The third day.
The afternoon of the third day.
Norrington had made it known that they should ready themselves and get comfortable with the weapons they had. There had been many care packages lately. All of them could tell due to the distant sounds that came from the sky. Thankfully, they had also gotten a few themselves; rounding together, they received six in total.
Levi received ammo for the gun he was given and a camo-decorated blanket with fake grass and leaves stuck to it. Norrington pointed out that the blanket and gun could be a deadly combo if used as a backup.
"As long as you can perfect your aim, you can take out an enemy from afar," he told Levi with a stern, fatherly tone. Levi nodded, staring at the (unloaded) gun in his hands and then at the ammo in the box.
Ronan got a variety of throwing knives and a sealed box with bold words on the top. TOXIC. When he opened it, there were four small bottles sealed tightly inside, each holding its own label.
"Wait. Are those poisons?" Barbara cringed, pointing at the skull on the corner of one of the labels. Ronan nodded and glanced at the knives he was gifted with the supposed toxic liquids. They could be a deadly combination together if he were to use them in battle.
Barbara was gifted a metal bat with nails welded on the end. She laughed, holding both her weapons in the air.
"Dual-wielding time!"
Y/N looked down at the items she was given. A knife, her reflection visible in the shine, a small journal, and a small gun with only six rounds in it. No ammo was leftover and no sign was given to her when and how she would have to use it. The gun reminded her of a sheriff from those old western movies.
Norrington received a much sharper katana, this one was dark silver and not as worn or dull as the other one (despite it causing a large amount of damage on the white creature). His eyes lit up in a way a child's eyes would light up when given candy. Y/N didn't know if he'd dual wield the swords or use one during the battle.
"Um...what's this...?" Sarah spoke up, pulling out a pair of shielded glasses that were placed messily atop a variety of multi-colored orbs. They looked almost like decorations for a Christmas tree, except they had large hoops at the top. Ronan picked up one of the red ones, holding the hoop up to inspect it, then smiled.
"Paint bombs...! Er, or smoke bombs." He said, "you pull the hoop and then throw them! That's pretty cool!"
If they were paint bombs, that could cause some trouble for both them and the enemy. If they were smoke bombs, well, it would be the same, except they knew what was coming and could memorize the position easily.
The other two care packages were for all of them to share.
One of them was filled with food, unique supplies, and water that could be shared amongst them, obviously strengthening them for the battle ahead. The other was battle and medical supplies. Two first aid kits, two bulletproof vests, four dark pairs of safety glasses (for shooting), and a bow and quiver.
Sarah picked up the bow and quiver, beginning to count how many arrows were bundled in the case.
"What is this... A chivalry event?" Ronan mumbled, a teasing look crossing his eyes. Sarah smiled, her finger running down the thread of the bow.
"I can use this, actually. I have a bit of experience with target practice." She notified the group, detangling the small rope that bunched the head of the arrows together. Norrington nodded, squeezing one of the vests in his hands to test the durability.
He picked up one of the vests and tossed it to Levi, who, if he wasn't paying attention, wouldn't have caught it. The boy looked flabbergasted as he held onto the vest, "you take one if you're going to be in the back. We don't know how many enemies we're facing in total."
"Wait, if he's going to be shooting from the back, shouldn't someone else have it?" Barbara tilted her head, an eyebrow raising in suspicion. Norrington spared him a glance.
"If they also have a shooter among them then they'll want to pick off Levi first," he explained, tossing the other vest to Barbara, "he'll be defenseless since nobody is going to stay behind with him."
Sarah shivered, "so.. I also won't be staying behind?"
Norrington shook his head, "even with experience, you'll need to be more upfront with the others, but you won't be on the front lines with us."
By 'us', he meant the remaining few. Y/N, Barbara, and Ronan.
Y/N glanced back at the clean kitchen knife and bit her bottom lip. This would be used to cut steak, not flesh. Why was it that they were being put into a situation like this?
Why couldn't they...
"Y/N?"
Her E/C eyes blinked, looking at Sarah who spoke her name. The brunette smiled bashfully, repeating what she had said a moment ago, "I wanted to ask you about something...in private."
Oh.
Y/N looked to the others. They were talking about how to distribute the food, Ronan getting increasingly agitated over the goldfish snacks. She stifled a laugh and nodded. She slid the box off her lap and placed it next to the tree stump while motioning over to the side of the medical fort...which had a hole in the wall due to the collapse.
The other girl took a moment to wander over as she was fumbling with something inside a brown messenger bag she had. That was a personal item Sarah had on her when she found the campsite they stayed at. Nobody asked what was inside it either, so this was a special moment.
Sarah pulled out a pencil and a folded piece of paper. The pencil's eraser was used heavily, down halfway. The lead was sharp though, freshly sharpened.
"I, um, made a map out of the maze...and I wanted to share it with you since..." She trailed off, glancing over at the others, "I kind of...trust you?"
Y/N watched as she unfolded the paper, her heart beating loudly in her ears. Sarah suddenly became flustered.
"N-not that I don't trust the others! It's just... I heard about you...from BEN."
At the sound of the familiar creep's male's name, she looked over at Sarah with wide eyes, "you met him?" She hissed in surprise.
Sarah's brown eyes looked the same at Y/N, "you too?"
"He's so..."
"Infuriating?" She smiled sweetly, contrasting greatly with her words. Y/N couldn't contain a small giggle when she heard that causing the brunettes' ears to burn red.
Holding out the paper in a wide position allowed her to see the whole area of the map Sarah had sketched out.
"I started out here," she pointed to the bottom left corner of the page, a place that was dotted with sketched-out trees and a few words clear in the center of them. 'Golden String Forest'. The way she wrote it was all with one line, all connected in a familiar way. Like strings.
"There were others too...but we couldn't ever stop. So I headed in this direction," she pointed, sliding her finger to the right of the page, edging along the end of it, then up from a path in the paper, "you probably know this rose area."
Y/N nodded.
"I was stuck here for a while...but it wasn't long after I got there that I met BEN and got this paper and pencil," she explained, "it was easy remembering where I came from... But it was also very creepy walking in there."
"Creepy?" The H/C-haired female repeated, glancing at Sarah's form. She lowered the paper slightly.
"There was this other girl I saw...she had black, curly hair. She was walking towards me and I tried to talk to her..but..." She trailed off again, becoming noticeably worried, "she just kept walking, following the roses. It was strangely sweet too. So I ran away."
Offenderman. That's the only person I could think of.
"But!" Sarah pointed at a large place in the center, near the rose maze and the large forest they were currently staying in, "this is where we're going to be meeting tomorrow. The field that Norrington was talking about."
That field. She had walked in it many times before.
"Is there anything... Interesting about it?" She asked Sarah who very quickly shook her head.
"It's just a normal grassy field. There isn't much cover unless you lay flat on your stomach in the grass which is about knee length for me."
So there wasn't the best chance of a sneak attack unless they lay prone in the grass. Y/N's face soured slightly as she thought about it. The only reason that she survived unconscious in that field is that she was lying in the middle of it before Sasha found her.
Why didn't he take me then?
Sarah closed up the map, folding it until it was the same shape she had it before, and placed it back into her bag.
"Oi! Sarah! Y/N!" Ronan called from across the clearing. The smell of fire was evident in the air and it created a bad taste in her mouth which caused alarms to go off in her head.
Ronan, Norrington, Levi, and Barbara sat around a makeshift fire, which, on top of a metal plate from the package, was a large piece of raw meat, growing a bit darker by the second.
"What are you doing?!" Y/N hurried over, Sarah following after, "the smoke will give us away!"
Norrington held up a hand, "I gave him the go-ahead."
Sure, Norrington always had the final word in things when it came to activities in or near the camp, but he wasn't this stupid! Y/N glanced up at the clear sky and noticed the spotty plumes of grey slowly making their way up.
"If you think about it, we haven't been attacked for the time we've stayed here even when four of those monsters know that this is where we'd be hiding out." He explained, his elbows on his knees, "they won't attack us."
"If they do?" Y/N responded quickly, her question directed to the older male. He stayed silent. If they did...
Everyone knew what would happen.
Cruuunch.
Barbara held a bag of chips in one hand, her eyes slightly wide when everyone eyed her. She coughed.
"Well, would you look at the time-" She stood up, shuffling over to the fort where she usually rested at. Y/N crossed her arms and sighed, deciding to do the same. She wasn't hungry, even if the meat on the makeshift grill was tempting enough, she had a bad pit in her stomach that would probably create a worse of a problem if she tried to eat something.
Taking the box she had left by her stump, she ducked underneath the fort's low ceiling and sat down on the thin cloth that separated her from the cool grass. For once, she didn't care what happened during the night. Whether she had a good or bad memory, it didn't matter for tomorrow was going to be a literal nightmare.
~
Jerry stepped out of the car, his heart accelerating in his chest as he looked at their surroundings. The road, actually, no, there was no road, he was just following the stupid directions that his stupid friend had given him. The grey car wouldn't be spotted so easily in this terrain of tall trees and pine. They'd have to walk the rest of the way due to how dense the forest was getting.
"Are you sure your...friend, is reliable?" A voice came from the other side of the car, the backseat door opening. He opened the other door and sighed.
"Yes. He saved me when I was going to die, so I really hope he isn't the one trying to kill me." Jerry pulled one of the full bags from out of the backseat, pocketing his phone so he could take another. The H/C-haired woman took out the snacks that remained in one of the bags and grabbed two of her own. Jerry took the third bag so she could grab her personal items.
I probably have to help with those too. He thought, slamming the door shut as she opened the trunk. On his own will, he took the dark bag that she had around her shoulder, to begin with so she could freely take her suitcase.
The blond announcer told Jerry that he had already sent things to the location for the two of them and all that mattered left was Ms. L/N's items.
God..this is so weird! His mind screamed at him as they began their trek deeper into the forest. It was eerily quiet at a time like this, which was five in the morning, so the sun hadn't fully risen behind the mountains they were oh-so-close to. The silence between the two humans was also just as thick since she didn't exactly take the whole, "oh, hey, your youngest daughter is dead" thing. Tears were shed and Jerry might have a bruise on his face soon.
Jerry glanced back, noticing that the female was lagging behind, and stopped to wait, before continuing on with even thicker silence.
It took them about twenty minutes of walking to finally find the location on his phone, which probably made everything worth it in the end.
There was a shimmering of a crisp lake appearing in the left corner of their vision and the sight of a homey cabin sent waves of exhaustion through the two. Jerry breathlessly laughed and hurried forward, noticing that the stairs that led up to the front door were facing towards the lake with a small dock at the front.
Jerry hopped up the steps, taking two at once, and sent the bags that weighted his arms onto the swinging bench at the front of the house. He took out his phone and then noticed the exclamation point at the top of his screen.
"No signal.." He muttered, turning his phone off and pocketed it once more, "how are we gonna get inside?"
The older woman behind him dropped her items carefully next to the chair and surveyed the front of the house slowly, then dipped her head to look below the two, then stopped. She walked down the steps and ducked below.
"Found it!" Her hand appeared with a key between her thumb and index finger. The ginger raised his brows in surprise, then watched as her smiling face appeared with it.
"A fake rock is always the first thing I look for when trying to find a key inside." She informed him, walking back up the steps, shouldering him aside at the front of the door. Inserting and twisting the handle, the door clicked, unlocking. Ms. L/N moved to pick up her bags, but Jerry put up a hand first.
He motioned to himself, then the house then held up one finger.
I'll go in first.
She just stared at him as if he was crazy.
The male entered first anyways, immediately scanning the large area of the house for any signs of destruction or intruders. None. He groped around with his left hand to the wall and felt the switch for the lights and flicked it upwards. For a moment, they blinded him, but he was quick to bounce back.
The foyer was an open area, a bench, and a coatrack near the right side of the wall. There wasn't any type of doorway, just an open space with a small dip to the left of him (two steps down) where a fireplace was built into. A couch and a lounge chair sat in the dip, pushed back away from the fireplace. A TV was propped up above the fireplace against the wall.
There was a large, rectangular window paired with a bench and a table that protruded from the wall that stretched across the wall directly across from him (about forty feet away from him) which stopped at the corner of the wall, then began again, stopping at the same length the other started. It overlooked the edge of the forest and most of the lake. Next to the window bar area was the kitchen, which was sealed off into its own room with an arched doorway to get into. There were more doors on the left of the house, but he was taking up most of the space in the doorway.
Jerry stepped aside, "it's clear...and pretty nice in here."
The woman entered, slightly taken aback at the sight of the modern-looking cabin, and smiled sorrowfully. Jerry took the rest of the bags from the chair and then closed the door behind them. Ms. L/N set the key to the house on the bar table near the window.
"I'll check down the hall, make yourself comfortable."
She nodded, took a few of the bags, and headed for the kitchen. Jerry crossed the carpeted floor and peered to his right, down the hall. There were two doors and the beginning of stairs at the end of it. The male opened the first door to his very left and noticed that it was a bathroom, no shower or bathtub. He closed the door and walked down the hall with two long strides, opening the one that was on the left.
Storage. Dust bunnies tickled his nose and he sneezed.
"Bless you!" A call from the kitchen. He grunted in response, shivering as he made his way up the stairs. From the outside, you wouldn't know that this place was a two-storied house. The stairs spiraled upwards, but it was a short trip. He entered a place with five doors. Two on each side and one straight ahead.
A few peeks, that's all. He didn't want to spend the whole time trying to describe a scene in his head (cough cough).
Opening the first door on his right, he made note of the bedroom with two beds. The second one on the right was a bathroom with a toilet and shower. The other two doors on the left were the same, except the bedroom had two bunk beds. The door in the center was the master bedroom with a door for a closet and a bathroom with both a shower and bath. He entered, feeling especially at home in this room.
The fluttering of a note on the dresser placed to his right caught his eye. He took it.
Our room when I make it out of there.
- G.
A furious blush cascaded over his face and Jerry stuffed the item in his pocket. His heartbeat in his ears as he closed the door and descended down the stairs and into the living room where he saw Ms. L/N sitting on the couch messing with her own phone.
"Jer?" The woman called, using a nickname he had known all too well, "are you good with...electronics?"
Ah, yes, the times of his generation.
"Pretty good with them. Why?" He was surprised she was even talking with him. He stood behind the couch, a bit nervous to stand by her side....he was afraid she was going to hit him again.
But, she met his eyes with a different look in them, "I want to...see my daughter again."
"Oh." He blurted, blinking a few times. He glanced up at the TV and then around the room, quickly spotting the remote for the device. The ginger powered it on and cursed under his breath.
"No internet. I'll try to get something going," he looked around the room. Where would he even find a router or even a satellite here? He saw the H/C haired female motioning to him and headed into the kitchen, then into a room that was connected to it. The hum of electricity hung in the air.
A mess of wires, lights, and metal boxes.
"Oh my god," he felt angry all of a sudden, "who hurt you."
He was talking to the electronics.
~
PaimonSnaq - @(Star4ce) - 1h
| holy crap. i know #TeamNorrington has good planning and items n stuff but... #TeamSasha .. 😳😓
| 💬30.4k 🔁21.4k 🖤37k
. . .
YouWllRUN - @(UCantH1DE) - 1h
Replying to @(Star4ce)
| Wait! Did something happen??? I was afk!😭😭
| 💬26.8k 🔁30.2k 🖤29.9k
. . .
YoungTwo - @(TwoThree) - 1h
Replying to @(UCantH1DE)
| OKM favoritism happened. but #TeamNorrington will remain victorious!
| 💬19.9k 🔁27.6k 🖤44.8k
. . .
SinnamonMyst - @(rapidcurrent) - 1h
| y/n was kinda right with the smoke n fire n stuff. sure, killers arent attacking but who knows ??
| 💬26.5k 🔁31k 🖤56.3k
. . .
KingTyler🌈 - @(aftertheSTORM) - 1h
Replying to @(rapidcurrent)
| Wait, where even are the killers rn?
| 💬31.4k 🔁24.4k 🖤33.7k
. . .
SaraNClark - @(OKMLIFE) - 1h
Replying to @(aftertheSTORM)
| i think something big is happening
| [ This thread has been deleted ]
. . .
~
Y/N's moral - 39/100