AN: As always, this chapter is dedicated to everyone who's ever read, reviewed, favorited, or added this story to their alerts. You guys are the best!
SapphireJKH, aww, thanks so much for your compliment. I'm happy you like it. And trust me, there's more on the way...
iLuvNiCk4EveR, is this update soon enough? I want chocolate chip cookies, btw. Please and thank you :-) (but only if I get them...if not, I'll make Nick come and get some from you, 'cuz I know you can't say no to Nick ;-). And then I can get some from him...unless Joe and Frankie take them all first. I wonder if Nick makes good chocolate chip cookies...)
Disclaimer – I really wish I owned the JB. I mean…Connect 3. Or maybe Disney Channel. Because then, some of those stars wouldn't be on there. HA HA! And the JB would be the biggest stars on there (besides a few others, of course).
Previously:
"OK, so here's the plan again," Nate said, huddling with everyone. "We need to spread out, check all the places we know Liz would be at. OK, Jason, you search by the birdhouses. Mitchie, you search the place Shane first heard you playing, and I'll check the practice rooms."
"What about me?" Shane wondered aloud.
"Shane, you look where Liz thinks no one will find her…The surrounding areas," Nate concluded, looking smart. "She'll think that we'll look for her somewhere at camp, because we'll think that she's somewhere close by, staying hidden. But we'd never think to look out there." He pointed out the window, past the camp's boundaries.
"Yeah!" Shane looked excited. "And for that, we'll need Uncle Brown's help."
"Let's go tell him what we think, and see what he says," Mitchie offered, and Nate agreed.
"I just hope Liz is OK," Jason said sadly, as Caitlyn put an arm around him reassuringly.
As soon as they went to the theater, Brown looked up at them, his mouth forming a grim line.
"Sir, we have a plan," Nate got immediately to the point.
"Now that's real music to my ears," Brown quipped. "Well, get on with it..."
Shane proceeded to tell Brown what they decided, and Brown agreed.
"Let's find Liz, shall we?" Brown said, noticing Jason's determined look.
"YEAH!" Jason yelled, looking surprised when everyone stared at him. "I mean…To…" Jason looked lost for a second, then continued. "…wherever Liz is!"
"YEAH!" Shane yelled enthusiastically. Everyone yelled "YEAH!" as well, then they went off to their destinations.
Meanwhile…
Liz shivered as she pulled her jacket more tightly around her. The wind was picking up, and she had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the clouds gathering above her and growing darker by the minute.
The sky had turned from a clear blue into a dark, almost black color, blocking out the sun. Rumbles rocked Liz out of her thoughts, and she shuddered, both from the cold wind and the memories it brought back.
Suddenly, the clouds broke forth and it began to drizzle lightly.
"Just great," Liz mumbled, pulling her jacket slightly over her head. The storm that was brewing resembled exactly what she was feeling. She was caught In the rain, and she had nowhere to go.
Pretty soon, the drizzle turned into rain, and the rain into a heavy downpour.
Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning, and then the thunder rumbled loudly.
"Just ignore it," Liz said to herself, trying not to be afraid. She thought back to the times when she was little, and there was a storm at night. She remembered laying huddled in her bed, trying to ignore the flashes of lightning and loud crashes that would wake her from her sleep, the tree branches tapping her window, and remembering her screaming and running to her parents' room, where they would make a place for her to stay between them. And once she'd crawled between her parents, then and only then would she feel safe, like the storm couldn't hurt her anymore, and she'd fall asleep in minutes.
Liz stumbled toward the edge of the forest, and soon was out of the line of vision of the camp.
Liz brushed the thick branches out of the way so she wouldn't get scratched.
A loud flash of lightning lit up the sky, and a moment later, a deafening clap of thunder rang out.
Liz screamed and began to shake in fright. She froze as she heard another nerve-wracking boom. She ran towards the biggest tree she could see, even though the rain was falling in her eyes, and she tried to catch her breath as soon as she reached it.
Moments later, she sat down, hugging her legs to her chest.
She watched as the storm raged on, and the wind shrieked through the trees. The branches smashed into each other, and the rain continued to fall in dismal gray torrents from the sky. Again, the lightning flashed and a blinding bolt struck the tree she was taking cover under.
"Noooo!!!!" Liz leapt to her feet and tried to avoid the tree falling towards her. But she was too late. Liz screamed as the tree fell toward her, knocking her hard into the ground, where she lay still.
Chapter 21
"All right, everyone," Brown said, once he and his group had assembled at their spot minutes later. They'd gone back to their cabins and put their raincoats and boots on. "You know the plan. Now let's go and find Liz before this blasted storm gets any worse."
"Yeah," Shane grumbled. "This rain is gonna ruin my hair…I don't know how long my hairspray will last in this humidity…"
"Girl!" Caitlyn pretended to cough, and Shane glared at her, but stayed silent, knowing his uncle would break up their argument immediately.
"Excuse me," a woman's voice called out. Brown looked up, and saw a couple running towards them.
"Yes? May I help you?" Brown said, once they'd reached him.
"Are you Brown Cesario?" The woman asked politely, catching her breath.
"The one and only," Brown said, making an exaggerated bow. "And you are?"
"We're Elizabeth Bell's parents," The man said. "We'd like to speak to her."
"You're her parents?" Jason cut in.
"Oh no, here comes the flood," Nate mumbled.
"Nate!" Shane hissed. "Stop him before he…"
"I got it!" Nate hissed back, just as Jason burst into tears. "Or maybe not."
"WAAAA!!!!" Jason started sobbing loudly, as Mitchie and Caitlyn hugged him so tight he couldn't cry.
"What's wrong with him?" Mr. Bell wondered.
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all," Brown said, trying to change the subject. "Very emotional, that boy. Doesn't like storms."
"I see…" Mr. Bell said slowly, looking confused.
"Where's Liz?" Mrs. Bell demanded.
"You see, Liz is…" Brown said, not knowing how to handle the situation delicately.
"OUT THERE!" Jason pointed, breaking away from Mitchie and Caitlyn, who had tried to clamp their hands over his mouth and hold him still. "SHE'S GONE!!!!" He promptly started sobbing again.
"You mean, our Liz is out there?" Mr. Bell said, his expression turning from amazement to anger to irritation and back to anger. "What are you waiting for? Why don't you go find her? And why is that boy crying over our daughter?"
"I can explain," Shane said, trying to be helpful. But they ignored him.
"LIZ!!!!" Mrs. Bell shrieked, starting to cry herself. Then she got angry. "How dare you let Liz wander off on her own! What kind of camp director are you? FIND HER THIS INSTANT!" She launched herself at Brown, hitting him with all the strength she had.
"With all apologies, madam," Brown winced as Mrs. Bell attacked him relentlessly. Mr. Bell tried to hold his wife back, with no success.
"Get…Liz…back…this…instant!" Mrs. Bell screamed, whacking Brown harder and harder each time.
"Boys…a little help here…" Brown hissed, as Shane and Nate wrenched her off him.
"Don't worry, ma'am," Nate said cautiously, looking very scared. Mrs. Bell stopped and stared at him, looking like she was about to pounce on him too. "Brown was just about to lead a search party for her. We'll find your daughter. Brown knows this place like the back of his hand."
"Yeah, my uncle's been here for years. He can find anything in his sleep," Shane added. Nate looked at him doubtfully.
"That's right!" Caitlyn said. "There was this one time…"
"Caitlyn…" Nate said, getting Caitlyn back on track.
"Right. Oops!" Caitlyn smiled sheepishly.
"Come on, let's go," Brown commanded, walking towards the forest surrounding the camp. "The rest of the campers are looking inside the camp, so we'll start searching over here..."
Meanwhile…
Liz stirred, moaning as pain shot through her. She lay still, opening her eyes slowly as raindrops fell on her. She made no move to wipe them away, even though they were falling fast and steady on her face. She was pinned under the tree still, and couldn't push it off her.
Weakly, she moaned aloud, her voice but a whisper in the wind. "Help…me…Please…someone…anyone…help…me…" Liz breathed out, her voice carried away before it was heard.
Liz's heart broke as she realized no one was around to hear her, and she murmured, "Jason...please help me! I need you..." before she slowly drifted off into unconsciousness again.
AN: NOOOO!!!! Will Liz be OK? Will Jason and her parents and friends find her? What happens next? Stay tuned…
Poll: I want to change my username, but I can't think of any good ones. Do you have any suggestions? The more, the better! Just one rule…it can't be too "out there". But I'm pretty much open to anything. Even something like "pleasereviewmystories" (*hint, hint* ;-). )