Chapter 11

            Chad had been waiting nearly three days for Vicky’s phone call. After the first day, he thought she wasn’t there yet. By the second day, he grew worried. It being the third day, he knew something was wrong. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him Vicky wouldn’t be calling. His first thought was to call Rick and ask him if he’d heard from Sam.

            Dialing , Chad waited for a few minutes for his friend to pick up. “Hey, this is Rick. Who’s on the other end?”

            “Yo, Rick. It’s Chad . Have you heard from Sam yet?” he asked.

            “No, I’m getting worried. Why?”

            “I haven’t heard for Vicky either.”

            “Shit, I knew something was wrong. What do you think we should do?” Rick asked.

            “I think we should call the coast guard. Hopefully they’ll be able to find them. I just hope they aren’t stranded on some island in the middle of nowhere, or even worse, dead. You’ve seen the storms that have been hitting us for the past few days. I’m thinking they had a boat wreck. I’ve had this feeling for the past few days ever since they left,” Chad confessed.

            “I hope they just forgot to call us. I really am worried about Sam. I miss her too,” Rick answered.

            “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s call the coast guard before we go insane,” Chad suggested.

            “Yeah, I’ll call right now. I’ll talk to ya later.” Rick hung up while Chad started to pace in his apartment.

****

            The storm hit the island with full force around noon . Justin stood outside as the first few droplets of water hit the white sands of the beach. His first thought was to go back and check on Vicky, but instinct told him to look for somewhere safer to stay. If the storm was as bad as the last one, the beach was no place to be.

            “JC!” Justin called out. He went straight to his tent as water droplets fell on the bare skin of his back and arms.

            “What?” JC asked as he entered the tent.

            “We can’t stay out here on the beach in this storm. We need to find somewhere to stay in the jungle. Could you come with me so we can find a cave or something?” Justin replied.

            JC stared at him for a few moments in deep thought. “Okay, I’ll come with you.”

They left the camp minutes later with a few supplies. Into the jungle they went in search of a safe haven where everyone could be away from the storm. Any cave would do so long as it was dry. Justin and JC searched through the lush undergrowth unable to find anything. Coming up on the pond, Justin remembered that he had seen something behind the waterfall the night before when he was with Vicky.

                “Follow me,” he told JC as the rounded the pond towards the dropping water. There was a ledge that led behind the wall of cold water. Taking the ledge, Justin discovered that his observation was correct. A cavern was nestled in the rock.

                “How did you know about this?” JC asked, amazed.

                “Just a little something I discovered,” Justin replied as he set down his pack and sat on one of the rocks inside.

                “Okay, we found our cave. We now need to bring everyone here,” JC said.

                “I’ll go. You stay here. I’ll be back in five minutes with the rest of the gang,” Justin offered as he headed back across the ledge and into the jungle. By the time he reached the beach, it was already pouring. Puddles of murky water filled in the sand.

                “Guys!” he yelled out over the thunder that filled the sky. “Guys! Get out here! I found somewhere to stay!”

                Lance, Sam, Joey, and Chris all came out of their tents and ran to Justin.

                “Where?” Chris asked.

                “By the waterfall. JC’s out there waiting for you. Start heading out while I get Vicky,” Justin instructed as he headed for her tent.

                Vicky was delirious from the pain she had been experiencing throughout the day. “Chad!” she called out thinking he was there. “Save me!”

                Justin wrapped her in extra blankets ignoring her comments. He knew this was only temporary, or at least he thought. Grabbing the first aid kit, he ran out into the pouring rain with Vicky in his arms. The jungle was a little drier, but rain still dripped through the open spaces between trees and bushes. Reaching the pond, Justin realized that the ledge would be another problem. There was only enough room for one person to walk across at one time. He’d have to find a way to get Vicky across without getting her or himself hurt.

                “JC! I need your help!” Justin yelled as he walked toward the waterfall.

                JC stepped out onto the ledge and saw Justin with Vicky in his arms. “How are we gonna get you two in here?” he hollered.

                “I don’t know! I was gonna ask you to help me,” Justin answered back.

                “I’ve got an idea,” JC said after being caught in deep thought. “I’ll come out there and we can hold her up so she won’t fall. I’ll take one arm, and you can take the other. She’ll rest between both of us.”

                JC’s plan worked. They managed to get Vicky into the cave without going through the waterfall. Once there, Justin set her on the ground. She mumbled strange things for the rest of the day.

****

                Chad sat by his phone for hours. Rick hadn’t call him ever since they hung up the first time. He tried calling him, but his line was busy. ‘Probably still on the phone with the coast guard,’ he thought to himself.

                Finally after about 3 hours, the phone rang. “Hello?” Chad answered eagerly.

                “Yo, man, I just got off the phone with Search and Rescue,” Rick said.

                “And?” Chad impatiently asked.

                “Well, the can’t go out there right now because there’s a big storm hitting the islands. They say that they’ll probably be out there tomorrow morning. Apparently, that one boy band ‘N Sync is also missing. They’re gonna be looking for both when the storm clears up,” Rick explained.

                “Oh, thank God. I hope they find Vicky. I really miss her.”

                “Yeah, and I miss Sam, but we have to wait. Don’t worry, they’ll find both of them. They’re never apart. They always stick together.”

                “Yeah, I know. I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

                “Oh, and one more thing before I hang up, I gave them your name and number so you’ll be the first to know when something happens.”

                “Thanks, Rick. I owe you one.”

                “No prob. Later!”

            “Later!”

Chapter 12

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