Caesar73 wrote: ↑3 weeks ago
Excellently written as alway
@Beaumains - Leafwings as a Character ... I am not sure if I like her ...
Thanks for your comment. Sadly for you, Leafwing will feature heavily in the next two chapters. Sorry! But her character so far was all jsut her playing an act. In reality, she should be far less extreme.
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“To survive the night, you will need a tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping mat,” the counselor holding a barn lantern explained as all the campers surrounded her at the forest edge. Their pajamas were in backpacks, and they had already brushed their teeth.
Giselle scuffed. Surviving was too dramatic.
“Remember, you have two attempts. If you get caught twice, your night will be definitely less pleasant. Make teams of two. You have to stay together.”
The group came to life, and Giselle led the social game play out. Red Deer instantly pulled Tarantula out, and Lionfish teamed with Willet. Without Eight, there was no clear choice, especially as Honeybee chose to work with Hedgehog. There were no surprises there. Giselle would wait on whichever unlucky soul remained. So, the tap on her shoulder took her by surprise.
“Hey, Swift Fox, do you already have a teammate?”
Giselle had to turn around before the red locks revealed their owner’s identity, Leafwing. She towered over Giselle. “Oh, yeah, sure,” Giselle replied. Almost anyone tagging along with her would be an annoyance. They had not spoken since the Leafwing’s “revenge,” and canonically, Giselle had no clue who was behind the mask. That had ended only an hour ago. The sun had set, and it was dark at the patch near the office building as all lights had been dimmed.
“Awesome. Great. Thanks,” Leafwing stumbled.
“You’re tired, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, a little,” Leafwing replied. “But I’ll be awake when the adrenaline kicks. I had a flight at 7 in Seattle, so it was a long day.”
“If you’re asleep, you can’t make noise,” Giselle joked. They walked a few feet away from the group. “Any ideas for strategies?” It was more of a test than a genuine inquiry. Giselle was unwilling to be tied up for another night because of a new girl’s naivety.
Leafwing smiled. “Play slow. Stay away from others. Let’s take our time and the long route.”
“I disagree politely. Being slower in the game has advantages but exposes us for longer. Going around is too obvious. I propose staying relatively close to others because that is counter-intuitive, but you can’t sneak silently here anyhow. If someone is found, the seeker’s awareness drops. When that happens, most people would stop and wait until matters calm down. One should exploit those moments. They are free distractions.”
“You know their tactics! What will they do?”
Giselle lowered her voice. “I don’t. I’m bullshitting, but they are pretty predictable. The goal is not to see who can do this but who does this best. If they want, they guard a supply station and capture everyone. No, they let roughly half survive. Footsteps in a dark forest in a small area are difficult to hide. How punishing they are depends on the average performance. The counselors aren’t our opponents. Somebody has to lose, like this afternoon.”
The barn lantern glowed on Leafwing’s face as she processed Giselle’s words.
“They try to reward tactics they deem reasonable, and we try to exploit that. Those who start too fast will be punished for being reckless. Those trying to outflank them are expected to do so. The most cautious will be picked out for being cowards when the rest has finished or is tied up. Hence, I suggest we stay in the middle behind a noisy group and let them take the fall. Their sounds will camouflage ours.”
Leafwing beamed. “You’re taking this so seriously. I heard you were good but did not take everything too seriously. I want revenge for this morning. Let’s win this thing.”
Giselle returned the smile and hug. “I couldn’t care less. I don’t want to spend the night chained in a spread-eagle or locked in a cage. That’s my only motivation. It’s a short, stupid game whose consequences are absurd and barbaric.” She could continue her rant that the camp echoed the real world for at least 30 minutes. Bank accounts are numbers, and diplomas are printed pieces of paper that society deems valuable. One was rewarded for obeying the system and becoming a mindless, uncreative worker used to being exploited while still being cheaper than a robot. The bondage punishments at Spy Came were no different than expulsions, line writing, and social isolation at school. It was all theater to see who would be most useful to those pulling the strings than to make people happy. Everyone was playing a part in a play worse than her high school’s, but telling this to Leafwing would make her sound like a conspiracy nut.
“I agree. Let’s do that.”
Giselle led her partner to a bunch of helpful tools. Both girls bound their hair in a ponytail they led down their tracksuits while covering their heads with a balaclava. Giselle removed her pajamas from her backpack and stuffed them in her pockets. The flimsy plastic backpack grazed against her jacket. Then, she concealed the reflective stripes on her clothes and shoes with black tape.
They joined a group of nervous boys who attempted to boost their confidence with overblown stories and awful tactics. Crawling like a marine would not help. It would be slow, exhausting, and noisy without proper technique.
When the whistle blew, the guys ducked into the tree line, and the two girls followed their example. Giselle focused on Bull Dog and Polar Bear, both at least twice her weight and not known for their subtle movements.
A green light glowed a few hundred yards ahead, signaling the location of the tents, sleeping bags, or sleeping mats. The two other green lights were slightly further away.
Quiet as a cat, Giselle slipped under the dark towers that still carried their leaves during summer. Leafwing trailed her, each step a little louder, but the difference was still minor. Meanwhile, some boys sounded as if they were crunching cornflakes inches from Giselle’s ear. Barn lanterns in front of them moved, patrolling the area. As expected, Snipe and Meerkat, who had rushed forward, were caught quickly while the elephants covered Giselle’s and Leafwing’s noise.
While Dallas was busy cuffing Bull Dog’s and Polar Bear’s hands behind their backs, the girls passed them 70 feet farther. There were more casualties, and Giselle grinned, believing the counselors were constantly finding people. They had chosen a small playing field, causing a short but intense game. Giselle snatched a tent from the pile, leaving the light like a mouse running back into his hole with a piece of cheese.
Near the pile of sleeping bags was a group of eight campers, all cuffed and gagged, because they had been seen twice. Trying to release them was naive: Orlando was nearby. It was a trap. Cottontail’s puppy eyes did not distract Giselle from grabbing two sleeping bags and diving under foliage. A pair of heavy boots approached, but the barn lantern did not light the ditch the girls were hiding in. When he moved away like a forgetful NPC, they walked in the opposite direction.
Without much trouble, Giselle let Leafwing grab the large foam sleeping mats while the playing field was thinned out significantly. “Now we only need to get back,” Leafwing whispered, stating the obvious.
With their hands full, being silent and careful was harder. Giselle noted Leafwing was already smiling proudly. They were not home yet. And that is where Leafwing made her misstep. She screamed high-pitched, and when Giselle turned around, her ally lay on the ground.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Leafwing replied, nourishing her ankle. “A rabbit hole, I guess.”
“Good,” Giselle lied. The sloppiness had attracted two barn lanterns. The first belonged to Ithaca. Leafwing repeated her story as she stood up and tested her leg. It was fine.
Ithaca took a pair of handcuffs from her bag. “Then consider yourself caught. Leafwing, as you’re new, I’ll spare you from the worst,” Giselle’s least favorite camp counselor spoke. A male counselor joined as well to check up on them as the girls’ wrists were linked. “Good luck for the remainder of your journey.”
Leafwing gathered her sleeping equipment, and with the awkward cuffs, they continued their trip. Both counselors had gone deeper into the forest, so five minutes later, they reached the grass surrounding the office building effortlessly.
Two other teams were already there: Willet and Lionfish, and Ocelot and Ibyx. Lionfish was strapped in a straight jacket, but the boys had come out unscathed. Four more duos came out, all being spotted once. “You can pitch up your tents,” Washington told them. Lionfish appeared bewildered and prideful that the punishment was real.