Uncharted

Sporting a denim jacket, slick gloves, and a pair of sunglasses, the man hopped from vine to vine, escaping the rabid monkeys and komodo dragon, all chasing him to the ends of the Earth. With a smile, the bloke circled the pursuers with a grin. Right in front of him was an ancient gate missing a key. As soon as he solved the puzzle, the man unlocked the gate, but slipped into his demise.

It was an uncharted world filled with pathless mountains, forests, and the like. But he struck gold and recorded everything. Hence, claiming the title “Foxgloves”.

My sweat flooded my face as I revisited the story. It was epic, and Foxglove was dauntless as ever. Nevertheless, the unknown sent shivers down my spine, and the thought of going astray from the carved pavement never went inside my mind.

“Dude, hear me out. Baron Fox, or should I say Foxglove, was once trapped inside a cave, with nothing but paper clips, a three-meter rope, and a lighter at his disposal. He stacked the paper clips onto the rope, creating a hook to ascend and descend, grabbed a stick and ignited it, creating a makeshift torch, and eventually made an escape,” Kim Lee muttered as we trod towards the entrance of the cavern, with a comic book in his hand. “If not now, then when.” Kim dubbed, as he read the line from the comic. The most famous line.

We fixed our eyes at the latest scene where Foxgloves came face to face with the ebony komodo dragon, armed with weapons and miscellaneous tools at his disposal. Kim and I debated how the authors would end their fight, since the battle would be legendary. It was a test of strength and sheer will as the two came to a stare-off, unflinching and fearless. And that was the last panel of the comic.

“Duuuude, how is he so brave?” Kim added, as he pointed out Foxgloves’ character a hundred times, nearly ruining the comic’s page.

I shrugged my shoulders. “That’s why he’s a fictional character. Nothing scares him. Unlike us two dudes who are scared of ladies.”

However, Kim pointed out Baron’s hand, with lines scribbled on top of his knuckles. “There. He’s shivering. There’s some odd wavy lines drawn there.”

“And who… how. What makes you say I’m afraid of talking to girls!” Kim spouted. His face flushed red. “Not cool, dude. Not cool.”

“Probably just some random lines,” I answered, and moved on. “Probably, it was windy. Probably he had a cold.”

“Well, that’s the ninth edition, my dude. On to the next one,” Kim eventually said as he shut the comic book close and viewed our surroundings. “By the way, what happened to your arm, dude? What’s that little mark you got there? Tattoo?”

“That’s the last,” I uttered. “The next issue will be released next month. I literally have no idea why we brought all of our collection here.”

“And my arm got burnt after frying up some eggs,” I added, and shook my head.

“Damn it.” Kim clicked his tongue.

He then pressed his forefinger on my mouth, preventing me from muttering another word. “Shush. We need this while reading inside the bus. Besides, we made such good use of it.”

“Two pairs of clothes, two handkerchiefs, two plastic bottles of water, and matchsticks,” I recited what the two of us had brought along while moving his mouth out of the way.

“You sure do love the old guy,” I bickered. “I ate five sandwiches this morning. Egg and mayo. By the way, here, dude. I snuck my way to get these.” I showed Kim a mini camera with a grin on my face. It was an old camera of mine that belonged to my dad when we went fishing a few years. It gathered dirt, but it was still functional and loaded with Polaroid film after snapping a photograph. “Just in case," I said.

“Just in case,” Kim copied, and heaved a sigh of relief.

My eyes browsed the tropical island brimming with a sea of trees and abundance of wild life. Gushing sounds of waves crashed and burned from the side, echoing from ear to ear, as if calling to me. Right in front of us was our destination. Residents were scattered everywhere, which I assumed were tourist guides for our school trip.

For our minor subject, Geology, we were tasked to explore during our field trip the depths of El Dorado of Asia… somewhat. A replica of some sort near the Philippine’s coast of Cagayan De Oro. As a Korean student, the Philippines was the closest place where caves and lost places could be found.

After our professor set up a buddy system, I ended up with Kim as my partner for the entire field trip. As the class followed suit, our professor exclaimed, “For today’s trip, I want you and your buddies to unmap the Macahambus Hill Cave. Stay close to the grid, and make sure to stay right behind me.” He fixed his hat and polo-shirt and continued. “Once we reach the end of this cave, I want all of you to submit a reaction paper report in pairs. That will serve as your final exams for our fourth-year college Geography class. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir Sun,” the class chirped.

With a booklet in his hand, the professor led us the way.

The class had fifty students, and so did the rest of the other groups behind us. Nickson Park, a full-fledged Korean, shared the same fondness for exploration books, games, and comics. Despite our enthusiasm, our hands shook from either the interest of an unknown place or fear of the unknown.

“Foxglove always wore a special kind of glove. Did it finally arrive?” Kim asked with sparkling eyes.

I pulled him to the side and opened my bag. Kim’s face gasped in delight. “NOO WAY, DUDEEE.”

I answered, “YES WAY!”

The glove would certainly fit our hands. Fortunately, I bought two pairs for Kim and I to wear specifically for this occasion. However, we exchanged gaze, unsure whether it was the right moment for us to celebrate such a situation.

“We need to wear it when the time is right.” I bobbed my head to my own suggestion. “That’ll be awesome, dude.”

Kim seconded. I returned the gloves to my backpack and hurried to regroup with the others. But by the time Kim and I dashed forward, the crowd of students were nowhere to be seen. It was just Kim, some vines, and the mossy walls that welcomed our trip.

Unfortunately, the lights flickered. Out of nowhere, darkness consumed the place, accompanied by shrieks from both tourists and students. “Calm down and follow the light! Just walk straight ahead.” A distant voice was the last thing I caught, as I gripped Kim’s shoulder for assurance.

“Ugh…gergh…. “

I couldn’t control myself and let out a groan. My eyes only succumbed to darkness as I marched through the endless tunnel. I didn’t have my watch with me, so my hands fiddled my pockets to check the time. Sadly, my phone wouldn’t open, and the screen matched the obsidian surrounding me, rendering my gadget useless above all things.

Luckily, I brought something with me… “Just in case,” I murmured, and opened the mini camera. Upon checking its content, the portable digicam worked perfectly fine. Instead of making inquiries, I focused on survival and continued heading north, or wherever the fuck this is.

“You there, dude?” I asked.

“Yeah… Yeah. Still here.” His voice croaked, as if Kim was distant yet close by. “We should follow the tour guide, dude.”

“Right behind you.”

We didn’t have a choice and trundled onward, where the light shone the brightest. It didn’t take long before the dark was no more, and our travels ensued.

Unfortunately, the crowd of students or the tourists were nowhere to be seen. Not even the sun came into view. The familiar mossy walls turned into sand and rubble, and every step pulled me deeper underground where my feet touched nothing but gravel and more sand akin to the floors of the beachfront… And yet, no tides splashing elsewhere reverberated in the scene. In spite of the summer atmosphere, the scent of sea and the wind was absent. Not a soul uttered a word, except for me, who was breathing under my nose and the illuminated tunnel and the open sky.

“What the hell… is this place?” I asked, and expected a reply. After ten seconds of waiting, nobody answered.

I recalled I held onto Kim’s shoulder, and he responded a while back. It was an illusion… was it? This wasn’t a dream, since I still got this burnt mark on my arm. And yet, when I looked around, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Do I move forward… or do I wait for help?”

Help was on the way… I kept saying that to myself, as I fidgeted my fingers. The cold sweat reoccurred and slid to my neck once more, this time drenching me. My eyes wandered left and right, left and right, left and right, left and right.

For how long had I been waiting here?

For how long… should I stay here?

‘Help was on the way,’

‘Help was on the way,’

‘Help was on the way,’

‘Help was on the way,’

……….

There was nobody coming to save me. And then, I remembered. I remembered Kim.

“Where the hell are you, Kim?”

I knew Kim was with me. And if Kim wasn’t beside me when I got dragged down in this hell, he wouldn’t have reached out for me.

If Kim knew I was stranded somewhere unsafe, he… “Would’ve rushed in to save me.” I glued my eyes straight ahead of me, where the tunnel stretches infinitely.

I clenched my fist to hide my shivering hands and grit my teeth. The metallic taste entered my mouth, but it didn’t matter. Kim was far more important than what I had inside.

“For starters, let’s… look for Kim in this spooky forest.” I gulped, and finally lifted my legs, with the sands following behind me.

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