317 Abandoned

Safety in number was how everyone survived. Vy did feel a little lonely, being out here in the Jungle on her own. She felt as if she always had someone by her side. Now there was an empty presence next to her. 

After the group had left, she approached the safe box once more. When she opened it, Vy was not surprised to find it empty. After all, they were already here before she was.

Vy examined the box carefully. There were no locks on the box and the symbol of the bow and arrow was stamped onto it. She closed the lid of the box and climbed back up the tree. 

She climbed all the way up till she was above the canopy layer to reconfirm her current position. Once she was certain, she climbed back down and headed in the direction of the wall. 

It took another few hours of trekking and two short breaks in between before she finally came up to where the wall was. She approached it with great caution, fearful of activating any traps that might have been placed. 

After a thorough inspection, she could not find any trips, the wall was relatively unguarded. The wall was all covered in moss, seemingly made out of stone. 

"If I had some firepower, I could easily blast this wall open," she mused as she continued to inspect it. 

She covered all her bases, trying to hit the wall with her sword. It was a futile effort but she wanted to try it nonetheless. Seeing as the wall is circular in formation, Vy decided to trace the length of the wall. 

If the symbol of the rabbit was on the wall, she would be able to find it that way. Vy used her dagger and carved a symbol into the trunk of a nearby tree. She also drew an arrow in the direction that she would take. 

With that done, she began to trace her way alongside the wall. 

The process was long, boring and tedious. But Vy kept at it. She climbed up a nearby tree to sleep during the night. It was safer away from the spider beasts. On the morning of the second day, she was surprised to find the symbol of the rabbit on the wall. 

The symbol was huge, covering a large section on the wall. It was carved into the wall and it had a seam going down the centre. Vy examined it carefully. She traced her fingers on the ridge of the seam. 

"This…" she stepped back and looked at the entire symbol. 

"This is a door…" she gasped in shock. 

She placed her ear on the wall and listened closely. After a while, she ran towards the side, away from the symbol and repeated the same. 

The wall where the symbol was, was hollow. A smile appeared on her face. There was indeed a way out of the wall! As she looked at the remaining length of the wall she had yet to cover, Vy wondered. 

She needed to know. Vy carefully marked a nearby tree again before she continued down the side of the wall. This time, it was almost a day and a half before she came upon something interested. 

Unlike the rest of the Jungle she had seen, this area was a lot more sparse. When she sniffed the air, Vy also noticed an acrid smell in the air. Though she was not certain what she smelt exactly, she knew she had to investigate. 

Abandoning the wall, she explored this segment of the Jungle. She took each step with great caution, careful not to make any unnecessary movement. The further she explored, the stronger the smell.

In a clearing, she noticed a familiar looking box. But unlike the ones she had seen before, this one was not made out of wood. This box was ash grey in colour with a different symbol on it. 

Vy observed her surroundings carefully before she approached the box with caution. Once she was certain that it had no traps, she placed her hand on the cover. It was cold to touch. It seems like the box had not been open in quite some time. 

There was a thick layer of dust and soot on it. She used her palm to wipe it away, revealing the symbol of a roll of lit dynamite. A certain excitement filled her heart. This was the firepower she needed! 

When she opened the lid, she let out a sigh. It was empty. But then a new hope lit within her. There was always more than one box. So she still had hope. Vy looked around again. 

There was a path leading away to what looked like another clearing. She turned to follow down that path, carefully remembering the way she came from. Much to her surprise, the path led her to a campsite. 

In her excitement, Vy ran up to it, throwing caution to the wind. Just as she was she approached the entrance of the campsite, she tripped on a wire trap. As soon as she triggered it, her heart went cold. 

How could she be so careless!

What followed was a series of beeping noises coming from both sides around her. The beeping noises increased with intensity, causing her heart to palpitate. There was no time to think of a plan. Vy dashed forward and ducked for cover. 

In the next split second, a loud explosion went off on both sides. 

BOOM!

The reverberation echoed throughout the surrounding area of the Jungle. Rumbles could be felt throughout the forest ground. Birds flew away from the trees in succession. 

Though she had ducked for cover, the force of the explosion threw her off. The sound waves produced from the explosion caused her ears to ring. Vy winced in pain as she covered her ears in pain. 

Some of the shrapnel from the explosive had flown out in all directions. Vy suffered cuts from the shrapnel all across her arms. She tried to regain her bearings and stand up on her own two feet but she could not. 

She fell to the ground with a thud as her vision began to blur. She gritted her teeth, crawling towards shelter. 

But Vy did not make it very far before she completely blacked out.