Taking a flight on Bing Bong Airlines on an expedition with your fellow scouts was supposed to be an adventurous trip, and well it certainly was an adventurous outing…
Just not in the way you expected.
You see the plane made it a long way before it unexpectedly plunged onto a remote island. And astonishingly enough your companions and you were miraculously unscathed by the crash landing.
Amidst the wreckage your group rationed out supplies from the nearby luggage and consulted the Wilderness Handbook written by Scoutmaster Myres.
Myers mentions in the ‘preface’ page that he has 40 years of experience as a scoutmaster, that’s certainly impressive and the illustration of him on the next page certainly looks like an experienced middle age man. Above his sketched self-portrait is a dictum written in bold red text:
RULE 0 NEVER ABANDON A FRIEND IN NEED
That makes sense, the sense of responsibility settles in when observing the drawing of Myers pointing to anyone reading the directive.
So going of the Scoutmaster’s handbook you decide to begin scaling the mountain so you can fire off flares at the peak and be rescued. The journey to the top is rather exhaustive and perilous, however working together with your band of scouts made it less challenging. Once past the rocky shoreline, your troop made it past the tropic jungle and to the alpines.
It was terribly chilly here, and during a blizzard you got separated from your comrades. Seeking shelter from the biting winds you crept into a rocky overhang, a small hollow. Your hands clutched to the survival heat pack keeping you somewhat warmer.
This little cavity did feel oddly balmy, but what caught your eye immediately was a crescent shaped fruit hanging from a vine, it was swaying to and fro gently. Little fireflies flickered and fluttered around the surreal looking plant. Starvation snarled in your stomach as you observed the inviting violet fruit, however it wasn’t in your handbook so you didn’t know if it was safe to consume.
It wasn’t the most rational decision you could’ve made but you took your chances anyways. A ballsy move. You were hungry and the thing looked hypnotic, it turns out it tasted quite sweet and juicy. After you finished the sizable fruit, you felt… rather drowsy…
Your eyelids grew heavy, your muscles becoming increasingly slack. Try as you might you couldn’t resist slumping onto the crevice’s wall as your chin dipped towards your chest. Slipping into a deep slumber, you’d eaten something called a Napberry. Luckily for you, it wasn’t deadly. Unlucky for you, your drowsing form was prime for the picking…
Groggily you rouse some length of time later, you feel warmth seeping into your leaden body. There’s a gentle crackle of a- a campfire it seems? This isn’t the alpines, just where are you?
The blood drains from your face when sat across from the fire is a gangly silhouette, a towering humanoid monster with pale green skin and luminous ivory eyes that pierced the dark with their shine. This thing, whatever it was, was staring you down and it even looked-
familiar.
The illustration of the Scoutmaster flashed in your mind, that scruffy thick mustache and bearded jawline - even the large brown Stetson hat on his head. All of his clothes were in tatters yet undeniably the ones Myres was depicted wearing. Was he even a man anymore? His limbs were far too long, his body severely emaciated.
And the Scoutmaster didn’t utter a word to you… In his mind, he made sure you weren’t deserted like he was. Just like him you ate the Napberry like he did so many years ago. Unbeknownst to you, he killed your friends - throwing them off the steep cliffs for breaking Rule 0.