Andy hung back, not wanting to leave Sam alone, especially with someone like Larvmen. Sam turned around and looked at her like she was crazy. "Get out of here!" he screamed.
They could all smell the horrible burning smell that was engulfing the forest. It was becoming increasingly harder to see; smoke was building up. The dry forest was perfect fodder for a spreading fire.
Sam all but pushed Andy and Gracie in the direction opposite the impending fire and directed them to run. He knew Andy was stubborn though and if he didn't follow quickly, she would come back to save him.
Sam turned to Larvmen. "I'm not letting go of you," Sam said, speaking quickly. "If you try to escape, I will have Andy shoot you and finish you off or I will feed you to the fire. Got it? But if you want to get out of here, I suggest you cooperate and run."
Larvmen didn't say anything, but Sam could tell he was going to comply. Sam silently hoped that Larvmen's impaired foot wouldn't slow them down too badly. He really wanted to make it out of here alive.
He could just make out Andy's back as she hunched over Gracie, trying to protect her. Sam saw Gracie's bright scared blue eyes as she looked over Andy's shoulder at him. She looked as if she wanted to reach out to him. She wanted her little family back together.
Andy had no clue where she was running to, but away from the fire seemed as good enough idea as any. She kept getting scratched in the face by branches and other unknown substances. It stung, but it would be nothing compared to the third degree burns she would receive if they were engulfed in flames. It did make her face bleed though, and she had to wipe it out of her eyes so she could continue.
Andy could hear Sam following behind her and she knew that Larvmen was with him. Personally, she had hoped Sam would have left him there to burn, but that wasn't the type of guy Sam was and it was part of the reason why she cared so much about him. Andy didn't like having her back to Larvmen, but she knew Sam would protect her and considering the circumstances, she ignored the feeling that she had.
Andy felt Gracie's small body shaking with fear. The fire was slowly gaining on them; they could feel the heat pressing on their backs. Against her better judgment, Andy craned her neck around to see how far behind Sam was.
Fortunately, she saw that he was practically on her heels, but the fire was gaining. Andy turned back around and kept running. The trees looked like they were thinning and she wondered what she would find if she kept going in this direction.
Andy felt Gracie's body heave as she started coughing; the smoke was really taking its toll.
"Hold on baby," Andy urged. "Almost out of here." She actually had no clue where they were, but she wanted to comfort Gracie no matter what. This poor girl had gone through so much already. Andy was getting her out of this burning forest.
Sam had caught up and was now running by her side. Andy saw that he and Larvmen were forced to move faster as the fire did. It had caught up to them. They had to keep moving.
Andy's legs felt like lead and there was a burning in between them as she ran; she silently cursed Larvmen. Suddenly, she felt as if her leg was on fire, which when she looked down, she realized it was.
"Sam!" she gasped out and she was surprised he heard her. His mouth opened when he saw what happened. She shook her head, indicating him to keep going.
Andy saw Sam push Larvmen through some brush and he followed. Andy tried to follow, but her burning leg gave out. She fell and landed hard on her knees. She released her hold on Gracie.
"Go, Gracie. Follow Sammy, okay?" Andy said, trying to hide her pain. Gracie looked at her wide eyed. She didn't want to leave her. "Go!"Andy said, feeling the fire closing in. Gracie, tears in her eyes, fled.
Andy tried to stand and follow, but she ended up slipping. The fire on her leg had gone out when she fell onto the ground. But it was so painful she could barely put any pressure on it. Once more she attempted to get off the ground.
That's when she felt Sam's strong arms wrap around her and pull her to her feet. He hoisted her up with ease and carried her through the brush, just as the fire engulfed where they were previously standing.
They burst through the trees, which burst into flames once they passed through. They found themselves on the beach. The same beach where they had washed ashore when they first arrived on the island.
Andy noticed that Larvmen had been knocked unconscious, courtesy of Sam. That way, Gracie would be safe when he went back to rescue Andy. Andy saw Gracie curled up in a little ball off to the side of the beach. Gracie looked up when she heard Sam and Andy burst through the trees and she got up and rushed over to them, throwing herself into their arms.
Andy picked her up and Sam held Andy and they stayed that way, watching the fire burn behind them after they moved a safe distance away. Sam went back and dragged Larvmen away from the flames, much to Andy's dismay.
Gracie was still coughing and Andy went to grab a bottle of water from her pack when she realized she had lost it long ago by the lake. "Sam, do you have any water?" she asked, indicating Gracie. But Sam shrugged; he had abandoned his bag in order to escape the forest.
"I'm okay," Gracie said, snuggling closer, nestling in between both Sam and Andy. Sam slung his arm over Andy's shoulder and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you for saving my life. Twice," Andy said to him, looking into his eyes.
"No problem McNally," Sam said, throwing her a goofy grin which she returned.
Now that adrenaline was wearing off, Andy could really feel the pain in her leg. But she was so happy to be alive that she attempted to ignore it for as long as she could. Sam, Andy, and Gracie just sat, glad to be safe. They caught their breath and rested their weary limbs.
Staring at the fire with their back to the ocean, Andy wondered out loud, "How do you think the fire started anyway?"
Now that Sam could actually think he admitted, "I may have forgotten to put out the fire when I heard the gunshot. I knew I had to come find you. I wasn't thinking clearly." He frowned, feeling like it was his entire fault, even though they made it out alive.
For a reason she couldn't explain, Andy found this hilarious. She busted out in laughter so hard that tears where streaming down her face. Gracie giggled, finding Andy's laugh contagious. Sam looked on like they were both crazy, but soon joined in. It was good to be alive.
Sam was concerned about Andy. She seemed to be holding up okay, but she was raped and it angered him so bad; he could only imagine what was going through her head. But now was not the time to talk about such things, especially with Gracie here and her rapist collapsed unconscious a few feet from them. So he settled instead for being close to her, reveling in being close to her, knowing that she was safe.
"What are we going to do now?" Gracie questioned, holding her doll close. She was pretty thirsty, but she knew that they didn't have any water so she didn't bother asking.
"Well, we have no water, no food and we can't go back into the forest for some time, not to mention their might not be a lot left…" Sam rambled on, listing all things that would make them absolutely hopeless.
Andy turned around and a huge grin was plastered on her face. Sam trailed off and looked at her questioningly.
"I don't think we are going to need anything," Andy said simply.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, brows furrowed. "How are we going to survive if we don't have- "
Andy placed a finger to his lips, gently to silence him. She leaned in so she was inches from his face. "Look," she said and she pointed behind them, towards the ocean.
Sam shielded his eyes against the beautiful sunrise and looked out into the large expanse of the ocean that trapped them there. And then he saw it.
"A boat!" Gracie exclaimed. "Aboataboataboat!" She jumped up and started doing a little dance.
Sam stood up, offering Andy a hand, which she took gratefully. Sam hoisted Gracie onto his shoulders and they all started waving their hands around like crazy and yelling, trying to get the boats attention.
The boat was in the area, attracted by the large scale fire they saw on the island. They weren't going to go anywhere near it, deciding fire and boats didn't mix well together.
One of the ship's crew members was looking out, daydreaming perhaps as he stared at the inferno. He wished they could do something to help. Then he thought he saw something, on the shore of the flaming island.
"What the…" the young man said, squinting against the rising sun. "Those are people!" he exclaimed in shock. At first, he could only stare and then he ran back to the captain. "Sir, you have to turn the ship around. There are people on that island!"
The captain looked doubtful, but when the crew member remained persistent, the captain had a look for himself. And sure enough, there were a small group of people jumping around by the shore.
"Turn this ship around!" the captain bellowed.
"It's turning around!" Andy cried.
Larvmen was starting to wake up, but he was still dizzy and remained stunned on the ground.
"Are we going home?" Gracie asked, still perched atop Sam's strong shoulders. She sat her doll in front of her and grabbed onto Sam's ears with her hands.
Sam kept a steady hand on Gracie's leg, ensuring that she wouldn't fall. The other he kept wrapped around Andy's waist, holding her close. He looked deep in her eyes and said, "We are going home."