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 thick 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 set off by the interruption, but it seems he’s able to get his head on straight when necessary. That’s good to know moving forward, he, like Code, will also be dependable.

Adjusting his body, Ace positions himself to drop down safely, and falls, sticking the landing without any issues, his muscular physique making it look easy. He glances back at me, his eyes no longer holding any hint of disappointment, but replaced by a fiery excitement, "Let's see what the wait was all about." I shift my body into position and drop down next to him. I wipe some dirt off my shoulder as we embark, "Right.”

We walk over to the supplies together and as we start to approach, Code glances over at us. Most likely only recognizing Ace, Code hurriedly hops off the crate he was sitting on and starts walking toward us. This is my first time looking at him from a face-on view. He's black, and his hair stands out like a sore thumb, but not in a bad way. His hair is pretty cool, especially now that I got a good view. He's got a fade with curly hair on top, and his skin is rough and holds a rich color of brown. He's got brown eyes and his jawline looks firm. His build isn't as strong or tall as Ace’s, but he isn't physically weak either, just looks 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 off me and Ace, he scans the area until locking onto Sky. She returns his gaze and Code waves her over. She stands and departs from her somewhat designated spot next to the food basket. Even from a distance, I can’t help but think she has really pretty eyes.

Code addresses as she joins us, "Look, I'm going to need you all to help keep everyone calm. I haven't even looked through this stuff so that'll also be new to me as well." He looks over his shoulder at the supply crates, there are four in total. "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."

Sky asks confused, "Wait, no one dropped it off or explained anything to you? It was just sitting there?" He 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 take a quick glance at everybody gathering.

"I'll explain it to you all in a bit, can you each stand next to a crate for now?"

Ace opens his body up and scans the crowd, "Wait, what about the girl that refused to leave her tent?" Code waves off the idea, "She's not budging, no point in waiting for someone who has no interest in taking part, right? Anyway, it's about time we start."

The three of us do what is asked of us while Code takes a seat. Everybody gathered takes a seat as well.

"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 on edge."

Code shifts his attention from the crowd to the three of us standing behind him as he 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 the right. I wanted to make sure we all checked over this stuff as a group."

Getting to his feet, Code ambles over to the pile. He crouches down as he begins to sift his hand around the materials, eventually grabbing onto the handle grip of a shovel.

"By the looks of it, we got some basic survival supplies here. There are two pots, a pile of firewood, a few axes, six or so shovels, quite a few torches, some rope, and this is a bit random but we also have a notebook and a few pens…"

He moves some more stuff out of the way, "We also got some flint and steel here, that'll definitely help with making fire…" He stands up and points to the other side of camp. The crowd follows the direction of his index finger.

"And as you all know on the other side of camp, there is a basket packed with bread and fruit. We'll have to make that last until we can find another food source."

He walks over to the last unmanned crate, his footsteps drawing back everybody’s attention. “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. "Even further, on the top of each crate has this sword emblem engraved into it. The sword is facing downward and has the number six etched into it at the center of the sword. This is true for all the crates here, not just this one…"

Standing overtop the far left of the four crates, Code looks down the line at the three of us, as we each stand next to our own crate.

"Let's open them." We all begin to try and pry off the top of each crate. Sky easily opens hers and cheers as the three of us continue to struggle. I attempt to haul the top of my crate off with all my might, why is this so difficult to open?!

Ace mutters under his breath, "Mine won't budge." Code agrees, "Same here. At least yours opened Sky, I wonder why the others didn't…"

The four of us peer into the crate, curiosity making us ignorant of all those seated behind us.

As if nobody wanted to make the first move, we all stood waiting. Sky rolls her eyes. “Alright boys, I see how it is, making the girl go first. Luckily I’ll let you off because…” She reaches her hand into the dark abyss and grabs onto a mysterious object. She pulls it out into the daylight for all to see.

"Wow! An actual wooden sword! This is so cool!" Sky wanders off as she inspects the sword while the rest of us shift our focus back on what lies inside the crate.

We begin snatching out some other wooden swords, dropping them into a pile just outside the crate.

"There's only a few left,” Ace remarks, his attention drifting off to Sky, whose swinging the sword around, pretending as if she were in a duel. I grab the last two out of the crate, "Yeah, I got them."

I drop them onto the top of the pile as Ace bends over and inspects one of them. Code then brings up, "Wait, there's some other stuff here too."

Her ears catching those words, Sky stops playing around and walks back over.

Code reaches in, his feet shuffling as he tries to keep his balance as he reaches for the bottom of the crate. He then grabs an item and holds it out behind his back for somebody to take off him. He continues this process until all of the items have been taken out of the crate.

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. Similar to Ace, she inspects all aspects of it 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 Code holds behind his back and it doesn’t take long to figure out what it is.

"At least mine is simple, I just have a standard compass by the looks of it."

I hear grunting begin to come from the crate as Code struggles to lift something out.

"What the hell is this?"

Ace walks over to support Code, "Here, I'll help." "Thanks." The two of them together slowly lift out a heavy, stone slab and carefully place it on the ground.

I walk up next to them and ask, "What is it?" Ace responds, confused, "I don't know, it just looks like a smooth rock."

Various people sitting down toward the front start talking over one another, "There's something on the bottom!" "Flip it over!" "I think I saw something written when you lifted it out." Sky decides to take a seat next to a girl with purple hair and another girl with hazel eyes, letting the three of us take on the task of this mysterious stone piece.

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 easily wiggle their fingers underneath 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 over. A small thud goes off as a caw echoes from above.

Code and I study the slab, while Ace thanks everybody for the help. Purple hair girl and hazel eye girl do a light fistbump, Sky compliments them with a smile, "Nice work!"

Code crouches down and touches the stone slab, "Yeah, this side definitely has something. There are all these markings, almost like something is inscribed into it." Trying to find a new more beneficial angle, I walk around the slab until I'm standing directly across from everybody else. At that moment, I recognize our language.

"Let's turn it around and lean it up against the crate with this side facing outward. There's something here." Just as before, we slowly elevate the slab and rotate it, this time so the writing is right side up. We then lean it back against the crate, allowing the weight to do the work for us.

Our chests puffing in and out from the labor, we take a step back to read the slab.

"Scar, you better have been right about this, I'm not moving it again," says Ace as he wipes away some sweat from his forehead. "Same…here,” concurs Code.

Taking a seat as we catch our breaths, everybody focuses on the slab before us.

My gut wrenches as I finish reading, pure fright washing over me. I check on Code and Ace, who also bear expressions of fear; however, unlike me, they show no attempt at hiding that. Some people toward the back of the seated crowd then call out, confused at why the setting has grown so silent, "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, instantly relieved at the familiar face. She continues, "Yeah, sorry… we can't read what it says because you guys are so tall, mind telling us?" "Yea- yea, I can do that,” stutters Ace.

Code glances over at Ace, and notices he’s too stunned to speak, as sweat starts beading down the side of his face. "Don't worry, I can do it,” reassures Code. Thankful for that, Ace’s lips curl into a grateful smile. Code returns his gratitude with nods of encouragement.

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 it themselves soak in the information, an eerie silence returns once more. The mood and atmosphere changed on a dime.

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 a state of shock, or perhaps they just don’t care. I then hear a girl's voice toward the back say, "What does that mean?"

Another voice speaks up from off to the right side, this one is really deep, "Yeah, an explanation would be nice. I don't quite understand." I'm able to recall the voice back to this one guy, who seems to be towering over all those sitting around him. If I thought Ace was tall, this guy must be a giant. Code responds to their queries, still studying the slab, "I'm not sure. I really have no idea what that could mean."

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, smiles returning to people’s faces. I look at her in a bit of disbelief. I'm not sure if she thought that through but that was incredible, she singlehandedly cheered up everybody’s spirits.

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 recognized 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 then stands up.

She’s very attractive. That’s the first thought that came to my mind as I saw her. She's got smooth brown hair and eyes colored a deep ocean blue. Her lips are puckered out and it looks like she has lipstick on but that's not possible, at least I think it's not possible. The bone structure on her face is chiseled and well-defined, and her body can't really be ignored if I say so myself. She could easily be mistaken as a model.

Focusing on her long, deep red-colored fingernails, she spouts out, "Finally, that was just a huge waste of time. Can we actually go explore now or are you going to keep us stuck here at camp just like before?" I immediately can tell by her voice it was the same girl that 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 all forced to stay here. Do as you please, Delta,” says Code, trying to keep a peaceful, happy vibe.

Delta… so that’s her name. More obscure like Ace and Code’s but I can see where it’s coming from. Delta brushes off some dirt on her shorts and mumbles, "...disgusting." She then looks down at a girl sitting next to her and says, "Finally, 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 didn't really get a good look at her before she ran off.

"One more thing, I'd appreciate it if some stayed back here at camp to better figure out how and when we should use the supplies we got here. We also have to count how much food we have so we can begin a plan to ration it out,” asks Code as people begin to disperse.