❝ MAYBE THERE ARE NO GOOD GUYS ANYMORE. ❞
Mere weeks after the start of sophomore year, Angelina Jung awakens in the middle of the wilderness, stranded with no explanation. When she finds three other college students in the same predicament as her...
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A JOLT OF FIERY PAIN slashed through my mind, wrenching me from unconsciousness. I groaned, the faint buzz in my ears ringing louder and louder with every second passing.
Did I pass out again?
Yellow spots danced around my blurred vision as I rubbed my eyes, and a gentle fog clouded my scrambled thoughts. Searching for my phone, I reached my right arm out, but instead of slamming my fingers against the nightstand, my hand brushed against rough dirt. Shriveled leaves gingerly crumpled underneath my palm, susurrating in the gentle breeze.
This isn't my apartment.
My eyes snapped open.
I rolled over onto my stomach, desperately patting along my waist, while the pounding in my head worsened. At least my pocket knife was still hanging on my belt—maybe I went camping with my friends again. Boots scraping against the dirt, I pushed myself onto my knees.
The first time, I fell back, nearly toppling over. On the second attempt, after ten seconds of hell, I managed to come into a sitting position facing the woods. Faint brown marks soiled my jeans as I stood up, but those were the least of my worries.
An uncountable number of trees shrouded the light sky, casting shadows onto the ground, and coils of vaporous mist engulfed the canopies looming before me. I squinted into the distance, but all I could see was endless wilderness.
Where am I?
Shielding my face from the sun, I turned around. Maybe I'd have better luck in the opposite direction, but like always, the odds were not in my favor.
A few small hills covered the nearby terrain, and a stagnant pool festered in the middle of the clearing. The water was perfectly still, mirroring the trees on the other side. Besides the ring of dirt around the lake, everything was green, so green that it almost seemed unreal.
Walking down to the edge of the water, I paused and peered into the depths of the jungle. What am I doing here? Why am I in the middle of nowhere?
Was I lost? My environmental studies seminar occasionally traveled to remote locations out in the wilderness—my favorite part of my major—, but I couldn't hear anyone nearby. The scenery didn't remind me of any national parks either.
As always, Jacqueline would clown me to no end. She would have a blast laughing about this story once I returned.
A thousand questions rattled around in my head, each one more fantastical than the last.
Everything was hazy. Squinting at the mystical lake, I tried to recall any memories of this place, but a sharp, sudden pain pierced through my skull. My stomach twisted once, twice, thrice, and then all I could taste was bile. Slow down, slow down. Start with the absolute basics.
