Author's Note: I just wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews and faves and follows! I know it's been a while, but I hope everyone enjoys the update!

Chapter 10

After finding a good-sized patch of dirt along the riverbank to spend the night, Ben got the fire going while Riley assembled the tent. Normally, Riley would've been offended and demand that they switch, so when he just went along with it Ben couldn't help the confused look he gave him as the younger man shuffled away. They mostly worked in silence, with the exception of Riley's frustrated whispers every few minutes about how all the time he'd spent going to college had given him absolutely zero experience in tent construction. Even though he wasn't facing him, Ben had to swallow his laughter just picturing the scene unfolding behind him. He'd offered to help, but all he got in return was a look that had him turning back to his own task before he even got the question out. Once everything was set, they had just enough time to catch a few fish for dinner before the last beams of sunset slid behind the mountain range. Now the two explorers sat on opposite sides of the fire with the flames dancing between them, embers floating lightly upwards until they disappeared into the night sky.

"What do you mean you didn't pack s'mores? Who goes camping and forgets the s'mores?!" Riley exclaimed.

"We're not on a camping trip," Ben said distractedly, tossing a stick into the pit. His eyes glowed bright orange as he stared into the flames.

"Unbelievable," Riley huffed. "You are so lucky I'm here." Digging through his bag, he pulled out a bag of marshmallows, a box of gram crackers, and a stack of chocolate bars. No one could ever say that he wasn't prepared. Once everything was opened and prepped, Riley picked up a pair of sticks and expertly skewered two marshmallows. He held one out to Ben. "You'd better hurry. I may not look it, but I am not afraid to eat all the s'mores by myself," he boasted. But Ben didn't answer, his gaze still lost in the fire. Frowning, Riley lowering his arm. "Keep that up and you'll go blind."

Ben jumped in surprise. "What?"

"You haven't said a word since we stopped." Riley handed Ben his stick. By this time his own marshmallow was ready. Skipping the crackers and chocolate, he slid it off its stick and popped it into his mouth. "Don't sweat it. We'll find the ruins tomorrow." He tried to make himself sound reassuring, but in reality his mind drifted back to earlier when Ben insisted they stop. Was he regretting the decision to take Riley instead of Abigail? He was probably thinking that he would be exploring the site right now if he had.

"That's not what worries me," Ben sighed, reaching into his bag and pulling out the journal. Gently flipping through the pages, he didn't stop until he reached the very end. Layers of exposed paper poked out from the spine. "The last two pages are missing."

Riley rolled his eyes, turning back to the fire. He had a three stick rotation to attend to. "Is that all? Ben, they probably just needed something to fuel their fire."

He shook his head. "I don't think so. This was Isaac's most prized possession; it never left his side. I doubt he would willingly damage it like this." He pondered the matter for a little while longer before looking up at Riley. He studied him for a moment. Riley was his best friend and he could tell when there was something on his mind. He didn't know what it was exactly, but he figured it was time to rip off the band-aid. However, he knew all too well that Riley didn't like to be cornered and would shut down completely if he wasn't careful. "You know, eating all that is just going to make you sick," he warned as Riley swallowed his fifth s'more.

"Thank you, Mom," Riley sneered. "But I'm a big boy." He stuffed another chocolate oozing s'more into mouth just to prove his point.

Ben grinned as he started roasting his first marshmallow. Once it was ready he snatched some chocolate and graham crackers. He munched on his s'more absently as he looked up at the stars. After a moment, he cast a sly glanced at his friend. Might as well start digging. "So," he started. "Now that I've told you what's been on my mind, what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't take a genius to notice your head's been somewhere else. Anything you want to share?"

Averting his gaze, Riley drew lazy circles in the dirt between his shoes. "Not really."

"Obviously there is," Ben frowned. "You've been pretty distant lately. Normally I wouldn't complain about a few minutes of peace and quiet, but I'm starting to get worried."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, you said that already," he sighed "Look, don't think I haven't noticed that you've been lagging behind..."

"Well, maybe I should have just stayed home!" he spat. "Kept out of the way? Would that have been better?"

"What? No!" Ben straightened, surprised by the sudden outburst. "I never said-"

Without another word, Riley got up, shoved his hands deep into his pockets, and started to wonder downstream. Ben was speechless. What's gotten into him?

Finally coming to a stop, Riley climbed up onto a large rock that was jutting slightly over the water. Maybe he shouldn't have pushed? Ben rubbed at his temples in frustration. Well what was he supposed to do? Sit back and watch as the distance between them grew wider? Until he couldn't reach him anymore? A loud splash pulled him from his thoughts. A series of ripples were spreading from a point near the middle of the river. Riley hadn't moved an inch, knees still clutched to his chest as he stared out at the water. He'd been sitting like that for a while now. Alone. Kicking dirt over the flames to extinguish the fire, Ben strode after him.

Climbing up beside him, Ben stretched his legs in front of him as they sat in silence. With the steady sound of the current, it wasn't as tense as it had been; it was actually comfortable, pleasant even. After what seemed like hours, probably only a few minutes, it was finally broken.

"I'm sorry."

Ben blinked. He hadn't expected Riley to say anything for a while. Hell, he hadn't expected him to say anything at all.

"You should be busy snooping around an ancient village right now. Not babysitting me." His eyes never left the surface of the water. Not that they needed to. From where he was sitting, Ben could see the pain they held. "I'll pick up the pace."

"That's not what I meant." Ben was blown away by the amount of hurt in Riley's voice. "I didn't say anything about you slowing me down. It's just that you've been acting like you don't want to be here."

"Do you want me here?"

"Of course I do!"

"You sure about that?" Without waiting for an answer, Riley turned and hopped down, leaving Ben to stare into his reflection.

Riley gazed up at the ceiling. The tent wasn't huge by any means, but it wasn't exactly small either. There was more than enough room for the two friends to have their own space. So when he heard the flap being unzipped, Riley had no problem sticking to his side of the tent and feinting sleep. Apparently Ben didn't have a problem going along with it either, because he didn't say a word as he got settled and within minutes he was fast asleep.

"What's your hurry? It's not like I'm just going to leave you behind."

He closed his eyes. Honestly, when he heard Ben say that, he wasn't quite sure that he believed him.

And it was with that troubling thought that he drifted off.

Riley's heart was in his throat as he watched Ben start to lose his grip on the swinging platform, legs dangling helplessly over the endless chasm below. Hanging over the edge, boards came lose as Ben scrambled to get a grip and pull himself up. Riley almost yelled at him to let go of The Declaration. It was just a stupid piece of paper! Thankfully his father passed down a rope. Grabbing hold of it, Ben swung himself to safety and hauled himself over the wooden railing next to Abigail.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I dropped you. I had to save The Declaration..." Ben began.

"No! Don't be," Abigail gasped. "I would have done the exact same thing to you."

Ben gave her a strange look. "...Really?"

"I would've dropped you both," Riley snorted as he made his way down a small flight of steps towards them. "Freaks."

Suddenly there was a resounding snap and the platform, along with his footing, disappeared. Giving a yelp of surprise, Riley reached out blindly. His hands just barely managed to latch onto the edge. Unable to stop himself, Riley spared a quick glance down. Big mistake. Panic consumed him as he looked down into the darkness.

"This is just not my day is it?" Riley groaned as he pushed back his fears. He didn't have a good enough grip to drag himself up again on his own so he looked to Ben and Abigail expectantly, a snide remark ready in case either of them decided to comment. But they just continued their own conversation, giving no indication that they had even heard him.

"Uh, guys?" he laughed nervously. "A little help here?"

That got a reaction. The pair finally turned his way and looked back down at him almost curiously, as if they'd never seen him before. Still, neither made a move to assist him. Abigail's gaze returned to Ben before she smiled, gave him a light kiss on the cheek, and headed back towards the others.

Riley's heart sunk. "Ben?"

Ben studied him for a moment longer, his eyes blank and face empty. He was practically unrecognizable. Then he was turning away.

"Ben! This isn't funny!" Riley winced as the wood started to dig into his palms and fingers. "BEN!"

Then someone was standing over him. Riley looked up with relief. He knew Ben wouldn't leave-. His smile faded as the person spoke. "Well, well. Looks like you've managed to get yourself into yet another predicament, haven't you Mr. Poole?" Masson's voice was like velvet as he peered down his nose at him and shook his head. "Too bad no one's here to save you this time." Scott's face twisted into a sneer as he brought his leather shoe down over Riley's fingers.

The next thing Riley knew, he was falling. His screams bounced off the walls and echoed through the passages, seemingly unheard by his friends as they their torches faded into nothing.

Riley jerked awake, chest heaving and eyes wide. His heart hammered against his rib cage, blood roaring in his ears. The walls and ceiling were starting to close in. This wasn't good. He could feel his hands shaking and his lungs constricting as his body broke into a cold sweat. Beside him, he saw Ben begin to stir. He had to get out of there.

After fumbling with the zipper, Riley finally managed to squeeze through the opening. He scrambled blindly through the dirt until he came to a stop at the tree line and fell to his knees. There just wasn't enough air!

He crossed his arms over his chest as he desperately tried to draw in a full breath, but it was no use. Black spots had already begun to obscure his vision. He needed to rein in his emotions and get his breathing under control. Riley dug his fingers into the ground in an attempt to steady himself as his head started to spin. A shrill ringing filled his ears.

Think of something else! I have to think of something else!

Riley bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut in concentration, frantically searching for a happy memory. Any memory. The pride he'd felt the day he beat triple banana level on Pac-Man. The sense of accomplishment the first time he'd hacked into the FBI server undetected. The satisfaction he experienced that same day upon finding the addresses of every bully he had ever encountered and tinkering with their personal information. But nothing worked.

Every memory he could think of was tainted. In every scene there was a man standing in the background, out of place; a scorpion just visible over the collar of his shirt. Even as he pictured himself cruising down a beautiful stretch of road overlooking the beach in his Ferrari, he was there too, sitting right beside him in the passenger seat.

Everything stopped. Riley tensed as the dark clouds grew bigger and bigger.

He was out of time.

Drifting awake, Ben noted the eerie silence that surrounded him. He immediately became alert, eyes darted around the tent. Riley was gone. Normally, this wouldn't worry him too much; the kid probably just went for a walk to clear his head or something. But when he turned over to go back to sleep, he couldn't shake the unease that settled in his stomach. Grabbing a flashlight, Ben slipped out of the tent. It would be just his luck to find Riley stuck in a pit of quicksand somewhere. Luckily, he didn't have to go far to find him. Ben spotted Riley hunched over some ferns down the riverbank. Ben smiled. Figures.

"I told you eating all those s'mores was a bad idea," he teased. When Riley didn't answer he frowned, squatting down next to him. "Riley?"

Spinning around, Riley lost his balance and fell backward, scrambling out of his reach. "Stay back! Get away from me!" Ben's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Inching closer, his eyes squinting with concern, but the second his fingers made contact, Riley lashed out. His blows were desperate and sloppy, so Ben evaded them easily. It was then that he noticed something else. Not only were they sloppy, but they were also slow. Weak.

Springing forward, Riley launched himself forward in an attempt to tackle him to the ground, but Ben was faster. Ducking to the side, Ben winced as a rock dug into his palm. "Snap out of it, Riley! It's me!" Seemingly pulled from his daze, Riley froze. Taking the opportunity to move closer, Ben eyed him cautiously. "What's going on?" The only reply Riley gave him was a shrill wheeze, before he pitched forward. Ben automatically reached out to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Talk to me, kid." Gently tapping Riley on the cheek, Ben went through a laundry list of possibilities. The fish they ate from the river? No, or else he would be sick, too. It had been too long after they'd eaten for any kind of allergic reaction; at least he was pretty sure it had. Poisonous snake bite could be another possibility, but he didn't see a snake anywhere and he couldn't find any bite marks. Shining the light on Riley's face, Ben cursed softly. His lips were turning blue. Definitely not a good sign.

"Where's your inhaler?" he demanded. He had never seen Riley like this. When he didn't get a response, he gave him a gentle shake. "Riley!"

"Home," he gasped, voice fading.

"What?!" He needed to think of something fast before it was too late.

Riley's eyes started to roll back into his head, his body going limp. Ben shook him urgently. "Hey! Stay with me." Ben reminded himself to stay calm. Now was not the time to lose his head. Giving the kid's shoulders a reassuring squeeze, Ben looked him in the eye. "I'll be right back."

The minute Ben left his field of vision Riley was thrown into a panic, his brain overflowing with questions. Where was he going? Was Ben abandoning him? The darkness was closing in. The roar of his heartbeat drowned out everything else. He didn't want to die in the middle of nowhere! He didn't want to die alone!

And then something was being held in front of him.

"Here."

It took a moment for his eyes to focus long enough to see what it was. An inhaler. Huh. Riley looked up at Ben in confusion.

He shrugged. "I always keep a spare."

Holding him close to his chest, Ben helped Riley through the process. After a few hits Ben's worry escalated; Riley's breathing was still raspy and erratic. Then it dawned on him. He's having a panic attack. Ben quickly turned him around and locked eyes with Riley, putting every ounce of support and confidence he could into his gaze. He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do, but he did know that he needed to get Riley to calm down. "Riley, I need you to look at me." He took the kid's hand and moved it up over his heart while resting his own over Riley's. "You need to breathe. I'm right here with you. Just concentrate on my breathing and copy it. Breathe in. Breathe out," Ben encouraged. He continued the mantra for several minutes, never breaking eye contact.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Riley managed to take a series of steady, deep breaths. Relief washed over him in waves. "Good job, kid." Riley was exhausted and his eyelids started to droop. Ben helped him to his feet, taking on most of his weight. "Come on. Let's get you inside."

While Riley and Ben settled into sleep, a figure observed from just up the ridge. Hidden behind a thick layer of brush, the man wore a pair of night vision goggles, his rifle sitting off to the side. He had been tailing the two of them for days, being sure to keep a safe distance away. He sat many rows behind them on the plane and stayed in a motel room in a building across the way with a perfect view of their own, never letting the pair out of his sight. The quiet was broken abruptly by the crackle of static.

"Report. How goes the hunt?"

The figure pushed his goggles up to his forehead and picked up the walkie-talkie. "Uneventful," came the gruff reply. He picked up his rifle, glaring down the barrel in annoyance. "Are you sure you haven't overestimated these two? What if they don't find it?" His fingers glided eagerly over the trigger as he cocked his weapon and took aim. "I say we take care of them while we have the chance."

"All in due time. Just stay on them for now. Contact me if there are any developments; I'll give you further instructions."

Putting the safety back on, he lowered the riffle, clicking his tongue in disappointment. "Roger that, Mr. Scott."

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