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After waiting long enough to know that he would likely be gone, I ventured back into camp and found that everyone was still preoccupied with having a great time. I rolled my eyes in disappointment, but was not particularly surprised by their carelessness and turned from them to focus on my next survival concern, shelter.
Gathering a parachute and some of the sewing supplies that I'd previously prepared for medical uses, I made my way to one of the quieter sides of the dropship to create myself somewhere to sleep. Though I expected that most people would likely simply sleep inside, if they even stopped partying for long enough to sleep, I was uncomfortable with the idea of sharing cramped quarters with so many other inmates and if I were honest with myself, I was keen to make the most of the outdoors.
Thanks to the years of practicing stitching, I was able to combine the fabrics into something relatively resembling a tent and managed to carry a piece of debris from the landing over to use as an anchor point. Once combined, it formed a flimsy structure that seemed as if it could collapse from even the slightest breeze, but I was proud of my efforts and knew that my old man would get some entertained satisfaction from my newfound adventure skills.
By the time that I had returned everything, it was beginning to get dark and I felt nerves settling in my chest at the thought that Jasper, Monty and Clarke hadn't returned, alongside the rest of their group. The thoughts of what could have happened to them left me restless and I found myself waiting near the edge of camp for any signs of movement. I was unsure of how long I spent pacing around in the long grass, but the light gradually faded and I was left in the dark.
In the background, I could hear grand speeches being made, but decided to hide away, as I feared being dragged into another power struggle, or confrontation like I witnessed earlier. Eventually, a light in the distance caught my attention, alongside many cheering voices and what sounded similar to drums being played in a way that was highly intimidating.
I crept back toward camp nervously, feeling guilty for leaving my post of waiting for the missing group to return and as I neared the fire, I realised that there was some kind of deranged initiation happening, where people were queuing to have their wristbands removed. This discovery made me deeply uncomfortable and I remained out of view as I watched Mbege assist Murphy in removing a young girl's wristband, only to receive excessive praise and cheering for doing so. Bellamy was quick to greet them with a handshake, as if welcoming them to an exclusive club and my stomach churned at the sight of the manipulative behaviour.
The next person in their conveyor belt of volunteers stepped forward and as Murphy used his blade to prize the wristband off, I noticed the grimace of the young person and noted that this seemed a rather painful process to be undertaken by such inexperienced teenage boys. Though I was tempted to offer my expertise to minimise the risk of injury, I couldn't bring myself to risk involvement and instead was about to creep away when Murphy caught my eyes. He patted Mbege on the shoulder, pointing out another of his followers that could assist him whilst he was absent, then navigated carefully through the crowd to avoid drawing any attention as he approached me.
