[Neo Zone] Population: 23 Kids

Local Legends

Two of the schools joined their biology classes together for a field trip to a protected forest to look at plants or something. Lucas and Mark hadn't been paying attention when they were told about the field trip, nor when they were given directions on the bus ride.

The two of them were in the back of the group talking and joking around, wishing Hendery and Xiaojun had taken biology so they could have the whole 99 gang. In other words, they were chilling while the rest of their group did the work.

"Think they'll notice if we run into the woods and become the next local legend?" Lucas whispered, a task he actually came close to succeeding in today.

"Like Sasquatch?" 

"What's that?"

"Big Foot."

"Ohhhhh," he nodded, "Yeah, like Big Foot."

"So how we leaving them without anyone noticing?"

Lucas shrugged, "Run for it?"

"The leaves will make too much noise."

"Say we have to use the bathroom?"

"There's no way we'll both be able to go. The teacher knows better."

"Hide behind a tree and wait for them to leave?"

"Too obvious."

Lucas sighed, "What do you think will work then?"

Mark thought for a second, snapping his fingers when something came to mind.

"One of us trips, twists their ankle, and we say we'll stick together because one of us is slower walking now. We lose sight of the group and disappear into the woods, only appearing enough to become a local legend that someone will write a horror story about one day."

"Okay, who's tripping?"

"Rock paper scissors?"

They kept tying the first few rounds, but eventually Mark won, meaning Lucas would have to trip. Twisting his ankle was completely optional.

"If I actually get hurt, you're carrying me to the cafe and we're never coming back to school."

"The cafe's almost an hour away."

Lucas gave Mark a pointed look to show he didn't care.

"Fine, I'll carry you to the cafe if you get hurt."

Just as Lucas was about to trip, Mark looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to them. He held out his arm to stop him from tripping, unable to believe their luck.

"Looks like the group had plans to ditch us."

Lucas started looking around the area at his comment, surprised to see their group really had left them.

"Well that's helpful."

"What now?"

Without the need to run off into the forest to ditch the group, they had no idea what they were going to do. Turns out there was more to think about than the beginning and end of their plan.

"Wasn't there a stream somewhere?" Lucas asked, trying to think if that was from this trip or another one.

"You mean the stream we're not supposed to touch because it has a delicate ecosystem?"

"Yeah, that one."

They went silent again as they tried thinking of what they were going to do, until Mark started snapping his fingers again. At this rate, there was no way they weren't going to be brought back to their group by someone.

"There's a beach at the edge of the forest! We passed it on the ride!"

"Let's go there, then."

Sticking to the trail because Mark somehow remembered the forest guide telling them not to leave the trail because they'll kill the special moss or something, the duo headed in the supposed direction of the beach. The trail kept branching off everywhere, and with the size of the forest they were pretty sure they had somehow gotten deeper into it.

In short, they were lost and it was starting to get dark as the sun dipped below the tops of the trees.

"I don't think this was our best idea."

"You think they'll leave without us?" Mark asked, looking around anxiously like he had been for the last forty minutes.

"I think the field trip wasn't supposed to last this long, so I think they already did..."

Mark groaned, sitting on a rock with his head in his hands.

"If we don't die out here, I know someone's going to kill us when we get back."

Lucas sat down next to him, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"I bet if I got hurt and you had to carry me back we'd be back by now."

"You know I can't carry you, right?"

"Oh I know."

The two sat on the rock, trying to find any sign of human life. Problem was now that it was getting dark, they couldn't see the trail and neither of them had a light source with them.

"You know what I just realized? The 00 line doesn't even all go to the same school, yet they keep kidnapping each other for things. Like the cake baking." Mark pointed out.

"I'm hungry now."

"You already ate the snacks I had."

Lucas sighed, "I know. I'm hungry again."

"Me too. This wasn't a good idea."

Lucas suddenly light up and removed his arm from Mark's shoulders, turning to face him.

"This isn't our fault! They left us!"

"Oh yeah! Now we're half dead if we are ever found."

The darker it got, the colder it got. They were just happy the bugs weren't out because it was cold, but that meant at this moment they had to huddle on their rock and bounce their legs to keep warm.

"I'm telling you, sir, my brothers came with their school for a field trip and never came home. They have to still be here."

Mark and Lucas perked up at the sound of the familiar voice, grinning as they looked at each other.

"There's no one here, but go ahead and look."

The beam of a flashlight bounced, disappeared and reappeared as their rescuer walked through the forest.

"Taeil!"

Lucas and Mark shouted, standing up from the rock. They would've waved their arms around, but that wasn't going to help in the dark.

"Taeil!"

The flashlight beam crossed over them, Taeil running to them so they wouldn't accidentally leave the trail.

"You two better have a good explanation for this."

"We do, trust me. But first, do you have food?" Lucas asked, Mark now clinging to Taeil.

"In the car. Johnny was stress cooking so there's a whole meal."

"I thought he stress baked?" Mark asked, not letting go of Taeil even when they started walking.

"No, he bakes when he's bored and cooks when he's stressed."

"Can we just get to the food instead of talking about how it was made?" Lucas asked, annoyed at their slow pace.

"Fine, but you better have a really good explanation when you're done eating."