A DAY EARLIER
For Umezaki, Yoshihito and Hisaki, the hunt for the rumored treasure started badly, and only went worse from there.
It all began when their fourth buddy suddenly dropped out of the entire plan, saying only that "This isn't worth the risk and effort. I better stay at home." The group spent several days trying to find someone to take his spot, but ended up empty-handed and forced to go on their own.
The trio set out towards the cliff where the abandoned lighthouse hid—or should be hiding. It wasn't on maps, and the surrounding forest made it impossible to see from the shore until you got past the trees.
The road turned from asphalt to dirt as soon as their car turned into the forest until eventually turning into a narrow path. There was no way their car would get any further.
"Fuck," Umezaki said, violently forcing the car door open and leaving the driver's seat. "Then we walk the rest of the way on foot. Is it far, Yoshihito?"
The nerdy-looking man fixed his glasses and checked the map. "About four kilometers, Umezaki-san."
"I hope there aren't any wolves or bears in here," Hisaki muttered, following the rest of his team out of the car.
They didn't see any predators as they walked, except for numerous mosquitoes, which eagerly sucked on everyone's blood. The forest in the morning was sunny, and the fresh breeze brought smells of grass and sea.
The trio relaxed, and it was when Yoshihito stepped into a bear trap that was hidden under leaves.
The steel teeth closed with a clang that drowned out the crunch of broken bone. Yoshihito screamed wordlessly as his companions panicked nearby, unsure what to do.
Finally, Umezaki opened the trap's jaws with a crowbar brought to break into treasure chests. As soon as his leg was free, Yoshihito let out one last whimper and fell unconscious.
"Who left that thing here?! It's a bear trap—does that mean there are bears here, after all?!"
"Shut up, Hisaki! Get me the first aid kit, we must stop the bleeding!"
The tourniquet and a bandage helped, but even with an improvised from a branch crutch, Umezaki had to help Yoshihito walk.
They decided to stop on the nearest glade, eat something, and try making Yoshihito a splint. Most of the forest was too dense to sit down properly, with lots of underbrush, but Hisaki spotted a small grassy glade near.
Umezaki made two steps into it when he noticed his legs being sucked in. The grass growing on the surface hid a deep bog beneath, and it was sucking Umezaki in.
"Son of a bitch! Stop standing the fuck around, help me! Can't you see that I'm sucked in?!" Umezaki shouted. "Throw me a rope or something!"
Hisaki quickly did just that, but he was too scrawny to pull out Umezaki, who was much taller and more muscular. After almost falling into the bog himself, he tied the rope to a nearby tree.
"Why would a bog be here?" Yoshihito asked when Umezaki pulled himself out. "This makes no sense."
"Who the fuck cares?!" Umezaki shouted, shaking dirt off his clothes. He was only sucked to his waist, but was dirty all over. "This place is cursed, just like people said!"
He let out his anger by kicking the nearest tree hard enough that its lowest branches swayed a little.
Something buzzed ominously.
"Umezaki-san!" Hisaki screamed. "Look at that tree! That thing up there—"
"A hornet nest?! F-fuck! Run! Hisaki, help me carry Yoshihito!"
The angered hornets flew after the treasure hunters. Maybe Umezaki alone could've outrun them, but the trio moved with the speed of the slowest person.
Eventually, they got far enough away that the hornets returned to their nests—but not without getting several bites each. And if they knew where they were in the forest until now, after this mad chase, they were definitely lost.
The only lucky part of this was that they ended near a place suitable for a small camp. They ate and drank what they had with them, but rest didn't come.
"We should go back. This was a bad idea from the start," Yoshihito said.
"N-no! We must get that treasure, or I will be in such trouble... You don't even imagine how much trouble! I will be dead, worse than dead!" Hisaki shuddered. "Go back alone, if you must. You are useless now, anyway!"
"And how should I do THAT? My leg is broken! Ugh, it hurts so much…"
"We will get back to the car, then maybe… we can come back later," Umezaki said. "The treasure doesn't have legs to run away with!"
After that break, the group tried to retrace their steps and return. Taught by their previous experiences, they carefully surveyed the forest for dangers.
But no matter how they tried, they couldn't find the way. Every tree looked the same, and their leaves almost blocked out the sun.
The group walked for the entire day and found nothing. Yoshihito felt worse and worse by an hour, growing both pale and sweaty, until he turned completely feverish.
Umezaki had to command the group to make camp. He went into the twilight forest to gather some dry twigs for the fire.
Despite the last several hours being calm, Umezaki couldn't relax. The growing shadows turned even innocent shapes into terrible monsters, and the man was so focused on them that he didn't notice the actual danger.
The dry branch he was about to pick up suddenly coiled and bit him. It wasn't a branch, but a snake, which immediately retreated to the grass.
Feeling weak in his knees, Umezaki dropped his brushwood, clutched the hand on which were twin holes of the snakebite, and ran back to the camp.
They made a tourniquet, sucked out the poison, and gave Umezaki some activated carbon tablets because "That's the only thing in the first aid kit that fits, Umezaki-san!".
After that, there was nothing left to do but to pray and watch how the bite turned swollen and purplish despite all the efforts; how Umezaki grew feverish and fell unconscious next to Yoshihito, whose wound was definitely infected by now.
Hisaki was left alone, and he was scared out of his mind.
In the darkness of the night, he hugged his knees and shook as silent tears fell out of his wide-open eyes.