I was on pins and needles since I was afraid they would see eye to eye and bring me away against my will. Thus, I yelled, “Lyle, you better not try anything silly! I’m merely grateful you’re around to do me a favor! There’s no way I’m falling for you! I won’t stop you if you’re going to leave, but there’s no way I’m leaving Christopher alone!”
Lyle turned around and looked at me in the eyes. A few minutes later, he marched in my direction. I got myself a rock to defend myself just in case he tried to bring me away against my will. To my surprise, he leaned over and reached for my phone in the bag instead.
Once he returned to Christopher’s side, he handed the frail man the phone and asked, “Why don’t you do everyone a favor and try getting in touch with your comrades? I’m sure it’s not much of a challenge for you to send someone to rush to our rescue, isn’t it?”
Christopher frowned since none of us took his words seriously. In the end, he gave up and took over my phone. He retrieved his broken watch and started disassembling the watch to acquire the parts he needed.
After another few minutes, he put everything aside and announced, “I’ve just delivered the message, but I’m not sure if we’re going to make it out alive since it’s going to take at least three days until they reach us. I’m afraid John will take us out before then.”
It wasn’t great news, but it was something for us to look forward to when we were stranded in the middle of nowhere.
I took a seat next to Christopher and tucked him in. It was then I found out Zachary had passed out due to his serious injury. He had caught on high fever, but there wasn’t anything else I could do to turn the tables around since the antibiotic wouldn’t even work.
Once Christopher accessed my phone, he started perusing the photos of us and responded with a frown as he took a trip down memory lane.
I urged, “Why don’t you take a short nap?”
He remained silent and had a mouthful of water. All of a sudden, he stared dead ahead and announced, “It’s almost dawn break.”
I turned around and stared dead ahead when I caught the sun rising from the horizon. “What’s wrong with us? Can we stop catching the sunrise whenever our lives are at stake? Once we make it out alive, we’ll wake up early in the morning to catch the sunrise up the hills!”
Holding me in his arms, he assured me, “Alright, once we make it out alive, I’ll take you somewhere to catch the sunrise!”
Lyle couldn’t stand our interaction. The moment he turned around, he caught a glimpse of others closing in. He announced with his face scrunched up, “Someone is closing in with guns!”
“What?” The moment I craned over, I saw a few vicious-looking men closing in with guns.
“What are we supposed to do? Where’s the gun?” As absurd as it might sound, I thought of taking out the man with Zachary’s gun when I had merely fired a shot throughout my life.
Christopher sat upright and leaned against the boulder, aiming at those closing in from afar. A few seconds, he fired a shot and took the rest of the opposing party by surprise.
“You’re such an exceptional marksman, Mr. Lane! However, I’m afraid you can’t take us out with your limited bullets!” John guffawed and asked, “I’m sure it feels awful after spending a few days in isolation, huh? It’s only a matter of time until you starve to death even if we stay away from all of you! Why don’t you do everyone a favor and surrender yourself? I may consider doing you a favor and set the rest of your party free if I’m pleased!”
Christopher asked in a callous tone, “You don’t think I’m going to fall for your promises, do you?”
“Wow! I can’t believe you still possess the strength to talk back against me! I saw someone sneaking their way to your side last night! I’m sure one of them is the woman you hold dear in mind, isn’t she? Are you sure you’re going to leave her to death? As long as you surrender yourself, I’ll do her a favor and set her free!”
