# Episode 1
10:00 am
Boy's Hostel B
Vic hated mornings.
There was this sense of dissatisfaction he always got once he woke up - the night could've been longer, he thought.
But he had no choice.
That dream of being a forensic scientist wasn't going to get there itself.
Pat! pat!
He slapped himself awake and jumped out of the bed.
His alarm clock had betrayed him (again), his yellow jacket he spread outside overnight was missing, and the bus schedule might as well have been written in hieroglyphics. Still, he wasn't too worried.
"Late again?" His roommate, Tade the Nerd, asked, not looking up from his notebook.
He was reading several notes spread out on the study table by the corner.
Vic grinned, zipping up his hoodie. "The key to success is making an entrance, my friend."
"The key to failure is missing the entrance entirely." Tade smirked, making his glasses twitch a bit.
He looked at him as he got into the bathroom, a smile still on his face, "Now you're just being pessimistic."
A few minutes later, he was dashing out the door with a piece of bread in hand. The sun was struggling to break through grey clouds, casting the hostel courtyard in a dull haze. The day felt heavy, almost expectant, but Vic wasn't the type to notice things like that. He had a lecture to catch—or miss.
"Look out, world!" He stuffed the entire bread in his mouth, "Herr Cons Bic!"
But on getting to the bus stop, he couldn't find anything there.
Only after a minute of waiting did it really hit him.
He missed the bus.
Being too broke to use a motorbike or a keke, he trekked the road to the school area.
No, he practically ran there.
Several minutes later, he jumps into the lecture hall, where his course mates were well ahead in a class.
He looked at his phone in hand and raised both fists in the air.
"WOOOO! NEW RECORD!!"
The lecture came to a halt.
Everyone in the class turned their attention to him.
The lecturer included.
"Oops, hehe."
"Young man, kindly see your way out."
His efforts had been wasted.
An hour passed, and people began pouring from the hall.
The person who came up to him was none other than the general class rep for the social science faculty.
Clad in black overalls and a white under-shirt, she shot him looks from behind her red-framed glasses, all while folding her arms.
She may be hiding it well, but Vic had noticed the tattoos that resembled a vineyard on her lower right arm.
Yet, her presence alone exuded authority.
"You better start thanking me; that lecturer would've finished your life in this school before it ever started." She said, her expression slightly annoyed.
"Oh, Bimbo! You look stunning today, I could almost-"
"Look, Vic, right? I don't know what your problem is, and I don't care how you've survived up to this point in life, but I assure you, missing the first lectures of a departmental course will ruin your future here." She started walking off. "That is, if you even have one to begin with."
Vic stared at her as she disappeared within the crowd.
"Heh…"
He felt a burn in his chest.
Sigh…
Same old, same old, huh?
"Did you hear? Someone got lost in that bush again."
"You mean the one near the hostel area right?"
His ears shook in excitement.
"Honestly, why won't people listen, that place is dangerous!"
"It's the school's fault, allowing such a place to exist should be illegal."
"But someone said, if one follows the road there, they'll get to this place faster…"
"Eunice, better remove your mind from that place oh! Before you disappear."
"I won't do such a thing, eh?"
The voices faded into the crowd.
He didn't know why their voices stuck out to him. After all, the crowd around was loud enough to blur the words people made.
So why could he hear just theirs?
No, that question wasn't on his mind.
"Shortcut, you say?"
He got up, another grin planted on his face as he laughed to himself and joined the crowd.
8:10AM
Tuesday, March 7th
The next day
The air, humid and dry, swirled about in a breeze, picking up leaves and throwing them aside. The sun hiding in the grey clouds set the perfect mood for anyone willing to sit back and sleep through the day. But for Vic, he was as late as ever for his morning lectures.
Classes had started a while ago.
He stared at the scrubland across the road and smiled to himself.
It seemed as if he was late on purpose, even.
"Okay! Let's test this theory, yeah?"
But before he took a step, he sensed the presence of another person. Standing still on the sidewalk was a girl with clothes darker than the weather itself; her hair was straight and black, covering half of her face.
An elaborate wig?
She stared into the distant bus as she hid her frustration.
Vic found himself staring at the figure by his side, taking in the mysterious aura that radiated around her, curious at what stories she could be hiding. He walked up to her so he could get a good view of her face and grinned at her blank expression.
She shivered – he could see her body twitch.
Her eyes were fixed to the ground. Anyone would feel uncomfortable at Vic's actions, but the guy could tell from the trembling in her eyes and the sweat down her cheek, that she just lacked confidence and would do anything but have esteem.
She backed off, hoping either he would disappear or she would vanish.
But Vic was clouded with one question.
He looked at the girl and tilted his head a bit.
What was she so afraid of?
"… Hey you, I guess we'll walk to it, yeah?"
There's nothing on earth to be afraid of.
"I-it's fine; I can… I'll just wait for the next bus…"
Her voice was feeble, almost inaudible, but she had a strong accent.
She sounded dejected.
Vic laughed, without much strength in it.
"Or, we could follow that shortcut over there."
She shook her head, "That place isn't safe." Was she talking to him, or were her thoughts just vocal? He couldn't tell.
He turned around and put his hands on his waist.
"Yeah, but I want to test something."
He then looked at her from his shoulders. "Also, they say, 'Two heads are better than one."
She still couldn't look at him; Vic noticed her inching further and further away.
"I-it's fine; I'll just try again tomorrow…"
"You have classes, don't you?"
"..."
"Well, a really close friend once told me that classes this early in the session must be taken seriously." He tried to rephrase the words he heard not too long ago. "Then another person told me, 'You regretting doing something is better than something you regret not doing.' Like, you could regret spending money, but it's better than to regret not making money."
That wasn't how the saying worked.
The girl knew that as well.
But…
"Okay."
Her very soul was against it.
"Great! Let's get going; I think we're late."
How would she tell him that she didn't want to?
First and foremost, who was he?
No, she felt like she knew the answer to that question already.
Soon enough, they dived into the scrubland.
And its air hit them in the most unexpected way possible.
The area around the knee-high bushes and grass was warm, yet humid.
The air above smelt of wet leaves.
It was natural, yet the girl's stomach was in knots.
What was that aura around it?
Vic didn't seem to notice.
Or maybe he didn't care.
There was a path of plain sand on the ground, and they thought it best to follow it, hoping it would lead to the class area soon enough.
"Aah, this is better than running, don't you think?
… Running?
But the class area was far – although it took 5 minutes or less to get to with the free bus, only some dared walk the distance along the empty road and ever since the rumours began circling about, no one dared use the mysterious scrubland as a 'shortcut'; Vic knew that, but he wasn't too discouraged, or maybe he was good at hiding it. He went immediately along the bushy field that led straight to the classes with the hostels and, of course – the stranger, behind him.
She hadn't heard anything about the place and only assumed it was dangerous because it was uncharted.
"I'm Vic, by the way," he turned around, walking backwards, "but my friends call me 'The Bush King'".
She didn't react.
"True story; what about you?"
'I won't get too close to him; he seems – off. if anything wants to happen, then I can easily run back and rethink everything, or I can finish him right here… gosh what am I doing?'
…?
He he he
Unshaken by her lack of response, he turned around, walking like a normal person again. "It's a long way to the lecture hall, well, depending on which department you're in. I'm in forensic science, so it's even farther, yeah. funny right?" He paused and absorbed the silence. "Well, I guess not – I don't know why I thought it was… hehe"
forensic science… huh.' she thought.
thrush thrush thrush
The bushes were getting longer and brimming with more life – Vic couldn't go on for 10 seconds without whacking a bug off his face. He looked back at the girl who had no issue with the bugs – as if they were staying away from her. The path ahead was getting fuzzier, unfamiliar, repetitive.
"Disgusting black creatures." he said as he slapped his hand.
"… okay."
"Hey, did you know? It takes a shorter time for two people to reach a destination than it would for one person."
"…" '... No it doesn't'
"Not much of a talker… noted."
Fifteen Minutes Later…
Vic and the girl were still wandering in the bushes, following the path that had only gotten them lost.
Each turn only took them to paths from before and their morale dwindled by the hour.
By the hour?
Vic raised a hand to his forehead and stared at the sky.
It was already noon, yet it didn't feel like much time had passed.
The sun was high in the sky and its heatwave was intense. The experience had felt never ending.
Now, insects were not their only problem. The bushes had gotten shorter, but the heat was something from the depths of hell.
He had to zip down his jacket and fan himself with a book from his bag.
All of a sudden, he stopped.
The girl who was following him with her eyes on the ground, bumped into his back.
"Ow…"
"…come, this road changed!"
She held her nose and walked up to his side.
The scrubs, the grounds, the appearance of small trees, nothing was familiar anymore.
Where the hell are we
She stepped back,
Crack!
Something broke under her foot.
It was a white stick.
A bone??
The sight of it sent a chill down her spine.
"No… more!" Vic yelled as he collapsed on his bum, "I've had enough."
He was breathing heavily - for someone that ran 2 km straight in one morning.
She walked up to him.
She paused a while before saying,
"I thought… I thought you were a bush king."
"Shut up!" He relaxed his hand on the ground, I'm just catching my bre- AAARGH!!! OW OW OW!!! He jumped to his feet and held his left arm in his right, as if looking for something on it.
"AAAAHH!"
The young man had tears in his red stained eyes.
The girl, however, created a distance between herself and him, then got into a battle stance, as if ready to fight.
"..." 'Finally showing his true colours…'
"Something bit my hand!!!" He yelled.
She tilted her head to the side and slouched her shoulder.
'What kind of excuse is that?'
But on closer inspection, his left middle finger had a large red patch.
He wasn't lying, he realised, as she dropped her arms.
"WHERE!?" He stomped around, looking at the ground, "Where is it so I can kill it!?"
It was an amusing sight, seeing him prance around like an angry horse.
She couldn't help but laugh at his state.
"There's nothing funny about this."
Still with a light smile on her lips, she sat on a rock, sitting opposite him so she could observe her possible threat. Vic put his finger in his mouth, trying to suck out the pain; he found himself looking at her again; the girl, as usual, looked away.
"You know, you look familiar; have we met before?"
"…" her face switched back to its default.
"What department are you in?"
"…"
"You're… not a witch or anything, are you?"
"Ugh!!!" She turned around, showing him her back.
"…"
"…"
"So what's your-"
"Can't you be quiet for 1 minute? you've been talking since I met you., and the world would be a whole better place if that event didn't happen!" She sounded strong, for once.
It was like holding a conversation was easier if you didn't see the target.
"Heh, now you want to talk to me, yeah?" She could feel him grinning from ear to ear
"W-whatever, do not get used to it." 'i want nothing to do with the likes of you.'
He pulled out his finger from his mouth; his expression got serious. "How are we getting out of here?" He observed the land around. "We need clues, ideas, motivation! WILL!! POWER!!!"
His sanity dwindled.
"We only need-" she was going to suggest a plan but–
"Come on, I'm back to speed. I'm going to get us out of here in no time."
Heaving out a helpless sigh, the girl got up to her feet.
'Whatever crazy thing bit him must have transferred its madness to his brain,' she thought as she turned around.
"ONWARDS!!"
"No-wait! That's where we're coming from..."
Vic came back and started in the opposite direction, his back slouched and his finger pointing forward.
"Heehee, oops."
They wandered for another while, and before they knew it, the sun was almost setting. The day had gone before they knew it, and yet, no progress seemed to have been made.
Twilight, the bugs came back, this time, in the form of mosquitoes.
Vic groaned loud enough for it to echo somehow.
He was reaching his limit.
The girl, however, just stared at the back of his head.
'I should probably do something to help; all this is affecting me too.'
"S-should we take a break? I don't know; maybe we'll get some ideas on what to do-"
"No!" Vic answered back.
"Oh…"
'Why did I even try?'
Her spirits fell to the floor while Vic went on.
"It isn't about getting to the class area anymore; we just need to get out of here. That's it!"
She heaved and sighed before walking up to stand by his side.
"And you're right! That is what we ought to do."
She unzipped her bag and began searching for something.
"…?"
She pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to him. "You want? You look terrible."
"Oh…" He looked at her face in full for the first time, though the evening sun was not as bright, but he could tell, but her features caught him unaware for a moment. He blinked – thrice – before taking the water from her. "Thanks." He said with a smile.
"You're welcome."
She had realised something then.
Clamming up wasn't going to help anyone, no, not in this case.
She felt like she had nothing to lose around a guy like him.
The full moon rose, declaring the night sky.
Progress was still far from them, but they couldn't stop then. With all the deadly night creatures running amok, sitting at a place wasn't the smartest option. Vic led the way with the girl walking beside him. He used the faint light from the screen of his flip phone to guide the way.
He should've brought his torch.
"… Hey, did you try calling-"
"Till tomorrow, no network today. They said a whale ate their optic fibre cable or something."
"Oh, that's…"
Her voice trailed off as she stopped.
"What?"
"Stop!"
"...?"
Vic turned to give her attention. She appeared to be fixated on something ahead.
He didn't want to ask her what it was, so she looked at the direction she was facing instead.
"Whoa!"
She got down on her knees, Vic doing the same as soon as he saw her.
Off in the distance was a tall moving figure, dark as the night, vertical and irregular in form. It moved like it hovered on the grass, like a ghost.
Or something more haunting.
It moved in a fixed path, like it was going somewhere.
Anyone would try not to interfere with such ethereal-looking things.
"..."
"What is that thing? Where did it come from?"
"If we move slowly, we shouldn't be able to get its attention."
Vic pursed his lips and shook his head
"No way; just follow my lead."
"Ehn?"
To her shock, he got up.
'SHOOT!'
"HEY!!" Vic yelled, his hands forming a funnel around his mouth, "Hey, come and show us the way out of here…"
The girl's eye widened.
Vic put his hands on his waist while the girl scurried away.
'Crap! CRAP! HOLY…'
She stopped and looked at Vic, then at the thing he called at. It certainly took note of him.
It stopped.
Stopped moving.
Then steadily, it was coming for them.
Bobbing from side to side and making loud rustles in its wake.
"Hey… Why is it moving like…"
The girl runs back to him and pulls against his hand towards her. He followed her like a magnet, almost like he had no weight.
"Whoa!"
The two run across the scrubs.
"Wow, you strong…"
She looks back, behind Vic's head.
The thing is coming at them, making no noise except for the rustles on the ground.
"You know, I think I made a mistake…"
"Stay away from me! Or run on your own!"
She let go of him, and he began running at his own pace, their legs trampling on the short grass around them.
They weren't even following the path anymore, as 'running away' is the only thing their bodies could do.
Vic looks behind his back at the figure getting closer, inch by inch.
The air got thick, hard to take in.
Was it because of it?
Their pacing gets faster, but alas, they appear to have reached their limit.
And closer and closer, the gap is closing between them.
Desperate and frightened, he picks up a rock and flings it at the figure, but it misses it by a long shot.
"Damn it!" he said, coughing right after.
He could hear her running out of breath.
So he runs up to her and whispers in her ear, "Need help?"
Before she could say 'no', Vic picks her up in his arms like a groom would carry a bride.
The shock left her at a loss for words.
Then, like a fired bullet, Vic shoots forward as fast as he can.
His speed was just bewildering; she couldn't make sense of the world passing her by so fast.
Fast enough to outrun a vehicle on normal speed,
Or a thing chasing you in the middle of the night.
'Why…?' she asked herself.
'What is this…?"
"There!" She heard him say as he swerves to the left.
The sound of his feet digging into the dirt and the suddenness of it all take the girl unawares.
It felt unnatural.
Yet, she couldn't shut her eyes.
No, she felt like he didn't want to miss the moment.
While running, Vic looked behind his shoulder once again.
To his delight, the thing was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh ho, HAHAH!"
BAM!!!
They slammed into a metal wall.
Vivian got the impact first, but he didn't realise when it happened – being drunk on sensations and all.
Vic collapsed on his back; the girl then fell on him like a sack on gravity.
"Ohhh…" he groaned.
"Hisss…" She sat up and touched her head, now with a light bump on it.
It made her feel light-headed, and she collapsed.
They both went unconscious.