Chapter 3 - The Return
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Miley, Oliver, Eric, and Taylor heard crashing in the bushes. Miley and Oliver froze, but Taylor gasped, "Jory, Ian!" They heard a thump. Miley and Oliver turned around to see a girl lying on the ground, looking as if she had fainted, and a guy with long hair shaking her shoulders, saying "Jory!" over and over.
Melissa came back just then. "What happened to Jory, Ian?" she ran over to Jory and Ian.
"She fainted. She hasn't been feeling that good, and we set out for the beach after us and the captain and Abby got separated. I think it was something she ate." Ian looked scared, a facial expression Melissa had never seen him wear, in all the years she had known him.
Melissa yelled for Daley. She came running. "Jory!" Daley cried.
"We need water, and some rags!" Melissa said, her voice high.
"Lex, Katie, get down here now!" Daley called as she ran to get rags and water.
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Lex and Katie dashed for the fire. Lex's eyes grew wide when he saw Jory. He hadn't known her very well, but Daley had told him about everyone on the plane to keep them busy. Jory was a jokester, but not down at Eric's level. She was always perky, and her smart mouth got away with her sometimes, but overall she was loved by teachers and classmates alike. She wasn't Taylor popular, but she had lots of friends. He saw Ian and Melissa next to her, worried expressions on their faces. Jackson and Daley came running with rags and water, and Jackson ran off again for more water.
"What happened?" Katie whispered to Miley and Lily, all three looking out of place.
"I'm so confused! Where have they been?" Lily said.
"Guys, I have to tell you something!" Miley said, dragging them to the trees. "Eric and Taylor overheard me and Oliver talking about Hannah Montana. They found out my secret!"
"Hey guys, can you help Jackson and Lex get water?" Daley said.
They nodded and grabbed jugs.
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Ian had been given food and water, but he was picking at it. Everyone could tell he was worried about Jory. They all wondered what happened out there. The Stewart crew had been filled in. Everyone was eating dinner, waiting for Jory to wake up. Silence hung in the air, filled with dread.
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KATIE:
Lex convinced us to do these video diaries. He's pretty smart, for a ten year old. He sure knows more about radios than I do. I have no idea who Jory is, but I have this feeling inside, that if she-if she dies, I'll cry as if she were my best friend. It would be hard seeing my best friend like this. It would be hard to see Amber and Ashley like this. That's how horrible this is.
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JACKSON STEWART:
Everyone sees me as a guy who doesn't care about anything but looks, my car, and girls. I guess I'm pretty good at hiding stuff, cause to tell you the truth, I'm scared. Jory's always so happy and…Jory.
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MELISSA:
We've all been blowing this off. That, at any time, we could get sick. Or hurt. Or worse. There aren't any ambulances or nurses out here to save the day. It's scary.
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Jory shifted and opened her eyes. For a second, she couldn't remember where she was. Then she did.
"Ian!" She bolted up and peered around the tent. All she remembered was seeing Taylor and Eric talking to a girl and a boy who looked about fourteen. She had collapsed before they had turned around, so she couldn't be sure. Jory got up and walked out of the tent.
Everyone was eating. She saw Ian picking at his food, five people she didn't know, and Jackson Stewart. She had a crush on him before they left. Now, she wasn't sure.
"Uh, hi?" Jory waved.
"Jory!"
"What happened?"
"Are you okay?"
Jory put a hand to her spinning head.
"Hey, hey! Give her some room!" Ian said, and guided her to the logs. She sat down next to him.
"Where's Captain Russell and Abby?" Lex said.
"We don't know." Jory said.
(A/N: This would be the perfect place to insert the theme song!)
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Miley, Katie, Lily and Oliver were looking for fruit. All the 29 Down crew agreed that they had done a good job of adapting to the routine quickly. Miley, Lily, and Oliver were eager to learn how to fish, but Katie was a vegetarian. She decided to help with the fire.
"Wow. Jory made an amazing recovery." Lily said.
"She still looks a little out of it." Katie replied.
"They were talking about someone named Abby, and Captain Russell. Who're they?" Oliver said.
"Well, Abby's one of the girls that came on the trip. Jackson talks about her all the time." Miley giggled.
"Captain Russell must be the pilot." Katie said.
"How do you know?" Oliver said.
"Well, I'm guessing he's not called Captain for nothing." Katie grabbed a banana.
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"What do you think happened to Abby and Captain Russell?" Melissa asked Jackson. They were boiling the water.
"Jory said they were split up in a storm. There hasn't been a storm since the first night. They've been missing for seven days. They could not even be together anymore." He said.
Melissa gasped. "The first place they would have headed to would have been the beach, right?" Jackson looked up. They both dropped what they were doing and dashed to the beach.
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Miley, Katie, Lily, and Oliver ran into Eric.
"Hey Miley!" Eric said, a twisted grin on his face. They knew that couldn't mean anything good.
"What do you want Eric?" She put her hands on her hips.
"Would you do a little favor for me?" He said.
"What?" Miley said.
"Oh, that doesn't matter. Cause' if you don't do it, your little secret might slip at dinner." Eric smirked.
The four followed him to the tents.
"I want you" Eric pointed at Oliver, "to go in the boys' tent and take the video tapes from all the guys packs, and you," He pointed to Miley, Katie, and Lily, "To take the girls' tapes."
Miley bit her lip, and walked over to the girls tent. Katie and Lily followed, and Oliver hesitantly stepped into the guys' tent. Eric started to walk away. "Bring me those when you're done. I'll be at the plane."
"Where are you going?" Miley said.
"Well, I don't want to get caught, do I?" Eric said, and with that, he was gone.
"Well, let's get this over with, before we get caught." Lily said.
"Okay, Lily, get Daley's, Miley get Taylor's, and I'll get Melissa's." Katie stepped to Melissa's backpack. "We should get ours too. If everyone's are gone except ours, they'll start pointing fingers."
They met outside the tents a couple minutes later.
"I feel so bad." Lily said. Katie nodded solemnly.
"We had to." Oliver said.
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They headed to the plane. Eric grabbed at them when Miley held them out. She pulled her hand back.
"First, what are you going to do with them?" She glared.
"Watch them, duh!" He grabbed again.
"Isn't that an invasion of privacy?" Katie spoke up, then stepped back hesitantly.
"We've already had that ordeal. Go chat with Melissa about invasions of privacy." He finally grabbed the tapes from Miley.
"What does invasions of privacy have to do with Melissa?" Oliver said.
"Me and Taylor played her tape for the whole beach to hear. Her tape with her confession that she likes Jackson."
"Eew, my brother?" Miley grimaced.
"No, Jackson that was already here. Anyways, she ran off like a crybaby, fell off a cliff, and she's still here in one peace. So nothing bad is gonna happen to anyone if I watch their tape. Plus, there's not much you can do about it anyway." Eric backed into the plane, and slammed the door.
"Oh yes there is." Miley said, and stomped off.
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Lex was getting water, since Eric had disappeared. He passed by the plane, and thought he heard something coming from inside. He peered in the window, and saw Eric laughing at something. Jackson's voice filled the plane. Lex moved over a little, and saw the video camera in Eric's hands. Next to him was a stack of labeled tapes. "This is so wrong." Lex thought. He had heard some of the tape too.
"Guys, come eat!" Daley yelled. The sun was starting to go down. Lex ran to the fire before Eric came out and found him spying.
Everyone else was already at the fire pit. Lex sat down next to his sister.
"So, how was your day, everyone?" Nathan tried to start a conversation.
A mummer of 'Okay's ran through the group.
Lex glanced up. Katie's face was turning green.
"Katie, are you okay?" He said quickly.
"Some oyster must have gotten into my food." She said quietly.
"How allergic are you?" Daley asked.
"I don't know, I've never had any. Vegetarian, remember?"
"Well, at least it took effect right away, instead of a couple hours, like Eric." 29DWN Jackson said. "You must not be as allergic as him."
"Not necessarily." Melissa said worriedly.
"So, what do we do?" Nathan asked. Katie looked like she was about to pass out.
"Umm, does she need adrenaline? We can check the first aid kit." Daley said.
"I don't think so. Maybe we should just get her to some shade and have her lie down." Melissa turned to Katie. She had passed out.
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A/N: Haha, I'm getting better at this cliffhanger stuff! Three reviews, and I'll post another chapter. Four and I'll post my new story! The summary is in my profile. See ya!
pianoplayer29
