As the approach of the helicopter got louder and louder, the kids' hunger and pain was replaced with a satisfying happiness. Finally, their troubles were over. Finally, they would get back home, to their friends and family and lives. Finally, they were safe.
"We're gonna go home Ally!" Sky exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement. It was the first time since Chloe's death that Ally had seen Sky so happy. "We're gonna go home!"
"Not if we stay here we won't," Chris reminded the group. This statement instantly caught their attention.
"What'd you mean?" Jason asked, annoyed to have his joy ruined.
"We're covered up by trees, they won't be able to see us through all that," Chris said as he pointed up to the tree canopy.
"He's right," Stephan said with realization. "We gotta find a clearing, fast!" The kids looked around hurriedly, hoping to find a clearing nearby. Of course there was none, and quick panic arose throughout the group.
"No, no!" Sky cried. "We gotta be found, we gotta!" She started off in a mad dash back the way they had come, back to the mountain.
"Sky!" Ally shouted as she ran after her friend. The rest of the group followed after, leaving Joe behind. He tried to keep up with them, but not even the adrenaline he felt coursing through his veins was enough to accomplish the task. He fell behind and eventually sat down at the base of a tree to catch his breath. The suicidal thoughts from yesterday crept back into his mind, but he forced them out.
They'll come back once they get the peoples' attention, Joe told himself, I'll just have to wait till then...
"Sky, stop!" Chris shouted angrily as he raced to catch up with her, immensely upset. He was partially upset at the turmoil she was making, but also at the fact that he couldn't catch up with her.
The nine kids were running frantically back to the mountain, but it was no use. They were too far from the mountain to reach it soon, and within moments they could hear the helicopter fly past them overhead. They were forced into a staggered run, their energy running out. Soon they had stopped running altogether.
"No, no. It's not fair, it's not fair!" Sky cried in her hands, shaking her head miserably. Jackson was also crying, though he did so in silence. Panting with exhaustion, Stephan listened to the diminishing sound of the helicopter as it got farther and farther away. Soon it was gone. The realization that their one chance of getting rescued was gone, that they had missed their chance by leaving the plane crash, was unbearable. He bent down onto all fours and began to throw up food that he didn't have. He heard Lola make a disgusted sound, but ignored her.
Several minutes went by before someone spoke.
"What we do now?" Andy asked. The group looked at Stephan, who was still on the ground, shaking. With their leader down, they turned their attention to Chris.
"We do what we have been doing," Chris said simply, "Go to the city."
"Dude, we haven't eaten in like four days!" Trevell exclaimed. "We need to eat something if we're to keep going on like this!"
"Hey guys! I think I've found something!" Andy suddenly exclaimed. He had walked a little away from the group after seeing Stephan throw up, and had by chance stumbled upon a plant with berries. The light green berries grew on a branch with a few purple flower buds. The berries were small and smooth, and Andy picked a few and held them in his hand. The rest of the group surrounded him and each took a turn looking at the berries.
"Green fruit?" Jason asked as he poked one.
"Berries!" Andy corrected. "They're small, but they might give us some energy." Andy picked the largest one in his palm and was about to drop it into his mouth when Stephan spoke up.
"Andy, they might be poisonous!" Stephan warned. That was enough for Chris and the others to drop the berries they had picked. Only Trevell and Lola kept theirs.
"Or they might be good!" Andy contradicted. Stephan shook his head.
"You see what the hunger is doing to you Andy? You're beginning to lose your mind! Just listen to me: don't eat them," Stephan commanded. He wasn't sure why he thought the berries were bad, but something told him that they were. And he decided to listen to his hunch.
To show his refusal to listen to Stephan, Andy popped the berry into his mouth and chewed it exaggeratingly. The feeling of food in his mouth, despite its slight firmness, was good. He ate another, and another. Seeing his friend eat them eagerly, Trevell started to eat his. Lola was about to eat hers as well, but Stephan slapped them out of her hand.
"Hey!" Lola pushed Stephan away. She bent down to pick up the fallen berries, but he stopped her.
"Don't eat them," Stephan said. The rest of the group watched as Trevell and Andy ate the berries in pleasure, and were moments away from picking up and eating the berries themselves. Knowing this, Stephan decided to lead the group away from the threatening berries.
"Guys come on! We need to find that city!" Stephan said as he started to shove the kids away from the berries, in the opposite direction of the mountains. Andy and Trevell continued to eat the berries, oblivious to Stephan and the rest of the group. Jackson and Jason looked at them longingly, chewing on their tongues, wishing that it was a berry. Stephan had to give them a reprimanding push before they followed Chris and the others. Stephan looked at Andy and Trevell; both had a crazed look on their faces as they frenziedly ate the berries. Then he too followed Chris. Andy and Trevell were left behind as they ate.
Chris had only walked thirty feet before he stopped, realizing suddenly that he had no idea which way it was to city. He looked around, trying to see something familiar, but the trees and occasional rock cluster looked all the same. Stephan came up alongside him.
"Which way is it?" Stephan asked Chris. The strong, fair-head boy looked around and gave Stephan a look which said it all. Stephan blew through slightly parted lips, and started off in what he hoped was the right direction. Chris followed, with each direction being as good as the rest. Only Jason and Ally hesitated, glancing constantly back to where Andy and Trevell were.
"What about them?" Jason asked the leader, referring to the two tall boys.
"We'll-we'll come back for them later," Stephan said, ignoring the glare Chris gave him. Jason gave Ally a hopeful look and the two hurried to catch up with the group.
As darkness descended, Andy and Trevell finally made their way back to the group. None of the kids had bothered to go back for them, as Stephan had said they would, but they were glad to have the two boys back. Andy was holding his stomach and walked past the group, behind a large rock. Trevell sat down beside Jason, looking drowsy and weak.
"Wow, are you okay?" Jason asked Trevell. The tall, dark boy gave Jason a what-ya-think look and rested his head against a tree trunk. A couple minutes later Andy came back from behind the rock and lied down on his back near Trevell. A foul smell emitted from behind the rock, and the kids scooted away from it.
"That was bad," Andy finally said. He sat up and suddenly gagged, and quickly turned his head away from the group and threw up. The kids looked away, while Trevell threw up too. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked around at the group.
"Anyone got some water?" Trevell asked.
"I don't know if you should drink water after puking," Jason said.
"I'm thirsty!" Trevell exclaimed. Andy, having finished, looked at Jason with anticipation, obviously wanting water as well. Jason sighed and pointed over to an area of snow. Trevell and Andy both got up slowly, and it was all too obvious how weak they were. It was difficult for Stephan to see them like that, but he remembered that he had warned them against eating the berries. But instead of feeling an I-told-you-so feeling, he felt terrible for not trying hard enough to prevent them from eating the berries.
Throughout the night, the kids could barely sleep. The noises of the night were back, but that was only part of the problem. Andy and Trevell were continuingly vomiting and going behind the rock, and when they weren't doing that they were groaning in pain, holding their lower stomachs. Halfway through the night Trevell grew suddenly quiet, but to Stephan's relief he wasn't dead, just unconscious.
By early morning, though, Trevell had died. A couple hours later Andy too was quickly dying away. He soon was slipping in and out of consciousness, and the journey was delayed as the group struggled to keep him alive.
"He needs more water! Get some water!" Stephan told Jason and Jackson. The two boys hurried to the diminishing snow supply and grouped some up in their palms. The snow slowly melted as they returned to where Andy was lying on the ground.
"Andy, wake up. Drink this," Stephan said as he pulled Andy into a sitting position. Andy struggled to open his eyes, and seeing Jason and Jackson he opened up his mouth and Jason slowly poured the water into his mouth. Andy choked, but he managed to drink some of the water. Jackson did likewise, and Andy drank a little more. He closed his eyes and for a moment the kids thought he was asleep. Than he opened his eyes and looked up at Stephan.
"Hey," Andy said weakly. That was the first thing he had said since last night. "Tell Shelby I'll text her after the game." That was the last thing he said.
Andy and Trevell's deaths created a depressing atmosphere, yet another pain to the long list of pains the kids had gained since the plane crash. Every member of the group, except for Chris, was crying. Stephan hadn't cried since Jake Winston, but now he was overwhelmed by a grief he couldn't push away. Andy and Trevell were dead...because of him. And they had missed the plane...because of him. He hadn't tried hard enough to persuade Andy and Trevell from eating the poisonous berries, and he hadn't tried hard enough to convince Chris they had to remain at the crash site. It was all his fault, and his friends had paid the price for it. The pain of guilt, combined with the stress of feeling responsible for his friends, was too much for the fifteen-year-old. He sat down and cried, and cried, and cried. Never in his life had he felt so helpless, so miserable, so at fault.
Half an hour later and Stephan was still a pitiful mess. The others had stopped by now, and most were at a lost of what to do. Stephan had been their leader up to now, but now they were beginning to wonder if he could handle the job. He had cracked twice within the last twenty-four hours; perhaps it was time someone else took over...
"Chris," Alex called over the boy. Chris looked at the blond haired boy for a moment before walking over.
"What you want?" Chris asked, somewhat suspicious. He and Alex hadn't exactly been on the best of terms since the avalanche.
"We need to keep searching for that city," Alex answered, "But I don't think Stephan can lead us anymore. We need someone else to take over."
"Who says we even need a leader?" Jason suddenly asked. "It wasn't like Stephan had to do anything special, just look after the group. We can do that ourselves."
"But we need a leader, even if it's just in name," Alex persisted.
"Why are you telling me this? Why don't you just become 'leader'?" Chris asked.
"I would, but I think the others view you as more of a leader than me. You did lead Jason and Jackson and those others to us after the crash. And I don't really want to be leader," Alex admitted, "I can help you out, but I think you should be leader."
"What about Stephan?" Chris asked.
"We're giving him a break Chris; I think he'll appreciate it if you take over. If he gets better later than, if you want, you can just let him be leader again," Alex said, "But till then, you need to be our leader."
Chris thought the information over. He did agree with Alex, and Stephan definitely wasn't cutting out for the job.
"Fine than," Chris finally answered. He got up and looked over his group. There was even fewer of them now, with Andy and Trevell's deaths. There was him, Alex, Stephan, Lola, Ally, Sky, Jason, Jackson...
"Hey, where's Joe?" Chris suddenly asked Alex. Alex looked around and felt his stomach plummet. He couldn't remember seeing Joe since they had heard the helicopter yesterday...
"Oh no," Alex said. Chris suddenly got red and looked at the group, who were looking up at him.
"Has anyone seen Joe?" Chris asked. Stephan stopped crying to listen for the answer.
"I saw him yesterday," Jason said.
"I mean today, has anyone seen him today?" Chris repeated. The kids shook their heads. Chris sighed. "We need to find him, where did you last see him?"
"Before we ran after the helicopter," Jackson answered. Chris muttered something unintelligible.
"Great, how are we gonna find him?" Chris asked no one in particular. After running after the helicopter, or rather after Sky, he had realized they had lost their way. He wasn't sure which way it was to the city, and thus he wasn't sure where Joe was.
As the group began to understand that Joe was lost, that the chances of them finding him were slim, that he had probably froze to death during the night, another bout of grief descended on them. They had lost another member, and they hadn't even realized it till now.
"Poor Joe," Sky said softly, tears running down her cheeks. Jason shook his head, than suddenly stood up and kicked a tree trunk. He ended up kicking harder than he meant to, and he let out a yelp of pain as he grabbed his hurt foot. Despite the melancholy of the situation, the kids couldn't help but laugh as Jason hopped on one foot, holding the other in his hands. But the laughter was short lived.
"Okay guys," Chris said at length. "Time to get moving." He headed off in what he hoped was the right direction.
"What about Joe?" Jackson asked. The group listened intently.
"Guys, let's be honest here," Chris said, "He was alone for a whole freezing night...I don't think he's alive." Although the group had known Joe was dead since the moment they realized he was missing, hearing the statement aloud made it final. Stephan started crying again, knowing he was again at fault for Joe's death, but he kept silent about it. When the kids got up slowly, their energy ever evaporating, and followed after Chris, he remained at the back.