Long ago, when his family crumbled and his life came crashing down, Chris told himself he wouldn't break down ever again. He would always stay strong. He would support those around him who had nothing else to lean on. He would do his best to never let anyone down like his parents did.

But as he saw El Dorado carry Elspeth Ladds, the only girl who held his heart, into the depths of the jungle, all of the walls he had built up were crashing down. Blocked emotions flooded his senses, forcing tears out of his eyes. Anger and determination clouded his thoughts.

He couldn't tell what to think. He was so sure that he could undo part of El Dorado's alchemy, even if only a small portion was turned back to stone for only a millisecond. But the spell he crafted was simply absorbed by the creature. None of his other spells casted afterward had any effect either. He couldn't do anything but watch Elspeth struggle to escape the grasp of a machine. Watch as Christopher stared in horror and did nothing but drop his wand to the ground and struggle to stay strong.

That couldn't be the last vision El has of him. This couldn't be the last thing she ever sees. She couldn't die. He had to save her.

Chris took off running, pushing one of the other explorers aside. Following the trail that El Dorado left, he raced through the jungle, pushing leaves and branches out of his way. The sting of thorns and branches attacked Christopher's face, arms, and legs, but he brushed it off and continued running through the jungle.

"Dude, what are you doing!" One explorer called from the camp, but he was only met with silence.

Christopher briefly looked over his shoulder, making sure that no one else was following him. He didn't want to endanger anyone but himself.

Elspeth's occasional screams and the crushed leaves created by El Dorado created a path for Chris to follow. He wanted to call to her, to let her know that he was on his way and she would be safe as soon as he could reach her. He didn't want to let El Dorado know that he was coming after them, though.

Christopher briefly leaned against a tree, attempting to catch his breath. His eyes fluttered from the exhaustion and all the sounds from the jungle stopped, not just Elspeth's cries for help. All the growls of predators, the chirps of insects, and the calls of birds ended, leaving a blanket of silence.

Instinctively, Chris reached into the pocket on his robe where he kept his wand. But the one time he actually needed his wand, it wasn't there. It was on the floor of the clearing where he dropped it. Chris swore and punched the tree next to him. Even though he knew punching a tree would not bring his wand back, he wasn't sure what else he could do. At the moment, punching the tree seemed like his best option.

He had lost the trail, the jungle was deathly quiet, and he had left his wand behind on the floor where someone was bound to step on it. He was stranded in the middle of the jungle with no way to protect himself. How did he even get into a situation like that? He normally planned everything out.

Love. Love made him forget his troubles and precautions. It broke down all his old walls, replacing them with open doors instead.

Love gave him courage to be seen by others knowing that at least one person's eyes would be looking at him with love. He was no longer scared to be on a stage, as long as El was with him.

All fear was gone when Elspeth Ladds was by his side.

But she was gone, taken by El Dorado. She was in danger, and Chris wasn't. And he was scared, scared that he would lose the one thing he cared about the most.

He slumped back against the tree and slid to the ground, defeated. Without Elspeth, he was nothing.

Slowly, bird chirps began to sound once again, throwing off the blanket of silence. Rather than bringing him comfort, however, the chirps only put dread into Christopher's heart. If the sound was back, it meant El Dorado was gone from his surrounding area. It meant Elspeth was gone.

Christopher had never feared the jungle, and he didn't want to start now. He refused to let the setting sun strike fear into his heart, or let the familiar bird chirps and vibrant colors set him on edge. But no matter what he did, he just wanted to be out of the jungle and have Elspeth in his arms. His eyes squeezed shut, and he prayed that El wasn't going through the same thing that he was. Quickly after he finished his prayer, he realized that what he was going through was probably better than the torture she must be receiving.

Despite his best attempts to stay calm and not panicked, every crunch of leaves made him want to hide. His knuckles were white from his clenching his fists and blood ran into his palms from punching the tree.

El Dorado was gone, but he could be back any moment to take someone else. Another scream came from a different area of the forest and another tear rolled down Chris's cheek. His morals told him he should help the person, but deep down he knew it would be suicide. And why should that person not be kidnapped if Elspeth was?

The screams were so loud that Chris had to clasp his hands over his ears, trying not to hear the desperate cries for help. Part of him wanted to help, despite the fact that it would most surely mean death because what would be the point of living without his morals. The other more reasonable part of him told him that nothing he could do would help the endangered girl.

Listening to the reasonable side, he stayed huddled at the base of the tree, praying that the girl would live and that El Dorado wouldn't find him.

For the first time in his life, the jungle was a threat and not a safe haven. He was hiding from terrors of the jungle rather than feeling at home.