Tommy dreamt of how they all came together. He had met Wilbur not long after his mother had abandoned him. Tommy had never met his dad (I'm going to clear this up right now: no, Phil is not Tommy's long-lost father), but he liked to think that he would've been the best father to him. Wil and Tommy had been in a quick and shabby lean-to-thing that Tommy had made out of the ferns and branches around them. It was pouring down rain, much like the current night. Wilbur had injured his lower leg by tripping over a log and tumbling down a hill, creating a gash from the fall.

"Does it still hurt, or did it go awa-" Tommy started.

He was cut off by Wilbur's anxious and distressed voice, "No, Tommy. The pain hasn't gone away since the last thirty thousand times you asked." The young boy looked at the other with wide eyes, sorry to disappoint him. "Gah!" Wilbur cried out as a torrent of water swamped right onto his wounded leg. Tommy turned away from Wilbur's pained face, swiftly grabbing an armful of wet, fallen leaves from under the lean-to. He tossed the leaves frustratedly on the side of the roof on Wil's side, halting rain from trickling down onto him. Wil sat in silence, contemplating their situation until finally looking at Tommy sadly, "How did we get lost in here?" He asked his young friend. Tommy stood out in the open as the rain fell on him and the leaves, the sound of its pattering resounding around them.

"Probably my fault," he said, ashamed, looking down at his feet. Wil looked at him, now regretful of how he'd responded to the boy's concerned question. Wil held out his hand, coaxing the young boy to his side. Tommy slid down next to Wilbur, begrudgingly leaning his head on his friend's shoulder. A flash of lightning followed by a clap of thunder made Tommy shiver, and he cried, frightened by the noise. Wilbur pulled him into a hug in an attempt to console him.

"I'm sorry, Wil," he hiccuped, clutching the older boy.

"It's not your fault, Toms. It's not."

~~~~~

They were cold, wet, and dirty when Philza and Techno had found them.

Philza had been hiking, just to get some fresh air. He met a mature boy who called himself Techno, a quiet and tough boy who was training for some event. Phil had started a conversation as they walked down the trail. Phil did most of the talking with Techno responding in short answers though he wasn't vexed at the other's enthusiasm for things. It felt like they had known each other for years.

They hadn't realized they had strayed from the path since they started talking. Phil laughed when they realized their situation, but Techno was nervous. What if we can't find a way back? He panicked, turning around in a circle. That was a mistake, Techno realized, growing more panicked. Phil, noticing Techno's nervousness, reassured him, "Don't worry, I know the way back, but we should take this opportunity to explore."

Straightening his posture, Techno made a face, looking around at the scenery to gather his thoughts. He cleared his throat, "I'm like a human GPS, but I've never been here before, and I wasn't really paying attention, so I..." he trailed off as rain started falling.

"Well, that's just great," the pink-haired boy remarked, making Philza snicker.

"It's okay; I just hope your parents packed you an extra coat," Phil said jokingly. The statement was his subtle way of digging for information, a habit he had gotten into, and not necessarily a bad one.

Techno stared at the man blankly, "No, they can't exactly pack me an extra coat if they're dead, can they?" Philza blinked. That's not the information I thought I'd be getting, he thought. Techno didn't seem to notice Phil's reaction as he continued in his same monotone voice, "Also, the weather was supposed to be the same clear weather all day."

Leaves crunched beneath their feet as they continued in silence. Philza cleared his throat just as a flash of light appeared, followed by a rumble of thunder that rolled above them. The two exchanged glances, both seeming to tell each other the same thing: Shelter!

The rain continued to pour like buckets down on them, drenching them both. They continued to traverse through the land, looking for the way out. Philza stopped in his tracks, alerting Techno. Techno looked to see where the older man was pointing to. A makeshift lean-to was lying against a boulder. Under the lean-to was an outstretched leg adorned with a black rubber boot. They approached the people, their footsteps muffled by the sound of the rain.

Techno pushed ahead of Phil to see two young boys, one (who must have been the older) was a curly-haired brunette- though the curls were hard to see since the rain tamed them. The other (probably the youngest) was a blonde, hugging the oldest, who had his arm around the younger one. Techno looked back at Phil, confused. Philza looked back at the pink-haired boy, dumbfounded.

Another clap of thunder threw itself into the air, waking the smaller blonde. On seeing the two, the younger shook the other awake. Tightening the hug around the older, the youngest backed up further into the safety of the shelter, terrified.

~~~~~

"What is it?" Wilbur asked tiredly. He opened his eyes lazily after Tommy didn't respond. Wil's eyes widened as he set his vision on the two people in front of him. Panicking, he tried to move his injured leg, only to gasp in agony.

"Careful, Wilbur!" Tommy said, grabbing onto his friend's arm.

"What do you want?" Wilbur hissed, despite his pain.

"Oh! We didn't mean to scare you," the older of the two said, "My name's Phil, this is Techno."

"Helloo," the pink-haired one said, waving rigidly.

"We just needed a place to set up shelter. You could share this tent I have with me in my backpack with your brother since you need it more than we do," Phil explained politely, signaling in the direction of Wilbur's leg.

"I brought some bandages in case of an emergency, so we can patch up your leg if need be," Techno said, sliding his pack off his shoulder.

Wil was suspicious of them, unlike Tommy, whose fear of they had seemingly vanished. "I'm Tommy, this is Wilbur. We're not related, but he is like my brother," he said, blathering on about other things. Wil beamed at the last part of his young friend's introduction.

Techno came over and sat near Wilbur, "Do you want to use the bandage yourself or..."

"You probably have more experience," Wilbur huffed.

Techno chuckled, "No kidding." He wrapped up his leg carefully, trying to cause as little pain as possible.

Phil began setting up the tent in the rain. Once it was set, he threw a plastic tarp over it to repel the rain, "It's all ready for you, Wil. Do you need help to get in?"

Wil patted his bandaged leg and stood slowly. "No thanks, I'm fine," Wilbur replied, hobbling over to the tent. It wasn't the largest tent, but it was big enough. Tommy crawled in after him, grinning with delight.

"This is so cool!" He exclaimed, and Wilbur agreed.

"Here's an extra blanket, just in case you get cold," Phil said, pitching a blanket into the tent. Phil and Techno found their way under the lean-to, nodding their heads against the boulder behind them as they all drifted off to sleep.