The world stood still for a moment. Nobody made a noise. From within the tent, I couldn’t tell if those outside were getting ready for a fight or not. The silence worried me nonetheless.

 

    “Well? You’re not trying to threaten us, are you?” Rubi spoke with confidence. 

 

    At last, I heard an unfamiliar woman’s voice speak up. “No, we’re not. We just want you to know we take attacks on our teammates seriously.”

 

    “Same here!” Rubi sounded slightly frustrated. “We got it worse than you guys. If anyone is serious about this, it’s us.”

 

    I winced. It sounded like she was making it worse. Although, showing weakness to another team is unwise… 

 

    “To my understanding, you were trying to enter our camp.”

 

    “You want us to just sit here and wait to be attacked first?”

 

    Seriously tense. I really couldn’t tell if this was a good idea or not. Thankfully, the other captain sounded at least a little reasonable. I hoped she wasn’t the type to get into a fight when it’s avoidable.

 

    “There’s only going to be one winner of this thing.” The stranger spoke. “That’s why each of us decided to attack the other.”

 

    I gulped. That doesn’t bode well. Rubi was quick to reply. “That’s right. Although, you seem like a reasonable person. Might you be interested in a truce? I think it’s inevitable that other teams are going to come to the same conclusion, that teaming up is the best way to survive. My team is currently forming a map of the area, so why don’t we share it with you in exchange for relevant information from you? You know, if you notice any oddities near you that we wouldn’t be able to spot from over here. Don’t go out of your way for us, but we’ll agree not to attack each other. The info sharing will only happen if we bump into each other on patrol or something like that. For everyone’s safety, since we don’t have complete trust in each other yet, we’re not going to be living close by. Don’t visit the other’s camp unless it’s necessary. Do you like those terms?”

 

    I was slightly surprised that Rubi was able to do something like that. I mean, she was so set on being the winner, but I guess she isn’t stupid. This was a good decision.

 

    “So at what point do we stop being a team? Like I said, there’s only one winner.” The other said.

 

    “Hmm.” You really didn’t think of that before offering?! “I’d say until the moment our interests conflict? Be it at the very end when it’s just us two, or earlier.”

 

    “I want at least some kind of insurance that you won’t suddenly attack us.”

 

    “Okay! No attacking without warning. If the truce is called off, we have to let it be known ahead of time that we can’t work together anymore.” Rubi stated so casually.

 

    The captain didn’t sound so convinced. “And if we didn’t stay true to our word? What’s stopping us from taking you out after you’ve outlived your usefulness?”

 

    “Isn’t your friend’s broken leg enough of a response to that?”

 

    Nobody spoke. I felt sweat drip from my forehead.

 

    “Alright, and if you don’t stay true to your word, we’ll kill you guys.” The captain stated calmly, though it was without a doubt a threat.

 

    It felt like I could hear Rubi pop a vessel with the tone she followed up that comment with. “Fucking try it.”

 

    I didn’t have any words for that. Not like I needed them, but I couldn’t believe she was this heated. They stared at each other for half a minute. The other captain was the first one to say something. “I get the feeling you’re a trustworthy girl. I’ll go along with this.”

 

    Rubi inhaled once and replied in her usual voice. “Great. Barb! Yu! Come on out, if you’re decent.”

 

    I jumped in place. I exchanged glances with Barb, who stood up with the tent’s blanket wrapped around her. I left my torn clothes covering me, however much they were able to.

 

    We came out to stand beside Rubi and Garald. I tried to look confident in front of the three enemies, or rather, new teammates? Rubi waved us towards them. “From left to right: Yu, Barb, Rubi, Garald. How about you guys?”

 

    The other captain looked like she wasn’t sure about sharing this information. She sighed and agreed. “I’m Kassy. Behind me are Beck and Marlon. The guy you messed up is Tyler.”

 

    I took in all of their appearances. The two men behind her looked unremarkable, but I would have assumed the same about Tyler if not for our first meeting being with him on top of me.

 

    “These two described Tyler’s appearance to us, so as long as he doesn’t change his outfit, we’ll know not to mess with him.” Rubi said.

 

    “Right.” Kassy spoke in a low voice. “We won’t hurt you, either. Right, guys?” The two behind her nodded without speaking. They really didn’t seem to trust us. Did they think that letting us hear their voice would give us a tactical advantage or something? Lighten up. “We’ll let Tyler know.”

 

    As they turned to leave, Rubi waved to them casually. “Let him know we’re sorry, too!”

 

    “Save it.” Kassy replied coldly, passing a glare by us before she and her lackeys made off for their camp.

 

    “Damn, talk about tense.” I exhaled when they were squarely out of earshot. “I’m surprised you…” I turned to Rubi but I silenced myself when I saw her gritting her teeth and clenching her fist. Her teeth were digging into her lower lip. I couldn’t see her eyes in the shadow cast by her bangs, but maybe that was for the better.

    “Uh, Rube?”

 

    “What?” She sounded angry at me before she corrected herself, loosening her fist. “Oh! Sorry. Haha! Just thinking about something.”

 

    I swallowed nervously. “Um… Okay, sorry for interrupting… You really don’t mind teaming up with them? You didn’t even ask them what their wish was.”

 

    “Ah, I didn’t, did I? I guess I figured that if I asked her that and she said something bad… If a fight started, we wouldn’t win with only the two of us.”

 

    That’s more like the Rubi I knew. Considerate yet concerning. What would she have done if Kassy said something disagreeable, though..?

 

    “Having someone with a body like Garald’s is really helpful for intimidation tactics.” She continued. “If they had determined they could beat us, I don’t think they would have accepted. It helped that they don’t know about our powers, or if we even have them. We’re lucky she didn’t propose exposing our abilities as one of the conditions.”

 

    I listened without replying. I wondered if the others had seen her expression earlier. I guess I should be happy that she was able to hold back for our sake.

 

    “I was too nervous to speak, but I’m glad you got that feeling from me!” Garald laughed out loud.

 

    Rubi smiled calmly and looked at us. “You two lay back down. Do you feel better?”

 

    Barb and I both nodded. She smiled and waved us bye as we returned to our tiny home. I tried to lay on my back, but it still stung to do so. I laid on my stomach instead, crossing my arms in front of me as a pillow for my head.

 

    Minutes passed with me staring at the ground. The way the grass poked up around the blanket we had put below us to try and emulate something close to a “bed.” How generous of that white blob to give us something so luxurious. I wished we would get some more tools, at least.

 

    My mind wandered, as was all it could do. I couldn’t shove my brain into an activity right now. Being completely useless felt bad but I decided that hating myself for this wasn’t helpful to anyone. If I wanted to be useful, I needed to take the energy that would be going into hunting or something and put it into strategizing. Not like I’ve ever been a tactical mastermind or anything, but even someone like me can come to some conclusion, right?

 

    I may have been assuming too much that everyone here would have the same reaction I would to an alliance proposition because I didn’t expect our first attempt to be a success. They were young so maybe that's why they were more trusting? Young people use the internet more so I would assume them to be more distrustful, but also generally adults are less tolerant… Too hard, can’t guess based on age.

 

    “Hey,” I spoke without moving my head. “Do you wonder what it’s like for the spectators? Can they see everything at once or is it like a reality show where they only get to see the good bits that the director shows them?” I chuckled. Barb turned to look at me.

 

    “Yeah, I’ve been kinda stressing about it… I hope Mom and Dad aren’t being shoved into a little room or whatever.”

 

    My eyebrows raised in curiosity. “You have been? This whole time, you mean? I never noticed.”

 

    “Well, not the whole time. Our own situation is stressful enough… I can’t shake it, though. I’m not a momma’s girl or nothing like that! You’re saying that like you haven’t given it any thought, but I know you have!”

 

    She was just being her usual funny self, but it hit me just then that I really hadn’t thought about it at all. Were Rubi and Garald just as worried about it too? They never talked much about their parents so I assumed they were like me and didn’t care about them. All those TV shows and books about warm familial bonds just came off as wish fulfillment shit. Damn it, am I weird?

 

    “Uh, I was just joking. You don’t have to think about it.” Barb had clearly noticed an expression on my face that I hadn’t. I was embarrassed, gathering myself quickly. “It’s alright, Barb, I was just considering…”

 

    We didn’t move or talk for a bit after that. 

 

    My parents… What do they look like again? They said bye to me when I left for the amusement park that day, so I know they’re alive at least. I remember the annoying smell of cigarettes, too. Compared to that, the campfire didn’t smell bad at all.

 

    Oh, right, the fire. Those sticks we brought to the fight didn’t work out too well. I need to get back to thinking of plans. Not all of Rubi’s ideas are going to be hits. I thought long and hard, trying to force a good idea in place of what I was thinking about prior.

 

    “I got it! Alliances! I should go scout for some teams that seem agreeable.”

 

    Barb seemed startled by my sudden eureka. I pushed myself up with my arms suddenly but a jab of pain in my back made me fall back down. “Ugh, damn it. I’m not going anywhere like this.” I sighed. I put that frustration into brainstorming. If I find someone who seems trustworthy, is it really enough to just form a network of alliances? That seems like too much effort. The constant threat of betrayal. Why wouldn’t you take the chance to stab another team in the back? If it’s just Kassy’s team then we only have to worry about her and the other three, but I highly doubt we could keep tabs on a double digit number of players who are all a risk to us.

 

    Barb could see that I had been unusually pumped up and decided to indulge me. “Well… That might be a good idea. We need to heal a bit more but that’s something we could do before we’re fully healed.”

 

    “We?” I blinked. “Oh, yeah, I mean we could. I figured you would do something more involved or useful.”

 

    She looked at me with a confused face. “Why wouldn’t we both do it? We’re in the same situation.”

 

    Right, same situation… Well, she was physically stronger so she would probably recover faster. She was less injured than me, too. Wait, am I implying that she didn’t try as hard as me? Well, I am so pathetic that I would have to try extra hard to do what someone like her may consider easy. No, no, she was clearly pushing herself to the very end. I could only get up because of her encouragement. Damn, stop thinking about it! Even if she is way beyond what I could hope to achieve… Shit, I’m still thinking about it.

 

    “...True…” I muttered lifelessly.

 

    “Hm. Whatever you’re thinking about, I’ll help out. Physically, too.” She returned to her casual laying pose, no longer looking at me. I wasn’t sure if I should feel happy that she showed me pity or feel ashamed.

 

    “Thanks.” 

 

    I slowed my breathing down and emptied out my brain. Maybe it would be best for the team if I do this on my own. They might ask where I am, though. I shouldn’t be gone for that long but if it’s a daily thing then they’ll want to know. I could get Garald to cover for me. Hm… He’s the most likely to agree to it but he’s also the most likely to fold to questioning.

 

    “Hey, if you’re thinking about doing it on your own, I’ll drag you home.”

 

    The way she interrupted my thinking made me jump. I looked over at her with a face that completely betrayed my intentions.

 

    “Er, not home, but… You get what I’m saying.” She corrected herself.

 

    When my thoughts had unscrambled enough to reply, I chuckled, “You watch too much anime. You’ll ‘drag me home?’”

 

    “Quiet, punk! I was trying to be genuine!” She gripped her fists on the blanket as if she was about to throw it at me before she realized that it wouldn’t be a good idea for either of us.

 

    I laughed. “I know, Barb. I appreciate it.” The last vestiges of laughter left my lips with that heartfelt reply. Fine, I supposed it may be a good idea to tell them about it, but I would still insist on doing it alone. The thought of avoiding Barb since she was the best at reading my emotions left my head as soon as it entered. If that’s how I’m going to think about my friends then why do I even have them? What an annoying brain I have.

 

    

 

    

    “Hey, Garald.”

 

    After sleeping through the night, I felt myself able to walk again, albeit with a limp. Garald offered me a shoulder before we even started talking, but I insisted that I could handle it. Although that would have been nice…

 

    “I wanted to run this idea by you before I told Rubi. That’s cool, right?”

 

    He grinned at me. “Of course. I’m glad you trust me enough.”

 

    I smiled awkwardly and continued. “I was thinking about scoping the place for teams to make alliances with.”

 

    “Weren’t we already taking scouting missions? Can’t we do that at the same time?”

 

    “Well, I guess… I want something to do apart from that.” My eyes drifted away as I realized that I wasn’t making much sense.

 

    “Hey, I won’t tell you not to as long as you aren’t pushing yourself too hard. I know you’re a tough cookie, but even you need to rest after those injuries.”

 

    He didn’t have to lie to me to make me feel better, but I wasn’t about to make a scene of it. “Thanks, I guess. That was my initial plan, but I thought about it and... I wasn't sure if acquiring new teammates is a great idea right now. I don’t think it’s very smart to have a whole web of alliances, you know?” I explained to a nodding Garald. “I think looking behind our backs constantly is going to be more trouble than it’s worth. I’d rather have a lot of enemies than a lot of untrustworthy allies.”

 

    “I dunno if I agree with the logic, but go on.”

 

    “Right… It’s like, uh… As it stands, everyone is our enemy, correct? Kassy is our ally, but in some ways that’s worse for us, since we have to second guess all of her actions. When her team was our enemy, we just had to beat them. Not that beating them is easy but it doesn't require us to overthink things and put ourselves in a bad situation. You get it?”

 

    Garald lifted his hand up to rest his head against the back of it. “I see where you’re getting that, yeah… You’re a little jaded but I’m not gonna say you’re wrong.”

 

    As always, it felt nice to explain my thought process to such a good listener. “So that thought process made me wonder if it would be smart to slip into some camp by myself to gather intel. I don’t know if Rubi would agree with me, so that’s why doing it alone came to mind.” I omitted the part about me wanting to do it to prove myself. This wasn’t wrong, either. I was suspicious of how Rubi would react to it. She’s the type to believe herself capable of managing a whole organization of teams in this game. Once again, I disliked feeling like I was hiding things. “I’m going to spend the rest of today planning what to do. So, want to come with me tomorrow? I think I’ll be able to walk then.”

 

    “Sorry, buddy, Rubi and I are going to collect more berries and stuff tomorrow. You could always come with us and scout it out there.” He replied considerately.

 

    “Oh… Nah, I’d be too anxious of her noticing my motives…”

 

    “When ya say it like that, Yu, I don’t like us going behind each others’ backs like this. I’ll think about it, but I won’t snitch without talking to you first. You and her both push yourselves too hard.”

 

    “You think that too? I’m not a kid.”

 

    “I know, I know. I’m not just gassin’ you up when I say you’re tough. I can’t imagine how hard it is, having all that stuff on your mind. You guys gotta be tough for that. If I said I feel bad about how easy I’ve got it, you’d laugh at me, heh.” His eyes drifted away as he scratched the back of his head.

 

    I stood silent. He didn't mean for what he said to be meaningful but I was suddenly deeper in thought than I was before. How long has he felt this way? Is it only now coming up because of the intensity of the situation and our heightened emotions? Suddenly, he looked shocked and waved his hands at me. “Oh, no, I’m not trying to dump my stuff on ya! I wanted to show my sympathies…”

 

    “You’re fine, Garald. You really are an impressive guy. Don’t go along with my dastardly scheme if you’re not feeling it.” I turned my back, closed my eyes and gave a casual wave back to him. I felt like I had been utterly humbled.

 

    So negative feelings can come from positive situations, huh? Can I even call his situation a positive one? I could say he’s lucky that he doesn’t have to go through the thought spirals I do or the delusions of grandeur that Rubi does, but how does it feel to be “normal” in that way? I had never considered him as a normal person, what with how admirable and inspiring he was in both physical ability as well as his optimism. When I thought about it in that way, though, he was so impressive that I struggled to imagine him having the messed up thoughts that us weirdos had. Is it lonely to live in that world?

 

    I turned my head to see if he was still there, but he had left for the training field. I sighed. I guess Rubi isn’t the only one carrying the burden of this team. I don’t know where I would be without him. As always, he didn’t talk about himself much, but that bit he casually slipped in has got me thinking that he’s more relatable than I thought. Relatable in the way that opposites are relatable, I guess. I wondered how much more he would be willing to talk about himself if he opened up. Wait, what am I doing trying to play armchair psychologist with him? He’s clearly got himself put together. If I tried to apply whatever messed up stuff I’ve got going on to him, I bet I would ruin it or at the very least give him some harmful ideas. He’s a great friend as he is so I bet he knows what’s good for him more than I would.

 

    I’ll see if I can go out with him on a scout or something one of these days. I need to make sure he doesn’t think I’m undermining his friendship.

 

    

 

    

    I spent the rest of the day doing nothing besides thinking about the plan for tomorrow. I asked Rubi to check out my wounds again just to make sure I wasn’t going to spend the next day incapacitated as well. Luckily, it seemed like I would be fine after another good night of sleep. I stood up from the riverbed near the end of the day and continued my physical therapy. Stretching my arms, back and legs as much as I could. It hurt, so I used that as an excuse to not stretch as much as I could have. I realized that I needed to go through with my plan ASAP and really stretched my sides. I leaned a bit too far to the right and stumbled out of my posture. Luckily I didn’t fall. Suddenly tightening my legs up like that made them feel sore. 

 

    This feeling sucks. Can’t do anything. Doing nothing. Nothing. 

 

    Is this any different from how I was before? The day prior to the alien’s arrival, this was every day of my life. Why do I suddenly feel bad about it? I used to feel guilty about having bad grades or not having a part time job, but one day it stopped. At some point I got too used to it. In a similar situation, like this one, I might be going through the same process a second time. This time, however, I have experience. Not with fixing it, but it’s more experience than nothing.

 

    Maybe now I’m trying to make up for the failure I was then. That’s not a bad motivation, if I say so myself. Self-improvement is the motivator behind all great successes, I think.

 

    On my way back to the tent, I saw Rubi exiting it and wiping some dust from her hands. I assumed she was carving up some tree bark for more medicine. A model Girl Scout.

 

    “You and Garald are taking the night shift again?” I asked.

 

    “Well, you and Barb are hardly in a position. Garald and I will take turns doing it solo. I’ll nap, then he’ll wake me up and nap while I watch. You get the idea.”

 

    I nodded and walked past her so that I could clumsily roll over into bed. We should steal some more blankets from the next team we beat up. That’s not cruel, right? It’s not something they need like food or water. For the second night in a row, Barb and I were going to sleep having not done anything. Not that I blame Barb for her injuries. She earned a bit of rest, but thanks to us being stuck here, Rubi and Garald kept their activities close to camp, gathering herbs and berries and such. Sticking their heads out and getting into a fight would be stupid right now. Although even if their opponents were greater in numbers, imagining those two losing wasn’t something I could do easily.

 

    It took me a while to get to sleep, likely because I was used to being more active and tiring myself out lately. When I inevitably awoke, I stood in the middle of our camp and stretched some more. I was surprised by how much a good night’s sleep could do. Even though I still felt like I could fall over at the slightest push, it was better than yesterday. I was prepared to leave even if I hadn’t recovered this much, anyway.

 

    Garald was up, keeping guard duty while Rubi slept on the other side of the tent. His eyes looked tired. I wondered if he had neglected waking her up to take her shift.

 

    “You good, Garald?”

 

    He snickered and straightened his posture. “No worries, dude. I’ll be ready for the scouting later.”

 

    “Oh yeah, wouldn’t it be bad to bring out three people?”

 

    “Oh. I guess that’s true. You and I could go.”

 

    “Did you think about my plan?”

 

    Garald exchanged looks between me and the sleeping girl behind me for a second. “Yeah, I wanted to know if you figured out exactly what you’re gonna do.”

 

    “Ah, um, I think I’ll just try to gain their trust and make them tell me what their abilities are so we can crush them if we need to. I could also try to grasp if they have a schedule that would make their team split up at certain times of the day.”

 

    Garald seemed slightly concerned but didn’t object. “It is our survival on the line, so I can’t say it’s wrong. That does sound smart.”

 

    “While I was trying and failing to sleep, I reached a really obvious conclusion… I was thinking about our talk. I remembered feeling like you were weird for asking Rubi about quitting, but it hit me that there’s nothing stopping a team from quitting if they’re about to die. So, we just need to show them that we are willing to kill them. They’ll have no choice but to surrender and leave the game. Less enemies for us. The sooner we do it, the better. If we wait until all the other teams have fully developed their powers, they might be too much for us to handle.”

 

    He didn’t respond, the same serious expression. “The alien was real confident that nobody would surrender, though.”

 

    “Yeah, I figured that was because of their conviction but anyone would realize it’s better to live than die. Dying means your ideals amount to nothing.”

 

    “Hm… I guess I’m worried that he would punish them for leaving, or something…”

 

    I sighed and put a hand on my hip. “If that happens, there would’ve no way we could have guessed, so it can’t be our fault. We’re already being merciful by allowing them to surrender in the first place.”

 

    “Yeah. I’m overthinkin’ it. We” He admitted. “That shouldn’t be an issue with Rubi. Wanna tell her?”

 

    “For me, personally…” Rubi suddenly spoke up as she rose from her nap. “I would die before I surrender. If the other captains are like me, as the alien implied, then that won’t work.”

 

    I gulped. “Oh, good morning, Rubi… You were listening?”

 

    “If you must know to be convinced,” she continued without confirming my suspicion, “the method of surrendering is to go back to where you and your team spawned in and stand in a rhombus shape with all of the materials you were given gathered around you, or as much as you can in the case of used materials or stolen knives. I believe that the method is so meticulous in order to make it difficult to force on someone.”

 

    I replied, “Is it that hard? We probably won’t be fighting that far from their camp.”

 

    “You’re assuming that everybody spawned next to their camp. We may be an exception.” She said. “Much more notable, though, is the nature of this arena. If it truly is planet-sized, or at least close, then eventually we’re going to chase out everyone in this forest and we’ll have to move out. Other teams will do the same. We’re going to travel far from our original camp and our later opponents likely will too.”

 

    “That's a good point, but it should work for now at least. We can worry about what to do later when we get there.” I said.

 

    Garald spoke up. “I’m with Yu, that seems to be the most peaceful way to resolve things.”

 

    “The most peaceful way is to form alliances, obviously.” She gave the exact response I was hoping she wouldn’t. I lowered my head in slight annoyance. “Rubi, not even you can handle that many different teams at once. Even with… Or should I say, especially because of, y'know, how your brain works. You’ll get overwhelmed.”

 

    She looked a little offended but didn’t say it. I felt bad for bringing that up.

 

    “Okay. I’m not going to be childish about this.” She stated calmly. “I’ll let you do it until we get out of here, but I don’t want you getting yourself into dangerous situations. Violence isn’t a necessity. And no matter what, don’t underestimate a captain’s conviction.”

 

    I wanted to point out how reluctant she was to accept Kassy’s proposal, but I didn’t. Kassy could always be an exception, anyway. I doubt Rubi would be so difficult with every captain. Then again, Kassy didn’t act too far beyond what I expected of your average captain.

 

    I can always change my plan later based on new info. I’ll just go through with this one. Rubi and Garald stood up. The shorter of the two turned back to look at me. “You and I will go. As the captain, I’ll oversee this plot of yours. Not that I distrust you. It’s simply my duty.”

 

    I walked towards the training field after retrieving the knife from inside the tent. “Sure thing.” This was why I was hoping she wouldn’t find out. I guess I should have expected that she wouldn’t let such a plan pass her by undetected.

 

    Garald let out a sigh. “Sorry, bro. Have fun.”

 

    I waved my hand at him to show that I had no hard feelings about it. Rubi followed me into the open field. “Are you going to watch me exercise, too?”

 

    “Hm? Can’t I? If we’re both going out, I want to work out too.”

 

    I said nothing in response. I started off with stretches once more, but this time I tried to get back into my daily knife swinging training, or at least what was once daily.

 

    “Just so you know, you’re not going to do any fighting. We flee at the slightest sign of danger.”

 

    Once again, my eyes rolled and I didn’t reply. I found myself getting back into the rhythm, but it tired me out faster than usual. Well, it was as she said, I probably won’t have to do any fighting today. As I finished up my figure eight motions with the blade, I tucked it into the wooden sheath and rested myself against a tree. Rubi was swinging her wooden sword in very elegant motions, clearly not exhausted at all. I looked to my left and right when I realized I forgot to get the wood mug, but Rubi had seemingly gotten it, filled it with water and left it right by this tree as though she knew I would rest at this exact one when I was finished. This girl is something else.

 

    I had finished almost all of it when Rubi came by and held her hand out, the same one she just wiped her sweaty face with. I stifled a laugh and handed her the mug. I almost felt bad about drinking as much as I did, but anyone would agree that I needed it more. The river’s not very far off if you don’t have multiple stab wounds in your back.

 

    With that, we were off. Rubi took two sticks with her, the same as she had given to Barb. I guess with me in this condition, her being overly cautious isn’t unwarranted. She had made progress on the map while I was out, apparently, and was leading the way. “It would be unwise to stray too far from what we’ve already mapped out. Let’s look for teams within our map that we haven’t seen yet.”

 

    I nodded. So far, the only other camp we had on our map was Kassy’s. This would be a chance to know what places to avoid in the future, even if we don’t end up finding a team that looks overly trusting.

 

    We found an open clearing like the one in our camp. My eyes strained trying to look at the dirt, but Rubi whispered to me and held her hand in front of my face. “Footsteps.” So we were thinking of the same thing after all. Yeah, that pretty much proved that it was a training area. We couldn’t say if it was close to their camp for sure or not.

 

    We circled around it very cautiously to confirm, and in my case, so that I could try to scan their captain if they were here. We couldn’t find anything that seemed like a camp. It’s possible that they set their tent up deep within the trees for protection. Wouldn’t be a bad idea. 

 

    Rubi pointed to the right and started to walk, while I followed. We’ll mark it on the map as “probably a camp.” After what was probably half an hour of walking and taking mental notes, I could smell smoke. My nose was pretty sensitive to the stuff. I tapped Rubi’s shoulder and walked forward with her behind me. She was clearly a little uncomfortable with letting me take the lead but she said nothing.

 

    The two of us got close enough to see a camp not unlike our own, a circle conveniently devoid of trees with a tent and a bundle of charred wood outside of it. Like I thought, there was no fire, but it must have been put out recently. The sun was well in the sky by now, so why would it have only been put out recently? Did they leave it up overnight? For it to be done that late, they must have had nobody guarding their tent at night or else that person would have put it out when the sun was up. Maybe they all left the camp without putting it out? That’s a fire hazard.

 

    Whatever the reasoning, I had a feeling this team might be a good target. I gave Rubi a glance and she seemed to feel similarly, although she looked more concerned about their negligence than anything. A difference in how we view the world, I guess. If someone isn’t going to take this thing seriously then I’m not about to let them be the death of me.

 

    We inched ever closer, one step at a time, making sure not to snap any twigs or something. Having to keep steady like this was beginning to put more of a strain on my muscles. Rubi tapped my shoulder and walked ahead of me. I could tell she wanted me to stop getting closer. I lowered my head and stopped walking. I could see the camp well enough from here anyway. I noticed in the distance what seemed to be a person sleeping in a ball inside of a bush, but I couldn’t tell. It may have been some supplies they left in a bundle instead. I wanted to alert Rubi to it but I didn’t know how to without making a noise.

 

    She wasn’t able to get that much closer until the tent started shuffling and a hand brushed aside the entrance. Rubi and I both stood as still as we could. Rubi immediately started to back up with the slowest steps I’d ever seen. The man that came out of the tent was tall, though somehow not imposing. He seemed to have just woken up, if I were to interpret what that comically loud yawn meant. When Rubi’s backstepping put her next to me, I started to do the same, but I couldn’t keep my breath completely quiet. Thankfully, we were probably too far away to be heard as long as we kept the volume down.

 

    The man stretched his limbs one after the other, following it up with a few squats, bending his knees, as though he were putting on a show that seemed to say, “Look at me, I’m stretching!” The silhouette in the bush rolled over but was still mostly hidden. Did that person have the same idea we did? They didn’t look like a member of the same team, since they were hiding like that. Not good.

 

    “Good morning!” He announced loudly. I wondered for a second if he was talking to us, but it seemed like he was talking to nobody in particular, or maybe to the whole world. The hidden person began to stand up, causing me to speed up a bit without realizing it. Rubi noticed and decided to follow, leading the both of us to turn around and head home.

 

    I looked back after a few minutes to make sure we were in the clear. “You think they were gonna fight..?”

 

    “Wait until we’re back.”

 

    I swallowed my tongue and kept quiet for the remainder of our trip.

 

    We entered the clearing of our camp and gathered Garald and Barb to explain what we saw. Barb seemed slightly annoyed that she was the only one who didn’t know why we were gone. Damn, that’s right, I forgot I only told her the beginning of my plan… I'd tell her later.

 

    “The guy seemed pretty carefree.” I said to everyone. “I want to go back there and see if that’s the vibe of the whole team. I got the feeling it was, based on the campfire thing. I don’t know if that guy’s the captain. I also want to know what’s up with the silhouette we saw, if they’re a teammate of his or not.”

 

    They agreed that sending another scout to gather info on that team was a good idea. Even if we didn’t go through with my plan, knowledge is power. I told them that I wanted to be a part of it, but Rubi didn’t seem convinced. She probably noticed how hard it was for me to sneak around.

 

    The day was still young, so after we dispersed, I drank a lot of water and tried to calm myself down by laying beside the river. The sounds calm me. Maybe I should try that meditation thing Barb mentioned.

 

    I decided I wanted to know more about that team. If they were all like that man, then it seemed too good to be true. Someone like that is the easiest to gain the trust of.