Pay in to Paradise

Nicole heard the other boy say something under his breath. He sounded irritated. It wasn't a particularly clever move making enemies, but Nicole smirked and winked at Twelvecig. He then layed back on the grass, half asleep in the light of the rising sun.

He kept just awake enough to watch for any immediate threats, but otherwise allowed himself some rest. It felt good, with the smell of the grass and the warmth of the sun. He closed his eyes and imagined a more peaceful setting, with less people and more wildlife.

"Welcome to the group, you," the girl with the cap said in a pleasant monotone. She tilted her head. "Do you have a name? It is okay if you don't. I do not either. Maybe we will find names."

She had hoped to ease as much of the tension that appeared to be rapidly accumulating between Nine and Twelve. Fortunately, before it could escalate further, a bumbling, heaving little boy stumbled forth into the center of the deformed circle bounded by the four older kids.

He suffered stares from the four as he caught his breath and wipes his forehead, which had begun to glisten with sweat. "Not... Not fair," he wheezed, "not made for runnin', so sure I ain't..."

After a moment more, the boy managed to compose himself. He dipped his head as if to bow to each of the new arrivals, introducing himself as "Twocoats, sir," and "Twocoats, ma'am."

Following this, he seemed to realize his intrusion and took his place next to Ninestone. "I uh, I reckon... I made a map! He can testify I made a map, and got us food!" Twocoats proclaimed, gesturing to Nine. "So don't go and call me stupid... This is my place, and, and you folks are welcome to stay!" Saying this, Twocoats puffed out his chest, as if to inflate himself with false confidence. His cheeks grew red with embarrassment.

Nicole spoke next. "He sure did make a map. He ran inventory too." He held out and unfolded the paper. He passed the paper to the girl immediately to his left, the one who had just spoken. He looked around at all the people present. Other than the junkie they seemed tolerable, and he wouldn't be surprised if he made friends with one of them.

He cast a concerned look at Twocoats. "You alright?" He felt genuinely concerned for the boy, as a mix of pity and general goodwill, unfamiliar, entered his mind. He eyed everyone. "Is anyone not okay?"

Threeblade remained quiet as the new arrival, another boy, burst in and introduced himself as Ninestone, then as Nicole. The second name sounded… different. Something about it made her pause for a second, eyes narrowing a bit in thought. But as she had no recollection of what made that name stand out, she simply let the idea go. No sense in worrying over the little things.

The sickly boy, Twelvecig, didn’t look to be one good terms with their new arrival. That sent off warning bells in her head, fighting would only cause more problems. There could be fanged creatures lurking in the grasses, stalking ever closer for all they knew. Spending precious energy getting worked up over the presence of another person wouldn’t be helpful for anyone.

“I’m-” and yet another boy came tumbling into their steadily-expanding circle of the stranded.

“Uh, hello, Twocoats,” she said, “I’m Threeblade.”

She would leave his other comments to be dealt with by the others. She was exactly the leading type; she was more of the quiet follower, the silent watcher. It suited her. The wildnerness, at least while the sun was shining, was an ally, though how she knew that remained a mystery to her. Given, this place could be the exact opposite for all they knew.

Nicole eyed the girl. She seemed a bit nervous, or perhaps apprehensive. He sneezed. Seething was messing with his nose. He shook his head and blinked. He turned to the girl and spoke, saying "Hello, Three. Are you alright?" He hoped he would come off as a normal person.

"Um... yeah, I mean, I guess I'm alright," she answered, stumbling over her words in a way that pretty much nullified the statement she just made. Realizing this, she said, "Well, it's just that I just woke up here with no memories, no idea how I got here, no idea who I am... it's strange and disturbing. What is this place anyways?"

Well, there goes appearing calm.

Threeblade sighed, picking at her sleeze once again. That was a long string of sentences for such a period of time, unusual for her. This boy, one of their group now by the looks of it, didn't seem too dangerous. The fact that he'd asked how she was doing already improved her opinion of him, but only time would tell if that improving opinion would ring true with who he was.

He nodded. "That's the thing. No one knows. And I doubt anyone has their memories intact. To be honest I think working together is our est bet, all in favor?" He then turned to Twelvecig. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, man. Want to just try to live and make it a deal?" He held out his hand for Twelve to shake if he wanted to.

Threeblade nodded in assent, some of her fears at least slightly assauged. Facing this eerie new realm would be less overwhelming with others there to watch their respective backs. After all, if two heads are better than one, they must be quite well off with their numbers. Unless that had just been jinxed.

"That sounds good to me, better to stay together than go off alone."

Maybe there were even more kids just like them here, wandering around confused. Twocoats said he had a map, maybe he'd run into others in his time in this world. She made a mentle note to check with him about that particular possibility.

Twelvecig just stood, picking at one of the stains on his hoodie, when the boy named Twocoats ran up to the odd little group that they had apparently formed. He remained silent until Nine, or, rather, Nicole, spoke to him, asking for a truce. Twelvecig replied with a nod and held out his hand to shake.

"So, Twocoats, what've you got for food? And do you have any water?"

Nicole shook Twelve's hand and then passed him the map. Afterwards he folded his hands behind his back and warily studied the people who were present. There wasn't anything more he could deduce about any of them by just watching, he figured that out quickly. So instead he stood there, hands behind his back and biting his bottom lip with his right canine tooth.

Twocoats, growing visibly excited, seemed to forget his exhaustion and hopped up in down to relieve the sudden burst of energy that shot through his limbs at the sounds of usefulness. "I got water, and food, and papers and pens, too! I found them in them offices! Y'all follow me, I'll show you the food and water!"

With that, he huffed forth down the hill, scrambling madly along the cobblestones towards the town that was just barely visible in the early morning light.

The girl with the cap widened her grin ever-so-slightly. "Shall we follow the funny little boy?"

Nicole nodded assent. He then began walking down the hill slowly, chewing on his lip the whole way. He had almost made it a quarter of the way down when he tasted a bit of blood from his lip. He decided to switch to holding the crucifix between his front teeth, then continued, occasionally licking away drops of blood.

Twelve followed suit, curious to explore this new place they were all stuck in for the time being. Twocoats was an odd kid, that much was sure, but then, so was everyone in their group.

The walk was relatively long, consuming a time period of about fifteen minutes, yet Twocoats didn't seem to notice. Instead, he bounded along at a surprisingly quick pace, which was sure to catch up with him once his excitement died out.

After having exited the small grove of trees, the group crossed a large plain of tall grass, which swayed and rustled like pale green waves in the gentle wind, which howled in the distance. The path, now of gravel, wound in peculiar curves to navigate the gentle slopes of the foothills. It seemed warmer out here in the open, but also much brighter. There was, however, a curious scent in the air; a stench so mild it could not be compared to any known smell, nor pinned down to any specific point of origin.

After several more minutes of quiet walking, the tattered gray buildings came into view over the next rise. Now, the town square could clearly be distinguished, marked by a dirtied and inactive fountain of whitish cobblestones; around it, several buildings lay, the largest of which being presumed to be the town hall.

It was to this building that Twocoats happily led the way, his dirty boots clattering loudly on the dull stones of the square. He stopped outside the door, hesitating to touch its cast iron knob. "Ah... Gives me trouble, this door does. Might'nt one of you happen to be particularly strong? Gotta give it a bit of force. But there's food inside, I swear!"

Nicole looked at the ground. "Can't say I am, but I'd we could find a crowbar or something..." He let the sentence trail off when he realized how weak it made him sound. His cheeks red, he shut his eyes and folded his hands behind his back.

"Err... I could give it a go, but I'm not really the strongest guy..."

Twelve's hands were fiddling with the ball of wax he had dug out of his pocket during the walk, and by now he had a strange little creature that somewhat resembled a lizard. He squashed the thign in his hands, then rolled it into a ball again and returned it to its place in his pocket. He then took a step forward from his spot at the back of the group, roughly shoving aside anyone blocking his way, without so much as an apology. Cracking his knuckles, Twelvecig took another step forward, reaching out to the doorknob that was giving the funny kid trouble, and turned it, and pulled with all of his might.

Nicole watched as Twelve managed to open the door. He smiled and clapped slowly. He then moved to the back of the group and resumed chewing on his crucifix, a habit he had picked up. He crossed his arms and glanced around, smiling slightly.

"Brilliant," Twocoats chattered, sweeping his way into the dimly-lit hall.

The building appeared to be composed of one central chamber, led into via an anteroom in the front - whose sturdy oak doors were wide open - and several side-chambers that looked to be offices. In the center of the polished hardwood floor, which had been cleared of any and all furniture, lay a primitive pile of cans and cartons. A dingy musk hung in the air, seeming to catch in the throats of all those who breathed it

It was towards this central mass that Twocoats ushered his congregation. "There's beans, and canned carrots, and water! I couldn't find much else that keep."

~~~

The girl in the golf cap padded, somewhat hesitantly, over to the amassment of cans, picked one up to examine. It appeared to be coated in dust, a clammy and somewhat damp coating that was smudged about its ancient label by enthusiastic handprints. Clearing the dust, the girl saw that it was a can of cauliflower. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, but resigned herself to eating it nonetheless. "Have you got a can-opener?" she asked, to no one in particular, still staring down the can of cauliflower.

Nicole walked up to a pleasant looking chair and sat down. He curled his legs so his knees were at his chest, once more in a fetal position. He took off the chain and crucifix and examined it. Stainless steel. He returned the jewelry to his neck and stuck the crucifix in his mouth.

Twelve looked to the food on the ground. It looked ancient, older than all of them combined, even though he wasn't sure how old everyone was. Dust coated every can, in some places there were hand prints, he was pretty sure Twocoats', but he wasn't certain. Still, food was food, water was water, and he needed both desperately. When the girl called for a can opener, he stepped cautiously, even as the girl had done before him, and he stopped beside her. He was still standing, he dug into his pocket and grasped the carving knife. He removed it from its resting place and held the handle out to the girl.

"Might this work?"

This was a hoping gesture, because he felt like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

The girl's face brightened, and she nodded Twelve her thanks before taking the knife from him. She was quick to incise the soft metal of the can, and, twisting the embedded handle, tore off the lid. What met her nose was a slightly unpleasant scent of stagnant vegetable.

She handed the knife back to Twelve and gave the contents of the newly-opened can a careful prod. The mashed cauliflower was unpleasantly cold - the girl looked around the room for a second, half-contemplating collecting some sawdust to improve the flavor. Deciding against it, she stared back into the can, unsure of how to proceed.

Twocoats, as if desperate to prove the worth of his stock, began to fidget. "Ah, you... You can open more cans, there is plenty of food available! I spent two days finding.:"

Though it had only been several hours since sunrise, already the sky seemed to be growing dark.

Twelve nodded as he took the knife back. He knew enough about canned foods to know that they definitely tasted better cooked than straight from the can. His mind wandered to ways to cook the food, since he had no such experience preparing any form of food. At least, not that he could remember. Someone here had to have some experience, and he had a way to at least heat the food, so the solution was simple enough. Find some wood, maybe some paper or other wood product to start the fire.

Taking the knife to a can of what looked like yams or something similar, Twelve remained in the same standing position while he tore open the can, a bit rougher than the girl had, but accomplishing the same goal. The yams smelled a bit unpleasant, but he was ravenous. Placing the can on the ground, Twelve took a few steps until he was a few feet away from Twocoats.

"Is there any wood, or maybe a bit of paper I can light up to fix these cans?"

It was immediately apparent that Twelve's mouth was dried out. He ducked his head and coughed, dryly wheezing out air.

"And*cough*, might you be able to point out the water?"

Threeblade followed the others into the building, remaining in the back of the group with her hands dug deep into her pockets and shoulders hunched as if she were weathering an unseen gale. This place gave her a bad feeling... hell, this whole world gave her a bad feeling. It was as if a musky stench pervaded the air everywhere.

Breathing in softly between her pale lips, a piece of dust caught in her throat, causing her to curl inward as she began to cough. It was a dry hacking sort of cough, like the cough of one starved for liquids. Once the coughing subsided, she settled back against a far wall, eyeing the pile of cans.

The food didn't exactly look what one might call appetizing, but it was the only sustenance they had. Once the others had figured out how best to prepare said food, she would help however was needed.

Through the open door off to her side she could see that the sky was steadily darkening. Their first night in this eerie place would soon be upon them. If things were to go wrong, night would be the likeliest time.

Nicole finally sat up and sifted through the cans until he managed to find something that looked like soup. He dug the can out and dusted off the label. Basic barley and vegetable soup. He looked around until he found Twelve. He looked up tentatively and asked, "Hey, could I please borrow that knife?"

When Twelve stopped coughing, he managed to hear Nicole's question. He grasped the knife yet again, pulling it out of his pocket once more. He handed off the knife to the other boy, another cough hitting him like a truck.