We continued swimming downstream, encountering a vast variety of fishes along the way. I was starting to get worried, since we had been here for some time now and there was still no end. Besides, if night caught us in here it could get dangerous; peculiar creatures roam at night. A few meters ahead, I saw how the river became much wider. It wasn’t until we got to a certain point that we noticed the river divided in 3 different directions: front, left, and right.

MJ: Oh great, now what? Which way are we supposed to go?

We all looked at each other, trying to think of a way to choose a road. I tried to remember what Kris had told me, but still it didn’t make sense.

MJ: Kris told me that the next stage was at THE END of the river… Only problem is there are 3 ends… I knew we couldn’t trust that guy.

HaeRi swam up to my side and expressed what she thought. Apparently, RiRi thinks that if Kris said “at the end” it was an indirect way of saying “keep going forth”.

MJ: Well, you do have a point there. And if you look at the 3 options, the front one looks more evil. It’s water current is moving faster than the rest, so I think you’re right about this HaeRi. Good job!

I smiled at her. I looked at Kai, looking for support or rejection, but he just nodded. That meant we were all going to follow the front path. We went on, going into the chosen route, feeling how the faster current took us along. Without having to so much we steadily moved in accordance with the path. We kept at it for some time, but everything went wrong when Lay suddenly drowned. He began to splash, trying to maintain himself over the water, but it always managed to cover him. Kai quickly went to help him, but he was having troubles also with the water current. Now we were moving at an even faster pace, and we had already stopped . Soon after, we all began to have troubles staying adrift. I heard coughing and gargling. I saw splashing and spazzing. The water current had turned strong and harsh, spiking up at us.

MJ: Everyone! Try to swim to the edge! Hurry!

The path had turned less wide, but more crowded by trees and rocks at the sides. I tried to swim myself toward the left side; maybe we could take a hold of some of those rocks to anchor ourselves for a while. But the current covered me, making me do multiple tumbles under water before coming to the surface again, gasping for air. This was getting out of control. I tried to count and see if everyone was still above water, but something else caught my attention… In a few seconds, we would encounter a series of continuous mini waterfalls…

MJ: OH MY GOD! EVERYONE!! Grab a hold of each other! DON’T LET GO!

I grabbed onto XiumIn, which was the one closest to me; he grabbed HaeRi, who at the same time grabbed LanFang. But time wasn’t enough, and the remaining 2 boys weren’t able to become part of our chain. And so the tumbling began. We fell from one drop to the other, letting the water cover and uncover us at its desire. Rocks stabbed and scratched us; water went into our mouth and noses, making us gag. The current got even faster, and there was absolutely no way to stop our trajectory. I tried to call Kai and Lay, but every time something got in the way. We were crashing against the river bed, going side to side; our chain didn’t last much. The falls finally ended; I swam up form under the water and looked for everyone. Even if it was a second, I had the opportunity to glance and see the 3 that had took hold of each other, but no sign of Lay and Kai.

MJ: KAI!!! LAY!!!

I screamed their names, still no response. But time wasn’t showing us any mercy; the current kept taking us along. I looked in the same direction as the current and saw far away a protruding structure over the river. It was something confusing, since it was coming out of the river itself; still it wasn’t being affected by its current. Whatever it was, we had to grab a hold of it if we wanted to survive. I was turning around to tell the others, but just then I drowned for the unknownth time. I fought to break through the surface, but the current kept dragging me under. I panicked; I felt as death was taking a grip on me, slowly taking me to its sinister lair… But then I felt someone grabbing me by the left arm, and pulling me up. I broke the surface and breathed all the air I could, looking to see who my savior had been: none other than Kai.

MJ: KAI!! WHERE’S YIXING?

He didn’t have time to answer. We kept tumbling over and the rocks kept contacting us. I managed to saw XiuMin, LanFang, and HaeRi all grabbing each other. Kai and I were tightly holding one another; he held me by the waist, while I hung from his neck. I also noticed the structure I had seen before. I could see what it was now… it was a wooden bridge poking out of the center of the river. It was in a frontal position, so we could see along its length, not its side.

The structure had about 4 steps before actually reaching the bridge itself. But the bridge soon became filled with hooded Exotics, as two straight lines came waking down it, positioning themselves in both sides of the bridge, leaving a small path in between the lines. The men were looking at our direction; pretty much enjoying our suffering. I was about to inform the rest to watch out for any sudden moves the men could do, but the water covered us all. We came up a few meters up front, and for the first time I heard another sound besides the splashing of the current. It was like buckets of water being poured one after the other… and shushing; hundreds of people hushing. The sound got stronger as we went downstream.

MJ: KAI!! WHAT IS THAT?!
 

The man seemed to be thinking, looking towards the newly discovered bridge. A few seconds later, he stared back at me, shaking me and making me look towards the bridge. I looked, but only saw the bridge and the men. But Kai pointed at something beyond the bridge. I tried to concentrate my vision besides the water getting in my face, but finally could make out what JongIn’s worry was all about… After the bridge there wasn’t any water, only air… we were about to go down a waterfall… And by the sounds it made, it was of BIG proportions…

MJ: GUYS! WE HAVE TO GET ON THE BRIDGE!! WE CAN’T MISS IT! ITS NOT AN OPTION!.... XIUMIN!! GIVE ME YOUR HAND!

I stayed attached to Kai, while trying to stretch my hand as far away as possible, just as MinSeok did the same. After multiple tries, we finally clasped out hands and took a hold on each other. Now we were all chained again… wait…

MJ: KAI!!! YIXING HASN’T APPEARED YET!! WHERE IS HE!?!?

Besides the panic the water was producing, now I had YiXing’s survival to worry about. We were coming closer to the end, so we began to center ourselves in the middle of the river, making sure that it took us directly to the bridge. One wrong move… one wasted second… and we would all be tumbling down who knows from how high above… I think that’s equivalent to a game over...

In a few minutes we would have to make the jump of our lives. I grabbed harder onto my group mates, and just prayed for our salvation. The water kept hitting hard on us, making us sink often, yet we stayed strong. The time had finally come. I told Kai to guide us, and so he began to swim with the current, making sure we were in the right spot to make the jump onto the bridge. The Exotics were still in the same formation; not moving an inch or showing signs of attack. They just stared… And so, the moment of truth came. It was now or never. Kai began to swim straight towards the bridge, and in an instant, pulled us all behind him and onto solid ground. He was the first one to get on; he quickly turned around and began to pull the rest of us on the platform. We were all now lying on the wooden bridge, panting out lives away, waiting to see if the Exotics would attack us on this narrow place. I didn’t wait long to get on my knees and look around.  I saw the men, still in their neat and straight double lines. I looked to the sides and found the deep precipice that had awaited us. I looked at the guys, and investigated if they were breathing or not. They were all alive. But still…

MJ: Kai…. Where’s Lay?….Did we…Did he…

I couldn’t even finish my thoughts or sentences. I was afraid to face the truth or encounter this horrible reality. Since the moment we all got separated, YiXing went missing. But I had hoped that at some point he would reappear or catch up to us. Kai eventually found us, but Lay…he… I just had to start weeping. I fell onto Kai’s neck, taking a hold of him and hiding my face in his chest. I cried out loud, screaming our lost brother’s name. I heard HaeRi weeping as well. And of course, JongIn was letting out heavy tears that could never be mistaken with river water drops. I was letting out my heart through my tears, when XiuMin shook me and Kai, separating us and pointing at the river. I wiped away my tears and tried to focus my vision on what MinSeok was pointing at, until I actually saw it. It was a floating body; and it was wearing the same clothes as YiXing…

MJ: LAY!!!! OH MY GOD!! KAI! GRAB HIM! GO GRAB HIM!

Kai got up and went up to XiuMin and told him to take hold of his feet; that way Kai could get in the water without needing to worry about the current taking him away. Kai got in the water; Xiumin caught him and laid flat on his stomach, trying to stretch out his arms as much as possible. Xiumin extended himself a little too much, and tumbled forward, falling into the water as well. Luckily, LanFang grabbed him by the ankles. Haeri and I helped her take a hold on MinSeok. Meanwhile, Kai was fighting against the water’s splashing, trying to go towards the direction the body was coming. Lay was coming closer, and just at the last second Kai extended his arm and grabbed the man by the shirt. He dragged him in into a hug, and signaled us to take him back again. Kai dragged himself over the steps, and eventually got onto the bridge and laid the beaten-up man. We all gathered around him. He was mangled, cold, pale, and had almost imperceptible signals. He wasn’t dead yet, but if we didn’t do something he would be. Lay was facing up; his eyes closed, and his plump lips turning purple. The only thing I could think of between so many fears and emotions were basic trainings I received in school. I kneeled next to YiXing’s head, and without wasting another second, I pinched his nose with my right hand and kissed him, blowing air into him as hard as I could. I separated and pushed his chest 3 times with both hands; one on top of the other. I pinched his nose and once again kissed him, filling his lungs with air. Soon, Yixing coughed and water spilled out. I kept repeating the process a few times, until the man coughed up all the water he had taken in. He began to breathe again, panting and gasping for air. He looked at everyone around him, and noticed our expressions. He slowly managed to smile and sat up, showing everyone he was alright. I was so happy, I began to cry again. I just couldn’t contain my emotions. HaeRi just went on and hugged his missing partner. YiXing hugged her back, while extending an arm for me to take. I held it and he took me into his chest as well. I felt this had been the most hurtful and frightening moment of the game up till now; killing an enemy was stressful, but losing an ally was far worst. I separated from him and left him taking care of HaeRi. I got up and went to thank XiuMin and LanFang for their excellent work. Just then, a somewhat familiar voice was heard.

???: Formation!

The Exotics all stopped looking at us, making a sudden turn and facing each other now. The two opposite rows were now looking at one another, still leaving a small open path in between them; for us to pass I suppose.

???: MinJeong… Welcome to the Bridge. Hope you had a naith journey on the Exthopian River. My name ith Oh thehun, and I’ll be your host for thith thtage.

The voice… I heard it before…But where?....... EXO Tower! He was with BaekHyun one time!

MJ: Where are you? I can’t see you? Show yourself!

SH: That wouldn’t be fun! Leth keep it like thith for a while. Now, leth get thtraight to the rulth. Ith quite thimple. Amongth uth Exthoticth here there ith an ally for you to claim. But, the only way to get him or her ith picking thome one out. Thith time, luck ith your only tool. If you pick thome one that ith indeed an Exthotic, then we will attack you. But, thinth you’ve been thuch a big player, the mathter threw in a thpecial treat for you… Hope you can find it…

MJ: What about you? Are you in here as well? What if I pick you?

SH: Yeth, I am altho in here. If by any chanth you chooth me, you’ll get another opportunity to pick… Tho, ready to play MinJeong-sshi?