Arduous Experience

During his search, he didn't find anything important in Marr's pockets.

It was not like Jean was that interested in the contents of the pockets, as his aim was directed towards finding one particular thing. And that was a cell phone.

This was what Jean wanted to use to trace his whereabout before deciding on his next move. But up to this point, his hope of tracing his whereabout was dwindling to the point of him wanting to give up.

A few seconds later, Jean rose to his feet, placed his hands on his waist and stared at the forest in the distance.

'I guess I'll have to head over there. There are chances that I might encounter fierce animals in the forest but the risk is worth it as the forest can still obscure me from prying adversaries.'

Jean pondered as he eyed the forest with a distant look.

At this point, the piece of cloth that he used to cover his wound on the left foot had surprisingly managed to stem the bleeding. However, that was not enough to protect him from the exhaustion that had descended upon his whole being.

He felt weak, and adding to the enormous pain he was feeling all over his body, Jean doubted his chances of making it to the forest even if he was given a whole day.

'As if I have a choice, getting in the forest is the only thing I can do to survive in this jungle. As if the forest itself is safer. But me staying here is like exposing myself to potential enemies. It can be easy for my potential adversaries to spot me.' Jean thought with a grim expression.

It was true that if Jean allowed his exhaustion and body aches to overwhelm him to the point of him staying in the vast grassland, he would be exposing himself to potential danger that the area harboured.

Without a second thought, Jean started advancing forward with the little energy that he could muster. Although he doubted if he could make it to the forest, he still wanted to try and see how long his little remaining energy could take him to.

After staggering for a distance of about fifty meters, Jean felt weakness spreading in his whole being. This was a clear indication that he had lost a lot of blood, but since the blood was flowing into the grass, he didn't get the chance to gauge the extent of his bleeding.

But that was not all, as the body aches were also added to the mixture of this arduous experience.

Since the moment he woke up, he had been experiencing chest aches that had been increasing whenever he tried moving.

At this point, the chest aches had grown ten folds and it was becoming hard for him to breathe. This weakened him further as his breathing became heavy.

He growled as he stopped in his tracks, and his vision started to grow blurry.

In the next second, he gasped and lowered himself before placing his hands on his knees.

'This isn't going to be easy, just as I expected.'

Jean thought to himself.

Although he had grown weary, he still needed to make it to the forest for the sake of his safety since it was getting late. The sun was heading in the western horizon and in a few hours, it was going to be dark.

"I can do it!" Jean muttered through gritted teeth as he straightened up and continued forward with a stagger.

Despite him not being sure with the dangers that the forest posed, he still chose to trust his intuition and headed in that direction.

He knew by doing this, he would not be easily spotted in case Marr's peers arrived in the area. Even if he encountered them in the forest, he was sure of hiding from them, only if he managed to spot them before they spotted him.

He could still hide under the tall grasses, but if his adversaries managed to trace his tracks, his chances of escaping would be hampered considering the condition he was in.

After lingering for a moment, Jean sighed heavily and continued forward with a leap. He had been ignoring the pain on his left foot, but at this point, it was too severe for him to ignore.

Leaping on his left foot, Jean pushed himself forward as he locked his eyes on the forest ahead.

As he was about sixty meters away from where Marr's body was lying, a ringing sound reached his eardrums.

'That sounds like a cell phone.' Jean thought as he came to a halting stop.

If the distant he had travelled was put into consideration, it could have been hard for him to perceive the ringing sound, but since the wind was now blowing in his direction, it carried the ringing sound with it, thus making it easier for Jean to perceive it.

Turning in the direction of the sound, Jean pondered.

'If that is a cell phone ringing, how comes I didn't see it during my search.'

Jean was surprised by the fact that the cell phone was ringing from the direction of Marr's body, yet he had not set his eyes on it during his search.

This raised a doubt in his heart. It was difficult for him to believe that the sound that he was hearing was coming from the direction that Marr's body was lying. A second later, Jean increased his concentration and listened keenly. He was trying to confirm the origin of the sound, but after a few seconds of continuous listening, he didn't notice any difference. The sound was still coming from the direction of the motionless Marr's body.

The moment this realization dawned on him, he was immediately split between advancing forward and going back to check out the cell-phone.

He felt like he needed to go back and see if he could grab the cell-phone which he could use for tracing his whereabout, but the exhaustion and body aches tormenting his whole being were making the choice too hard to take. While on the other hand, he felt like he should continue heading in the direction of the forest as he had already covered almost a sixth of the entire distance.

'Moving to the forest too is important, but how will I be sure of where I would be heading to if I even don't know where I am. I need the cell-phone, I can even use it to contact my mom and Axel, and who knows, they might play a key role in tracing my whereabout.'

Jean contemplated on the matter.

Basing on his thoughts, he had decided to take the risk of going back for the cell-phone. Although this was a gamble, he was ready to take it as it had a high chance of success. He knew very well at the back of his mind that if he managed to get back to where the cell-phone was ringing from, the chances of him making it to the forest would dwindle.

With unwavering determination, Jean clenched his fist and turned around. He then stared in the direction of the sound and smirked.

In the next moment, he inhaled deeply and tried to calm himself.

The fear of getting stuck in this jungle was slowly gripping his heart, but his determination countered it from time to time.

'This is the best decision I can make.'

Jean was right with his choice. Him choosing to go back for the cell-phone was a gamble, though a better one. This was because he could at least be sure of finding assistance from his friend Axel or his mom who he had their contacts off head.

With that thought in mind, Jean steeled his mind and lunged forward.

Some minutes later, Jean had arrived at the place where Marr's lifeless body was lying. At this point, the ringing sound had died down, just as he was thirty meters away from the spot. So, he didn't manage to spot the cell-phone that was ringing a while ago right away.

During this time, he was slowly studying the body with a grim expression. After realising that he couldn't spot the cell-phone, Jean quickly scanned the surroundings to ensure it was safe before lowering himself to ransack Marr's body once again.

Although he was sure that the chances of him getting the cell-phone were almost zero, he decided to have a try.

'Perhaps I didn't check well during my first search.'

Jean pondered as he heaved a sigh.

Ten minutes later, Jean rose up and placed his hands on his waist. A tired expression surfaced his face as he stared in the distance.

'This was all a waste. I can now tell that I was hearing things…'

Jean thought with a hint of annoyance in his raspy voice.

After a few moments of contemplation, Jean rubbed off the beads of sweat across his face and shifted his gaze towards the forest.

'By now I could have already covered more than half the distance. My body aches are becoming too much, especially the chest pains. I doubt if I can make it to the forest in time. What about his accomplice….'

Just as he was still contemplating on the matter, something unexpected happened.

Barely a meter away from the lifeless Marr's body, a ringing sound resounded and from its ringing Jean could tell that it was familiar to him.

Quickly turning in the direction of the sound, Jean saw a tip of a black gadget hanging out of the tall grasses around Marr's body.

The moment his sight caught this; a broad smile shone on his face.

=(😵)=