Beneath The Canopy

With the little explanation Noah gave, Jason also plucks some fruits as he stores them away inside the armor since they don't know how long they need to travel to get to their destination, before they continue their journey. Along the way, they came across different kinds of trees with fruits but refrained themselves from plucking them when not knowing if they were poisonous.

They walked for a long time and there was still no way they could verify if the fruits were poisoned and walking on an empty stomach was becoming a problem for them, especially Noah, who seems to be out of energy and could barely hold himself back from taking a bite.

"I don't think I would be able to hold on much longer with the way things are going" said Noah while dragging himself.

"I'm already nearing my limit right now and really need something to eat", Jason replied with a heavy eye as he was trying hard to stay awake.

"Listen up Jason, why don't we take a break? We've been walking for hours now and a little rest won't hurt" said Noah.

Left with no choice, since he was also tired as well, Jason agreed to it, and they looked for a more concealed place to rest. Looking at the surroundings and how quiet it was with the sound of birds chirping here and there, Jason could not help but mutter with a smile on his face.

"What a nice place to take a nap".

"It sure is, but one won't be able to enjoy it given how dangerous it turns out to be" replied Noah with a smile.

"I know what, I've changed my mind. This place isn't close to being a perfect place to rest" said Jason.

They joke about their situation and talk more about their past, and after they are done resting, they continue to venture into the forest. Just like that, they made it into the third day with no solution on how to eat, but unfortunately for them, while they were struggling to walk with their empty stomach, they came across a bunch of squirrels feasting on some nuts and that was when their hope of survival ignited.

"Seems like even the heaven is on our side" said Noah with a wide smile on his face as he began to play with his fingers.

"Shhh, keep your voice down before we are found out" warns Jason in a low voice as he squats down while making sure he's well hidden behind a tree before taking out one of the fruits from his armor and tossing it in the direction of the squirrels before hiding again.

When the squirrels heard the sound of something hitting the ground, they all stopped eating the nuts and turned their gaze toward where the fruit landed. There was silence as they all stared at the fruit for a while before one of the squirrels took the initiative to approach the fruit and took a look around before picking it up after making sure no one was around.

Seeing the squirrel picking the fruit, they became happy, and they had to wait for the squirrel to take a bite to know if it was safe to eat and, as if it could hear what they were saying, the squirrel took a bite and chewed on the fruit before taking another bite and to their surprise, it seems to be enjoying it as it continues to chew on the fruit until there was nothing left other than a tiny seed.

"Now let's wait and see if it will act suspicious" muttered Jason, and they began to monitor the squirrel's every move.

They watched the squirrel for hours and noticed the squirrel was okay. Not wasting any more time, Noah took out a fruit and bit on it before chewing. He paused for a minute, making Jason think something was wrong with the fruit, until the words came out of Noah's mouth.

"This fruit is delicious".

And with that, he took another fruit and began to devour it. Seeing his friend so into the fruit, Jason also took a fruit and took a bite, only for his expression to take a change.

"This is so refreshing".

Jason began to chew the fruit at an incredible speed and before long he was on his second fruit, then third and forth until he could not eat again as he lay there with another fruit in his hand.

"It's just a fruit and not even qualified to fill my three days of hunger, but somehow, I feel completely full of strength and energy like I just woke up from sleep" said Jason as he just stared at the fruit in his hand.

"It's the same with me here. I feel like I have rested for three days with my stomach full after eating the fruit. I'm keeping the rest till the end of the journey" replied Noah.

"I'm with you on this one. Now that we have gained our strength back, I say we continue with our journey, and with the pace at which we are going, we should be halfway to the other side" said Jason.

"I wonder how many people manage to make it to the other side by now" commented Noah, as he got up ready to continue with the journey.

"I believe a lot of people must have made it to the other side. I mean we are the youngest here, so given their age, getting to the other side shouldn't be a problem for them" replied Jason, with a straight face.

He took a peep to check the activities of the squirrels and, after making sure they were no longer there, they continued forward with more energy. They came across a middle-aged man who seemed to be out of energy as he lay on the ground with a deep wound on his leg which reminded them once again of the danger that was lurking in the forest.

Jason decided they should push forward while ignoring the man, since they were only children who could hardly care for themselves and before long, it was nighttime.