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The

Survivors’ Plea

Written by Jack Yow Jun Lam

I don’t really like dark forests much. Yet here I am, somehow. The eerie darkness
creeps into sight and the fog blinds even those with light. The trees with their dark bark
and outstretched crooked branches look like uninviting giants, but I can’t blame them

for that; what with the atmosphere being so horrible and ominous, I’d probably be a little
grumpy if I were a tree growing here. Among the clumps of withering trees hang sizable
masses that could be just bunches of crawling vines or something else, something much
more depressing and terrifying to think about. Yep, the sunny and bright forest back
home sure sounds like heaven right now, especially when my body feels so sluggish,

almost like I’m walking through a raging river while being burdened by lead weights.

I silently hope that this isn’t one of the Chieftain’s ‘tests’, as they call them. Despite

being the leader of my entire tribe, they seem to have taken a keen interest in me, for
whatever reason, to the point of mentoring me privately outside of their usual lessons
with my fellow tribesmen. Still, this seems too extreme for them, and not like they would
leave me unsupervised in a possibly haunted forest with just me, myself, and I, right?

Despair settles in as my instinct tells me that this may not be a hallucination and
that I’m stuck in this forest until I find a way out, which isn’t fair, since I don’t even
know where I am and how I got here. “Hey, this isn’t funny!” I shouted angrily into the

distance, my voice echoing. Something rustles in a nearby bush, which drains me of all
my courage, not that I had much in the first place. “Umm, anyone there? Is this some
sort of joke?” My voice sounds weak and scared even to myself. Suddenly, something
small yet nimble tackles me in the chest, making me tumble and fall on my bum. I groan
painfully as I make eye contact with the agile assailant, which turns out to be some sort

of luminiferous creature which looks like a hybrid of a fox and a wolf. To my utter dismay
and horror, many more leap out onto the damp forest floor from the very same bush,
which shouldn’t be possible, since the bush is the size of, well, a bush.

The glowing beast which intercepted me barks demandingly at the other critters
and me. Judging by its larger frame and commanding presence, it must be the alpha of
the pack. The alpha barks once more, then the whole pack turns around and trots in the
opposite direction. Being shell-shocked, I remain sitting on the ground until the alpha

glances at me after a few seconds, clearly annoyed. Struck with realisation, I quickly get
A.I. Generated
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