Camp Exodus

013 - Better Find It Quick

Jongin felt his skin tense as something crawled over his arm, and he bolted to his feet to get away from it. Exhaling when he saw the centipede scuttle away, he looked around. Indeed, he was in some part of the jungle, and he was totally alone.

Blinking, he tried to remember the instructions the disciplinarians had given before he blacked out; or rather, before he was knocked out. He needed to find an item that was specific to himself and get his butt back to the facility. What item?

Understanding that just standing in the same spot wasn't going to do him any favours, he raised his head and tried to gauge the position of the sun. That's usually what people did in situations like this, right?

Deciding to follow the trail of sunlight that was just barely available through the thick brush of trees, he began making his way, eyes and ears alert for sounds and sights of danger as his mind tried to figure out what item could be specific to him.

He had been walking for a while when the sound of rustling stopped him. He froze as he tried to guess what creature was around and figure out whether or not he should run if he wanted to live.

When the rustling sound increased, he realised that whatever it was happened to be right above him. Swallowing, he turned his eyes upwards, squinting against the small beam of sunlight that entered his vision and almost laughed in relief. That was no snake or hornet's nest. In fact, it wasn't a wild animal at all.

"Kyungsoo hyung!"

~

Kyungsoo had no idea where he was. The trees were really thick and almost no sunlight was available, so he had very little sense of orientation. Twisting his mouth in annoyance, he tried to figure out how he could find the item that he needed to get to be permitted back into the facility.

He stilled as the sound of approaching movement caught his ears. Crud, what's that? He glanced about, looking for the best possible hiding place. There wasn't any that wouldn't expose him straight away. He glanced up at the thick tree beside him. Unless...

Grabbing onto the base of the trunk, he tried to distribute his weight as accurately as he could, and began his ascend. He only just made it to the top as whatever was approaching came to a standstill beside the tree.

He tried to look down, but his arms were tense in their efforts to keep him up and he slipped a little from the temporary loss of balance. The movement must have made a sound because his soul almost left his body when he heard his name being called out.

But still he didn't move.

~

Jongin felt his mouth purse into a subconscious pout. Why wasn't Kyungsoo coming down?

"Hyung, I swear, I'm not here to get you. I'm actually really glad that I found you. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. Hyung!" Kyungsoo remained rigid on the tree. Jongin scratched his head, puzzled. Could it be...

"Hyung, is it possible?" Kyungsoo already knew what he was going to say and it made him sweat drop with embarrassment. Jongin chuckled to himself.

"Hyung, you don't know how to climb down, right?" When Kyungsoo made no reply, Jongin laughed aloud.

"Ah, hyung! Why did you climb up there if you don't know how to get down?"

"I thought you were a bear or something, and I would have gotten down eventually. Get off my case." Kyungsoo managed to get out through gritted teeth. The rough bark was starting to wear at his hands, and damn did it hurt. Jongin glanced around at the area carefully before making his way closer to the tree. After inspecting it, he nodded to himself.