After last night's terrifying incident, no one woke up with energy. The air was heavy, their minds weighed down by unease.
Everyone silently gathered for breakfast.
"Damn that creature… because of it, we're stuck with just bread again today," muttered Professor Charles Dickens.
"If Edward did see that animal, then it has to be real. Otherwise, where the hell did the leftover boar meat go?"
Francis replied, his tone skeptical.
"I'm not saying he lied, Professor. But maybe what Edward saw wasn't some horrific beast. It was probably just a wild dog or something. He got spooked and his fear turned it into a monster."
Daniel leaned in, speaking softly to Francis.
"Lower your voice. If Edward hears that, it'll turn into a whole new problem. He didn't even come for breakfast today after everything that happened last night."
Francis nodded slightly and fell silent.
Daniel looked around at the rest of the group, then addressed them all.
"Some of us have to head back into the jungle today. We need to hunt something. That damned creature ruined our stash we lost all the leftover boar meat. That was at least one day's food gone. So we don't have time to waste."
"As soon as we finish eating, we move out."
Once breakfast was over, Daniel and five others picked up their makeshift weapons and headed into the dense jungle—hoping to hunt and maybe, just maybe, find clean drinking water.
Time: 10:15 AM
Inside his tent, Barry was busy cleaning his piano.
He paused suddenly he had the feeling that someone was outside.
A moment later, Charlie stepped in.
"Barry, are you busy right now?"
"What is it? Tell me, Charlie."
"You remember yesterday, when a group of us went into the forest to catch the boar? On the way back, we saw something. Honestly, it was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen in my life.
It was a huge waterfall.
I have this wish… to see it again, just once. But I'm a little scared to go alone. Would you come with me?"
Charlie's eyes lit up as he expressed his wish.
"Why not? Let's just go.
Nothing much is happening here anyway.
Just the two of us, right?"
"Actually… we need two more people. Come on, let's find someone."
They first went to meet Harry.
After sharing their plan, Harry agreed immediately, without hesitation.
But someone else was listening to their conversation from behind a tree
It was Max, the little girl.
The fourth person they decided to invite was Edward.
Just as the four of them were about to leave, Max stepped out and asked:
"Where are all four of you going?"
Charlie smiled sheepishly.
"Nowhere special… we're just heading into the forest for a little walk."
"I know you're going to see the waterfall," Max said, grinning. "I heard everything while hiding."
The four froze for a second caught.
Charlie approached her and spoke gently.
"Sweetie, please don't tell anyone, alright?
We'll be back very soon. Promise?"
Once Max gave her silent nod of understanding, the four of them turned and headed into the jungle, toward the waterfall.
Leading the group, once again, was Charlie walking confidently ahead.
.....
Daniel and the others, who had gone into the forest in search of food, had so far failed to catch anything.
"If we don't find something to eat soon, this island itself will become our grave,"
Daniel said grimly to the rest of the group.
"Come on, Daniel. What's the use in saying that now? We've already set up traps to catch boar. We're bound to get something,"
Francis replied with hopeful confidence.
Thankfully, Francis's hope wasn't misplaced.
They finally managed to catch something for the night
But it wasn't a boar as they'd hoped.
It was a rabbit.
They cleaned the rabbit and slung it over their shoulder, then decided to head deeper into the forest to see if they could find anything more.
Meanwhile, Charlie and his group—who had set out to see the waterfall had made it deep into the jungle.
Exhausted from all the walking, the four of them settled down under a large tree.
"Let's rest for a bit before we continue,"
said Edward, weary from the hike.
At that moment, the forest echoed with its own natural sounds leaves rustling, birds calling.
Then, Harry began telling a story from his life.
The other three listened in silence as he spoke.
When Harry finished, he added one more thing:
"I didn't decide to go to New York just to study.
Life itself is a great test. And I want to pass that test… even if I have to do it alone."
Hearing Harry's words, the rest of the group felt a newfound respect for him.
Once they were rested, the four resumed their journey.
Finally, they arrived at the waterfall.
The moment their eyes met the shimmering cascade, they were mesmerized.
The warm water, the tenderness of nature it was enough to fill their hearts with joy in mere seconds.
They swam in the falls, they played, they laughed…
Completely forgetting the passage of time.
By the time they finished, it was already evening.
They began preparing to return to the shore.
But the joy of those beautiful moments was about to be replaced…
By the creeping presence of terror.
As they slowly began walking back toward the shore, a terrifying sound echoed from behind.
They stopped walking and slowly turned toward where the sound had come from
But they couldn't see anything.
All four of them thought,
"Maybe we just imagined it."
But how could all four of them imagine the same thing?
That doubt led them right back into the valley of fear.
From deep within the forest, they heard the sound again.
A low, echoing howl.
It became clear
It was the howl of some massive, monstrous wild dog.
As they looked ahead, a shadowy creature appeared in front of them.
It had a large, hulking body
Half human, half beast.
The creature had glowing red eyes and razor-sharp teeth that pushed the group into sheer terror.
Charlie screamed loudly when he saw it.
Although frightened, Edward quickly crawled into a hole in the tree.
Seeing him, the remaining three followed, pulling themselves up after him.
"There was barely enough space in the hollow for just three people to sit."
The beast lunged at them, clawing, growling it wasn't going to let them escape easily.
It was clear the creature wouldn't give up.
Suddenly, Edward shoved Harry who had been right in front of him off the tree.
Harry's screams echoed from the ground below.
From between the gaps in the branches, the three atop the tree stared in horror as the beast pounced on Harry
And began to tear him apart.
After a while, the three of them listened closely.
There was no sound of the beast.
No sound of Harry either.
But even then, none of the three dared climb down from the tree.
Barry, his voice filled with anger, turned to Edward.
"What the hell did you do? Why did you push him?"
Edward replied quickly.
"There was no other way. I was sure that beast wouldn't leave without someone…
That's why I did it to save you both. Please, don't get me wrong."
Barry clenched his jaw.
"And what are we going to tell the others?"
Edward calmly responded.
"Just say what I tell you. That's enough."
He then explained a version of the story to the other two—a version they could share when they got back to the shore.
Charlie, meanwhile, was overwhelmed with guilt.
His heart sank with the thought:
"I should have done something. I'm no better than him."
None of them dared to climb down from the hollow.
Time kept passing.
The evening crept in, and by then, it was past 6 PM.
All three of their stomachs growled loudly.
Edward reached into his pocket and pulled out the two stolen pieces of meat from the day before.
They quickly gathered dry twigs and bits of bark from within the tree.
Huddled inside the tree's hollow, the three of them managed to light a small fire.
They roasted the meat quietly.
That tiny bit of pork brought some momentary comfort to their empty stomachs.
But the night was only growing darker.
The wind picked up, howling through the trees
And the cold turned more brutal with every gust.
To be continued....