"Wait... wait a minute, let me rest a bit..."
After Antonio finished speaking, he sat down on the ground, not caring about whether the ground was dirty or not.
People around also found their own places to rest.
They had been walking for five hours, and had rested like this six times. With the erosion of physical strength, the frequency of rest will only increase. This forest seemed endless, no matter how long they walked, they couldn't escape from here.
Matthew complained, the sound coming from his stomach so loud even Colin could hear it. Colin was also very hungry, but there was nothing he could do.
He looked up at the sky, it still hadn't changed at all, dark and oppressive.
Uneasiness was growing, Colin could do nothing but increase his vigilance.
Matthew stood up from his resting spot, walked out to a nearby grove of trees, and casually pulled down his pants, intending to begin the process of releasing liquid waste onto the vegetation.
The remaining people frowned uncomfortably, but Matthew still said it shamelessly.
"What? Why are you looking at me if you feel so disgusting? I already turned away, right?"
"Matthew, there are girls here too."
Colin was forced to speak up and remind him. This was the most subtle reminder he could have attempted.
He couldn't say "even though you turned away, your bare butt was still facing us".
Brad also chimed in.
"That's right, Matthew, you should find somewhere private..."
"I don't care, we're in a freaking forest, and I don't want a monster to come out and kill me when I'm alone."
Matthew respects Colin, but not Brad. He immediately gave a reason that Brad had no way to refute. Matthew is not wrong, safety must come first.
So everyone no longer complains.
Brad was extremely upset, but couldn't do anything to Matthew. He temporarily found a tree and leaned his back against it, his eyes absently looking up. Even though every detail couldn't be seen clearly, the image of a face was still reflected in Brad's pupils.
He was startled and shouted loudly, attracting everyone's attention.
"What's the matter?"
"There's someone up there in the tree, I just saw it!"
Brad pointed above his head, his voice trembling.
Someone looked in the direction Brad was pointing, turned on the flashlight on their phone and shined it on the tree. However, there was no one there like Brad said.
"I swear, I really saw something."
"Then where is that stalker? If that thing ran away, we should have heard it, right?"
Faced with this question, Brad didn't know how to respond. Colin doesn't think Brad is lying. He held the phone with the flashlight on, then started climbing the tree, making Matthew shout worriedly.
"Colin, what are you doing?"
"Check. Brad, show me where you saw that face."
Colin held the flashlight in his mouth, heading towards the location Brad was pointing at.
Before that, he realized that these trees were mostly covered with moss on the wooden surface, creating dark green patches. If something really had been standing in the tree, it would have left a mark.
"Indeed…"
Colin's face became unsightly, he took a photo, then climbed down and showed it to everyone.
In the photo that Colin took. Everyone saw a strange footprint printed on the green moss. The reason why it is called strange is because this footprint is different from normal bare footprints.
"This is the shape of the leg bones."
The person who spoke was a short teenager who was also on the elevator with Colin and Matthew at dinner before the test. He's also the one on bus number seven.
Hearing the teenager's explanation, Colin also gave it a try. The more he looked, the more he saw that this mark resembled a leg bone. A normal person wouldn't be able to make a mark like this, even if that person is so skinny that they're covered in bones.
Everyone standing here can self-aware of what is right and what is wrong, so no one dares to consider what Brad saw as just an illusion.
They are being followed.
This makes everyone worried and look around from time to time. No one wants to continue to sit and rest but continue moving forward.
This time, they walked for a long time, the total time spent walking in the forest reached twelve hours. However, the sky above was still as gloomy as before, without any changes.
"Just stop for a moment."
Colin spoke up. No objections arose.
Everyone was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty.
Everyone wants to find something to eat and drink, but that means having to work alone. When there was a monster quietly watching them, no one dared to take such risks. This whole place is so large and difficult to distinguish directions, once lost, only God can save you.
Brad encouraged everyone.
"We should persevere a little longer, school will definitely not let us die, because this is a test, not something to kill us?"
Colin nodded, Brad was right about this one. But what he didn't notice was that after hearing these words, the short teenager frowned.
"There must be somewhere like a rest stop, or…"
"A house with a chimney?"
"That's right, a house with a chimney… what the hell, Antonio?"
"I'm serious, look at that!"
Antonio pointed forward, where a column of smoke was rising into the air.
There was a moment of silence, followed immediately by clear joy, like a wanderer in the desert finding an oasis.
All seemed to have regained full vitality, quickly moving to the location of the smoke column. Only a few people still maintain a skeptical attitude, because this is really too coincidental.
But because the majority agreed to go to the place where the smoke column was coming from, the rest could only follow.
Soon, they arrived. It was indeed a small wooden house with a chimney. They walked up to the door and knocked on it.
"Excuse me, is there anyone in there?"
"Who's that?"
There was an answer coming from inside the house, making the young people happy.
At the same time, the door was opened from the inside, appearing in front of them was a tall man with a bushy beard.
"Who are you? Why did you come here?"
"Sir, we've been lost and been in this forest all day. Do you know how to get out of here?"
"Unfortunately for everyone, this is the time of year when fog appears. Don't tell me you guys, even I can easily get lost. At this time, even knowing the time is extremely difficult."
"So when will the fog go away?"
"I don't know, normally it takes a month."
Hearing the man's answer, most students appeared extremely panicked. A month in this damn forest?
"Can you help us? We can give you money..."
The man had a hesitant expression on his face, seemingly considering it. After that, he said.
"I can't promise for sure. But you can rest in my house tonight. Tomorrow I will lead you out of the forest."
Everyone thanked him profusely. Right at this moment, the short teenager suddenly asked the man a question.
"Sir, you live here alone?"
"Yes."
The man answered casually, then led everyone into the house.
Colin was still standing in place, his expression very strange.
"What are you doing standing there, man? Can't you see everyone's waiting for you?"
Matthew tugged on Colin's hand. Only then did he realize that the big man was still observing. So Colin didn't resist Matthew's pull anymore and honestly went inside the house.
The house is not very big, there are only two rooms, the kitchen and one large room. When nine people showed up, the place immediately became crowded.
But no one complained about this, because they were already too tired.
"You guys just rest, I'll stew some food."
The man went into the kitchen, gradually, there was a fragrant smell rising from inside. Everyone can't control their stomach and let it growl.
Matthew now moved closer to the only two girls in the group, starting to flirt with them. Regardless of Colin signaling to him.
Just when Colin wanted to call Matthew back, the short teenager suddenly signaled Colin.
"Go outside, we need to talk."
Colin did not refuse, quietly walked outside the house with the teenager.
"Why are you looking for me?"
"You must have realized something, right?'
Colin's facial expression changed, he nodded.
The teenager also nodded, then he spoke.
"I think we can cooperate. I also have my own discovery."
Colin didn't show anything, but silence was also a kind of attitude.
"How do you know I discovered something?"
"Your expression, it's different from everyone else. Everyone else is happy, only you are not happy. I even saw your hands were shaking."
"So I guess you must already know something."
Colin was amazed at the teenager's observational abilities. He nodded.
"That's right, the thing that just invited us inside… is not human."