時とともに失われた記憶

Chapter 7: Just another memory.

The forest stretches on endlessly as P.C. and I push forward, determined to find something—anything—that can lead us out of this nightmare. The air feels heavier tonight, thick with an eerie stillness that clings to my skin. Every rustle of leaves or snap of a twig makes my heart race, but we keep moving. We have no other choice.

Then, out of nowhere, P.C. stops. His grip on my hand tightens, and his head jerks to the side, his eyes wide and alert.

"What is it?" I whisper, glancing around. The silence is suffocating.

He doesn't answer right away, just holds up a hand to signal for me to stay still. Then, I hear it too—something faint, like a voice carried by the wind. My pulse quickens, and I strain to listen.

It's a voice—no, it's someone calling out.

"Help... Help me..."

The sound is faint, distant, but unmistakable. My heart skips a beat, and before I can even think, P.C. and I are running toward it. The voice gets louder as we push through the dense underbrush, our feet stumbling over roots and rocks in our haste.

"E.J.!" P.C. yells, his voice hoarse but filled with hope.

Could it really be him? Our younger brother? The thought seems impossible, yet here we are, chasing after the one thing that's been missing this entire time.

"E.J.!" I shout, my throat tight with emotion. "Where are you?"

Finally, we burst into a small clearing. And there, huddled against a large tree, is E.J.

His clothes are torn and dirty, his face pale and streaked with dirt, but there's no mistaking him. My heart leaps into my throat as I run toward him, dropping to my knees beside him. His eyes are wide with fear, but when he sees me—when he sees P.C.—his expression changes. Relief washes over his face.

"I thought... I thought you were gone," E.J. croaks, his voice barely above a whisper.

"We're here, we're here," I murmur, pulling him into a tight embrace. "You're okay now."

P.C. kneels beside us, his hand resting on E.J.'s shoulder, his face a mixture of shock and disbelief. "How did you survive? Where have you been?"

E.J. shakes his head, his voice trembling. "I got lost... I couldn't find you guys... I thought I'd never see you again."

Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them away. We're together again—that's what matters. We can figure out the rest later. For now, we just need to keep moving. We need to find safety.

"I was about to give up," E.J. says softly, his voice breaking. "But then... I saw something. I saw—"

He cuts off, his eyes darting toward the tree line, as if expecting something—or someone—to emerge from the shadows.

"What did you see?" P.C. asks, his voice low.

E.J. swallows hard. "The campsite. Our old campsite. It's not far from here."

I blink in surprise. The campsite. The place we lost so long ago, the place where everything started to fall apart. Could it really be nearby?

"We have to go," I say, helping E.J. to his feet. "Show us."

E.J. nods, and with unsteady legs, he leads the way. The forest around us seems to shift as we move, the shadows playing tricks on my eyes, but I push the fear aside. P.C. stays close, his gaze scanning the trees, alert for any danger.

Finally, after what feels like hours but is probably only minutes, we break through the trees. And there it is.

The campsite.

It's exactly how I remember it, yet different at the same time. The tents are still there, but they're torn and weathered, covered in leaves and dirt. The fire pit is overgrown with weeds, long since abandoned. It looks like it hasn't been touched in months—maybe even longer.

"This is it," E.J. says quietly, his voice full of awe and sadness. "This is where we were..."

I nod, taking it all in. The memories flood back—happy ones, at first. The three of us playing by the fire, laughing, telling stories. But then, the darker memories creep in. The confusion. The fear. The moment we realized we were lost.

"How did we get so far?" I whisper, more to myself than anyone else.

P.C. stands beside me, his expression unreadable. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is that we're together."

I nod, but the weight of everything still presses down on me. We found the campsite, and we found E.J., but we're still stuck in this cursed forest. And the question lingers—will we ever really get out?

As the night deepens and the shadows grow longer, I feel a chill run down my spine. Something about this place still feels wrong, like the forest isn't done with us yet. But I push the thought aside.

For now, we're together. And that has to be enough.