Chapter Text
You’d imagine being locked up by some sort of wendigo wouldn’t be fun.
That was the life of Dino Kid.
The seven-year old remembered he was exploring the woods with one of his older siblings, specifically Koala Kid, the oldest one amongst all four of them.
They crash-landed into a forest in one of the planes alongside their mother. Wandering around, he saw many people lying on the floor, which Koala had told him they were ‘sleeping,’ taking a long, long nap.
Dino Kid collected random pieces of scrap while following Koala Kid.
And when he wanted to take a break from walking so much, Koala Kid set him down on a log as he watched her collect berries. Koala Kid wandered a little too far off, but he only continued to watch.
He heard footsteps behind him, who he assumed to be his brother… his sister… or maybe, mom!? He turned around ecstatically, curiously wondering who it was.
To his disappointment, it was…
A horrifyingly deformed deer.
He let out a high-pitched yelp, but not before it covered his mouth with its claws as he screamed without sound, and no one could hear his muffled calls.
“Kraken! Squid! Koala! Mommy! Anyone! Help!”
He screamed. He panicked. He kicked his feet in the deer’s grasp. It rubbed the top of his head before dragging him into a cave and locking him in a room within there.
A masked man in a red coat holding on a leash with five wolves gave him some number blocks and toys to play with as well as a stack of paper to doodle on, but it didn’t do anything but scare him further, which heavily irritated the man.
He heard yells from outside calling his name.
“Dino Kid! Where are you!? This isn’t funny! You can come out now!”
It was Koala Kid, he recognized the voice of his sister’s cries. Kraken Kid and Squid Kid were also on the look-out, but it was mostly Koala, since she believed she was at fault for losing sight of Dino Kid.
The screams eventually faded.
The next couple days, the same followed, except the first day, he didn’t hear Kraken Kid, and on the second day, he didn’t hear Squid Kid either.
And after the two days had passed, there was barely any sound, aside from the occasional wolf howl or rainfall, maybe even lightning. The absence of his sibling’s cries were deafening, and it scared him.
.
But that all changed one day, when he heard footsteps outside. The wolves outside his cave barked and howled while the sound of a laser cannon blasted them away. Something told him the wolves weren’t very alive any more.
He was going to be free! He would be able to see the outside sun again! He would see Kraken Kid, Squid Kid, Koala Kid, and most importantly, his mom again! Oh, he was so excited!
He listened in anticipation as the key unlocked to his cave. What looks to be one of Kraken Kid’s made-up Sci-Fi characters, picks him up and stuffs him into a sack. He lets out a yelp of surprise and discomfort, but they stay put.
The cyborg’s sack smells like, ‘ahh, fresh meat,’ and he’s not even kidding. There was literally raw meat in the bag. It was stuffy in the bag, and he was wondering how it was even big enough to hold him.
The cyborg stuffs more meat into the sack he was in, and after a long while of travel, which Dino Kid was pretty sure was just running in circles for the entirety of the day, they finally reach the campfire. It was boring, but he had quickly gotten used to it.
The sack’s ‘fresh meat’ smell quickly turned stinky.
And finally, at night, is he finally released! Alongside the ‘ahh, fresh meat,’ that the cyborg had taken along.
One of the cyborg’s friends tells him what to do and sets up the tent for him.
“Hey kid… we’re going to go save the others, alright?”
She promised, dropping him a stew. Dino Kid nodded excitedly.
Time at the campfire was a little boring, but it was a lot better than being locked up in a tiny room. He watched the other people cut down trees, go fishing, and hunt animals, which were then cooked and fed to him, although seemingly somewhat begrudgingly.
“i gtg sorry”
The cyborg says. The others face-palm and watch as the cyborg dumps his items on the ground.
“Imma go too”
The ninja guy dropped his katana and kunai while the cyborg nodded, before vanishing into thin air.
“are you being fr rn”
The medic complains, dropping an unholy amount of bandages.
The fisherman stares, before dipping out, not even bothering to put down his items, vanishing alongside the medic.
The final camper stared at everyone who had left. She silently dropped her items on the floor. Dino Kid tilted his head innocently.
“Where are you going?”
He asked, picking up the flashlight for her. She pushed his hand away, watching as he fiddled with the flashlight.
“I’m sorry…”
She quietly mumbled, before she, as well, had vanished into thin air.
And poor, poor Dino Kid had no idea what was happening. He hid in his little tent, now that the atmosphere had gotten a bit more creepier— and a whole lot lonelier.
They’ll be back soon… probably… maybe… hopefully…
Night fell, and the fire sat at level four, at sixty-three percent. Dino Kid convinced himself that they’ll be back before he knows it. He decided to doodle to pass the time.
And before he knew it, the next day had arrived.
He wandered around the campsite, watching as the fire diminished to fifty percent.
His stomach rumbled. He was hungry. He went to look for the ‘ahh, fresh meat,’ from earlier. It was on the crafting table’s grinder, which he had to tiptoe just to reach.
He licked his lips, now that he had gotten his prize.
MUNCH.
Dino Kid spat it out almost immediately. It was smelly, it was cold, and it made him feel sick. He tried to stomach it, but eventually stopped, as he felt that any more ‘ahh, fresh meat,’ would result in him throwing up.
He was going to DIE if he didn’t find food fast enough! But if he wanted food, he’d have to leave the campfire! All by himself!
There were a few carrots right outside the campsite. He gulped and took a deep breath, positioning himself in a running start. He told himself some reassuring words, like ‘I’m a big kid now,’ and dashed out. He grabbed a carrot and immediately sprinted back to the campsite, immediately devouring the carrot like his life depended on it.
That wasn’t as bad as he thought.
He was still hungry. This time, he should get two!
He decided to run a little slower this time, and go for some berries instead. He always liked berries. He grabbed two handfuls of berries, one in each hand, and returned to the campfire to enjoy his ‘lunch.’ He saved the berries for the other players, just in case they didn’t like eating ‘ahh, fresh meat,’ either.
Slowly, he became comfortable being outside the campsite, and didn’t have to rush back like he would die if he stayed out too long.
The sun began to set. He was still out collecting carrots and berries. The conspicuous sight of the campfire made it easy for him to tell how far he was from the site, and he always kept a close distance to it. He began to make his way to the camp with his pockets and hands full of berries and carrots.
He tried his best to cherish and enjoy his meal consisting of just carrots. But it just wasn’t the same without Kraken Kid, Squid Kid, Koala Kid, and his mother.
A tear rolled down his cheek. He was lonely. So, so alone.
He had finally come to the conclusion that the players wouldn’t be coming back. That the players lied about saving him, about saving his siblings, and about getting them out of this place. Those were all just sweet lies to give him false hope.
The wind howled, causing the fire to flicker a little, sitting at a dangerous twenty-three percent. Dino Kid felt as if he was being watched.
He was alone AND scared.
He missed his family. He wished everything could go back to how it was.
.
He’ll deal with this tomorrow.