Chapter 9 - Issues
"It feels so good to at least be doing something," Ellie said as she and Brian walked along.
"Yeah, I know," Brian agreed in his Southern accent. "I think AJ or Nick would’ve gone crazy if we’d stayed another minute."
"All of us just wanted to keep our minds off the fact that we want to kill the bastards that are behind this."
Brian nodded. "That too."
"I just keep thinking, if we walk far enough, one of us has to find something."
"I hope you’re right."
They walked in silence for a while.
"So, why do you keep being so nice to me and teasing me and stuff?" Ellie asked.
Brian shrugged, smiling. "I felt like it, I guess."
"That’s not much of an answer."
He stopped dead his tracks and turned to face her. "Why do you seem to find it so difficult to believe that you might actually be likable?"
She shrugged. "Preconditioning."
He sighed. "Well, it’s not inconceivable. I like you."
"Oh. Great."
"Now are you saying that because of your preconditioning or because I’m a Backstreet Boy?"
She shrugged. "A little bit of both."
"You know, I’m a just a regular guy. Being a Backstreet Boy doesn’t make me any different than anyone else."
"Most regular guys are assholes."
He raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you think of me?"
"Of course not! I mean . . ." She sighed, hiding her face in her hands. "I hate all guys!"
"Oh, first I’m an asshole and now you hate me? I don’t think I’m doing very well."
Ellie laughed. "Okay, I don’t hate you and you’re not an asshole. It’s just that all guys are assholes and so I hate all guys." She paused. "That made no sense."
"I think we’re looking too deeply into this."
"Huh?"
"You think too much."
She nodded. "Very likely."
"Well, look. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to keep being nice to you. And when you feel like doing something about it, go ahead." He winked at her and continued walking.
"Don’t hold your breath," she muttered and followed him.
~~~
"So, how old are you?" Hazel asked as she and AJ walked along.
"Twenty-two. You?"
"Eighteen."
There was an awkward silence. "So, what do you think of all this?"
She sighed. "I don’t think it’s fair of them to keep us out here and watch us as if we were fish in a glass bowl."
AJ cracked his knuckles.
"Maybe we should talk about something else," Hazel suggested.
"I’m sorry," he apologized. "I just can’t seem to think about anything else. I didn’t mean to take it out on you."
"It’s all right, you didn’t really."
There was another short silence. "You seem to be taking all this pretty well."
She shrugged. "Getting up and screaming about things doesn’t really help. I’ve been praying that someone will find us."
"I sure hope God likes you. We’ve gotta get out here before these crazy guys start doing stuff other than just watching us."
Hazel shivered.
AJ smacked himself in the forehead. "There I go, talking about it again. I’m sorry. I just --"
"Can’t think about anything else?"
"Right."
She paused. "I wish . . . I wish we at least knew where we are."
"Yeah, that would be nice." He grinned at her. "You know, complaining about this is kind of fun. Wanna keep going?"
She smiled. "Sure."
~~~
Becky and Nick didn’t talk for a while. Both of them were feeling a little awkward being alone together.
She stopped. "Okay, what’s going on?"
He blinked. "What?"
"We can’t just not talk to each other for the rest of our lives."
He blushed. "No, I guess not."
"Well, we could each tell the other how we feel . . ."
He nodded. "You go first."
"Oh, thanks. Well, I . . ." Her faced turned bright red. "I like you and I’m attracted to you. There. I said it. Your turn."
He thought for a minute. "Ummm . . . uh . . . ditto?"
"Really?"
He nodded.
"So . . . what do you wanna do?"
"Well . . ." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Maybe we should just see what happens."
"Sounds good to me," she agreed. "Umm . . . I’m sorry. I have to do this." She walked up to him and kissed his cheek. "You were always my favorite Backstreet Boy."
His cheeks turned a darker shade of red. "Thanks." He held out his hand to her. She accepted it as they walked on.
"You want me to carry the supplies?" he asked after a minute.
She smiled. "What, we decide to ‘see what happens’ and all of a sudden you’re my knight in shining armor?"
He shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
She laughed. "I can handle the supplies for now."
"Well, if I’m going to be your knight, I’ll have to carry something," he said as he bent down and picked her up.
"Ah! What’re you doing?" she asked, giggling.
"I have absolutely no idea and I bet I won’t be able to keep it up for long."
"You’re crazy, you know that?"
"Is that why you like me?"
"I don’t . . . know."
He laughed, kissing her forehead.
"I think I like this ‘seeing what happens’ thing," she remarked.
"Me too."
He carried her for another minute in silence.
"OW! Shit!" he cried suddenly, lowering her to the ground.
"What is it?!"
"I’ve been shot!" he cried, sitting down.
They both stared in horror at a small dart sticking out of his right leg.
"Get it out!" he yelled, getting close to hysterical.
"Okay," she said, trying not to panic. She grasped the dart firmly and pulled it out, trying not to hurt him.
"Ow!"
Becky looked at the dart, trying to figure out where it had come from or what it might contain. "How do you feel?"
"Weird," he answered, his breathing much faster than normal. "Shit, SHIT! My leg’s going numb!" He looked up at her, his eyes wild. "Do something!" he begged.
"I don’t know what to do!" she cried helplessly.
He winced, lying back. "Everything’s going numb . . . you’ve gotta do something!"
"I can’t leave you here alone!" She looked around frantically. "HELP! Somebody, HELP!"
"Fuck . . . everything’s starting to fade . . ."
She grabbed his hand. "Nick, stay with me! Stay with me!"
"I can’t move . . . Don’t let me die . . ."
"Listen to my voice, Nick. Don’t leave . . ."
A few seconds later, he lost consciousness.
Becky felt panic starting to set in. "Oh, shit . . . SOMEBODY HELP!" She quickly felt for a pulse and watched his chest rising and falling. Don’t die on me, PLEASE. God, don’t let him die . . . After a few minutes, she could feel no change in his breathing or pulse; they appeared to be steady. She decided she had to chance moving him.
~~~
"What was that?" Karen asked nervously.
"It sounded like Becky . . ." Sierra said, her voice worried.
"Maybe someone should check it out," Kevin suggested logically.
"I will," Howie volunteered, getting up. He was no more than a five minutes out of camp when he encountered Becky, dragging Nick along. "Holy shit! What the hell happened?!"
Becky had tears running down her face. "He got shot with a dart and now he’s unconscious! I don’t know what to do!"
"Here, give him to me," Howie said, lifting Nick onto his shoulders. Becky followed him back to camp.
"What the hell happened?!" Karen cried as their arrived back in camp a few minutes later.
"He’s been shot," Howie explained, laying down his friend.
"Shot?!" Sierra exclaimed.
"With a dart," Becky said, nearly collapsing beside him. "I-I didn’t know what to do! I felt so helpless!"
Karen hugged her. "There was nothing else you could’ve done."
Kevin knelt down beside Nick, checking his pulse and breathing. "Tell us exactly what happened."
Becky was by this point shivering. "He was carrying me when he got shot with a dart in the leg. I pulled it out. His leg went numb, then his whole body. He said everything was starting to fade. Then he passed out."
"Do you still have the dart?" Howie asked.
She nodded, pulling it out of her pocket and handing it to him.
Howie examined it carefully.
"So, what do we do?!" Becky demanded.
"We wait," Kevin said patiently.
Howie looked closely at the white stripe on the dart. "Wait a minute," he said quietly. He pulled back a piece of clear tape, revealing a small piece of paper underneath.
Nick moaned.
"Nick!" Kevin cried. "Nicky, can you hear me?"
Nick moaned again and slowly opened his eyes. "Whaa? Where am I?"
"We’re in the woods, remember?" Kevin asked gently.
"Oh yeah," he closed his eyes, groaning. "What happened?"
Becky leaned over him. "You got shot with a dart, remember?"
"Oh yeah . . ." Nick said, understanding.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
"Tired," he answered. "Other than that, I feel fine."
"What is that?" Karen asked Howie.
"It’s a message," Howie replied, his face pale.
"What’s it say?" Sierra asked.
"It says, ‘The next one will be real.’ "
~~~