SOTF Archive/SOTF Classic

As Jasper handed back the paintball gun to Arthur, Henry asked if Arthur had any ammo inside. "Yes," Arthur answered, "I checked it over earlier, when I woke up." Henry went on to explain that the two planned on staying around the docks for a little while longer, and that they were looking for materials to make a fishing rod. Arthur was a little concerned that Henry was still thinking about fishing, but otherwise had no practical objections. If they could catch and cook fish, it'd taste a lot better than the protein bar he had earlier.

Jasper pointed at the storehouse building in the distance, Arthur turned and looked in its direction. He hadn't done much in the way of studying it before, but now that he looked at the building he noticed that perched on top was a run down helicopter. Though the presence of a helicopter pad on the map was clear to him, he doubted that the people who brought him here would leave such an obvious means of escape, if not for a trap. The other two hadn't mentioned it yet, though, so Arthur kept from mentioning it either.

"I mean, it's worth a shot," Arthur replied, "It's a pretty big building." Arthur was pretty sure that finding twine somewhere inside the warehouse was likely, and sticks would be easy enough to gather outside. What worried him about the warehouse was the presence of his classmates. Some would be playing, he figured, and even though there were three of them together, Arthur knew that there were stronger students out there too, with weapons more lethal than anything he had yet seen. That these two were the type more likely to throw weapons away rather than put them to use only worried Arthur further.

But he wasn't going to let the two of them go in there alone. If he did that, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. These weren't just random people he was stranded with, these were his classmates, and two of them that he liked, for that matter.

"What do you guys think?" He asked, "Ready to head over there?"

"Yeah, let's go!"

Grinned, adjusted the strap of his bag, and started to make his way towards the building that had been pointed out.

He was excited. He was going to go fishing on a remote island. Who knew what he might find here? This was going to be fun. Just him, Jasper, and Arthur, hanging out. Maybe they'd run into some more friends, too? Henry hoped he'd meet up with Jae soon.

((Henry Spencer continued in Self Doubts and Hurricanes))

Jasper couldn't help but feel incredibly lucky: he'd run into two friends right off the bat, and they all agreed to stick together. He hoped they'd run into others, people like Abby and Nate and Caedyn: good friends he wanted to see before...well, before he died.

There was always the possibility that he wouldn't die, though. Jasper remembered the big rescue back in 2008, when roughly thirty kids made it out of SOTF alive. It hadn't happened again in 2012, but there was always the chance that the rescuers would repeat their stunt here. Jasper hoped it would, but if it didn't, if he was going to die...well, Jasper didn't want to think about that. Besides, there were more pressing matters.

They needed twine for fishing.

((Jasper Bustamante continued in Self Doubts and Hurricanes))

As Jasper and Henry walked ahead of him, Arthur took one last look at the fish circling around in the water below. They looked just as peaceful as they had before, content to swim in a circuit around the side of the docks. He smiled at their happiness, their purity. He wished he could be one of them, just for a little while, swimming around with nothing to worry about.

Jasper and Henry were good kids. He was glad he had run into such nice people early on. Arthur felt at ease, a momentary peace settling in his toes. He walked after them, eager to explore the storehouse ahead. No matter if there were other people waiting in the storehouse, weapons at the ready. Arthur knew that he'd be fine as long as he had friends at his side to watch his back.

The day had barely started, and already Arthur was feeling hopeful. He walked over to join his friends.

[Arthur Bernstein continued in Self Doubts and Hurricanes.]