User blog:Tesla Man/WikiLost - E18 - All Good Things

Welcome back! Last episode was pretty boring not gonna lie, but if you would like to catch up on it or any of the other episodes from the series, check out my recap page for summaries of each episode. This episode will be leading up so something I thought was very interesting that will come in the following episodes, make sure to read it. So, let's get started!

They waded through the jungle, hacking away at branches and roots that covered the path they were taking. They hopped over small streams and ducked under long branches, weaving in between trunks and bushes. They kept their footsteps silent, slipping over frail leaves and skinny twigs that laid scattered throughout the rough brown dirt that coated the jungle. Their breathing was silent as to not alert any pigs they encountered.

Nick kept the long hair and slicked it back, his black strands fell down his neck. He also kept the beard which had been growing since they crashed, keeping it long and rough but trimming it when it got out of hand. He kept up with the appearance of Jesus, but whenever somebody mentioned it he called it blasphemy. He was sweating, but the rush of wind down the mountain that was only a half mile away kept him cool as he underwent the overbearing heat and humidity of the temperate jungle. He was wearing jeans, their rough fabric rubbed his leg and twisted around making him uncomfortable and his shirt was drenched in sweat. He carried the spear in his hand, tightly clenched in a fist as to not lose it or get it caught on something in the jungle. He held it overhand, he found better use of it wielding it like a javelin, though he never used one before.

Barry was scratching each tree they walked past with a horizontal line as to keep track of where they were headed. It had become custom to do so when travelling out of Database, and it also served as a template of where to place roads when it came to it. He did it quietly to not alert any pigs, but enough to make a thick, inch wide half-foot long mark in the dark palm trunk.

They had considered once painting hundreds of rocks red with berry juice and dropping them to keep track which was certainly more visible and eye-catching than the light brown marks in the trees, but when rain came at night, they would get buried in the mud or washed away by a stream.

“I’ve been talking to Max recently.” Nick whispered. The pigs were found deeper into the jungle, they were too close to camp to be expecting any pigs but Barry liked to keep an open mind but didn’t mind some small conversation until they got to the hunting grounds. “About the lightning that struck him that night. I keep telling him it’s a gift from God, but he hasn’t been listening.”

“Not everybody’s a devout like you Nick.” Barry reminded him like he always did.

“I know I know, but you can’t help but wonder what happened that night, right? I mean, I’ve been watching Jason as of recent and he’s been keeping a close eye on Max. You think he’s trying to figure out what it was so he can… you know… get out of the chair?”

“It’s possible.” Barry swung his spear, cutting a gash into the palm trunk.

“How come we never question what happened that night? Why did we just shrug off a lightning bolt with healing powers?”

Barry paused. “look” he whispered.

Past the tree line was a pig, it was trotting through the jungle alone, making soft squealing noises- a call for distress. Nick and Barry crouched down behind a bush and peered over, viewing the pig dash off into the jungle, and the two followed.

They ran, not caring too much about noise as long as they kept their eye on the pig and where it was headed, but soon after about ten minutes they lost it. They were now alone in the jungle and lost, focusing too much on the pig made Barry forget to mark his path, and they were at least a mile away from camp without instruction on how to get back.

The sun was setting and small drops of rain fell from the sky and bounced off tree leaves, landing on the ground. The orange light from the sunset reflected off the trunks and bounced around the forest, creating a beautiful display of orange, red, and yellow color.

“We need to get back.” Barry said, alluding to the camp rule of nobody out past sundown.

“But we didn’t find the pig’s home yet.” Nick included.

“We’ll try again tomorrow, but it’ll take us at least a half hour to try and find where we stopped marking the trees, then another hour to get back to camp.” Barry turned around and twirled his spear in his hand.

“If the disease is as bad as we say it is, I’m not going to stand back and let it infect more people just because it got a little dark outside.” Nick grew serious about his stance.

Barry sighed. “We don’t even have torches.” Trying to counter his statement.

“Good.” A woman said faintly through the jungle.

The ground filled with the infamous gray smoke and rose up their body. They spun around, trying to find where the voice came from and soon enough, their ears were engulfed by the sound of large dogs barking and leaping on top of them, their massive teeth reached for their flesh but Nick and Barry did a well enough job of keeping them off, until a man came up behind them and knocked them unconscious.