Chapter 186: 186-I Am Trustworthy Now?
Clementine:
Everyone was staring at Matthias, wondering what we would do if he refused to help. At that moment, I noticed Joshua glaring at me, probably blaming me for the divisions in the group.
He had wanted me not to tell Jessie about her sister, but I could never have lived with myself if I had kept that secret. By the end of the day, at least I could sleep peacefully, without feeling guilty about betraying the girl.
I looked away from Joshua, and when I turned back, I noticed Yorick had stepped between us, probably to block me from Joshua’s side.
"No, Matthias, you have to go help them. It’s not just about me, it’s about the entire mainland. We have loved ones out there, the ones who didn’t take part in sending us here. You have to do it for them, please." Of course, Jessie was different.
She was like her sister, Valerie. I hadn’t spent much time with Valerie, but the one night I did, I realized she was calm and decent, unlike most of the other crusaders we had met.
"But I don’t want to leave you alone, Jessie," Matthias said.
I took a deep breath and added, "I will go with her."
Matthias turned to look at me and I noticed a hope covering his face.
"No, she’s coming with us," Jack argued, pointing at me as he spoke directly to Matthias.
"You don’t get to decide who I go with," I countered, stepping past Yorick to face Jack, who shook his head vigorously.
"Yeah, Clementine will come with us. Why do you have to take the best players with you?" Joshua said, pointing at Matthias. I clenched my fists.
Then my eyes landed on Ian. He had been staring at me, but when I looked at him, he quickly looked away.
"Clementine will make the decision. Nobody else will have a say," Haiden added, giving me ownership of the choice.
"Okay, fine. Then somebody else will go with Jessie, maybe Oriana, her own team, and some of the black squad. Even Nate and Yash," Joshua said dismissively, pointing at everyone to be sent away.
Nate and Yash, especially Nate, looked offended. He had been left behind previously, and even now, he stayed distant, showing subtle microaggression. The white squad didn’t seem to care, just Jack, Suki, and Joshua.
"No, only Clementine. Others can come and go, but I only trust her," Matthias said, pointing at me. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
It was hard to believe that people were putting so much faith in me. My entire life, I had been disregarded, seen as untrustworthy. It affected me deeply. At one point, I even believed I might be a terrible person, not a good friend at all.
But here I was, being trusted left and right. I had never been in such demand before, and it was a completely new feeling.
"It’s okay. I don’t want them to feel like they have to come with us," Jessie stated, probably talking about me.
Matthias and Jessie then held hands, and he turned his attention back to her. I could tell he was very worried about her. It was such a weird situation. The white squad wasn’t helping either.
As silence fell over everyone once again, Ian cleared his throat. Before he could even speak, everybody was already looking at him, waiting for his ideas.
"Actually, we don’t even need many people there. It’s not like anybody could help us," Ian said, making my body stiff. "When we were in the big city and the Wendigos attacked, nobody stayed. In fact, it was a burden for us to carry Yash, take care of Suki, take care of Jack. It’s better if it’s just the three of us. We’ll get there quickly, and it will be much easier to save ourselves instead of worrying about the others, because there’s not just one Wendigo, but many. Less distraction will help us."
Others stared at each other before slowly nodding in agreement. I didn’t like it, but since everyone seemed on board, what could I say?
"Fine then, everybody else can either go with Jessie and Clementine or stay here, while the three of us go and quickly repair the stone," Mattthias stated, finally agreeing to the plan.
Even Joshua nodded, but I noticed his eyes lingering on Jack and Suki. They would be left behind without him.
At last, the decision was made. We had packed our bags. I heard that the rest of the red squad didn’t want to go with Jessie.
It was just going to be me, my squad, Oriana, and Jessie. Suki and Jack chose to stay behind with Yash and Nate, wanting to take care of Nate, who was still running a fever.
I could tell, with a heavy heart, that Joshua had to leave without them.
"Take care of yourself," I said to Ian, awkwardly rubbing my hands on my pants. He nodded. While his face was down, he briefly raised his eyes to glance at me.
It was a quick look before he looked away, tossed the bag over his shoulder, and started walking. He spoke so few words, and sometimes that annoyed me so much.
"Okay, guys, let’s go. We need to find Valerie," I stated, and Jessie began moving toward me. My squadmates followed, but I wasn’t sure if all of us going together was a good idea.
When Jessie and Oriana were out of the house, I turned to look at my squadmates.
"What?" Troy asked, hands on his waist. I could already tell he suspected I was going to say something that might divide us.
"Do you guys trust the white squad to be left behind with the red squad?" I whispered softly.
"They’re not our responsibility. We shouldn’t worry about it," Yorick hissed.
"I understand that, but what if Ian—if they get news about Ian and the others, they only decide to save their own squadmates. What about Ian? Wouldn’t he need help?" I mumbled. I noticed my squadmates looking at me before their faces softened. I expected harsh questions, like why I cared, but they didn’t do that. Instead, slowly, one by one, they nodded slightly.