Chapter One

Sasuke got down on the bushy path his backpack carefully in his hand. He knew he looked old fashioned still carrying a bag pack instead of using the UL carry, a device that shrinks things so that they can easily be moved. It was meant to be used to hold large equipments but it has been reinvented as a sort of luggage in and of itself.

The main reason why Sasuke still had something as old as a bag pack was because of his grandfather, an old-fashioned scientist who still held onto artifacts from old world, before it became known as A.L.U. The backpack isn't quite as old as some of the things Sasuke's grandfather carried with him and kept in his beaten down antique home; one of the few homes that was still seating on the few piece of landing remaining from the great flood when the ice melted, and the chemical explosion that poisoned everything.

The backpack was nice as it gave Sasuke something to squeeze now to keep himself from running away from all this.

As an A.L.U born and bred human person, he naturally hated all things natural. In the present world, flowers, trees and animals were mostly artificial, things that were computerized into existence. The whole of was a big computer; it was that computer that has allowed the surviving generations to live while enclosed away from the dangerous poison water and the polluted air, so things like trees, bugs and even the sand under Sasuke's feet were really terrifying.

But he needed to do this, he needed to be here.

He gave the back pack another squeeze and turned to see the men get off the rider. One was as tall as a tree, the other short and plumb. These were the only people the company could spare? Had he mistakenly thought that his grandfather was indispensable to them?

The company was the major party responsible for life on A.L.U and Sasuke's grandfather worked for them. He was a crazy scientist, who, as far as Sasuke was aware, went missing two weeks ago.

He was the one who singlehandedly raised Sasuke after his parents disappearance. He was crazy and always got Sasuke injured with his experiments but he was the only family Sasuke had left.

The messages stopped coming four years after Sasuke went to the university to study computer engineering against his grandfather's wishes.

Actually, Sasuke had wanted to escape the old man and his land. The land was scary and that was all Sasuke remembered about why he abandoned his grandfather and went into A.L.U and now his grandfather has disappeared. It was on his shoulders to find him. Unlike with his parents, Sasuke would not rest until he does.

"We are ready to start moving sir!"

Sasuke held in a sigh and said:"don't call me that. Are we ready to leave?"

"Yes, all set." The plumb man whose name was either Sheri or Sherack said. They were awfully excited which was grating on Sasuke's last nerve. He didn't come here for a vacation. Actually this was the last place he wanted to be at the moment. Or any other moment.

His eyes couldn't avoid it anymore. Sasuke looked toward the black mass of trees thickly positioned together with their twisting vines and their broad leaves. Though it was day time, it looked like it was dark inside.

This was Intos forest, the last forest in the whole world. As far as the company was aware, this was the last place Sasuke's grandfather had been working. Only upon the threat of releasing some confidential information had the company been willing to release this information. It was all he had and he had to check this place from top to bottom to find his grandfather. This was all he could do to pay back all that he owed and it was just too sad to have another family member disappear too.

"What's wrong sir, did you forget something?"

Sasuke did not reply, he didn't want them to hear any tremor in his voice. He lowered his head and clenched the strap of his bag pack again.

"Alright, let's—"he cut off when his eyes landed on a boy standing over the black water in front of the forest to the right. He was shirtless and had yellow hair and he was looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke's breath died in his throat. What—

He didn't finish his thought before the boy jumped into the black water and disappeared.

"Wait!" he shouted.

"What is wrong, sir?" beside him the two men were also anxious.

"That boy, he just jumped into the water."

"Boy?" the confused men looked about like their eyes had failed them. "What boy?"

"You want to tell me you didn't see him?" Sasuke shook his head. The boy looked to be about sixteen or seventeen and he just jumped into that dangerous water that flowed from the forest. There wasn't supposed to be anyone here, only animals. What is he?

Sasuke ignored the call of his companions and ran towards the river. The surface was like ink and it swayed in a way that made Sasuke want to revisit his breakfast. He looked from edge to edge and there was no one, no movement. No one was drowning. What was that then? A hallucination brought on by the wariness and fear from having to do this.

To his horror, Sasuke realized that he had unconsciously entered the forest without any mental preparation. He took two breaths to avoid panting then he located the men coming to him. At least, even as unreliable as they looked, he still had their company.

Releasing a puff of air, he walked towards them, "so you didn't see that boy," he said.

They looked at him as though he was speaking another language. "There isn't anyone here, sir."

Sasuke was certain of what he had seen, there was no doubt but it was pointless to keep insisting.

"You know there is a ban on people coming to Intos forest, no one wants to come here anyway, it is a dangerous place and so there can't be anyone here." The tall one, Long guy, 'kindly' explained. He was obviously saying that Sasuke was crazy for seeing something that wasn't there and for coming here.

Sasuke too didn't want to be there, he didn't wasn't to risk his life searching around a dangerous unexplored forest. He certainly wasn't the adventurous type, the only adventures he sees is the occasional trip down the basement to do his laundry in his grandfather's mansion. He liked it that way, but there was nothing he could do. The company didn't seem interested in finding his grandfather; they insisted he had gone there without their permission though it was clear that his grandfather had been working on something for them before he disappeared. Sasuke had found the papers littered across the desk in the study/ laboratory. He had studied them a bit but he was a bit skeptical about it. It looked like his grandfather was working on something really strange— no, not strange, absurd.

"Anyway," he said, "let's get started." He waited patiently. They didn't move.

"What is it?" he had to ask, confused by their lack of motion. Long Guy and Sheri looked like they were expecting something from him.

"Well, you have to tell us where we have to go, Sir."

"What?!" Sasuke thought his ears had fallen off. "What do you mean? Start taking me to the site."

"Isn't that… isn't that something you are supposed to tell us, Sir"

Sasuke pretended to laugh, this was ridiculous. "Me? I am supposed to tell you? "He shook his head in disbelief. "Just how am I supposed to tell you? Am I a staff of the company, where you not asked to guide me?"

"No."

He paused, staring at Sheri. "No?"

"We were told to protect you, to make sure that you return. we don't know where the site is." Long guy sure was eloquent all of a sudden.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. So what was this, a placation? Let him go wonder the forest and come back empty handed? Sasuke laughed to the heavens and blew out air forcefully.

If they thought this would make him give up, they had another think coming.

"Okay, fine. Let's go." He declared confidently and forcefully began to climb the hilly path to the dark place in front of him.

It was unsettling and very quiet inside the forest. As they got to the trees, Sasuke thought they might need to pull out the lights earlier than expected, but as he pressed on, his sneakers growing muddier by the second, the darkness did not grow. It did become a bit dim, but it was still bright enough to see. The sky had not been completely covered by the leaves and the vines though very twisty and looked like snakes in the air; they soon stopped making Sasuke's heart skip and his fingers tense.

The ground seemed to be always wet, and the soil a dark chocolate brown. It was really quiet too, which suited Sasuke just fine but he still needed to find a plan fast. If he didn't even know where he was going, then finding his grandfather in this place could prove impossible.

It was not known how big Intos forest is, it has never been explored. In fact, it was said that the forest isn't supposed to exist, but it always felt to him like a scare tactic created by the company to keep people from trying to explore it.

Thinking back to his father's experiments, he had been making something big, something that would need a big space. Seeing as the forest is thickly enclosed by trees, a large space should be easy to spot.

He stopped and Long guy walked into him and they nearly went tumbling. Walking into the forest had felt like climbing a really steep hill and at some point it had changed to climbing down the same steep hill. If they should fall, it would be a dangerous roll down.

"Watch where you are going, "Sasuke barely held himself from snapping.

"Yes sir, so sorry."

"Look, I want you to climb one of those trees." He turned and said to the man. Long guy's face went really white.

"What? You want me to climb, "he looked at the long moss covered length of one tree. "Why?"

"I need you to look for something," he replied, "you can at least do that much," he said.

"I-I don't know how to climb, Sheri should do it" he stepped out of the way and pushed the plumb man into Sasuke's face.

"What? I can't climb either,"

"Then do you want me to climb it?" Sasuke snapped at them. They looked like they would start nodding. Between Sasuke and them, who looked like they have no experience with trees and climbing?

Sasuke looked at Sheri's short arms and Long guy's long thin legs. These people are not going to be much help, are they? He couldn't help thinking.

"Forget it. "He pulled his backpack to the front and opened it to ransack through the things inside. He should have brought that droid he designed, hadn't he?

Yes, the black bug like shape touched his hand and he pulled it out. He took out the P7 he had with him, a device used for communication and browsing the net, then he programmed it to start capturing a video.

He set the bug to go straight and upwards. The little thing was just about the size of his palm and the P7 was pushed together so it was the same as the size of an artifact tooth brush. The bug magnate held it in place and the tiny legs started to move.

Sasuke set it on the tree and watched its slow climb.

He sighed. This would take forever. He turned around and found his protectors moving about exploring leaves after leaves.

"Wow, this is mushroom, do you know how much you can get for this?"

He heard snippets of the conversation and stood with his hand tucked in his pocket. The life he had left behind began to plague him. To his one friend he had left only a letter begging her to help him postpone his exams if he stayed too long away.

"It's still a month away, I can still make it." He nodded. It was the final exam and he was one of the prodigies in his department, he finished his entire schooling on scholarship because his grandfather refused to pay for his tuition. It was too important that he be present with the rest of the class to graduate, it was likely he would get recruited that day too. If they could just hold it back a little.

When he tracked the bug, it was almost halfway up. He looked to his companion and found them gone. He didn't panic at first and kept waiting to hear their thick and heavy voices.

They were gone. "Long guy?" he called. " Sheri. "

They... where could they have gone?

Sasuke didn't want to move from this spot, he still had to stop the droid once it gets to the top otherwise it would keep going and likely fall off. He only had the one. He sighed and looked up at the droid that was almost at the top.

"Those two, they can't be in trouble right now, can they? They can't be that helpless." He nodded but his eyes searched around for them and his ears listened. It was still too quiet and Long guy and Sheri were nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it," he stopped the drone just as it would reach the top and turned towards the direction he had last seen his burdensome companions.

"Maybe I should have come alone," he grumbled to himself. There was no restriction in coming to Intos forest, or rather there were no publicly stated restriction, the company wanted to draw as little attention to the strange forest as possible. Sasuke never cared to know why.

As he walked his sneakers squishing and snapping as they pressed on the muddy ground and on twigs. He looked around and all he could see was trees, grass and nothing else.

The time of day was hard to tell because he wasn't used to being outside and the sun after many years had become quite unpredictable. The forest was the color of the sky just before dawn or a storm. A little brighter perhaps.

He stopped not too far from where his droid was still waiting and called for them again. It was ridiculous that they were so fearless and careless to just wander off very far. It was ridiculous and annoying.

Sasuke tried not to get angry too much all on his own, if he finds them then he would make sure to show his anger then in very heavy and meaningful words.

He started to walk again but something black moved pretty fast between the trees and stopped. Sasuke stayed silent even as his heart nearly flew out of his chest. What kind of animal that could have been was already racing through his head like an encyclopedia.

The original animals that have become extinct but may live in Intos forest include the following: cats, snakes, apes, lizards, elephants, kangaroos. Many dangerous animals whose information has been lost to the damage of the flooding may still live in the Intos forest. Ensure to avoid it and always stay within the protection of A.L.U

And there were some drawings and pictures of these animals that no one has seen since A.L.U was created. Being a modern bred and intelligent man of twenty five, of course Sasuke had checked up what kind of animals would be in this antique forest and of course how to deal with them. There was only one solution.

While ignoring his racing heart, Sasuke kept his eyes glued to any sudden movements. Without preamble, he pulled his backpack to the front and unzipped it. He grabbed a hold of the long object just as something caused a twig to snap.

He pulled it out and pointed it around with shaking hands, his eyes wide and darting around from corner to corner.

"wh-who is there?" there was only the wind ruffling the leaves. He turned around and the forest seemed to have enlarged itself and spun before his vision, or was that him spinning.

Sasuke felt like he was going to be sick from fear and he was starting to sweat in anxiety. What should he do? There was no one here to help him and he was powerless when it came to physical fight. He couldn't remember the last time he did something like excising.

The fire gun in his hand that can shoot out a rope like bullet of fire was all he had and even that he wasn't great at using. Still he held it tight.

Movement to the left. Sasuke fired. It was a warning shot as he could still not see what was trying to come after him.

The fire shut out and landed on a branch of tree and without delay exploded and started to burn fast.

Something hissed from behind the tree and flew out.

Sasuke screamed on top of his longer and started to run back up. The thing was fast and was already within touching distance by the time Sasuke took one leg backwards, luckily his scared fingers pulled the trigger on reflex continuously and it caught the animal on the face.

It howled and fell, its black fur on fire.

Sasuke didn't get a chance to be relieved because others came rushing out as though they've been there the whole time and were given a signal to move at once. They rushed down from tree tops, from between the grasses and they had brown and black furs. They were called chimpanzees.

Sasuke knew he was doomed. That didn't stop him from cursing and firing the fire gun as he ran away to the entrance of the forest, his only hope was that they wouldn't follow him out of Intos forest, they shouldn't. They flooded him from all sides and though they seemed to be cautiously giving him some space due to his weapon, they were surrounding him.

Sasuke ran till he was back at the tree and pressed his back to it breathing fast. Before him was a crowd of loud chirruping chimpanzees and they stared at him with red terrifying eyes. Sasuke couldn't think but he knew there was no way out. He was dead, even before he started. Naturally, his life story had to end somewhere like this. It was fitting.

Still shooting, Sasuke wished he had brought something to use on himself. Death by being eaten alive was just too much. Being burnt alive wasn't much better.

He thought of something and aimed for the grass around him hoping that it would form a circle of protection but the fire caught and didn't spread.

"Damn it," he cried, sweating all over and shaking in fright.

"I'm going to be eaten alive." He shouldn't have to die like this. Why like this?

As the last fire bullet flew out of his gun, Sasuke screamed for help and crouched, covering his head from what was to come next.

What came next was the shouting of the animals. They were being even louder than before. Sasuke lowered his hand and just in time for a chimpanzee to fly over to him

He avoided it by screaming and crouch-walking to the side. The chimpanzee smashed into the tree and fell dead. A scream died in Sasuke's throat and he stared at the open eyes of the animal. He looked away and saw something more frightening than anything anyone could ever conjure up.

"What-" his voice shook and his throat shivered.

It was a snake. It looked like a cobra but it had golden skin and it was huge. It was as huge as a house. It was that big and it was crushing the chimpanzee with his weight.

Sasuke was ready to die just then, it felt like his spirit had taken leave and went back to A.L.U without him. While he tried to make sense of things in front of him, it was impossible and he kept short circuiting on the big snake that was killing the chimpanzees.

The numbers of the chimpanzees reduce as they were now gone from around Sasuke. Although he wanted to stand up and run, wanted to leave this place and never return, his legs were frozen and his eyes couldn't move from the snake.

"I never, I never," he kept repeating it over again.

The snake got closer and it stared down transfixed at Sasuke with the strangest blue eyes. It was too much. Sasuke's heart was beating too fast, his vision went blurry and he fell back on the tree unconscious.