The Wilderness

Chapter Seven

"Why'd you do that?!" Jason screamed at Chris. "Why didn't you help them?! Why didn't you?! Why!?" Chris glanced up at Jason, but didn't say anything. He had made it back across the river, and was sitting down underneath a tree, putting back on his partially wet clothes. "Say something!"

​"Jason, there wasn't anything he could do to help them," Alex told the boy.

​"Yes there was! And anyway, he was the one who told us to cross! None of this would've have happened if he hadn't made us cross over. And now Sky's dead, Lola's dead and..." Jason paused, "Jackson's dead.

​"Look, I'm-I'm sorry," Chris said at length. He wasn't used to apologizing, but when he did those few rare times, he meant it.

​"Oh wow, that really helps," Jason retorted. Chris frowned. He had just apologized, and Jason had treated it as though it meant nothing. That was a first for Chris.

​"Guys," Alex said, as he stepped between the two, "What use is there in arguing? It's too late, they're dead and there's nothing we can do about it. Right now, the best we can do is save ourselves." Jason glared at Chris, while Stephan and Ally watched and waited for something to be decided.

​Ally was struggling to not give up. Her only friend within the group had been Sky, and now Sky was gone. She was left as the last surviving girl of the ATF group, and the four boys were her only companions. And the only one she was comfortable talking to was Jason. But she wasn't about to give up now, not after these last five days of constant pain and ever nearing death.

​Stephan was just flat-out at a lost. The last five days had changed everything, from the way he viewed himself to his social status. He had been the most popular boy in school since first grade, everyone liked him and he had had few rivals. He had been "the cool kid", the boy whose personality made him likeable, whereas other boys would fall back on their looks. Stephan had never been among the cutest or handsomest boys in school, but most girls overlooked that once he won them over with his charm and naturally caring spirit. But now that had changed. It no longer matter who was cute, who was cool, who was popular, who was funny, or any of those other things that had been so important in school. He could've been the hottest boy in school and die here, or he could've been the ugliest boy in school and die here as well. It didn't matter any more. He had always been something of a leader in school, and when he first found himself here he had thus taken on that role. But he found the job much tougher than it had been in school, and he was beginning to realize how much more weak of a person he was without the popularity and friendships he had had in school. And that was a depressing thing to learn.

​"Whatever," Jason muttered as he walked away from the group, down to the river's border. He sat down and buried his face in his hands. Alex looked at Jason, than to Chris, than to Stephan and Ally. He wasn't sure what to do. Who would be the leader now? Stephan had been leader first, but now he was an emotional mess. Chris had been the leader afterward, but after this bad mistake on his part, Alex doubted Chris would want to be leader still. Jason was a possibility, but he had never shown any leadership skills, or even any interest in being leader. Ally was out of the question. That left him.

​"Guys, we need to get moving," Alex said a half hour later. He had given the group time to recover from the latest action, and now he felt it was time to get moving. It was still daylight, they had time.

​"Where are we gonna go now?" Jason asked. Alex looked to Stephan and Chris for advice, or at least their opinions, but neither of the ex-leaders trusted themselves to help out the new head of the group.

​"I-I guess we need to try to find another way across," Alex finally answered. Once again he looked at Stephan and Chris, hoping they would give a nod of agreement or maybe now announce their own opinions on what they should do. But once again they said nothing, nor did they give the slightest hint of what they thought of Alex's idea. The new leader did his best to appear calm and in charge, but inside he was distraught. He wasn't a leader; he had always been a follower. He wasn't used to giving out his own commands or making his own decisions. He had always depended on others to do that for him, or based his decisions on theirs. Often he just adopted their view or decision and applied it as his own.