LAND NAVIGATION

SHARI smiled when she clutched the direction compass allotted for their group. Their company was divided into five groups because today was the schedule for their land navigation. Each group had two compasses. They had different places to jump off with one endpoint.

After Levi had caught them violating the rules the other day, Shari behaved well after the incident. And now, she wanted to show off her navigation skills.

"Let's do this!" Shari could not contain her excitement. All of them wore their green camo uniform.

She was confidently reading the compass while Pamela stood beside her in full support. They were six in their group, walking simultaneously. Too bad Bartolome was in their group, and he held the second compass.

They were in the mountain quietly following its direction. On the other side, Shari silently wondered about their compass's different results. To avoid creating confusion among the group, she followed Bartolome even against her will.

"This place is creepy," said Ruiz, one of their group mates. His eyes were busy checking the area since there was no visible trail they could follow. Indeed, they were in the middle of nowhere. They couldn't even see the sun in the sky because of the colossal trees around them.

"Let's follow the protocol of the land navigation, and we'll survive this. The higher officials won't put our lives in danger, " Pamela said.

Shari grabbed Pamela's arm and let her see the different readings of her compass. She whispered to her buddy.

"Look, our compass is pointing in a different direction. I'm starting to doubt Bartolome. I think we're lost!" She could not stand Bartolome's haughty attitude.

Pamela peeked at the compass, and her eyes widened. "You're right! Let's tell the group."

Shari's brow raised as she waited when Pamela announced the huge discrepancy in the compass reading. And just as they expected, Bartolome insisted he was right.

In the end, Shari and Pamela decided to follow the reading of their own compass. The group did not like the idea, but Shari had already made her decision.

"Leave them. They know what they're doing." Bartolome shook his head. Some were hesitant, but the majority of the group agreed.

As the two girls went on a different path, they had walked for almost two hours before Shari sensed they were off-track. She ignored the feeling of uneasiness gathered in her chest and still trusted her reading. They would surely reach the endpoint of their navigation.

"Are we off-course? I feel like we're in the middle of the Amazon forest." Pamela had noticed their situation as well. They trekked through the thick forest and reached the open area where wild plants sprawled on the ground.

"I bet this compass would not give the wrong direction, right? The earth's magnetic field had not changed." She composed herself and was distracted by the sight of a big guava tree filled with fruits.

"Pam, look! We're still lucky. We found a guava tree. Come on, let's rest for a while. The trek is tiring." Shari pointed the tree. It stood a few meters away from them.

"You're right. It's still early. Let's rest." Pamela walked towards the tree.

Shari removed her backpack and put it on the ground. She had to climb. The guava fruits were big, and the good ones were on top.

"Let's just pick down here. You might fall climbing up there." Pamela puts down her backpack as well.

"I'll be careful, relax. This won't take long. Then we'll resume our land navigation. At least we have this guava as trail food." She started to climb without removing her combat shoes. This was enough to calm her nerves, knowing they had gone astray.

Shari started picking the guava fruit and tossed it down to Pamela. They were having fun, but Pamela suddenly screamed.

"Shari, someone is coming. Come on, jump! Hurry!" Pamela panicked while putting the fruits in her pockets and others in her backpack.

Shari suddenly felt nervous. What if those were enemies? They were in the middle of nowhere. Hiding in a safe place to assess the situation was the sensible thing to do.

She rushed, going down, causing her combat shoes to slip. Worse, the branch she was holding was fragile. There was a loud crack.

"Oh, shit!" Shari closed her eyes to prepare for the impact as soon as her body fell hard to the grassy ground. Until she sensed that her body landed on something as if someone had caught her. She only came back to her senses because of Pamela's scream.

Shari slowly opened her eyes, still apprehensive of what would materialize. To her great surprise, Levi's gloomy face greeted her. It appeared she had landed in his arms!

Wait, why is he here?

"Sir!" Shari's eyes broadened.

Levi immediately let go of her. He was with Allen, and he witnessed him shaking his head. The two men carried a high-caliber rifle.

She straightened her back and made a salute. "You… are real."

"What is this? Are you out of your mind? Why did you go off-course?" Levi was fuming. And with the timbre on his voice, Shari almost quivered in fear.

Levi's face was red with rage. He harshly grabbed her arm, and she couldn't complain that she was hurt by the way he clasped her.

"I'm sorry, sir." She looked down.

"Did it ever cross your mind that this is a high-risk area? This is infested by the enemies. What if you got kidnapped? Do you know what could have happened?"

Shari shook her head. She couldn't meet his dangerous gaze.

"Damn it, Ford! Look at me!" He commanded.

She was taken aback by what he said. She tilted her head up. It was her fault. She was overconfident, which put Pamela's life in danger.

Levi turned to Pamela. "And you, Laxamana, I can't believe you would tolerate your buddy knowing you could have died!"

Pamela's eyes were fixed on the ground. She wouldn't dare to reason out in this situation. Doing so would provoke him more. They were both at fault anyway.

Shari lost count of how much she swallowed hard as her heart was beating rapidly. It gave her chills over her spine. She was used to Levi's serious personality, but this was the first time he witnessed him this furious. The man was full of menace, yet she could see the hint of worry in his eyes. Or was she imagining things?

"You are my responsibility when something happens. I can't believe you're this dense!" Levi pointed his index finger at Shari's face.

Allen walked in their direction and held Levi's shoulder. "Calm down, let's go back."

Levi let go of Shari's arm, leaving a mark on her skin. He deeply breathed out many times to calm his nerves.

"We were just following the reading of the compass," Shari said in a low voice.

Allen held her compass and checked it momentarily. Then he shook his head.

"This compass has a discrepancy in the calibration. I bet this is broken. Anyway, we need to be in a hurry. We can't stay here long. The groups are complete. Only the two of you are missing."

"Sir, we didn't mean to be lost," Pamela said. She finally got the courage to face Levi.

"Let's get back," Levi commanded something on his radio before he turned around.

Shari and Pamela walked in the middle of the two men. Their eyes were scanning the surroundings, and their hands tightly grasped their rifles.

It finally sank into Shari's mind the danger of what she did. She had never been this frightened. She was too lax. And with a little more push, Levi would have exploded.