Chapter 9: Reunion

  Time Remaining; 716 Days, 12 Hours, 18 Minutes…

  Alright, its time to go back and talk with my team, Alex accepted this realization as he tapped the haft of his spear, checking it's sturdiness. It was something he had done each day, making sure his weapon was still strong, undamaged. He needed it now more than ever. Now that there was an entire pack of badgers on his heels.

  He had been going about his routine all morning. Checking his campsite, collecting wood and water, making sure he ate. Scouting the area for animal tracks as a potential hunt later. The basic things. He added working out to his morning schedule now as well. Alex did squats while holding a log, he did high jumps with a large stone in his arms, sprints back and forth through the trees, and more.

  Alex did all of this while he thought about the next steps he was going to have to take. Formulating and establishing a plan of action. He needed a set plan right now, not only to maintain his progress with his stats and build, but also to maintain his sanity.

  Priority one is getting to that village Sylvaris told me about. I need to get more information. Information about stats, this Core feature, spells, the system in general and everything else on top of that. He looked down at his spear again, as well as his badly re-stitched clothes and he frowned. I need new gear too, this thrown together spear won't hold out for long, and getting the right gear will really let me start hunting these beasts down.

  There were some issues that Alex had to solve though. The first being, he had no idea what kind of currency this place would use, and he sure as hell didn't have any. If he wanted to buy new gear, he would need to make some money.

  He had the pelts of the deer and the three badgers that he killed, which he assumed would be worth something, but he didn't know how much. He doubted it would be enough for a real weapon, or even some armor for that matter.

  So he had gone through the rest of his gear, trying to see what would be worth trading. Some medical supplies, an un-operable data pad and other tech, and the remains of my Ion-Gear. That's all Alex had with him. I'll have to ask Allie about the meds. The data pad and everything else are pretty much junk, and not even made of metal, so no scrap value. The Ion-Gear though, that could be worth something. It's made of good metal. The rifles are too.

  It was the gear and the rifles that confirmed in Alex's mind that he had to go see his team. If he could explain to them what happened, what his plan was, they could collect their supplies together and he could sell it at the village, getting everyone some gear and weapons.

  I guess it's time to just face the music. Alex didn't enjoy these parts of social interactions. The whole apologizing and groveling part. Why did he hate it? It definitely wasn't a self-esteem issue because of being compared to his twin brother, Adam his whole life. Certainly not.

  It's not. Why even bring that up? Shut up already.

  ***

  Alex stepped through the edge of his team's campsite a little past noon. It didn't take long for him to find the place, and he was able to scout the surrounding forest rather quickly. It didn't look like his teammates had changed the layout of their camp at all, something that made scouting the place easier for him.

  He decided to wait until everyone was there before he approached them. Just so he didn't have to repeat himself, and so no one would surprise him from behind. Am I getting more paranoid lately? Alex didn't let that thought dwell very long and just pushed forward.

  "Hey everyone!" Alex stepped into the camp with his hands raised, a smile on his face.

  "Alex, what the hell?" Garret was the first to respond, running out to meet him.

  The guy didn't show anger or suspicion, just the same goofy smile that was always on the guy's face. No matter the situation, it always seemed like Garret had that smile. It was a constant that Alex didn't realize he had missed until now.

  "Hey man." He gave Garret a fist bump and dropped his mental guard a bit.

  "I thought you would have returned earlier, its been like three days!"

  "Well, I honestly would have stayed away longer but-

  "You knew you messed up huh?" Eric's voice rang out over the area, making Alex to turn towards the tents again. Sure enough, the captain, as well as the rest of the team, were all standing there.

  Henry stood blank faced, arms crossed. Devon was just stepping out of the tent, wide eyed and slightly confused, like he had just woken up. Allie looked at him with an icy glare though, and he knew there would be an ass chewing from her that he was going to have to avoid somehow.

  "Alex?" Devon began to move closer, the fear on his face now gone but Eric stretched his arm out, blocking his path.

  They all fell silent for a moment, just looking at each other. Alex was sure he could outlast them all in awkward silences, all of them except Henry, but decided he didn't want to waste time.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "I didn't make a mistake. I just..." What was it he wanted to say? That something he didn't understand came over him. That this whole situation might be driving him crazy? He wasn't the only one stuck out here though, and he had to remember that. His team was counting on him, and he could count on them in return.

  "I don't know. Look, can we not do this whole thing please?" Alex waved his hand around in a circle. "I'm certain you've realized I wasn't crazy after all. The system screens, you've seen them right?"

  Devon broke first, nodding quickly to Alex's question. From there, Allie shrugged her shoulders, as good as a yes coming from her. Alex looked to Henry then, who stared at him for a few seconds before he gave an almost imperceptible nod. He didn't even need to look at Garret beside him to hear the guy shifting in his standard excited way.

  "Yes. We've seen them. What about them though? We can't do anything with them, and we have food, water and shelter to think about until we get rescued." Eric's tone was angry, but Alex could hear that same undertone of worry and fear he had recognized back when the captain’s Ion-Gear had a "false alarm". He was hiding his true thoughts, trying to ever be the strong and stoic team leader.

  His words told Alex that his team also hadn't seen the quest screen, or just didn’t believe it. Denial was certainly a legitimate response to something like that. Alex didn’t blame the captain for taking such an approach. It was a lot all at once.

  He also guessed that they had not figured out how to use their experience points yet. He was disappointed by this. He figured Devon might have figured it out by now. It wasn't entirely un-intuitive after all and Devon was a hell of a tech wiz. Alex was sure he would have figured it without Sylvaris' explanation, even if it took another day.

  Did he want to tell them, or should he stay silent and increase the lead he was building right now? It was a question he hadn't been able to figure out. Until now.

  "I know how to spend the experience points, I can teach you all easily."

  Alex knew he wanted to have his lead against everyone, to ensure his survival. That feeling didn't overshadow his loyalty to his team though. He spent so much time with them, connected to them. He ran out into a field under the threat of pointed rifles not even a week ago for these guys, of course he was going help them out.

  Alex also wasn’t just a total asshole and wouldn’t put himself first above everyone else. He wasn’t the only one scared, trapped and facing death. He also wasn’t the only one who just wanted to go home.

  Further, the stronger they get the better a chance he would live. The stronger he gets, the better chance for them. It was a no-brainer to tell them everything he knew. As long as they all stayed ahead of Kate and her team.

  Except maybe I will tell Lance and Holly too. He thought that they both had seemed nice enough. Holly is even kinda pretty, for a Uni. If I can talk to them again-

  "You know how? Hell yeah man, teach us. How'd you figure it out. What changes did you make?" Devon ducked under Eric's arm at this point and hurried forward, now pressing Alex with Garret. The guy's eyes were wide in anticipation, this seemed to be on his mind for awhile now.

  "Devon wait, we don't even know if he's telling the truth," Allie said, brushing her hair to the side in a huff.

  "He's gotta be. I mean look at him, have you ever known Alex to be a good liar? His eyebrows always twitch when he lies, remember."

  "Wha- no they don't," Alex yelled back, his face scrunched as he looked up, trying in vain to get a glimpse of his own eyebrows.

  "Yeah, you're right. His brows didn't move at all. He really knows how to use the screens." Allie stepped forward then too, leaving Eric and Hank back at the tents. She made her way to Garret's side, looking at Alex expectantly.

  Henry looked over at the Captain and lifted his chin. Eric simply looked back at him and shook his head, a gesture signaling for the scout not to trust Alex. Henry looked between Eric and the four other members of the team before he finally sighed and walked over to Devon's side, leaving the captain alone.

  Alex looked over at the man, seeing the anger, worry, and fear still in his eyes. Alex stepped forward, drawing the knife strapped at his side as he moved. He then flipped the knife around, holding the handle out in front of him and held it out to the captain.

  "Let's talk."