Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators and writers of Julie and the Phantoms (2020). I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made.
Rating: K+
Author's Note: Not me updating in the middle of my German exam...anyways, I'm super excited about getting Alex and Reggie's official last names so here's an update to celebrate!
Chapter 10
Julie's calves strain as she forces herself up the hill. In the map in her hand, the green dots indicating where their positions are are nearing the end of the yellow path and the edge of the uncovered part of the map. They've crossed two thirds of Jumanji now and have only lost a life each, with the exception of Julie who still has all of hers.
What lies beyond the hill, she doesn't know. It's long and steep and all she can see at the top is the clouds overhead.
Luke and Reggie are the first ones to reach the top. They stop and gaze around and Luke leans into Reggie's side, resting his arm on his shoulder.
Alex and Julie catch up to them a minute later. Julie's jaw drops as she sees the world beyond.
Gone are the forests and plains of the Jumanji they've been crossing. This new part of the world consists of a large mountain range stretching as far as the eye can see. Snow caps the mountains and the peaks disappear into the clouds.
"We have to cross that?" Reggie whispers.
Julie looks down at her map, a new section of which is freshly revealed. A yellow path extends straight overtop of the mountains. She doesn't understand until she looks back up and sees the small wooden hangar at the base of the mountains.
"Look." She points. "There's a helicopter. We're flying over it."
All the boys breathe a sigh of relief. "Good, cause that would take days, if not weeks," Reggie says.
"Quick question," Alex says. "Does anyone actually know how to fly a helicopter?"
"We'll figure it out," Luke says after a moment of silence. "Let's get down there first."
Walking down the hill is, of course, much easier than hiking up it in the first place. As they near the mountains, the humidity which has plagued them the entire game begins to lighten. Julie complained inwardly about her clothes being too warm the whole time, but now she's dreading them not being warm enough.
Tall grass spotted with big bushes and small clumps of trees make up the land between them and the hangar. As they get close, a small group of men in black uniforms comes into view. They're sitting around a fire outside the front of the hangar, playing cards and chatting.
"Reggie and I will take care of the guards," Luke says. "There might be more in the hangar, so wait for us to signal before you two follow."
Neither Julie nor Alex has a better plan, so they nod and crouch behind a bush. They watch through gaps in the branches as Reggie and Luke creep closer to the men.
They split up, each approaching from a different side. They move in sync, jumping forward and taking out two guards each before the others realize what's happening. In less than a minute, all the guards are lying unconscious on the ground.
Reggie darts inside the hangar while Luke waits outside, his hands curled up into fists. There's a shriek and a moment later a man flies through the side of the hangar, his body smashing through the wood. Another man runs out behind him, only to run straight into Luke.
A few seconds later, Reggie and Luke wave to them. Julie and Alex run out from their hiding place and meet them by the hangar. Julie tries to avoid looking at the men on the ground. She knows they're NPCs and not real people, and she knows the boys didn't seriously hurt them anyways, but it's still disturbing.
Luke throws open the large doors, revealing the helicopter. It's just big enough for six people - the maximum amount of avatars that can be in play. Luke climbs into the cockpit, Julie into the co-pilot seat, and Reggie holds out a hand to pull Alex into the back.
Luke's hands hover over the controls. He glances around, his brow furrowing.
"I thought my avatar's instincts might take over, like at the temple," he says. "But I'm not feeling anything."
"None of us has pilot as one of our skills," Julie says. "But maybe it won't be that hard. I mean, this is supposed to be a video game, right?"
Alex leans forward between them. "We only have one try," he says. "If we crash, we all lose the life we can lose. We'll have to restart the game."
They all sit back for a moment, the implications of what they're about to do sinking in.
"We have to do it," Reggie says. "Julie's map shows us that this is the route. We have to at least try."
Luke reaches over and turns the engine on. His hands hover back over the other controls, not sure exactly what to do next. Julie has a deep sinking feeling in her stomach that this isn't going to end well.
Luke is just reaching for the level when they hear a shout over the sound of the engine blades. Alex leans up and presses his face to the window. A second later, he turns to them and slices across his neck with his hand. Luke takes the hint and turns the engine off. He doesn't say anything, but Julie can tell he's relieved.
"What is it?" she asks, turning in her seat.
Alex opens up the door and a familiar figure comes running up. "Willie!" Alex says in greeting. He throws his arms around him. Willie seems surprised at first, but then he returns the gesture.
"What's up?" Reggie asks, exchanging a special bro handshake with him. "Long time no see."
"I came to warn you guys." Willie looks to the cockpit and nods at them. "Hey, Luke. Hey, Julie."
"Warn us about what?" Luke asks.
"You can't fly the helicopter. You'll die. I know it's the easiest way over the mountains, but without the pilot avatar you'll fail."
"How do you know?"
Willie's face is grim. "Because I've seen it happen way too many times."
Julie pulls out her map. "This is the only route I have. It could take us weeks to get across the mountains by foot, and we don't have the supplies."
"There's another way." Willie makes a motion for the map. After a second of hesitation, Julie hands it to him. He does something she can't see and when he hands it back, there's a second yellow path that winds around the mountains.
"How'd you do that?"
He shrugs. "Game cheat. When you've been in as long as I have, you pick up some things." He glances behind him. "We have to go. Caleb will send more men when he realizes you've made it this far."
Alex's eyes brighten. "You're coming with us?"
"No, but as Julie said, you don't have the supplies to get across the mountains. I know somewhere we can hide and you can get the supplies you need."
Willie jumps out of the helicopter, the others following close behind. He leads them down a rough trail that winds towards the mountains. Alex walks next to him and they talk quietly among themselves. Julie, Luke, and Reggie hang back, giving them space. Even ten feet away, Julie can feel the tension between the two. She wasn't with the boys the first month they were stuck in the game, so she has no idea exactly what happened between Alex and Willie, but she can tell that there's something between them.
It takes them an hour to reach Willie's place. It's a small, homey cabin at the very base of the mountains, hidden by the trees. The inside is small and sparsely decorated yet warm and comfortable. There's a bed pressed up against the far wall, a wooden trunk covered in a stack of blankets, a roaring fire set in another wall, and a table with six seats near a small kitchenette.
Willie spins around and raises his arms. "Home sweet home," he says. "Well, one of my homes. I have a few of these set up around Jumanji."
"This place is awesome!" Reggie says, sliding into a rocking chair in front of the fire. "Can't believe you've been holding out on us for so long!"
Alex, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, looks over at Willie. "You live here all by yourself?" he asks.
Willie plops down on his bed, his smile stretching a little too tightly across his face. "Yeah! It's not so bad, though. People like you guys come through every once in a while and shake things up."
Julie remembers the uneasy feeling she had the first time she met Willie. She doesn't think he's a bad person by any means, but there's something in the way he looks at her in particular that sends up warning flags. With the boys he's easy-going and fun. With her, it's like she's a mystery he can't solve.
When he first met them, he had said no one had ever joined a group once they were in the game and no one had ever had control over the game. Julie wonders whether he knows why - and how much, in fact, he does know about the game.
She doesn't ruin the mood by asking any of those questions, though. The boys are happy to be around Willie, Alex especially, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't relieved to be in a safe place for once.
"Here." Willie stands and walks over to the little kitchen area. "I'll get some food started. You guys can stay the night and head out into the mountains tomorrow morning." He looks over at Alex. "Your avatar has nature powers, want to come with me to go out and check the traps and scavenge?"
"Yeah, that would be great."
Willie nods over Luke. "Would you mind bringing in some firewood from the stack outside? It's piled up against the outhouse."
Willie, Alex, and Luke head out. Reggie and Julie start rearranging their bedrolls and blankets on the floor for the night.
An hour later, everyone is sitting around the table, their stomachs and hearts full. Even though Julie has had plenty to eat and rest in real life, she still feels the pain from her avatar's empty stomach and weary muscles when she comes back in the game. She's also aware that the boys have been pretty stressed and worn out mentally from constantly being on the run. Her mind gets a break from the stress of Jumanji when she goes to the real world, but the boys don't have that.
Willie's home is a place of laughter and friendship. They stay up late talking about their adventures in Jumanji and rehashing memories from the boys' first month in the game. They had told Julie that they'd wandered about a lot in the first week before they found the village, but they'd never told the stories in detail. She's bent over and holding her stomach in laughter at their escapades. Willie has a few stories of his own from previous groups of players. After hearing them, Julie is glad that she's stuck with Luke, Alex, and Reggie.
"So how does it work?" she asks after a while. "How does the game suck people in?"
Willie shrugs. "I don't know exactly. The villain, Caleb - he's a real person, not a game character. He controls it. But I don't know how it works or where he got the power."
"And how did you end up getting stuck here permanently?"
Willie hesitates. Alex makes a motion as if to reach out to him and then stops himself. Everyone is watching carefully.
"I started playing the game by myself," Willie says. "There was no hope of winning. I realized that from the beginning. You guys know how hard it is with four. My options were to either try and inevitably fail, which would lead to - well, I'm not sure, but probably death - or to live in the game. I stayed in the tavern for a while and Caleb came in search of me. He didn't understand why I wasn't playing his game. I plead my case and he offered me a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"I swore I wouldn't play the game as intended and he would leave me alone. I don't have to worry about losing lives and I can just be myself." Willie shrugs. "I didn't have much of a life in the real world so I wasn't losing too much by staying here."
"So you're not an avatar?" Alex asks. "This is what you really look like?"
Willie nods. He forces a smile. "This is me."
"Doesn't it get lonely?" Reggie asks. "You meet people and then they leave after a few days or weeks?"
"Yeah, I guess. But it's better than the alternative."
"Will you get in trouble for helping us?" Alex's eyebrows are pulled forward. "If your deal is to not play the game, isn't helping us in violation of that?"
Willie stares at him for a moment before looking away. "I don't know. Caleb hasn't come after me for it yet. I think I'm safe as long as all I'm doing is giving advice and tips. But that's why I can't go with you."
Julie's heart aches for Willie. After hearing his story, all her concerns are swept away. Willie is just a lonely guy who's stuck in a video game for eternity. She hates that she can't help him, but she's definitely going to get Luke, Alex, and Reggie out. No matter the cost.
"How long have you been in here?" she asks, her voice soft.
Willie shrugs. "I'm not sure. I stopped counting a long time ago. Time works differently here. Maybe a few years? I was just a kid when I first started playing."
Silence falls over the group. Willie forces a smile, claps his hands, and stands. "It's pretty late. You guys should probably get some sleep before you head out. It will take you at least a week to cross the mountains, and it's no easy trip."
Julie knows she's taking a risk by falling asleep in the game, but she can't help it. Willie's cabin is so safe that she can't imagine anything bad happening while she's inside.
When she wakes up in the morning, the sun shining through the dusty window and into her eyes, she's still in the game. Her avatar's body feels better than it has since the first day after resting and eating. Luke and Reggie are still sleeping and Willie and Alex are gone.
She stretches and carefully steps over the boys' bodies. She goes out onto the porch, Where Willie has a crude swing hung up using rope and a plank of wood. The air is fresh and cool and she breathes it in deeply.
About half an hour later Alex and Willie appear, walking and talking together, their hands carrying baskets from scavenging. They both have wide smiles on their faces and Julie is happy for them. Then she remembers that they're leaving today and probably won't see Willie again and her heart goes out to both of them.
When Luke and Reggie wake up, they all eat breakfast together out on the porch. The bright mood from last night carries over. Julie has the sudden realization that even though she's eager to be free from this game, she's really going to miss being around the boys. Even in their darkness moments here they've been full of heart and energy. There's such a wholesome and positive vibe that follows them around everywhere.
Flynn and Nick are Julie's friends in real life, and she wouldn't trade them for anything. But being with the boys here creates a desire deep within her to never let them go. Why can't she have both in her life?
Once they've finished eating, Willie leads them back inside and opens up his trunk. He pulls out stacks of fur coats, hats, gloves, and boots as well as other mountaineering equipment. It settles in now just how much more difficult their journey is about to become.
"I believe in you," he says as he hands out the supplies. "Watch each other's backs and remember your avatar's powers." He pauses in front of Alex, holding his eyes. "And be careful."
They all suit up. The furs are too warm now, but Julie takes one look at the snow on the slopes of the mountain and knows that she'll appreciate them all too soon. They all give Willie a hug in farewell and thank him for his help before setting off, following Julie's map.
With each step, Julie feels dread building up inside of her. She doesn't think Caleb's men will come for them in the mountains, but only because they don't have to. The mountains themselves will prove deadly enough.
She has to look down at her map and reassure herself that once they cross the mountains, there's only a small section of the map left uncovered - no doubt the section where they'll fight Caleb, restore the gem, and break free of this video game.