Kris noticed that Suho was a talker. Not just that, he also came across as overly curious and meddlesome. Kris didn’t mind at first, given that when you meet someone for the first time you’ve got to ask a lot of questions to get to know the person. He felt sorry for Kai as he watched him get bombarded with Suho’s questions.

The tanned boy in black would look at him with pleading eyes, like a small animal cowering away but Kris offered no salvation. He just shrugged and watched the guy endure Suho’s yapping. Kai was one of them, apparently, and had the ability of teleportation –which Kris thought was pretty darn awesome.

But he finally had the urge to speak up when Kai mentioned something foreign.

“A bogger, I didn’t know what to call it,” Kai repeated to Kris. “It’s a weird faceless creature. Its flesh is hairless, white, ragged and wrinkled. , even its head consists in heavy layers of jagged skin, covering where the eyes and nose should be. It only has a colossal mouth from end to end, filled with sharp black teeth,” he explained with his hands. “It roams around , hunched, tall with lanky arms and legs, both ends with sharp black claws,” he paused, looking back at the others disgruntled. “You’ve seriously never seen one? Not once?” he asked bewilderedly.

“No”

“Never”

“Well ,” frustrated Kai swept his hair back with his hand. “I barely escaped alive and you guys haven’t even peeped at one,” he said exasperatedly more to himself than towards the others.

Kris interjected before Suho could start interrogating.

“You’ve seen more than one?”  

Kai nodded, “Two.”

“Where?”

“That’s the oddest part. They were about a hundred meters from the facility. Just past the beginning of the woods,” Kai explained. “It’s my first time outside and it felt like they were expecting me,” he visibly shuddered. “First I saw one from far. I freaked out and wanted to run back, only to face the second one,” his face grimaced, “It had foul smelling goo that oozed out of its mouth, its teeth were like dark daggers, sharp as hell. And then it shrieked a horrible cry, like from your worst nightmares.” His eyes roamed the floor, desperately looking for some solace as panic spread across his face. “I’m so thankful I can just disappear in thin air. Otherwise I’d be…”

He didn’t need to finish his sentence, his point was loud and clear.

Kris looked back at Suho, unsure of what to do. The boy in blue looked just as lost as he was. They’ve been enjoying the tranquility of the woods for the past week, it was impossible for them to believe Kai’s words.

“Kai,” the latter was brought back to reality from whatever horrid memory replaying in his mind. “Are you sure you didn’t just imagine all that?” Suho cautiously asked.

A dark look crossed the boy’s face. “You don’t believe me?” he stated more than questioned.

“I believe something did scare you, but I’ve –we’ve been running around these woods for days and never seen or felt any threat,” Suho explained.

Kris nodded. He hadn’t been roaming around as long as the water bender, but he explored a lot while flying around.

Kai shook his head in disbelief and plopped himself on the nearest rock. His wet clothes made a distinct noise. As if he were trying to comfort the boy, Suho used his ability to the water out of Kai’s black clothes, leaving them completely dry. Kai stared baffled as the other threw the levitating stream of water into the lake.

“Sorry,” Suho smile sheepishly, “should’ve done that sooner.”

“Thanks,” Kai said softly as he hugged his knees drawn to his chest. He suddenly looked so small.

“Hey,” Kris finally said to Suho. “He’s not lying.”

“What?”

“His eyes, they weren’t lying,” he simply said, waiting for the other to remember his ability to detect a lie.

Suho nodded, thoughts falling on the same page Kris was. “But we’ve never seen one”

“There’s a lot of things we haven’t seen yet, but that doesn’t mean we don’t believe they exist. Remember? Round and yellow,” he pointed at the sunless sky.

“I guess you’re right,” Suho smiled gingerly. “We should investigate then. Find out what’s really out there.”

Kris didn’t dare to share the courage of the latter, but felt it was cowardly to admit it. Maybe Suho was right. Maybe they should know the dos and don’ts of the woods. If there were any dangers out there, it would be best to learn how to protect yourself –or better yet, know how to avoid them.

Kris would normally fly back to the facility while Suho took the underwater tunnel, but they decided on walking the whole way –much to Kai’s dismay. It took some convincing but they managed to make him agree. Together they trekked through the profuse forest before it got too dark.

“I could’ve just teleported back,” Kai grumbled to himself.

Kris observed how nervous the boy in black was, his youthful face fell lost within his fears. He was skittish and his head would snap towards any little thing he heard, whether it were the batting of a bird's wings or the breaking of a twig. They would guess whatever the cause of any noise was, just to try to calm the boy.

Kris felt that the path was eternal, between uneven grounds, rocks and plants of all sorts, walking was terribly slow. He definitely preferred the clear sky. When they were getting closer to the building, Kai’s anxiety became more erratic. Kris reached forward with the intention of placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but the sudden touch made Kai flinch. In a fraction of a second Kai appeared at least ten meters in front of them. When he realized he overreacted, his head hung low as he piped an apology. They kept walking finally reaching the clearing before the building.

Kris had mixed feelings about not encountering the creatures Kai spoke of. First he was madly relieved of not seeing one of those damn things, it terrified him just thinking about them. Second, he felt sorry for the kid. He really wanted to believe Kai wasn’t lying and that he wasn’t crazy. And third, he had the unnerving presentiment that Suho’s curiosity would drag him down a path he didn’t dare to venture.

“I swear they are real,” Kai said half desperate.

“We could search tomorrow,” Suho suggested.

no. Damn it Suho, Kris bitterly thought.

“I don’t want to,” Kai admitted. “I never want to see them again.”

There was no way to find a common agreement and they ended up leaving to their separate rooms.

Kris lay on the hammock watching the sunless sunset. There was a Purple Martin couple eating grains from the feeder Kris hung at the corner of his balcony. And he had a Tawny owl nuzzled against his chest. It was small and docile, this was the third time it approached Kris’ room. He was starting to believe the nocturnal bird was becoming attached to him. He petted the soft colorful feathers as he tried to ease his thoughts about the crazy day he had.

The next morning he wasn’t awoken by the chirping of the birds. A guard entered his room and ordered him to get dressed. The Tawny owl flew away afraid of the intruder, only then Kris realized the bird slept in his room. Cheeky little pest, he thought.

The guard led him outside in front of the entrance of the facility. Suho was there with a guard too. Then Kai walked outside; his charismatic face afflicted as if his morning started off terribly wrong, and Kris had a pretty good guess of the reason when he saw Mama follow behind the boy.

“A new day,” she greeted with poise. “Due to Kai’s shameless misbehavior, the second part of the trials will begin today. As a group, you must support each other and strategize to succeed the first test. I never said the woods were a safe place but consider the lake as a haven. There are two creatures capable of much harm. You must annihilate them. Also, you can not return until you’ve accomplished the task.” She walked up to Suho and handed him a canteen water bottle with a shoulder strap. “Use it wisely.” Then she handed him a small strap on bag.

The guards walked back inside.

“Try to survive,” she said softly. Before entering the building she said “Oh, and watch out for the goo.”

Goo? She couldn’t possibly mean what I think she does.

Quickly he turned to Kai, his eyes were wide and his face turned horribly pale. He began to shake his head and repeatedly say ‘no’. Suho tried to calm him.

“I escaped from my room yesterday. I wasn’t allowed to go out yet, that’s why I saw them,” Kai blurted. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Suho patted his head. “These trials were meant to happen anyway.”

Kai simply nodded.

Kris walked up to Suho and took the bag to search its contents. Hopefully a shotgun.

Suho looked at him expectantly. “There are some protein and energy bars and a hand sanitizer,” Kris informed. Suho raised an eyebrow, silently asking ‘That’s all?’ “Yeah that’s all,” he replied. “I guess she really meant it when she said we can’t comeback.”

“She gave us a hand sanitizer, that’s as serious as it gets,” Kai said with sarcasm.

“What do we do?” Suho asked Kris.

“It’s a trial,” Kris stated.

“No , like she didn’t just tell us.”

“I mean, if it’s a trial then we’re meant to pass it. They’re not going to kill us after all their precious studies,” Kris reasoned. “We are supposed to be developing our skills.”

“So they challenge us to fight back,” Suho added. Kris nodded. “Through survival instincts, we’re meant to adapt and overcome adversity. Its nature’s way to evolve. Natural selection.”

“There’s nothing natural about this,” Kai groaned.

“Both are right,” Kris commented. “But we’ve got no choice.”

Kai nodded, heaving out a nervous sigh. “Okay,” he said with his eyes closed, as if he hated himself from agreeing or as if he couldn’t believe himself. “But how are we going to fight those monsters with that,” he pointed at Suho whom seemed offended. “Not you, the water bottle thing you’ve got there.”

“I’ll handle the water,” Suho muttered.

“I’ve got an idea,” Kris said and they huddled to hear his strategy.

“You weigh a lot more than I thought,” Kris groaned as he flew with Suho on his back.

“Shut up,” Suho grumbled, “blame Kai for not knowing how to teleport others. We’d already be there.”

“I need a break,” Kris said and dropped Suho on a tree top.

The other screamed some nasty blasphemies at him. He wasn’t ready for the fall.

“Took you your sweet time,” Kai said as they landed at the lake.

“Shut up,” Kris and Suho said at the same time. Kai lifted his arms in retreat.

“Alright, I’ll go find them. So be ready.” Kris said and flew up.

“Remember! Ugly white hairless ers!” Kai yelled.

That kid had a fowl mouth.

It took him a while to find the boggers. They were hidden towards the south end of the forest, complete opposite of where Kai found them yesterday. Kris hid in a tree, seven meters away and observed the horrid monsters. They were exactly as Kai described them: ugly white hairless ers, with big black claws and black teeth -so many teeth. They were repugnant and creepy as hell. But what scared Kris the most was their uncanny resemblance to a human. They were like a disfigured person with animalistic features.

Kris flew back to the lake and informed the others of the location. Then he grabbed two heavy rocks, one in each hand.

“I’ll be in the air to assist.”

“With that?” Kai said doubtfully.

“It’s better than nothing,” he shrugged.

Up in the air, Kris followed Kai who quickly got to the place the boggers were. Kai threw a stone at one’s head, effectively gaining their attention. Kai then would disappear and appear before them, mocking them and leading them towards the lake. Kai fell when he stepped on an unstable log. Kris quickly smacked the bogger who dared to charge towards the fallen boy with one of the rocks he held. Kai vanished, Kris saw him reach the lake. He threw the other rock at the bogger, angering them to follow him towards the lake.

Suho had a big whirlpool formed; Kris flew with great speed and pushed as hard as he could against the bogger closest to the lake. The bogger was lighter than he expected -but he realized that they were horribly thin so it made sense. The creature fell forward into the edge of the lake. Suho made the current stir faster and pulled the bogger in. It screeched a horrifying cry as it struggled from drowning.

“Kris watch out!” Kai screamed.

Kris instinctively flew upwards, nearly missing the damn bogger’s claws. Kai appeared above the monster and aimed a descending kick with all his strength. He knocked the bogger down then disappeared before it could retaliate. The bogger hissed and spat out, his goo dissolved the ground. Kris was shocked and understood Mama’s warning.

“Guys the goo is some form of acid. Be careful,” he informed.

The bogger went towards Suho, who just managed to drown the other monster. Kris flew down, kicking the bogger like Kai did and it fell down away from Suho. The latter then took initiative and began to whip the remaining monster with a stream of water, the creature coward back. Kris lifted big rock, barely hoisting it up. He flew above the bogger and dropped the rock, but the damn thing evaded his attack. His long clawed arms stretched towards him. Suho splashed the bogger with a wave, it angered and jumped faster than ever towards Suho. He stumbled backwards; the bogger was ready to slash him. Then, out of nowhere, a massive boulder appeared above the bogger, smashing the creature to the ground. Kai fell next to the dying creature. He looked just as surprised as the rest, as if he couldn’t believe he managed to pull that stunt.

Kris descended next him and helped him up, Suho walked to them. They watched as the long limbs stopped moving and then the bogger turned into white dust. It vanished into the air.

They stared utterly shocked. That was not possible, physically impossible… right? Suho was the first to react. He ran towards the lake and placed his hand in the water, a pulse emitted from him and it spread through the whole lake. He slowly stood up and faced them with a scared expression.

“There’s no body. It’s gone,” he said.

They sat at the thick roots of the willow tree, completely exhausted. Suho sat on the root closest to the water, letting his feet soak. Kai commented that he wouldn’t dare touch that ‘bogger water’, earning a glare from the other. Kris sat on the highest root with his back against the tree trunk, while Kai was sprawled of the floor leaning his head on a root. They ate the energy and protein bars Mama gave them. Hopefully they’ll gain enough energy to get back before night. They didn’t use the hand sanitizer.

Kris felt drained and had mixed feelings about the whole situation. Quite frankly he was disturbed. It never once crossed his mind that he’d one day kill a living creature, no matter how malevolently monstrous it were. But conversely, he felt a detachment towards the boggers, as if it was acceptable for them to be killed. Nature had its way of creating feral laws where the strongest prevailed, claiming their niche and feeding off the inferiors. But as Kai said before, this wasn’t natural. Boggers weren’t natural, they couldn’t be. There’s no animal resembling them, they had to be something that was experimented on -just like they were.

But how the did their bodies disappear?

Kris breathed deeply as he tried to ease the unpleasant thoughts. He felt too confused to come up with any answers. He looked towards the sunless sky and watched how the hues of color changed throughout the passing of the twilight. He knew they would have to go back soon and he felt an odd sense of pride. He was amazed at how they managed to win and how they exerted their abilities, he wanted to flaunt back to the facility and prove Mama that they were capable.

“We should head back, it’s getting dark,” Suho said. Wordlessly, they stood. Before they left, Suho filled the bottle with water. “Just in case,” he explained.

Back at the facility Mama awaited them with a proud smile. She was accompanied by six guards. Kai didn’t seem quite excited to see her. He was probably still sorrow from the morning reprimand, Kris reasoned. She informed them that their success was satisfying and that their advances would be recorded.

“Halt and catch fire,” she said with a smile when Suho dared to ask how the boggers disappeared. “We’ve programmed them to autodestruct through molecular disintegration once they are defeated.”

“You created those things!” Kai hollered at her.

A loud slap shook the air, Kai’s head snapped to the side as a red mark colored his cheek.

“Your insolence will not be tolerated,” she hissed venomously.

As they were escorted to their rooms Kris’ only thought about how Suho was right, Mama’s eyes did not express anger. In fact, they didn’t express anything at all.