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+

Chapter 33

Another day of travelling gets them through the forest and part-way up the base of the mountains. They can just barely see Ghost Fortress protruding out of a dip in the mountain about three quarters of the way up. Another day of travelling and they'll reach it. It's so close its taunting them.

The air had grown increasingly colder as they gradually ascended. The ground and trees now have a light dusting of snow upon them. Julie pulls Luke's shirt more tightly around her. She feels bad for having it, especially when she looks over and sees him shivering. They're not the only ones that are freezing; everyone but Carlos is dressed for jungle climates, not cold mountains.

Julie is just thankful that this mountain trip is a lot easier than the last. No matter how cold it gets up in Ghost Fortress, it's still nothing compared to the mountains they crossed in the last game. Of course, then they'd had winter clothes and supplies from Willie to help them out.

"I think I found something!" Carlos exclaims, running back towards them. He's the only one among them with energy to spare, and he's been scouting up ahead, making sure Caleb hasn't set any traps for them. There haven't been any yet, but Julie isn't surprised; she's sure Ghost Fortress has enough to spare.

"There's a wood cabin up ahead," Carlos continues. "I peeked in and it looks like no one is there. The door was unlocked, too."

"A wood cabin?" Julie looks over at Alex, and she can see he's thinking the same thing she is.

"Willie said he had a few places scattered around Jumanji," Alex says. "Maybe this is one of them."

"And maybe there's supplies inside," Luke finishes.

The cabin looks similar to the one at the base of the mountain range in the last game. Alex goes first, pushing open the door slowly. As Carlos had said, it's completely empty. Inside, the set up is very similar: a fireplace in one wall, a lone bed, a small table with tree stumps for chairs, a small kitchen area, and a large wooden trunk.

"This is definitely one of Willie's places," Alex says.

They all file in, thankful for the shelter from the wind. Sleeping on snowy ground, even with bedrolls, is not the most pleasant of experiences. Trevor gets a fire started and the cabin warms up quickly.

Julie feels bad about going through Willie's stuff, but hopefully he won't ever come back here. If they beat Caleb and manage to escape with him, then he won't need any of this stuff. She tells herself that as she digs through the wooden trunk.

"Good news!" She starts pulling out mismatched coats, gloves, boots, and hats. "We won't have to freeze anymore."

Everyone changes quickly. The clothes all seem to go with certain characters, though that doesn't surprise Julie. The game was made for their avatars.

They eat their first true meal since joining the game and sit around the table, soaking in the warmth and enjoying the relief of being off their feet. Most of the tension that had been plaguing them for the past couple days had faded after Caleb's revelation. Julie doesn't know if it's because everyone is too absorbed in thinking over his offer or because they realize he'd been subtly playing them, sabotaging their chances and starting fights within their group to weaken them.

Of course, Caleb hadn't had to do much. They already had a bunch of issues bubbling up within their group. He saw the cracks and simply widened them. The cracks aren't gone just because he is, but they're all ignoring them right now.

Julie doesn't want to ignore them. She's on her last life. Luke's on his last life. All the others, except for Carlos, have lost a life. Their chances at defeating Caleb and escaping the game aren't looking so good. Julie doesn't want to die before straightening things out. She learned her lesson about unfinished business when she had to watch Luke with his parents. She doesn't want that for herself, and she doesn't want it for anyone else, either.

She clears her throat, and everyone looks over at her.

"I think we need to talk," she says. "The odds of us all making it back home aren't in our favor. We know that Caleb brought us back here because he wants something from us - or at least from Luke and Alex. He's offering to cut us a deal. We also have the option to continue playing the game to try and beat it, or die trying."

"We don't know what he wants from us, though," Luke says. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not about to sell my soul without knowing why."

"I'm sure he'll tell us at Ghost Fortress."

"Except we don't want to be close enough for him to tell us unless we're stealing that amethyst off his neck," Alex says. "I don't trust him, anyway. Not after what he's done to Willie. I don't want to give him anything he wants."

"I don't want anything to do with him. He's evil." Nick shudders. "None of you have seen his mind like I have. I would rather die than spend another minute with him."

"I have to get back to Carrie," Trevor says, in a rare moment where he speaks in front of the group. "I'm all she has, since her mother…"

Julie glances over at Carlos, and she knows he's thinking the same thing she is: that they can't leave their dad and Tía alone. Not so soon after their mother died.

"Then it's settled," Julie says. "We're refusing Caleb's offer, no matter what."

Silence descends. Julie can't help herself from pulling her arm into her lap and tracing the outline of the two tallies on her wrist. They still have a long way to go before they're even at Ghost Fortress, let alone near Caleb. A lot can happen in a short amount of time in Jumanji. Julie lost both of her lives in one day.

The warmth from the fire is suddenly suffocating. Julie pushes back her chair and walks out to the porch. She leans her arms against the railing and breathes in the chilly air. This isn't like last time at all. Last time, Julie knew they could restart. They could keep restarting until they won. It was a safety net, even if it was a last resort.

Now, there is no restart. There is no do-over. Whatever happens, tomorrow is final. The end.

The idea scares Julie more than she wants to admit. Ever since her mom died, she always thought she would welcome death. It would mean getting to be with her mother sooner. Now that she's faced with the prospect, it isn't so idealized. Of course she wants to see her mother again, but she's more concerned about those she would have to leave behind. And what she would have to leave behind. Julie still has an entire life ahead of her. There's so much she wants to do.

She's not ready to die yet.

Behind her, the door opens and shuts quietly. Without looking, Julie knows it's Luke. He walks over and leans on the railing next to her, keeping a respectful few inches between them. After all the fighting they've been doing since being back in the game, the last thing Julie wants is more space between them.

"Hey," he says.

She looks over at him. "Hey."

"I've been doing a lot of thinking the past few days." He looks away, into the forest around them. "I was so quick to judge Bobby for stealing our songs. And I'm still mad - that wasn't cool of him to do that. But maybe you're right. Maybe there's more to the story."

Julie feels a weight fall off her shoulders. A small smile creeps on her face. "I'm glad."

He takes a deep breath. "I'm not going to forgive him, though. I can't. But maybe, if we survive this...I'd be willing to sit down and listen to his side of the story. Give him a chance to explain."

Julie leans over and nudges his arm. "That's a huge step, Luke. I'm proud of you."

Luke turns back to her, a small smile growing on his face. Despite the fact that he's in his avatar's body and not his own, it looks so much like him.

"Yeah," he finally says. "I'm so sick of fighting with everyone I care about. There's a good chance we might die tomorrow and I don't want to have any more unfinished business. I don't want to feel about anyone else the way I feel about my parents."

"If we die tomorrow, you'd be dead," Julie reminds him. "I don't think you'd feel much of anything."

He shrugs. "You don't believe in ghosts?"

"Not in the traditional sense." Julie looks away. "I don't think my mom's a ghost, but that doesn't mean I can't feel her with me. Her spirit remains, even though her soul has passed on. If that makes any sense."

"It does."

They stand together for a while, a comfortable silence between them. When Julie tries to take a quick glance over at Luke, she sees that he's already looking at her.

"Are we - are we good now?" Luke asks. His voice is hesitant.

Of course we are, Julie thinks, internally rolling her eyes. She can't help the smile that spreads across her face. "Yeah. We are."

Luke takes a step forward, closing the distance between them. Julie feels her heart begin to race. He leans down, close enough now that Julie can feel his breath against her lips. Less than an inch away, he suddenly stops and leans back.

"I can't do it," he says, shaking his head.

Julie feels her heart constrict painfully. "What?"

He looks away, his cheeks reddening. "That was Reggie's body for two months. I still think of it as him when I look at you."

For a moment, Julie is frozen. Then she starts laughing hysterically. It's probably not that funny, but after all the stress of the past few days and the looming death ahead of them, she can't help it. She clutches her stomach and doubles over.

It's a few seconds before she can regain her composure to straighten up and look at him. Luke is giving her a strange look. Ever so slowly, a smile stretches out across his face and then they're both laughing, clutching the porch railing to stay on their feet.

"I am so telling Reggie when we get back," Julie says, wiping at her eyes. Another fit of laughter comes over her, and she tries unsuccessfully to tamper it down.

"Don't you dare," Luke replies, but he's smiling.

"Poor Reggie," Julie says, her smile fading. "He's been stuck in the real world without us."

"Poor Reggie?" Luke raises an eyebrow. "He's stuck in Bobby's mansion with Carrie and Flynn. It's his dream come true."

"Whatever. I bet he misses us."

"If he even noticed we're gone."

Julie leans over and smacks him playfully. Still, her mirth is fading and more serious thoughts are coming back to mind.

"I wonder how long we've been in the game for," she says. "In real life, I mean."

"That's exactly what I'm trying not to think about. Maybe we'll be lucky and it will just be a couple of hours. No one except Reggie and the girls will even know that we were ever gone."

"Or maybe it's a few years." Julie crosses her arms. "I hope not. My poor dad…"

"It'll be fine," Luke assures her. "We have to believe in the best, no matter what happens. Alex and Reggie and I were stuck in here for twenty five years and we got a pretty sweet deal when we got back to the real world. Everything will work out."

"At least Carlos is still in the game. Can you imagine if years passed and my little brother grew up and became my big brother?" Julie shudders. "I'd never hear the end of it."

"Exactly. Look on the bright side of things."

"And Alex and Willie are both stuck in here, so at least neither of them will have aged. Same with us. We still have each other."

"And Nick," Luke adds, a mischievous smile on his face. "Can't forget about him." Julie leans over and smacks him again.

"Maybe we'll get back and find out that Reggie stole all our Julie and the Phantoms songs for himself," she suggests.

Luke's face twists. "Okay, that is definitely not funny. Reggie would never do that."

"You're right, he would share with Flynn and Carrie."

He shoots her a look, and she smirks back in response.

The temperature continues to drop outside, and it begins to snow lightly, so Luke and Julie head back inside. Alex is sitting on Willie's bed, his blanket drawn around his shoulders. Trevor and Nick are talking quietly at the table, and Carlos is throwing ninja stars at a circular grain of wood on the wall. He quickly shoves his hands in his pockets when he sees her walk in.

Everyone gathers around when Julie and Luke walk in. It takes Julie a moment to realize that they've become the leaders of the group. Now everyone is looking to them to lead them out of this mess.

Julie takes a deep breath. She looks over at Alex. "You have the map?" she asks.

He pulls it out and lays it on the table. Even as they watch, the last section reveals itself. It's not a path to the fortress, but rather a blueprint of the fortress itself. Julie studies it for a few minutes. When she looks over at Luke, he's already looking at her.

"Okay," she says. "I think I have a plan. Half of a plan." She glances around the circle of people, making eye contact with each of them. "But if this is going to work, we all have to be a team. No more fighting. No more drama. Some of us don't have lives to spare. Some of us have extra lives to spare. We have to have each other's backs if we want to have any chance of surviving."

Everyone looks around at each other before looking back at her and nodding.

"So this is what we're going to do…"