Chapter 45
Harbinger- [hahr-bin-jer] a person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; anything that foreshadows a future event
Time passed by slowly for Leah. She was in such an uncomfortable position that she couldn't fall asleep and it didn't help that she was afraid to wake up and find an arm or leg missing. It had finally become so dark that she couldn't see in front of her and somehow that comforted her a little.
A groan to her left alerted her that Embry had woken up. The boy had been tied to a tree next to her that was about a foot away. "Embry?" she whispered softly. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah." Embry replied louder than she.
Leah shushed him. "Be quiet!" she whisper-yelled. "If you haven't figured it out, we're tied to a tree because of that idiot Paul."
Embry looked in the direction of Leah's voice. "Oh no."
"Exactly. But don't worry, help is on the way." She assured him. "How is your face? You took quite the beating." She asked, worriedness slipping into her voice.
Embry ignored the pain of his swollen face and quickly flexed all of his limbs. Aside from some being asleep, he figured he was pretty good and let Leah know so. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Did Paul hurt you?"
"No." Leah replied quickly. "That disgusting cannibal said he is going to eat one us in the morning."
Embry sighed and winced at the pain it caused his face. "We can't worry about that right now. There's nothing we can do. You said someone was coming right?"
"Yes."
"Then we need to just sit tight until they do."
Leah sagged against the tree. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I am." Embry joked.
For a while, silence reigned and the two enjoyed the comfortable silence. Or at least as comfortable as being tied to a tree in the dark could be. Finally though, Embry gathered up the nerve to ask Leah something that had been on his mind since her accident that lead to amnesia.
"Leah?"
"Yeah?"
Embry drew in a deep breath. "Do you remember anything yet?"
"Unfortunately not. This whole ordeal is so confusing." She grunted.
"Oh." Embry paused and gathered his wits while crossing his fingers. "Do you like me?" Embry's question was met with stone-cold silence. He waited and for a whole minute Leah didn't speak. That minute turned into two and three and soon he wondered if she'd fallen asleep.
"Why are you asking me that?" Leah asked subdued.
"A little birdy told me you did." Embry responded. "I just wanted to know if it were true."
Leah scoffed a bit loudly then remembered to keep her voice low. "Well I don't." she told him standoffishly. "The little birdy lied and I'm going to kill it."
A weight settled into Embry's heart. "Then why did you take so long to answer?" he asked sadly.
Leah shrugged until she remembered that he couldn't see her. "I don't know. I was thinking about what could have made you ask me that."
"Oh."
"Who told you that by the way?"
"It doesn't matter." Embry replied.
"Well since you asked me that, do you like me?"
Embry thought about whether he should lie or not, and decided against it. It's not like it mattered much anymore. "I do."
"What? Really?" Leah's surprise lead way to skepticism. "Okay what's going on? Is this some prank or something?"
"No." Embry replied pensively. "I like you. I guess I should tell you the truth—"
"I lied. I do like you. And I swear that if this is a trick on your part, I am going to beat you blue."
Embry laughed lightly at the threat. "So you do like me." he stated.
"Yes. But don't you like that weirdo Cathy chick?"
Embry would have face-palmed if he had a free hand. It was like déjà vu. He decided to take the time to finally explain to Leah how things were before her amnesia including the full story of how they had become marooned on the island, how they became a couple and who he knew had died from the island.
~S.O.S~
The sun had just peeked over the horizon when Jacob made it back to the campsite. It had taken him all night to get back because it was dark and he'd gotten lost. But ultimately what had crunched his time was that he'd fallen asleep in the woods. But now awake and with the light to guide him, he ended up back at the waterfall. When he reached the camp, he found that almost everyone was awake.
"Jacob! Where have you been man?" Quil called to him from where he stood by the box that held the fruit. He picked up a papaya and walked over to Edward who was changing Emmett's makeshift bandages.
"I don't have much time to explain!" Jacob began in a rush. "But I need as many as possible to come with me right away!"
Edward looked up at Jacob and scowled. "Well I can't go, I have a patient."
"Rosalie, Felix, Alec…I really need your help with Leah and Embry."
Rosalie looked at Emmett and pushed back all of her emotions. "We'll help."
"Okay, we have to hurry! I'll brief you on the way."
After the quartet had gone, Edward continued tending to Emmett. It didn't seem like the boy had taken a drastic turn for the worst, and for that Edward was happy. But it was too soon to give Emmett a clean bill of health.
"I wonder what's going on with Embry and Leah." Quil commented. "Jacob sure was in a rush. It's too bad I can't run or else I would've joined him. I hope they're okay."
"I'm sure it's no big deal." Edward grumbled.
Quil cocked a brow at Edward. "What's with the hostility between you and Jake?"
Edward narrowed his eyes at Quil before shooting the cave he knew Bella to be sleeping in, a sad look. "Because he took something from me that I can never get back."
Quil rolled his eyes. "Dude. If you're complaining about Bella, there are other fish in the sea."
"But none like her." Edward sighed. "Leave me alone. I have to keep watch over my patients. Don't you have to go search for fruit or something else that's stupid?"
Quil took offense to that and let it be known by the mango he threw at Edward's head. It rebounded off his skull before rolling across the ground.
"OW! QUIL!" Edward shrieked in pain, rubbing the back of his head tenderly.
The boy laughed as he walked away to go search for more fruit.
After Quil had gone, Bella woke up and looked around the cave. Angela was asleep a few feet away but the boys were missing. Last night after carrying Emmett back to the camp, Bella was extremely tired and had fallen asleep soon after. But now she was worried. Did Jacob ever come back? Where was he now? She yawned and crawled out of the cave.
"Jacob?" she called out while searching the area with her eyes.
"He's not here!" Edward told her from his spot. "He took some of the others out to help Leah and Embry."
"Help them? What's going on?" Bella asked panicky. Fear slammed into her like a bulldozer and she could feel a cold sweat coming on.
Edward shrugged. "I don't know. He came in here freaking out, and then he left with Rose and Felix and Alec."
Bella began to pace for there was nothing else she could do since she didn't know where they'd gone.
~S.O.S~
Quil popped a berry into his mouth and chewed it happily. He decided to take a break from all of his fruit gathering for the group, and have a nice breakfast on the beach. His breakfast being a couple handfuls of berries and a coconut.
"Times like this isn't so bad." Quil spoke out loud to himself while taking a sip of his coconut milk. "Being here for so long, I almost can't remember what it was like to be home." Quil glanced down at his leg. He was getting much better at walking and the limp was starting to fade. "Maybe we can build a life here! Start a whole new tribe of people. We could have families…wait. All the girls are paired up…except Leah and Lauren. Ew Lauren! I am not getting stuck with that woman. And Leah is a hothead! I can't be the only one on this island without a girl!" Quil groaned in annoyance. "I don't want to be here anymore!" he threw his coconut down in frustration and wasted the rest of the milk. "This place sucks; I want to go home."
Far off in the ocean, Quil noticed something moving. At first he thought he was seeing things, so he wiped the corners of his eyes and blinked against the morning sun. But when his vision cleared, what he saw was still out there. Granted, it was so far away that he doubt he could be seen, the fact that was close enough to the island to be seen, sent excitement through his body and left him with something that had escaped weeks ago. Hope. For out there on the sea sat a boat.
A/N: Has the time come for rescue?
