John's sharp words sliced through the tense air, leaving Miss Julie speechless. Her surprise at his rudeness quickly turned to a shocked whisper. "How dare you speak to your teacher like that?" she managed, her voice barely audible. Before she could scold him further, a man in a crisp white coat approached them. "Doctor Thomas! Is that truly the renowned Doctor Thomas here at our school?" Miss Julie exclaimed, her surprise now tinged with a hint of awe. But John, his focus elsewhere, didn't release his grip on Julie's arm.
Suddenly, a hand rested on John's shoulder. His immediate instinct was to defend himself. His fist clenched, ready to strike the intruder. But when he turned and his eyes met the man's, his arm froze mid-air. The man, Doctor Thomas, seemed momentarily taken aback by John's aggressive reaction. Yet, he remained calm, placing both his hands gently on John's shoulders. "John," he said softly, his voice carrying a note of concern, "I have a message for you... from your sister." Before Doctor Thomas could finish his sentence, John's hand shot out, snatching the phone from the doctor's grasp. His eyes darted across the screen, quickly absorbing the urgent words.
The message on the phone painted a picture of Luna's worry and determination. "Dear Doctor Thomas," it began, "I know what I'm doing might seem wrong, but when I went to John's school to look for him, I heard that he might have gone into the jungle to become stronger. You know better than anyone how helpful, and how dangerous, the jungle can be. John isn't the kind of boy who can easily become strong there. All I want is for my brother to be safe, so I'm going into the jungle to find him. I've searched every little corner of the city. Our city is small, and if John was here, I would have found him quickly. But he's not here, which means he must have gone to the jungle, and I'm going after him. If I'm wrong, and John isn't in the jungle and comes back there, please, please take care of him for me." The message was signed simply, "Luna." She had sent it to Doctor Thomas, a safety net in case her desperate gamble proved incorrect.
Doctor Thomas watched John's face as he read, his own brow furrowed with concern. "Oh dear," he sighed, "this is a serious problem. Your sister has gone into the jungle, and it's almost evening. Night will fall very soon. This means even if I find someone to go into the jungle with me, they won't be agree to get there before morning." But before the doctor could offer any further words of caution, he realized John was no longer standing before him. He looked around frantically and saw John's figure disappearing out the door, sprinting with desperate speed towards the ominous line of dark trees that marked the edge of the jungle. "No, John! If you go into the jungle too, what will happen to your sister?" Doctor Thomas called out, his voice laced with urgency. But John didn't hear him, or chose to ignore him, his focus solely on the path ahead. Reaching the first shadowy trees, he paused for a single, deep breath, and then vanished into the dense undergrowth. "Luna," he murmured to himself as he plunged deeper into the silent woods, "I know everything now. I know that I was wrong about you, not the other way around. You always loved me, but I always pushed you away. But now that I know the truth, I can't bear it if anything bad happens to you."
At that moment, a strange resolve settled within John, pushing aside any fear. He knew the jungle held unknown dangers, strange and powerful mutant monsters that could easily attack him. Yet, he ran on, further into the darkness, the unsettling sounds of unseen creatures echoing around him. He didn't slow his pace. After what felt like an eternity, a sound cut through the night – a loud, terrifying roar, unmistakably that of a tiger. Mixed with it was a sharp, metallic clang, like the clash of swords against something hard. "It must be Luna!" John's heart hammered against his ribs. "Not at this time of night... No, no, if she's facing that tiger, it's a huge problem. There's only one tiger in our Star City Forest that's incredibly strong. This means Luna is in terrible danger. No matter what happens, even if it costs me my life, I will save my sister!" Fueled by this desperate vow, John surged forward, running even faster towards the sounds of the struggle.