Twisted Wonderland: Camp Vargas - Exercise in Survival

Chapter 3-3: Gonna Squeeze You Later

Very early the next day, it's the second day of Camp Vargas and everyone's still asleep. But then the peaceful sleep is abruptly disturbed by a very loud clanging sound, which causes everyone to wake from their sleep.

Ruggie yelps, "What's going on?!"

Wha... What in tarnation?!" Epel cries out shocked.

"Epel!" ruggie panics.

"What's all that racket? And why won't it stop?!" Epel asks, still shocked.

"No idea. It just started all of a sudden..." Ruggie says.

Soon, everyone turns to see one one of the ghosts banging a frying a pan with a ladle.

The ghost calls out, "Rise and shine, boys! Time for your next challenges!" and is still banging with the frying pan.

"Oh, it's a ghost banging on a frying pan..." Epel says, shocked.

Ruggie asks, "What time is it, anyway? If the sun's not risen OR shining, how come we gotta be?!"

Soon, Vargas walks over and calls out, "Good morning, everybody! And what a fine morning it is."

Tired, Floyd says, "Man... I wanna go back to sleep."

Deuce also feels tired, "Ugh, sleeping bags don't make the ground any softer. I don't feel rested at all."

"Sheesh, I knew you kids lacked muscle, but you apparently lack manners too. When I say good morning, I expect a proper response. I'll flunk anyone who doesn't give me one. Let's try this again," Vargas says.

And then takes a deep breath and shouts, "GOOD MORNING!"

Despite being tired, the students say, "...Good morning, Coach."

Leona groans, "Ugh, it is too early for this..."

"Okay, here are your challenges for day two! There are three of 'em again. First—survival! You'll need to brew potions in case of an emergency," Vargas says.

And presents a picture of what appears to be a flower, but it's glowing a light blue and it looks like it's closed.

Vargas then says, "Go out and find a lantern blossom. They grow in the area, and are used in potions to help heal cuts and scrapes faster."

"Lantern blossoms? They're quite rare, if memory serves. This is already a more difficult task than anything we did yesterday," Sebek says.

Then Vargas announces, "Second-sustenance! When catching your own food, you must also be aware of its environment."

And presents a picture of a catfish.

"There are giant catfish in the lake that prey on the smaller fish. Catch one," Vargas says.

"There's CATFISH in the lake?!" Ruggie asks, shocked, "I didn't see a single one when we were fishing yesterday. We'll need a strategy to pull this off."

"Third—education!" Vargas calls out, "You'll need to utilize a more practical knowledge of magestones today. Go back into the mine and get another stone," Vargas says, "But this time, I want an even larger one! Your stones must be about two cubic centimeters and weigh around seven grams."

Floyd groans, "MAAAN! Findin' one yesterday was hard enough, but now we gotta go bigger? I wanna go home."

"Once again, you have until sunset. Day two of Camp Vargas begins...NOW!" Vargas announces.

"I say we send most of our members into the forest. Lantern blossoms are exceedingly rare," Sebek informs.

Riddle agrees, "Agreed. They grow in small quantities. We'll dispatch as many people as we can."

"All these challenges are pretty tough, but I'm thinkin' I'll start at the lake. Catching catfish is too hard for beginners," Ruggie says.

Deuce turns to the group, "We've got the woods, the lake, and the mines... Where should we start?"

One of the members suggests, "Why don't we split into three groups? Freshmen can have first dibs."

"In that case, why don't we do the one that's the toughest workout? It'll help us in the club," Jack says.

"You actually want to work out more?! You got muscles for brains or something?" Deuce questions.

"You're one to talk!" Jack says, "If you're so tired, why not take a little nap? I'll handle everything. Unlike you, I've got energy for days."

"Hey, I'm not tired! I'm rarin' to go! Digging into rock walls was pretty taxing yesterday. Let's go with the mines!" Deuce says.

"Heh. That's better," Jack says with a grin.

Soon, Briar and the others walk to the campsite themselves.

Grim feels tired, "Myaaawn... So sleepy."

Sereia yawns, "I'm so tired."

"Me too," Tanzanite adds.

Soon, Floyd and Jamil walk over, "

"Hey, Little Shrimpy and gang, Got a sec?" Floyd calls out.

Grim notices Jamily and Floyd, "Mrah? What's goin' on, you two?

Jamil asks, "Have you seen Ace? He never came back to camp last night."

"I don't think so," Briar says.

"Me neither," Jasper says.

"I tried looking for him to check to see how he's doing, but couldn't find him yesterday," Tanzanite says.

Then Jamil says, "Well, this is Ace we're talking about. He's probably ditching work and hanging out in another club's tent."

"I got a message for Crabby if you see him," Floyd says.

"What's that?" Sereia asks.

Floyd then answers, "It's, 'I'm gonna squeeze you later.' Pass it on for me, wouldja? Catch you on the flip side," and takes his leave.

"Uh okay, we'll do that," Briar says, sheepishly.

Where's Ace got to now?" Grim asks, "Oh well, we're gonna be doin' lots of rounds today. Maybe we'll run into him."

"Maybe, just in case, we should keep an eye out for him," Briar says.