Chapter 82: Episode 12-Nefarious Sloth (6)
Ethan and Marcus were tossing and turning as if they were having nightmares. Max was shivering and wincing in her sleep. She looked ill.
"What do we do?"
"I don't know," I said.
[Constellation "Egyptian Thought" is placing their eyes on you.]
[Constellation "Egyptian Thought" wishes to employ your service.]
(What?)
What was this Constellation doing? I've seen their messages before since they know my sponsor, but they come and go as they please.
[Constellation "Egyptian Thought" wants you to ease their pain.]
[Constellation "Egyptian Thought" is willing to pay 500 coins.]
"That's ridiculous," I whispered to myself. "I can't do that."
[Constellation "Egyptian Thought" doesn't want you to hide your talent.]
[Constellation "Egyptian Thought" wants you to be proud of yourself.]
(They're sending so many messages.)
How much were they paying? What was the point? Constellations are selfish existences that are using us for their entertainment. Why do they care about our well-beings?
(They probably want to insure their favorite "characters" live.)
Screw them. Screw the Constellations, goading and enticing us. I'll make my decisions of my own free will.
(I'll help them because I can. Not because someone told me to.)
I reached into my pocket and pulled out slips of paper. Fanciful caricatures were drawn on them.
***
"How are we going to follow those wolves?"
I stepped towards the lake and dipped the tip of my sneaker into the water. Sadly, the surface didn't resist and my foot sank in.
"Well, shit, I couldn't pull a Jesus. Marcus, are you sure we should follow those wolves? Maybe they were passing by."
"Nah, I'm sure. We hafta to follow 'em. Something's telling me to."
"Bloody hell."
I ran my hand through my hair.
"Okay, cool, we have a goal, but do we have a plan? I ain't swimming in this massive thing."
I gestured towards the lake.
"Maybe we could find something?" Marcus suggested.
"I dunno, I didn't see any structures when I came here."
"Yeah, this is my dream. I probably didn't want buildings," Marcus said. "Wait, if this is my dream, why can't I wake myself up?"
Marcus closed his eyes and scrunched his face, trying to force himself awake. It looked like he was holding in a massive shit.
"You were drugged, so I don't think it's that easy. The drugs weren't normal because it traps the user within their mind. We have to get you out by meeting a requirement, or wait until the drugs wears off."
"Okay..."
"So, I think-"
"Wait, if this is a dream, how are you here, Ethan?"
"I'm a guardian demon," I say while giving a thumbs-up.
"Oh. Wait, but isn't it a guardian angel?"
"I said what I said."
We left it at that.
"So, how do I get out?"
"The drugs you took are complicated. Usually, you have to confront something. Trauma or a hidden truth."
Marcus froze when I said that.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," I said while thinking about George. "It ain't gonna be easy. Although, we'll burn that bridge when we get there. First, we need a plan to travel on this lake."
"Isn't the saying, 'We'll cross that bridge when we get there?'"
"Sure, let's go with that."
After 30 minutes of talking and exploring, we resigned ourselves to one idea: making a boat. Sadly, this wasn't Minecraft, and we couldn't punch a tree to get some logs. I asked Marcus if he could manipulate his dream, but it obeyed the laws of physics too well. If we wanted to tear down a tree, we'd have to do it the old-fashion way.
"Okay, I think we should make a tool."
I jumped onto a branch as if I was trying to do a pull-up, and tried to break it off. It was too tough, and Marcus laughed at me.
"Oh, come on."
I wrapped my legs around it and tugged on it, trying to snap it from the tree.
"Do you have a knife or something?" Marcus asked.
"Let me see."
I never checked my pockets since I came here, but it wouldn't hurt to try. I reached into my them and was pleasantly surprised. I found a knife - it was the one I used to threaten Alexa. I must've manifested its presence when I came here.
"Noice."
I brought the blade to the tree branch and began sawing it. This was gonna take a long time.
[Presumably 1 Hour later]
We finally made some stone tools. We turned the first branch we acquired into a makeshift axe; we used some entwined grass to tie a sharp rock to the branch. We repeated the process for Marcus and now we were certified cavemen.
"We really returned to monkey, didn't we?" Marcus asked.
"We sure did," I said with a laugh. "Let's go fuck up a tree now."
We searched for a tree that was thin enough. When we did, we proceeded to smash the base with our axes. It was peaceful, in a way. Two kids out in the woods, free from the world, doing whatever they wanted. The swings of our axes mimicked our beating hearts, and the rhythmic tune blocked out our anxious thoughts.
(I missed this.)
Being lost in the moment and enjoying yourself; how has it been since I could do that? How many kids in the world felt that?
"This reminds me of something," I said.
We took a small break to talk.
"What is it?"
"I watched this anime called Sword Art Online: Alicization. Kirito and Eugeo were out in the forest, and their Sacred duty was to cut down the Gigas Cedar, known as the Demon Tree."
"Uh, I don't know what that is."
I chuckled to myself.
"Yeah, you wouldn't. I'm just a weeb. Cutting down this tree just reminded me of it."
After reminiscing, we resumed our duty. We felled one tree and moved to another. We cut down four in total.
"Is this enough wood?"
"I think so," I said, "we should probably split the wood into planks or something."
"Yeah, that seems good."
We used our axes to make rudimentary planks, but as we did, I realized something.
"Shit, how are we gonna bind the planks together?"
"Forgot about that."
"Okay, how about this: you split the wood while I go make some vine rope. I'll try to make a glue as well."
"Alright."
I explored the forest, hoping to find some tall grass or vines. It seems there weren't any in this forest. This biome was too convenient and explorable, so there was no thick shrubbery I could use.
(Maybe we could peel the bark from the logs? How about glue?)
I explored the environment for a specific tree and wandered aimlessly. I didn't know how long it took, but I finally found it.
"There it is! The jizz tree!"
I found a tree that had a thick white patch on it. If I was correct, it was dried sap. I found a tree like this in my neighborhood and called it "the jizz tree."
I used my knife to peel back the bark, and there it was: thick sap. Now I had another problem - how would I take this sap back to Marcus?
(Screw it.)
I had my axe with me, and decided I would take the whole tree.
"Dumb problems require dumber solutions."
-!THWACK!-
[Presumably 4 Hours later]
"Well, here we are."
We backed away from our masterpiece and admired it. It was so incredibly shoddy, but it had an artsy appeal. Our boat had a rustic vibe to it.
"It looks great, but why is it rectangular?"
"Cause Minecraft," I said.
We proceeded to inspect our boat, double-checking for our safety.
"Hm, I'm worried about leaks."
"Me too, so I have a perfect solution," I suggested.
"Really? What is it?"
"Jizz."
"...what?"
"Yeah, did you know that some ancient glue were produced from the semen of horses or oxen?"
"Wow, I did not need to know that."
"Jizz on the boat, Marcus."
"I'm not jizzing on the boat, Ethan."
I erupted in laughter, or maybe it was cackling. The air was escaping my lungs, and I couldn't inhale enough.
"I- I can't! The look on face-! It was too serious!!"
"Seriously, do you have an idea?"
"Yeah. I want to see if I can do it."
I tried to muster the power of Muspellheim and activate my stigma, but it wasn't working. I wanted to burn the wood together, like soldering metal. It sounded stupid, but I've heard of glue being made from burnt birch bark. I explained this idea to Marcus and why we should try it, and he agreed with me.
"Time to go "oonga bunga" and make fire."
We searched the lake shores until we found a piece of flint. It was a black, flaky rock.
"How'd you know what to look for?"
"When I was nine, I'd go to the Washington State Museum with my mom. There was an exhibit for flintstones and Native American culture, since they used flint the most."
"You remembered it since you were nine? Dang, what a memory."
I grinned. "It's the power of being Asian."
After some trial and error, we made a small bonfire. We burned some sap and bark into a paste, and smothered our boat with it. We even took a torch and brought the fire to our boat itself. As I brought the torch to the glue seams, I hoped it'd scorch the wood planks together.
"Now we gotta wait," I said.
"I'd say we should sleep, but it doesn't seem to be night," Marcus pointed out.
"Oh yeah. Is there no day-and-night cycle?"
"If there isn't a night, what should we do?"
(Maybe we should talk?)
Nah, that was boring and sappy. Without warning, I ran into the forest, lopped off two tree branches, and began carving them.
"Whadda doing?"
"Making practice swords. Wanna duel?"
"Sure."
Marcus sat down a few feet away from me and said, "You seem to like sword-fighting."
"Yeah, besides parkour, it was the only reason I worked out. It feels exhilarating to swing one. Like, the power - it rushes through your head."
"You sound like an addict."
"We're all addicted to something."
"Where did you learn that from?"
"Attack on Titan."
I finished carving and we began dueling. Marcus was... less than stellar. Swinging the sword messed with his balance, no matter how light it was. He would overswing or be unaware of his telegraphing.
"Want to hear the hard truth?"
"Yeah," Marcus said panting.
"You're bad at this."
Marcus laughed in response. "What's the score?"
"I landed forty-nine successful strikes on your body. You only scored three."
"Eh, it means you're that good, right?"
"I was going easy on you."
"Oh."
"Seems like sword fighting isn't for me."
Marcus sat down and set his practice sword next to him.
(It doesn't make sense. Marcus was described as an incredible fighter. He also killed the Fire-grade mantis.)
"Yo, do you want to spar against me with your fists?" I suggested.
"Like boxing? Are you good at that?"
"No, I meant attacking you with my wooden sword, but you fight back with your fists."
I expected some resistance to my idea. It's common sense to be at a disadvantage when fighting someone barehanded when they have a weapon. Although, I had a feeling that Marcus would surpass my expectations.
We squared up. I held my wooden sword, and Marcus clenched his fists. I didn't yell, "Go!" or "Start!" I'd let my actions speak for themselves.
-!Whoosh!-
My weapon swiped through the air, but Marcus wasn't there. He performed a backstep, dodged to my right, and lunged forward. It happened so quickly, I could barely breathe. His fist came inches from my face, but my backstep allowed me to dodge.
We backed away from each other.
"I learned a lot from that," I said.
"Are we stopping?"
"Nah."
I shot towards Marcus, and thrusted the point of my sword in his direction. I relentlessly fought like a fencer; my sword was like a shooting star springing back and forth. He dodged every strike and entered another stance, ready to counter my attacks.
(If I'm right, he's about to fight like an in-boxer. He'll try to duck and aim for my waist or stomach.)
I switched my gears and held my wooden sword with both hands, mirroring martial arts used for longswords. I was about to swing diagonally but-
(He feinted?!)
-Marcus shot to my left, skirting the range of my strikes, and shot for my back.
(Crap, he's fighting like an out-boxer!)
I spun wildly, hoping to block Marcus's attack. I was aiming for his arms, hoping he'd dodge back, but he went low and kicked with his leg. I tried to back away and absorb the impact, but it still connected. I grunted as I backed away.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine. You're better at hand-to-hand combatant."
(It must've been why he used brass knuckles as weapons.)
"Yeah, a lot of people told me that. I was clueless with weapons. When the scenarios began, I remember swinging a cudgel that slipped out of my hands."
"Did it hit anyone?"
"Yea, smacked a man right in the back. They weren't too happy about it. After that, I switched to brass knuckles. Found them in an item chest."
"Well, I feel drained. Wanna check the boat?"
"Sure."
We checked the boat and it was ready for our departure. I was worried that we had tired ourselves out, but after a moment, the lethargy evaporated from my body.
(Dream logic.)
"Time to start our journey. You grab the front while I grab the back. We'll hoist it to the water."
As we did, Marcus and I talked.
"Isn't there an official name for boat parts? Starboard or something?"
"I dunno, I ain't a sailor. I cuss like one, though."
We placed our boat halfway in the water and hopped in. We grabbed our crude paddles, and Marcus kicked us off. I was in the front of the boat, and I would paddle us across the lake. If I got tired, we'd take turns.
"Well, let's try to relax."
As I feared, my body became fatigued, but I took a short break and felt rejuvenated. Marcus offered to help, but I politely refused. I needed to do this. It was only steering a boat, but the sense of control made me relieved.
It also reminded me of something.
[Fable "Ender's Game" is recalling your family.]
"Valentine," I whispered.
"Wha?"
"Ah, sorry, nothing."
(Why did I think of her? Was it due to the lake? This makeshift boat?)
How did I know how to make a boat? It felt too natural... like I did it before.
[Fable "Ender's Game" is fluttering its pages.]
(Oh, yeah. I made one when I came to Earth. After I left Battle School momentarily, and went to that lakeside house. Valentine visited me.)
Reminiscence flooded my body. It was a simulation, but why was I treating it like real life? Valentine wasn't my real sister; she was Ender Wiggin's.
(But does that erase the time I spent with her?)
Surprisingly, feelings of sorrow and longing filled my soul.
(I miss her.)
"Hey, Ethan, I think I see something."
I don't know how long I rowed, but it must've been for quite some time. We saw something in the distance.
"That's an island," I stated. "It has to be."
I brought us closer, but as I did, Marcus paled.
"Ethan, I don't think we should go there."
"Why not?"
"I- I have a bad feeling. That's it."
(It might be the right place, though.)
"Okay. Let's go around it."
I steered us away, but Marcus was still jittery.
"This reminds me of something. A movie I watched when I was young."
"Really? What was it called?"
"When Marnie Was There."
A wistfulness tinged my soul. Memories from years ago came forth, but they were stained with time. When did I watch it? When I was nine or ten years-old? Wait, if I factored in my simulation, it must've been over a decade ago.
[Fragment of the 4th Wall is jogging your memory.]
(Thank you.)
"It's about a girl named Annie, I think. She's the main character and she temporarily moves to another place in the summer, where she meets a young girl named Marnie. The latter is very eccentric. Marnie had a ferociously beautiful personality, but she was fleeting as well."
"It sounds interesting," Marcus said softly.
"I won't get into spoilers, but the movie is bittersweet."
I turned away from my rowing and looked at Marcus.
"There was a scene with boating, so this reminded me of it. Maybe we can watch the movie together one day."
Marcus nodded silently.
"Marcus."
"Yeah?"
"I think we should go to that island."
Marcus breathed out, as if he was about to have a panic attack. Surprisingly, he collected himself.
"You're right. I know you are. It just- it's hard."
"I know."
I placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Life is hard and it sucks. But if we don't face these hardships, we can't grow from them."
"Where'd you learn that?"
"When Marnie Was There."
"Heh, course."
Marcus looked up at me with a melancholic smile and said-
"Let's go."
I nodded in response. It was time to head to that island.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
EnderGolem997
EnderGolem997 Yo, double upload. I missed writing chunky chapters. Just forgetting about an upload schedule, and filling my chapters with content. My sweetspot is the 2500 to 3000 word range. Anything less makes me feel disappointed in myself.
Anyways, last chapter was written last week, and this chapter was writting over the course of this week.
I hope you guys like it since it's not very action-packed. I wanted an overall chill vibe. Also, if there are errors, or wordiness, I kinda foregoed fancy editing. Writing is hard enough, but editing out every single error is another. It takes up a lot of time, and comparing my upload schedule to back then, I was able to sumbit more chapters when I didn't do it.
Obviously, I'll fix glaring issues, but won't sweat the small details. Hopefully that will fix my upload pace. Anyways, happy reading!
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