I Explore Urban Legends - Chapter 132: Day One: An Unsafe Safe House (Patreon)

Deep inside Freetown Forest.

As soon as Wilbur and his friends got out of the car, Evan and Dylan stepped out after them.

"We'll be following you the entire time as the camera crew, and I'll be carrying all your supplies.

"We'll also step in if things get dangerous, but if you accept our help, that means you've chosen to give up. Understand?"

Wilbur nodded, then immediately began discussing their next move with his teammates.

Meanwhile, Emma looked at the younger kids behind her.

"I'm older than all of you, so that makes me the leader."

The children agreed without hesitation.

"Okay, you're the leader."

Emma smiled happily.

"Since I'm the leader, you should listen to me from now on. I'll make sure we win."

The children exchanged glances, then nodded.

"Okay, Emma."

Emma gave Taylor and Susie, who were holding the camera, a thumbs-up before leading the others deeper into the forest.

The first thing they needed to do in unfamiliar terrain was get a sense of their surroundings.

Liam had spent several days training the children in similar environments, so they didn't panic when they found themselves somewhere unfamiliar.

Instead, they quickly figured out their position and checked the direction of the wind.

At the same time, Wilbur spotted a claw mark on a tree trunk. In the same direction, he found a beast's footprint.

He turned to his teammates.

"These must be traces left by the mysterious creature. Let's follow them."

During all this, Evan made sure to get close-up shots of the children's clothes and the tools they were carrying. They had all been provided by sponsors, so they needed plenty of screen time.

Elsewhere, Liam, Wolf, and Watson moved quickly between the two teams, keeping a constant eye on the children for safety while also planting clues along the way.

They could have prepared things like tracks and claw marks ahead of time, but freshly carved marks looked much more convincing.

During one handoff, Liam asked,

"Wolf, how are things on your end?"

"No problems. The tracks I left should be enough to lead them to the safe house."

"Good. Go get some rest. You've got plenty to do tonight."

Wolf nodded his wolf-like head.

This job was nothing like the respectable life he'd imagined when he first came to this country, but spending his days around the children was surprisingly enjoyable, and his boss wasn't bad either.

Watching Wolf leave, Liam turned around, lightened his body, and jumped up into a tree.

He wanted to capture footage from some difficult angles.

After walking for a while, Emma started feeling hungry.

She checked the time and saw that it was almost noon.

"Taylor, we need something to eat."

Taylor nodded and motioned for Susie to take the camping food out of the bag.

The meals were already prepared and packaged. They only needed to be heated over a flame or in hot water before they could be eaten.

Since this was a children's show, there was obviously no reason to make them start a fire by rubbing sticks together.

Even a strong adult could easily spend two or three hours trying to start a fire in the wilderness without the proper tools.

Taylor also took out a portable alcohol stove and let the children figure out how to use it themselves.

But even with something that simple, Emma wasn't sure where to begin.

"Let me do it."

One of the children volunteered when they saw her hesitating over the stove.

"No. I'm the oldest. I'll do it."

Emma gritted her teeth and started working on it.

With a few quiet hints from the others, she eventually managed to set up the stand, though it was a little crooked, and placed an alcohol tablet in the middle.

Emma held a match in her hand and took a deep breath.

She struck it and tossed it in.

The alcohol tablet immediately caught fire, producing a warm little flame.

"Yay! Emma did it!"

Emma looked at her cheering teammates and couldn't shake the feeling that she was the one being taken care of.

Taylor, meanwhile, made sure to capture every child's smiling face, along with a clear shot of the alcohol stove's brand.

The children then took turns heating their meals.

The alcohol tablet wasn't very large, but it was enough to warm everyone's food to a comfortable eating temperature.

Emma tried the spicy beans in her hands.

They didn't taste particularly good, and the texture was strange, but since this was the first meal she'd ever prepared herself, somehow it tasted a little special.

Once everyone had finished lunch and rested for a while, the two teams set out again.

This time, nothing got in their way, and both groups found their safe houses without much trouble.

The condition of the safe houses, however, shocked them.

The wooden cabins were still standing, but they were riddled with holes. Some were large enough for the smaller children to crawl straight through.

Looking at the battered cabin, Wilbur blurted out,

"Can this thing really protect us from an attack by a mysterious creature?"

Dylan explained from nearby,

"This safe house is badly damaged right now. There are openings everywhere. If you want to stay safe tonight, you'll need to repair it before dark."

Hearing that, Wilbur took a deep breath and shouted,

"Come on, guys! Let's fix it!"

The children rushed inside.

A large pile of wooden planks and various tools had been left there for them.

Wilbur immediately picked up a plank and carried it to the most urgent spot, the front door.

For some reason, the door had split in half down the middle and was barely hanging on by two hinges.

He took out some nails and hammered the plank across the broken section.

The other children quickly followed his example, finding holes around the safe house and covering them with planks.

Throughout the process, Dylan and Evan stayed nearby to guide them and make sure no one got hurt.

By the time night fell, all the repairs were finished.

Wilbur wiped the sweat from his forehead and high-fived his teammates in celebration.

Emma, meanwhile, collapsed straight onto the ground, breathing heavily.

Since she was the oldest child, she'd stubbornly insisted on doing half the work herself.

One of the children pulled out a towel.

"Emma, you worked really hard."

"Hehe!"

Emma smiled, took the towel, and wiped the sweat from her head.

Then she suddenly froze.

"Where did you get this towel?"

"I usually use it to wipe my mouth when I eat."

Emma immediately jumped to her feet, walked over, and pinched the child's cheek.

Liam, perched in a nearby tree, captured the entire thing on camera.

"Perfect. That was great. Exciting without anything actually going wrong. Shame the kids didn't get into an argument, though."

As the sky gradually darkened, Wolf transformed into a werewolf and started running toward the two safe houses.

Liam followed behind him, filming shaky footage as they raced through the forest.

Then Charlotte's voice suddenly rang out.

"Careful. One of my spiderweb traps along the edge of the forest was triggered!"