Amity and Enmity

Chapter 31

Day: 1219

Days Left: 4261

Lives Saved: 6

"Do you really think so?" whispered Betty. "I mean, I don't want to go over there and-"

"Trust me." Kai smiled. "He likes you back. You should go for it. We may not get any older, but we all deserve a little happiness down here."

"Thank you." Betty glanced away, blushing as she caught sight of Bruno from afar. "I'll try and sneak you some more food later-"

"Oh no, you don't need to do that. I'm fine, honestly."

"No, I will." Betty looked around, then put the gag back into Kai's mouth, an addition implemented an hour into Kai's imprisonment due to his endless ranting.

Kai watched Betty leave, nervously shuffling herself over to Bruno. He could just about hear her ask to speak in private with him. She sneakily gave a thumbs-up to Kai and a quick smile before she was out of sight.

And that was another person's secret he had learned- Kai did not phrase it like such, but if he had any hope of escaping this place, organising a mutiny could work. He had already somewhat befriended most of the group; Betty, Bruno, Eugen, Anass, Errol the Legend, Deniss, Olja, Bean, Tall Rachel- so named because there used to be another Rachel, however short Rachel had long ago been freed, and yet Tall Rachel remained Tall Rachel. Tall Rachel expressed her dislike of this, wanting the comparison between her and short Rachel to be over, having some sort of inferiority complex as Short Rachel was so beloved.

Kai knew all their relationship dynamics, friendship groups, who hated who, and that Kipling and Corine had a no strings attached arrangement. For the most part, the group kept to themselves, being more small circles that lived as part of a larger community; no, calling them a community was wrong, more like a neighbourhood that only spoke to their neighbours when getting food. The one thing that united them all was them following their leader, Annika, and the scarves around their necks, which Kai initially thought was just some sort of symbol that they were part of the gang, but then he realised that it was to hide their brands. No one knew each other's crimes. You did not know how many people some had killed to be here or if their crime was something more malicious. Not knowing someone's brand allowed you not to hold any bias and give everyone a fresh start. It would not work in his group, especially after what had happened with Bryce and the water nymphs.

But it wasn't just the people Kai learned about; if his theory was correct, then he knew the location of the Land of the Lost. So it was no wonder they could not find it, no matter how far Lili searched.

One of his captors went into a nearby tent, one of the largest in the encampment, and then exited with a garden chair after a while. Over the... how long has it been? Maybe a month, it felt like? Over the month of Kai being a prisoner, he had seen people entering that tent and coming out with objects of varying sizes. One time someone came out with a ladder, appearing with it like a comedy sketch. And that was when Kai knew for sure of this sector's Land of the Lost location. It was the tent; the Land of the Lost was underground. This truly was the most advantageous sector possible; not only were there so many resources with the forest and the perpetual rainstorm nearby, but if you controlled the food drop-off, then you automatically controlled the Land of the Lost as it was directly underneath. Also, most masks are dropped at the nearest portal, which for most prisoners in this sector was this place.

Kai looked around. This group has all this power and control, yet all they do in their days is sit around. The fence around the camp was broken, and no one ever repaired it. There was litter everywhere of broken and discarded objects and empty food packets, which no one ever bothered to clean up. The only person who seemed to keep their area tidy was a woman called Rita, who kept themselves busy with something, always trying to kiss Annika or Junior's arse, the two leaders. Annika was the face with the gun and Junior the brain, offering counsel when asked. Junior barely went outside, but their tent was nearby Kai, and he could hear parts of the conversations and what they get up to at night, which he wished he could unhear.