"Wow" West exclaimed, Zach looked at him and a wild grin appeared on his face
"Well, let's go" He urged
"I thought you'd be scared to continue" West chuckled
"Hey, I was just nervous back then," Zach spoke before the two slowly walked forward.
It was an endless stretch of gold, the expanse of trees was all withered with not a single leaf dotted on them.
The two felt like they'd been walking for hours but the sun hadn't moved, and weirdly the time on their phone had shown that only ten minutes had passed.
The forest was silent with only the sound of the leaves being crushed under their feet.
A deep breath escaped West "How long is this place"
"I'm sick of this forest" Zach complained kicking the leaf on the ground.
"Bro you might be right, this forest is so wide James might have gotten lost here"
Zach looked back before adding "I mean, I can't even see our way back"
"What?" West looked at him in disbelief, he was so focused on finding clues ahead that he didn't bother turning back the entire time
Seeing his look, it clicked, Zach looked back before cursing.
"Are we lost?"
"Maybe we just walked too far" West suggested
"Right" Zach replied before pulling out his phone and opening navigation
"It still works" he sighed in relief
"So, do we continue?" West asked and Zach looked back at his phone before nodding.
It was a silent journey until they thought of calling out loud.
"James!!!"
"Are you here!!!"
"James!!!"
They called until their throat was parched but the only thing that greeted them was the endless expanse of trees
Thud
West was the first to give up, he fell to the ground huffing
"This isn't working" He said between breaths
"James!!!,.... dude we've come too far" Zach replied sweat dripping on his forehead
"I can't" West hung his head catching his breath
"Bro, you're the one who called me" Zach said
Thud
The yellow leaves floated as West's body hit the ground, he lay there catching his breath
"I didn't know it's gonna be this huge, we've been walking since forever"
Zach looked at West, assessing him.
West was scrawny, his plain white t-shirt hung to his body like a robe, his youthful face was full of freckles, his eye bags prominent at first glance, and he looked like he could be tackled down by a gust of wind.
"What?" West looked at his side feeling Zach's stare
"I guess you do look weak" He said squating down by his side.
He received a glare from West because of that comment.
Minutes passed in silence before West spoke
"Let's continue"
"Good" Zach said with a grin before suggesting
"I think we should split up"
"Bad idea" West shook his head "I'd rather we turn back than do that"
Zach sighed "We can't turn back, not while knowing James could be here"
"Bro he could die of starvation any moment now"
"Ugh" West silently contemplated for a rebuttal, he wanted to say
'Monsters might attack us'
But the other might just look at him weirdly, seeing him silent Zach reassured
"Add my number, we can call each other if the other person finds James first"
Having nothing to say to counter him, West sighs
He grabbed his phone before saying "Six, we leave at six"
Looking at the time on his phone and seeing it's already three, Zach nodded, searching for James at night isn't really a good idea, and if his phone died at that hour, well. Another two posters might get posted at the school site.
Zach added West on his phone before heading east and well, as his name suggests West goes west.
Before the two completely lost sight of each other, West yelled
"We go back at six!!" In response, Zach gives a thumbs-up before continuing.
Seeing the man's silhouette getting smaller, West sighed.
Looking around the first thing he noticed without another person's company was how silent the forest was.
"There's not even a bird" He muttered before heading west.
"James!!" West called
Minutes have passed and West has already lost track of the way back, His feet aching from walking, he desperately catches his breath with every step.
The sun was still at its highest point, so he was drenched with sweat, and with no shade to act as cover, he had no choice but to endure the heat.
Ring
His phone rang. Before answering, he looked at the time
3:45
"It's mom" He muttered before answering
"Hey sweety, I made your favorite chili, when are you coming back?" A static voice came from the other side.
"I'll be back before eight"
"Good, is the dorm good?, We can rent a nearby place if it's not"
"It's great, my roommate seems nice" West answered
"That's good to hear, then I'll see you-
"Mom" West spoke, he opened his mouth and there were so many things he wanted to say but all that escaped his lips were
"Please, don't go out tonight"
"What?, Did you watch those crimina-
"Please" He repeated choking out a sob.
"...okay" Her static voice couldn't hide her motherly tone "Well, do good and make friends, I'll see you tonight"
The phone call ended and the tears he was trying to hold back spilled.
Seeing your mother die in front of your eyes hurts enough, but witnessing it four times... West's hand trembled.
Recovering from it, West wiped his tears and continued calling for James.
"James!!" He called how many times already?
He looked around and all he saw was the same landscape, the endless golden-like ground and the leafless trees, an open area seemingly unable to hide anything yet in this open expanse they couldn't find a single person, even though they had already separated.
"Maybe he wasn't here in the first place" West sighed he planned to continue when his phone rang for the second time
'This hasn't happened before' He pondered before answering the call.
The grunting from the other side surprised him.
"Go back-" A static but recognizable voice, it was Zach's
"Zach?, Did you find James?" West said his face was calming down.
"Walk away, don't find me, don't find James..." The static voice was followed by a shriek.
"It's here...." Zach said before cursing
"West, listen whatever happened go back, when you hear my voice, run, there's no one here...."
The call ended and West could only stare at the phone number in shock.