How It Should Have Ended Part2 (The Continuation)

Chapter 17 (Bonus Chapter): The Trip

"Wait, did you hear that?" Yi Jung's eyes widened. He whipped his head around, trying to figure out where the sound came from.

Ji Hoo wrinkled his brow. Yes, he could hear something. They all walked carefully towards a row of prickly bushes and peeked over them.

Four wild chickens stared back at them.

A slow smile spread across their faces.

"Roast chicken, anyone?" Woo Bin whispered, as he tiptoed quietly to the other side of the bush. Just as when he was about to grab one, the chickens started running.

The boys ran after them, their faces grim with determination.

"These chickens sure are fast!" Ji Hoo called out to the other two. None of them were having any luck catching one. Yi Jung almost came close to nabbing a brown chicken with white streaks on its wings but it escaped his net at the last minute.

They stopped to take a breath, and Ji Hoo tried to wipe the drops of sweat across his face. "I give up." He conceded defeat. "Let's head back to the girls." He put his hand in his pocket to take out his compass. It wasn't there. He tried to quell the small panic growing inside him as he patted all his pockets and found no sign of the compass. "Oh no," he wailed. "I must have dropped my compass when we were running after those blasted chickens."

Yi Jung took out his flashlight and turned it on. The sun had almost completely set. Fortunately, the stars were out in full force, giving off some light so they could see where they were walking.

"You mean we're lost?" Woo Bin groaned, as he plopped himself on the ground. He glanced around. "Anyone recognize any of these trees?"

"They all look the same to me," Yi Jung answered, as he sat beside Woo Bin.

"No kidding," Ji Hoo was the last to sit down. This is great. Just great.

"Anyone have the time?" Woo Bin asked the other two boys.

"I left my watch back in camp when Yi Jung said we were going to the lake," Ji Hoo answered back in the dark.

"I gave mine to Ga Eul for safekeeping," Yi Jung said, weakly.

Ji Hoo stood up. There was no way he was going to sleep there, not if he could help it. "Let's keep walking. Maybe we'll recognize something and find our way back to camp."

They all stood up and walked aimlessly for what felt like hours, Yi Jung leading the way with his small, dim flashlight. It was hard to tell anything apart in the dark. Exhausted, hungry, and a little grouchy, they all sat down, hope slowly ebbing away.

"I'm sure we've been gone for hours," Yi Jung stated. "The girls are probably worried sick and are probably calling out a search party for us."

"We're the only ones on this entire mountain!" Woo Bin's voice was an octave higher than normal.

"I have some walkie-talkies in the backpacks. I'm sure they've been calling out for help." Yi Jung sounded so confident. "You just wait. There will be a huge search and rescue party coming to get us." He licked his lips dreamily. "And I'm sure they'll bring us food. Maybe there's even bacon!"

They all sat there in silence for what seemed like another couple of hours.

"Ga Eul will come looking for me," Yi Jung said out loud, though not as confidently as the last time.

"I wouldn't if I were her," Woo Bin smirked.

Ji Hoo thought of Jan Di. He wasn't sure he wanted her wandering around in the woods late at night looking for him. As much as he wanted to see her, he wanted her safe too. A horrible thought nagged at him. What if he never saw her again? What if they'd wandered too far away that they could never be found?