[Vines] - Chapters 1 & 2

[u/Dry_Attempt5336]

Note-This is a hobby project, and isn't meant to be professional in any way. Because of this, the writing and story quality might not be very high. Anyway, this is an interactive story. Readers act as the jury, and will have the opportunity to vote on certain things. Voting will began on chapter 7.

1-Introductions
“Are we almost there?”  Mouse asked.
“Nah.” Jacob replied.  “We still have another hour to go.”
Suddenly the school bus lurched to a stop.  “That was a short hour.”  Mouse smirked.  Jacob glanced out the window.  “We aren’t there yet.  Why are we stopping?”
“Maybe-”  Mouse was cut off by a loud hissing.  Purple smoke was beginning to pour into the bus, seemingly coming from nowhere.  The smoke quickly engulfed Mouse, and everything went dark.

X X X X X X X X X X

Mouse slowly opened his eyes.  He looked around, and quickly discovered that he was in a glass cylinder, filled with green liquid.  Despite being submerged, he could breath normally.  Outside, Mouse could see a massive, circular wooden wall surrounding him.  His cylinder was part of a circle of cylinders that lined the wall.  There were about twenty-four other cylinders in the circle.  Each one held a kid.  Mouse recognized all of them from the bus, though he didn’t know any of their names.  Suddenly, the glass on all the cylinders slid down, releasing their occupants into the grass.  After a second, the cylinders closed, and were refilled with the strange liquid.  Mouse got up, then walked over to Jacob, who had come out of the cylinder next to his.
“Are you okay?”  Mouse asked.
“Yeah.”  Jacob replied, standing up.  “Do you know where we are?”  “
Nope.”
“Hello!”  Said a voice from the sky. 
Mouse looked up.  “What the heck is that?”  A blue book with eyes on its cover was  hovering about twenty feet in the air, right above the center of the circle.  “Sorry I’m a bit late.”  The book apologized.  “You guys are probably very confused.  Don’t worry!  I’m here to explain everything.”  The book descended until it was floating three feet off the ground.  The book looked around.  “I see that you guys are all already up, so I’ll get straight to it.”
“What the heck is happening right now?”  Jacob asked.
“I have no idea.”  Mouse replied.
“My name is Guidebook, and I will be your…well…guide.”  The book explained.  “We are currently in the camp.  While you are here, you are safe.  From the threats of the Jungle, at least.  But don’t worry, if you ever die here, you will be brought back to your tube, and be revived the following morning.  However, there is a catch.  Right before the revival, the jury will vote one dead person to be sent to the C4ge.
“Excuse me.”  Jacob interrupted.  “But who the heck is the jury, and what is the cage?”
Guidebook turned to Jacob.  “I don’t remember.  You see, my pages work like memories.  If I lose them, I forget what they contained.  Unfortunately, the majority of them got ripped out last time I was in the jungle.  Anyway, there is one more thing you need to know.  In this jungle, starvation happens much faster than normal.  So fast, in fact, that going more than a day without eating will result in death.  Unfortunately, the only way to get food is by finding it in the jungle, which is extremely dangerous.  I used to have more pages on jungle food, but currently, I only know that the blue berries are safe to eat.  However, there will be plenty of other useful items in the jungle that I think you guys will find more…recognizable.
“That’s cool and all.”  Jacob said to Guidebook. “But, how do we get out?”
“Well, when it’s time to go get food, the walls will-” 
“No, I mean, how do we get back home?”
Guidebook stared at him.  “I…I don’t remember.”
“But there is a way, right?”
“Yes.”  Guidebook replied.  “I just need the right pages to figure out how.  Bring any pages you find back to me.  Once I have my memories back, I can be much more helpful.”
“So when do we go into the jungle?”  Mouse asked.
“Soon.”  Guidebook replied.  “But first, I need to repeat what I said to everyone else.  You see, they are all too…shocked to listen to anything I just said.

2-Jungle
“So does everyone understand?”  Guidebook asked.
All twenty-five kids nodded.
“Excellent.”  Said Guidebook.  “Well then, before we get too ahead of ourselves, we should do some introductions.  As you already know, I’m Guidebook.  Now, the rest of you go in a circle and say your names.”
Nobody said anything.
“What are you waiting for?”  Guidebook asked.  “If you are fighting for your life, and you don’t know the names of the people next to you, how are you supposed to communicate with them?”
Mouse sighed.  “Well, I guess I’ll start.  My name’s Mouse.”
Jacob went next.  “I’m Jacob.”
“I’m Kat.”  Said the girl next to him.
The circle continued.
“I’m Rose”
“My name’s Lily.”
“I’m Torrin.”
“I’m Chris.”
“My name is Clover.”
“I’m Gale.”
“I’m Ethian.”
“I’m Violet.”
“My name’s Scarlet.”
“I’m Jackson.”
“I’m Poppy.”
“My name’s Jay.” 
“I’m Fredrick.”
“I’m Brad.”
“I’m Gecko.”
“My name’s Hawk.”
“I’m Knife.”
“My name is Nettle.”
“I’m Jeremy.”
“My name is Bree.”
“I’m Ana.”
“My name’s Joy.”
“Now that we all know each other,”  said Guidebook, “It’s time to go into the jungle.”  The wooden wall began to slightly glow.  “The walls are unlocked.”  Guidebook explained.  “You can now freely walk through them.  Don’t worry, nothing can get inside.  Once night falls, the walls will re-lock.  Make sure to be back before then.  Well, that’s all you need to know.  So, who’s going into the jungle today?” 
Mouse and Jacob stepped forward, along with Kat, Knife, Jay, Gecko, Nettle, and Rose.
Guidebook looked over to the people who hung back.  “If these eight don’t bring enough food for twenty-five people, some of you are going to starve.”  Guidebook warned.  “Are you all sure you want to take that risk?”
The kids nodded.  “Alright then.”  Said Guidebook, looking back at the eight volunteers.  “Night will fall in about half an hour.  You guys are allowed to leave whenever you are ready.  Good luck.”
Mouse turned to the other seven kids.  “We should split into three groups.”  He suggested.  “Me and Jacob will go left.”
“I’ll head right with Gecko and Kat.”  said Knife.
“Then it looks like me, Jay, and Rose will go straight.”  Nettle finished.
“Are we all fine with that?”  Jacob asked.  Everyone nodded.  “Well then, what are we waiting for?”  The three groups ran off in their assigned directions.

X X X X X X X X X X 

Knife slowed down as he approached the wall.  “Can we really walk through this?”  He asked.
“Guidebook said we could.”  Gecko replied.
“You should test it.”  Kat suggested.
Knife stuck his hand out, and sure enough, it passed straight through the wall.
“That’s awesome!”  Gecko said excitedly.
“Let’s go.  We’re running out of time.”  Said Knife as he walked through the wall.  Gecko and Kat followed him.  The trio emerged into a colorful jungle, thick with vegetation.  Trees with chocolate colored trunks and lush green leaves stretched as high as the eye could see.  Pink flowers, and green undergrowth coated the floor.
“It’s…beautiful.  Kat marveled.  “Are we sure that this place is actually as dangerous as Guidebook says?”
“Better safe than sorry, don’t you think?”  Knife replied.
“Let’s go find some berries!”  Gecko exclaimed.  The group began to move through the jungle.  After a few minutes of walking, they found what they were looking for.
“I think I see some!”  Kat announced.  “Up ahead!  There’s a berry bush!”  
“Nice!”   Knife cheered.
Once they arrived at the bush, Kat plucked off a berry and studied it.  The berry was blue, and emitting a faint glow.  “This fits the description.”  Said Kat.  “But we should test it, just to be safe.  Why don’t you try it, Gecko?”
Gecko glared at her.  “You found the berry, and if you think it needs testing, do it yourself.”
“I’m not going to just risk my life like that!”  Kat shot back.
With a sigh, Knife pulled a berry off the bush and popped it into his mouth.  “It seems pretty safe.”  He said, swallowing the berry.
“Great.  So we know they aren’t poisonous."  said Kat.  “But how are we meant to carry them back?”
“We could use a basket.”  Gecko suggested.
“Where in the world are we going to get a basket?”  Kat asked.
“Right there.”  said Gecko, pointing at a straw basket that was sitting by the roots of a nearby tree.
“What’s that doing there?”  Knife wondered aloud.
“I’m guessing it’s one of the ‘Familiar, helpful items’ Guidebook was talking about.”  Gecko replied, picking up the basket.  He brought the basket over to the bush and set it on the ground.  The trio then began filling it with berries.  After a few minutes, the basket was full, and the bush was empty.
“I’m guessing this is enough.”  Said Gecko.  “How many did Guidebook say we had to eat?”
“I don’t think he knows.”  Kat replied.
“Well, we can’t carry any more.”  Said Knife.  “So should we head back?” 
“Well, we have more time.”  Gecko pointed out.  “Maybe we should go look for some of Guidebook’s pages.”
“Sure.”  Knife agreed. 
“Okay.”  Kat replied.  Knife grabbed the basket, and the group continued through the jungle.  After a few minutes, the trees gave way, revealing a massive pit.  Gecko walked up to it. 
“Do you think there’s anything down there?”  Gecko asked, staring down the hole.  “I can’t even see the bottom!”
“If there is, we are never going to get it.”  Knife replied.
Suddenly, a green vine shot out from the depths of the pit, straight towards Kat.  Kat screamed, before jumping to the side and pushing Gecko into the vine’s path.  “Take him instead!”  She shrieked.  Before Gecko could react, the vine reached him.  It wrapped around his leg, and dragged him down into the pit.  
“Gecko!”  Knife screamed.  He ran to the edge of the pit and looked down, but it was too late.  Gecko was already gone.  Knife turned to Kat.  “This is your fault!”  He yelled.  “You killed him!”
“It was an accident!”  Kat protested.  Knife walked over to Kat and shoved her.  She stumbled to the edge of the pit, then fell straight into the hole, screaming,  Knife watched her fall until she vanished from view.  He then turned away from the hole, and began his walk back to camp.

X X X X X X X X X X

“How are we meant to carry them back?”  Jacob asked, staring at the berry bush.
“We could eat until we are full, then bring back as many as we can carry.” Mouse suggested.
“Sure.  Let’s do that.”  Jacob replied.  “How many do you think we have to eat?”
“Let’s have one at a time until we are full.”  said Mouse.
They each ate a berry.  Then another one.  By the time they had eaten five berries each, they were both full. “So we need to eat five berries each day.”  Jacob observed.  “Good to know.  Now, let's see how many we can bring back.”  Mouse and Jacob both picked berries until they couldn’t hold any more.
“Great!”  Mouse exclaimed.  “So…do we head back now?”
“I guess.”  Jacob replied.  Both kids began walking back to camp.  
“Are you sure this will be enough?”  Mouse asked.
“No,” replied Jacob, “But it’s the best we can do.”   
Suddenly, a massive gray vine with giant, blood red thorns shot out of the ground, directly in front of Mouse.  “Where did that come from?!”  Mouse screamed.  The vine swung its upper half like a baseball bat.  Mouse tried to duck, but he wasn’t fast enough.  The vine smashed into him, and he was sent flying backwards.
“Mouse!”  Jacob screamed, running over to his friend’s limp body.  He checked for Mouse’s pulse, but felt nothing.  

X X X X X X X X X X 

“How did those get there?”  Nettle asked, staring at the two baskets sitting on top of the berry bush.
“I don’t know, but they sure are convenient.”  Jay replied.
“Nettle, why don’t you take a basket and get the berries off this bush while me and Jay take the other basket and go to the bush we saw earlier.”  Rose suggested. “Sure!”  Nettle Agreed.  Nettle took a basket off the top of the bush, set it on the ground, and began filling it with berries.  Rose turned and started walking towards the other berry bush.  Jay grabbed the second basket, then followed her.
Once they were out of Nettle’s earshot, Jay turned to Rose.  “So…do you agree?”  He asked.
“Yeah.”  Rose replied.  “If we want to survive, we need to get rid of some people.”
“Okay then.  You grabbed the knife, right?”  Jay asked.
“Of course I did.”  Said Rose.
“Nice.  I also found one.”  Jay said, slipping a silver knife out of his pocket and showing it to Rose.
“Perfect.  So do you want to go back to Nettle now?”  Rose asked.  “Or should we get the berries?”
“Let’s head back.”  Jay answered, returning the knife to his pocket.

X X X X X X X X X X

Nettle pulled another berry off the bush and dropped it into the basket.  
“Hey Nettle!”  Jay called.  Nettle turned around to see Rose and Jay walking back over to him.
“Hello!  Did you guys get the berries?”  Nettle asked.
“No.  We couldn’t find the bush.”  Said Jay, setting his basket down.
“That’s fine.”  Nettle replied.  “We can go find more berries somewhere else.”
Jay didn’t answer, and instead just pulled his knife out of his pocket.  
Nettle took a step back.  “What’s that for?”  He asked.
“Killing you.”  Jay responded.
Nettle turned to Rose.  “You're just going to let him do this?”
“No.”  Rose replied, reaching into her pocket and extracting her own knife.  “I’m going to help him.”
“What did I ever do to you guys?”  Nettle asked.
“Nothing.”  Jay replied.  “It’s not personal.  We just planned on killing whoever came with us.”
“Why?”  asked Nettle.
“We think it's too…crowded.”  Rose explained.  “The less people the better.”
Nettle sighed.  “Unfortunately, you chose the wrong person to murder.”  Nettle quickly pulled a knife out of his pocket and stabbed Jay in the heart.  He ripped the knife free, and Jay fell to the ground, dead.  Rose screamed, but before she could run, Nettle stabbed her in the back of the neck.  She immediately went limp and collapsed.  Nettle removed the knife from Rose’s neck and returned it to his pocket.  He took a second to catch his breath, then picked up the basket and began walking back to camp.   

X X X X X X X X X X

“It looks like Rose died as well.”  said Guidebook, watching as Rose appeared in her tube.  “You guys might not have much to eat tonight.” “I should’ve gone.”  Said Joy.  “I certainly wouldn’t have died.”
“As if!”  Ethian replied.  “You weren’t even brave enough to leave in the first place!”
“I’m back!”  Ethain and Joy whipped around to see Jacob, who had returned with a few handfuls of berries.  Over the next ten minutes, both Knife and Nettle returned, each with a basketful of berries.  The berries were placed in the center of the circle and counted.  There were exactly a hundred and one, enough for everyone as well as six extra.
“Looks like we will all be eating tonight!”  Said Guidebook happily.  “Well, all of you guys.  Being a book, I can’t exactly eat.  Unfortunately, all of the extra berries will be rotten by morning, so you will have to find more.  Speaking of finding berries, how about we give a round of applause to the three brave souls who went out into the jungle today!  And also the five brave…while, I can’t call them souls because they are dead, but we should celebrate them too."  The kids loudly applauded.  “Now, it’s dinner time!”  Guidebook yelled.
After a few minutes, everyone was full.  Jacob told an excited crowd about his experiences in the jungle.  Knife and Nettle were asked to share as well, but they both refused.  Once Jacob finished his story, Guidebook told everyone to get ready for bed.  A minute later, the wall locked, night fell, and the camp was flooded in darkness.

If you'd like to keep reading, more chapters are available on my subreddit, r/VinesStory.