"That's the tent set up, now we need firewood and water," Adam said happily as he stepped back and admired their handiwork.
"It looks lopsided," Jenny remarked as she stood beside Adam and inspected the tent.
"Really?" Adam asked.
"No, I'm just kidding," Jenny replied as she nudged his shoulder while sticking out his tongue.
"Why you?" Adam replied in fake anger as he went to grab her, but Jenny immediately avoided his grab while giggling.
For the next few minutes, Adam chased Jenny around the clearing they had chosen to camp in while her beautiful laughter rang through the trees of the forest.
The two of them were scheduled to begin university in three days, and they thought it was a good idea to get away before they became swamped with study sessions, lectures and parties.
They had been dating for a couple of years now. They first became friends when Jenny transferred into the same school that Adam attended.
Her beauty and friendly nature immediately made her the centre of attention as everyone befriended her. All the girls wanted to hang out and gossip with her, while all the boys wanted to become her boyfriend.
Adam was one of the few who didn't attempt to get too close to Jenny since he knew she, like everyone else in the school, was in a different social class to him.
Adam lost his parents when he was very young and was raised in an orphanage until he reached an age where he couldn't stay there any longer, and so the Alamo City council had set him up in a small one-bedroom apartment.
When he wasn't at school in class, Adam was either studying or working his part-time job since the council didn't supply him with nearly enough money to survive on, something he thought was strange, but as an orphan, most were unwilling to investigate the matter too deeply for him, while those that did came back saying everything was normal.
Adam only managed to get into the same high-class school that Jenny eventually joined because of his excellent grades, which granted him a scholarship; unfortunately, because of his background, he was bullied from day one.
Jenny was one of the few people who didn't look down on his situation and bully him after she transferred into their school. In fact, she would often approach Adam and ask him for advice on their recent lessons, something Adam found strange since Jenny was as smart, if not smarter than he was.
Eventually, one day, Adam broached the subject with her, and she admitted with a blushing face that she had done it to spend time with him. After that, the two started spending more time together, something that surprised the other students while also angering a select few.
Eventually, Jenny had asked Adam to be her boyfriend, and so the two of them had started dating.
Many rumours started to spread around the school after they started dating, saying that Adam must have tricked her and the like, while the bullying he received only intensified from those who were jealous of him dating Jenny.
They were mainly the sons of rich and powerful families, and they always made sure to only bully him when Jenny was around and never to physically harm him, so there was no real proof in case Adam decided to tell Jenny about it.
Adam never did tell her, although he had a feeling that she suspected something was going on.
Eventually, their school life ended, and they both got grades good enough to get them into Hopkins University, one of the best universities on the western continent.
Eventually, Jenny stopped fleeing from Adam and allowed herself to be caught before kissing him for a few moments.
As they broke the kiss, Jenny stopped back before saying, You go collect some water from the pool up near the waterfall, I will collect some firewood.
"Yes, ma'am," Adam saluted, making Jenny giggle, before he picked up a large empty water bottle and headed off in the direction of the waterfall.
"Be sure not to fall over the edge," Jenny called after him as Adam entered the trees.
This wasn't the first time the two of them had camped in this spot, so he knew the direction towards the waterfall.
Unfortunately, so did a group of other people who had been watching their playful antics while hiding between the trees.
Adam reached the edge of a river and followed it for a few moments until he reached the top of a waterfall and could hear the water crashing into the basin below.
Adam looked out over the waterfall at the forest as it stretched into the distance. He had always loved this view, which is why Jenny had jokingly warned him not to fall over the edge because she knew he would come here to collect the water.
As he bent down at the edge of the river and started to fill the water bottle, a sudden noise behind him caused Adam to turn and look over his shoulder with a smile as he thought Jenny was probably trying to sneak up on him.
Unfortunately, it wasn't Jenny but a group of half a dozen men all wearing military gear and carrying what looked like pistols strapped to their legs.
"Wha?" Adam began to say, but two of the military men pounced on him and pinned him to the ground before roughly pulling him up to his feet while they kept a tight hold of him.
"Hello, Adam," A voice Adam recognised and hated said in a mocking tone.
From between the trees, a tall, handsome young man appeared.
"Victor, what do you want?" Adam asked.
Viktor Morose was one of the main bullies Adam had to put up with all through school. He came from the Morose Family, one of the five biggest and most influential families on Earth; his family practically ran the western continent.
"I'm here to dispose of an eyesaw," Victor said as he held out his hand to the military officer next to him, who quickly handed him a gun.
"You're going to kill me?" Adam asked in shock and fear as his eyes focused on the gun in his hand.
"I warned you to break up with Jenny and stay away from her; she is too good for you. But you ignored my warning, and so now I need to take more drastic measures." Victor replied with a crazy smile.
"It won't look like an accident if you shoot him, Mr Morose," The military officer who handed him the gun suddenly said.
"What would you suggest, then, Captain Simmons?" Victor asked.
"Much more believable if he accidentally fell from the cliff," Captain Simmons replied.
"Good point, throw him over the edge," Victor ordered.
"Get his phone first," Simmons ordered the two who were holding Adam.
As they were about to reach for his phone, a sudden shout distracted them.
"ADAM!" Jenny cried in alarm before rushing towards Victor, who still had the gun raised at Adam.
Caught off guard by Jenny's sudden appearance, none of them had time to react before Jenny barreled herself into Victor and took him to the floor.
However, as she did so.
"BANG"
Jenny coughed up blood before her body rolled off Victor's, and a bloodstain started to spread from where her heart was.
"JJJJJJJEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNYYYYYYYYYYYYY" Adam screamed in panic and grief.
"I love you, Ada…." Jenny began to say before the life left her eyes, and she died.
"Fuck, no, no." Victor cursed as he quickly got up and checked on Jenny, only to find her dead.
"Jenny, Jenny, no Jenny," Adam mumbled in shock as he continued to stare at her corpse.
"WHY IS THAT BASTARD STILL ALIVE? THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HAD DONE AS I SAID STRAIGHT AWAY. NOW THROW HIM OVER THE CLIFF." Victor yelled in outrage.
The two military officers didn't delay any longer and quickly threw Adam over the edge of the cliff just as Simmons said, "Get his phone first, you idiots." But it was too late, and Adam was already free-falling.
Adam felt weightless as he saw the top of the cliff and the waterfall beside it suddenly getting further away, along with Simmons and the other two soldiers watching him fall. The cliff edge continued to get further and further away until everything went dark.
💫💫💫
Deep within a cave that Adam's now unmoving body lay next to the entrance of, a blue light suddenly appeared, and a feminine voice suddenly sounded.
[Bipedal life form detected…. Deploying Android to collect bipedal life-form for operator compatibility test.]
After a few minutes, a being emerged from the cave entrance and moved towards Adam.
The being would have passed for a human female around the age of 20 if not for her ears, which were longer and more pointed than a human's and also her eyes that seemed to have pentagons instead of irises.
"Bipedal life-form located, initiating compatibility scan." That being said, in a female voice exactly the same as before.
When the humanoid being focused on Adam, you could see the pentagons in her eyes rotate as they either contracted or expanded.
"Scan complete…. Comparability confirmed…. Upgrading designation from bipedal life-form to potential operator."
"Error detected."
"Scans indicate that the potential operator has multiple broken bones, fractures, severe blood loss, multiple damaged or inoperative organs, including the eye, lung, kidney, heart, and genitalia."
"Conclusion is that the potential operator will soon cease operating themselves."
"Transferring potential operator to the med lab."
After saying this, the humanoid being collected both Adam and his belongings that were located near him and proceeded to transport him into the cave.