After using up most of the daylight hours to set up camp sensei and some of the girls went about unpacking and preparing food for tea. As the sun was starting to set, the temperature was dropping and a fine mist could be seen developing in the distance. Due to this it was decided that there was not enough firewood to last the night and small groups were quickly formed to set out in search of more.
"Do not stray too far from the clearing as the forest is quite dense and it may not be easy to see possible dangers, stay in groups please!" Sensei yelled out just as the last few people were leaving the clearing.
Hanae, Fusshi, Saga and Abeno's group was the only one to trudge around the eastern edge of the clearing in search of firewood. It was quickly realised that they would have a rather difficult task ahead of them. The ground was wet with mud that pulled at your feet and where there was no mud it was even worse. In patches there was grass so thick and slimy you had to second guess it was even grass. Overhead extremely large willow trees swayed in an almost non-existent breeze, blocking out nearly all the available light and sometimes its long sweeping limbs blocked the path and made them double back the way they had come. All this yet there was no other signs of life; no chirping of birds or croaks of frogs in the marshy area, it was eerily silent. The four boys were fumbling about in the dark and it was growing icy cold by the second.
Snap...
"D..d..did you hear that?" Fusshi stammered, eyes bugged out as they darted left and right.
"No, keep moving... the quicker we leave the better, its freeeezing!"
Snap...
"Kya! Fusshi, your cold! let go of my hand" Hanae cries out as he starts to turn his head, eyes widening in shock at the figure next to him, dread and awareness entering his mind.
"What? But Hanae im over here-" Snap...
"-please tell me you heard it that time Saga?"
" Huaahh! Abeno-san-he-mmmm..."
In an instant, everyone had stopped moving. Both Abeno and Fusshi were now facing where Hanae was, however he was already no longer there, the only evidence being a pitiful pile of sticks strewn on the ground. All was silent for a few moments, no sounds of a struggle could be heard, Hanae was just gone.
Eyes widening Abeno frantically looked around and began to yell "Ashiya! Where are you?...he was just here!"
"I can't see him anywhere! Arrgh, why is it so dark?!" Fusshi angrily runs his hands through his hair. Meanwhile Saga was already on his phone notifying the sensei of what had just happened. They were quickly told to return to camp with due haste.