ZHONGCHI STORIES

4

🔶💧

“It's finally summer break!”

A young man yelled before flopping on the soft mattress of his bed.

It's been a hectic year for Ajax, a college student in Snezhnaya National University. Due to it being a prestigious school known for both military and technological teachings, it is a school full of busy students reaching the expectations of the institute.

No wonder Ajax is so full of relief. Don't get him wrong, he loves the major he picked. Not only does the hard training of the official military soldiers bring satiation to his restlessness, it also helps him in another way, it's therapeutic.

He doesn't know how it's therapeutic, but it just is for him. Ajax blinked. Huh, no wonder people find me weird.

Squirming on his bed, he can feel the tiredness of his eyes from all the late night studying (+ dozens of caffeine drinks) in preparation for his exams.

So, to reward himself from all of the prior stress, Ajax decided to book on a camp for his vacation then slept.

–

When he entered the camp, he had a sudden terrible feeling, telling him he should leave immediately. It's probably the nerves after a long time of enhancing my senses.

Ignoring the feeling, Ajax checked into the camp registrar.

–

Ajax has been enjoying the activities of the camp so far. So much that he was distracted of the still strange feeling pursuing in warning him.

One night, there was an activity for the campers, a test of courage. But what was strange though is that they weren't grouped in pairs. Oh come on, this is a big forest with horror movie vibes! Ajax whined in his head.

It was when he looked at the forest that the same feeling ever since he stepped foot in the camp became apparent to be unnoticed.

He felt an intense shiver running down his spine.

Ajax was taken aback. This time, he is sure something is off. He can't dismiss the feeling of dread (he realized too late) any longer. It's already too late to go back home and this was the final activity before they depart the next day. He raised his guard up.

He told his friend he made in the camp, Zhongli, about the feeling before it was their turn.

“So you have felt it too.”

What?

Ajax can't help but widen his eyes. He thought his friend will shrug it off and say he was being paranoid.

He wasn't the only one.

“Be on guard at all times when you enter, Ajax.”

And as always, his friend was right.

Hiding on a tree along with Zhongli, Ajax held his breath, making sure not to notify the abyssal looking monster lurking below their location.

He should have believed his gut feeling, he should have left when it wasn't already too late.

He looked at the other, shocked and confused in finding Zhongli's facial features calm, his eyes calculating.

Come to think of it, if it wasn't for Zhongli finding him and advancing them on higher ground, he was for sure killed already despite being a military student.

It was then that he remembered something.

-

“Hey Zhongli, what do you think the food will be in lunch later?”

Looking beside him, he found that his friend disappeared. Ajax looked behind him and saw Zhongli looking at something in the woods, eyes holding some sort of acknowledgement.

“Zhongli?”

He wasn't sure what expression was on Zhongli's face, but he seems to be holding a  serious expression before looking at him, back at his usual stoic face.

Strange. Ajax thought.

Before he can ask, a cough interrupted him.

“Apologies, I was fascinated by the view. Now, what was the question?”

-

Ever since then, Ajax noticed Zhongli kept looking at the woods.

He knew.

Zhongli knew about the monster.

———
FIN
———

This was a revision of an old short twitter thread I posted. This was based from my dream back then lol.