Survival

Phase Two

It was almost time for the phase to begin. Everyone had everything prepared and was waiting patiently for the forest master's announcement. "Hey, shouldn't the announcements be going off by now? Emilio, could you check on the clock please?" Quinn was concerned, as well as everyone else. No one knew what was going on. Emilio was already halfway up the tree and suddenly, a scream pierced the forest. The scream was getting closer and closer until the group saw a light coming coming through the trees. Emilio then noticed it came from the direction of the camp he saw last time. The camp was... it was on fire!

 Quinn squinting her eyes made out a human figure. Her heart started beating faster as she noticed what was going on. "Over here! There's a river!" She screamed as loud as she could to lead the person to the river but once they were right near the camp, the person fell to the ground, burning alive. Emilio climbed down as fast as he could and everyone else tried to fan the person with their capes to put out the fire but...it was already too late. Their skin was burned off, only leaving behind bits of muscle and bone.

The smell of burnt human flesh was too unbearable. Riley, Atticus, and the kids went to the river to throw up whatever food they had left in their stomachs. Emilio went straight to Quinn, covering her eyes and hugging her so that she wouldn't have to look at the body. "It's gonna be ok Quinn." Emilio whispered reassuringly in Quinn's ear and rubbed her back so as to try and calm her down. "Ok everyone, we don't know what's happening, but stick together, stay by the river and stay keen on your surroundings." Emilio took the lead and started making sure that everyone was ok. After a few minutes, a familiar voice was heard from the sky.

"Hello again everyone, I apologize for the slight delay on the announcements. Tonight's phase is an exciting one! There will be random wildfires started throughout the whole forest. Unfortunately I got word that someone was standing in a place that the wildfire was supposed to start. What does that have to do with anything? Well, if you are in a spot where a wildfire is supposed to set off, the fire will transfer to you, while still spreading to the surrounding area. In other words, you'll be burned alive quickly unless you find a way to set the fire off before you die. Well, until morning everyone. Good luck and goodbye!" As soon as the announcements finished, Quinn knew what to do. 

"Everyone, pack only the essentials and make sure nothing from your bags hang below your waist. We're going to walk in the river. The fires won't be able to start on us if we're in the water. Everyone link hands so as to not get washed away if you trip. Got it?" They all yelled 'Yes!' in unison and they all packed the necessities as quickly as they could. Quinn made sure to grab a sharp rock in case of emergencies. "Step carefully into the water and make sure you can stand properly." Everyone did as Quinn said. She was able to focus quickly with Emilio having helped her calm down after the body incident. The group was in an organized line. Quinn was in the front, leading the group, Riley was behind her, then the two kids in the middle, Atticus followed, and Emilio stayed in the back in case anyone slipped and he could catch them if they started floating away.

As they went up stream, the screams were accumulating and the river was getting stronger, harder to walk through. Quinn looked back at the rest, "Everyone make sure you keep a tight grip on each other ok? How are you guys holding up?" Everyone said they were fine but Emilio noticed that Atticus was slightly flinching each step he took. "Atticus, are you ok? You keep flinching." He stopped suddenly, almost making the front group trip. "Hey, watch it Atticus!" Riley said, scared she almost fell. "I'm sorry guys.. I ended up cutting my ankle on something in the river. I didn't want to slow you guys down so I just tried to endure it." Riley got angry. "Are you serious Atticus? You getting hurt is dangerous to you and to us. You don't know how important you are to us. As a person and as a team member. You have to tell us things like this before it's too late you idiot!" Atticus looked down at the water and furrowed his eyebrows. "...I'm sorry.." Liam took Riley's shoulder and Kou took Atticus's shoulder. Liam started, "There's no use getting mad at the situation, it'll only waste the energy you need to walk in the river." Kou followed, "Atticus, you have to tell us when you hurt. You are very important. Ok?"