It had been an hour. An hour since he saw the city-like structure far ahead of him. He wondered what that place was, but he was terrified of going there. Since he had terrible encounters within the first twenty minutes of waking up here, he was suspicious about everyone and everywhere. But he didn't want to stay sulking here in the middle of a forest, and decided that the best place to go, would be the city.
He tried going the same way Melissa and Lin had gone to. But he didn't have any tracking skills, so he was just barely trying to move forward. He had given up halfway, to try and find them. Now, all he did was walk mindlessly in a straight line, ignoring the trees, and dodging them. Fortunately for him, he had light for a while and he had made it pretty deep into the forest. But as the time passed on, the Sun set, and darkness filled the empty space.
According to Max, this must be about 6 PM or 7. And he had no way of verifying it as he didn't have a watch on him.
And the extreme disadvantage of being under the trees, which already made it even more darker, Max began questioning his choice. He had always been like this, doubting his own choices and blaming himself for his stupidity.
Max: You've done it now, Max!! You have finally made it into the darkness, with having no way of going back or walking forward. We are officially lost!!
Max realized that he was talking to himself. He was extremely lonely, and he was used to having annoying, talkative siblings, wherever he went. So, it was weird for him to be all alone now.
Max: Oh come on!!! How much longer should I walk???!!
Max was tired. There was a tree shaped like a person right in front of him.
Max: What are you looking at bro?? You know I am a God right?? Don't mess with me!!
The tree was silent. He was being delusional. The tiredness of it all was finally getting to his head.
Max: Oh man....ya...I'm finally going mad. I stopped talking to myself and upgraded to talking to a tree.
As soon as the leaning Max said that, his stomach began growling. It gave out a huge sound, reminding him that he hadn't eaten at all since he woke up. All those fights, falling from a height, and walking for hours, his hunger had made itself known.
Max was a foodie. He loved eating. Not as much as others, but he always loved food. And now being in the middle of a forest, without anything edible, he was desperate.
Max: Well, this is a forest Max!! Of course there will be trees with fruits. You just need to find them! Dont lose hope!
After consoling himself, Max started moving and trying to find trees that bore fruit. He tried to recognize trees, but he didn't know which ones would have fruits. He couldn't differentiate that well between trees, as he was no expert. Being a normie that he was, he realised that he had no survival skills.
Max: Ah, finally!!
Max saw a tree right in front of him. It had a red fruit, as high as his arm could reach. With one simple jump, , Max plucked the fruit from the branch.
As soon as he landed he looked at the fruit. His stomach growled once more, saying it's ready for the bite.
But as soon as Max went in to bite, he stopped. The fruit was a bit too red than other fruits he had seen throughout the years. He had no way of proving it, but he was unaware if this was poisonous or not. He had seen a ton of films, where one of the characters die because they weren't smart enough to tell apart poisonous fruits and normal ones.
As much as his stomach wanted it, Max couldn't eat it. He didn't trust himself to be able to eat something which could potentially be harmful. Max dropped the fruit in the ground, and kept walking.
After a while, he had forgotten about his hunger, as he was thirsty. He knew there was no way he would find water in the middle of a jungle. And he was sleepy, but since he couldn't lie down in the middle of a forest, which potentially could have wild beasts, he kept walking, cussing at himself.
Max: You know Max, You are stupider than most people. And you had the audacity to call yourself God!!
Max was getting angry, and that's when he heard a noise. It was coming ahead of him, making Max listen closely. He stopped in his tracks and put a palm near his ear, to listen better.
He heard sounds of water droplets. Flowing water. There was water nearby!! Max didn't waste a second. He started running towards it. The more he ran, the more thirstier he got. He then saw, a blue light on the trees, and from the opening in between them, he could see something.
He ran in front of it, and out of the opening, he saw it! There was a huge lake right in front of him. The light was reflected from the full moon right above him. The stars were twinkling in the sky, just like they were in his arm. The shiny blue water, was a sight for sore eyes.
Max immediately bent down and had a sip of the water and after taking a sip, he could tell that it was indeed clean water. He started drinking more by cupping his hands. And as soon as he quenched his thirst, he sat back down, admiring the night sky.
Max: Okay, Max. I've got a question for you. What would happen if we sleep right here??
Since there was no answer, as the recipient of the question was himself, Max answered again.
Max: Well Max, I think that's a stupid but brilliant idea. We have no idea if we will last anyway, if we finish our walking.
Max just immediately lied down, with his arms and legs stretched out, and on his back he looked at the sky. The ground was soft enough for him to be calm.
He tilted his head to the right and noticed something. There was a shadow behind the tree in the distance.
Max immediately got up on his knees, realizing that he was being monitored. He hated his luck. From behind the tree, he saw a man in a full blown suit, hiding behind the tree. He looked at the old man with a huge beard and mustache. He had a monocle on one his eyes, and his hair had become gray with age.
Max: Umm...hello??
Max waved at him, despite being scared. Max knew he was powerful, so an old man didn't scare him. But that old man, who looked like a butler, just went back behind the tree, completely gone from Max's viewpoint.
Max got up on his feet and ran towards the tree and went behind it, to where the man with the monocle stood. But instead, all he saw was the bark of the tree. The old man had vanished!
A chill ran down his spine, as he realised that there were eyes on him, from behind. He turned to look, and he was shocked.
In front of him were several trees. And behind every single one of them was a human being. All half hidden behind them. There were people from all age groups, and gender alike, peeking out.
Little boys, girls teenagers, adults, old men and women, and even the man with the monocle was there.
When Max stepped forward, all of them, as if on cue, went behind their respective trees. Max rushed to the trees and saw behind it, and no one were there.
He turned again to where he stood, but the same scene was in front of him, like before. All these people were half hidden behind the trees, and looking at Max. They had instantly teleported to the opposite side!
Max was ready to fight super powerful opponents. But there was one thing Max hated and feared the most. He was absolutely afraid of ghosts, so much that he hated watching horror movies alone. And now he was in one!!