Gaju - One
Chapter 24 - Misidentification
Somewhere.
"Let's go, we can do it" cried a male candidate holding a tapered wooden stick.
Other than him there were three other Candidates who were armed the same. In front of them was an animal resembling a wolf but had a larger body. His height is the same as the average height of the four 12-year-old boys.
The body of the beast was visibly wounded here by the stick and he was seen to have been cornered into a tight corner of the trees.
The boy who spoke, used his hand to code for the four of them to attack the injured and cornered beast.
They moved slowly and surrounded the lone and wounded wolf. The Wolf himself tried to retreat but could not because of the tightness of the tree behind him.
The four Candidates finally raised their wooden sticks and intended to stick their sticks to get their first game from yesterday.
But just before the four children managed to nest their wood, the grove of bushes on their left twitched and suddenly appeared a Wolf whose body was as big as the first wolf but grayish in color. While the wolves that they managed to hurt were silver-colored.
"Wolf Wind?" said one of the boys while glancing in horror towards the newly arrived gray wolf.
And the silver-colored wolf that they had just injured was limping towards the gray wolf that had just come.
The gray wolf licked the injured body part of the silver wolf and spat out blood. As if knowing that the four Candidates had injured the Silver wolf, the gray wolf stared at the four of them at a glance then howled high towards the sky.
Not until a matter of seconds, the four candidates could hear the roar of tens of steps if not hundreds of wolves surrounding them behind the dense shrubs and lush trees.
With a trembling voice and his wooden stick tightly clasped hands, one candidate asked their fellow strategist, "weren't we asking you to confirm whether we attacked the Moon Wolf, not the Wind Wolf?"
The strategist was silent. But one of his friends replied, "The silver-haired Moon Wolf and the loner. The Wind Wolves were grey-haired and clustered. But, the immature male Wind Wolf was usually a loner and was dark silver in color. Isn't that a strategist?"
"So?"
"So our Strategyist colleagues misanalyzed that the wolf we hunted was the Moon Wolf, even though he was an immature male Wind Wolf. And because of his mistake, we're all gonna die here."
When the Candidate's words came to an end, from behind the bushes and between the lush trees, dozens of gray-colored Wind Wolves came out and surrounded the four Candidates with a ready-to-munch look and tore them apart.
One of the Candidates who saw countless Wind Wolves surrounding them, was seen taking a deep breath and dropping his wooden staff onto the ground.
"Maybe death is not so bad" muttered the Candidate.
"See you soon Gaess" he continued, smiling and waving to his three colleagues.
He then dashed towards the horde of Wind Wolves that instantly opened its fangs and claws to receive his arrival.
Soon the Wolves were feasting on the flesh of four torn-up children and blood that splattered in the place
A drone recorded all the drama that the four children had experienced in the first place. Since the strategist's mistake when determining the type of Wolf they faced. Until the moment their bodies were ripped apart savagely by dozens of Wind Wolves.
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Somewhere in the Management Complex.
Professor looks into a live video of the slaughter of four Candidates by a pack of wolves.
"You're underestimating knowledge. If you have that, it's all recreation" murmured the Professor as he looked at two screens showing two different locations.
One screen showed Gaju and Tian enjoying their grilled fish without seasoning.
One screen shows Adel who seems to enjoy life in a basket carried by Aju.
On some other screens are seen Candidates who are trying to fight to maintain their lives. Some were immersed in suction mud and holding on to a wooden twig pulled by a colleague.
Some are bitten by small insects but cause swollen wounds turn blue.
There are many sights that are seen on the Professor's screen and various are showing the struggle of the candidates to survive in the Forest.
\=\=\=\=\=\=
Bippp.
A voice rang out from the mini computer on Gaju and Tian's wrists.
Tian approaches Gaju and lets Gaju turn on his mini-computer. A bright light instantly illuminated the cave.
"The Second Day of Elimination Testing."
"3 Pairs pass. 5 couples are eliminated."
"12 couples left in the woods."
"New rules added."
"Elimination Test will be stopped when the remaining participants stay 7 couples in the Forest. So that the total quota for Stage Three as many as 10 couples is met."
"When the remaining spouse has met the quota, the Administrator will pick up the Candidate left in the Forest and provide first aid in any form the Candidate needs."
Gaju closed his mini computer. This time, Tian did not stay away like he did last night. He remained lying down near Gaju and leaned against the boy's body.
"Tian," rebuked Gaju for Tian's actions.
"Why?" tian whispered softly into Gaju's ears.
"Please, from last night I've been thinking about your question" Tian continued.
"The question of what I would do if I were stuck here with Gaju and Gaju wanted to eat me" he continued.
"I already know the answer," Tian said as he hugged Gaju with a body trembling in the darkness.
"I'll cut my flesh piece by slice and give it to Gaju to keep Gaju alive. But I will also try to stay alive as long as possible to stay with Gaju, even for a second longer" whispered Tian softly in Gaju's ear.
"Style may have a life goal to achieve. But Gaju is Tian's life's purpose."
Gaju fell silent and let Tian embrace him in the darkness of the cave. That night, Tian had already made his choice to follow Gaju and do anything for Gaju.
As for Gaju himself, even though he knew that Tian was telling the truth at the moment. But he still had a barrier that Tian's commitment could not overcome.
Gaju may now be able to accept Tian as his partner but there is a deepest part that still cannot fully accept Tian.
A while later, Gaju could already hear Tian's delicate breathing and the pounding of his heart that was starting to get regular.
Hmmmm. Is it sleeping? whispered Gaju slowly.
Gaju's hands moved in the darkness and grabbed Tian's fingers that were still holding him from behind.
This is the first time Gaju took the initiative to hold Tian fingers.
Tian smiled in the darkness of the cave they occupied. He pretended to be asleep. Dan Tian smiled happily as Gaju took the initiative to hold his hand.
