Team Uno had been travelling northward, resting every six hours for 15 to 30 minutes under the darkness of the canopy, unaware if the sun had risen or set. They moved cautiously, never certain if the Fern Panther was lurking nearby. They sustained themselves on the basket of fruit they had, eating and staying hydrated while remaining vigilant.
Throughout their journey, they managed to hide and avoid various native animals, and by the grace of God, they never encountered any Sniders or S-wolves. Despite the constant threat of danger, there were moments when the forest's darkness would brighten. In those moments, the team would walk and practice aiming, throwing, and striking with their stone spears and daggers, a rule Mr. Major enforced rigorously.
As they moved, the team's senses picked up on every slight rustle and snap, still placing them on edge. Ben often took the lead, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of movement while Mr Major followed closely, ensuring that each member was alert and ready. Ben and Timmon were still recovering from the recent encounter with the Fern Panther, and they both walked with a slight limp but didn't complain. They were determined to keep up with Mr Major, who was now carrying the baskets of fruits.
Their practice sessions were not mere routines but intense drills of discipline. Mr Major would set up on-the-go targets, challenging the team to strike with precision. 'Accuracy is paramount,' he would remind them. 'A missed shot could be the difference between life and death in this wilderness.' The team, fully understanding the gravity of his words, honed their focus with each throw and strike.
Despite the fatigue that crept in from their relentless pace, the team remained steadfast. They knew survival depended on their ability and how well they could understand and polish their skills, senses and teamwork. The forest, with its unseen dangers and shadowed paths, was a test of their endurance and skill.
And so, they pressed on, their resolve unbroken, ready to face whatever lay ahead.
"Hey, what's that glowing pillar in the distance?" asked Timmon.
"You mean the light?" replied Ben. Wait! Light? It's daytime. If we get to it, we can figure out the time and direction that we need to travel, right?
Timmon: yeah, you're right. Let's hurry over there!
Mr Major: Rushing over there is how you'll get your asses killed. It's in the direction that we're going. No need to rush and deplete energy. If there's an enemy, we want all the energy we can call on to help us escape.
Timmon: You're right. I didn't think of that. One of us could easily get picked off or spotted if we ran over there, and it could end up being some kind of light-creating alien creature.
Ben: Okay, Mr sci-fi. There is no need for dramatics.
Timmon: coming from the man who thought this existence was a lit RPG game. Who were you, the primal hunter or an unbound in your little delusion?
Ben: Whatever GT.
Timmon: Who is GT? I swear it told you my name would be TG.
Mr Major: Stop acting like kids again. Spotting a light in the dark doesn't mean safety.
As they increased their walking pace a little, the light in the closing distance was getting bigger and brighter till they noticed the open space and the soft green grass. They had finally after so long made it to another rest point. Looking around for more life-like sculptures, all they saw were colourful plants that were familiar in some ways.
Ben: Are those what I think they are?
Mr Major: Are we supposed to know what they are? They look alien.
Ben: You guys are hopeless. Those plants are like the ones we first encountered near the rooted river.
The plants that were adorned with their gel-filled sacs, had now adorned the area in an array of vibrant hues as the sun light glistening on them.
True to expectations, Ben exhibited an enthusiastic fascination, hurrying over to examine the botanical oddities. Meanwhile, Timmon ventured towards the centre of the clearing, only to realize that the ground beneath his feet was anything but stable, bearing a gelatinous quality.
A hint of amusement coloured Timmon's voice as he remarked, "Yo, natural water bed alert."
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Perplexed, Ben queried, "Water bed? What's that?"
Mr. Major's response was laden with dry wit. "It sounds pretty self-explanatory, doesn't it?"
Emotions welled up within Timmon, his voice carrying a fragile undertone as he began to sing softly, his words holding a note of vulnerability, "Listen, I'm about to be. Out like a light, through the night." The final word had scarcely left his lips when Timmon crumbled to the ground, succumbing to the embrace of a profound slumber.
While the others did their own thing, Mr Major undertook the arduous task of managing their resource inventory, all the while ensuring the team's meagre provisions were stored safely, including their dwindling water supply and the assortment of seeds they had gathered from the fruits they ate. They even collected some berries because one of them happened to be the seed that Ben discovered, which helped to heal their injuries.
Ben watched Timmon collapse with a bemused shake of his head, his curiosity still piqued by the strange plants around them. "I can't believe he actually fell asleep," he muttered.
Mr. Major, undeterred by Timmon's sudden nap, continued to manage their resources with meticulous care. "Ben, make sure Timmon's comfortable. We'll let him rest for a bit, then join him afterwards."
Ben nodded and gently adjusted Timmon's position to make him more comfortable on the soft ground. He then joined Mr Major, who was sorting through their provisions with his arms filled with gel plants. The assortment of seeds from their consumed fruits lay in a small pile, along with the vibrant berries that looked like the berries that healed their wounds in the past.
"These berries," Ben said, picking one up, "they might just be our best find yet. We need to gather more if we come across any but as much as I would love to grind the seeds up and see if they are indeed the same seeds I don't want the side effect to drain me of anymore mass. And if it happens to not be the correct berry then I don't want to fall to the effects of something unknown."
Mr Major agreed, his eyes scanning the clearing for any potential threats. "I was really expecting to see more of the sculptures at these rest points, but I don't know if its absence is proof that intelligence placed them there or not. If it was done by nature, then we need to know what caused it."
As they took in the sun's light and warmth on their skin, the clearing seemed even more serene, a clear, stark contrast to the ominous forest they had been navigating. Something they all kept telling themselves when it started feeling like the new normal. The plants, with their gel-filled sacs glistening in the sunlight, cast a surreal glow around the area. Birds with iridescent feathers flitted from branch to branch around the rest point, adding to the otherworldly atmosphere.
As Ben and Mr Major prepared to get some rest, Ben was also busy fastening a few of the different gel plants to his belt, and thats when they heard the snapping of a twig, and they both reached for their weapon; one held a dagger and the other a spear.
Their eyes scanned the perimeter of the clearing; every muscle tensed in anticipation. The surreal serenity of the rest point now felt like a fragile bubble on the verge of bursting. The iridescent birds continued their songs, seemingly oblivious to the sudden tension.
Ben's heart raced as he strained to identify the source of the noise. "Did you hear that?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
Mr. Major nodded, his grip tightening on his spear. "Stay alert. It could be anything. Let's just hope it's now that fucking Fern Panther out to play again because I might just set up camp here and live my days out."
Moments stretched into what felt like hours as they waited, every sense heightened. The forest, which had briefly felt like a haven, was once again a place of potential danger. Ben's eyes flicked towards Timmon, still sleeping soundly on the soft ground. They couldn't afford to let their guard down.
Just as Ben was about to suggest waking Timmon, a figure emerged from the shadows of the forest. They notice a shiny object. Was it a weapon? Was it a new enemy? As the object rolled further out from behind the tree, they saw a straight edge, then a flat surface, before they both let out a sigh of relief. It was the kid goat carrying the mystery box that Timmon had strapped to its back after it ran off. When they climbed the crater wall, they hadn't seen it for hours, maybe days. How was it still alive, and where was it this entire time? Who did it manage to find them again? Were they easily tracked?
Ben: Come over here, little buddy. It's been a minute since we saw you. Look, Timmon's over there sleeping. Come have some of this fruit we gathered. But the goat only cried out as it circled the rest point.
Was it to avoid the rest point? Mr Major thought. Could animals really not enter the rest point? Or did they choose not to enter the rest point? Was this actually a safe zone in the forest? If it was, then this was a big discovery because they were scattered all over the forest, from what he could tell.
Ben: Hey, the sound is going to set in a few hours, and according to where it's heading, we haven't been going north; we've been going more like northwest.
Mr Major, that is not a problem. Now we know we can easily adjust from here. But we should probably get the box from the goats back in case it decides to run off again.
Ben: Nah, we should leave it. I'll give it some fruits and let it be. If its animal instincts are telling it not to enter, should we be in here as well? I can't see, smell or sense if anything is wrong with this place, but then again, human awareness is limited, I've come to learn.
As the sky above became clear and the stars came out from behind the clouds, it was as if someone had placed a gigantic lens in the sky so they could see into space. It was something they didn't get to take in when they had arrived on the planet, and after all that they had been through, the wonder of the stars brought tears to Ben's eyes. Under the moon's pallid glow, Ben and Mr Major readied themselves for sleep, joining Timmon, who had already succumbed to slumber atop the supple grass.
The grass cradled them in a comfort so profound it evoked memories of a popular bed brand known as Fairy Breast, advertised with an enchanting jingle back in the year 2980, promising sleep akin to a spell's embrace. "It must be magic if it's this soft. Call 1-800-fairy breast for the sleep of a lifetime." Yet, this whimsical narrative took a grim twist as those beds were infamously recalled that same year for being too effective. Some users who sank into the plush comfort found themselves plunging into an irreversible coma, while others departed from the world in serene repose. Amidst the stillness of the night, as Ben and Mr Major contemplated the uncanny similarity between the grass beneath them and the notorious Fairy Breast beds of their youth, they surrendered to slumber's grasp, unaware of the journey their dreams were about to embark upon.