The forest of no return

The trio were lost. The scorching sun only did worse to their predicament. They had a discussion on what step they should take next.

"I think we should go back the way we came, if we keep walking, we would end up in a community, then we could ask for help." Banji suggested.

"But we don't know what turns the bus took. We can't just keep walking straight ahead. What if we leave Nonubi and end up in the visible world? What are we going to do then huh? Look for a traveller and ask for directions to Nonubi? Or go up to a non-traveller and ask to spend the night?" Keisha was upset.

"Well getting mad now wouldn't change anything. Let's think of what to do." Faith tried to calm Keisha down.

"I think we should go through the trees, it might be a shortcut." Keisha said. It sounded more like an order than a suggestion.

The more they walked, the more they realized it was not a shortcut but a never ending forest. Keisha feeling apologetic suggested that they go back the way they came but they couldn't because they forgot to mark the trees. Realizing they couldn't get out of the forest, another argument began. Banji was blaming Keisha for being bossy and leading them into such a predicament. Keisha wasn't having any of that so they had a heated argument.

Faith had enough of the two arguing and walked away. She wanted to find a way out by herself. Banji noticed Faith leaving while he was arguing with Keisha but she had gotten too far.

"Faith! Faith! Where are you going? You can't just leave." Banji called out to her as he ran to catch up. Keisha ran behind him also calling Faith.

Just then, there was a violent wind that swirled from the ground behind Faith. It created a small wind storm. The pressure from the wind pushed Keisha and Banji and they fell back.

"Faith! Faith!" Banji and Keisha's screams got louder with panic. When the wind stopped and all settled, Faith was nowhere to be found. Banji and Keisha ran in all directions but could not find her. The two collapsed on the ground defeated.

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Faith just wanted to go a bit further to find an exit, she did not intend on leaving the other two. She did not respond to their calls as a way of expressing her anger. She did not expect that they would be separated by the wind storm. Faith tried to find her friends but she couldn't. She thought it was weird because she didn't move at all when the wind started and Keisha and Banji couldn't have gone far. Faith wasn't too worried. She was focused on finding an exit first and then her friends. Faith walked and walked until she realized that she was going in circles. Faith started to get worried. It wasn't going to be easy to find her friends as she thought. What seemed like the best thing to do was to shout at the top of her voice.

"Keisha! Olabanji! Keisha! Guys! Can you hear my voice? Follow my voice." She screamed and broke into tears. She was very desperate and blamed herself for walking away from them.

"Crying won't help you. You better give up now." A feeble voice said. Faith tried to find that voice.

"Behind you, stupid."the voice called. Faith looked behind her and saw a lanky boy leaning on a tree trunk. He wasn't wearing a shirt and his jeans was so dirty it looked more black than blue. The boy looked like he needed help.

"Who are you? How long have you been here?" Faith asked moving closer to the tree.

"I am Zack. I have no idea how long I've been here. The sun never sets here for some reason and I don't have a watch with me. I have never met you so I guess you just came into the forest. Can you tell me what day it is?"

"Yea, it is Monday. Today is actually the first day of the 1985 traveller's global competition. When did you enter the forest?" Faith asked.

"Oh I see the games have already started. I must've been here for about 2 weeks. I thought I had been here for a month. I moved to Nonubi recently after graduating from the dormitory system in my country. I just wanted to explore the forest a little bit and I ended up here."

"How have you been surviving? I mean what have you been eating?" Faith was surprised that he had been there for so long."

"There are a lot of shrubs here, I eat the fruits on them. I survive on berries. I never feel full so I drink a lot of water. There is a small pond somewhere in this forest. I can never find it when I am looking but sometimes while I am trying to find an exit, I end up at the pond. Then I fill this bottle." Zack said pointing to the bottle in the side pocket of his backpack.

Now Faith was even more worried. She couldn't be lost for long. She had a match on Friday and she had to find her friends.

Keisha and Banji were regretting the arguments they had. They blamed themselves for pushing their friend away. They were still sitting where they had collapsed hoping someone would pass by or Faith would find her way back. They had some of the snacks in Keisha's handbag.

"We've been here for hours, shouldn't it be getting darker? Why does it feel like it is getting brighter? Keisha asked.

"You're right. It is weird. Everything is weird. It is all so bizarre. There must be a secret behind this forest." Banji replied but there was no feedback from Keisha. He turned to look at her only to find her asleep on the floor. Banji got up and tried to find Faith again.

Banji walked for a while but couldn't find Faith. He decided to go back to where Keisha was but he couldn't. He couldn't find his way back. Now he was alone. All three of them were alone in this cursed forest. He started to call his friends names.

"Keisha! Faith! Keisha! Faith! Keisha!..." He kept calling for them till his throat hurt. Banji found the pond.

"At least there is water." He thought to himself. Banji put his palms together and dipped them in the pond to get some water. He drank from the pond and thought of filling his bottle when he realized he left his bag where Keisha was. Banji sat down among the reeds near the pond.

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When Keisha woke up, she was not sure if it was the same day or it was day break. She scanned her surroundings looking for Banji. When she didn't find Banji, she grabbed his back pack and her purse and ran around calling his name. Keisha tripped on a rock and got wounded. She took off the flannel shirt she wore as a second layer and tied her right knee to stop the bleeding. Walking became difficult so Keisha sat back down.

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"You're awake?" Zack asked when he felt a movement from the right side of the tree trunk where Faith had fallen asleep.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"You forgot that we have no real concept of time here?"

"Oh yea. I am going to try and find my friends, do you want to come?" Faith asked.

"I am weak but I haven't moved in a long time. I guess I will come." So the two set off, no destination in mind but a goal of finding Faith's two friends.

They had been walking for a long time so Zack asked to take a break.

"It is the pond! Banji!"