I cried anxiously for someone or something to help me.

He can't do this to me! After all that we've been through, this can't be the end, can it?

I decided to calm down; nothing was going to happen with tears running down my cheeks. As many have left me before, I have learned to fight it out thus far.

Marlene you are on your own now, and you don't have much time. They will be coming soon to find you two.

Think ... You tried to save your sister from drowning ... so you can do the same for Owen.

I tried to be rational with myself for my mind was just spinning pictures of the past, that I couldn't think clearly.

Remember what your father told you, "Are you a strong woman now or are you a mouse?"

My conscience was correct, if I don't do something now, I have failed my father.

Maybe my partner in crime just got shocked or hurt from the fall.

From what I knew, the only thing to do was start CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation).

Now, if I only remember that procedure. Oh yes, Josh told me to memorize that process in case of an emergency ... The acronyms he told me to remember were CAB (Circulation, Airway & Breathing).

Remembering the sequences I closed my eyes as the instructor told me to do it on the mannequin - I should push hard on the victim's upper body region with my hands, and make 30 hard chest compressions without stopping. Then I should tilt his head slightly forward, and provide two breaths in his mouth.

Oh, heaven forbid, what if I choke Owen? I don't think I can do this properly, what if I don't do this right?

Shut up Mae, and just do it!

Who said that? Oh, right my own conscience.

Guess, I'm out of luck then.

I placed the heel of my right hand under my left and positioned it exactly on the center of Owen's chest and began 'pumping' or pushing my hands against it. Counting out loud to refresh my memory of what I just did, I gained some hope that this process would not fail me.

Since Owen was a heavy man, I decided to give him his chest compressions on the firm ground.

I tilted Owen's head upright, pinched his nose, opened the airway of his mouth and began to give him two breaths.

Come on Owen, Get up now!

I repeated this same technique over again, since I still didn't hear a sound from him.

And believe me, these steps were beginning to hurt my own body, because going to and fro Owen's tall physique was not simple.

Fortunately after the second try, I heard some coughs coming from him, and was now confident that the technique worked.

With a sigh of relief, I hugged him tightly.

***************

Meanwhile the main headlines on every TV news station in Texas mentioned that the police have been looking for several days for the two kidnapped victims, Marlene Brennan and Owen Thomas, a baseball player for the Arizona Suns. Without having a solid lead for a week, the case started to run cold for the manhunt.

However, the police were now willing to share some information that an unidentified caller provided them with a description of where the suspects - the Blanchet siblings - might be hiding out with their accomplice.

The unidentified woman stated that she used to be a roommate of Marlene's, and was an ex-girlfriend of one of the suspects. She was forced to provide some personal information to the detective about Miss Brennan, but never expected a catastrophe like this to happen. The mystery woman wanted to remain anonymous in fear of being further exposed to the media and becoming a target herself.

But it was mentioned that since she did not help in any way to conspire this kidnapping; the police were letting her go. No other details have been released as of yet.

***************

The Rescue

The sound of two noisy safety helicopters hovered over the wooded forest. Inside the first one, included Marlene's tense brother - Joshua, the hysterical best friend - Paige, her boyfriend Noah, safety responder  Garrett Dawson and the rescue pilot - Lieutenant Andre Johnson.

Flying not too far away from it, was helicopter two, which included two policeman - Officers Dennis Baker and Tim Holloway ... ready to arrest the culprits in hand, along with its aviator, Mr. Ken Stuart.

"I knew I should have stayed with Marlene that night ... I could just feel it in my bones that something like this would happen!" Joshua blurted out.

Noah patted his back.

"Get a grip now Bro, we are going to find her and Owen! No need to blame yourself of all that happened. It's done and we learn from our mistakes."

"I know Noah, but I just don't know how to deal with all of this!" And soon a tear ran down his cheek.

Seeing this, Paige intervened in the conversation and motioned towards Joshua.

"We'll find Marlene and Owen, I know so Josh! Don't give up hope!"

"How can you be so sure Paige? She's all I got now, and my former buddy might not even be able to protect her. Man, this was all my fault! I don't even have enough money to pay that stupid ransom! Who do they think I am, Richie Rich? A million dollars!!! You got to be kidding me!"

"Josh, you know I wish I was there too! She probably doesn't want to forgive me after I blamed Owen for my brother's car accident. I know those two can work well together, at least, I hope so. Even if Mae despises him, in secret she loves Owen!"

"SHE WHAT?" Both men shouted in unison.

"Calm down you two! Isn't it obvious? She's been trying to avoid him after he left for the minor leagues. She still wants him."

"Nonsense Paige, I know my sister like the back of my hand." Joshua assured her.

Paige looked at him with an inquisitive eye.

"Oh do you Josh?"

"You guys all have to stop this, or we are getting nowhere with this!" Noah announced.

The excessive outbursts went on throughout the flight, but now both Paige and Noah were agitated with 'their older brother'.

"Please, Joshua get a hold of yourself!" Both yelled in unison.

Their shouting astonished Lieutenant Johnson, as he removed one of his earphones. His dark eyes were focused on flying the aircraft, but he growled at them and warned his passengers to keep calm.

"Listen, you kids ... can you please tone down your voices as I'm trying to fly this helicopter. I know you guys are quite anxious to find your missing loved ones, but fighting is not the solution. I can't hear through the radar systems if it gets too loud in here!"

The trio nodded their heads to agree with him and soon complete silence occurred; as if they had been scolded by a teacher for bad behavior.

Safety Responder Dawson smiled and just sat there quietly. As agitated as he was, the blonde haired man didn't want to intervene. He was used to hearing these types of arguments going on since this was not the first family he flew with. It was his daily routine to help those in need.

***************

Meanwhile back on the ground

I offered my hand to help Owen stand up. He took it, but fell back down. We tried it again and this time I fell down on top of him. He probably wanted to embrace me, since I felt his wide grin forming as I touched his mouth.

The poor guy with all those bumps and bruises, while I still had aches and pain; made me want to caress him even more. We probably were destined to be together, but had to ignore it no matter what was going to be in store for us ahead.

I giggled as I touched his warm neck and as much as I enjoyed this moment, we had to come back to reality.

"Owen, we need to move on. We need to seek help!"

He didn't reply, and it made me more concerned.

He put his finger across my mouth to silence me and pulled himself in my direction.

As I felt the heated tension coming towards me, I knew I wanted to kiss his tender lips again in this unknown wilderness place; but couldn't bring myself to do it.

Love just can't get in the way right now.

I stood up and told Owen to do the same. There's no more time to play these silly little games.

We picked up the pace until we saw some colorful leaves falling from the trees; it must be a sign that autumn has arrived. Wasn't it just summer when Chino kidnapped me? We must have been locked up in captivity for days!

I gathered some of the leaves and placed them in my pockets, just in case someone from above heard my plea to be rescued.

But as we walked further, I froze after hearing some voices in the distance.

"They must be here somewhere, look at those footsteps. They can't be too far now."

"You must be right Brian; just wonder how they survived that fall! That's two stories up!"

"Be quiet now Gretel, they could probably hear us."

I could hear our perpetrators loud an clear.

Now's the time to get down on all fours and head the other way with Owen.

"Get Down, and be quiet! They're here," I whispered.

Placing both hands down on the solid ground, while lowering my companion was quite an obstacle on its own.

The idiot wouldn't stop making funny faces at me, as if he were a drunkard who didn't have the slightest idea of what kind of jeopardy we were in.

My fingernails were now covered with the soiled dirt; however, I was not too concerned about that.

No. What really bothered me was when Owen accidentally pushed my buttocks, and it caused my face to fall flat on the grime.

Ugh!

I think I caught a snicker from him, but let it go. I was angry all right, but had to control my temper. Instead, I grabbed his hand and slapped it, as if I were a mother reprimanding her child.

The big baby whimpered, even though he followed my instructions in the end.

I put my index finger next to my mouth to tell him to hush! I was serious now and was about to cover his mouth before he could bite me.

Since I felt his teeth next to my hands, I quickly moved them away. This was no time to play games, it's a matter of life and death!

I decided to push him if Owen wouldn't care to stand up. Kicking him was all I could do since my weary arms gave in.

We were careful to move all of the multicolored leaves out of the way, in fear that stepping over them would produce a loud noise.

When I couldn't hear the voices of our enemies in the background anymore, Owen and I ran for it.

He was walking right in front of me, while I was trailing behind.

So much for the gentleman act, eh?

But what I didn't notice was that when I was walking right next to a tree, a part of my jeans got caught on the branch. It tore a hole inside my pants and drips of blood started forming on my right leg.

A tear started flowing from my face.

No! This was not happening!

Out of all the horrible things that have occurred to me, this was the worst! It might get infected!

I stopped following Owen and found a tree stump to sit upon. He was on his own now, unless he stops to notice me.

My prayers were soon answered as Owen turned back. I guess he figured out I was no longer following him.

It's about time!

Owen saw what just happened, and noticed the speck of blood running down my leg. He touched my scared face and felt the tear that ran down my cheek.

For some obvious reason, he spoke up.

"Mae, I'm sorry. Here, take part of my shirt and wrap it around your leg."

Staying true to his word, he tore part of his top and gave it to me.

R-rip.

I snatched it from him, as the pain started to hurt.

I wiped part of the blood away with the top of the white cloth, and turned it over to apply pressure to the wound.

Okay, no need to panic here!

Breathe in, Breathe out.

Breathe in, Breathe out.

Oh, who am I kidding? If I'm going to stay alive, we need to find a nearby stream to wash the dirty mess away.