A/N: Sorry about the delay in posting; there's really no excuse other than "I forgot," which is a quite ridiculous excuse so I won't even say it. :P Well, this chapter marks the end to my pre-written chapters so I'm going to have to start writing on it again… That being said, as Saturday is Christmas, chapter 11 may be a bit later in the coming but hopefully not too late. Please review! :) And thanks to everyone who has reviewed! :D

When Hope is Gone

Chapter Ten

"I-I don't understand," Lex stammered.

"Are you sure you're in the right place?" Daley asked.

Lex was looking frantic. "Yes-I'm sure of it! But where could he have gone so fast?"

"Maybe he found his way back to camp," Melissa put in helpfully, but Lex glared at her with wide eyes.

"I told you-he was securely tied to a tree. Someone must have taken him!"

Daley and Melissa looked at each other with doubt in their eyes. "Lex, you've been through a lot of stress lately, and it is perfectly normal that you would be seeing-"

"No, Daley!" Lex excalimed. "I know what I saw! Nathan was here!" His black eyes swept over the empty place in front of him. No ropes. No gag. No Nathan. No anything. "Or was he?"

"Nathan? C'mon, buddy, wake up!"

Nathan thought he recognized the voice that was slowly coaxing him out of his dark haven. He started to open his eyes, but then remembered his situation. He was tied, gagged, and blindfolded, tied to a palm tree. He was hungry, thirsty, and dying. But what about the voice? Had someone found him?

After a bit of struggling and ordering his brain to function, Nathan managed to open his eyes. He was staring into the face of Abby. "A-" he croaked, but his throat was so parched that he couldn't say anything more.

Someone helped him sit up and pressed a bottle of water to his lips. He drank it slowly, afraid that he would be sick if he went too fast.

"Abby? How-?"

"Shhhh..." She crouched beside him, fear in her dark eyes. Her freckles stood out profusely on ghost-pale skin. "He'll know you're awake, and we can't risk that yet."

"Who? What's going on?"

"Shhhh! Captain Russell, he-"

"What about him?"

"Si, what about him?" Hernando walked into the room, followed by Juan and Captain Russell.

"What's going on?" Nathan asked again, now seriously unnerved. He attempted to sit up, but was still too weak. "Let me help you," Russell said, an evil gleam in his eye. The pilot reached down, grabbed a handful of Nathan's abundance of hair, and yanked him roughly to his feet.

The next thing Nathan knew, there was a knife to his throat.

A/N: I know, I'm evil! Leaving you with a cliffie like that and then telling you the next chapter will be late! I'm sorry – I'll make it up to you by making chapter 11 the longest one yet. How's that? :P Please review!

~Emachinescat ^..^