Chapter 1 - An Unexpected Event

Hi everyone! this is a little project me and my friend are currently working on. note that we are not native speakers, and that this is the first time we've ever tried to do something like this. We hope you enjoy, as much as we enjoy writing this. We would appreciate any kind of review, and hope to become better at writing as we continue this story, so bear with us. :)

Finally they made it. It had been a though journey, but we somehow they got through it. The group was beyond exhausted as they saw a city appear in the distance. While some were trudging themselves forward, others had to be carried. A boy called Mark slipped and plunged into the mud. Too weakened to push himself to his feet again, he cursed and glanced at the others for help. Luckily for him there was one person who noticed him and stopped to help him back up. Jeroen pushed his back against Mark and hoisted him into the air. The others didn't bother waiting, as they knew Mark was in good hands. Besides, most of the stronger guys had already been carrying their weaker mates.

"You ok?" was all Jeroen could force out. His voice was cracking and hoarse.

"Thank you." It was clear Mark wouldn't say much more.

It all started with, what seemed like, a normal Friday night. The seven friends were playing a game of League of Legends, playing in the same room with each other.
PENTA KILL! The announcer's voice rang through the room. "Yeah! Finally, I'm in platinum now!" Jeroen cried out while dealing the final blows to the nexus.

The 5 players all celebrated their wins. Jeroen, Oliver, Mark, Rens and Willem won their 5v5 ranked game, which meant they finally moved up on the ladder. The other two, Niels and Diako, were playing on their own, while still communicating through skype. This loud celebration would not last for long though, as their lives would soon change forever.

It started with a flash of lightning. A loud bang as lightning struck the house in which the boys were having a LAN-party. Electricity flew through the room, as everyone started to feel lightheaded, as if they were about to pass out. Suddenly, they felt like they were being pulled towards their screens. After that, everything went blank.

When they came to, no one understood what was going on, or where they even were. As they looked up, they noticed the roof of leaves above them, small rays of sunlight penetrating them. The seven boys did not have a clue about what was happening. They were in a forest that much was evident by the enormous trees surrounding them.

"What the hell is going on here?" Niels asked the group, hoping that they knew anything about their current situation.

"I don't know. Last i remember we won our promotions to Platinum, but after that..." Rens' head was hurting. He tried to recall what happened after their victory, but to no avail. " I don't know guys..."

"Wait, there was a loud bang, as if something exploded." Willem was starting to remember what had happened. "I vaguely remember a shock. "

"Wait! I remember!" Diako shouted, "Lightning struck the house, and electricity was flying all over the room. After that, I passed out and woke up in this forest."

Jeroen was still not at ease. "That's what I recall as well, but that raises more questions than it answers... where are we?"

"Well, I don't know, but staying here isn't getting us anywhere, so why don't we look for a town or city? There has to be one close by, right?" Oliver grew tired of the forest, and just wanted to go home.

As the boys made their way through the forest, they noticed several enormous plants. The constant wind blowing through the leaves were almost soothing, but the boys did not have the time to listen to the peaceful sounds the forest, as they wanted to get to a city as fast as possible. The questions still floated through their minds; where were they? And maybe even more important, how did they get here? Those answers would have to wait, as their sole objective right now was to get to safety. When they reached a small lake, Rens proposed to take a little break. Everyone could use a little washing up and a short rest, as they had been traversing the forest for at least 5 hours.

As Rens and Oliver started searching for some berries to eat, the rest took a dive in the lake. It was refreshing to relax for a bit. Diako and Willem were so tired, they even took a little nap on the side of the lake, only to wake up to a buffet of berries, collected by Rens and Oliver.

After a few hours, the sun was almost setting, the group sat around a camp fire, and debated whether they should make a shelter and stay, rather than continue through the darkness, with only the moon to guide them. This matter was quickly dropped, as Niels had already fallen asleep halfway through the conversation. They gathered some leaves and branches of trees, and created a rather shaky shelter. It wasn't much, but it would have to do for the night. One person would stay have to stay awake to stand guard. They decided everyone should take turns of 1 hour.

Once it was Jeroens turn to stand guard, Mark went to sleep.

"Goodnight Mark." Jeroen said. " I hope we find some hint of civilization tomorrow."

"Yeah me too. I could really go for a good night's rest. At least a normal bad, rather than these stacked leaves." Mark laid his head on his "pillow", which consisted of a batch of rolled up leaves. At least it was softer than the ground.

After a good half an hour, jeroen guessed it would have to be 3 o' clock in the morning, jeroen heard a soft growl. It came from the bush just 15 feet away, jeroen guessed. He started waking the others, afraid that something could jump out at any moment.

"Guys guys, wake up! There is something in the bushes over there. I just heard a growl in that bush over there." Jeroen pointed to the bush, which was now silent.

"You sure? I didn't hear a thing when i was standing guard, it could have been your imagination." Willem tried to make sense of it all, but he was trembling in fear.

Diako started sharpening a stick with a rock, making sure that they could at least put up a fight, if necessary.

Then, like a flash of thunder, a tiger jumped out of the bush. It pounced towards the group, hoping to get a good night's snack. But Willem thought quickly, and took a branch out of the campfire and started waving with it. The flames were waving in the wind, making the tiger doubt its approach. It slowed down, ever so slowly approaching the boys.
Diako threw his stick at the tiger like a javelin. "RUN! We have to get out of here fast!" He shouted to his friends. The tiger flinched, as the stick flew right past him. When the tiger looked up, the boys were already fleeing.

As the boys ran away, tiger still in full pursuit, they noticed more light from the moon. The trees were getting thinner, as if they were reaching the edge of the forest.

They heard a loud growl, and Mark looked behind him. The tiger was nowhere to be seen, it had stopped pursuing them. "Guys, it's over. He's gone. Damn, that was close."

"Well, we're out of the forest at least." Niels pointed to the wasteland before them. A desert, reaching as far as the eye could see. There was no life there as far as they could tell.

"We can't go through there, there's no way in hell we'll survive a frikkin desert!" Oliver was shouting.

Rens replied:"Then what would you have us do, go back into the forest? Where the tiger is just casually waiting for us, along with whatever else that jungle holds?"

He had a point, in the open, they would have better sight thanks to the moon and lack of leaves blocking its light. Also, the night in the desert wasn't that bad. Of course, it was colder than in the jungle, but it was better than being eaten.

The group decided to venture into the desert, hoping the sun wouldn't raise anytime soon.

That's it! chapter one is done. we hope you enjoyed the first part. in the future, any reviews or messages with questions regarding us or the story will be placed here, including answers.

Will our group of young boys survive their perilous journey through the desert? find out next time!