So, guys. I'm tired of fanfiction because I don't get good feedback, and most of you expect every plot detail to be handed to you without you having to do any work. I know this doesn't apply to all of you, but it's obvious. So, I'm going to finish Captive, but it might take me longer and then that might be it. I see little point it writing stories if they're just going to go unnoticed.
But here's the next chapter. :3 Thanks Macy for showing me the Google Documents thing. I managed to create a story outline, and I already have the new few chapters ready to write. Yay you!
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Chapter 10 - Cloudy With A Chance of Rabies
"You're serious? You've never done that?"
"No, Bryan."
"But I could have sworn you-"
"Have never had a threesome, yes. And I don't plan on it."
"But-"
Kevin stopped and looked back at Bryan threateningly. The Russian blinked, holding his thought before reluctantly releasing it in a sigh. They continued walking, with some effort, through the growth that covered the forest floor. The fallen trees, vines, bushes, and all those ferns - if they made it to safety, Bryan promised himself he would set fire to all the damn ferns. They were scratch and itchy and crunchy and you couldn't put your foot down without stepping on one. If it were up to him, the species would be wiped from the earth; all those hippie wannabe preteens could shove it up their-
"Hey Bryan?"
Kevin's voice interrupted Bryan's train of thought and brought him back to his fern-filled reality. He looked up from the ground and made a small grunt to acknowledge the younger. He seemed to cringe each time his feet crunched a fern, the sound like nails on a chalkboard to his picky ears.
"Do you know anything about dreams?" Kevin asked. Bryan looked back up at him and stumbled some before catching himself. He realized then, quite enviously, that Kevin wasn't even looking at the ground. He was looking up toward the sky, moving easily through the thick undergrowth.
"Well, seeing as you're the one from the cliche old Chinese village, I'd say you'd be better at it then me."
"But you do?" Kevin asked, hardly waiting for Bryan to finish his sentence. After a pause, the taller male frowned and sighed. "Why?"
"Well, because... I had this dream, that I was on top of a cliff... By the ocean." Kevin added, sounding a bit far off.
"Did you jump?" Bryan muttered bitterly to himself, still jealous that Kevin wasn't having as much trouble with the ferns as he was. Kevin rolled his eyes and gave him the finger. Realizing that it was better than him panicking, however, Bryan set his jaw and tried to strike the subject back up.
"Well, what happened?"
Kevin glanced down from the trees just in time to watch Bryan stumble again. "Are you going to make fun of me?"
"Ow, damnit!" Bryan growled, stopping to collect himself. Kevin kept walking, prompting Bryan to swear again and hurry up. "No, I won't. Now what happened?"
Kevin looked back up to the trees. Where he had been raised, the trees were nothing like this. These ones grew so tall, and there were no reachable branches up most of the trunk, only to have them all burst out at the top.
"I was looking out over the water... And there was this big black warship coming into view toward me."
Bryan remained silent, listening while he stalked awkwardly behind him.
"The ship," Kevin continued, "was a big steal thing... And I could tell that I was in some sort of... World War II era."
"They existed then."
"Yeah, but..." Kevin muttered, "it felt like it was really new. Like the latest lethal engineering out there."
They stopped suddenly, as he said this. Before them, the trees gave way to a wide opening. Pacing forward cautiously, they edged closer to some sort of cliff. It's high wall ran twenty feet down to a gray river, flowing swiftly away from them. On the opposite bank, a similar cliff rose up to the same hight as theirs. The slopes plunged down to the water mercilessly, slick and muddy gray.
"Can't tell you much about the dream, kid..." Bryan muttered. Both of them had directed their attention to this obvious road block. "But I'd say we reached our river."
Kevin nodded mutely before replying. "I thought it'd be wider."
The river was, in fact, only about as wide as an RV was long. They peered down into it, considering it's eddies and ripples and currents, when they were distracted by a low growl behind them.
Spinning around, their eyes immediately fell upon what appeared to be a pitbull, it's upper body lowered toward the ground in an attack-ready stance. It's lips were pulled back to reveal a fine set of sharp ivory teeth, while it's eyes radiated no hesitation. It growled louder, moving toward them slowly.
"Fuck." Bryan said so quickly that Kevin wondered if it had come from his own head. If it's presence hadn't done the trick already, then Bryan was more than willing to react when the dog lifted it's head to howl. Dipping down, he picked up a rock the size of a baseball bat and chucked it directly at the animal before it could release any sound. It scrapped passed the beast's hip, hardly damaging him at all.
"What the hell?!" Kevin snapped, taking a half-step back. Bryan was far ahead of him, turning and snagging him by the elbow before bursting into a run in the direction of some thick bushes. The dog was on their heals almost instantly.
"That or it howls!" Bryan cried, shoving violently through branches that tore at his jacket and slapped across his arms. He moved like a bulldozer, the dog getting tangled in the branches as they retracted back, hitting it straight on. Still, it barked viciously and pounded after them. With wide eyes, Kevin pumped his legs and struggled to keep up.
"There!" He suddenly cried, shoving his arm in the direction of an old fallen tree that had landed precariously over the river. It was thin, but their only option, as it bridged the gap between the two banks. Hurridly, Bryan shoved toward it dragging Kevin with him. Skidding to a halt before the roots of the log, he hoisted Kevin up and shoved him along the trunk before climbing up himself.
The crossing was extremely slow. Years of fog and rain had warn away most of the bark, and what was left was soggy enough to melt under their shoes. The rest of the wood was in a perminant slick state. Even Kevin, raised to overcome nature's challenges and blessed with a natural sense of balance - like the rest of his team - held his breath and pushed out his arms, teetering across it. Half way out, the dog managed to claw it's way onto the log, growling awkwardly and crawling forward. Bryan shimmied faster, urging Kevin to move.
"Go!" He cried, the dog moving faster than he did. He could have groaned, had he not been so focused on staying upright. Kevin bit his lip and took a deep breath before leaping from the log to the far bank, just making it. His weight dragged him forward, causing him to fall over, but the second he got his bearings he turned back for Bryan.
As Bryan slid across the log, the dog made a desperate lunge at his ankles, it's jaws thrashing and sending strands of saliva flying. The motion, so violent for such an unstable surface, jerked the log to the left. Bryan gasped somewhat and swore loudly, flailing his arms to keep his balance. When the dog did it again, however, the timber jarred right and slid, suddenly, from it's position on the far bank. It ground down the cliff, with both the dog and Bryan still on board.
"Bryan!" Kevin cried, his voice echoing through the small river canyon. He dove forward, throwing out his hands for Bryan to grab onto, but he was already in the water. For several horrible seconds, Kevin's eyes scanned the gray murk in a panic, pleading for something to surface. The log burst upward first, bobbing violently before steadying out and floating quickly away. Then the dog, who began to paddle and whine toward some rocks on the shore. Finally, Bryan's pale head burst out of the gray water and shook violently. He gasped, opening his eyes and mouth wide for a moment.
"Bryan!" Came Kevin's second cry. The Russian looked up for him wildly and spotted him, safely on the far bank. Though Kevin wasn't sure, he could have sworn Bryan had smiled.
"I'm alright, kid!" He replied, thrusting an arm out of the water and waving. "I'll be fine! You need to keep moving!"
"No!" Kevin practically begged, jumping to his feet and chasing Bryan along the bank. "I can't be alone, he'll find me! I'll die!"
"No you won't!" Bryan cried, growing farther and farther ahead. "Just follow the river, remember?" Bryan bobbed for a moment, trying to keep above water. "I'll meet you there!"
"Wait! Bryan!" Kevin pleaded, just as the addressed vanished around the river bend. Kevin slowed to a stop, eyes staring toward where he had last seen Bryan. He was breathing hard, shivering in his clothing - it was still damp from the creek.
"Come back..." He muttered, panic swelling up inside him again.
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"I'm hungry..."
"You'll be dead if you say that again." Kai growled, shooting Tyson a warning look. Along with the Majestics, they sat perched on he protruding remains of a bridge. The old stone shot out over the water before dropping violently, where a heavy flood had torn it's way through the middle of the bridge. On the other side of the river, the rest of the bridge started up again and continued down to the road they were supposed to be on.
With Hilary's help, Max has made a small fire to the side of the bridge. They sat around it, tense and chilled and bored.
It was Johnny who finally verbalized what everyone was thinking. "So how the hell do we get across?"
Silence answered him for a while. Finally, Kai took a turn. "No one is prepared for swimming, so I guess we'll have to either construct something or find another way across."
"But the letter said very specifically to come here. Why would he make us come here if we were just going to leave?" Kenny asked, looking up and down the river. They were at the peak of a bend, and it vanished around a turn in both directions, out of his sight.
"Maybe he's going to meet us here." Robert offered gravely. Kenny seemed to shrink down at the words, and a similar reaction swept through the rest of the group. There was a long pause as the fire licked up the small kindling.
"If he shows up," Tyson muttered, his stomach growling just barely as he spoke, "I call dibs on killing him."
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You guys should totally review now! :D
