Darkness reigned
Nothing was visible, except thoughts
'You won't remember'
Ravens could be heard squawking
'You can't' It said
The Ravens got louder
'Find me, and you will remember'
The Ravens appeared and swarmed the darkness
...
A loud gasp was heard
Leo's eyes opened wide
He sat up
Cold concrete lay beneath him
He was shirtless and sweating
Just up ahead, light spilled through an opening
Must be a cave
His surroundings were mostly dark
They were filled with shadows
His head throbbed rhytmically with pain
His whole body felt heavy
Leo examined his surroundings
He pushed himself upright weakly
He made his way towards the light
Leaning on the walls for support
Birds could be heard chirping outside
When he reached the opening, light flooded his eyes
Making him squint, and feeling light-headed
Fresh air flooded his nose, waking him a little
There were birds in the tree ahead
Their colors were as bright as the environment
The birds chirped loudly
Some flew in circles above the trees
While others chirped from the branches
The sounds and colors felt overwhelming
Leo took a left not wanting to go near the birds
He stumbled
Towards a stream
He staggered and fell to his knees
Just In front of the flowing water
His reflection didn't really shock him
Leo's face was a bit skinnier than usual
His eyes were dark and heavy
A noticeable gash marked his forehead
Healed, but it left a nasty scar
Leo touched it briefly
It felt real
It felt older than it should have
Yet he couldn't really remember how he got it
He dipped his hand in the water
Washing his face gently
He dipped once
Then twice
Before he could take a third
A shadow loomed over him
Leo turned
He looked up and saw a girl landing before him
It was Autumn. She had fruits in her hands
Red at top, and purple at bottom
The fruits were so large that three filled her arms
Leo looked tense, but he was too weak to react
"Leo," Autumn muttered. "Your awake!"
Her voice trembled with emotion
Before Leo could react
She dropped the fruits and hugged him
Her arms wrapped around him
It seemed desperate
"I thought we were gonna lose you," she said
"Why are you always so reckless?"
Autumn released him
She stared into Leo's face
His expression was alarmed and confused
"What's wrong?" Autumn asked, peering into his eyes
"W-who are you?" Leo asked weakly
A long awkward silence passed
Leo watched as Autumn went from confused to panic
She grabbed his shoulders
"What do you remember?" she asked
Leo tried to think
The second he tried, pain from his forehead travelled all around
Leo groaned, squinting his eyes
Autumn released him, stepping back.
"You really forgot.." She said in disbelief
"I-I don't know alright" Leo held his head in frustration
"Where the hell am I?" He asked
Autumn tapped restlessly before answering
"We're not sure actually" she looked away
"Who's we?" Leo asked
Before Autumn could answer
A boy was seen running
Clearly in distress
He stopped when he saw Autumn
"He's gone!" he panted
While he panted, Autumn moved out of the way so he could see Leo
Slowly the boy looked up
He was shocked for a bit
Suddenly, he sighs heavily
"Thank God" he breathed
His face changed from relief to concern when he sensed the tension
"Autumn," Thomas called "What's wrong?"
Autumn looked at Leo, then at Thomas
"He can't remember" she answered
...
"What do you mean he can't remember?" Thomas asked
"Now of all times.." he added
He stepped closer to Leo
"What do you remember?"
"I don't know... not yet!" Leo snapped
"Not yet?" Thomas stepped closer
He ran a hand through his spiky hair
"There's a literal psychopath after us!"
He grabbed Leo
"This world is fucked in so many ways right now"
Grip tightening
"We can't afford to-"
Before Thomas could finish, he was shoved
"Get off me!" Leo shouted
Thomas was sent flying about 12 meters back the way he came
He rolled and recovered
Leo looked at his hands in shock
He turned and looked at Autumn
"Hey! we are your friends" Autumn raised her hands
"Calm down" she says "We are the last guys you'd wanna hurt"
Thomas stood where he landed dusting off his knees
Teeth clenched
"It's been harder on us ever since we found you unconscious" she said
"Forgive him" She added
"What happened to me?" Leo asked
"How long was I out?"
"Two weeks.." Autumn answered" not sure what happened to you"
"Oh.." Leo said
Suddenly a wave of dizziness washed over him
He stumbled, almost falling into the stream
Autumn supported him immediately
"What's wrong?" She asked
Leo's stomach growled
"Oh yeah" she says "I have fruits"
THE CAVE
The trio were all eating the fruits Autumn carried
Leo's fruit was big enough that it filled both his hands
A mix of red and purple
Almost mellow
The skin of the fruit was hard, but once peeled away it reveals it's creamy insides
Very hydrating, and surprisingly chewable
Everyone else was at the top of their fruit
But Leo was already halfway finished
"So you're saying...another group like us took the only object that could possibly get us out of here?" Leo asked
"We don't even know what it does" Thomas answered "but probably"
Leo nodded before sinking his face in the fruit
"And there's this Alwich guy?" he asked again
"Yeah" Thomas said "Crazy bastard, we should avoid him at all costs"
"He's been hunting us from day one" Autumn added
"Hmm" Leo nodded again
He was head first into the fruit
"Hey you want mine or something?" Thomas offered his fruit
"Yeah thanks" Leo took the fruit without looking
Still deep into his
Thomas stood and stretched
He walked off towards the entrance
Based on the light, it was already about noon
Autumn watched Leo intently while chewing
"You really don't remember?" she asked
"Maybe..This Alwich guy sounds familiar" Leo replied
He then dropped his empty fruit
He picked up Thomas's fruit
"A-any time I try, I feel my head splitting apart" He added
"Hmm" Autumn nodded softly
Autumn slowly placed her fruit beside Leo
She stood up
"It's just we've been through a lot together " she started walking
"Autumn" Leo called
She stopped
"I'll remember...I promise"
With that said, Autumn walks away
Leo dug back into his fruits
He felt way stronger than before
His hunger no longer felt bottomless
He could feel himself getting more full
Dived deeper into Thomas's fruit
"Mmm" he groaned
"I don't know what this is but-"
SLURP
Before he could finish, he bit harder into the fruit
The yellowish cream had already stained around his mouth
Soon Leo finished Thomas's fruit
He was about to dive into Autumn's fruit when he heard a click
He froze mid-bite
Just above him something floated
"What the fuck?" he muttered
The fruit fell from his hands as he stood up
Sounded like machines moving
Suddenly something clicked on the outer cave walls again
Leo looked up at the entrance where Autumn and Thomas were
They were still talking
Leo listened and stared at the wall
"Um, guys?" He called
The two turned
When they turned, they froze as well
"No...not again" Thomas says defeatedly
Above them
Was a notification
PLAYERS FOUND 3 OF 4
They watched as it flickered
PLAYERS FOUND 3 OF 3
It flickered again
PLAYERS FOUND 3 OF 4
...
PLAYERS FOUND 3 OF 3
The notification was continuously flickering
Autumn tensed
They all knew what that meant
"Leo, we have to go now"
Thomas says
Hands trembling, eyes wide
Breathing heavily
End