We lost it

Maaa… Maaaa… Maaaa…

As she was about to run, a small, fluffy white lamb appeared from between the trees.

"A lamb!" Hinako was stunned by the sight of such a cute creature, especially after bracing herself for the appearance of a wild beast.

It was the first time she had seen a living creature in front of her since arriving in this place.

Previously, they had heard the sounds of birds, sparrows, sometimes crickets, and even frogs, but they had never encountered any of them.

The little lamb approached her, jumping, playing, and circling around her.

'It's really adorable,' she said, gently stroking it. 

After all, seeing something cute in a place that could only be described as desolate was truly heartwarming.

You might find beautiful butterflies in an abandoned and eerie house, just as you could find spiders and cockroaches in a luxurious mansion.

'Do you want to come with me?' Hinako began walking back to the campsite, with the little lamb following her, still playing and letting out its soft bleats.

She didn't mind its company; in fact, she was delighted. Just watching it jump and play in front of her felt like a kind of therapy, washing away her stress and tension.

'She's late. Should I catch up with her?'

'But what if she becomes suspicious of me?'

Julian stood still, waiting for her to return, his mind wandering as he questioned whether he could continue on his own.

Was his partnership with Hinako a genuine advantage, or was she just another girl he could exploit and abandon as he pleased?

"Look who came with me!"

Julian turned toward the source of the voice and saw the lovely Hinako smiling, accompanied by a small lamb walking beside her.

"Meat."

Julian's eyes widened at the sight of the lamb.

To him, it was nothing more than meat on a chopping board, waiting to be cooked.

"Hold it!" Julian pointed at the lamb.

"Huh?" Hinako looked confused.

"I told you to grab it quickly! It's our dinner!" Julian shouted angrily, unwilling to let this prey escape.

"Our dinner?" Hinako stared at the innocent lamb. Deep down, she had already considered it her pet, and the thought of killing it felt horrifying.

If Julian had been the one to catch it, she might not have cared, but she was the one who brought it, and the idea of eating it felt like a betrayal.

"Hold it," Julian reminded her again when he saw her hesitation.

"If it escapes, we'll starve. Do you really want to die for the sake of this lamb?"

Julian continued as he slowly approached her.

"I'm sorry," Hinako muttered as she weakly grabbed the lamb by the wool on its back, trying to hold it still.

The lamb didn't resist; it simply froze in place.

'How am I supposed to hold it? By its leg? But there's this slippery feeling in my chest,' Julian thought as he hesitantly circled around the small lamb.

"Hurry up and do whatever it is you want to do," Hinako said, looking at Julian in confusion.

"I'm trying, don't rush me," he snapped, though his voice lacked conviction.

His earlier excitement and survival instincts had vanished, leaving him tense and perhaps even afraid.

It seemed as if he wasn't used to handling animals—or maybe, he wasn't used to preparing his own food.

After a brief moment of 'mental' preparation, Julian crouched down and slowly extended his hand toward the lamb's hind leg.

Just as he was about to grab it, the lamb suddenly stomped its hind legs hard against the ground and bolted like lightning, disappearing into the trees.

Julian froze in place, his expression utterly stunned, and even Hinako remained rooted to the spot, staring at the place where the lamb had vanished.

"What just happened?"

This was far beyond anything they could have imagined. At most, they had expected it to slip away and run off gently. After a short chase, they would catch it again.

A small lamb faster than a 19-year-old? That was impossible.

But its lightning-fast dash was truly unexpected. Still, they could accept it rather quickly.

After all, was anything happening to them here even logical?

Everything was strange and unsettling, so the idea of a pack of hungry bears appearing next wasn't entirely out of the question.

"I told you to hold it properly!" Julian snapped.

"You should've been faster! What were you even doing, circling around it like that?" Hinako retorted.

They started arguing and blaming each other.

What was supposed to be their meal and lifeline had vanished right before their eyes.

Julian couldn't accept the situation or admit that the lamb's escape was his fault. It was easier for him to pin the blame on Hinako.

As time passed, the idea of killing and eating that strange lamb began to feel utterly ridiculous.

They should have been grateful they hadn't been harmed.

"From now on, we must not underestimate anything here. Everything is strange," Julian said, deliberately ignoring the lamb's escape.

They had come to accept that its disappearance wasn't really their fault.

"We have to keep moving. We might find something edible or a water source ahead. Otherwise, how did that lamb survive?" Hinako raised her hopes slightly, at least for the possibility of finding water.

As she thought more about it, she noticed something peculiar. Where did this dense and thriving forest get its water?

The sounds of birds, chirping sparrows, and even frogs—where did they drink from?

Surely, there had to be a large water source nearby, and it might even be close.

They abandoned the idea of resting, and sleep was completely out of the question.

They continued moving forward. 

The sky was pitch black, yet for some reason, the path through the forest remained faintly visible, as though someone was walking ahead of them with a weak lighter's glow.

If they could find the water source before dawn, they would truly be lucky.

***

"You're right. We're going to die here. This forest is massive—we might take days to get out of it," Julian collapsed onto the ground, lying on his back with his hands covering his face.

He had completely lost hope and no longer cared if Hinako broke down mentally.

"We can still keep walking. There's definitely a pond or a lake somewhere," Hinako replied, calm and determined—unlike Julian.

Hours had passed since the lamb's escape, and they hadn't rested much since then.

They had been moving forward and forward, endlessly.

The sky showed no signs of morning arriving.

Their chances of success were far higher in the daylight than in the dark.

"You're right. I was just a little tired," Julian finally said, mustering his courage as he stood back on his feet.

Hinako glanced at him and smiled slightly; having two engines on fire was much better than just one.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake with increasing intensity. They looked at each other, confusion and fear evident on their faces.

"It's an earthquake," Julian said, his voice trembling with unease.

"We're among the trees; it won't pose much danger to us," Hinako reassured him, though she was clearly trying to calm herself as well.

After a few minutes of trembling, the shaking gradually subsided until it completely stopped.

They gathered their breaths and continued their journey, seeking the known within the unknown.

After a few more hours of walking amidst the 'delicious' fruit-bearing trees and the pitch-black darkness, with a small transparent flame lighting their way, Julian and Hinako were panting and on the verge of physical collapse.

They dragged their feet with difficulty, pushing themselves forward.

What if they gave up, and their goal was just behind the tree ahead? Wouldn't that mean all their efforts and hard work had been in vain?