"That's the tent set up! Now, we need firewood and water," Adam said with a grin as he stepped back and admired their handiwork.
"It looks lopsided," Jenny remarked from where she stood beside Adam, tilting her head as she inspected the tent.
"Really?" Adam asked.
"No, I'm just kidding," Jenny replied, nudging his shoulder while sticking out her tongue.
"Why, you!" Adam replied in mock anger as he went to grab her. But Jenny immediately avoided his grab, giggling.
It was late morning and for the next few minutes, Adam chased Jenny around the clearing where they had chosen to camp. The weather was clear and her beautiful laughter rang through the trees of the forest.
They were both scheduled to begin their first year at university in three days, making it a great time to get away before they became swamped with study sessions, lectures and parties.
They had been dating for a couple of years now, first becoming friends when Jenny transferred to the same school that Adam attended.
Her long blond hair and green eyes, as well as her friendly nature, immediately made her popular. All the girls wanted to be her friend, while all the boys wanted to be her boyfriend.
Adam was one of the few who didn't attempt to get too close to Jenny. After all, he knew she, like everyone else in the school, was in a completely different social class.
Adam had lost his parents when he was young and was raised in an orphanage until he reached an age where he couldn't stay there any longer. At that point, the Alamo City council set him up in a small one-bedroom apartment.
When he wasn't at school, Adam was either studying or working his part-time job. The council didn't supply him with nearly enough money to survive on, and he needed to make ends meet.
Adam only managed to get into the same high-class school that Jenny eventually attended because of his excellent grades. He was granted a scholarship. Unfortunately, because of his status, he was bullied from day one.
Once she transferred in, Jenny was one of the few people who didn't look down on him for his situation or bully him. In fact, she would often approach Adam and ask him for advice on their recent lessons, something Adam found strange. Jenny was as smart, if not smarter, than he was.
Eventually, Adam broached the subject with her. She blushed and admitted that she had done it to spend time with him. After that, the two started spending more time together, surprising the other students and even angering a select few.
One afternoon, Jenny had asked Adam to be her boyfriend, and since then the two of them had been dating.
Rumours started to spread around the school after they started dating, saying that Adam must have tricked her, while the bullying intensified. The sons of the richest and most powerful families watched their relationship with jealousy and instigated most of the harassment. They always made sure to bully him when Jenny wasn't around. And they never physically harmed him, so there was no real proof of their actions.
Adam never did tell her, although he had a feeling that she suspected something was going on.
Eventually, their school life ended and they both got grades high enough to get them into Hopkins University, one of the best universities on the western continent. To celebrate, they decided to take this trip together.
Jenny stopped fleeing from Adam at the campsite and allowed herself to be caught. She leaned in to kiss Adam and he closed the distance.
Once they broke the kiss, Jenny stepped back. " You go collect some water from the pool up near the waterfall; I'll collect some firewood.
"Yes, ma'am," Adam saluted, making Jenny giggle, before he picked up a large empty water bottle and headed off in the direction of the waterfall.
"Be sure not to fall over the edge," Jenny called after him as Adam entered the trees.
This wasn't the first time the two of them had camped in this spot, so he knew the direction towards the waterfall.
Unfortunately, so did another group who had been watching their playful antics from where they were hiding in the trees.
Adam reached the edge of a river and followed it for a few moments until he reached the top of a waterfall and could hear the water crashing into the basin below.
Taking a moment to look out over the waterfall, Adam took in the forest as it stretched into the distance. He had always loved this spot.
As he bent down at the edge of the river and started to fill the water bottle, a sudden noise behind him caused Adam to turn and look over his shoulder. He was smiling, certain that Jenny was trying to sneak up on him.
But it wasn't Jenny. Instead, it was a group of half a dozen men, all wearing military gear, pistols strapped to their legs.
"Wha.." Adam began to say, but two of the military men pounced on him and pinned him to the ground. They roughly pulled him up to his feet, their hold firm.
"Hello, Adam," a voice Adam recognised and hated said in a mocking tone.
From between the trees, a tall, handsome young man appeared.
"Viktor. What do you want?" Adam asked.
Viktor Morose was one of Adam's main bullies back in school. He came from the Morose family, one of the five biggest and most influential families on Earth; they practically ran the western continent.
"I'm here to dispose of an eyesore," Viktor said as he held out his hand to the military officer next to him. The man quickly handed him a gun.
"You're going to kill me?" Adam asked in shock and fear as his heart began to race and his eyes focused on the gun in Viktor's hand.
"I warned you to break up with Jenny and stay away from her; she is too good for you. But you ignored my warning, and so now I'm forced to take more drastic measures. A tragic accident," Viktor replied with a crazy smile.
"It won't look like an accident if you shoot him, Mr Morose," the military officer who handed him the gun suddenly said.
"What would you suggest then, Captain Simmons?"
"Much more believable if he accidentally fell from the cliff." Captain Simmons replied, to which Viktor nodded and said. "Good point, throw him over the edge."
"Get his phone first," Simmons ordered the two who were holding Adam.
As they were about to reach for his phone, a sudden shout distracted them.
"ADAM!" Jenny cried in alarm before rushing towards Viktor, who still had the gun raised at Adam.
Caught off guard by Jenny's sudden appearance, none of them had time to react before Jenny barreled herself into Viktor and took him to the ground.
"BANG"
Jenny coughed up blood before her body rolled off Viktor's, and a bloodstain started to spread over her heart.
"JENNY!" Adam screamed in panic and grief.
"I love you, Ada…" Jenny began to say, before the life left her eyes.
"Fuck, no, no," Viktor cursed quickly, getting up and rushing to Jenny, only to find her dead.l.
"Jenny, Jenny, no, Jenny," Adam mumbled in shock, unable to look away from Jenny.
"WHY IS THAT BASTARD STILL ALIVE? THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HAD JUST DONE AS I SAID. NOW THROW HIM OVER THE CLIFF," Viktor yelled in outrage.
The two military officers didn't delay any longer and quickly threw Adam over the edge of the cliff.
"Get his phone first, you idiots." But it was too late. Adam was already free-falling.
Adam felt weightless as he saw the top of the cliff and the waterfall beside it suddenly getting further away, along with Simmons and the other two soldiers watching him fall. The cliff edge continued to get farther and farther away until everything went dark.
***
Adam's now unmoving body lay outside of a cave. From deep within, a blue light suddenly appeared, and a feminine voice broke the silence.
[Bipedal life form detected. Deploying Android to collect bipedal life-form for operator compatibility test.]
After a few minutes, a being emerged from the cave entrance and moved towards Adam.
The being would have passed for a human female around the age of 20 if not for her ears, which were longer and more pointed than a human's. "Bipedal life-form located. Initiating compatibility scan." The female voice was the same one that had spoken before.
When the humanoid being focused on Adam, you could see she had pentagons instead of irises in her eyes. They would either rotate or expand as she took in the unmoving body.
"Scan complete. Comparability confirmed. Upgrading designation from bipedal life-form to potential operator.
Error detected. Scans indicate that the potential operator has multiple broken bones, fractures, severe blood loss, multiple damaged or inoperative organs, including the left eye, lung, kidney, heart, and genitalia.
Conclusion: The potential operator will soon cease operating themselves.
Transferring potential operator to the med lab."
Upon saying this, the humanoid being collected both Adam and his belongings near him and proceeded to transport him into the cave.