The bubbly friend held me on both shoulders. "How did you do that?"
I scratched my head. "The what?"
The two leaders approached me. "What happened? How did you end the monster?" the leader with eyeglasses asked.
"How?!" the chubby leader added.
I calmed them all down first. "Well, first, I wondered why we were attacked tonight. Second, the monster looked like a hybrid of a dog and a cat. Third, it had worms in its stomach. Fourth, why didn't it attack us all when we got close to the river?"
"And then?" the bubbly girl persistently queried.
"The answer is that the monster is afraid of water and salt."
"Huh?!" they questioned me in harmony.
"Animals are more vigilant at night compared to humans, this secures a probable win for the monster. Its face is a combination of dog and cat. Aren't most dogs and cats afraid of water? We managed to pierce its body through its stomach. The stomach with worms in it dies when you pour salt on it. There's a possibility that it might not die completely but the effect is painful. The proof of that was why it didn't attack us right away when we were near the river because it was afraid of it." I gazed into the river while I continued explaining my theory to them.
"Actually, this river is not an ordinary form of water. Its water is too salty, confirming it is very dense, so we were able to stay afloat even if it was too shallow with a depth of a little higher than our knees. And because the monster was afraid of water and salt, I splashed its wounded stomach with worms inside with salt water from the river."
I hope they got my explanation. In winning this first game or challenge that the hologram gave us, the answer to this victory is not purely of strength but also a battle of wit. I made them confused earlier when I threw water on the monster's stomach using an empty coconut shell lying on the ground I just got somewhere. Gladly, there were nearby coconut trees near the river.
"Aha!" a blonde funny boy exclaimed. "That's why when I went there with a wounded ankle, it hurt like hell!"
But the mystery does not end here. I looked out at the quiet river behind us. The mystery is why the river is too shallow and why our clothes and hair have become waterproof before.
"Ugh," someone tapped my shoulder and took me back to my senses. "Kyah! You're now my idol!" It's my bubbly friend.
"Thank you for saving us," The modest girl beamed.
The leaders tapped me on the shoulder and smiled. The others also thanked me. I don't know how to handle their compliments, but what matters is we're safe.
"It's better that we go back to our huts. The monster didn't damage it too much, so we can still sleep there," the chubby leader announced.
The others left immediately, while some left a trace of trauma on their faces. I did not expect my classmate to approach me. Wait, am I really the one he is approaching? I checked if someone was behind me but yup, I'm alone.
He stood right next to me and brought his mouth close to my ear.
"Well done," he whispered with a subtle smile then walked away.
That made me smile. Something took over the weight of my burden when I heard his voice of gratitude. Ever since we landed in space, we haven't said a word to each other. I wish I could talk to him more because there are so many questions bothering me. I don't think we spent a full 24 hours here yet, so I still have a lot of time to approach him soon.
"Ayiiee," the nerve of this bubbly girl as she teases me.
"You and that guy, huh." It seems that the modest girl has been influenced. I ignored them.
"Hurry up, three of you! Don't get lost with the group!" the chubby leader shouted so we immediately ran.
I stopped when I was about to leave the mysterious river. I took a fairly large rock and threw it into the river.
*tchg*
I wasn't too surprised by what I heard. A sound of a rock falling into the water and a sound of a rock hitting a metal. I smirked.
"Come on!" the two of them called out to me.
***
I was so tired that I didn't realize that we had fallen asleep here in the forest. And since some of our huts got destroyed and left unfinished, we just took a banana leaf and made a sleeping mat out of it. There was a bonfire in the middle, so it wasn't too cold. Boys and girls are also mixed in their sleep. It was a challenging start for all of us.
It's now morning. Fresh air feels good. Others are still asleep from the traces of fear and fatigue we experienced last night. The only beautiful and positive thing I see now is the picturesque view of this place. My tiredness seemed to go away even for a moment. The atmosphere today is different from the tension that prevailed last night. Too much happened yesterday that I don't want to go back to. I don't have any idea what time it is because I don't have a clock. I think it's about 7:00 am - 9:00 am. I would have stood up when I felt as if someone held my body. The two hugged me tightly and made me a body pillow. I slowly removed their hands and legs from my body, but they tightened their grip even more. After a few minutes, the escape was finally over. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was about to look for a place where there was clean water to wash my dirty face when I remembered the unsolved mystery of the river.
I immediately ran to the river barefoot. When I arrived, I was shocked and amazed at what I saw. My eyes widened as I looked at it. I was right. I wasn't mistaken in my suspicion last night. Mystery shrouds this river. But even so, I also can't believe that my deduction is correct. I thought I was just imagining it but here I am now, seeing with my eyes. In front of me is a castle-like infrastructure.
Yes, impossible, but we are on the nth planet. It's enormous that you'll think you're in a fantasy land in an amusement park. The only difference is that unlike the colorful castles for princes and princesses we have on Earth and in fantasy books, this one is filled with terror. It is almost covered with dark steel with a triangular top and the rest is pure gray color. It's like a haunted version of an ideal princess castle.
Last night, I threw a rock into the river to see if I could hear the strange sound and I'm not mistaken. Since metal-like was the sound I heard last night and not concrete or wood material, this castle is made of an unspecified type of metal but most likely steel. It is huge and wide in scope. It seems to be floating on the surface of the shallow river, but the truth of the matter is that this castle has long been submerged under this river and hiding. It is like an underground plant that grew overnight underwater.
"Hey"
I gasped when I heard a boy's voice. I turned around and my classmate called me.
"What is..." Instead of looking at me, he focused his attention on the mysterious castle in front of us.