|Part One|

Similar day.

Everyone was risking through the wild forest as the day eventually came to an end.

"Now it'll take time to go to the resort even!" Kash screeched, astonishing everyone.

"Yeah, let's find a favorable place to rest." Tatum announced.

"No, I say we stay cautious. What if some animal is roaming around here?" Blake said, withholding Tatum's guidance.

"But we did take a nap yesterday though. Nothing happened!" Tatum differed, not letting Blake stand up.

"You want to rest? Then rest, I don't care!" He confessed heedlessly and went straight to Neel, who was standing at a safe distance from the cliff.

"I don't think this Mark guy is good." He mumbled, standing beside him.

"I'll ask him, you don't have to give your opinions to it." Neel confessed, not looking at him while talking.

"Who do you think you are? No need to act all skilled, alright? It's stupid." Blake nagged, pointing at the latter.

"Well, who are you to inform me that? You're a no one."

"I'm a famous tennis player of the campus. Everyone respects me." Blake gritted his teeth.

"I don't speculate that you've been of any use to us." Neel said in all stillness and finally looked at Blake.

"I can do many things. You don't know me." Blake growled, trying to keep his voice as low as possible and took a quick glance at the others. Everyone was sitting, savoring some water which Mark gave them. Aiden was crouching beside Mark, wrapping a cloth over the wound on his arm.

"Oh yeah? What can you do, Blake Harrison?" Neel challenged, raising an eyebrow, not perceiving what was arriving for him.

Blake shot a sudden jab at Neel's face, causing him to tumble over, attributed to the sudden, tough contact of his cheekbone and Blake's fist.

Everyone got startled and sprinted over to both the males. Neel, despite being a patient person, didn't control and lunged at Blake, binding a solid hook into his jaw.

They both were then detached from each other by Kash and Jiho.

Blake's fists were shaking, hands twisted into claws. A vein in his neck throbbed, nostrils flaring.

"Be in your boundaries, fucker!" He shouted in a scathing tone. They both chanted some cursed utterances at each other before they got disengaged.

"What are you two doing? Stop it!"

"Will you both stop behaving like fives? It's ridiculous! If you can't do this together then stay away from each other! You always have to pick up a fight!" Aiden thundered, taking out all his exasperation on Blake and Neel.

"Yes, exactly. Just don't bother, I'm sure you and us, both will be safe." Mark asserted and the rest nodded.

"Well, stay away then, Harrison." Neel warned and walked to Aiden who was sitting on the gravel.

"I know you're discontented but trust me, he made me do it." Neel said taking Aiden's hand in his.

"Yes, but please try not to repeat this, alright? I already said we have to trust each other. That's all I'm asking for. You know how childish Blake can be." Aiden verbalised his thinking and feelings.

"True. Don't worry, I'll converse with them. You should rest." Neel spoke and departed. However, Aiden couldn't stop worrying about whatever just occurred.

"Let's doze off for some time, we'll resume tomorrow." They all went to the place, reclining on the harsh ground, resting their heads on the big rock behind.

•••

Twenty minutes passed, then forty. Nothing happened. Neither the sun unexpectedly bloomed nor did they find any clue. But something was coming. Closer as the instants pass. They were sleeping, unconscious and unaware of what was bound to happen.

Cluck, cluck.

Something stirred, scuttling towards the sleeping men, small and tanned but powerful and harming at the equivalent time.

Cluck, cluck.

"Stop with this sound, Kash..." Raylan muttered, still in deep slumber.

Cluck, cluck.

"Tsk, I told you to stop." He finally opened his eyes, moving his orbs around the place, realising that Kash is not the one making such noises.

His eyes widened in terror as he started to back away in panic. His pulse ramped up. Every gut and muscles of his body seemed to come unwound. His eye sockets seemed to be expanding and eyeballs contracting. All his breath trapped. Stammering, he continued to back up, his breathing uneven.

It was pacing around with unimaginable impatience.

"Everyone... G-Get up." He sputtered. His voice was barely coming out of his throat. He gulped in fear, shaking Aiden's body which was right beside him. After a few shakes, Aiden sat up and yawned.

"What?" He drowsed. Raylan pointed in front of him, his hands trembling. Aiden followed his hand and what he saw must've been the most dreadful and tragic moment of his life.

Thousands of huge scorpions making their way to the group. Many more emerging from down the cliff.

Just in the next second, everyone woke up. Their body froze up and the brain began to malfunction. Death lurked five meters away. The group had no idea how that happened but there was no time to think of any reason.

"How..." Neel muttered, all astounded, not knowing what to do.

"I thought we were deserted..."

They definitely weren't alone. They all glanced at eachother in panic, some of them still sleepy but not unconscious.

"What now..." Aiden raised a question, followed by a gulp.

"We run." Jiho uttered.

"What?"

"Run!" They all scrambled to their feet, darting away. The arachnids followed them from behind while the clucking sound increased. It was like a nightmare. They wished it to be a fantasy, but they knew it wasn't.

They were still galloping, true fear visible in their gazes. It all happened so hastily, they still couldn't process it all.

Their mind swarmed with so many questions. How did this happen? Does this mean their life has changed?

For a split second Aiden's eyes watered from the thought of someone getting hurt. Or maybe that was just the wind since his feet were carrying him fast. Pushing their arms back and forth, the team jetted to any destination, somehow dodging the scorpions that wanted to suck their blood clean. They pumped their legs as fast as they could go.

"What is this, Tatum?!" As much as Kash didn't want to yell, he couldn't stop himself. Not after having multitudinous scorpions charging towards him.

"I don't know, okay? Stop blaming me!" He said between pants and breaths.

"We can't keep running!" Mark invaded the conversation. "Someone has to resist them from coming closer!" He added.

"You all run as fast as you can, I'll stop them!"

"Shut up, will you? No need to be a knight in shining armour!" Kash's voice rose an octave, not wanting Mark to go back to such a harmful thing. His voice had a certain amount of care in it.

"Look there!" They all glared at the massive rock which reached up.

"Let us be there for the time being!" They all acted fast and mounted one by one.

"Give me my spear from the bag, Jiho!" Jiho threw-passed the spear to Mark as he tried to stop the scorpions from climbing up, squishing their bodies. Tatum too found another branch close by and helped Mark along.

Mark leaped from high up and drove the rudimentary spear down into the base of one of the animal's leg. He twisted the spear and snapped the leg from the carapace. The scorpion staggered back in obvious pain.

"Mark, come on up! It's dangerous!"

He ignored, squaring off against the monster. Silhouetted by the moonlight at the edge of the mountain, he fought. Mark was laser-focused.

"From what it's visible, I'm sure they are Arizona Bark scorpions but I don't know how they got so huge!" Neel acquainted.

"Exactly! They mostly grow till eight to nine centimetres but these seem like fifteen to me! It is impossible!" Jiho frowned.

"How is this even happening? I-I don't understand!" Aiden cried out.

"We can't be here for long, we have to run to the resort or the poison may kill us! We can't stop them, they are too many!" As Mark called out, Tatum nodded in affirmation, forehead filled with sweat drops, slipping one after other.

"This place is wild! We can't be here! No way, I'm risking my neck for this stupid vacation!" Raylan squealed.

"Augh!" They all looked at the direction. Their eyes widened, as they slapped their hand on the mouth in panic.

Mark was poisoned by the arachnid.

|End Of Chapter|