The more they walked, the more Dez regretted his decision to take a morning walk in the jungle. The thick, lush trees all looked alike making it difficult for him to determine which way he and Trish were heading. The air was thick and stale, and the shade did little to block the morning sun. Dez could feel the sweat beading up on every part of his body. Worst of all, the jungle around them was far from quiet. He could hear crickets, birds, and unknown insects. Besides, there were unseen dangers looming—poisonous snakes and Big Mama.

Despite all of the hardships they faced, Trish continued to trudge silently along. As he watched her walk, Dez couldn't noticing her shudder at the smallest noises—his foot catching on a vine, a butterfly fluttering by. Was it she afraid? he wondered. At first, it seemed well nigh impossible. This was Trish he was talking about—the bravest girl he had ever met. He had never seen her afraid of anything be it a person, animal, or unfamiliar situation. But every other possibility he considered didn't make sense making it all too apparent that Trish was indeed feeling scared.

With that thought, guilt filled his heart. Trish had not been planning on taking a walk. If he hadn't told her that he wanted to go and was too afraid to go alone, she wouldn't have gone at all. Doubtless, she had known that the real and imagined dangers of the excursion would be too much for her. He couldn't help feeling frustrated at himself for being so unkind. Knowing that he would be furious if someone did this to his little sister only made him feel worse.

In his frustration, his own fears somehow got lost in the shuffle. If there was anything he could do to right this wrong, he would. It didn't matter if he was jumpy-he would not act like a jerk. He would take charge of the situation and try to change it for the better.

"You know we're going to get back okay, right?" he ventured, mustering up all of his courage.

"Who are you to talk?" Trish spat angrily. "You're the one who got us into this mess." She turned around to him and scowled.

"I know, and I'm going to do my best to get us out of here. I promise," he said tenderly. With a sudden surge of bravery, he stepped beyond her into the lead and grabbed her hand. To his surprise, she took it without resisting. "I think this path to the left might be the way back…." he began.


Author's note: Thanks for all of your kind words on the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one as well. Just as a side note, the first couple chapters of this story are designed to go along with missing moments from the series.