Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Maddie, Nick and Connor walked through the jungle, all silent.
"Well, we know someone is close by, so that means that there has to be a station or something that can track our signal and get to us," Nick said, breaking the silence.
"So, there's a pretty good chance that we won't be staying here for long?" Connor asked. Nick nodded. Connor breathed a sigh of relief. Maddie stayed silent.
"Maddie, you okay?" Connor asked. Maddie nodded slowly. She could feel Nick's gaze on her and felt a sharp feeling creep down her spine. She glanced sideways and sighed.
"Let's head back. The others will probably want to know if we found a radio," Nick said.
They began their journey back to the beach. When walking, Maddie saw a blur of black and froze. The bushes rustled behind her and she spun around. Again, the bushes rustled and she spun around again, her heart pounding. She gasped when she spotted the blur again. Suddenly, the blur became a full image as she turned around again.
"Hello Madison."
Amber raised an eyebrow. "You don't want me to get hurt? Adam, that's the only thing you ever want…for me to get hurt!" she snapped. She turned around and began walking again.
"That's not true!" he protested, matching her pace. She stopped. She looked at him, her eyes full of puzzlement, anger, and frustration. "Just go back to the beach," she said after a long pause.
"Why, so you can get lost and maybe get yourself killed?" he hissed angrily.
"Of course not! That way I can look for Maddie and the others in peace," she said. She began walking again, but stopped when she heard a distant, but loud roaring sound. She turned around, but saw that Adam had disappeared. "Adam?" she said, stepping backwards. She heard the roaring sound again and gulped.
Suddenly, something jumped out of the bushes and pinned her down. She screamed. But when she opened her eyes it was Adam. He had a smirk on his face and was laughing hard. "Adam, you… you… oh, just get off of me!" she yelled, pushing him off.
"You should have seen the look on your face!" he said, laughing still. They were both on the ground. "You jerk!" she said, punching his shoulder. "Ouch!" he said.
He looked at her and his laughing died away when he saw that it was anger in her eyes, but fear and curiosity. "What, what's wrong?" he asked.
"If you hadn't scared me, you probably would have heard it," she said, glaring at him. "Heard what?' he asked.
Amber looked into the direction where she heard the roaring noise. "That roaring sound. It sounded like…. a monster," she whispered hoarsely.
"Amber, I think this creepy forest is starting to make you crazy. I didn't hear any-" Adam broke off as the roaring noise sounded again.
"Still think I'm crazy?" she retorted. Adam didn't look at her, but his jaw dropped and the gulped. Amber stood. "Let's go check it out," she whispered and began to walk towards the direction of the roaring sound, but Adam stood and grabbed the hood of her jacket and pulled her back. "You totally are crazy!" he said. She yanked herself away from him. "No I'm…. well, at least I'm not a coward!" she snapped. Adam rolled his eyes and let her go, but followed her.
"M-Melissa?" Maddie stammered. Melissa smiled eerily. Maddie suddenly realized her surroundings had changed. She was in a crushed car with Melissa sitting next to her, her body all bloody. "Melissa?" she said, but her voice came out barely heard and that's when she realized she was all bloody too. It was like she was reliving a memory all over again. She was suddenly under water with something shiny at the bottom. She was drawn to it, but couldn't hold her breath any longer. Just then, she was back in the forest with her regular surroundings. She still couldn't breath, though. She tried breathing, but couldn't. She sank to her knees, gasping, but no breath was in her. Melissa watched her with an unreadable expression and just tilted her head. Maddie looked around and didn't see Nick or Connor.
But then, she heard Nick's voice. "Maddie!" he shouted. Melissa turned and her eyes widened. Then she vanished. Maddie was holding her throat, but when Melissa vanished, she could finally breathe again. She fell, gasping for breath, taking in all the air she possible could. "Maddie!" Nick shouted, rushing to her side. "Maddie, what happened, are you okay?" he said.
Maddie was sweating, but was as cold as ice. She was coughing and gasping for air. "Maddie, you're cold, what's wrong?" he asked. She just shook her head and began to shiver. Nick took her fragile body and held her. "It's okay, Maddie," he said. "I-I…couldn't breath," she managed to say, still breathing deeply. "How?" Nick asked. "I don't know," she said, still shivering.
"Maddie, I think you're in shock. We need to get you back to the beach quick," he said. She shook her head. "I'm fine," she said, standing up. Luckily she didn't stumble. Nick nodded. "Connor's waiting in the forest," he said.
"You left him alone?" she asked. "Well, I had to come back looking for you," he told her. She was still taking deep breaths, but smiled and nodded. "Now, can you make it?" he asked. "Of course I can," she said, a little bit on the defensive side. Nick nodded and led her back to where Connor was waiting.
"Are you okay, Maddie?" Connor asked. She smiled and nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks," she said. Nick gave her a look. "Maddie… you're not fine. Something happened and I want to know what," he said seriously.
Maddie turned to him. "I don't know!" she snapped. "Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice, but… I honestly don't know," she said, her voice frustrated. She turned and walked away about three steps and then turned back around. "I couldn't breath," she said, tears coming to her eyes. "I… I couldn't breath," she said, shaking her head. She didn't let the tears fall, but just took the lead in the journey back to the beach.