Chapter twenty six

Lost and found

Kyle rummaged through his survival kit, making sure everything was there. He'd expected Kay to leave while he'd been knocked out, but he'd hoped the trance would be over quickly. Instead, it had lasted all night.

Cursing under his breath, he closed the belt on his blue jeans and searched for a suitable t-shirt. He stopped in mid-process and rubbed his forehead. For a whole year he'd only worn black and white. It felt weird that he'd decided to change that today, almost like an omen. He brushed the thought away and continued his search.

"Hello, Superman."

Kyle jumped and twisted towards the entrance. Jessie was giggling madly, her hands covering her mouth. She joined him next to the rucksack and started searching inside, too.

"Get lost, Wonder Woman." He pushed his hip against hers.

"Did I ever tell you I love your sense of humor?" She pulled out a jean shirt. "That and the fact that you don't care that you're abnormally good-looking."

He rolled his eyes. "Neither do you." He pulled out a black t-shirt and shoved it over his head.

Jessie put the shirt on and made a pirouette as though in front of a mirror. "You're in a hurry to get on with the search."

Kyle raised his eyebrows. The shirt was way too big for Jessie's small frame. "Actually, I'm going to look for Kay. She's in trouble."

Jessie's eyes widened, all traces of playfulness gone. "What do you mean?"

Kyle strapped on his backpack. "She came back, but was acting all funny. And now she's gone again. I have a hunch where she is."

Jessie's hands darted to her mouth. "She couldn't have!"

"I'm sure she didn't go quietly. I want to know what he has on her. Where's Jimmy?"

"Eavesdropping on your conversation," Jimmy answered, coming in. "You really think Kay's at Snitch Gravel's base?"

Kyle nodded. "I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so. You two continue the search. And tell Jerry I'm gone."

"Oh, no. We're telling Jerry, but we're coming with you." Jimmy folded his arms over his chest. "You could collapse and die out there."

"We don't have time for this." Kyle waved him away. "We have to get out of here as soon as possible. Tell Jerry to search through Sam's stuff and see if that map of the temple is still there."

"Why don't you tell me yourself?" Jerry entered the tent, his fists clenched. "You haven't talked to me properly in days. If I stopped being obnoxious, it doesn't mean you should start."

Kyle looked at him through narrowed eyes for a second then turned to Jimmy. "You and Jessie find Sam, Tom and Billy. We need them back. After I get Kay, we're hightailing it out of here."

"You can't go on your own—" Jerry stopped once Kyle raised his hand.

"There's a reason I'm not talking to you, fathead. Have a taste of your own medicine. Now shut up and do as I say." He turned on his heels and walked out of his tent, towards the trees. It was nice to see Jerry had finally come to his senses.

*

Jessie laid the map on the ground. "I think we could shorten the route. Instead of going to the hut and then along the river, we could go across, straight to where we left off yesterday."

"We'll need a north-eastern direction, then." Jimmy drew a triangle on the map to calculate the distance between the camp and their flag.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Jerry asked, looking over their heads.

"You should stay here and make sure Angie and Christine don't know what we're up to," Jessie said. "You can't leave Tina alone."

"She'd be with Alice."

Jessie gritted her teeth. "You should stay."

"Done." Jimmy put the pencil behind his ear and gathered up the map. "Jessie's right. Kyle and Kay could come back."

Jerry didn't argue any further and just waved goodbye to Jimmy and Jessie as they made their way through the vegetation, towards their flag.

They didn't talk much. Worry about Kyle was eating Jessie and she guessed Jimmy felt the same. She didn't even pay attention properly to the route since Jimmy was leading. She kept playing with the cuffs of Kyle's shirt, wishing nothing would happen to him. He was her best friend, the only one she'd ever had.

"Okay, this could be a problem," Jimmy said and Jessie snapped out of her reverie. They had reached the river, but there was no way to cross it.

"Which way do we have to go?" Jessie asked "Right or left?"

"Right. And we should find a place to cross pretty soon." He sounded worried and it made her feel even worse. If they had to turn around and go back the way they came the other day, it would be all her fault.

"Look at that," Jimmy said, pointing further up the river. A few rocks and a rundown tree were in perfect position to form a sort of bridge. "We can try crossing through there."

Jessie followed him as he rushed that way and stopped on the bank. He stepped back to get some momentum and jumped on the first rock. Jessie bit her lip, not sure if she could make the jump.

"Come on. I'll catch you." He motioned her to try it.

She swallowed heavily, took a few steps back then ran and jumped as far as she could. One foot touched the rock, but the other couldn't. She flung her arms in the air, trying to balance herself, but Jimmy grabbed her around the waist and pulled her on the rock.

"See, it wasn't that bad." He grinned still holding her.

Jessie tried not to giggle. "You could have grabbed my hand, you know."

Jimmy flushed and immediately let go. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You have no sense of humor," Jessie said, rolling her eyes.

He gave her a crooked smile then made his way onto the next rock. She followed him and they moved from rock to rock until they reached the tree. They were just past the middle of the river. The hem of Jessie's jeans was already wet as drops of water assaulted them from all directions.

Jimmy eyed the tree carefully. "I should go first."

"You're such a gentleman."

"I'm heavier. If it can support me, it will surely support you too, squirt."

Jessie put her hands on her hips. "Squirt?"

He sighed. "Fine. Sexy squirt." He jumped on the tree before she could answer.

She watched him making his way along it, trying to keep the grin off her face. She should be serious and concentrate on their task, not the mindless flirting. But she didn't want to start worrying again.

Once Jimmy reached the middle of the tree, she climbed on and scurried after him. She couldn't wait to reach solid ground again. They were almost there, just a few more steps.

A loud crack filled the air as the rotten trunk opened up under Jimmy. He fell in the water before she could tell what was going on. Her heart thumping rapidly, she leaned over the log, looking for him. A few seconds later, Jimmy's head came out of the water, his arms flailing erratically. It only lasted a moment; he went under again.

Jessie jumped the distance left to the bank and ran alongside the river, trying to get another glimpse of him. He rose to the surface from time to time, obviously trying to fight the current, but unable. She pushed herself to run faster, racking her brain for a way to help. Like a given, she saw a tree with its roots dangling above the river.

Reaching the tree, Jessie grabbed a branch and leaned over the river, her hand stretched out.

"Jimmy, over here!"

He looked at her with wide eyes then went under again.

"Come on...come on..." she mumbled. He had to make it. Her hand became sweaty and she wiped it on her jeans.

Jimmy resurfaced closer to her than she expected, panting. She grabbed his writs and held on tightly. The current was stronger than it looked.

He pulled himself on the bank and rolled to his back, struggling for air. Jessie sat next to him, panting too, trying to get her heart to stop racing.

"I'm... so sorry," Jimmy said between huge gulps of air. "I'm just stupid like that." He finally sat up, clutching his head in his hands.

"You can't swim, can you?"

"Obviously." He sat quietly for a few seconds. "This is the second time you end up saving me."

Jessie couldn't suppress a smile. "And what's wrong with that?"

"My hero," he mumbled. "I'm glad you're so resourceful. It just feels like a huge kick in the ba—" He sneezed. "Great." He shuddered and sneezed again.

"You should dry up a bit." Jessie stood and pulled his hand to get him to his feet. "Try wringing the water out of your pants."

Jimmy mumbled to himself as he bent over and did the best he could to get the water out of his cargos. Jessie had a short fit of silent giggles while he did this, but sobered once he straightened up.

"Any spare clothes in that survival kit of yours?" she asked mildly.

"Nope." Jimmy sneezed again.

"I'll give you the shirt. So take that t-shirt off before you get pneumonia."

He raised his eyebrows. "Your shirt won't fit me."

"Yes it will because it's Kyle's." She waved him away, impatiently. "Now shut up and strip."

"Okay, miss bossy." He pulled the t-shirt over his head and wrung it.

Jessie's heart jumped into her throat. She'd never noticed before just how well built he actually was. She had to mentally shake herself not to literally drool. Bad Jessie! Look away before he sees you...Too late.

"What?" he asked, grinning in a way that clearly showed he knew the answer to his own question.

"Nothing. I was just looking at your...er..." Smoking body. "...tattoo." She hadn't noticed that before either. How much hotter could he get?

Jimmy quirked one brow. "Shirt, please."

Jessie unbuttoned the shirt as fast as her trembling fingers allowed her and handed it to him. He stood with his hand reached out, but didn't grab it. She had to bite the insides of her cheek not to burst into laughter. His staring was a lot more obvious. She wore a short, red tank-top which left her abs for show.

"Shirt, please," she said, shoving it towards him.

"Right." He took it and turned around, putting it on.

"What were you staring at?"

He mumbled something she didn't get, then turned around, fully dressed and deliberately looked straight into her eyes. "At that spider on your shoulder."

Jessie shrieked and brushed her shoulder, her heart beating wildly. "Is it gone?" Her voice shook as badly as her hands.

"Hold on." He came over and picked the disgusting bug off her. "It's just a little bug."

"It could be poisonous." Man, her voice was high. She tried to get a hold of herself, but the pulse still thundered in her ears.

"It was too big to be poisonous. You're terrified of spiders."

"Not really." She rubbed her arms and calmed down. "They just freak me out. I have only one thing I'm irrationally terrified of."

A little worry crease appeared between Jimmy's eyes. "What's that?"

She swallowed. "Wolves." Even saying the word made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "But there's none of those around." She looked from left to right, making sure of it. "So let's get out of here and continue the search." She rushed away without giving Jimmy the time to argue.

It took him a few moments to catch up with her. They walked in silence. Jessie hoped he was looking around for the flag. She was too terrified she'd be seeing shining yellow eyes, so she resolved to watch the musty carpet of dead leaves she stepped on.

The walk seemed to last forever. After convincing herself that no animal would randomly attack her, Jessie raised her head and paid attention to her surroundings.

"Jessie, look!" Jimmy ran between two trees on her left.

She followed, struggling through some vines, and, once she reached him, her mouth fell open. They had come across a small clearing, clearly man-made. In the center, there were the remains of a fire, and around them, three triangle-like beds. Two of them were on the ground while the third was perched up between three stringy trees.

"I can't believe this." Jimmy strolled over to the raised bed and checked it out. It reached his chest.

Jessie surveyed the ground and her heart started pounding. She bent over and picked up a Twinkies wrapper and a can. "Someone should tell those three not to litter."

"I knew those nails would come in handy," Jimmy said, grinning from ear to ear. "They're smart, those three. And resourceful. See how the tied the branches together with tree bark?"

"Jimmy, they're alive," Jessie whispered. She was afraid to speak louder in case this was all a dream and she would wake up.

He stared at her for a few seconds, the smile gone from his face. Then, he started laughing in way she'd never heard him do it before; as if he was glad to let all the emotion out. The sound made her heart jump and she wished he'd never stop. He came towards her, wrapped his arms around her waist, hoisted her in the air and spun on the spot.

"Let's look further while we still can," he said, stopping. He bit his lip then gave her a quick kiss on the nose and put her down. "I don't like the wind or those clouds. It could start raining soon. We should step on it." He rushed away.

"Why the nose?" Jessie mouthed, but she was too happy to pout. She hurried after him.