Chapter 5

"Camp meeting! Camp meeting!" Braska called into his megaphone.

"When?" Seymour asked. Seymour liked to be on time.

"Immediately!" Braska said, jabbing his finger in the air.

The scouts gathered around the embers of the campfire- At this point, there were only embers left of the campfire, because the actual flames had been trampled during the damage to their camp.

"Well, boys,"Jecht told everyone, taking control, "We have a serious problem on our hands. The camp is destroyed,-"

"Well, no duh, man," Wakka proclaimed angrily.

The other campers snickered.

"SHUT UP!" Jecht screamed. "As I was saying, the camp is destroyed... and we are officially out of s'mores."

A great murmur arose and died out when someone shouted, "We're officially out of O'aka, too. That fag ran off!"

"OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH," Baralai slurred, jumping up. "THE FOREST GOT HIM TOO."

Baralai began to sob, his shoulders shaking violently.

"Boys! We don't know that yet!" Braska declared.

There would be no crying when he was in command. No frowning. No sad faces.

"So what do we do?" Yaibal asked.

Braska considered this for a moment.

"We'll have to go look for him. Let's split up and look for clues."

"Split up? Are you mad? That only happens in the movies! And they always die in the movies!" Baralai was on the edge of hysteria

"Shut up and listen to Braska," Jecht barked.

His voice didn't have the same conviction it usually did, for at that moment, he was deeply upset, because he didn't sound as gruff as Auron. Nonetheless, Baralai listened.

Braska nodded his thanks to Jecht and continued on.

"Okay. Shaggy and Scoob– I mean..." Braska shook his head, trying to get his thoughts straight. "Tidus and Nooj, you go with Auron. Yaibal... You come with... Daphne and I-" He pointed to 'Daphne'– A very upset Baralai. "Velma-" he gestured to the three remaining campers- "You go that way."

Noone complained about Braska's Scooby-Doo mix-up. It was a very traumatic time for him.

Braska, Yaibal and "Daphne" headed in one direction, while Jecht and his group of campers, Seymour and Wakka, went in another. That left only Tidus, Nooj and Auron.

"All right, gang," Auron said clapping his hands together. "Let's go!"

They headed east, always east, to the deserts of Kurast. More commonly known as the other side of the forest. As a matter of fact, it was only known as the "deserts of Kurast" to Tidus.

Nooj pushed ahead of the others, muttering about O'aka probably just using the bushes. He stumbled over a log, falling into a tiny, tiny clearing. O'aka's clothes were strewn about, as were a great many s'more. It took a moment for it to register in his mind what he was saying.

A drop of crimson blood splattered onto the rim of his glasses. It ran down the lens slowly. Frightened, he looked to the heavens above, searching for the source of the red liquid, but his view was blocked by some annoying trees. Hanging high in their branches was the skinned body of his former friend and fellow camper.

O'aka was dead.

The creature held the strange food loosely in it's hand. The morsel was new to him, seemingly combined of three major parts. An odd, flat rectangle, not too different a shade from black, sat near the middle. There was more, but the rectangle was most confusing. It seemed to be important, as it had symbols. Symbols he could not decipher.

He cautiously brought the treat to his crab-like mouth. Four fanged mandibles grasped the food item and brought to the back of his throat. His tastebuds erupted in pain, shocking all the nerves in his body. He was angry, yet excited at the same time.

Anyone who could bear eating something like this was worthy. Perfect Prey for the Hunt.

Still upset for his poor mouth and the horrors it had endured, he vowed to destroy the being who had come up with those hieroglyphs. Those lines that attached to create what was now his enemy.

HERSHEY.