Luke was in another world. A wonderful and dangerous world, full of interesting and likable people of all races. It was a world completely different to the one he had known all his life. It was a world full of hardship and trials, though that was to be expected really. After all, life was difficult when you lived in outer space.

  Luke turned the page, read from the top and paused mid-sentence as his body leaned dangerously to one side. He would have worried about falling out of his seat if it wasn’t for the seatbelt firmly securing him to the chair. Right turn. Soon the interruption was over, and Luke resumed the sentence. It carried him through the paragraphs like a lit fuse, across the ravine and on to the other side before the next interruption occurred.

  This time Luke’s body leaned in the opposite direction. Left turn. Straightening himself up again and ignoring the hubbub of voices and childish laughter around him, Luke sighed quietly to himself and chanced a glance to the back of the bus where the loudest conversation and laughter was coming from.

  Sprawled out and claiming the entire back row, three huge teenagers focused on the outstretched smartphone before them. Their attention was rapt, as if they were in their own world, completely oblivious to everyone else.

  ‘Oi, Jayo, oi look did he just step in dog shit?’

  ‘OH MY GOD, YOU'RE RIGHT, HAHAHAHA!’

  The entire bus cringed at the unexpected loud laughter. Luke was in hell, he kept beating himself up for forgetting to bring his earphones for the trip, which practically made his phone useless.

  ‘Goddamn idiots, don’t they care about anyone else,’ Luke grumbled quietly to himself as he turned back to his science fiction novel.

  However, it seemed there really was a god, as that last laugh had upset the driver and now their useless teacher had to take action while apologising profusely for their behaviour. Serves her right. Miss Kim didn’t quite march up to the three boys, but it was a solid attempt.

  ‘Mr Jacob Jay, if you can’t keep your volume under control, I’m going to have to separate you from your friends.’ She stared menacingly as the three boys casually looked up from Jacob’s phone, unfazed by her threat.

  ‘Yes Miss, sorry miss, won’t happen again miss,’ Jacob rattled off in an unapologetic tone, which was clear to everyone except her.

  ‘No more warnings, If I hear one more complaint because of you, I’m moving you to another seat. I see that there is a free seat here next to Mr Eldest.’ She indicated the free chair next to Luke, oblivious to his outrage.

  That bitch! Luke’s hands balled up into fists as he glared at his book.

  ‘Not next to four-eyes! Alright Miss I’ll be quiet, for real-zees.’

  As Miss Kim strode back to the front of the bus in triumph of her success, Luke sat in a foul mood as he tried to ignore his snickering classmates around him. Burying himself in his book he continued reading the exciting intergalactic adventures of—

  It happened suddenly and without warning. The snickering voices, the quiet laughter and even the background hum of the bus ceased altogether. As if someone had just had enough and hit the mute button.

  Luke immediately noticed it, it would be hard not to, akin to suddenly going deaf. He glanced up from his book and found… an expansive ocean of green before him, stretching out for an eternity. Luke felt weightless like an astronaut floating in outer space, and for a moment he just hung there, mid-air, still in his sitting position with his book in hand, only without a chair, the bus, or his classmates present.

  There he sat as if he were sitting atop a throne of air, the would-be [King] stared, bewilderment written across his face. Luke blinked and looked around as his mind tried to process what had just happened.

  ‘What? What the fuu—'

  Then physics caught up, namely gravity. Luke’s jaw, stomach and bowel clenched tightly and abruptly, as he plummeted down towards the green sea like a meteor.

  ‘Ahhhhh!’

  He had just enough foresight to take a breath, and as he hit the green texture, he passed through the leaves like a cannonball. He distinctively felt thousands of whips slapping and cutting against his skin as his vision was dyed green. Before Luke knew what had happened, he was out the other side of the canopy and still falling.

  Dazed from the ordeal, Luke opened his mouth to speak when the swamp below swallowed him whole. Day turned to night and the rustling of wind was replaced with muted solitude. He felt a mouthful of warm slimy water go down before he caught up and realised he was now sinking further underwater. The raw craving for air burned in his lungs and urged Luke on. He kicked his legs franticly and struggled his way to the surface, fighting against his now wet and heavy clothing weighing him down like an anchor.

  He rose like a whale surfacing, causing the swamp’s waters to stir, and as Luke came up, he was immediately assaulted by the intense humidity. He took two monster breaths of air, the biggest he’d ever taken, then sputtered on the swallowed water. His breathing was hoarse, and he felt shaken and ill from the experience. He was even bleeding in places from small cuts caused by the leaves; it was already fading into the green-murky water, dyeing it a faded red. But, despite all that, he was alive.

  ‘Holy crap!’

  Luke kicked his legs wildly as he tried to stay afloat. Each movement was agonizingly slow and heavy. Already his underdeveloped muscles were burning.

  He had so many questions, so many new senses vying for his attention, but he dismissed them all. He had to prioritise, and his first urge was to get out of the swamp; it was taking everything he had just to stay above. He swivelled his head in every direction, dismissing everything he saw and eyed the closest shore, a muddy bank free of the surrounding vegetation.

  ‘Seriously though, what the fu—'

  Luke was pulled back down underwater by his feet. He kicked his legs violently and released an underwater shrill scream, as he felt himself being dragged through the murky water. Something had his boot!

  Then just as suddenly as his foot was caught, he was released. He felt his foot come free from whatever had snagged it and once again frantically rose to the surface. Sputtering on more swallowed water and breathing heavily again, Luke didn’t even chance another look at the murky waters around him. Instead with a tenacity born from fear, Luke began swimming to the closest muddy bank. He made it there in record-breaking time and leapt out of the water and onto the shore, clawing his way onto the slippery bank and collapsing in a heap.

  Heart pumping and adrenaline rushing through him, he spared a glance at his foot and found the black leather boot chewed and torn, parts of it were even missing, exposing his black soaking socks beneath.

  ‘Jesus, I almost lost my foot.’

  Luke crawled further up the slope, away from the creek just to be safe. His soaking wet clothes picking up the wet clay like a magnet caking him in the orange-brown stuff from head to toe.

  Finally, after somewhat regaining his composure, Luke relaxed a little and gave in to the many diversions vying for his attention.

  ‘Why…’

  Eying his surroundings suspiciously he felt the need to talk if only to interrupt the constant sounds of nature. But It reassured him that, yes, he was still alive, and yes, he wasn’t insane. Although that last point seemed rather dubious to Luke now that he thought about it.

  ‘Is talking to yourself a sign of insanity?’

  The sounds of bird calls and the insects buzzing about the creek were his only reply. However, that could attest to being a misleading statement, which gives the impression that there are only a few insects about. However, on the contrary, the swamp was saturated with a variety of different insects, hundreds of them in swarms; together the buzz of their wings sounded like a power drill in full effect.

  The hot humid air was quickly drying Luke’s clothes and clay covered form, but now Luke began to soak with sweat.

  ‘I’m sweating like a pig, and I’m just sitting here, where the hell is this place?’

  In every direction, all Luke could see was green. Green plants, green bushes and green trees jumped out from every angle and fought tooth and nail for space. It left Luke feeling very claustrophobic and then to top it off, almost as if to camouflage itself, the swamp's surface that Luke had fallen into mimicked the green texture of the jungle's ground. The only telling sign of its watery content being the ripples left from Luke's mad dash to the shore, and the novel he was reading earlier bobbing in the waves. He shivered just imagining himself walking one moment and plunging into the creek the next.

  ‘This place is insane.’

  Luke cupped his head with his hands, he cringed as he felt the clay slick his black hair back.

  ‘Where the hell am I!’

  Luke screamed at the world; he’d had enough. There was only so much he could take before exploding in anger. But, like a kettle that had built up steam, his anger was quickly spent, and Luke was left with nothing…?

  No there was something still there, he simply felt tired of his damn misfortune. Everything bad seemed to always happen to him, he hated his crappy life.

  In the wake of his outraged scream, the surrounding nature briefly quieted down. Many of the shrill bird calls ceased and the eerie creaking of bushes came to a standstill. Insects still buzzed by, attempting to land on the stirred-up creek. Some even found refuge on top of Luke's book. But the moment soon passed, and the Jungles ambience returned.

  Luke’s hands came away from his head as he realised something was missing.

  ‘Ha, my reading glasses, they must have come off during the fall, great.’

  Looking up, he could see the sparse canopy of leaves shooting off from branches of every tree. Altogether they completely blocked out the sky, leaving only faint sunlight to shine through. There he sat, sitting on the bank of a creek covered head to toe in an orange-brown clay.

  ‘It’s like I was drugged by a Kidnapper and thrown into the Amazon.’

  Luke stared at his surroundings, perplexed at what to do. Should he call for help? But who knew what dangers were out there? He remembered being told that if you ever get lost, to remain where you are until you are rescued.

  ‘If I go for a walk out there, I could just end up getting more lost than I already am. Shit, just what the hell is happening here, I remember being on the bus one moment, then the next I was up there in the sky falling.’

  Luke glanced back down to the swamp.

  ‘It’s probably pure luck that I even managed to fall into there at all. Just a few more meters off and I’d be dead.’ The thought chilled him.

  Luke murmured to himself in a positive tone with fake cheer, when suddenly something strange caught his eye. Bubbles were rising from the middle of the creek, they surfaced causing some of the insects to shift about as they lapped up the water.

  ‘Bubbles? And they’re… moving.’

  Yes, the bubbles were slowly moving towards Luke on the shore. He immediately stood up, suddenly paranoid, slipped on some of the wet clay and almost fell down the incline and right back in. Luckily, he caught himself and quickly backed up against the sparse vegetation behind him. Something was down there; he hadn’t forgotten almost losing his foot earlier.

  Luke was ready, he’d had enough of being screwed around with today. He knew something was coming, and he was ready, or at least he thought he was. He eyed a thin branch sticking out of the clay and made to pull it out. The branch came out surprisingly easy and Luke wielded it like a spear, poised to strike.

  He waited with bated breath as the bubbles rising travelled closer and closer until they simply stopped at the edge of the shore and ceased rising. A moment passed and it seemed like whatever it was, wasn’t going to surface after all.

  ‘Well, that was anti-climactic.’

  Luke took a breath of relief and laughed awkwardly as he lowered the branch, turning away, danger forgotten. He eyed his escape options for a moment. A thick layer of bushes separated the swamp from the rest of the jungle, but Luke thought he spotted an opening.

  Just a moment passed as he looked away, then in a heartbeat, Luke suddenly snapped back into position, ready to stab whatever horror immerged from the still waters; nothing happened. Around him, insects landed on the calm water and birds kept up their song, trying to convince him that there really was nothing to be suspicious of.

  ‘That only makes me more suspicious.’

  More sweat began to bead down Luke’s head as he searched the calm waters for something, anything. He found nothing but still didn’t relax. His heart was beating fast, he knew something was down there, and like he’d seen so many times before on those nature shows, whatever was down there was waiting for him to drop his guard.

  ‘Crocodiles can lay in wait for days for their prey to approach closer. Just a random fact you’re taught, when they’re literally in your backyard...’

  ‘Well, not literally.’

  Luke eyed his escape route one last time, then throwing caution to the wind, he sprang into motion. He suddenly threw his makeshift spear into the water and immediately turned on his heel and ran for the opening. As soon as the spear slid harmlessly into the murky waters, something leapt up, exploding out of the water, and sending insects and birds alike fleeing for safety. The water sprout rose high up into the air as a monstrous beast clawed its way onto land and charged at the fleeing Luke.

  Luke ran faster when he heard the explosion of water behind him. Something was actually down there!

  ‘Oh my god, I knew it!’

  Luke chanced a glance over his shoulder and found a huge mass of muscle charging at him. The green…lizard? galloped with its maw open exposing hundreds of razor-sharp teeth. Atop its head, three round eyes stared hungrily at him, and to top it off, it was screaming.

  ‘Graaaaaaaaaaaah!’

  ‘Shit.’

  Luke’s face paled and he froze mid-step out of terror, his foot slipping on some of the wet clay, and he scrambled to stay on his feet. The lizard was moving fast and was nearly upon him. Fear pushed Luke on, he managed to keep running. Just a bit further, Luke could see the way out.

  In front of him, the vegetation of thin shrubbery vines blocked anything from entering or leaving the swamp area without a struggle; However, halfway up the vines, there was a patch yet to be filled by the growing saplings. Through the gap, Luke could only see more green of the jungle, but it was better than staying here. As soon as he was close enough, Luke threw himself through the hole. He cleared it and a second after, the bushes rattled as the lizard attempted to barge through them with its mass. Despite their thin vine-like appearance, the thousands of vines collectively held the strength of the lizard back. But, not for long, it was already chewing through the vines with its sharp-serrated teeth.

  Luke didn’t wait for it to catch up, as soon as he was through the gap, he was on his feet again and running further into the depths of the jungle. He didn’t know where he was, where he was going, but he knew he had to get away from that thing. The lizard let out an enraged scream as its prey escaped from its clutches.

  ‘Greeeeeeeeeeh!’

  ‘Yeah, screw you too!’

  A bush slapped Luke in the face as he punched past it, running with all his might. He broke through one last palm and yelped as his foot was snagged by a root. He tumbled through and fell to the ground splashing into a warm smelly puddle of water. When Luke uprighted himself, his breathing was uncontrolled. He wasn’t fit and the run itself had nearly killed him. He half-turned, but he didn’t hear any kind of pursuit, had he lost it?

  As he focused his attention on his new surroundings, he realised he was now in a small clearing of swamplands, separated from the sparse vegetation of the jungle that made the rest of it so claustrophobic.

  Here tall stalks of wild grass grew up to waist height, concealing the small swampy ponds and uneven terrain beneath them. As Luke rose to his feet, he searched the area, and his vision came upon a person. A girl was standing nervously in the swamp staring at him in shock with her eyes and mouth wide open. They made eye contact and Luke smiled in relief at seeing his classmate, then she screamed.

  'GHHYAAA!!'

  Luke recoiled back, startled by the shrill scream. The effect on the jungle was even greater; like glass breaking in a noisy restaurant, the natural ambience of the jungle turned deathly silent.

  The girl, Luke’s classmate and almost-friend, Sophie White, was pale-faced and borderline fainting. She still wore the jeans, frilly singlet and the blue jacket she had on, back on the bus, but her pristine white sandals had been coated in the dark swampy soil that was unique to the area.

  ‘Sophie calm down, it's me, Luke, we're in the same class!’

  ‘…Luke? Is that really you?’

  Sophie looked disbelieving as she eyed Luke’s appearance. The boy was completely covered in mud. And his face! she glanced at it, paled, and turned away.

  ‘Luke… Um… You’re bleeding.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Your face.’

  Confused Luke reached up and touched his face with his muddy palm, it came away dyed a brilliant red.

  ‘What the…? Maybe from the fall?’

  ‘Fall?’

  Luke glanced back at Sophie and she quickly looked away again, then he understood.

  ‘Are you afraid of blood?’

  ‘…’

  ‘Sorry.’

  The conversation stopped and grew awkward. Even lost in the middle of a jungle with no clue as to how he got there, he still couldn’t talk to other people or hold a proper conversation.

  ‘So, Luke. Do you, do you know where we ar—’

  ‘Arrrrrrrrrrrr!’

  Suddenly the dense foliage of the jungle exploded outward as two hulking giants wielding makeshift wooden weapons and drenched in sweat appeared. Luke and Sophie whirled around alarmed, but both relaxed immediately.

  The two arrivals looked just as surprised to see Luke’s visage as Sophie had been, except instead of turning away, they stared intently.

  ‘HOLY SHIT, YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME, HAHA!’

  The biggest guy of the two mostly shouted but with a hint of laughter as he approached Luke and Sophie, weapon lowered. Luke needn’t have looked to whom that loud and obnoxious voice belonged. Next to Jacob Jay, a much thinner but still muscular blond-haired boy wearing their school’s white and yellow uniform followed.

  It had to be said, everyone’s clothing was completely soaked, falling in a swamp or not. While the air was warm and humid, the plants and ground were saturated with moisture, simply walking through the long swamp's grass was enough to drench your lower half.

  ‘Sophie, sorry we're late. We came running as soon as we heard your scream, who is this?’

  ‘Ah, don't apologise, Alex. I'm fine, I was just surprised that's all. That's Luke.’

  Both Alex and Jacob did a double-take as they stared Luke up and down, and back up to his blood-covered face; Sophie was doing her best to ignore it. Luke weltered under the sudden attention.

  ‘So even you’re here, Is our entire class here? Could there be more of us somewhere out there?' Alex eyed the edge of the swamp as if he expected another member of their class to suddenly arrive.

  ‘Hang on, who is this guy? I don’t recognise him under all that gunk, and I don’t know anyone called “Luke” in our class.’

  Luke, Alex, and Sophie stared at Jacob in mute silence for a moment. Finally, Alex caved in and spoke in bemusement.

  ‘What? What do you mean you don’t know anyone called “Luke”? He’s been in our class all year. I mean sure, he keeps to himself and he’s hard to recognise under all, all that,’ Alex gestured to the dried… clay? ‘And, I mean sure he’s not wearing his usual glasses but—'

  ‘OH! FOUR-EYES! I didn’t know his name was Luke.’

  Luke clenched his fist at the insult and glared at Jacob. Was he really that stupid? Yes, yes he was. Understanding light shown in everyone’s eyes, and they all lowered their IQ rating of Jacob. To Luke, it looked like Alex’s head had fallen into his hands, he knew the feeling all too well.

  ‘Right… well, now that we know your Luke, and that Jacob’s an idiot—'

  Alex stopped mid-sentence as he felt a heavy punch to his shoulder in protest. He glared at Jacob but the other boy just grinned. Now with a sore arm, he continued on.

  ‘Let’s figure out where the hell we are and what we’re going to do about it. Luke, the three of us appeared here in this clearing together, was there anyone else with you.’

  Again, everyone’s attention shifted to Luke and he managed to stammer a reply.

  ‘Me? Uh, I’m not sure, no? After the fall I had to swim to shore and then there was this Three-eyed Green Lizard thing with tons of razor-sharp teeth and then I was—'

  Alex raised a hand and interrupted Luke’s nonsensical rambling. He looked tired and worn out. His usually spikey blond hair was washed flat and muddy, as were his clothes. It looked like he’d fallen over multiple times. Luke wasn’t surprised, even walking around out here was difficult with so many vines and plant roots that could trip you up. It was a miracle that he hadn’t fallen over during his chase, that would have been an embarrassing end.

  ‘Three-eyed Green Lizard?’

  Sophie didn’t look convinced, and Jacob was snickering at the name. Alex just raised his brows.

  ‘Yeah, I don’t know what it’s actually called, so that’s the name I’m going with!’

  ‘Well, it looks like you’ve been through a lot. So, as to where we are…’ Alex trailed off. They’d mostly been ignoring the burning question in all their minds. Avoiding the answer that they all feared. Jacob looked around at the dispirited group.

  ‘Maybe Miss K had a meltdown and threw us all off the bus when we were asleep.’

  That put a slight smile back on everyone’s face as they pictured their inexperienced teacher finally blowing up. Sophie turned to Jacob in annoyance.

  ‘If there’s anyone who could cause Miss Kim to have a meltdown it’s you.’

  Alex and Luke chuckled at that, so true, yet so sad.

  Luke looked to his small group in hesitation. Should he say it? If he did, they’d always think he was a nerd, but! Luke decided to bite the bullet. He cleared his throat and spoke up, startling everyone and drawing attention back to himself.

  ‘Ahem, um, maybe. Maybe it was… teleportation.’

  He cringed at his own words and cringed a second time as everyone continued staring at him in silence. Why did he have to say that? Couldn’t’ he have maneuvered the others into suggesting it instead? Even Sophie didn’t look impressed, and he knew she knew what he was talking about.

  ‘Well Luke, that’s one explanation, however unlikely it is. But this isn’t one of those science fiction novels that you’re always reading,’ Sophie said mirthlessly.

  ‘Hold on Sophie, let’s hear him out, I’m sure Luke has his reasons for suggesting… teleportation. Right, Luke?

  ‘Yeah, I do, thanks um, Alex. Ah, well It’s just we all suddenly appeared here, you know. One moment we were on the bus going to camp, the next we were here. I don’t remember it very well, and it happened so fast, but I’m certain that when I appeared I was falling from the sky. So, if it wasn’t teleportation, I don’t know what it could have been.’

  Sophie stared at Luke wide-eyed in surprise, disbelieving what she was seeing. Luke noticed the look and couldn’t help asking.

  ‘What?’

  ‘It’s just that, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk so much before, usually you’re as talkative as a rock.’

  Well, screw you too. Luke thought to himself, he didn’t talk to anyone because no one wanted to talk to him!

  Alex was simply staring up at the sky in thought. Many of the trees that rose up within the jungle, blocking out the sky with their leafy canopy, weren’t present in this small swampy clearing. So, part of the sky was actually visible. Unfortunately, all that meant was that anyone who thought to look up was met with a dull grey cloudy sky masking the hot sun that lay behind.

  ‘Teleportation…?’

  Everyone heard him mumble it softly. Sophie looked annoyed over the fact that Alex was actually believing Luke. She turned back to him.

  ‘Luke, if we were teleported here, then where exactly are we?’

  ‘How would I know that, Sophie! We could be anywhere in the world. The Amazon?’

  He tried; However, Luke didn’t know for sure, but he was pretty certain he'd never heard anything about a Three-eyed Green Lizard with razor-sharp teeth that screams at you, living anywhere in the Amazon. If he had, he was pretty sure Bear Gryll’s would have been eaten long ago.

  Everyone quietly reflected on the fact that they were lost in the middle of a jungle with no idea where they could be.

  ‘WHAT IF—'

  Luke, Sophie, and Alex winced at Jacob’s sudden loud voice. He’d been keeping so quiet this entire time, that they’d nearly forgotten he was even here. He continued non-pulsed.

  ‘THIS IS THE CAMP?’

  Jacob grinned as everyone glared at him in hatred. Alex was massaging his temple, suddenly suffering a headache. Luke was rolling his eyes and Sophie took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Then she began.

  ‘First of all Jacob, this isn’t where we were going camping, we were— you know what? Forget it, I give up.’

  Alex smirked at Sophie’s distraught face as she threw her hands up in frustration. He jumped in interrupting any further conversation.

  ‘In any event, knowing where we are, or how we got here is irrelevant. What matters is that we are here, lost and in a possibly dangerous jungle, going by Luke’s words. Right now, we should focus on finding anyone else who might still be wandering around out there. The bigger our group, the better chance of surviving we’ll have out here.’

  That made sense to everyone, or at least Luke thought it did. He glanced towards Jacob expecting the neanderthal to object, but he actually seemed eager to get out there and start looking.

  They had finished talking and were now ready to start looking for more of their class when suddenly, the unexpected happened; it began to rain. It should have been obvious to everyone present, the plants, the tall grass, it was all saturated with water. And then there was the humidity and grey skies. It all pointed towards a wet climate, but none of them had connected the dots, or they’d been too preoccupied with other things to give it all any thought.

  So, they were completely taken by surprise as the rain began to pour down upon them, shooing away the annoying biting insects and filling the jungle with the sound of soft rainfall.

  ‘This place is insane,’ Luke couldn’t help repeating himself as his dispirited group stood about. They’d been soaking wet from the bottom down, but now they’d be drenched completely.

  ‘On the bright side, I don’t need to wash my face and risk something chewing it off now.’

  Alex gave Luke a grin and started moving towards the dense border that separated the small swamp clearing from the rest of the jungle.

  ‘Come on, let’s get moving.’

  Together the group of three young men and one young woman ambled over to what could be called the border between the swamp and the jungle. Not quite a line, but where there was the tall grass and nothing else, here it began to give way to sprouting palm leafed plants and tall thin trees. They pushed their way through and were suddenly within the claustrophobic jungle again.

  The air spontaneously changed, becoming warmer and even more humid than before, as if they had just passed through a portal to another world. While Luke and Sophie faltered from the assault on their senses, Jacob and Alex pushed on ahead determined. The rain, which continued to pour down through the leafy canopy and on to them, did little to cool them.

  The temperature remained a sweltering heat. After several minutes of quiet marching Jacob, leading from the front suddenly stopped, causing everyone to halt in place. Alex tensed uneasily.

  ‘What is it, Jacob?’

  ‘Well, I was just thinking, shouldn’t we be calling out or something Alex?’

  ‘I thought of that too, but what if something hears us?’

  Alex eyed Luke with a thoughtful thrown and got an embarrassed look from the younger man in return. Jacob noticed the look and almost laughed.

  ‘What are you afraid of? Wait don’t tell me it’s that stupid Green-Eyed Lizard, four-eyes claimed to have seen?’

  ‘Green Three-Eyed Lizard,’ Luke supplied, glaring at Jacob.

  ‘Whatever you call it, the point is, even if your lizard is real, there are four of us and one of it, and I alone could take that thing out singlehandedly.’

  Luke was sceptical, but Jacob was brandishing a thick wooden branch club in one hand. Rather than found, decaying on the wet jungle floor, It looked like Jacob had snapped it off a living tree. That feat alone hinted as to the football player's strength.

  ‘It is real! And I doubt you’d even last five minutes with it!’

  ‘I wouldn’t lose a fight to some stupid green lizard.’

  Alex was keeping silent during the exchange. He was honestly a little surprised how talkative and brave Luke was behaving in the face of the tall older boy wielding a makeshift club. But then the signs of stress and fatigue could be seen on just about everyone present. They must have been in this jungle for at least two hours now. It wouldn’t be much longer before someone snaps.

  ‘Okay, that’s enough,’ Alex butted in.

  ‘I agree with Jacob here, we can’t just keep wandering around aimlessly, if we call out, the better the chance we’ll have at finding someone, or someone finding us.'

  ‘But– ‘

  Alex continued, interrupting Luke in a louder voice.

  ‘However, I also agree that we might attract something else if—when we start calling out. So, I think we should walk in a formation.’

  Sophie looked intrigued at Alex’s idea.

  ‘Formation?’

  ‘Yeah, something like Jacob at the front, Sophie on the left, Luke on the right and myself in the middle. That way we can expand our search, while still staying relatively close to one another.’

  ‘Oh! Great idea Alex, I would never have thought of that.’

  Luke looked at Sophie, irked as she began praising Alex’s genius. He didn’t get it, it wasn’t that smart of an idea, even though he hadn’t thought of it either.

  Jacob suddenly annoyed huffed aloud, no longer controlling his volume.

  ‘LET’S GO THEN!’

  So it went, Jacob trampling over plants and using his makeshift club to strike down anything blocking his way. Occasionally he would call out in his loudest voice yet.

  ‘ANYONE OUT THERE?!’

  Not far behind, but further to the left, Sophie climbed over fallen logs and crouched under leaves as she followed in Jacob’s general direction. Occasionally, she would yell out as loud as she thought her voice could go without screaming. She still felt embarrassed for screaming when she’d first seen Luke.

  ‘Help, we’re lost!’

  Far to the right and out of sight, Luke could hear everyone calling out. It was messy, chaotic and their group was generating so much noise, that if there was anyone else in this jungle, they’d be sure to hear them coming a mile away. He kept an ear out just in case he heard something, and in between the other's shouts, he perked himself up and called.

  ‘Help.’

  In the middle of their impromptu formation, Alex stayed alert. He wasn’t yelling, so much as listening for the others. The jungle was dense with vegetation and you could barely see past the first bush. So, instead of sight, Alex was relying on sound to tell whether his classmates were straying too far from the formation. He kept calling out to the others when he thought their voices were becoming more distant.

  ‘Sophie, come back. You’re straying too far away!’

  ‘Jacob, you’re pulling too far ahead. Slow down!’

  ‘Luke, call out louder. I can barely hear you!’

  Their group pressed on like this, it was incredibly slow progress, moving through without constantly tripping over. Walking around suspiciously coloured plants and flowers, or patches of the jungle where nothing seemed to grow. Everyone in their group found these things very suspicious and actively avoided them.

  Over the hour-long gruelling hike, their pleas for help became less and less frequent until everyone seemed to have had enough being on their own, and one by one they all returned to Alex. All except Sophie. Luke looked around and couldn’t see her, just as he was about to ask Alex, she called out from afar attracting everyone’s attention.

  ‘Guy’s wait, I hear something!’

  Immediately, Luke, Jacob, and Alex rushed towards Sophie's voice on high alert. Alex was the first to arrive. Luke could hear them talking as he struggled back to his feet (He’d tripped up in his rush towards Sophie) behind him he could hear Jacob crashing through the thickets.

  ‘What is it Sophie, I don’t hear anything?’

  ‘Did you find something, Sophie?’

  ‘Quiet Luke. I thought I heard something, listen closely.’

  A short moment of silence descended the three high schooler’s as they listened to the ambience of the jungle and the rain falling softly onto the vegetation around them; however, there was something else there too.

  ’WHAT IS IT? IS IT THE LIZARD?!’

  ‘Shut up Jacob,’ Alex snapped. ‘There’s a faint sound, listen.’

  It was barely audible, muffled under the jungles natural ambience. But once it was heard, it could not be unheard, and despite it being so quiet, there was no mistaking it either. It was a sound unlike any that nature could produce; It was the sound of music.

  ‘I think I know this song.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter Sophie. It means we’ve found someone else. Let’s go, and Sophie?’

  ‘Yes, Alex?’

  ‘Good Job.’

  Luke rolled his eyes. They were stranded in the middle of a jungle for god’s sake! Yet they still found time to flirt.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Together everyone trekked through the jungle in the direction the music was coming from. The flat jungle terrain began to give way to a rocky outcropping, and they soon met a steep muddy decline. As they descended the slippery hill Luke couldn’t help speaking up.

  ‘Why are they listening to the same song on repeat?’

  ‘Maybe they like it, Luke. I do the same.’

  ‘Weird.’

  Sophie glared at Luke as they neared the source of the music. The song’s lyrics becoming more distinct.

  ‘How much further do you—'

  Just before Luke could finish his sentence his foot slipped on a very wet patch of mud and he found himself tumbling down towards the bushes in front of him. He passed through with little resistance and the edge of a cliff appeared in front of him.

  As he fell off the edge to his death, Jacob’s hand stretched out snagging Luke’s collar, pulling him back to safety. Luke fell to the floor quivering and pale.

  ‘Oh my god Luke, you almost fell off that edge!’

  ‘Phew, that was close Luke, I had no idea we were on the edge of a cliff, are you okay?’

  Alex looked more than a little rattled at the implication that one of them had almost died just like that.

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine, thanks to… Jacob?’

  ‘Don’t mention it.’

  Slowly and carefully this time, everyone edged towards the bushes concealing the cliff edge. The bushes in front of it were thick with leaves, but each branch was thin and fragile, offering no support should someone need to grab hold. Through the dense canopy, and on the other side an edge appeared almost immediately.

  It wasn’t so much a mountains cliff as Alex had thought, but rather a gigantic crevice in the ground. The cliffs of the hole were steep jagged rock, and on the ground, almost four stories down a dark-haired girl sat, head in her knees as the music from the smartphone next to her ambled up in an echo. To her side a short distance away, the body of a woman lay face down and unmoving. A silence overcame everyone as they peered down and into the pit.

  In the hush, the only sound was the falling rain and the repeating music rising up, the words a coping mechanism, as much as they were there to alert people of the girl’s presence.

  ‘Everything’s alright, yes. Everything’s fine and we want you to sleep well tonight.'

  The scene gave everyone pause. Well, everyone except for—

  ‘HEY, ARE YOU OKAY!?’

  Jacob’s sudden call snapped everyone out of their stupor and shocked the girl in the pit awake. Luke saw her head raise as she began looking around in a panic, Jacob’s shout reverberating around her. After only a few seconds she looked up and spotted his group, her eyes widening.

  ‘PLEASE HELP ME!’

  The girl rose from her sitting position and practically screamed. Luke could feel the sheer panic and raw emotion in her voice as she pleaded for help. Alex called down next, trying to reassure her.

  ‘It’s going to be all right, you’re safe now!’

  Alex knew he was lying, but he also knew he had to calm her down first. He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should ask, then continued on.

  ‘Is the woman next to you, okay?’

  The girl didn’t respond. Her head just fell back down into her knees as she began to cry again. A pause came over Alex, and he turned to Sophie looking for help.

  ‘She’s in our class too, right? Sophie, what’s her name?’

  Before Sophie could respond, Jacob cut in, repeating Alex’s earlier remark.

  ‘She’s been in our class all year and you don’t even know her name?’

  ‘Shut up Jacob, this isn’t the time, and besides, she transferred in a couple of months ago. I don’t know Alex, She’s a loner like Luke. I think her name is Tracy… something.’

  ‘I prefer “lone wolf”.’

  ‘Oh, the Asian chick!’

  ‘Jacob!’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Enough, stop fighting everyone, please. Look, two people are down there that need our help. how do we get them out of the hole? It must be at least sixteen meters... Do you think you could climb down there Jacob?’

  ‘Are you joking?! No way!’

  ‘PLEASE I NEED HELP!’

  Tracy called out again to her classmates as they stood arguing on the edge of the cliff she’d fallen off. She stood, forgetting her pain as she pleaded to be saved. Immediately her left ankle flared in excruciating hot-searing pain and she fell to her knees in agony.

  ‘Shit, she’s injured. She won’t be able to climb up. We have to go down there.’

  ‘Damn, that looks painful. Looks like a badly sprained ankle! I know that feeling,’ Jacob said wincing from old memories.

  ‘Guys come on, let's focus. How can we get down there? Does anyone have any ideas? Alex? Luke?... Jacob?’

  Luke jolted awake again and turned away from the body of the woman sprawled out next to Tracy. He gazed at Sophie and tried again.

  ‘I might have an idea. Maybe.’

  Instantly Alex and Jacob quietened down as they stared at Luke. Sophie breathed in annoyance.

  ‘I swear to god Luke if you’re idea involves teleportation…’

  ‘No! Well. Listen, I once saw this video on YouTube, where this guy climbed down a cliff using vines he got from a forest.’

  Alex looked incredulous as he listened to Luke’s idea.

  ‘You want to climb down that cliff with nothing but vines?’

  ‘I didn’t say I would do it!’

  Jacob grinned savagely as Luke suddenly became paranoid and defensive. He decided to give Luke something to be paranoid about.

  ‘Well, it is your idea, so you should be the one to do it. Besides, you and Sophie are the smallest and the lightest out of all of us. The lighter you are, the better chance the vine won’t snap, and you’ll fall to your death.’

  Jacob’s logic was actually rather sound, damn it. Luke just wondered why the hell he had to start acting smart now of all times. Sophie took another glance at the descent down and paled.

  ‘Honestly, Luke, I’d have preferred it if your idea had involved teleportation…’

  Alex decided they’d been standing around long enough. He called back down to Tracy and reassured her of what was happening. He remained there comforting her while Luke, Sophie and Jacob trudged back through the jungle searching for… vines.

  ‘Didn’t we pass a huge tree with thick vines hanging down it on the way here Luke?’

  ‘Oh yeah I remember that, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to find it and get back to Alex and Tracy without losing our way, this place is insane.’

  ‘Yeah, you said that before too. Jacob why don’t you stay here and call out every now and again, that way we can find our way back, even if we get lost.’

  ‘Sure, but hurry it up.’

  Together Sophie and Luke trudged back the way they’d come. They found the huge wide tree they’d seen before, It was different from all the other trees present in the jungle. There was a lot of variety to the jungle, most of the trees were thin long trees with leafy canopy’s that blocked out the sun, but this one was thick and wide.

  Luke doubted he would be able to wrap his arms around the trunk, even if he linked up with the others in his group. The thing must have been positively ancient to have grown so huge. Partway up several thick hairy vines hang down loosely. Luke decided to dub it as an Eldest Vine Tree, in honour of his last name, also the tree probably was the eldest thing growing around here so it sort of made sense to him.

  Standing on Luke’s shoulders for a boost, Sophie managed to get a grip on a lower branch of the Eldest Vine Tree. She pulled her way up, and once her footing was secure she ascended the tree in no time; However, now that she was at the top and could reach the thick long vines hanging down, she realised she faced another problem. She didn’t have anything to cut them down with. After all, they were students on a field trip. What kind of student would bring a knife? Well, she knew at least one student that would.

  In the end, she resorted to fiercely tugging and pulling on the closest vines she could reach. She had to bounce up and down on a thick branch while moving her weight to a vine held in one hand to break them. It wasn’t ideal and by the time they had three down, an hour had already passed. As they hauled the heavy vines back they inevitably got lost and we’re only saved thanks to Jacob calling out every five minutes or so.

  ‘You guys took ages, what the hell happened,’ Alex said annoyed.

  ‘Got lost. And had nothing. To cut the vines with,’ Sophie huffed, exhausted.

  ‘Oh, guess I didn’t think of that, but you got the vines in the end I see, good job.’

  Sophie took each vine and connected them with a knot. The vine was tough and sturdy but flexible enough to bend without breaking. Alex was impressed.

  ‘This is literally the perfect rope.’

  Luke nodded in agreement, feeling proud “his” tree was being praised.

  ‘It’s from an Eldest Vine Tree.’

  Alex stared at Luke in puzzlement, while Sophie laboured over joining the vines together.

  ‘How’d you come up with that name? Oh, never mind I see.’

  Now that the rope was long enough, Alex hooked their impromptu rope around a nearby tree and held both ends up.

  ‘So, who’s going down?’

  Luke immediately backed up, but Sophie was worn out from collecting the vines and crafting the “rope”. She looked at Luke and tried to encourage him.

  ‘Come on Luke, you can do it.’

  Jacob took a more direct approach.

  ‘Man up! Or are you just a bookworm after all?’

  ‘Fine, I’ll do it, just shut up already.’

  Alex smiled brightly hearing Luke's spirit. He approached Luke and tied both ends around Luke's waist. Then, Jacob, Sophie and himself took hold of the loose vine, ready to support Luke as he climbs down the treacherous cliff.

  Luke appeared to be taking deep breaths as he tried to prepare himself for the descent. Below them, Tracy watched on as a spectator, but she moved, crawling further away just in case he did fall; she didn’t want him landing on top of her after all.

  ‘Small steps, take your time Luke, don't rush and always check your footing. But, don’t worry cause we’ve got you.'

  ‘Hey, four-eyes I just remembered that video you were talking about. Didn’t the vine break and the guy fell down the cliff?’

  ‘Shut up already Jacob, or we’ll switch Luke out for you!’

Luke was doing his best to ignore Jacob’s voice, as much as it pissed him off. He was pretty good at it, he guessed he’d had a lot of practice. He still couldn’t believe he was doing this, why had he mentioned the idea again? He really needed to stop doing that.

  ‘One step at a time, one step at a time.’

  Luke was repeating Alex’s advice like a mantra as he put one foot on the edge of the cliff. Then two. Then he lowered his foot while squatting down and holding on to the edge. Suddenly, the edge broke and Luke found himself dangling from the edge, heart exploding in his chest.

  ‘LUKE!’

  ‘Urgh! Whoa, watch it!’

  ‘Easy Luke. Take it slow, you’re okay, we’ve got your weight.’

  Luke heard the wave of encouragement come over and he felt better despite his current dangerous situation. He felt surer of himself and responded in a confident voice that would have surprised anyone who knew him.

  ‘I’m okay, I’m alright.’

  Now that Luke was lower and at ground level, he could see what had happened. Slightly over the edge was a layer of dried mud coming away from the rock wall. Luke’s weight had broken that crust and he’d fallen lower, luckily the vine had held and he was able to get a better gripping on the wet jagged rock.

  Slowly, ever so slowly Luke shifted from one rock to another, testing whether each foothold was secure before moving lower. The vine, tightly wrapped around his waist provided the support he needed, taking most of his body weight, without it, Luke would have struggled to hang on at all.

  Up above Jacob, Sophie and Alex held the thick vine tightly, bracing for any unexpected weight that would be added if Luke slipped. It could occur at any moment without warning which left them with no choice but to always be ready. After several agonizingly slow minutes, Luke reached the bottom, without falling. He jumped down the last half a meter and shakily fell to the floor on his knees. Beads of sweat dripped down his face, as his fingers and muscles twitched in pain from overworking.

  Just as Luke was recovering from the experience, Tracy suddenly leapt onto him, clinging to his side and burying her face into his shoulder. Her body trembled and he could hear muted sobs from her. Startled and more than a little awkward, Luke felt at a loss as to what to do. Eventually, he settled to patting Tracy on the back.

  Shortly after that Tracy regained her composure enough to separate herself from Luke. Her brown eyes were red as she wiped the tears away. She was sniffing and taking deep breaths as she tried desperately to calm herself.

  ‘Sorry… I just— ‘

  ‘Uh. Um, no. It’s fine’

  Luke awkwardly looked away, his face blushing hard. His right shoulder had a damp patch, but most of his clothes were soaking wet anyway so Luke gave it no mind. He turned back to Tracy when a trio of voices rained down from above.

  ‘HEY FOUR-EYES, HURRY UP OR I’LL LET YOU FALL!’

  ‘Shut up Jacob! Don’t worry Luke we’ve got you, just take your time.'

  Jacob, Alex and Sophie were still holding the other end of the vine so as to support Luke. They were lined up in a tug of war formation and were situated further back from the cliff’s edge; therefore, they had no idea that Luke had already made it to the bottom.

  ‘I’m already down!’

  Surprised voices were Luke’s response. The rope went slack as the trio appeared over the cliff’s edge, looking down at Luke, Tracy and the woman lying face down beside them. They seemed a little too surprised to see Luke alive and well. Alex even let out an impressed whistle while Sophie held a wide grin. Jacob just looked disbelieving.

  ‘Holy shit four-eyes, I thought you’d fall for sure, I guess I lost that bet!’

  Luke glared at Jacob in hatred. Bet!? They had bet on whether he’d be able to climb down successfully or if he’d fall to his death! Luke clenched his fists in outrage, that was it! he was going to—

  ‘I guess you’re more of a man than I thought Luke!’

  The sudden and unexpected praise from Jacob stopped Luke’s malicious thoughts cold in their tracks. He gazed up and focused on the older boy who had been the focal point of so much distress in his life. Also, had he just called him by his name?

  ‘I told you, he would make it Jacob, Luke’s amazing!’

  ‘That he is Sophie, that he is,’ Alex agreed.

  Luke felt himself turning red at all the sudden praise he was getting.

  ‘Not to interrupt your team bonding, but I’d like to leave this god damn hole as soon as I can.’

  Tracy’s stern voice cut through whatever response Jacob was about to say. Suddenly everyone turned to Tracy seriously. Her presence commanded everyone to be serious, and her injury only added to that.

  ‘Luke’s climb down was an incredible feat, but I hope your plan isn’t for me to climb up the vine, I don’t know if you’ve realised it, but during the fall I sprained my ankle, I can barely move, let alone climb.’

  Alex nodded in understanding while he focused on Tracy, his smile never leaving his lips.

  ‘Don’t worry Tracy, the plan is to attach the vine around you and lift you up. You needn’t climb at all, leave it all to us and we’ll get you out by today, I promise you that.’

  Alex’s promise seemed to appease Tracy as she just nodded in response to the logical plan. His smile however bounced right off her steely gaze. Unlike Sophie, who felt her heart flutter as she listened to Alex’s speech.

  ‘Then hurry it up, please, and thank you.’

  Tracy’s curt response put a dent on Alex’s smile as he stumbled to hide his frown. Luke noticed it and smiled. It was nice to see the pretty boy’s charm fall flat for once, as much as he did like Alex. He thought of Alex as a nice, almost-friend? No, a nice acquaintance. But he did like him.

  ‘Luke, can you—can you check on the woman…?’

  Luke paled at Alex’s sudden request, and all eyes went to the still figure of a woman lying still a few meters away from them.

  ‘She’s dead.’

  It was Tracy who spoke the obvious, which no one wanted to believe or hear. Everyone flinched back in shock at the unexpected cold words from Tracy. Then slowly their gazes swept over to the woman lying lifelessly on the ground, her brunette hair sprawled out and faint red stains marking the area. In the long silence, it was Luke's voice that was heard first.

  ‘What exactly happened, and is that—'

  ‘What happened?’

  The question threw Tracy off for a moment and she looked flabbergasted, then she felt a wave of searing pain radiated from her ankle, and her anger exploded like a kicked over ant’s nest.

  ‘I’ll tell you what happened! I was on that stupid field trip, going camping because I was made to! Then Suddenly Miss Kim and I were here in this damn jungle lost and alone. We slipped down that hill and fell right off the cliff your friends are standing on! I survived and sprained my ankle but she—she died. That’s what ha…’

  Tracy burst into tears before she could finish the sentence. Her anger and pain forgotten, replaced with sickening despair.

  Luke wished he’d never asked, he guilty looked back to their once home-group teacher. Miss Kim, a thirty-something-year-old woman who was under-experienced and faced a plethora of hardships as she struggled to work in a new high school. Luke remembered all the minor things about her that he hated, and he felt so… petty.

  Luke looked back to Alex as if to say “now what?” and the other boy understood. By Alex's command, Luke tied the thick vine around Tracy's waist. He felt overly awkward and embarrassed about it, but in the end, he was able to attach it securely. What followed was a desperate haul as Alex, Sophie, and mostly Jacob proceeded to pull Tracy up from the pit she’d been trapped in.

  The endeavour went smoothly and without incident, in no time at all Tracy found herself roughly sixteen meters higher. and on the familiar hill, she’d fallen off. She was looking around now as the others lowered the crafted rope Sophie had made, down to Luke. Tracy looked down at her deceased teacher, and Luke and hesitated.

  ‘Luke! Before you climb up, take Miss Kim’s handbag with you. We may need it.’

  ‘Tracy! That’s—'

  ‘Not stealing Sophie, she’s dead. And besides, if we are going to survive out here, we’re going to need to use everything we can.’

  Luke listened to the quiet argument happening above, between the two girls. Alex seemed content to let them argue without intervening and Jacob seemed the most dispirited of the group.

  Luke turned to his former teacher and approached her. On closer inspection, there was indeed a large red stain under her head. It had dyed the jagged rocks a dark red, but it had dried hours ago. Luke tried not to touch her. He removed the handbag strap from her shoulder taking it with him. He hovered there, standing over her feeling the need to say something.

  ‘Sorry.’

  He eventually found the words and bowed before quietly returning to the vine Alex had dropped. Slinging the bag over his neck, so as to free his hands up, Luke ascended the cliff in much the same manner as he had descended it. He found climbing up to be much harder and more demanding on his muscles than the climb down had been; however, it was far less scary. Before Sophie and Tracy could even finish their argument, Luke had scaled the wall and with a hand from the silent Jacob, was helped up onto his feet.

  Luke’s appearance marked the end of their argument, as he had already brought the bag up with him and Sophie wasn’t about to make him throw it back down. Alex reeled the vine up into a bundle and hung it over his shoulder and regarded Luke.

  ‘Wow man, you climbed up quicker than you did going down. I think you’re getting the hang of it.’

  ‘Thanks, Alex, though I'd rather not do it again if I can help it.’

  Jacob stirred from his slumber, seeing an opportunity.

  ‘No way Luke, you’re the mountain climber now, it’s official!’

  Jacob forced a cheeky smile as Luke glared, but much of their hostility had diminished. Luke thought he felt something almost like respect emanating from Jacob. He felt proud that he’d been able to impress everyone. If someone had told him he’d be climbing down and up a cliff today, he’d have categorized them as crazy and ignored them from hence point. But he had done just that, hadn’t he.

  ‘So now that everyone is out of the hole, what’s next.’

  ‘Before that, can I ask everyone where exactly we are? I have my theories but from my perspective, I suddenly appeared in this jungle with Miss Kim in toe.’

  ‘Ah, well Tracy, we haven't given it much thought, to be honest. Right now, we’re going with Luke’s idea—that we have all been teleported into the Amazon or someplace similar.’

  ‘What’s your reasoning for it to be ‘teleportation’ Alex? It’s just as likely to be something else more realistic. Such as kidnapping or ah, I don't know.’

  ‘Well, our stories are all similar, we all just suddenly appeared here from the bus. None of us remembers anything in between, one moment we were on the bus going to camp, the next here we were, standing in a muddy swamp surrounded by wild jungle; Additionally, according to Luke, he didn’t appear on the ground like the rest of us, but in the sky falling.’

  ‘What, the sky!?’

  Tracy turned away from the bemused Alex to Luke with sudden newfound interest. She demanded answers.

  ‘Is that true?’

  ‘Ah…Yes? I mean, I don’t know if it’s teleportation, but before I knew it I was falling from the sky.’

  Her eyes brightened and she became even more aggressive in her questioning.

  ‘Then that means that you got a good look from a high vantage point, right? What did you see?’

  Everyone stared at Luke and Tracy suddenly enlightened. They’d heard that Luke had supposedly fallen from the sky upon arrival, but none thought what that exactly meant; However, Tracy locked on to that information immediately.

  Luke paused as he tried to remember back to that moment. So much had happened after it, that he hadn’t had a chance to think about it. But it was true, he had fallen from the sky, from higher above than treetop level, and what had he seen?

  It had only lasted for a second, but now that he thought about it clearly, he remembered floating, hovering above an ocean of green that expanded out for eternity in every direction. A jungle of unknown depths, a jungle with no end in sight.

  A silent hush fell over everyone as they saw Luke’s face pale, they watched with bated breaths as he stumbled. His response came out in a hollow voice of himself.

  ‘Yeah, that’s right, I saw it. How can I explain it? This jungle is massive, there was no end.'

  The news hit everyone hard, they were right in the thick of it and leaving the jungle, if there was an end, would be a struggle.

  ‘Damn, I was really hoping that there was a Hungry Jacks around the corner, I’m starving!

  Jacob’s joke annoyed a few people, but Alex was thankful for it. Someone had to try and cheer them up. If they gave up now, they would lose before they had even tried.

  ’I see, that's a shame. Thanks for telling me, Luke. I still don’t believe it’s teleportation, but I don’t have any other explanations at the moment.’

  ‘Aw Jacob, now that you’ve mentioned food, I realise I haven’t even had lunch yet.’

  Everyone’s face fell at Alex’s words. It had been a few hours since everyone had appeared in the Jungle, but they’d been… transported just before lunch. To a bunch of students who regularly ate lunch at the same time each day, it meant that almost everyone was craving food already.

  ‘The human body can survive for three weeks without food Alex. It's finding water we should be concerned about; However, since it’s currently raining that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.’

  ‘Wow, Tracy how do you know that?’

  Tracy shrugged. She was currently leaning on Sophie's shoulder for support. The pain had mostly faded now, but it would flare up the moment she put any weight on it.

  ‘General knowledge.’

  ‘Well Tracy, if your general knowledge can help us survive this, I’m glad to have you with us.’

  Alex flashed Tracy one of his best smiles, but only got a flat nod in return. Luke didn’t think he’d given up yet though, the boy was practically known for preying on every girl in sight.

  ‘Well, if it’s survival knowledge you want, I know a few things. Such as being able to survive without food for up to three weeks, but needing water within two days at most, but that’s dependent on factors like climate, and how active we are. I also know how to, in theory, make fire, and how to build a primitive shelter. I’ve ugh, watched a lot of instructional videos in my free time.’

  ‘And you actually remember everything you’ve learnt from just watching those videos? I’ve probably seen the same, but I can’t remember a single thing right now.’

  ‘I don’t remember everything, but I do have a good memory.’

  Alex whistled impressed and judging by everyone’s open mouth expressions they were too. Luke thought if it wasn’t for Tracy’s injury, she probably could survive on her own out here. Apparently, Alex did too because he started consulting her for advice.

  ‘That’s awesome Tracy, then what do you think we should do now. I think it’s unlikely we will find anyone else from our class today and we won’t be able to cover much distance with your injury, no offence.’

  If Tracy was surprised that Alex was asking her for advice, she didn’t show it. Instead, she opted to gaze upwards in silence. It was obvious she was thinking, but what caught Luke off guard was that she wasn’t just gazing up in thought, she was peering past the expansive tree leaves at the blinding light of the sun shining through. Luke realised she was estimating the time of day.

  Luke copied her and peered up at the white glow which pierced even the thickest canopies. It wasn’t straight up as he'd assumed, instead, it had lowered considerably.

  ‘I think our best option is to take shelter immediately. We haven’t got long until sunset, probably four hours at most, and here that might mean we will lose our light in just two. Also, I don’t know about you guys, but I really want to get out of this rain.’

  ‘Shit, I hadn’t even thought about taking shelter, Tracy. We never even saw any caves or anything of the like on our way here. Do we have to build a shelter, I’m not sure I can?’

  ‘Relax Alex, the shelter I have in mind is super easy, even a kid could do it. And we wouldn’t want to take shelter in a cave anyway, there are all types of reasons why.’

  As Luke listened to Alex and Tracy drum up a plan, he felt compelled to contribute. He took a breath and prepared his nerves, but in comparison to running from a giant screaming lizard, or climbing down a cliff with nothing but a vine—Speaking his mind was a little easier. Luke took a breath and jumped into the conversation, interrupting the two.

  ‘Why don’t we make the shelter next to the Eldest Vine Tree? We can use the vines to help construct it.’

  ‘…’

  Everyone’s combined starring was more than Luke thought he could handle. It made him jump mid-sentence, and his voice cracked towards the end. Why do I have to feel like this just from some starring? I hate it, I’m such a coward when it comes to people, give me a Green Three-Eyed Lizard any day over this, Luke lamented.

  Contrary to what Luke believed, Alex, Sophie and Tracy stared not so much for the suggestion, which they all thought was a good idea, but instead homed in on the name used. Tracy thought of herself as an intelligent and knowledgeable person, but she’d never heard of an Eldest Vine Tree before, she decided to ask, since she didn’t know.

  ‘What is an Eldest Vine tree, Luke?’

  ‘it’s not its real name Tracy, he named it after himself.’

  ‘Huh?’

  Sophie piped in, knowing the most about Luke.

  ‘Luke’s full name is Luke Eldest. He’s going around naming everything in sight just because he doesn't know its actual name. First, it was that Green Three-Eyed Lizard and now it's this Eldest Vine tree.’

  ‘Three-eyed Lizard?’

  Tracy looked more than a little curious, but she shook her head instead of asking. She knew that they had a time limit, and it wouldn’t be long before the sun fell. She really didn’t want to spend the night out in the open and in the dark.

  Her clothes were wet and muddy, and she had more injuries than just her sprained ankle, but she didn’t mention the cuts as she could tell just from looking at the others, that they all sported the same. Luke especially had several nasty cuts on his face. Though they’d already stopped bleeding by the time she’d met him.

  ‘If this Eldest Vine tree is where you got those strong rope-like vines from, then by all means let’s build the shelter next to it.’

  Alex felt now was the time to move, they’d agreed on their course of action after discussing it. They’d move to the Eldest Vine tree and follow Tracy’s plan to build a primitive shelter and start a fire. Eager to finally get out of the never-ending rain he began inciting people to move; However, everyone seemed to already be on the same page and were already moving in a group up the steep hill at a slow pace to accommodate for Tracy. The Only one who wasn’t moving with them was Jacob.

  Alex realised the older boy had been unusually silent ever since they’d found out that their—teacher had been killed. Since then, everyone had been avoiding thinking about it and actively clearing it from their minds, all except Jacob who’d remained at the edge, starring down at her lonely, lifeless body.

  ‘Jacob, we’re leaving. We’re going to try and build a shelter before nightfall. We’ll need your help to do it.’

  ‘I heard. Let’s go.’

  Jacob wasn’t startled awake; he hadn’t been lost in thought. He’d simply been silently staring down while quietly listening to the others discuss their group's plans.

  Already, Jacob had changed. Alex had known Jacob for years and barely a day lost in this jungle with him had changed him irreversibly. He was better Alex thought. But out of everyone, even more so than Tracy, Jacob seemed the most affected by their teacher, Miss Kim’s death. Together they left the crevice and their former teacher behind, as they set a quick pace after their group.

  Moving through the jungle was a slow and difficult task without tools. Thin thorny vines, narrow trees, and branches stuck out in every direction barricading the way forward. Leading from the front, after having caught up, Jacob crushed everything down and into the ground with the wooden makeshift club that he’d broken off from a living tree. Once something had been bashed into the ground it would be trampled over by the five people following behind. This however meant that the now flattened vines and branches could potentially snag someone’s foot and trip them over. It was just one more tripping hazard in a literal jungle of hazards.

  If the space that a person occupied was where the trees and plants claimed as their own, then it stood to reason that the floor of the jungle had its ecosystem too. Here small plants, tall wild grass, marshland, and much more fought just as fiercely for space.

  Ambling near the front and carrying his dead teacher’s black leather handbag Luke was focusing his attention on the ground in front of him, so as to not trip over. Occasionally he would raise his head if only to make sure he was still following Jacob and that everyone was, in turn, following him. But he would then resume his attention back down to the ground, or rather his feet.

  His once pristine black boots were now covered in mud, and one even had a huge chunk of the front missing, revealing his sodden wet and muddy socks. It brought up memories Luke would have preferred to forget, and left a worrisome thought, that although they were lost and alone in the middle of a jungle somewhere in the world, they might not be alone. Something could be watching them right now, and they wouldn’t even know it.

  ‘Who knows what else is out there, just waiting for us to lower our guards.’

  Their group had been retracing their previous steps that they had taken to find the crevice Tracy and her teacher had fallen into. Their goal was the gigantic Eldest Vine tree Luke had named for the tough rope-like vines that grew alongside the tree. But Tracy's injury was slowing their advancement to a painstakingly crawl despite Sophie and Alex supporting her. Currently, the three had ground to a halt as Tracy complained feverously about the pain.

  ‘What's the holdup, Luke.’

  Jacob must have noticed a lack of progress and returned rather than continuing alone, cause now he wanted answers and from Luke of all people. He had nothing to do with their slow pace!

  ‘It's Tracy's ankle again, even with support from the others she can barely move more than a few steps before something brushes against it. At this rate, we'll never get there.’

  ‘What do you mean? We’re almost there aren’t we, you did say it only took you and Sophie ten minutes to reach it, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yeah, I know that’s what I said Jacob, and It’s been about twenty minutes since we left that crevice so it can’t be too far now but, you could say it’s only been about twenty minutes and it’s already much darker than it was before. It looks like Tracy was right, we’ve probably only got a few hours of daylight left, and then we’ll be stumbling around in the dark with nothing but the torches on our phones lighting the way.’

  ‘Shit I didn’t think of that. I don’t want to spend the night out here in the dark and the rain. What should we do?’

  ‘What? I don’t know, why don’t you just carry her?’ Luke joked.

  Luke wasn’t sure how it was possible, but he felt almost relaxed talking with Jacob. Was it that he was already familiar with Jacob as the bully in his class, or was the Jungle already influencing him? He didn’t know.

  ‘Hey, that's a great idea, thanks, Luke.’

  ‘What?’

  Jacob didn’t respond verbally, instead opting to push his club into Luke’s hands before moving away. He marched over to the three arguing students, and it took Luke only a moment to remember his previous idea before he started to worry. This wasn’t going to come back to him as his fault, wasn’t it?

  ‘Yeah, I really need to stop suggesting ideas to people, nothing good ever comes from it.’

  Jacob stomped over the plants and dead branches he’d broken previously and halted in front of the three. They instinctively stopped and fell quiet as the muscled giant loomed over them. Before anyone could ask what he wanted, he spoke curtly and directly to Tracy.

  ‘If your ankle’s fucked and you can’t walk on it, then get on my back and I’ll carry you the rest of the way. It’s getting dark so let’s hurry up.’

  ‘Hold on Jacob, it’s only been a few minutes since—'

  ‘Jacob! She’s injured!’

  Alex was massaging his head again and Sophie was visibly fuming at the tired football player, but Tracy, the one who should of either been embarrassed or angry at being told to be carried for being slow was instead calm and collected. She only let her emotions hesitate for a second before she interrupted Sophie's next outburst.

  She appreciated the other girl’s strong feminism defence, but in this situation, Jacob was right. It did seem darker, and it had only been a few minutes since they’d left. Either She’d been wrong in assuming the time, or it just naturally got darker here, earlier.

  ‘He's right! With my ankle like this, I can’t move at all, and I’m just slowing everyone down. If we’re going to build a shelter before nightfall, which I suspect will be sooner than later. We need to hurry.’

  Sophie looked sour having lost to Jacob’s reasoning, but there was no helping it. Jacob turned around and crouched low to the ground as Tracy attached herself to his broad back. She wrapped her arms around his neck for support and soon found herself a meter higher in the air as he carefully moved with everyone forwards. Alex took point, taking Jacob’s club from Luke’s offered hands and was now copying Jacobs earlier actions and swinging the club through palm leaves and down onto branches and trees, though with both hands.

  Again, it was slow going, but at least they were making progress. After ten minutes of their pace, they found the Eldest Vine Tree again. Jacob lowered Tracy to the ground next to it and everyone took a moment of respite to rest their feet, or in Luke’s case, wring his wet socks out. Alex found a palm leafed plant that had collected some rainwater in its leaves, and he greedily slurped up the rare clean water. Everyone had been doing it ever since Tracy had started recalling survival facts moments ago. Now she was looking at their surroundings while everyone waited patiently to hear her plan.

  Already golden light was peering past leaves and in through the gaps between trees. Their light was fading fast, and they’d soon be plunged into absolute darkness; there was little chance of the moon’s glare providing light.

  ‘Listen up everyone, we haven’t got nearly as much time as I wished we had.’

  Tracy stood up, using Alex’s spear as a walking stick. Luke didn’t think she needed to stand, but when she did everyone’s attention immediately fell upon her and they began converging on her. As Alex approached, he instinctively stood next to Tracy rather than in the semi-circle that everyone else was forming.

  ‘Right well, it seems that I made a mistake somewhere because the sun is already setting. We have probably got thirty minutes at most before it will be too dark to do anything. Between trying to start a fire in this rain and building a shelter I think it’ll be easier to do the latter.’

  ‘Let me know what you want done Tracy, anything to get out of this fucking rain.’

  Everyone nodded together in agreement. Crudely said, but Luke agreed with Jacob. He wasn’t sure he could sleep in his soaking wet state.

  ‘The shelter we’re going to build is considered one of the easier variants. It’s known as an A shelter, because um. The opening looks like an "A".’

  Everyone stared at Tracy in silence, and Luke thought her cheeks had a shade of red to them. He was glad everyone wasn’t staring at him like that, he would probably have run off into the jungle to get away from the stares.

  ‘Right… Well, How do we build it, Tracy?’

  Alex was more focused on getting the group on track. He was just a little worried they’d run out of time before they finished.

  ‘We need Branches, as much as it as you can get, and we need it broken up into different lengths. We will also need something to block out the rain. Palm leaves as much as you can get. Oh, and three thin trees, or thick branches for the frame.’

  ‘Alright, guys we can do this. Luke, you focus on collecting as many leaves as you can. Jacob and I will collect the wood; we’ll start with the frame. Tracy, you guide Sophie with putting it all together.

  Having easy to follow orders, a goal in mind and a time limit, everyone began to work in overdrive, collecting the materials they would need to construct a basic shelter for the night and from the rain. Alex and Jacob paired up, using their brute strength and heavy builds to tear down the frail trees around them.

  Luke couldn’t help but watch in envy as they uprooted one thin tree after the other. He realised he was wasting time, but before he could head off to complete his gathering, Tracy called out to him.

  ‘Hold on Luke.’

  ‘Huh? What is it, Tracy?’

  ‘Before you go can you give me Miss Kim’s handbag? I want to see if there is anything useful inside.’

  ‘Oh sure, here.’

  Luke hadn’t forgotten about the handbag; it was just that looking through their deceased teacher’s handbag felt a bit… wrong. He was sure everyone else felt the same way as no one had brought up the topic of searching through it once Luke had recovered it.

  Tracy on the other hand didn’t share their ethical concerns, having transferred to their class late, she didn't know Miss Kim, as well as the others, had. She was also the one thinking the most about long-term survival out here, and she was ready to get her hands a little dirty if it meant prolonging her life.

  After passing the brown leather handbag to Tracy, Luke briefly hovered around her as she began removing everything from the bag. A number of useful, but mundane items caught Luke's attention such as the half-empty water bottle and diary, but none of the things found was very helpful to their current situation. Tracy must have agreed with Luke because it didn’t look like she was happy with what they found.

  ‘To be honest with you Luke, I was really hoping Miss Kim had some matches or a lighter, but I knew that was a longshot because she doesn’t smoke.’

  Before Luke could reply there was a heavy crash and rumble of wood from behind them as Jacob had unceremoniously dumped a pile of wood onto the ground. The sweating football player glared at Luke.

  ‘Are you going to help? I thought we didn’t have much time?’

  Normally Luke would have retorted back, but this time Jacob was right, they needed to hurry if they wanted to build a shelter before nightfall. Luke ambled away from Tracy who had turned to help Sophie. He wandered over to the nearest palm leafed plant.

  Its huge leaves protruded out from thick stalks clumped together at the base. Without a knife or cutting tool, Luke had to break and twist the oversized palm leaves at the stem to remove each one. After collecting ten, Luke gathered them into a pile and carried the unexpectedly heavy mass of leaves over to where Jacob and Alex were depositing their materials. As Luke came and went the piles of wood and leaves grew. Next to the growing piles of materials the basic structure of the primitive shelter began to emerge.

  Just as Tracy had said, two thin trees formed a cross, and a third ran down the grove acting as the backbone. They were secured to each other with the vine they’d used to rescue Tracy.

  Soon Alex arrived at the plant Luke was currently harvesting leaves at, to help him. Alex and Jacob had finished gathering enough wood and now they just needed all the leaves they could get. Together they made short work of the plant before them and carried the new load back. When Luke returned the shadows of the jungle had grown, and darkness was upon them.

  Overhead through the gaps in the canopy of leaves, the golden glow of the setting sun had vanished, and the stars were beginning to shine. As he hastened around the wide Eldest Vine tree Luke came upon the sight of a group of people tending to a small wooden structure covered by the green palm leaves, he’d been collecting. It was a humble thing, tiny in size and he could already tell it would be a squeeze to fit everyone inside.

  ‘Just in time Luke, we ran out of leaves.’

  Sophie came up collecting the leaves directly from Luke and Alex’s hands. Everyone was now tending to the shelter. The time for gathering materials had ended; they had run out. Night was already here. Luke watched amazed, as each passing second saw the jungle become darker and darker.

  ‘That’s it we’re out of leaves, and it’s too dark to go out for more. We’ve already used everything in the surrounding area too. Okay? Everyone get inside, ladies first.’

  Alex waited for Sophie to hop in besides Tracy before pushing Luke in. Jacob took the left wall with his club in hand, while Alex took the right with his spear. They sat closest to the “A” shaped entrance where something would have to approach to get in. Assuming it didn’t just destroy the weak wooden shelter by force.

  It was a light rain that fell onto their shelter's leaf roof, but it had been hours since it had started, and it showed no signs of stopping. Luke guessed it would rain all night. He focused on getting warm and as comfortable as he could within the small enclosure. After wringing out his socks again he was massaging his feet. They looked like he’d fallen asleep in the bathtub and were wrinkled from the soak. He knew because as soon as Tracy had entered the shelter, she’d turned her phone’s torch on.

  Luke wished they’d cleared the ground before building the shelter or at least built some kind of bedding because as it was, everyone was simply sitting on the wet muddy ground and it was sapping his warmth out from beneath him. He pulled his knees up to his chest, trying to warm himself as much as he could, and the night grew long.

  Tracy turned her torch off to save power, and soon they were enveloped in all-consuming darkness. The pitter-patter sounds of rainfall on the shelter came from above and the sounds of breathing from around him, but then there was the sound of nature as the jungle began to awaken.

  [Explorer] Level 3

  [Danger-Sense obtained]!

  Luke wasn’t sure what it was that tipped him off that something wasn't right. Oh, wait, yes, he was, it was the stupidly loud voice that appeared in his head just as he was drifting off to sleep. It announced to him a class, a level, and a skill like a [royal herald] introducing a [king]. Then the skill screamed a shrill alarm directly into his head, it was far louder than any alarm he’d ever owned before.

  ‘What!?’

  Luke screamed and recoiled back, hitting his head hard on the wooden shelter, every trace of drowsiness disappearing from his eyes. The commotion woke the others from their almost sleep.

  ‘Huh, what is it, Luke? Something wrong?’

  ‘Shut the hell up Luke, I almost fell asleep there.’

  ‘Did you hear something, Luke? I thought I heard a voice a moment ago…’

  Tracy turned her phone's torch back on, the sudden light shooing the shelter's immediate darkness away in an instant. Luke saw Alex looking at him hopefully, and he wondered if Alex had heard the voice too. Jacob stole Luke's attention away from Alex as the older boy muttered angrily to himself, wiping his eyes blearily with his left hand, when out of the darkness and through the shelters only opening a jaw latched down onto Jacob's outstretched arm. Long teeth sinking deep into his relaxed bicep with a sickening wet bite.

  Everyone turned and saw a maw filled with long black needle-like teeth, all protruding into Jacob's bleeding bicep like a pin cushion. Everyone stared in open mouth horror as two black compound eyes reflected the light from Tracy's smartphone, and then everyone erupted into a panic.

  ‘Ahhh!’

  ‘What the fuck is that!’

  ‘Monster!’

  Luke didn’t know who first screamed the word, but it caught in his ear until he and everyone else was screaming the word. He fell back and scrambled into the narrow corner with the two screaming girls, while Jacob began pounding his free fist on its insectile-like head, his makeshift club forgotten. Meanwhile, Alex began stabbing his spear out of the shelter and into the darkness. Screaming filled the air, but Alex roared over it as Jacob was dragged out of the shelter and into the dark yelling obscenities.

  ‘Monster!’

  ‘More light! Turn on your torches and get out here now. Fight!’

  Alex’s command sunk into the scared children hiding in the corner of their primitive shelter. Luke felt his uncontrollable panic and fear subside and was pulled into action. He grabbed Jacob’s forgotten club and crawled outside. For a moment he could only hear Jacob screaming and Alex attacking something in the dark. Then Tracy and Sophie exited, and the area lit up in a dull blue glow. Six meters away Jacob was standing face to face with a huge in-sectile creature, he was unarmed and was relying on his one fist to deter the beast from taking another bite out of his arm. Crimson blood coated his left arm and it hung limply down his side.

  As soon as the area lit up with light, Jacob recoiled from the thing that stood before him. Alex on the other hand attacked, stabbing his spear into its tough side. Luke saw it bounce off the creature's carapace uselessly before he retreated from the thing's maw, back to the others, with Jacob in toe.

  ‘Fuck me, what is that thing!’

  Luke called out to the heavily bleeding boy. Despite being injured he wasn’t showing it, rather Luke thought Jacob looked more pissed off than he’d ever seen him in his life.

  ‘Jacob, catch!’

  Luke saw the boy half turn and threw the wooden log of a club at him. He caught it without the slightest fumble despite the low light. Luke saw his left arm moving then Jacob was wielding it in two hands. He called out to Alex.

  ‘Distract it!’

  Alex looked away from the monstrosity before him and at Jacob gritting his teeth with his club in hand glaring at the beast fiercely. He turned to the others in agreement.’

  ‘Distract it!’

  There it was again, a command to follow as if it were the natural thing to do, Luke didn’t think about it and neither did Sophie and Tracy. They let the command wash over them, then leapt to obey. Tracy held her phone and directed the torch on the creature while she walked around to its flank. Meanwhile, Sophie did the same. Alex jabbed at its head with his long spear-like branch attracting its attention, and Luke wielding a branch taken from their shelter attacked its fragile feet. Three sharp claws diverted off from its six long legs protruding from a long abdomen. He wasn’t thinking about what he was doing, he was too in the moment, he couldn’t.

  The insect was confused. It had seen the small cave and sensed the warm bodies within. Their sent had called it and so it had come, and as it had peered into the cave it had seen food pressed together. It was very quiet, but just as it was near, its food had reacted. Not wanting to let its food escape it had quickly taken a bite, that was then. Now its food poked at its side and shined the hurtful light into its eyes, food didn’t normally fight back. Was it really food?

  Luke raised the thick branch he’d taken from the shelter they’d built and pounded one of the claws. The blow wasn’t heavy, but it must have been a fragile spot as the claw was ripped away from the foot. The Creature let out a painful hiss which sent goosebumps down his back.

  ‘Hisssssss!’

  Luke quickly retreated, as it shifted its attention to him. But just as the insect was about to attack, the blinding hurtful lights waved about again. It hissed in annoyance and shied away from the light.

  Then suddenly it felt a presence to its side, it swivelled its head just as Jacob's two-handed blow came down onto its thin hind leg in a crushing blow. It reeled back in pain as the shell cracked and the leg snapped in two. Suddenly without support from its hind leg, the giant insect fell to its side. Stunned from the fall, it attempted to stand when another crushing blow fell upon its hammer-like head, destroying one of its black compound eyes in a sickening pop. It vibrated as pain engulfed it and tried to move. Another devastating blow clocked its head back down into the ground. Then another fell, and then another…

  Jacob swung the thick wooden club down with one last roar and the hammerhead shattered on impact in a wet crunch. Luke had watched in awe as Jacob had first taken out its back-hind leg, bringing it down to the ground before striking at its lowered head over and over. The first had crushed the eye and the last had completely shattered the skull. After the last hit, it no longer moved.

  ‘…is it dead?’

  Luke asked worriedly. He half expected it to suddenly attack again. Alex must have thought so too, because he came in at a run, straight past Luke and thrust his long spear into the opening of the head Jacob had made, piercing what Luke could only assume was its brain. Despite the forceful stab which saw the spear sink deeply in, the insect remained motionless. There was Luke’s answer.

  ‘It’s dead.’

  Alex glanced back at Luke, before turning to the others one by one.

  ‘Is everyone okay?’

  As if on cue, Jacob collapsed to his knees in pain, now that the fight was over all the adrenaline was leaving his body and the pain from his injured bicep finally caught up with him.

  ‘Shit, Sophie can you see to Jacob’s injury?’

  Alex was walking away from the grotesque insect corpse, his spear left still protruding from its caved in head.

  ‘I—I’ll try.’

  Sophie paled and blanched at the idea of touching his wound, but stepped forward anyway. She stepped up to the kneeling Jacob and inspected his injury. The skin was crushed and bruised, and several thin holes had pierced the skin around his bicep where the giant bug had bitten into his arm. It was bleeding profusely, and already small insects were buzzing around, lured by the smell of blood.

  ‘We need water to wash it. I can bandage it with some cloth, but without medicine, his injury will become infected.’

  Upon mentioning water Luke ran back to the shelter and grabbed for the half-empty water bottle they’d found in Miss Kim’s handbag. He returned and offered it to Sophie who graciously accepted it.

  ‘Use this to wash it, and here take this.’

  Luke removed his hoodie and gave it to Sophie to use as a bandage. He didn’t think much about losing his hoodie, the thin material didn’t provide much warmth anyway and it was always wet from the rain. Alex came in and helped Sophie tear the hoodie into shreds.

  ‘Okay, hold still Jacob.’

  Sophie washed the blood pooling on his arm off with the water bottle, then tightly wrapped the shredded-up hoodie rag around like a bandage and tied it tightly.

  Together everyone slowly and tiredly made their way back to their impromptu shelter dying for sleep. Luke thought it was kind of funny, it had stopped raining just before Jacob was attacked by the Night Stalker. So, they didn’t need the shelter anymore. Well, it would probably start raining again soon.

  Everyone climbed into the shelter, moving as far back as they could, away from the open entrance.

  ‘Tomorrow, let’s build a door.’

  Jacob’s serious comment was the last thing Luke heard before sleep took him. Then three people were shocked awake by a sudden and strange voice, but Alex silenced their surprise and commanded sleep. Too tired to protest, everyone finally slept the night away, however, when they would awaken, they’d find themselves still in the nightmare.

  [Explorer] Level 5!

  [Waypoint marker] obtained!

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Author’s Note: That’s me!

  Heeeeeeeeeeeey peeps. It’s me the creature that wrote this story back in 2020. Or at least started it. I never finished it, cause life. But I want to. So, yup. Going to finish it. No new chapter just yet, soz, but I’ve gone and edited this one as best as I can. I don’t have any kind of schedule yet, so the next chapter will be out when it’s out. Yup. Terrible I know.

  Few things to note: I’m writing this to Australian publishing standards, so it’s going to look a little different than TWI’s style, which is American?

  The plan is to do just ten chapters of 15k words each. That’s enough for me, me thinks. It is fan fiction, it is non-commercial, and I think it’ll be a lot of fun. So, unless I get a notice of cease and desist, I shall continue!

  Will Luke meet Shrek in the swamps? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!