Into the universe of EROS

Chapter 9

*Ajax*

I opened my eyes to a scorching ray of light. Using my hand to shade my eyes I gathered my strength and pulled myself upright. It took me a moment to process my new surroundings.

There was dense greenery all around. It seemed as though I was in jungle. How did I even get here?

My head began throbbing and almost in flashes my memories seemed to come back.

"Fuck! Eros" I screamed as I frantically looked around for him. I spotted him directly behind me just laying still on the ground. I rushed over to him to make sure he was okay.

"Eros..." I whispered gently nudging him. "Are you okay?"

After a while of shaking I managed to bring him back from his sleeping state. From his sluggish movements he must've hit his head somewhere. I helped him over to the shade of what seemed like a tree but also didn't seem like one. Gently putting him down I leaned over him to check for any signs of injury. Nothing but a few cuts and bruises thankfully.

I myself was pretty banged up and I had this nagging headache that seemed to be growing. I couldn't give in to it though, not yet.

If we were in the jungle, we would need to find shelter before possible predators find us. Looking around I realised the severity of the situation. Realization began to set in. We could be lost here for months, years even decades.

Weirdly enough, the thought of spending it all with Eros made it seem just a little less unbearable. I took in my situation and decided to focus on survival. Anything else will have to be dealt with as they happen. I walked a distance away from Eros in search of water, though keeping him in my line of sight.

After a short period of looking I came across a running stream of water. I couldn't remember a single skill all those survival shows taught me. Bear Grylls would be so disappointed.
I looked around for a while and found a piece of bark that would hopefully carry enough water for Eros. Leaning down I drank to my fill and splashed some on my face, before filling the bark to as full as it could get without messing and started to steadily walk toward Eros.

When I got back to him he seemed to be improving. Though still sluggish he was upright looking around. As soon as his eyes locked with mine a smile spread across his face. He struggled a bit to stand before lunging himself at me.

"Thank god Ajax, I thought I was alone." He said as his embrace tightened. " Happy to see you too Eros" I replied as I responded to his hug.

"So what the actual fuck happened to us?" he said as he stepped back.

"No idea. Though, I'm happy that if I had to be stranded it was with you." I said trying to brighten the situation.

"Me too" he simply replied before he got serious. " So where are we at in terms of shelter, a water source and a food source?" he asked in an authoritative tone.

" Well, I've found a water source but we need to work on the other two." he let out a warm smile before marching off in the direction of the water source.

" Well, we should construct a shelter close to the water but not too close in case of floods or other animals coming towards our general vicinity. We should also gather firewood and maybe set up some small traps." he spoke so confidently. He sounded in his element and he seemed different than the person he previously was. Honestly I liked the change.

"Let's get started" I said with an overly enthusiastic tone. We could be here for hours, days, weeks, months or even years with no guarantee of ever getting home. The very thought sent a painful pang to my chest one of which I would have to grow to live with.