I was soaking wet, my hiking boots heavy with water, and my head was spinning. Grant was rushing blindly into the thinly wooded area located across the stream. Somewhere behind us, three people were close behind and I had no intention of letting them catch up.
Grant was going so fast that I couldn't think straight. I reached out and grabbed at his shoulder.
"Wait," I huffed. "We need to stop."
Grant took a quick look at me and then pulled me off to the side. We ducked behind a pile of large rocks and I collapsed onto the ground. Grant sat down next me, frantically looking around.
I gulped some of my water down. "What's going on?"
"I have no clue," Grant whispered. "Those people...I have no idea who they are or why they're chasing us. But we have to keep going, okay? It's not safe to stop here."
"Where are Will and Aaron?" I asked.
He looked down to the ground. "They took off. I thought we'd catch up to them, but..."
Our whole group had gotten separated. We weren't sure if Will and Aaron were even together. They could have gone off in different directions. If Cal and Beth survived somehow - which I convinced myself they had - I didn't know how we would all find each other again.
"Can you get up?" Grant asked.
As much as I didn't want to, I knew we had to keep moving. Reluctantly, I stood up and waited as Grant peeked out around the rocks.
"Okay," he whispered. "Let's go."
We hadn't gone in a straight path. Instead, we headed to our left, which we hoped would lead to the center of the island. Most of the mountains and hills were there and if we could hike up high enough, maybe we could spot someone from our group. Or find the people who were chasing us and see if there were more of them out there.
The bag that Grant had picked up fortunately contained most of the food. We had all filled our water bottles from the stream, so for the time being, we were set. Since we didn't want to stop, we both ate a small bite while we walked. After about an hour, we both agreed we most likely weren't being followed. We'd probably lost them. Or, we feared, they had found Will and Aaron.
I couldn't think about any of the possible things that may be happening on this island as we walked along. Cal and Beth were hopefully alive, but where could they be? Beth could barely walk and they were low on food and water when we had left. I knew Beth got scared easily and I couldn't blame her. Her leg was causing her so much pain, besides slowing her down. Cal was strong, but I wasn't sure if she'd be able to lead the two of them around this island. I also knew that if I was worrying about her, she was somewhere worrying about me. Neither of us knew where the other one was, or if the other was safe.
Will could probably hold his own, but not against three people. Aaron had gotten more than his share of trouble so far. I just had to hope he hadn't gotten captured again or hurt.
As I walked behind Grant, I watched him. He was so cautious and aware of everything surrounding us. We had walked close to two cameras already, and he had spotted them both, leading us around them. I had half expected to talk about nonsense just to fill the silence. But instead, Grant pointed things out, like which plants were poisonous.
"Were you a Boy Scout or something?" I joked.
"Funny." He smiled. "I wasn't a Boy Scout. I just went camping a lot as a kid, that's all."
He looked away when he said that, his face looking a little sad, I thought.
"Well, I've gone to different camps every summer for the past few years, but you know a million times more than me." I told him. "All I ever learned at camp were things like horseback riding or how to make dream catchers."
Grant chuckled. "Doesn't sound so bad, Ry."
I smiled at him calling me a nickname.
We were walking downstream. His plan was to go in a half circle and then head upwards toward the center of the island.
"The waterfall we found?" he said. "It's water has to be the same from the stream. So, if we can get far enough down this way, we'll hit the stream again and cut through it."
It sounded more complicated than how he made it seem, but I didn't argue. It was a terrible feeling to know in my head that we should go slow, cautiously on the lookout for danger; but my body was telling me to hurry and get to a higher elevation as quickly as possible.
I don't know what I would've done if I were alone. I shuddered at the thought. All the trees looked alike to me and I had no sense of direction. Grant, on the other hand, was totally at ease. Well, as much as he could be given the situation, anyway. If he was scared, he didn't show it. Maybe it was for my benefit or maybe he actually wasn't afraid. Every little sound made me jump or look over my shoulder. Thankfully, Grant just smiled or softly chuckled and then made sure to confirm what each noise actually was.
When we weren't talking, my mind seemed to drift off in places I didn't want to go. I thought of my family and tried to push away the fear that I may never see them again. I wondered if Gina was still sending our families phony emails from us, and if so, I hoped my parents were happy in thinking I was having a great time away at camp. I hated to think of them worrying about me. As much as I wished they would somehow come find me, the odds of that actually happening were slim to none. I knew if they returned from their vacation before I got off this island, it would be inevitable that they'd realize I was missing. That thought alone made my stomach turn. It could be too late by then.
My eyes teared up and I forced myself to think of something else. Anything else, really. I thought about Cal and Beth. I pictured them having escaped just in time from the cabin fire and having found refuge somewhere wonderful. Like a lush cabin we had yet to find, fully stocked with food and comfortable furniture for Beth. The image made me smile, even though it was completely unrealistic.
We all had families waiting for us back home. My heart wasn't breaking any more or less than theirs were. We all shared the same desperation, silently praying we would make it out alive.
I watched as Grant led me along. His skin had gotten deeply tanned from being out in the sun so much. He was actually more muscular than I thought, now that I stared at him from behind. His calf muscles flexed with every step; his arms bulged at his sides. I caught myself gazing at his shoulders and then blinked, my cheeks flushing.
He took a break and faced me.
"Oh, wow." He stepped closer to me. "You're all red. You're overheating! Sorry, I'm going too fast, huh? Drink some water."
I was so embarrassed. I took a sip of water and didn't make eye contact.
"I'm fine," I told him. "We can keep going."
"You sure?"
When I told him again that I was alright, he nodded and turned around. We were walking on flat ground, so it was easy to see any traps or holes. The thin trees were mostly barren, with only some leaves here or there. We could easily see if anyone was closing in on us. There was nowhere to hide. Grant's shoulders relaxed a bit and I figured he probably had the same thought as I did. We were safe there, for now anyway.
Grant slowed his pace and then stopped. I stopped behind him and waited. He slowly turned to face me.
"Have you noticed how quiet it is?" he asked in a low voice.
I paused for a minute. "I guess. I mean, it's only the two of us out here. Maybe it just seems quiet because Aaron and Will aren't bickering."
"No, that's not it," he said as he looked around.
"I don't hear anything, but..." my voice trailed off.
I had been listening for sounds of people following us, so the quiet had been a welcomed silence. Grant looked concerned, but I didn't know why.
"Okay," he said finally. "Let's keep going."
As we walked, the only sound I heard was our feet shuffling along. He was right; it was incredibly quiet. I didn't think we had reason to worry since we could see right in between all of the trees that seemed to go on and on for quite a distance.
Grant picked up his pace and seemed to have shaken off whatever it was that made him uneasy. We had gone quite a good distance and I hoped we were nearing the stream soon.
I was just about to ask Grant how much farther he thought we had to go, when he did something that made me scream instead.