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Author's Note:
We shall resume regular updates now
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The trunk crashed onto the ground with an earth-shaking thud, sending a thick cloud of dust billowing into the air.
The impact was so powerful that Lucas swore he could feel it in his bones.
And then?
Lucas didn't even hesitate. He collapsed where he stood, his body crumpling onto the dirt with a dull thump.
He barely felt the rough ground beneath him — nothing mattered except the overwhelming relief of not carrying that damn tree anymore.
All around him, the other boys followed suit.
Some flopped onto their backs, staring up at the sky in exhausted silence.
Others simply sat — legs sprawled, heads bowed, arms dangling uselessly at their sides.
Leo groaned loudly as he sprawled out on the ground, eyes squeezed shut. "I am never doing that again. Ever. I don't care if we starve."
A few weak chuckles spread through the group, though no one had the energy to argue.