A day in the woods (1,503 views)

“I’ll stay up all night.” Arthur volunteered, with a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t really need the sleep, besides, falling asleep out here? No thanks. Especially if she’s going to have a turn up.” He jerked his head in Chardonnay’s direction. “She’d probably be more of a threat to me than any wolves or bears.”

Kara stretched. She didn’t mind staying up, but she’d done the same last night, and honestly? Staying up with her laptop was easy, there was something to do. But out here, there was no signal, no laptop. She couldn’t even text Audrey. She’d probably fall asleep on duty with things as they were.

Kara shrugged in response to Ace, and followed him through the trees. Arthur fingered his lighter as he walked, pulling it out of his pocket. Then, an idea struck him.

“Worse comes to worse, we can make a pit and burn some wood. If we make smoke, they’ll be able to find us. It’d probably show up better at night, though.”

Arthur shoved his hands back into his pockets. He had zero intention of sleeping, but he’d just have to stay up with someone, he supposed. They walked for thirty more minutes, Arthur’s patience thinning and thinning the more Chardonnay complained. He figured if they were still stuck in here tomorrow night, they’d light the fire.

He knew they probably already had a search party looking for them, it was past curfew.

When the reached the clearing, Arthur was about to go and situate himself on the grass, but then Chardonnay tripped and face planted. He couldn’t help but snort, and step on her hand as he passed her to take a seat on the ground.

“What was that about being perfectly fine hiking in those shoes?” Arthur asked, flopping down. Kara glared at him.

“You didn’t have to step on her hand!” She snapped, offering Chardonnay her own hand. “I heard a snap… is your ankle okay?”

Arthur ignored them and stared up at the stars.

“Weh, weh, weh. Daddy daddy daddy saaaaave me how dare this meanie step on my hand.” Arthur mimicked, making a little puppet with his hand and flapping his fingers into his thumb repeatedly, mocking her. “Grow up. You can’t rely on daddy forever.”

Kara rubbed her hand when it was slapped away, her lips pursing. She was a little put off, but maybe Chardonnay was just testy because of Arthur. Either way, Kara didn’t persist.

“Well. Maybe we should light that fire now? If she can’t walk, we might as well try to get help. They’re probably looking for us right now, anyways. And uhm... I don't know if any of us are strong enough to carry her.”

Arthur started to try to find the great dipper in the sky, remembering when Susan pointed it out to him when he was a kid. Now, where was it, again… it’d been awhile since he looked at the stars.

“Who needs a daddy anyway?” Arthur snapped. He had Susan, and that was all he needed. “What happens if daddy dies, huh? Just kicks the bucket? How are you going to survive alone? You aren’t. And that’s that.”

Arthur stood up, no longer in the mood for counting stars. This girl was a real piece of work, wasn’t she? He was beginning to wish she’d just shut her mouth for once. He started to grab some rocks and form a circle in the grass, digging a little into it with his hands to form a dent. “Go get the wood.”

Kara shook her head.

“No, you’re not… I mean…” she held out her arms, letting them jiggle. “I’m not… strong. I don’t know about the guys, but…” She didn’t trust them as far as she could throw them? She couldn't exactly say it.

“Anyway, it makes sense to get you medical treatment, right?”

Arthur rolled his eyes.

“Wow. So you’re just never going to live off of his money. What a spoiled little bitch.” Arthur said, glancing up only when Ace returned with the sticks. Once they were in the pit, Arthur nodded.

“Yeah, my lighter.” He said, pulling the thing out of his pocket. He flicked it a few times, until the flame appeared, dancing with the wind. The bright flame lit up Arthur’s silhouette in the dark, giving his hair a orange tint and his eyes now had flickers of gold in them.

Arthur lowered the lighter, and made sure one of the dry branches lit.

“We’ll have to keep the flame small and easy to handle. Because we don’t exactly have water. So we’ll have to stomp on it or snuff it with a shirt, when the time comes.”

He stared at the fire, as the flames started to spread. “If you see any dry pinecones, throw ‘em in, they’ll make more smoke.”

Kara frowned and sat down, folding her arms over her chest. What a crowd. She wanted to go back to sleep, or talk to Audrey. She checked her phone—nothing.

Arthur turned his head around and stared at Chardonnay, making one of the most confused faces he’d ever felt on himself. Was she seriously proud of being spoiled? That was the first time he’d ever met someone like that. Someone so enthusiastic about being an eyesore to society. He shook his head at her wordlessly, and turned towards Ace as he spoke.

“Well. I’m not sleeping, so if you want, I can wake one of you up to keep watch with me after you clock out.” He said. “Is anyone even tired right now? I’m not.”

Arthur held his hands out towards the fire, letting them grow warm.

“Wouldn’t want you awake anyway. You’re probably easier to handle asleep.” Arthur snapped, placing his hands on the ground on either side of him and leaning back. “You’d be useless.”

He nodded in Ace’s direction, staring blankly at the flames, hoping they got out of here soon. He couldn’t help but think of how Susan would probably get blamed for this dangerous project, which she didn’t need to do. He’d just say it was his idea to go off the path, to find it quicker, because he thought he remembered where it was, but he forgot.

Or he could say the group just decided to go off the trail. Either way, this project would probably be disbanded.

Arthur lied back down and watched the stars, but this time, most if not all of them were obscured by thick smoke.

Kara started to play a game on her phone, with the power turned down low. The less bright the screen was, the less battery it drained.

“You? Better than me? Don’t make me laugh.” Arthur said, shaking his head. “I’m more capable than you, I’m not a cripple like you, and I’m stronger than you. So how about you just go and get your beauty sleep, you certainly need it.”

It was a pretty shallow and useless blow, even Arthur would admit she was pretty, even covered in dirt and twigs in her hair, but who cared? Not him. He grabbed a stick off the ground and poked at the fire, which was now cracking in the dark.

Arthur turned to face Chardonnay with a frown. “It’s not all about looks, y’know. I’ve got a thin body type. Doesn’t mean I’m not strong.”

He’d always been the man of the house when it came to him and Susan. He did most of the heavy lifting, and since he was adamant that they never bother with outside help, he quickly grew used to the work and strong because of it. “You can’t judge a book by its cover. I could probably even lift you if I wanted to.”

He certainly didn’t, which was why he said nothing when Kara brought it up earlier. Arthur returned to poking the fire with a stick.

Arthur shook his head.

“Fine, suit yourself. I don’t have to prove myself to some spoiled brat I just had the misfortune of meeting.” He prodded the fire some more, watching at the fire spit out a few embers.

He frowned, wondering why he wasn’t as angry as he was before. It was the fire, definitely the fire. Watching the roaring flames calmed him down. “Why the hell are you even at this school, anyway? It’s for practicing a specific trade. Not pompous rich girls who plan on living off their daddy forever.”

--

It was well after curfew, and Susan Summers was leading a search crew to find four missing students. She knew the reason they were lost, her project. She was extremely worried for their safety, and would have no rest until she was out here, searching for them.

The group of students she was taking were all here, behind her. She had given out flashlights just before. Susan’s hair was wrapped back into a high bun, so it wouldn’t brush against the ground and trip her. She was in a pair of grey sweatpants and a tee shirt, with a long blue coat to keep her warm. She’d told all students helping with the search to dress warmly.

Among these students was Todd Bennett, clothed in a pair of blue jeans, a black shirt, and a denim jacket, which all blended very well on his tall, slim figure. He had a flashlight in his hands, and he was struggling with locating the on switch. He volunteered to help find these people because he wanted to help, he bore no personal connection with any of them.

Arthur paused prodding the fire for a second as she spoke. It wasn’t like he’d suddenly had an ephiphany, that he suddenly saw her in a better light, but that was not the kind of answer he expected. If she was here, studying how to become a chef, to take over said business that made her spoiled. It was a little better than her just sitting around and whining for servants to feed her grapes.

But still, that didn’t excuse her lousy personality.

“A cook, huh?” Arthur snorted out. “Hard to imagine you in a chef’s hat and outfit running around a kitchen. The mental image is ridiculous.”

He poked the fire a bit more.

“I’m here for acting.” He deadpanned, watching as some more sparks flew up. He was hoping it’d make Chardonnay scream again, that was funny. Honestly, he was only here for Susan and he just needed an art to study to get in the school. Chardonnay didn’t need to know that, though.

“Of course you customized it.” Arthur shook his head, not shocked by this revelation. He didn’t relent even when Chardonnay wanted him to, in fact, that just motivated him to continue prodding the fire.

“How do you know I’m not acting right now? Maybe I’m just pretending to be an asshole.”

No, that was his real personality. He didn’t find it hard to act different, but he’d rather not. He just didn’t care about people, friendships, and relationships. It was easier to just shove people away. When it came to roles, it was easy for him to pretend to adapt their mentality.

But it was all pretend. And he really hated it, acting, but that didn't change the fact he was good at it.

“And no, watching you squirm is kind of funny. Offense meant.”

Arthur shook his head, tossing the stick he’d been using into the flame. It was eaten, and the flame flickered on, casting shadows along the face of the four students surrounding it.

He could mess with her and start acting nice right now.

But somehow, that seemed more degrading than fun.

He leaned back, away from the fire, and turned his head towards Chardonnay, scoffing.

“Like I said, I don’t need to prove myself to you. And why? You think you’re special? I’m an asshole to everyone, yeah. Surprise, surprise.”

He narrowed his eyes for a second, wondering if she’d actually gotten offended at some point in their long bantering, realizing she probably did. Oh well, that was the point.

“I doubt that. Or maybe you’re special, but you’re not special to me.” His eyes traveled over to Kara and Ace, and he shrugged.

“They don’t roll with it. I insult them and they don’t get all high and mighty about it.”

But it was actually kind of true. Sure, he was sour to them, but he wasn’t nearly half as interested in their reactions as he was to the rich girl. That didn’t make her special, no. She was just the most suitable bait, that was all.

Arthur glanced at his phone, wondering what time it was. He cursed. “Damn it, what’s taking them so long!”

This was way too much heart-to-heart for one month.