*Aren't they a bit *too* eager?*

There was a worn-down carriage sitting right behind them, but none of the three noticed before diving headlong into action. She took a peek, and naturally, various items were inside.

 

*>+1 Camera*

*>+1 Salt Shaker*

*>+1 Beef Jerky*

 

*This should be before digital photography, and the camera's got no film.*

"Of course this was here," said Keith who suddenly showed up.

"Why... Didn't we... Check..."

Rae, being out of breath, couldn't string a sentence together.

*Horror games and low stamina, a formidable duo.*

"Oopsie. Hi Jishi."

Syny bashfully averted her gaze as she stumbled into the carriage.

"Is this all you found, Princess?" Keith asked, looking at what Jisha had laid out on the floor.

Jisha nodded.

"Are you sure this is Easy, Scion?" he asked after inspecting the items.

"Um?"

Jisha could see the cartoon sweat bullets pouring down Syny's forehead.

"On Easy difficulty, we'd all start with a Torch-type item. If not, there would be some nearby," Keith continued. "Since we did find Salt, though, it's not any worse than Difficult."

"D- Difficult?" Rae asked, trembling again. "I was already scared to begin with, and now we have to play on Difficult!?"

"It's okay, Rae..." Keith said as he gently embraced his girlfriend.

"Awwweee, look at you two!" Syny cooed.

*...*

Romantic antics aside, it was useful they had an experienced player in their midst - there was no need to waste brainpower on figuring out how the game worked. 

"Right," Keith said as he let go of Rae. "We need to find some Torches before sundown. Let's split up and meet back at the carriage before it gets dark."

"Yeah! Let's split up while playing a horror game!" Syny said excitedly.

"Haha, don't worry. The ghost won't show up before sundown," Keith reassured.

"Poo, boring. Well, if you say so. Jish, come with me."

"Huh?"

Syny dragged Jisha out of the carriage before anyone else could say another word.

They walked into the forest until the trees behind them obscured their spawn point.

"Who is this know-it-all???" Syny complained as she angrily kicked loose soil.

"You don't know him?"

"No. Rae turned 14 and got this loser boyfriend??"

*I think her plan has been ruined.*

The Rae that Syny wanted to see trembling in her boots now had a knight in shining armor to protect her.

"So, what now?" Jisha asked. The only reason she was here was to spend time with her friend. Everything and everyone else was irrelevant.

"Grrrr… I don't know. Let's just walk around and hope we find something," she said, kicking more dirt into the air.

 

—

 

As the sun set further and further, the shadows grew longer and longer.

Syny didn't want to admit it, but her heart was also beating faster and faster.

The chirping of the birds in the trees died down. The leaves rustled louder and louder as the wind picked up.

They still had no light source… It was getting really dark. There could be dangerous animals around... and a ghost???

She shivered as gusts of cold air flew by.

It was definitely the wind that caused her to tremble, nothing else!

Surely scaredy-cat Jish was feeling the same way!

Only, she couldn’t read Jisha’s expression…

Dammit! Was her airheaded-ness more powerful than her scaredy-cat-ness?

*crunch*

She abruptly stopped.

"Jisha, did you hear that?"

"Maybe?"

She strained her hearing as best she could, but nothing similar sounded again.

What was that? She could swear *something* just happened nearby!

If only they could see…

"We need to find a flashlight, quick!"

"Okay."

Hurry! They had to hurry! Sure, there were countless leaves on the ground, but there was no way that was a natural sound!

Syny’s eyes frantically darted around. She strained her eyesight to its limits as the sun dipped below the horizon. Where in the world were they supposed to find any items? If they couldn’t see anything anymore, they were finished!

"Here," Jisha suddenly said.

 

*>+1 Torch*

*>+1 Flint*

 

"Wow! You're a hero!"

Syny's awe was not facetious; they were saved!

*FWOOSH*

The flaming stick roared to life as light bounced off their surroundings.

Wait. In a way, was this even worse? Somehow, only being able to see a little bit was scarier than not being able to see anything at all. The way the flame flickered made it difficult to properly see things in the distance.

Was there something... or some*one*, over there?

She stared at that one point for what seemed like ages... only to find out it was just her imagination! The flickering flames were making her see things!

Gah, now what? What were they supposed to do? Should they regroup with Keith and Rae? As scared as she was, she did NOT want to see that obnoxious know-it-all!

What was Jisha thinking? Maybe she had an idea?

"..."

Nope, she was just looking around absentmindedly. Syny wanted to clutch her head in anguish.

*whoooosh*

*rustle, rustle*

The wind, the leaves...

"*CAW*, *CAW*!"

"Ah!"

Her heart leapt to her throat.

"It's just a bird?"

A crow's wings flapped by their torch nearly extinguishing its flames. Darkness threatened to envelop them completely.

"Can't see can't see can't see! Come on..."

Like a hen protecting her chicks, Syny shielded the torch's flame from the elements in efforts to revitalize it.

Finally, the light emitted steady crackling sounds. It was safe!

"Whew..."

The two continued wandering aimlessly through the forest.

This had been going on too long. They needed a change of plans.

Obviously, the objective was to kill the ghost. But how were they supposed to do that? They didn't know how it behaved nor how it looked. Where were they supposed to find this out?

She scratched her head in frustration. The more they wandered, the more she considered returning to the start.

She shook her head.

No! She was *not* going to go back to that guy!

If anything, she would *not* separate from Jish in an age without wireless communication!

She steeled her resolve to walk forwards, only to realize their light source wasn't steady.

"Heh?"

It wasn't the light that was shaky, but rather her arm...

Not scared not scared not scared... She wasn't scared!

Crap!

"Jisha! What should we do?"

If Jisha wanted to go back to the start, maybe it'd be okay. It wouldn't be her own decision, right? She would just be complying with her friend's request. Yes, of course!

Jisha smiled at her.

Her hopes rose as she awaited Jisha’s pleasant words.

"I don't know."

"Gah!"

She nearly collapsed on the spot. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place now...

On one side was the scary face of a ghost. On the other was a smug grin of a no-life loser!

"Whatever you plan, I'll follow, Syn."

What the hell!

What was she even thinking, asking this airhead? How could Jish have any plans about anything? Did she ever plan anything in her life? Was today somehow going to be different?

But if she herself was this scared, would Jisha be doing any better? The airhead was terrible at showing any emotion, but Syny knew firsthand how scared Jisha could get. She had to be strong! To support her friend in a time of turmoil!

"Yes! Okay. We'll beat Keith to the ghost!" Syny said, punching the air to shake off her discomfort.

"Okay."

"Um..."

She said this with conviction, but no matter how much conviction her words held, it didn't provide any instructions on what to do next. Just like Jisha, she had no plan.

Well, if neither of them had a plan...

"Jish, which way should we go???"

Jisha put a finger to her chin as she lost herself in thought.

This wasn't unusual. Even for simple questions, Jisha would only respond after taking some time. She ordinarily wouldn't mind since Jisha's social ability was subzero. But this was different!

*whooosh*

The wind was only getting worse. Did they have some sort of time limit? Was the ghost going to kill them all???

Please, hurry up and say something! At this point, she should have just picked a direction on her own!

"That way," Jisha finally said.

She turned her head to look where Jisha pointed. Nothing looked special about that place... but she didn't have any better ideas.

"Okay, Jishi! Let's go!!!" she said as she gripped Jisha's arm.

"O- Okay."

She stuttered! Jisha was definitely scared! That stutter... the airheaded-ness... She was a clueless child. All the more reason for herself to stand strong!

She held onto the Torch with one hand and Jisha's arm with the other. The further they walked, the worse the wind got.

*WHOOOOSH*

Fortunately, the wind only came in gusts. If it was constant, their Torch would have been snuffed out ages ago. They were able to hide behind large tree trunks to shield themselves before the wind got too violent.

Syny was so focused on keeping their Torch alive that she didn't have time to be scared anymore. But the farther they walked in this direction, the more she felt like their goal was truly drawing near.

Suddenly, the wind stopped. Syny could hear her heart beating again.

The two girls emerged from the dense forest into a clearing.

Countless stars flowed through the sky as if it were a god’s celestial painting. A solitary moon shone down from above, its white light bright enough to cast shadows in the grass.

And in the center of the clearing...

"Tch... That guy."

Of course, there was a run-down house where the ghost probably was, too, but...

"Ah, you're finally here. We've been waiting," he boldly said.

Syny grinded her teeth.

How annoying!!