Chapter 5: Numbers and People, What's One to Say

"Just as I thought. I was confident before, but I'm certain of it now,” I say. "No number shows up twice. Everyone was designated their own.”

Code replies as the two of us make rounds around the camp, "Additionally, the numbers have a fairly small range. The lowest value we found was four, and the highest was sixteen."

I piggyback, "I saw the number ‘1’ earlier, so it probably ranges from one to sixteen."

"Sixteen numbers, sixteen people. It adds up."

We both glance at the firepit as they continue trying to spark a fire. 

"The giant one has the number ‘3’,” I say.

"And Blue has number ‘2’. The giant one is named Cliff, by the way,” says Code.

I’m thankful these names pretty much explain themselves. Cliff easily towers over even Ace, while Blue has blue hair. Quick and simple.

Walking back over to the slab, I sit down.

While standing up, Code says, "One second, writing this down will be easier. I guess that notebook will come in handy."

My thoughts spin as Code walks over to grab the notebook and pen.

We might be overthinking this. We may have all just been given a number based on our physique, intelligence, background, or possibly all those combined. The numbers being simply random is incredibly flawed with everything else we know so far.

I lay back against the slab.

Code told me earlier that my number is ‘15’, and his number is ‘8’. So, we can probably eliminate the factor that the numbers aren't based on intellect. If that were the case, I would be the second dumbest here. There's no chance that’s the case. As far as we know, nobody here besides us two have even thought twice about this riddle, let alone the numbers.

But then again, being aware of one's surroundings can differ from having good intelligence. If these supplies were here before Code woke up, our being here is no mistake. In fact, I bet that the sixteen of us have been placed here for a deliberate purpose. We all look to be roughly around the same age, so I'm banking on the assumption that this is a test of some sort. A test being conducted for a purpose that the testers don't want us to know about. Why else would they wipe our memory….

I'm shaken out of my thoughts as Code nudges me, "You good? We should get started."

Sitting up, Code settles down with his back up against the slab.

"Yeah… I'm alright. We should begin by writing down all the people and numbers we know so far and go from there."

He opens the notebook to the first page, "One step ahead of you there. I already wrote some of them down on the way back over."

He holds the end of his pen toward me, "So you're fifteen, and you said I have eight. Cliff had number three, and Blue had two… here’s what I got so far."

He flips the notebook around so I can see it.

Scar - 15

Me - 8

Cliff - 3

Blue - 2

Sky - 11

Peering over his shoulder, I say, "Ace has the number five. And Faith had number four."

Code begins writing again as he mutters, "Ace has the number five, and Faith has the number four… got it. Along with those two, I remember Hazel had the number twelve. And then, toward the beginning of our walk, we saw Forest and Falcon talking up in a tree; they have the numbers fourteen and sixteen. Considering what you said earlier, I presume the numbers don't go any higher than that."

“Hazel? Oh, I remember her. She has hazel-colored eyes, right?”

“Yeah, she’s named after her eyes. She and Violet, the purple-haired girl, have been together since waking up.”

Once again, the names are easy to follow. Focusing back on the notebook, I look at everything written down. 

The page of the notebook:

Scar - 15

Me - 8

Cliff - 3

Blue - 2

Sky - 11

Ace - 5

Faith - 4

Hazel - 12

Forest and Falcon - 14 and 16

Rubbing the end of the pen against his forehead, Code remarks, "We've recorded the numbers of ten separate people, so we just need six more. I think one is that girl who hasn't even left her tent yet, and I guess we haven't seen the other four since they left camp, but where’s the last one?"

We surveyed the camp, attempting to locate anybody we missed until I noticed Violet walking back into camp carrying a canteen.

"Her, Violet’s the last one."

Code quickly gets up, his feet scuffling in the dirt as he jogs over to her.

He frantically asks Violet, "Can you turn around for me real quick?"

Clearly startled, Violet replies, "O-okay, ye-yeah, I can do that."

Violet turns around as Code mutters while writing in the notebook, "Violet, number six, got it. Thanks, Violet."

Turning back around, Violet’s facial expression still resembles aspects of shock as Code makes his way back over. He places the notebook on the ground in front of me. 

Scar - 15

Me - 8

Cliff - 3

Blue - 2

Sky - 11

Ace - 5

Faith - 4

Hazel - 12

Forest and Falcon - 14 and 16

Violet - 6

Code’s eyes light up at a realization as he turns to me, "Move away from the riddle real quick; I want to reread it."

I shuffle out of the way as he repeats the riddle, mumbling under his breath,

"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."

He points at the slab, "This line here, 'searching and hunting, the game begins'. It's like what Sky said, we solve this, and we get to the next step. This is a game, and we are the players."

It's like he can read my mind. Granted, I only arrived at that presumption without evidence... and I never considered bringing up the topic that we might be pawns in a game or test until there was more substantial proof, but this may work…

"So if this is a game, that means this riddle is meant to be solved, and by doing so, you're saying we will move to the next step."

Code snaps his fingers and points at me, clearly amped up, "Exactly, so that means we should have all the tools already to solve this. We shouldn't have to venture further than what we got right here, in camp! The answer has to be somewhere in this campsite, and it's using these numbers!"

A girl I haven’t seen yet then walks out of a tent yawning as she stretches her arms into the sky. Immediately, I deduce that this is probably the girl that Ace and Code couldn't convince to attend the meeting earlier.

Rubbing her eye, she turns toward us and says, putting a hand on her hip, "You two are talking so loudly. Do you mind turning it down a bit? The whole world isn't listening, you know?"

She's tall, really tall, and she’s got this explosive, black, puffy hair tied up on her head. Her body looks slender and lean, not necessarily strong, but durable. Besides her rubbing her eyes and stretching, you couldn't tell she just woke up if you tried.

Code begins to say, "You're finally awake…"

She interrupts him with a sarcastic tone, "And the grass is green, and the sky is blue. No need to state the obvious."

Ace strolls up behind her with a wide smirk, "Would you look at that? Morning sunshine, you get enough beauty sleep or…?"

She elbows him in the gut and kicks backward, her foot plunging into his stomach as he tumbles back, rolling over a few times before lying motionlessly on the ground.

"As I was saying… learn to talk like normal human beings, or you might run into some trouble down the line,” the mystery girl says as she cracks her knuckles.

Code puts a hand behind his head and says apologetically, "Of course, duly noted for next time. Now, if you don't mind, can you turn around and…”

She cuts him off, "So you can see my number? Or so you can get a good look at my ass? You probably would've leaned on the former, but we all know deep down you wouldn’t mind if the latter also occurred. Either way, it's not happening."

I glance over at Ace, who is clutching his stomach, wheezing in short breaths, mouthing the words to me as if to say, ‘What is with this girl?’ I show no reaction, fixing my gaze back on her to see what she does next.

The girl averts her eyes off Code and clicks her tongue, "My number is nine, and I can't believe you two idiots seriously haven't thought about what comes next."

Code and I look at each other, and then he playfully teases, "What do you have in mind, princess?"

As if she had a gut feeling, this girl was already in motion to attack before Code even finished the sentence. She quickly locks him into a chokehold, and Code drops the notebook and pen on the ground as he tries to free himself.

Holding him firmly in place, she looks up at me, "As I was saying, you both need to think bigger. Yes, everybody has a number, but that's not the only thing unique to each of us here. And since I know you two won't be able to put your empty skulls together to figure it out, I'll just tell you…"

I put my hand up, "No need, I'm not some child that needs to be spoon-fed every step of the way. I got it."

She smirked as Code continued to struggle to break out of her grip, “Let's hope you're not all talk, for his sake."