Young Writers Society

The Lanteans, or Alterans, or Ancients, or whatever you would call the race that had built Atlantis may have been revolutionary by modern definitions, but their ships had lacked something incredible crucial: a bathroom. His initial plan had been to remain above, but Kartiel had quickly discovered that there was another downside to drinking all of that wine - he had the incredibly strong urge to pee. And without a bathroom of any kind, he had been forced to land the ship and take a quick venture into the woods.

He had just returned when he heard noises from behind him - there was the hard click, and then the sound of someone moving about in the back. He withheld the urge to give a groan when he realized it had to be one of the group; they wouldn't have been acting as sneaky if it wasn't. He tried to determine who it was before he rose to his feet. Bo would have been too loud. Codix, Nadira and Raiden couldn't wait this long. Maahes wouldn't have snuck onto the ship in the first place.

That left Aegeas and Boris - and neither one of them was a good option.

Kartiel readied himself and tried to look as villainous as he possibly could. His outfit and being a wraith had made this easy earlier, but he had gotten thoroughly soaked when he had taken his brief leave from the puddle jumper. His hair was matted to his forehead, and no amount of fiddling with it would get it to do anything that didn't look pathetic.

But he had to confront the intruder eventually, so he turned and headed towards the source of the noise. A single step through the small doorway, and he saw the figure out of the corner of his eyes - it had to be Boris, given how tall he was.

"Hello, Boris," he said.

"Hello. I trust you've been having a comfortable evening?"

Boris stepped forward, empty palms outstretched, and gave Kartiel a smile of unwelcome friendliness.
He had, only hours ago, vocally and avidly articulated his complete and utter antipathy toward him, but that was no reason to forego the customary niceties, now that there was business to be done.

"We've been doing fine, as I am sure you have observed. There really is nothing like a trek through the forest for an invigorating team exercise. I could stay here for a while, but for my schedule." his tone of faux nostalgia slid into an affectation of regret, before he let the act dissipate entirely.

"I have commitments to uphold, appointments to keep.

We've all had a good laugh, but I believe it is about time you sent me on my way."

...This was going where he thought it was going, wasn't it.

Kartiel raised an eyebrow, looking Boris over with an incredulous look. He had tried the flattery approach back when they first met; if his assessment on his character had been correct, then Boris was going for the betrayal route. He wouldn't have come here alone if he wasn't planning on turning his back on the rest.

The thought of whatever plan Boris was concocting made his stomach twist and turn in ways that he didn't like, but he had to ignore his heart if he wanted to do the job he was supposed to do.

"I don't think so," he replied. "You know what the situation is, Boris. I have an experiment I need to run, and you're my test subject."

Boris grinned, amused, as though Kartiel had said something naive.

"You do mistake me. I'm not asking you to do it for free." he said.

Boris stepped into the role of the salesman, laying out with calm conviction the reasons why the allegiance that he had only now thought to offer was actually indispensable, and something that Kartiel should want to have.

"This is an experiment, as you say. But if matters continue the way that they are, your data will be insufficient. The question is survival, and the answer is obvious.

You didn't orchestrate this whole thing to observe a simple camping trip. You did not send us to this alien planet only to watch us take the safest paths, as we will doubtless try to.

What you need is an element of chaos, working for your interests, trusted by the others, to complicate things, to nudge this little group into the more... interesting directions.

I could be such an agent. All my allegiance costs is the guarantee of safe passage home. Beyond that, the terms are yours to set. You are, after all, in control here."

The knot in his stomach grew.

He didn't want to take Boris up on his offer. What if something went wrong as a result of the betrayal, and he had to add Atlantis to a growing list of failures? They hated him, and he strongly disliked some of them, but it would still destroy him in the same way the first Aeyis group had. He had let himself grow too close again, and he knew it. If only he hadn't been discovered so early on! Then he wouldn't be so indecisive now.

He folded his arms and made it seem like he was seriously considering the proposal. He was, but it wasn't in the way that Boris likely thought it was. He wasn't analyzing the offer for his own personal gain; he was analyzing it for the safety of this group, and the safety of the next Atlantis group.

Agreeing was dangerous. But it gave him more information to work with in case something similar happened in the next Atlantis, and a way to indirectly interact with the group. As long as he came up with a villainous reason for everything he did, Boris would never question why his actions mysteriously resulted in benefiting the group.

Justifying the decision didn't make him feel less disgusted with himself. But he had long ago cast away his own personal happiness to complete his goal, and he would do it again if it meant he was one step closer to Ria.

"That is an interesting proposal," he admitted, looking Boris over with a cold yet intrigued gaze. "Is there anything else I should know about your offer before I agree to it?"

Boris shook his head lightly.

"There is nothing else. I have only the one concern in mind. So long as I am returned to where I came from, I am willing to fulfill whatever terms you would have me meet, any tasks you would have me perform in the meantime.

I would prefer that I be out of reach of the others by the time that my hand in things comes to light, but if I do my part correctly, then that should not become an issue."

The words all came to him so easily that it seemed as though they had been rehearsed, and in this case they had not, but he had performed so many deals very like this that they may as well have been. He kept his head down, he found the one who held the truest semblance of control, and made himself convenient to them, and if inferior prior arrangements had to be compromised, then so be it.
That was how he had learned to make his way in London, and that was how he would get back.

Boris looked back up to Kartiel, and awaited his answer, in no particular hurry. His proposition would be accepted. They always accepted.

He resisted the urge to smile; Boris had no idea how little he was gaining by this agreement. He had already been insuring the safe return of everyone present. Even Maahes would be returned home, once he figured out how the spirit had even gotten to this reality in the first place.

But if he wanted Boris to keep this up - and never suspect the truth - he would have to pretend like this proposal was one that would only tax him. He crossed his arms as if he was mulling over the deal. After a little more than a minute passed, he nodded and let his hands fall to his side.

"I suppose I can accept that deal," he said.

...Even though his stomach was twisting in disgust as the words left his lips.

----

Boris lay back into the shadows on the cave wall, and fingered the communication device that Kartiel had given him, which he had been assured was indeed a phone, despite it being split into two halves connected by a hinge, and completely lacking in resemblance to Nadira.

Kartiel had attempted to explain to him how this device functioned, and he understood little, but when he had the opportunity to ask for clarification, he decided that the modicum that he understood was sufficient, and pretended that he had understood the entirety of the explanation just to avoid having to hear it again. But Boris felt confident that he could surely work out the rest, in any case. How difficult could it possibly be?

Kartiel seemed to have his doubts. In fact, his behaviour had felt downright strange. His technological lecture had been coloured by a restrained but unmistakable undercurrent of uncharacteristic concern. Boris wondered about the true reason for this, before concluding that it was simply because Kartiel did not trust him. That was understandable.

Boris, too, was beset by concern. He was about to lead his semi-sensible companions down some dubious looking paths, and he could only play off his knack for misfortune as unfortunate coincidences or lapses in judgement so many times before the others began to suspect that something was afoot- or at the very least stopped listening to his suggestions.

But he would be careful, and all would be well. Only one more day of this nonsense, and he would be back to his glorious, overpopulated, foul-smelling city paradise, back to running around for people who would actually pay him.

Boris put away the phone, and took up a place by the fire, on the other side from Aegeas.

He slept just fine.

Bo couldn't tell how long he'd actually slept, but when he finally opened his eyes he felt like he'd only slept for two or three hours.

In retrospect, he realized he couldn't really remember the last time he slept since arriving in Atlantis, and he couldn't even remember if more than a day had passed. In any event, it had been a very long day, and he was finally beginning to feel the fatigue of way too much happening in a span of maybe-24-hours.

It was a shame, but he'd push through the tiredness just like any other sleep-deprived day.

Bo pushed himself off the rocky cave floor and stretched his arms up to the ceiling and his legs straight out ahead of him. He hummed a groan as he felt his back crack - whether in or out of place, he couldn't tell. With his long stretch followed by a yawn, he looked lazily around the cave, seeing that Maahes and Nadira looked as alive as ever.

He did wonder, for a moment, what it would be like to not feel bodily fatigue. Like anything, it was probably a blessing and a curse.

Light peered through the opening of the cave and Bo decided it was enough laying around, and he leaped up to his feet with a spring in his step.

"Well, good morning, dearest friends-in-trial," he said at a moderate volume - not trying to peeve anyone too much. "It looks like we should probably figure out where we're going next."

Watching light filter in and paint the roof of the cave yellow and orange, Aegeas slowly blinked. His eyesight felt a little more fuzzy than usual, and for good reason - he wasn't sure if he'd gotten any sleep last night. Flashbacks to running around Atlantis, stabbing Kartiel, stabbing the wraiths, being dumped into a forest had raced through his head, ignoring how much his muscles had ached and his head had throbbed. And they still did.

"How about nowhere?" Aegeas grumbled when he heard Bo speak.

Maahes gave an uncomfortable noise in response to the comment Aegeas made; it sounded like a mix between a nervous laugh and a light sigh. But Nadira wasn't really focused on that. Now that people were beginning to wake up in the cave, she had someone she needed to wake up as well. It was amazing how well Codix could sleep when he wanted to; he was currently curled up beside a rock, arms wrapped around it in lieu of one of his stuffed animals back home.

She crouched down beside him and gave him a little poke.

"Five more minutes," he begged, his words slurring together as his grip on the rock tightened. A hand broke free and groggily tried to wave her away, but it didn't amount to anything - he wasn't even able to touch her with it.

"Codix," she whispered - not really sure why, since everyone had to get up now anyways - and it was that noise that finally got him to open his eyes. He immediately shot up, narrowly avoiding his head colliding with hers.

He looked around wildly for a moment, only to relax when he realized who he was sitting next to.

Bo blew raspberries through his lips.

"Well, uh, I mean, that certainly is an option, but I figured it might be a good idea to find like, food. And water. Kartiel gave us weapons, but I can't eat my gun. I'm not saying we go looking for trouble but surviving is kind of important, and we can't do that for long without takin' care of our bodies."

"Do we all have to do that?" Aegeas said, pulling himself up and rubbing his eyes. "Because right now, I'd rather eat my gun."

Maahes gave a small smile at the joke that Bo cracked, only for it to fade when he heard the slightly more dark comment that Aegeas made. "Food and water is a good idea," Maahes agreed. He started to head towards the opening of the cave, peering out at the forest beyond. "If this world is anything like the other ones I've been to, we might be able to find some kind of civilization near here. I'm not sure if it'd still be occupied, but it's a start."

"That would make sense," Nadira added, joining him with a tired Codix at the front of the cave. Codix yawned and rubbed his eyes, absentmindedly leaning up against her as she spoke. "Kartiel said that this was an experiment. If I was running it, I would have us interact with other people."

“Good morning, all."

The cheerful figure of Boris appeared behind Nadira, seemingly out of nowhere.

"They’re not too close by, I'd wager. I imagine that Kartiel would have wanted to observe how we do on our own, first, so he likely didn't drop us nearby.

Whatever the case, why don't we find a good vantage point, survey the land from there? -Ah. That'll do.”

He headed for a tree in the near distance, and was heard to mutter nostalgically on the way. "Ah, trees. It has been a while."

___

It must have taken a half hour, almost, simply making it to the top.

The supremely breathable air in this place already was strange to begin with, but now Boris could feel it actually growing thinner, as he advanced higher, and the chirping of insects grew louder. At the summit, it was almost deafening.

God, what was this, this sky? Had there always been so much of it?
It was bizarre enough to merely observe from the ground, but at this altitude, where there was nothing to obscure it, it was inescapably vast.

Was this the highest he had ever been? He'd climbed tall trees as a child, and some buildings as a respectably employed adult, but surely they could not compete with this. If only he could remember. He looked downward, to see if that could restore his memory, but that caused the world to rock like a ship on the ocean, and his body to feel disturbingly weightless, so he corrected his mistake immediately. He held on tightly, and blinked until all the worlds settled back into one.

Boris looked strictly ahead, and peered over the great roof of the canopy, only to shy away from the rising sun, blaring mercilessly from the east. Well. It seemed he wasn't finding out what was in the east, then.

But the west, now that was just what they needed.

He succeeded in locating a village, far ahead, with many promising hazards between them and their destination, but which path was the optimal combination out of all of them, the superior experience in the primeval deathtrap of Mother Nature's loving arms?

There. That was it. It was perfect.

Boris descended, and returned to make his report, mildly twig-scratched, and possibly carrying a deadly insect or two.

"Well. I did find civilisation, but I'm sorry to say, we are flanked by a wealth of horrors, on every side. Especially the east.

But I was able devise a route that avoids the worst of them. It's not entirely ideal, but we should make it.

And there is a river on the way." he added, for the benefit of the motivationally challenged Aegeas.