Chapter 2- It'll be okay

Daley was wandering through the jungle, trying to find where Nathan had gone. The sun was just starting to set, so she still had some time left to search. She wondered if it was the smartest decision to go alone. Maybe she should have brought Lex with her. No, he would just be trying to tell her everything was fine. But she knew things weren't fine, she could feel it. It was like a small burning in her chest. She knew where ever Nathan was, he needed help.

Suddenly she came upon a clearing. She knew this place. This was where they had found their first pile of fruit. Daley sighed as she recalled that day. It was also the day Nathan fell out of the tree. She had been so scared for him. What if he had gotten hurt. She wouldn't know what to do if he were not here anymore. Her eyes scanned the clearing and she saw something that made her feel as if she had been kicked in the stomach. Lying on the ground, unconscious, was Nathan.

She ran over and kneeled down next to him.

"Oh my god, Nathan!" She checked for a pulse. Thank god there was one, and he was still breathing. She realized she needed to get him back to camp. But she could not carry him by herself. Quickly she racked her brains for what to do. Should she leave him and run back to camp to get help? No she didn't want to leave him. Should she yell for someone? No, they probably wouldn't hear her. She had no choice. As much as she didn't want to leave his side, it was the only way she could save him.

She sprinted as fast as she could back to camp. Luckily the first people she found were Jackson and Melissa, sitting around the fire.

Melissa saw that she was upset, "Daley what's wrong, are you okay?"

"It's Nathan." Daley was trying to hold back her tears. "He fell out of a tree and he's unconcious. But I can't get him back to camp by myself."

"Where is he?" Jackson said getting up and grabbing the first aid kit.

"Follow me." And with that, Daley took off for where Nathan was laying, Jackson and Melissa following close behind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Back at camp, Taylor was sitting on a towel down on the beach. There wasn't much else to do besides chores. Yeah right, and mess up my nails?

Eric was coming back to the fire pit with the last of the water for the day. Now he could take a break. But he couldn't find anyone. Where were they? Looking around he saw Lex working on some of his designs for the shelter. It was no use trying to talk to the boy genius, he was to focused on what he was doing. And Eric really didn't care to hear about any fancy dancy numbers and equations. It was all too confusing to him.

So he walked down to the beach where he saw Taylor doing what she did everyday, lying on the sand.

"Hey, Taylor." His voice cut through her head and she sat up.

"Yes Eric, what do you want, I'm trying to relax." Taylor said quite annoyed at his interrupting her relaxation time.

"I was just wondering what you were doing, I can't find anyone else back at camp. Do you know where everyone went?"

Taylor tried to remember, "Didn't Daley go out to look for Nathan a while ago?" Suddenly she remembered, "Oh yeah, she did. And then I heared her say something to Jackson and Melissa. They went off running. It must have been important." She sat and thought about what it was Daley had told them.

Eric was sitting across from the confused blond. Man, she looks so adorable when she's confused. Oh well, what am I thinking. She would never like someone like me.

"Whatever, I'm sure they'll be back for dinner." Eric said standing up from his spot on the ground.

"They better be. I'm not making the meal for everyone. You may not know this about me, but, I can't cook. So unless you want undercooked fish and bad mango, I suggest..."

"Taylor," Eric had to grab onto her arms so she wouldn't spin out of control. "I'm sure everything will be fine." And with that, Eric took off for the fire pit.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As Daley ran through the jungle, thoughts ran through her head. Were they too late? What if they were, and Nathan was...No. Nathan would be fine. They would get to him in time.

They were just about there, they were entering the clearing. Jackson and Melissa saw what had made Daley so upset. There was their friend, lying there, unconcious. They ran over and bent down beside him. He was still breathing and he still had a slight pulse. Jackson picked him up carefully and carried him back to camp so they could lay him in the safety of the tent. Daley felt the walk back to camp lingering, never ending. They couldn't get back to camp fast enough.

When they entered into the camp area, Eric, Taylor, and Lex all rushed to see what was going on. Jackson laid him in the tent, and decided to let Daley and Melissa nurse him back to health while he dealt with the questions that the others were asking. He sat around the fire with Lex sitting next to him, and Eric and Taylor sitting across from them.

Lex was the first to ask a question.

"What happened?"

"Well, when Daley came back to camp, she said something about Nathan fell out of a tree and was knocked unconscious. So Mel and I followed her back to get him, and we brought him back to camp."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Taylor sounded slightly more concerned than you would think she would be.

"I think so. He's not bleeding so I dont think there is much damage, but he probably will need to rest for a while." Jackson was hoping nothing was wrong with Nathan that they couldn't see.

Eric just sat there. He felt bad about what he said earlier about worrying about people. What if Daley had taken his advice and didn't go look for Nathan. Then what would have happened. He didn't want to think about it anymore.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Melissa and Daley were inside of the tent with Nathan. They had cleaned up his cuts and bandaged his wounds, but he still had not woken up yet. They were both worried and upset, but for different reasons. Nathan was Melissa's best friend. She was glad he was here on the island with her. Without him she would feel alone, even if there were 5 others to keep her company.

Daley had been upset for a reason only she knew about. She was worried that he would never wake up, and she hadn't told him a secret that she had been wanting to tell him for a while now. She loved him. She knew he had liked her, Melissa had accidentaly told everybody. But she hadn't told anyone yet. She was scared. Scared at what would happen if they dated on the island. Jackson had made the rule, would they be able to keep it a secret?

Just them Melissa spoke up. "I'm gonna go outside and get some air for a bit, are you gonna be okay here?"

Daley looked up from Nathan for the first time, "Yeah, yeah, I'll...I'll be fine."

As Melissa exited the tent, Daley laid down next to Nathan. She stared at him for a while and gently picked up his hand. Silently, she started to cry.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jackson sat a couple of feet away from the tent, waiting for some word from one of the girls as to Nathans condition. He was getting impatient, and was becoming quite tired, sometimes nodding off to sleep for a few minutes at a time. Suddenly he heard someone coming out of the tent. He looked over and saw that it was Melissa. She must not have seen him sitting there because she walked right past him. He was going to ask about Nathan, but just as he opened his mouth, he closed it. Something was wrong with Melissa. She was more important to him at the moment. Nathan had Daley to watch over him, he would be okay. But Melissa had no one to care for her right now.

Melissa had gone down to sit at the beach. She had wanted to be alone with her thoughts for a while. She was trying to be strong for her friends, but everything was happening so fast, and she was scared. It was all too overwhelming. She just sat down on the ground and stared out into the ocean. She felt so alone. No one could understand how she felt. She felt a tear slide down her cheek. Quickly she wiped it away. She wouldn't cry, she needed to stay strong.

"Melissa?" Oh no. It was Jackson. She didn't want him to know she was crying. She was the strong one remember.

"Mel, are you alright?" He asked as he walked a little closer to his upset friend. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

Melissa just sat there staring at the night. Maybe if she didn't say anything, he would go away. Then Jackson sat down in front of her. She turned her head to the side so she wasn't looking directly at him. He reached his hand out and placed it on her cheek. He turned her face so that she was looking at him. Thats when he saw the tears in her eyes, and he knew, inside she was breaking. Nathans accident made her realize just how bad the situation was that they were in. He couldn't help but feel a little bit sad for her. He hated it when she was sad.

"Don't cry Mel. Nathan will be okay."

"It's not just that." She had finally spoken. "It's everything. This place, the fact that it feels like we will never leave here.The constant worry of people getting hurt. Being bored all of the time. It all just sucks."

Melissa had summed it up in one word. It sucked. Jackson had to agree. It did suck.

"Yes, it does. But there isn't really anything we can do about it. All we can do is make the best of it, and remember that we are all stuck in this situation together. You're never alone Mel.

Melissa felt that she couldn't remain strong anymore. Suddenly she burst out into tears. " I just wanna go home. I don't want to be stuck here anymore." She hung her head and laid it on her knees. All of a sudden she felt Jacksons strong arms pull her into a hug. She just sat in his embrace and cried.

Jackson didn't know how long he had sat on the beach, Melissa sitting in his lap,crying into his chest. He just continued to gently stroke her back and after a while, she stopped crying. He looked down and realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He carefully lifted her up, and went to put her to bed.