It was almost beautiful. The ground was grass scattered with flowers that smelled of candy. The trees were tall, creating the perfect shade for anyone wanting to relax outside on a hot day. The warm sun shined on our faces.
“This is so beautiful…”I whispered, baffled at how much or even how little work must of been put into this.
“I know right? We made sure that you all would be taken care of.” The Announcer said.
“So, uh, what do we do now?” Bear asked, bending down to look at a group of Buttercups from a safe distance.
“You thrive. And we will watch you thrive. Go on, my performers. Give us a show.” And with that, the Announcer stopped speaking.
We all stood there, still not really knowing our purpose. We expected an answer or two but we didn’t even find out where we were. I’ll admit, the surroundings were beautiful. But what was the practicality of this? What will we eat? Where will we sleep? Was a camp prepared for us or will we just have to tough it out in this makeshift wilderness? I mean, I can survive but I was never really that skilled at camping.
“Maybe we should get to walking. I don’t think we’ll get anywhere just standing here.” Wolf began walking down the path in front of us. The rest of us followed without a word.
“So, what do you guys think they’re gonna make us do here?” Axolotl scratched his head.
“Maybe we’ve become slaves to the government. They could be using us for their government deeds.” Red Panda said quite bluntly. We all gave him a strange look until Butterfly began to laugh.
“Government slaves? Who the hell told you that?” Butterfly chuckled. The idea wasn’t really too ridiculous when if you think about it.
“No one! I just believe it based on some things I’ve seen…” Red Panda, now a bit embarrassed, looked away from the laughing boy, which encouraged everyone to giggle in response. Even Spider smiled, the boy who had strayed behind the group slightly and stared at the trees above us.
“What things? Are your parents apart of the government? My family has a history of mayors and senators. I’ve never seen any instances of the government...controlling us.” Wolf skipped up from behind Red Panda and began walking next to him. I decided to listen in closer.
“Oh, my family isn’t in the government. But they know people who are in it. My Dad’s friend showed me notes sayin’ that they were creating some mind control tools. They’re really confidential but since I was annoying him so much, he showed me them.” Red Panda seemed to be proud of being such a nuisance.
“And what did these documents entail, Red Panda?” Owl asked, fixing her glasses on her beak.
“Well, apparently, they’re putting these chips into people that track us and tell us to do stuff. The way they’re testing it is by making people do bad stuff. Sometimes it’s stuff like kicking a rubbish bin or flipping off a neighbor. Sometimes it’s murder or burnin’ houses.” Red Panda continued. I could feel the air getting thinner as we walked deeper into the forest.
“I believe you have the government confused with the devil, Red. The government would never do that unless they were tempted by Satan himself.” Spider said, patting his chest.
“No! The government did it. It doesn’t matter who or what tempted them into doin’ it. The only thing that matters is the fact that they are doin' it."
“So, you believe that our government is doing this to us? Not some guys on the Dark Web trying to entertain some weirdos?” I questioned, thinking that maybe I should add to the conversation.
“Wouldn’t you know? You work with the damn people…” Red Panda mumbled purposely loud enough so everyone could hear. Everyone stopped walking and went silent.
“Wait, wait, wait. We shouldn’t point fingers on people, Red. We don’t know if he’s the traitor.” Bat placed his hand on Red Panda’s shoulder.
“Want to test that theory? Cause’ we can see right now!” Suddenly, Red Panda grabbed the front collar of my coveralls. He lifted me about an inch off the ground.
“Aw come on, Red. We don’t need to do this.” Panther grabbed Red Panda’s wrist.
“Yeah! Don’t be irrational!” Wolf walked up to Red Panda, but he pushed her back with his free hand.
“Stay back, Wolf! I don’t fight girls but if I have to, I’ll make sure your guys let us out of here.” His breathing became fast and unpredictable, “If I hurt him, maybe the others will come in and take me away. Maybe we can all get out of here! Without me, but that’s fine.” Everyone else around him stayed quiet. I assumed that if I spoke, I would get punched so I held my breath and braced for impact.
“Yo, Red! Don’t do this. You know this is dumb. Don’t punch this guy just because he seems a bit suspicious.” Butterfly stood his ground and stared Red Panda down.
Red Panda tried to do the same to Butterfly, but failed and let go of my collar. I fell to the ground and Wolf helped me back to my feet.
“Yeah, yeah, I know…” Red Panda pinched the bridge of his nose. He began to murmur apologies while shaking his head.
“It’s...fine. I get why you would be so suspicious of us.” I said as I dusted off my clothes.
“Let's just keep walking til’ we hit an area where we can set up camp.” Red Panda kept walking forward, Butterfly following close behind. Everyone looked toward me in short glances. To escape the stares, I started walking as I stared at the ground. Soon after, the others followed.
“Wait! There's a spot!” Axolotl exclaimed as he ran through a bush. Everyone ran behind him and there it was a large camping ground.
There were 5 tents, each one had a blanket and two pillows. In the middle of the tent circle, there was a campfire. Next to the campfire was a basket of wood and 5 logs surrounding the fire. Near the tents were two containers, one labeled “Food” and the other labeled “Water”.
“Food!” Bear cheered before running to the container, pulling out an apple and taking a bite from it. He was basically drooling.
“I guess we should rest for a bit before we go and explore more.” Wolf turned to the others and nodded. She walked to the campfire and began lighting it. I looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, sprawling a beautiful orange across the sky.
“I'm gonna’ go sleep. Goodnight everyone. C’mon, Duck.” Bat said as he rubbed his eyes and walked to and went inside one of the tents. Duck skipped behind him, giving me a wink. I felt a slight heat creep up my neck to my cheeks and shook my head frantically.
“Got a crush on the foul? Damn, I didn't think she was your type.” Butterfly poked my back, making me yelp and turn around.
“No! I-I don't like her that way! I swear!” I waved my hands in front of me.
“I’m just kidding with you, smalls! Unless you really have the hots for the girl?” Butterfly patted my back and laughed. I shook my head.
“I thought you might like the other one. And I get it, she's pretty cute. But you have to be careful with those kinds. They'll drop you within seconds if you say the wrong thing.” Butterfly pointed at Wolf, who now sat in front of the campfire smiling to herself.
“I wouldn't ever. I mean, she's only my friend. Plus, I just met her.” I said, moving a bit of hair out of my face.
“That's cute. Usually, that doesn't matter but that's fine.” Butterfly put his arm around my waist.
“So, what do you like then? Girly girls? Strong girls? Flirty girls? Strong...boys?” He leaned in to ask the last one. I blushed and shook my head.
“I never really had a liking for people. Well, no one ever liked me.” I shrugged. He frowned and eased his grip.
“Don't worry, I like you. You're pretty cool and you have nice hair!” The shorter boy ruffled my hair and smiled up at me. I smiled back, feeling a bit better about the situation.
“Whoops, looks like everyone is sitting around the fire. Shall we join them?” He asked, reaching his hand out to me. I nodded, grabbed his hand, and walked with him happily to the campfire.
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