When the bus arrived at their destination, thanks to Mr. Dong’s roaring to get everyone prepared to alight the bus, Ivy woke up groggily but was glad her headache had dissipated. She noticed she was lying on Jason's shoulder as she quickly sat up straight awkwardly while rubbing her eyes.

“Drink some water first…” Jason told her. “Sorry…” She mumbled. “It’s alright… Here drink first…” He urged as she obediently obeyed before joining the crowd to alight the bus.

“You’re alright?” Sandra whispered as Ivy nodded with a smile.

“Yea, had a good sleep… You?” Ivy mumbled as Sandra nodded.

“I slept too… Their shoulders are the best comfort, aren't they?” Sandra teased as Ivy snarled at Sandra playfully and couldn’t control her smile as both girls ended up giggling while walking to gather at the entrance of the camping ground.

“Alright everyone gather here!” Mr. Dong roared once again as everyone quickly gathered around him.

“We shall start to split into teams for the activity right after we check in. Please form a straight line and repeat numbers from one to ten. Each team will only have three members in it… Let’s start!” Mr. Dong clapped his hand to urge everyone to start moving.

Lance, Laura and Belinda quickly split themselves up as they calculated carefully for the three of them to be in one team whereas Sandra and Andrew did the same and hoped Ivy who had headed to the end of the line would be lucky enough to join them in the same team. Ivy was stalling as she could feel her body was getting weak but she forced herself to endure as she stood at the end of the line next to Marcel and counted herself as team ten.

“You’re joining too?” Ivy whispered to Marcel as Marcel smiled and nodded. He noticed Ivy was looking quite pale as he supported her from losing her balance.

“You’re alright? You don't look very well…” Marcel asked as Ivy nodded. “Just lack of sleep… Had too much fun with Sandra…” Ivy chuckled lightly as they scurried off to their respective team. Despite being worried, Marcel chose to believe Ivy as he tried to find his team members.

When everyone gathered in a team of three, Ivy found herself with Lance and Laura as Belinda fumed that she was with another team of losers as categorised by herself and Laura. Andrew and Sandra were equally surprised to find themselves with somebody who wasn’t part of the college student, Marcel.

“Why are you participating, bro?” Andrew asked as Marcel chuckled. “They are lacking with participants… Is it alright for the both of you?” Marcel asked as Sandra smiled and nodded.

“Tell me bro… Are you replacing somebody?” Andrew teased as he placed an arm on Marcel’s shoulder. Marcel could only chuckled awkwardly as they all proceeded to check in to their campsite which they had split by gender and could only fit two people. Sandra automatically dragged Ivy into a camping tent set up by the college admins as they were way behind schedule and had to skip setting up the tent.

“Stay with me tonight alright?” Sandra nudged Ivy before they split. Ivy smiled and nodded as she dragged her tired self to join her nemesis, Lance and Laura. Jason noticed Ivy didn’t look very well after they returned from checking into their respective camp. He wanted to exchange with her team’s guide but it was too late as Mr. Dong was pushing aggressively for the program to start instantly since they had already cut out the first part of the program.

Each team was brief before they started their treasure hunt in the jungle trekking session. They had to hunt for clues and collect their team’s color ribbons in exchange for necessity required to cook tonight and prepare for dinner. They will not know what essentials they are bringing back till they complete the mission and all ten materials were important.

Ivy could only sighed at her bad luck for being stuck with Laura who cannot unattached herself from Lance who was walking ahead of her. She also noticed they had missed clues along the way as she had to collect the ribbons herself. Lance took pity on her at Laura bullying her as he secretly signal Ivy to the clues after he distracted Laura and tried to slow down for her to catch up. The lecturer who was looking after them could only shake her head at Laura’s selfishness.

Midway, they met with Sandra, Andrew and Marcel which cheered Ivy up a lot. “Marcel! Andrew! Sandra!” Ivy greeted excitedly although she sounded weak. “Ivy!” Sandra jumped excitedly with her before Andrew pulled her away and charged forward with Marcel trailing behind them. “Gotta go! Bye Ivy!” Andrew hastily greeted Ivy before rushing to a different direction as her.

“Have fun! Good luck!” Marcel quickly greeted her too as the sound of thunder rumbled and forced them to split their ways.

“See ya!” Ivy waved at the trio as she noticed Laura was seated on a stone not far away with Lance checking on her leg. She ran over and checked on them.

“What’s wrong?” Ivy squatted and inspected as Lance shook his head.

“Does it hurt so bad?” Lance asked as Laura nodded.

Ivy stood as Lance did the same. “I think she cannot continue…” Lance announced that the lecturer who was in charge of the team approached them with a medical team. After a while, the medical team was prepared to escort Laura back to the base but she made a fuss to have Lance following her as well.

“I’m scared… Please come with me… Please…” Laura pleaded as Lance was left in a dilemma. Ivy rolled her eyes at the exaggerated act from Laura as she waved her hands at Lance to go ahead with her.

“I’m fine. We have a little more clue. So go ahead. I will complete it myself.” Ivy assured as Lance nodded and everyone left her alone in the dim lighted jungle as she quickly walked forward to finish finding her clues and get the essentials before it rained.

At the base camp site area, most teams were already returning with the essentials such as flint and wood. Other than these two items, the majority were stock of food for everyone. Marcel went up to the medical team and saw Laura on the stretch with Lance by her side. A part of him was relieved that it wasn’t Ivy on the stretch but his mind wondered where Ivy was.

“Where is Ivy?” He asked Lance as Andrew and Sandra approached them. Jason was also paying attention to their commotion.

“She …” Lance began to notice he was selfish of leaving Ivy all alone to complete the quest when they were all rushing for time. “She volunteered to complete the mission herself…” Laura said nonchalantly as Marcel was overwhelmed with anger.

“Everyone of you is here and Ivy is alone in the jungle? Yet it’s going to rain! How could you all be so selfish!” Sandra scolded as Andrew tried to hold her back. “If anything happens to her, I will hold all of you accountable!” Sandra continued to scold.

“Where did you all leave her?” Jason asked as he walked over hastily.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Somewhere close to a crossroad… It’s nearly the end of the quest area…” The lecturer guiding them updated as Jason instantly rushed off into the jungle to find her.

“Chill my dear… Chill…” Andrew comforted as Sandra snapped.

“How can I chill when Ivy isn’t well? She hasn’t rested well last night and yet she is all alone! Do you know what she had been through? I should have barred her from coming!” Sandra stormed off to one corner as Andrew chased her and pulled her in for a hug as she sobbed in his arms.

Marcel was getting more worried as he sent a text message to Jason updating him about Ivy’s condition. Thereafter, Marcel prepared the other lecturers to alert the camp site management to prepare for a search and rescue party on standby but none of the lecturers thought it would be that serious since Jason had run in to search for Ivy. Marcel could only bite his tongue. Instead of waiting anxiously, he trusted his guts which was telling him it wouldn't be that easy especially when Ivy and Jason had a conflict at the moment that he went to find the campsite management himself.

Ivy came upon a cross road not long after and could not see any clue to tell where to head to as she took the turning to the left as the light cardboard signboard left by the crew was blown off by the strong wind. She was half enjoying the breeze along the way although the looming darkness was intimidating her a little.

Soon, she realised she had been turning in circles on a small spot after leaving traces on the trees and leaves to find her way back. She was a little frustrated as she sat down under a huge tree to rest. She cursed at herself for being unlucky and yet had to play nice as she forced herself to continue.

Jason reached the cross road to find the signboard went missing and headed to the right turning which was where the ending was but couldn’t find her. He instantly sprinted to the left turning and called out to her along the way. “Ivy!”

Ivy who was beginning to feel exhausted could hear someone calling out to her. A sigh of relief overwhelmed her knowing there was someone to come to help her out.

“Here!” She yelled back as she ran towards the voice source which kept calling out. “Ivy!” Jason called out as he ran towards her voice.

“Here!” She called out again and finally was closeby the person who called out to her only to find it was Jason.

She rolled her eyes as she walked past him. “Did you know you’re lost? Did you know you’re the only one left here?” Jason scolded while catching his breath.

Ivy stopped her way to the right path as she turned around and sighed. “I don’t have a choice right?” Ivy sighed again watching him panting heavily. “Thanks… I will complete the mission now…” Ivy retaliated and walked to the right.

“Ivy stop!” Jason screamed in anger as Ivy slowed down her steps but didn’t turn around.

“You’re not even well to begin with. Why did you come? Would you… ARGHHH…” Jason scolded as he ran after her but fell down as his leg was caught between the branches.

Jason’s sudden scream made Ivy turn around and head over to check on him as her mind reminded her of his injury which should be still fragile.

“Are you alright? Is your injury open? Huh?” Ivy questioned as she fidgeted with his leg and saw scars and bleeding on his ankle.

“Oh no…” She quickly opened her bag pack and took a gauze to stop his bleeding while Jason, who was enduring the pain, was watching Ivy with a heart ache as all his anger dissipated away.

“Could you walk?” Ivy asked as she tried to lift him up but he slipped the first time and it started to drizzle.

“Oh crap… What luck is this man?” Ivy groaned as Jason tried to stand with Ivy’s help the second time.

“Head straight down, there is an abandoned shed to stay awhile…” Jason instructed as Ivy endured with all her last bit of energy to hold on to his weight along the way to the house. Fortunately they were not very drench when they reached the inside of the shed to find a box of apples waiting for them. It was the essential Ivy’s team had to deliver.

Ivy quickly sat Jason on a spot next to the box of apples where he wouldn’t get sprayed by the rain as she ensured to shut the doors and left only one window open for lighting. She desperately tried to get a phone signal to send messages to Marcel, Andrew and Sandra for help which added more frustration to her as she winced many times at the pounding headache and fear of the dark as she kept her phone light on desperately hoping for a signal soon. Jason sat by the corner with his heart slowly torn apart watching Ivy struggling all by herself as he tried to stand to reach out for her only to yelp in pain which Ivy quickly went over as she left her phone near the window panel.

“Don’t move… Don’t move…” Ivy helped him to sit back down as they looked eye to eye before Jason pulled her into his embrace and locked her in his arms facing close to his face. It was close enough that Jason could feel her unstable breath on him. He could feel her body was very hot as he covered her with his sweater.

“You have caught a cold yet you didn’t know and came? What’s your deal huh, Ivy?” Jason was half scolding in his whispers as he pulled her close to him and could hear intermittent loud breathing from her.

“It’s getting dark… You have a torch function on your mobile. Don’t waste the battery lighting up the phone screen. When it rains, it’s hard to get a signal here. Let’s hope this heavy downpour will subside soon…” Jason whispered in her left ear as he switched on the torch on his mobile and kept it close by so that he could see Ivy’s face clearly. He could tell how tense she is from her body language but he could also tell she was wincing from the pain on her head she was enduring from her face reaction.

“What’s wrong? Is there pain somewhere?” Jason asked as Ivy shook her head trying to recover from her dizziness only to lean on to his shoulder for a moment of refuge.

“Is your head dizzy?” Jason could guess as she tried massaging her temple.

“Yes… Don’t move… I might throw up…” Ivy said as she gripped tightly to his hand unconsciously where their bracelets untangled each other again.

She tried to pull away but Jason stopped her. “Don’t move…Let it be…” Jason whispered as Ivy sat still and closed her eyes trying to endure the dizziness. He enjoyed the few moments of peace and quiet between them with only the heavy downpour to be heard.

“Was the pen a gift you prepared in advance just for me even when you knew I betrayed you?” Jason asked softly as Ivy slowly opened her eyes to look at him but her vision was blurry by her tears as she was reminded it was a farewell gift. She couldn’t wipe them away as her right hand was stuck with her bracelet and her left was too difficult to move in case it would trigger her dizziness again. She could only blink them and let them flow down her face.

“Yes…” She said as she sniffed and buried her face into his chest to hide her tears but he could feel the wetness.

“Thank you… you know I have always wanted to give you a gift too… But it’s in my pocket…” Jason said as Ivy shifted a little to try and let him untangle their bracelet. He then took out the necklace and Ivy was mesmerised by the sparkling pendant.

“There… It’s custom made for you… I hope you will continue to shine like the stars infinitely…” Jason said as Ivy gave a weak smile before she struggled to control her urge to vomit. Jason quickly let her lean back on his chest.

“You shouldn’t have pushed yourself so much…” Jason patted her as she massaged her temple a little before reaching out to Jason’s hand where her gift was before tracing the pendant with her eyes closed.

“I will put it for you when you feel better alright?” Jason whispered as she nodded and fought another urge to throw up. Jason quickly kept the necklace back into his pocket and adjusted for her to be in a comfortable position.

Jason could feel himself growing weak as he finally felt the heat from his forehead as he held on to them for a brief moment. He decided to ignore his growing fever and focus on keeping Ivy warm instead.

“That day… I didn’t explain everything to you… I am sorry I made use of you but I regretted it and…” Jason sighed.

“After knowing you for such a long time, I realise you have been too strong for your own good to endure all of those things that you didn’t even deserve Ivy… That’s when I thought, I should do you a favor and reunite you with your family. At least I could see how much they love you, especially your protective brothers…” Jason smiled at her as she opened her eyes to look at him. “How do you know how protective they are?” Ivy asked softly as her eyes twinkled. “I will save that story for you another day…” He chuckled lightly as Ivy closed her eyes and smiled.

“For our friendship, I could do anything to salvage this Ivy… All I hope is for you to stay happy and find your happiness…” Jason continued as Ivy opened her eyes and blinked. Though she looked weak, she was touched.

“How could you be willing to give up what you built your entire life again? Are you an idiot?” Ivy retaliated weakly as she hit his chest weakly.

“For you I can Ivy… Only for you… Cause you’re worth it. Cause you made me realise what I had been fighting for all along and you made me realise I can no longer live without you by my side Ivy…” Jason accidentally blinked his tears on Ivy's cheeks. Ivy held up her hand to wipe his tears away.

“Could you stay with me Ivy?” Jason asked gently as Ivy blinked her tears which were welling on her eyes too. Those were the words she had always wanted to tell him only to be heard from him first. She wanted so badly to say yes but she knew it would only agitate Nancy even more and she had to be separated from him since she was going to move to Landsfield next week,

“But I promise my dad I will work over in Landsfield and I am moving next week. Since both companies merge, it doesn’t matter where I am actually. But I am also taking over from Jin to let him focus more on his studies…” Ivy explained weakly as Jason let out a sigh.

“I need to be in Landsfield too, silly… The merger requires me to attend meetings with your management. Besides, I still have my weekend job…” Jason pinched her nose tip gently.

“Isn’t that Nick’s task already?” Ivy asked as she occasionally closed and opened her eyes to take a good look at Jason all she wanted.

“I could always take it back… Just to keep you by my side Ivy… Only if you are willing to give us a try?” Jason offered as he looked deep into Ivy’s eyes which were shining in the dark looking back at him.

Ivy was trying to think over it but her dizziness was overwhelming. She couldn’t tell if Jason was getting closer to her or that her visions were getting blurry as she took a moment to close her eyes to endure the pain which was working a miracle.

Jason didn’t realise Ivy was losing her consciousness. While he pulled her closer for a kiss, he too was unable to withstand the exhaustion of enduring his fever as he passed out with his head hanging while his arm holding onto Ivy loosen, sending Ivy falling off to the ground. Sadly, it was a confession none of them had an answer to that night.