They had moved so fast, Jason was sure they had gotten at least a few miles by the time they came to a stop for another moment. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and he kept looking back, thinking he'd see Buck and his fucking knife in hand.
He hadn't thought ahead, he had thought with his heart and his stomach, not his head like he should have. He had clearly underestimated Buck Hughes and they'd paid for it—but not really, no, not yet anyway.
"Keith. Keith, man. Look at me." He tried to grab his friend's arm but Keith was shaking horribly.
Keith kept muttering to himself "We're fucked, man. We're fucked." The nervous wreck he was.
Jason had to eventually grab him by his shoulders, shaking him "Hey!" Keith looked at him that time "Keith. You gotta stay strong, okay? Just a while longer. We gotta get to Daisy and the others. Remember Liza? They're waiting for us and we gotta stick together. We have to focus. Can you do that?"
Keith blinked, staring at his friend for a long time in a daze before he gasped, nodding his head "Sure, Jason. Yes. I-I can do that." The scared man nodded quicker that time "Yeah."
Jason Brody took that moment to take a deep breath, as if he hadn't taken in air in since they started running. He looked over his shoulder, then looked around. They were in the middle of a jungle, and if they went the wrong way, shit would go down. He had to be careful, to think but his thoughts were racing in circles. He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing, and for a moment he felt like the world was shaking under his feet.
He ran his hands over his face next, another deep breath "Okay. We gotta go, c'mon." He pulled his hands away from his face, grabbing Keith's arm, yanking the boy up from sitting on the rock. Keith had thought he could rest, this wasn't time for fucking resting and enjoying the sights.
Jason actually felt a bit guilty about it, yanking Keith around. God knew what the guy had been through, but fuck if Jason was gonna let Buck get Keith or anyone else back in his hands. That fucker needed more than getting knocked out, he was pretty sure Buck was being very fucking serious when he said he took his meant bloody, rare which that part Jason didn't want to know meant.
Both of the men moved through the thick bushes and flowers, pushing their way through as fast as they could. They had to get back to the Doc's cave, if they got there—Keith would be safe. That's what pushed through Jason's racing thoughts, to get Keith to safety. That's what he had promised his friend, right? To make sure Keith was safe, that they were all safe. He got him out, and that's how it was gonna stay whether Buck liked it or not.
There was a crackling noise that came from the walkie talkie still at Jason's hip, and both nearly missed the voice that spoke after a few moments.
"You still out there?"
Buck. Fucking Buck.
"Listen, boys. I was thinking, I was just kiddin'. I am not going to hurt Keith at all."
Like that fucker could be trusted. Jason kept his frown on his lips, tugging Keith along, both of them running through the woods. They kept sliding down hills, and dodging tripping over their own feet and hitting a tree. They had to keep moving, they could get pass this dirt path coming up and through the water. Surely Doc's place wasn't too far, Jason couldn't really remember at the moment.
"I'm just gonna hurt you, Jas. How about that? You like that? I do. Hector does too." There was a laugh after that, and it hurt their ears.
The laugh did little to stop their speed however. Both men kept moving, well, it was more of Jason dragging his friend along "Come on, just a bit over the path." There was that irrational paranoia creeping up inside of Jason. That sense of dread that Buck could everything he was saying, but they weren't pressing the button on their walkie talkie. That's what he has to keep reminding himself.
The sun hit them fast, as they left the jungle, and ran across the dirt path. Jason could hear the upcoming car "Hurry!" He yanked Keith, and both fell hard on the grass. They slid down, and Keith was crying out as he rolled onto a rock hard. Jason hit a tree, and groaned. They stopped for a moment, taking deep breaths and shaken up again. The car passed the road above them, and luckily didn't stop any time later either.
Jason managed to stand, grabbing onto the tree "Keith, you okay?"
"Y—Yeah." Keith whispered, then coughed. The still shaken up man stood slowly, his legs moving like jello "I'm fine." That was the biggest lie that had been told since being on the island.
They both coughed a few more times before grabbing onto one another, and Jason guided him through some more parts of the jungle before they walked through the water. Keith ripped away fast "Shit!"
"Shhh." Jason urged him, finger to his lips "Be quiet. Vaas' men all over, and they're not shy, okay?" He tried to look around, to figure out where they were. But Keith kept shaking, and grabbing his arm again, slowly walking through the older water. Jason prayed there weren't any crocs around here, at least they weren't sharks, right? That was some relief considering what had happened so far on this island.
"Come on…" Jason couldn't remember how many times he had said that phrase so far "We're close." Which was a basic lie, because he honestly had no idea where they were. Maybe he should call Dennis—Dennis would know where they were.
"You know this is a lovely piece of art. Really, Jas. You out did yourself with getting this for me."
The voice had a smile in it, and Jason could just fucking see it plastered on Buck's face.
"Here I thought you were a weak minded, little shit. But you're really just a spoiled bastard. I spoiled you too much, let you get away with too much when on our treasure hunt. Well, don't you worry, Jas."
He could hear hands clapping on the walkie talkie, and saw Buck's face again in his mind. Buck's face, and Buck's smile. That just pissed him off beyond anything.
"Not anymore, alright? Mr. Buck will make sure you learn your lesson. I'm gonna find you, and your pretty boy Keith. And we're gonna have a real party then, hm? You won't get any cake though, I'm afraid. You'll be in the corner like all the other bad little misbehaving boys, hm? Jas? You still with me, mate?"
Fuck you, Jason wanted to say. Fuck you and fuck your friend Hector too.
"Just a bit further…" Jason groaned, holding onto Keith like a support system. He tries to remember the time they were that once, all of them, Grant, Daisy, a support system when Keith tried to stop drinking. He tries to think of that because if he thought of Buck one more time…he was going to scream until his lungs burned.
"How much futher, man? You said we were close." Keith whispered, whimpering as they got up onto another dirt path. But Jason kept glancing up and down both sides of the path, to look for Vaas' men, or worse—look for Buck or Hector. He had no idea what Hector even looked like, nonetheless sounded like.
This was bullshit, all of this.
The walkie talkie crackled again, then a high pitched whirring noise.
"Oh, c'mon, Jas. You're bein' a rude fucker now."
Ignore it. Ignore it, Jason. That's what he thinks, that's what he knows. Ignore it and move, that's all they can. Jason shook his head, biting his tongue from grabbing the walkie talkie and scream at Buck Hughes and his never ending voice.
"Just a bit more. I promise." Jason nodded, a weak smile "We're gonna see Daisy, and the others, okay? The Doc is gonna fix you up and we'll be okay."
"You promise, Jason?"
"I promise, Keith." He wasn't sure if that was a lie or not. They wouldn't be okay, not after the shit that had gone down in this place. He wasn't even sure if Keith would still be Keith when they got home, if they got home—No. They were going home. They were going to go home and forget this place. Forget everything about this place.
It felt like hours, but eventually they got to the cave. Keith still clinging to him, and when the others moved away from the boat. They just froze, staring wide eyed and in shock.
"Oh god…" Liza was the first to speak, hands over her face "Oh, Keith—"
Daisy moved, helping Keith, arms around him "It's okay, Jason." She smiled "I got him…"
"What the hell happened out there, Jason?" Liza walked over to him, not taking her eyes off of Keith as Daisy helped him away, to the boat.
"You don't want to know…" He shakes his head, watching how Keith limped, Daisy kept talking to him too. She kept trying to make him stay awake, which Jason felt like he had done a piss poor job of doing. He hadn't protected Keith when Keith needed him. Shit.
"Jason—" Liza stared at him that time.
"I said you don't want to know. Okay? Let it go…" Jason hadn't meant to snap, glancing at her then walked past her too. He needed a fucking drink.