Lavelle had just realized an odd thing had happened to her when Daniela had placed a large plate of turkey and a large bowl of fruit salad in front of her. Lavelle was shocked and suddenly fled to the toilet near the kitchen, half moaning, half dying.
"What's wrong with you, Lavelle?" Daniela asked, a little surprised by her friend's behavior.
Lavelle did not answer. Three minutes later, Lavelle came out of the bathroom with a sigh of comfort. But Lavelle got a bizarre look from Daniela, who was waiting for her on one of the dining table chairs.
"Why are we here all of a sudden? And also, why are you looking at me like that?" asked Lavelle.
"Gosh, what the fuckin' happened to you, Lavelle? Wasn't it you who insisted you wanted to go home first because you were hungry?" Daniela asked, a little surprised.
"I don't remember at all, "replied Lavelle.
"Don't make me more confused. I'm so tired of walking and half running because of you, Lavelle!" snapped Daniela.
"I really don't remember anything, Daniela." Lavelle avoided Daniela and then went off to glance out the cabin's windows.
"You do not make me furious. Obviously, had you asked me to run a little faster because you are hungry and want to eat turkey," said Daniela.
"I feel a little dizzy, and I don't know. I feel really confused," Lavella said later.
"Alright, I think this is all a result of forgetting to take the medicine. I also forgot to remind you to take your medicine. I'll get you some medicine, wait here," said Daniela later.
Before Daniela could walk upstairs to get Lavelle's medicine, Mark came with Shotaro with some plastic bags of groceries and some items that might be important to stock up during their stay in the forest, such as Swiss army knives, Swedish army lighters, thermal blankets, filter water straws, high-calorie rations, a first aid kit, and several ten-centimeter adventurous flashlights.
"Oh my god, you guys brought a lot of equipment. How did you manage to carry this with just the ramshackle bikes you got from the hospital?" asked Daniela in surprise.
"I just happened to buy an offroad car, and I took it, and we left the ramshackle bikes on the road," Shotaro answered Daniela's confusion very clearly.
By the way, Shotaro is Mark's cousin, who is almost the same age as Mark himself. He is a teenager who looks so wealthy because he can buy anything without waiting long. Maybe even that is what makes him often smacked by some bad boys and rioters on campus. He is a slightly shy, kind, and always smiling teenage boy.
"Are you serious?" Daniela asked for a second time.
"Yeah, we just stopped it out front," Mark said later.
"Well, you can store it in the cabin garage. And we can use it at crucial times. That could happen suddenly." Daniela shrugged her shoulders and then went up to go upstairs to get Lavelle's medicine.
"Right. I'll take it in," added Mark, "Wow, where did you get that turkey?"
"It smells so delicious. Can we taste it?" Shotaro asked then.
"Of course, I made that turkey dish too, because I had to. Please wash your hands and eat them. I'll get the medicine for Lavelle first," Daniela said then.
Mark and Shotaro nodded, then they rushed to arrange their groceries on the kitchen set's shelves and store some food ingredients in the form of meat and fruit in the refrigerator so they wouldn't go stale. Meanwhile, they will store the equipment upstairs just in case. After the two of them had finished arranging their things, they washed their hands with a bit of a typical joke. Every now and then, they saw Lavelle pensive at the dining table with her hands resting on her head.
Daniela has been on the top floor for almost three minutes now. She is walking down the stairs at a slow pace while reading a label attached to the brown medicine bottle. Then Daniela approached Lavelle and handed over the two red and white pills. Lavelle was still pensive while holding her head.
"Drink the medicine immediately, don't overthink. That's what makes you fantasize and behave strangely like that," said Daniela.
Mark approached them slowly. "By the way, what happened? Why do you guys look so weird like that? Did something terrible happen to Lavelle?"
Daniela couldn't help but sigh and shrug her shoulders, not knowing how to explain it. "I don't know, Mark. We went into the forest to look for wood that we would use as fuel for the fireplace. However, after we got into the forest, Lavelle acted strangely after saying that she wanted to pee in the bush. And after that, we rushed back to the cabin because she wanted turkey and fruit salad."
Mark was stunned for a moment, then spoke up, "What's going on? Is wanting such a significant dish an oddity?"
"It's not strange. However, what if you realized that when she got to this cabin, Lavelle said she didn't remember everything? Isn't this crazy? In fact, I just put the dish in front of her, and she immediately ran to the bathroom." Daniel pressed.
"Oh my gosh ... then you think that a ghost is terrorizing Lavelle?" Shotaro asked.
"This feels very strange," said Lavelle, "I can't remember what we did when we just entered that forest. I'm not kidding, and I don't remember it at all."
Mark scratched his nape softly. "Well, let's think a little optimistically. Let's assume that the Bipolar medicine that Lavelle is taking does make the user a little bizarre, and it's easy to forget what happened. Extreme mood swings often occur when a person's mental illness is severe. I don't know, I just thought it was the effect of the pill."
"I don't understand but, I don't think the medicine she's taking has that effect." Daniela folded her arms across her chest with a puzzled face. A moment later, she showed the chair dining table so that Mark and Shotaro immediately sat there.
***
"Doesn't that sound so crazy? I don't want to believe such news. However, some people who have clearly seen the creature have clarified that this forest is really haunted and may indeed have an unsolvable mystery. However, some people or climbers have also clarified that they have come across a handsome man in branded clothes walking or riding around this forest," Shotaro spoke at length as they relaxed in the backyard of the cabin decorated with pools of warm water.
"Did you read the news from any site? Has it been the news? Or just bullshit?" asked Daniela as she poured a glass of wine.
" I only read the news from some well-known sites. Some of our friends also brought this news to the discussion group, and you know that Ms. Smith was nagging us for discussing unimportant things in the discussion group. But she also told us not to go to that forest if we wanted to have a good future," Shotaro replied.
"If Ms. Smith is nagging them, it means that this news could be the truth," Daniela said later.
Mark sighed, then took a piece of watermelon from a plate that was almost empty because Mark himself ate the watermelon from the beginning. "Do you believe the rumors?"
"I don't know. What's clear between believing and not believing? We have to stay attentive, right? This is a forest that has not even been touched by anyone's hand, lest we let our guard down, and suddenly there is a psychopath who becomes a rioter on our vacation this time," Shotaro shrugged his shoulders briefly, then took a sip of his drink.
"Yes, that's true. Of course, we must not be sloppy in the forest," said Mark. "After all, I heard not far from here there is also a new campsite."
"I can't believe someone said that there's a vampire or something that's the same category as vampires in a forest like this. It would make more sense if psychopaths were in a forest like this," Lavelle said later.
The three of them immediately stared intently at Lavelle. Because Lavelle was just busy playing with her cellphone all this time, and they thought that Lavelle wasn't listening to their conversation.
"Why do you say that, Lavelle? Don't scare me, and it's almost night, you idiot," Daniela asked in surprise.
"That's my guess, because vampires don't exist. Think about it a little bit to make sense, and it's the 21st century. There aren't any vampires in real life." Lavelle confirmed.
Mark sighed then spoke up, "I even felt an oddity when I went to pick up Shotaro."
Lavelle chuckled, "Then?"
"I saw a black shadow passing in front of me, and the growl was enough to make my neck bristle abysmally with goosebumps, "said Mark.
"Gosh, maybe it was just your hallucination because you were still sleepy." Lavelle spoke up.
"I'm serious. For the sake of whatever I'm serious about, it was when I left to pick up Shotaro I saw a black shadow and heard a growl." Mark insisted on explaining it.
"Or maybe it's your fart sound," Lavelle said again.
"Gosh, what do you mean talking like that?" asked Mark, a little emotionally.
"Don't dodge, Mark. Because you often release your poison fart when you're in an uncomfortable situation. And you don't realize it,"Lavella said scornfully.
"Should we talk about this too? I think it is normal for living things to do fart," said Daniela, " What we discussed were some odd things about the forest across there."
Lavella let out a long sigh, looking tired of their discussion which was a little nonsensical, then she said, "It's already 2021, do you still believe in hoax news like that? Get up, there are many things to take care of apart from trash news like that."
"So what if it's 2021? Who knows the news is the true reality? You also do not know the truth," protested Shotaro.
"Yes, at first I didn't want to believe the rumors either. But, after I also felt strange, I started looking a little bit for information about this forest, "added Mark.
"Why? What do you know about this forest?" asked Daniela.
Mark took a slice of watermelon on a plate in front of him before saying, "Some people are saying that in the woods across the lake is a place that is owned by another world. Some say there are groups of shifters or vampires with bright lime green eyes, some say there are vampires and dracula who are ready to suck the blood of anyone who dares to enter their area."
"What the hell?" Lavelle laughed.
"Lavelle, please respect someone who is talking. That's not polite," Daniela pressed.
"Damn it politely or not, the news is so nonsense to me," said Lavella.
"Whether you want to believe it or not, you should be able to appreciate Mark who is talking. You are an adult, not a child anymore," said Daniela.
"What should I care about? After all, we are the same age," grumbled Lavella then.
"But should- "
GUBRAK!
A voice that was quite loud cut their conversation at once. They were shocked and immediately looked outside, witnessing what was happening. A fairly large squirrel fell lying blood-splattered on the porch of their cabin. It was very odd because they didn't see any trees near their cabin, except for a few poles that supported the electric cables.
"Where did the squirrel come from?" Mark asked softly.
"I can't answer it, because we both don't know the answer," said Daniela.
"Why don't we check it out? Who knows, that squirrel does have a nest on the ceiling," said Shotaro, trying to restore the tense atmosphere between the four of them.
"Not. Do not be sloppy, we are here. I'm afraid that it is the doing of evil people," said Daniela.
"What? How is it possible?" continued Lavella.
"This is in the forest, around the cabin there are also no trees. The squirrels can't get there," said Daniela. "We'd better lock the door now and go upstairs."