two friends here, I'm sure you won't mind if I inspect your tent here for a minute."
She nods, "I like you, I like how you think. Be my guest.”
And with that, I duck my head under the flap, walk inside, and begin to look around. To no surprise, she has the same stuff that I have. Just a sleeping bag, some spare clothes, a canteen, and a backpack. Curious about what her name is, I glance at the canteen.
Ember, interesting. I feel as if that name corresponds to her personality more than anything, even though I just met her. Whatever, I can’t waste much time. I need to find it…
Meanwhile, outside the tent, Code stands up next to Ember, "I don't get it. What's he doing in there?"
"It would be no fun if I revealed the answer. Just pay attention."
I begin to sift through her clothes. There's nothing between or underneath them; the same goes for the sleeping bag. Looking up, I inspect the walls of the tent. Heading back outside, I start to walk around the tent.
Guess the answer has to do with the tent itself.
"Well, did you find anything?" asks Code.
Ignoring his question, I circle around the tent, inspecting every part of it. Up and down. Left to right. Nothing. But that just means there's only one place left to look.
As I make my way back around to the front, Code says, "I'm beginning to think this is all just a big waste of time. Stop messing around, and let's…"
I put my hand up, and he stops talking. Walking over to one of the stakes that's pinning the tent down, I kick it out of the ground. The tent shifts, and I look back at them as Ember lets out a ‘hmph’ of satisfaction. Code remains confused, yet I can tell he’s just as curious while Ace is still lying face down on the ground. Refocusing on the tent, just on the ground where the corner of the tent used to cover, there are black marks connected to something still hidden beneath the tent.
"There it is," I say.
"There is what? Can somebody tell me what's going on?”
"When Ember mentioned that our numbers aren't the only thing that we were all individually given, the only other thing that can apply are each…"
I lift the tent more to reveal the rest of the black markings, unveiling the letter ‘A’.
"… of our tents."
"Color me impressed. Well done, you figured it out,” says Ember.
Surprised, Code is already beginning to ponder about what this could mean. Ace just puts a thumbs up of approval as he slowly tries to get back on his feet. Then, as if a flip is switched in Code’s brain, he scampers back over and grabs the notebook and pen off the ground.
He writes the following under the rest of the list:
Ember - 9 (A)
His eyes dart between the three of us as he taps the notebook with his pen, "This is it, the next clue."
Putting two fingers to his mouth, he whistles and yells, "Everyone! Come and meet by the supplies again!"
Observing how people react, I notice Hazel and Violet get up first from tending to the fire that's now made. Then, Forest and Falcon slide off the tree branch they are sitting on. Cliff and Blue continue their conversation as they stand up while Faith walks out of her tent. Eventually, everybody who is still at the campsite is gathered once more.
"Sorry for calling you all back over here so soon, but there is something important that I want you all to check for me,” says Code, adjusting his voice into a more serious tone. "Whether you have or haven't realized it yet, we have all been given our very own numbers. If you look at the back of your shirt or the shirts around you, you will see various numbers that range from one to sixteen. And I think we may have figured out why. Can you all do me a huge favor and go to your tents and lift the stakes out of the ground? If you check underneath, there should be a letter, a symbol, or something that stands out. Once you find out what that is, come back and tell me. That's all."
Without complaints, everybody listens. Meanwhile, I notice Code walking back over to the slab and sitting back down, and I decide to join him on his right while Ember takes a seat on his left. Some people have already begun to walk back over and form a line as we settle down.
Ace is first up, "My letter is O."
Sky follows, "Mine is R."
One by one, each person tells us what they found, and it becomes clear very early on that there’s a pattern. They are all letters.
Sky rests her head in her arms on top of the crate behind us as she glances at Ace, "It doesn't really make sense. Why would there just be one letter for each of us?"
Ace shakes his head, "You're asking the wrong guy, but it seems those three may have figured something out."
I watch as people come and go, continuing to check what is written down. Eventually, we come to a stopping point where nobody is in line, and the notebook reads:
Scar - 15
Me - 8
Cliff - 3 (L)
Blue - 2 (N)
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Sky - 11 (R)
Ace - 5 (O)
Faith - 4 (Y)
Hazel - 12 (E)
Forest and Falcon - 14 (A) and 16 (N)
Violet - 6 (N)
Ember - 9 (A)
Ace peers over us at the notebook. “I'm not following. Maybe we have to reassemble these letters or numbers somehow…?"
Code sets the pen down momentarily, stretching out his hand as he looks at me, "It seems like that's probably the case. But we still have two more letters to get down…"
He points toward one of the six untouched tents left, “That's my tent right there. Could you go see what my letter is? We need to write down yours as well, Scar."
"Yeah, just give me a minute here."
When checking Code's tent, I luckily unveil the letter 'C' under the first corner I kick up. As for my own tent, I find the letter ‘I’ hidden under the back left corner.
As I rejoin Code and Ember, I inform them, "Mine had the letter 'I', and yours had the letter 'C'.”
"Perfect. Now we have everybody who is still here."
I look at the notebook again.
Scar - 15 (I)
Me - 8 (C)
Cliff - 3 (L)
Blue - 2 (N)
Sky - 11 (R)
Ace - 5 (O)
Faith - 4 (Y)
Hazel- 12 (E)
Forest and Falcon - 14 (A) and 16 (N)
Violet - 6 (N)
Ember - 9 (A)
Code then writes something new in the notebook toward the bottom of the page. The blanks are empty, with numbers underneath each one.
As he clicks the pen, he says, "This will help organize things better, and maybe, like Ace said, we gotta reassemble or unscramble these letters to find some sort of answer."
Ember says as she stares at the notebook, "I see what you're doing. Maybe you got some smarts in you after all."
Code replies as he fills in the blanks, "Well, let's see if this idea gets us anywhere."
The bottom of the notebook reads:
_ N L Y O N _ C A _ R E _ A I N
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
"Looks like all we are missing are the letters to numbers 1, 7, 10, and 13,” says Code.
Ace nods, "Looks like it. I guess we have to wait for them to get back."
“Or… we could try to figure it out ourselves…” says Code, looking up. “Hey, everyone! Do you see the four tents that haven't been touched yet? Could you guys go check out what letters those have as well?"
I think to myself as I stare at the bottom of the page.
Damn it, I wish they didn't leave. Who knows what we are about to figure out? It might be crucial that they are here to witness this. Of course, we could tell them later, but this might refer to something about our surroundings. That would probably be the worst-case scenario, especially for those four.
People start talking over each other as they wander off to the untouched tents.
"Yeah, for sure!"
"I wonder what this is all about."
"I don't know, but it's kind of fun, isn't it?"
Ace brushes at his clothes as he and Sky wander off together.
"We'll go check one out too," says Ace.
"Be right back!" adds Sky.
Focusing his attention back on the notebook, Code mutters as he scratches his chin, "I wonder what this all means... it may be a message, or perhaps just another clue to something else…"
I say, "We've come this far, and no message that is this detailed is meaningless. That's something I'm sure about.”
People begin to walk back over, and Blue tells us, "Cliff and I found the letter 'N'."
Code jots down the letter below the message, "Thanks, got it."
Side by side, Hazel and Violet walk up after Blue, and Hazel says, "Violet and I found the letter 'E'."
They get out of the way as Falcon strolls up next and says to us with his thumb pointing behind him, "I found the letter 'O' over there."
A yell then suddenly roars from across the campsite, "Hey!!"
Ace stands up and walks around the front of the tent to get within line of sight, although we could all see him when he first stood up. Sky does the same but on the opposite side of the tent.
Cupping his hands around his mouth, Ace shouts, "We got the letter 'M' over here!"
"Thanks, you two!" replies Code.
Ace gives a thumbs up as Sky waves her hands. The two start chatting again as they walk back over.
Ember flicks Code in the ear, "Did you really have to yell just now? People are sitting right next to you."
Jotting down the final letter, Code apologizes, "Sorry about that, but we should have all the letters we need now."
I look over at the bottom of the page again.
_ N L Y O N _ C A _ R E _ A I N
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
N E O M
"Once we fill in the last four letters, the message should be complete."
Ember glances at it and sifts her two hands down the back of her neck, "Well, it shouldn't be too difficult, based on some of the blank locations… only certain letters of the four could fit in each one."
Code nods as he points at the first blank and says, "If this is truly a message and words are involved, this has to be a vowel, so either ‘E’ or ‘O’, because writing an ‘N’ or ‘M’ wouldn't make sense."
Sliding his finger to the end, he’s now pointing at the blank for the number thirteen, "And in this spot, there can't be a vowel because it’s extremely rare to have three vowels in a row."
While Sky stands beside him, Ace leans over the crate to look down at the notebook.
Ace points at the first blank, "Yeah, you're right. And here... look at the first blank; if you put the letter ‘O’ there, it makes the word 'Only'."
Code writes in the letter, 'O', and a grin creeps across his face, "Well done.”
Crossing his arms, Ace shrugs and jokes, "I know… I'm a bit of a genius. Feel free to keep mentioning that as long as you like."
The three of us ignore him while Sky gives her input, "Wait, try putting the ‘E’ in the next blank."
Code writes in the letter E and mutters, "That also fits…"
Ember gives a side-eye toward Ace and teases, "Seems you've been outdone, Mr. Self-acclaimed Genius. Looks like she might be the queen compared to you."
Ace scoffs, "Well, if she's the Queen, that makes me the King… because we both figured out a letter…"
Sky puts a hand over her mouth as she starts laughing, but it doesn’t take long before Code mutters, "I– I figured it out."
For a brief moment, I can see a hint of fear on his face as my eyes travel from Sky to Code to the notebook. After reading what it is, I understand why. No wonder he froze for that split second…
A moment after I finish reading it, Ace, who doesn’t have the best view of the notebook, asks, "That's awesome. You gonna tell us what it is?"
Code slowly holds up the notebook for us all to read. The empty spaces are filled as it reads:
O N L Y O N E C A N R E M A I N
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
And across the next page, he diagonally writes:
ONLY
ONE
CAN
REMAIN
Ace quietly reads out, "Only one can…"
In unison, Code, Ember, and Sky say, "...remain."
Code sets the notebook down as other people walk over and read it. I quickly cipher through all the possible meanings this phrase could imply. It doesn’t take long until commotion breaks out.
"What does that mean?"
"Is this just some kind of prank?"
"Does this have to do with us?"
Code stands up and announces, "We don't know what this message means, so do not panic! We are still figuring things out and…!”
A piercing scream suddenly comes from deep within the forest and finds its way into everyone's ears, instantly silencing the entire camp as only the crackling of the fire can be heard. I slowly turn and fix my gaze in the direction where the sound came from, just to hear more terrified screams traveling closer and closer toward us.
Suddenly, somebody dashes out of the forest. Blood is spilling from various scrapes as his body is covered head to toe in twigs, scratches, and leaves. But it is his face, the pure fright that is pumping through every vein in his body, that sends an indescribable terror and fear into the hearts of many.