Chapter 1

'Please don't be morning, please don't be morning ' Baji prayed mentally with his eyes still shut as he tried harder to go back to sleep.

The more he tried to sleep the less effective it was for him to go back to sleep. The sounds in the background and the feeling of the hard floor against his skin made it even harder for him to go back to sleep.

He could hear the insects chirping and the birds already singing, the wind howling as it beat against the nearby trees.

'Wait, it doesn't feel right. Why do I hear insects and birds? I should be in my bed'

Baji thought subconsciously as he forced his eyes open immediately, but the light from the surrounding flooded his eyes and caused him to shut them again.

'Something doesn't feel right'

He kept thinking, his brain slowly waking up again. He opened his eyes again and this time it had adjusted to the lights, so he was able to keep them open longer than before with no discomfort.

He saw the bright rising sun and trees first and he was genuinely surprised. The sleep vanished from his eyes now and he looked around frantically trying to understand where he was.

"I should be in bed in my room, where am I?" He asked out loud, like there was someone there to answer his questions.

He sat upright and looked at the ground, there was no bed but the earth with dirt and leaves and insects crawling about, typical forest terrain. He immediately tried getting up to stay away from the insects.

He was all alone and in someplace that looked like a forest. Just trees and dirt and he got worried since he did not know how he got there.

Baji looked at himself and discovered that he was in his high school uniform: a white shirt, a black and ash striped tie to match his black pants and black boots; the typical uniform for his high school back then, Bright seed academy.

His white shirt was slightly dirty by the side since he had been sleeping on the dirty floor.

"How did I get here? think think think ..." He said.

Baji racked his brain in fear and confusion as he tried to recall the last thing he remembered or anything at all.

"I can't remember anything" He exclaimed with worry in his voice and expressions. He does not know what was going on and could not remember anything.

Baji moved just for a bit as he tried to navigate his surrounding, he looked around but could not find anything else belonging to him, not even his school bag.

He tapped his pockets and could only feel his pen and a sheet of paper in his pocket containing a list of his classmates in school. He tucked them back in and continued moving.

He found a narrow bush path and decided to follow it since there was nothing else to do, and he couldn't just wait around for help.

"Survival 101 in boy scout camp, stay put and wait for help or find the nearest house or muster point and then ask for help"

Baji said to himself as he remembered what was written in the survival manual he was forced to read in camp. He chose to do the later.

***

Baji heard voices and immediately he rummaged through the woods in hopes of finding the source.

He could not tell how long he had been walking, but the sweat and exhaustion on his face was an indication that he had been walking for a while.

Walking down the path wasn't just the problem, but moving past the trees in some instances, since their branches occasionally got in the way and also trying to avoid anything that would hurt him.

Baji heard the voices louder and clearer, he could tell he was getting closer and could also tell the source was from a group of people since he heard several voices.

Baji kept going closer, moving through the branches and trees to get to where he thought was the place.

"Who is there? "

A male voice shouted towards Baji's direction.

Baji stopped for a second but continued since he didn't know what was happening

"Shhh, keep quiet everyone, I think someone is coming "

Another person said and everyone kept quiet and waited.

Baji kept coming but was unable to hear anyone again. The trees and thickets blocked his view and he was unable to see well, so he kept trying to make his way through the bushes.

"I asked who is there?"

The voices shouted out more aggressively now.

"It's me, it's me Baji"

Baji shouted back as well since he recognized the voice asking, the voice belonged to Hanson if he recalled correctly.

Baji emerged out of the bushes and looked around, he relaxed slightly in exhaustion and relief as he recognized the people there.

"Baji is that you? Oh my God you're alive"

A girl ran over to him and embraced him.

Baji was panting , bent forward with his hands on his knees when the girl came to embrace him.

"Yes I am, Anita. I'm fine and I'm glad to see you too." Baji replied her with a small smile, positioning himself properly so he wouldn't fall over from the embrace.

"look everyone it’s the class captain" Anita called out as she waved in excitement.

Baji was surprised to see that everyone in the clearing were his classmates from years ago.

He saw Anita, Steven, Damian, Felicia, And many more and as well as some faces he could not recognize. But one thing he noted was that they were all wearing the same uniform as he is, the Bright seed academy uniform.

His classmates came around him and welcomed him, he really did not expect to see them all so he just smiled and accepted their greetings. Except for those he wasn't in good terms with..

But Baji was mostly very likable, he was so honest and lovable that he had been their class captain for several years back in high school, so majority of the class liked him.

"Enough already, now who can answer the question of what Is going on and how we all got here?"

Hanson the guy who questioned Baji earlier asked and everyone went silent.