Game of DIcE

Team Up

"Xion, that isn't the way." Raelle pointed out upon seeing their leader looking at the side instead of the front where the people were heading to.

Their venture had stopped because of Xion's sudden stop from walking which also made them stop and wonder what was wrong. They saw Xion looking in a particular way, too long that it made them wonder.

"Bro, what is it? Did you see something?" Shone asked, looking to the side as well to see what the lad had seen, "Oh? Isn't that Riley?"

"What?"

"For real?"

Phil and Raelle asked curiously as they also looked to that side, and like what Shone had told them, they saw the familiar bag that Riley was carrying earlier and the spear that was used as a support for her tiptoeing. She was looking down as if there was something on her other hand and she was sure that she was taking the way right while and going astray the mass of sheep.

"What is she thinking? This is the right way. It's obvious by this huge way." Phil said, also curious about what had gotten to that lady who took the way where there would be no certainty of where it would lead. "Is there perhaps a shortcut there?"

"That's possible, but the way looked dangerous. There might be something there. Don't ever think of following that weird girl or I wouldn't provide your food if we'd go follow- Hey!"

Xion stepped to the eastward and followed the woman that caught their eyes, the other two men followed and completely hearing but not listening to the only girl's rant and instead left her. She wouldn't do anything though but to follow them around.

"Why do we have to follow her?" She asked but was only replied with a shush from Phil which made her a little irritated because they were trying hard to not walk carelessly as much as they could.

"Do you mind having her in our team?" Xion suddenly asked, serious and firm while focused on walking and not making so much noise, following the steps Riley was taking.

"What are you say-"

"It's fine with me."

"That girl is cool. Why not."

Raelle tried protesting with a furrowed brow and slightly indignant tone but was cut off by Shone and Phil who agreed almost too quickly which left again to her to sulk, but still she couldn't do anything, she didn't want to get along with Lowest Class, her family might be watching and they clearly warned her to not be with those class and only interact until Middle Class only, so she didn't know what would hee parents say if she saw her with that loser.

Riley looked over her shoulder, her steps were careful, almost couldn't be heard by anyone, tiptoeing but still fast enough while alertly looking from her left to right, back, and front. The game instruction is still on her hand but the page now was turned into the next page of level twenty-one where there was like a map of the whole level imprinted.

By how she deemed it to be, the Ssiss that she would be against with anytime soon, but she hoped not too soon and the people she was with wouldn't wake or found the Ssiss yet while she hadn't found what she was looking for, was at the end of the level northward and in a cave, that was also where the dice were, inside the snake's cave so she really had to think of a plan before she acts out.

Though the dice was in northward, she was heading eastward as what her target destination was. The map showed three dots formed in a triangular position, the entrance earlier was in southward, the creature and the dice with which represented through a dot with color red were in northward, the dot with the color blue in westward was where the Berdocks were where she would surely have to go once she, fortunately, got a die or even survived without breaking her eardrum. While in eastward, where she was currently heading to, there was a yellow dot, and a drawing of a tree, she didn't know yet what it was but it wouldn't be there if it wasn't necessary, right? So she decided to take that path first before facing the creature.

She walked for more than an hour, stopping by for minutes to rest her feet and drink her water, it's a good thing that the place was not that hot and there was fresh air which made it a little relaxing though she had been walking for already a little too far she was still not seeing anything that marked the end of her voyage in the east.

She was currently at rest, it had been almost half an hour that she had been walking straight and her feet somehow hurt so she had to take out her shoes for a moment and massaged her feet especially her ankle that she thinks would be sprained and swell anytime soon.

"Aww, Phil! Come here I will strangle your-"

"Shh!"

Riley covered her ears upon hearing that loud yell and the simultaneous shush which certainly hurt her ear. She looked back from where she was and found four people standing still not too far from her, their poses were as if they purposely stopped from moving hoping that they wouldn't be caught because they were mannequins which certainly looked only stupid in Riley's eyes.

She stood up with furrowed brows, glares darted towards the four who had recovered, and Xion looking back at her with observant eyes, "What are you doing here? Why are you following me?"

"Wow. She's assuming." Raelle remarked, scoffing as she rolled her eyes.

"Then explain why are you here? And hiding from me? You even seem caught off guard when I saw you." She accused, slipping her shoes back. "Are you here to kill me? Especially you, Raelle? You are friends with Sho, right?"

"Really, Raelle? Wow." Phil said in amusement, looking at the girl who glared at Riley then to him, "That explains."

"That explains what, stupid?" Raelle burst out with a glare, she looked at Riley with heavily furrowed brows, "And like you, they're just my annoying classmates, like how they see you, I also see them as losers. Don't accuse me of something I don't do."

"Chill out," Phil said, draping his arm to Raelle's shoulder and pat her head which received a nudge from the youngest.

"What are you doing here?" It's not Riley this time, but the same question as she asked to them was being asked to her by Xion who had been watching her carefully.

"I asked you first," Riley answered, avoiding their question, the spear was ready and on guard. "Why did you follow me?"

"There is no need for a fight, Riley. We don't mean no harm to you." Shone negotiated, hands stretched as if stopping Riley from suspecting them.

"Then why?"

"You knew something that most of us don't. You knew the way out." Xion answered truthfully, his eyes landed on her hand, "Especially that you've got the key out of the game."

"W-what?"

"She has what?" Raelle reiterated, peeking at Xion's face to see if he wasn't kidding. "The key not only out of this level but out of the game!?"

"Lower down your voice," Xion told her, looking around to see if the trees had the cameras or the speakers that might hear what they were saying, and thankfully, there were none around.

"This isn't the key, Xion. This is just a guide of a game board." Riley told him in a matter-of-fact tone, clutching the small book to her chest, and looked at them with a more accusing stare, "Are you going to take this away from me?"

"If that's the case, then we should!" Raelle implied, taking out her dagger and stepped forward which alarmed Riley, but Raelle's arm was held by Xion.

"As Shone said, we don't mean harm," Xion said, seemed like it was not meant for her but for Raelle who slowly retreated her dagger back to its bag and stood with a sigh to the back next to Phil who once again draped his arm on her shoulder and teased her. "We want to offer a teaming up."

"A team-up?" Riley reiterated, "You do not want it earlier, and I do not want it too. Just drop the thought. You're just going to use me because of this guide."

"Come to think of it, Riley, you are bullied, there were a lot of people going against you, and you almost died yesterday, if not for us. I am not saying that you should pay us back, but I am proposing the benefit of teaming up with us. You are alone, you'd be an easy target if the elimination of person to person in desperation of surviving last would happen, we are here not to betray you but to save you from those dangers, we need your brain."

"If I were you, I would accept, Xion isn't someone to speak formally long, so he is desperate to have you with us, and so are we. Let's finish the game together, Riley."

She looked at Xion and Shone who talked to her, they looked serious and sincere, and she didn't really know if she should trust them though they had already saved her from the danger. People wouldn't know who would betray them, betrayal was the hardest thing to spot to a person because they were often like those wolves in sheep clothing, and she didn't know if they were like that.

"Give me time to think," She firmly said, "Once we get out of this level I will make my decision."

"That's better." Shone remarked, "You don't have to worry about food and stuff, our treasurer is here," He pointed to Raelle who glared at her and noted that she wasn't just a mere provider of their food, and that certainly explained the huge bags that they were always full.

"So why are you taking this path?" Raelle asked, her voice was still stern, and she obviously still did not like her and don't think would like her anytime soon.

Riley hesitantly raised the small instruction, "I got this from the Game of Dice board game in our house, I found out that this book sort of giving instructions of every creature that we may possibly face with every level, and I found in level twenty-one the Ssiss, the creature that could break our ears."

"And?"

"There is also a map here of the whole level with three dots forming in a triangular shape, and I assumed that those will lead to something, first northward where most people were going, there is the Ssiss, next on westward was where the Berdocks are-"

"Berdocks what?" Phil asked confusedly.

"We are not going to take the Flee to get out of the level but the Berdock, they were also a kind of huge bird that could carry multiple people, that is also a safe place because Ssiss are scared of Berdocks." She explained which gained a comment from the man which said that it was cool.

"Then here?"

"In this way, I am not sure, but the map had an illustration of a tree, and I thought that it wouldn't be there for nothing so I tried to check. I haven't found anything yet, though."

"Oh," Shone nodded, "We'll see it together. Come on, we should hurry and find it before the sun sets."

Riley nodded, taking her bag on the ground and continue walking again, the four following just close behind, though they were not still talking and only the crunchy breaking of foliage and dead leaves were heard, along with their breathing.

After another half an hour, Riley found the end, the place that they were looking for, and she couldn't help but feel elated upon seeing the tree that was exactly drawn on the map, it was standing out among the trees that were surrounding it, and it seemed to be the only one that bears fruits, or not really fruits, among the trees in the wilderness.

"What's that white thing?" Raelle curiously asked while they were walking near the tree, she chuckled, "It looks like a marshmallow. What kind of tree would bear a marshmallow?"

Riley also wondered about it, Raelle's description of the white thing that was hanging on the tree was kind of accurate, it looked like a marshmallow, white in color, small and cylindrical shape, and looked fluffy that they were swaying and threatening to fall as the wind blew.

Riley raised her spear and plucked two using it, the rest watched as the white things instantly fell down upon being cut out of its stem. She picked it up, and observed it, it was fluffy when she first hold it, but it surprised her when it suddenly turned solid into her palm like a cork.

"A cork." She muttered to herself upon thinking of it. The three looked at her in confusion while Xion looked up and started getting his own a couple of the certain thing.

"This is meant to filter the noise." Xion uttered to them, "By this, we could face the Ssiss without being deaf. Take two."

"Certainly cool," Phil muttered and also get his, smiling at Riley.