Where do I begin.
The first day, everything was fine.
It was time for dr. Sinclair to leave. We said our temporary goodbyes, as she would return back in a few weeks for our check upand will bring more medical supplies. To make sure she's returned safely, we had Joseph escort her back. He would return in a few days after with more food supplies.
So we began our journey to venture further in search of a new campsite. On our way, we discovered a cave. We explored deeper and found out it's an iron ore deposit. We noted this place as a potential campsite and went on our way.
The next day we continued our search, when it started to rain. It was just a light drizzle, but we couldn't be sure if it wouldn't get stronger, so we decided to turn back.
What we didn't know then was that the rain came from our campsite, so it started to pour heavily, which makes our movement slightly sloppy as to avoid slip. Combined with the mist, the visibility was also low.
While we were slowly moving back to camp, I noticed a pair of eyes looking at us, specifically, me.
I didn't mention it before because of all the excitements, but I've been feeling like we, or I, were being watched. I ignored it because I've always felt like that ever since I was child whenever I ventured into the woods around my neighborhood, but nothing ever came out of it, so I got used to it.
This time, I saw it clearly.
They were golden in color. They looked awfully lot like a jaguar's eyes, but they shone, unnaturally. This was the first time I felt fear while looking at, what I presume to be, an animal's eyes. I mustered up the courage to try and warm the others, when I heard screaming.
It was Michizuka-san. She was bitten by a snake. It slithered away before we could identify it.
Mr. Jones told us to hurry back to camp for immediate treatment and to try and call for back up, when I looked back at where the pair of eyes had been.
It's gone. I felt dread on every fiber of my being.
I explained to the others of what I saw, and their faces went pale. We stood there for a while on high alert as we did not know what to do, when Dr. Higgs told us that he saw the cave we explored just yesterday, and to take shelter there for a while. We unanimously agreed.
And that's where we are right now.
Well, three of us.
Immediately after we reached the cave, Mr. Jones said he would return back alone to camp and would be back with the medicines.
I objected, telling him how I felt when I saw those pair of eyes. He reassured me, that among all four of us right now, he was the only one with experience fending off predators. Michizuka-san should also be one, but she's incapacitated right now. That leaves him on the short end of the stick.
I still didn't feel good about it, but I knew he was right. He gave me the most sincere smile he can give and said to believe in him. He then gave me his wedding ring, as reassurance he would return, because his wife would kill him if he loses his ring.
I couldn't help but smile and agreed. So he went, but not without leaving a gun to Dr. Higgs, just in case the jaguar barges in the cave.
That was a few hours ago.
It has now gone dark. The mist is still thick, and the rain has not let up even slightly. Michizuka-san is stable with the first aid we gave her, but it still doesn't look good.
She reassured us, that the fact she wasn't dead by now is because the snake was not that deadly. She assumed it was a pit viper; she must've stepped on it and it bit back in self defense. I told her it's no time for jokes, but she is the expert in this field, so I'll defer to her knowledge on this.
Still, any venom bites left untreated is never good. And I feel responsible for this. If I had told them about the times I felt we were being watched, we could've, at the very teast, set up proper countermeasures in the case of a jaguar attack. But now, not only are we stranded in a cave in the middle of nowhere, we have someone wounded off of a snake bite, and the jaguar that is stalking us. I can feel its gaze still, in the opening of the cave.
Im scared. Im scared Im gonna dIe. but (scratch marks)
This Is the least I could do
im sorry aki-kun im so so sorry
(wet stains)