Jasmine's POV
Everyone came back sporadically. Viktor finished torturing—I mean, interrogating—the thugs. Josh, a shaken Liz, Mitch, Kyle, Amber, and Jesse had killed the rest of the thugs and dropped some backpacks on the ground. Liam, Giselle, Laney, and Devan brought back crossbows, arrows, machetes, and tomahawks. Jordan, Hirose, Briar, Sloan, and Logan returned with baseball bats and camping bags. Sol looted all the bodies, piling them off to the side. Everyone came back in groups of two or three.
"What did you all find?" I asked, standing next to Nicole.
"We found some sleeping bags, pepper spray, a taser, flashlights, and some brass knuckles," Mitch said, opening the bags to show us. I nodded in acknowledgment and looked toward Liam. He just stared at Nicole, ignoring me.
"She asked you something. We expect an answer," Nicole said, glaring at him.
"We found some crossbows. I figured it'd be easier for everyone to use them than bows or arrows. Also, machetes, tomahawks, and some hunting knives, Captain." Liam said, still only looking at her. Nicole seemed even more upset with his attitude toward me.
She was about to say something when Logan interrupted. "We found some tents, tarps, camping stoves, portable water filters, rope, coolers, and fire starters."
"Umm, we found first aid kits, water bottles, Swiss army knives, and freeze-dried meals. I figured it might be dangerous going to the food court," one of Mitch's people said nervously.
"Before we were ambushed, Nicole and I also found sleeping bags, matches, flashlights, water bottles, and radios. We need to do an inventory of everything that was collected and distribute the supplies to everyone. But first, I need a report on what led us to being ambushed," I said, looking around.
"Why do we have to report to you?" Liam said, his voice thick with attitude.
"Because we both want to know what fucking happened, that's why. Cut the damn attitude. Someone fucked up, and our survival depends on each other. To cut the bullshit, Jasmine will be leading us until we get out of the dungeon, and I will be her second. If anyone doesn't like it, then they can fuck off. Any fucking questions?" Nicole said, locking eyes with Liam.
"Why is she the leader? She's a criminal who killed hundreds of people. You should be leading us, and she should know her place. Or is it because y'all fucked?" Liam said sarcastically. Everyone turned to him in surprise, especially his teammates. Logan pulled him back, glaring, and I saw Nicole's face turn red in anger.
"What the fuck did you just say? I must have heard wrong." Nicole's voice was sharp, and Liam, realizing the gravity of his words, looked around for support—only to find none.
"That was out of line, Captain. I just don't understand why you aren't leading us," Liam said, now sounding remorseful.
"That was out of line, and it won't happen again. I have always looked out for everyone's best interest, so if anyone feels differently, you can talk to me privately. Now, as for why, specifically, it's because y'all's competence is being called into question. If we, as a task force, get captured by just anyone, then there's a problem. That's why we need to find out what happened. Also, we are here to capture Jasmine, but because of the dungeon, our goal is survival. It will be disadvantageous to fight her, capture her, and try to get out of here. We don't know what's happening outside, and we need to work together to get out of our current situation. Jasmine, Sol, and Viktor are the only reason we were able to get out of the previous situation," Nicole said, looking at Liam and then the others. They all showed various emotions: anger, humiliation, and determination.
"We were looking for supplies when we ran into Stacy. She said that the others left at the store kicked her out, and she wanted to rejoin us. I didn't see her as a problem, so I let her into the group. She then said she knew where some good supplies were hidden, so we followed her to a storage room. The men attacked, catching us off guard. We underestimated the threat. It won't happen again," Logan said through clenched teeth.
"What about you?" I asked, gesturing to Viktor.
"Someone tried to grab Sol and I kicked his ass. Sol found a rope to tie him up, and while I was tying the guy up, another came swinging a bat at my head. Luckily, I noticed him, or my skull would have been smashed. I was still hit in the head, which made me black out for a bit. I guess they thought I was dead, from all the blood gushing out," Viktor said, spitting on the ground. I stared at him for a moment, then glanced at Sol.
"I apologize, Mother. I have failed you," Sol said, head down.
"You didn't fail me, but this doesn't excuse the fact that you were a burden. You didn't defend yourself or try to protect Viktor. I trained you to be better, so I expect you to be. If you are in a similar situation again, I expect you to at least harm the other person. Don't be a damsel in distress," I said, and Sol nodded in confirmation. Everyone looked at me like I was heartless.
"I have the same expectations for everyone else. Your own safety should be your highest priority. If you can't even attempt to fight back for yourself, how can you help the person standing next to you?" I said, and everyone nodded in understanding.
"They overwhelmed us," Mitch simply said.
"They moved so fast, and by the time I realized what was happening, they already had Liz," Josh said, ashamed, and Liz moved to comfort him.
I thought about what had happened, and it mostly came down to overconfidence, lack of caution, and inexperience.
"I feel like all of us together is less efficient and creates a huge target on our backs. There are currently 19 of us, so I want three groups of five and one group of four going forward. Amber, Sol, Liam, and I are in Group Alpha. Josh, Liz, Jesse, Devan, and Nicole in Group Bravo. Mitch, Sloan, Giselle, Viktor, and Hirose in Group Charlie. Logan, Jordan, Laney, Kyle, and Briar are in Group Delta. I intentionally separated everyone from their usual teams to foster trust and one united team. You will pick a leader for your respective groups, and you will take the time to get to know them. The people in your group will be protecting your back, and a great way to quickly forge trust is through combat. Any questions?" I asked, looking around. The reactions in the group varied: some were upset like Liam, most were indifferent like Nicole, and others were grateful like Josh and Liz.
"How did you decide who goes to which group?" Nicole asked, and I could tell everyone was thinking the same thing.
"Sol is going to stay with me from now on, and Liam and I need to form some type of understanding and trust. I figured you would be able to train Josh and Liz. Mitch can pick up a few things from the people in Group Charlie. Logan is your second-in-command, so I just assume he would be the leader of his group. Both he and you are patient enough to take care of the weaker members," I said, and Nicole nodded in understanding. I believe she already understood why I assigned certain people to different groups but just asked to help the others.
"You basically don't trust me to be in another group," Liam said, grumbling.
"No, I don't, especially after Stacy. I'd rather keep an eye on you so you don't create discord in the group for Sol and my safety. I'm not questioning your character, but until we develop mutual trust and respect, that will be my stance. I expect everyone to have the professionalism to keep personal opinions to the side and focus on the objective. That means, Liam, I will not intentionally lead you into danger, and I will try my best to protect you, and I hope you will do the same," I said, looking straight at him. He looked at me in disbelief before grunting in annoyed acceptance.
"Now, does anyone have any more questions before I proceed with our next course of action?" I asked, and no one said anything. "Good, we're heading to a pharmacy since some of you are injured and we need medical supplies anyway. The pharmacy is on this floor on the other side of the mall, and next to it is a furniture store. After we secure medical supplies, we will investigate the furniture store for a place to rest tonight. If it's efficient enough, that is where we will set up base. For now, use the first aid kit we have here to patch up your wounds and start distributing the supplies. Everyone should have a backpack or camping bag, a radio, a watch, a water bottle, and some dried rations at the very least. We will carry as much as we can without it hindering our ability to fight. Also, I advise everyone to change into something protective—boots, jeans, long-sleeved shirts, helmets, anything that will protect you from both goblins and other humans. At least one person should be carrying a crossbow, and everyone should have a melee weapon. Nicole, am I forgetting anything?"
"We are burning daylight, so we need to find a place to rest soon. We should leave in 15 minutes, only take the essentials. If we can secure the furniture store, we can always come back for the rest. Don't forget to take flashlights since we don't know how long the power will stay on. If we run into any survivors, treat them with caution. We don't know if they are allies or not," Nicole said, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"It's 6 p.m. right now, so we will leave at 6:15. Stick to your groups. Dismissed," I said, and everyone began packing. Hopefully, we won't run into any more problems.