The Narrator
7:30 p.m
Amid the depressing sound of incessant rainfall outside, inside the bus, the Wolfgang children were having a passionate argument. From outside the bus, one could see the silhouettes of students arguing fiercely, with the aid of the lights which were turned on inside the bus. While some were arguing fiercely, others looked on. Everybody was in the lower deck: boys and girls.
The discussion (which became an argument) began when Brian Campbell came that day with his calculations in hand. He told everyone that only three days worth of rations were left. The only things that would stay beyond three days were the fuel, clean drinking water, toilet paper, and other non-eatables. The eatables could only last for two to three days, according to Campbell's estimates. Brian Campbell came with these calculations when another discussion was already going over whether it was good if all the students walked towards the highway by themselves or whether it was good if all the students waited till Sergio came when the storm was done. Brian Campbell's estimates gave ammunition to both sides of the discussion which soon began heating into an argument. The discussions began ever since Kirt, Timothy, and Alice told everyone about what happened to them in the forest. Many were fearing for their safety after they heard the trio tell them of the encounter with the thug who died when his attempts to kill the trio literally backfired.
From a long time, Zachary White and Bill Lancaster hated the rules that all the children agreed upon. The two were anarchists along with their 'common' girlfriend Michaela Smith and her puppets. They took advantage of the discussion to push forward the opinion that all students must leave the bus and walk towards civilization. Even though Bill and Zach masked their intention by saying that they thought so 'in common interest', why they really wanted to leave was because they didn't want to feel like they were 'subject' to others. They exploited the fear the other people had to win unusual allies to their side of the argument: the fear of being lost, the fear of being unsafe and the fear of dying due to starvation. Their opinion went contrary to the opinion of Kirt, Timothy, and Alice who argued that it was safer to stay on the bus, until the arrival of Sergio. The trio argued that if there was no food, using the bus as a base, they could hunt for food in their surroundings, and return to the bus when they were done.
AnnSophia bit her lip, in order to keep silent, as she watched the two sides argue. Rhett and Tom were serious too, just alternating their eyes between the two arguing sides.
The arguments continued going back and forth.
"Listen, guys, I understand your point that there are risks associated with staying back but those risks are far less than the risks that are associated with leaving. It's dangerous out there because the storm has disfigured the entire forest. Tom, Alice and I went out and guess what? We lost our paths and sense of direction because the forest looked very different from how we had known it when Sergio, Gallagher, and Seagale were with us. I assure you that they're just stuck in a storm. They'll be back. So it's better that we stay till they come. Sergio is a man of the jungle, and if he himself couldn't navigate to where we are, then we don't stand a chance if we all try to leave the jungle on our own. We will only get lost and end up deeper into the jungle, stranded," said Kirt as he held his temper, while Bill and Zach were slandering him with words interspersed with curses, as he spoke.
After Kirt said those words, Alice went to grab a cup of water, while Timothy sighed.
The two sides continued arguing.
Then, Jackson King spoke: "Kirt boy, you know how I respect you. But I want you to see that Sergio, Seagale, and Gallagher aren't coming back. What if something happened to them: something such as an accident? We don't know what happened to them. We waited for like more than 10 days since Sergio disappeared. He hasn't come back as Alice and you assured us that he would. What's the point then in waiting? As much as I hate Bill and Zach, I agree with them that we better go."
There was some silence as everyone began thinking.
AnnSophia wanted to say something, but she held her peace.
"Look, Jackson, let us say that something happened indeed to Sergio, Seagale, and Gallagher. But, even then, it's safer for us to stay here, because once you get lost in that forest, you may end up in the Amazon, stranded and far away from help. We are not in America, man. If we get lost it may take years for us to be found in the forests," opined Timothy.
After Timothy's opinion, more arguments were exchanged between the two sides.
Alice sighed. Kirt just went to the bathroom to cool off and had returned, when there was a pause in the arguments.
Kirt sighed and began (before he was interrupted by Bill), "Well…."
"The [Explicit] is your problem, you [Explicit] wanna be [Explicit] great leader," said Bill.
"[Explicit] orphaned German! No wonder Hitler's [Explicit] blood runs through you" said Zachary.
Kirt held his peace, even when he wanted to react.
"Enough Bill and Zach. We are arguing about something related to the camp. We don't want to hear your filthy words coming from your filthy mouths," said Jackson maturely shutting the filthy-mouthed duo up.
After Jackson said those things, there was another round of silence.
Kirt was thinking of what to do. He, Alice and Timothy had exhausted all possible arguments. Those on the other side of the debate too were in a moment of thought. Even they felt like they had exhausted all arguments.
That was when Frederick Collins rose and suggested, "Guys seeing that this argument is going nowhere, it's better that we split up. Let those who want to stay, stay. Let those who wanna leave, leave. We'll proportionally divide the remaining food and resources."
Jackson King seconded Frederick's motion by saying, "I think that's a better idea."
"Me too," seconded AnnSophia after being quiet for a long time.
After some thought, Kirt said, "Fine".
"Those in favor of staying, raise their hands," called Jackson, playing the arbitrator.
Hands started going up.
Kirt looked around and saw those who chose to stay: it was him, Alice, Timothy, AnnSophia Fabron, Hernanda Wilkinson, Emily Robinson, Catherine Newcastle, Tom Finkleberry, and, Rhett Finkleberry.
"Those in favor of going," called Jackson, raising his own hand.
Alice looked at those who chose to go: Bill Lancaster, Michaela Smith, Fiona Buckingham, Zachary White, Alejandra Hernandez, Savannah Henderson, and Francisco Adelante. On top of these were Bill and Zach's unusual allies that day: Jackson King, Brian Campbell, David Taylor, Jean-Pierre Gagnon, Frederick Collins, Candace Thomson.
"It's a win-win then," said Frederick after the decisions were made.
It was finally agreed that those who would leave were Bill Lancaster, Michaela Smith, Fiona Buckingham, Zachary White, Brian Campbell, Alejandra Hernandez, Savannah Henderson, David Taylor, Jean-Pierre Gagnon, Francisco Adelante, Frederick Collins, Jackson King, and Candace Thomson.
And, it was finally agreed that those who would stay were: AnnSophia Fabron, Kirt Heinrich, Alice Boe, Hernanda Wilkinson, Timothy McAllister, Emily Robinson, Catherine Newcastle, Tom Finkleberry and Rhett Finkleberry.
Kirt couldn't believe that Jackson King, Brian Campbell, David Taylor, Jean-Pierre Gagnon, Frederick Collins, and Candace Thomson chose to go with Bill and Zach.
The argument was settled.
They split.
After further discussion, Jackson, Bill, and Zach decided that they would leave by dawn the next day.
The two groups began dividing the resources between themselves.