Lisa and Jisoo passed the same mossy rock for the fourth time before the older woman stopped in her tracks. "We're going in circles! How did we get lost?" Lisa looked over at her with tired eyes. It had been a long day. Jennie and Rosé had the bright idea to go camping, just the four of them to get away for the weekend. They ordered the oldest and youngest in their friend group to look for good firewood.
Neither knew what 'good firewood' was, so they went deeper and deeper into the wooded area looking for thick branches. By the time they decided to head back, they had armfuls of green sticks, that were terrible for burning, and no idea where they were. At first, they decided to mark the trees they were passing, but when they started heading back, their marks were almost impossible to find, easily blending into the rough bark.
The two had long ago abandoned their green brush and started searching for a path. The sun was beginning to fall in the sky as the pale crescent moon became visible. "There has to be a path somewhere around here," Lisa reasoned. She could read her friend's face easily, even in the dying light. Jisoo was becoming more and more stressed the darker the sky got while her eyes roamed the ground, only finding roots, twigs, and leaves.
"Come on; we'll find our way back. There's no need to panic," Lisa attempted to soothe.
"No need to panic? No need to panic! Oh, of course! Why there's no reason to panic. I just have no clue where I am in the middle of the forest with a tall idiot for a companion!" Jisoo's frustration came pouring out at her blameless friend until she mouthed off. Lisa flinched at the harsh words and frowned. As soon as she shouted those words, Jisoo knew she went too far.
"Well, if it's that hard to deal with me, I'll find my own way back!" Lisa stomped off somewhere in the opposite direction, kicking aside rocks and fallen branches.
"No, wait. Lisa! I didn't mean it! I'm sorry," Jisoo called. She watched the retreating woman's back as she disappeared in the trees. Jisoo threw her hands in the air in frustration and kicked a tree root. The only thing it accomplished was to make her more upset.
The shorter woman didn't notice that she went directly across an alternative path that would have brought her almost instantly back to their tents in her haste to find Lisa. Jennie and Rosé were even visible in the distance, watching the treeline nervously, their smore mountain long forgotten.
When Jisoo finally caught up to the taller girl, she was panting. She leaned against a tree as she sucked in air while Lisa stared off into the quickly darkening forest. Insects buzzed around them as the warmth of the sun faded to a nipping cold.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take it out of you," Jisoo panted. Lisa just continued to stare off into the trees, making a spark of fear ignite in Jisoo's belly. "Lisa," she asked quietly. Slowly, the tall girl raised her arm, pointing to a dark shape in the distance.
"I think its a cave," she said in a small voice. Taking a few steps in front of Lisa, the older woman stood protectively in the way of the younger girl. Jisoo cautiously crept forward to the mouth of the cave.
"Hello," she called into the darkness. She was well aware that the chances of someone being in there were slim, but who knew what rangers did at dusk. They could be looking for squatters—no one called back, so she took another step forward. Jisoo jumped in the air when she felt Lisa lace their fingers.
"Come on," she whispered. Every part of Jisoo's body was telling her to go back and find the path or a place to hunker down for the night. Instead, she moved in front of Lisa, and they stalked into the darkness together. They kept straight, never going in another direction so they wouldn't get lost in a network of tunnels. Lisa was about to suggest the two turn around and find a path when Jisoo became dead weight.
