Author's Note: Okay, I might as well tell you that you'll find out about the cliffhanger from the last chapter later. Please don't hurt me!

Oh yeah, GUESS WHAT! I came up with an idea for a sequel. Pretty cool, huh?

Chapter Twenty - Sharp Sticks and Blunt Words

As Eric opened the hatch to the water truck, I looked out over the trees, up into the now clear sky, and saw the radiant colors of a sunset.

I smiled and reached out to grab Eric and make him look, but he got me first and pulled me into the truck, swinging me down onto the bed and turning the lamp on.

"ERIC!" I exclaimed. "I was looking at the sunset, you dork!"

He just gave me a cold stare and began emptying his bag.

I furrowed my brow, hoping that Eric was just playing around and showing off his good acting skills, but I had a feeling he wasn't. To take my mind off the hard look he had just given to me, I took the rope off my shoulder from where it had been slung and pulled my long stick thingy onto my lap. "Do you have a knife for me to cut … junk with?" I asked Eric.

"No," he said shortly, still going through his 'collection'.

I sighed, and began to tie the rope around the stick. Well, it was more some sort of thick twine, but rope was pretty much just the same. I tied it in a tight knot on one end or the branch and forcefully pulled it to the other, making the stick bend in a large arch to look, and perform more like a bow. I tied the other end of the twine on the stick and grabbed the bandage on my arm, pulling it off. The skin underneath instantly cooled as the air hit the sweaty skin. Even though the gash on my arm had been bad, it looked better.

I took the bandage and rapped it around the twine in the middle, tying it tightly. It was a good place to protect my hand from the rope, which could be sharp at times.

I lifted my new bow up and practiced pulling it back. It wasn't professional, that's for sure, but it was better than anything else.

"I'm going to need some arrows," I said to myself, knowing very well that Eric wouldn't be interested.

A few minutes later, a "new" tin of beans had been forced into my hands, along with my spoon. "Eat quickly," Eric said. "We're wasting battery."

I obeyed and five minutes later, the lamp was turned off and we were settling into our beds. Eric had the floor this night. Maybe that's what was bothering him. But it had never bothered him before…

I was running through the forest, a dense fog pressing in on all sides. The foliage was so thick I could hardly squeeze my way through it. I wasn't sure what I was running from, but I knew that I had to keep going. The fog seemed to get thicker and thicker as I ran until I could hardly see my hand if I waved it two inches away from my nose. Panting heavily, I stopped in my tracks and cried out, "Help! Someone! Anyone! Help!"

"Lane! Shut up!" I heard distantly.

I opened my eyes quickly. It had been a dream. Nothing but a dream. Eric was standing over me, his brown hair sticking out all over the place. It looked rather comical, but his face didn't. It looked stern and unfeeling. Even his eyes seemed kind of empty. But the one thing that I had not been able to interpret the other day, the thing that had been hidden well, deep within his eyes, but not enough, still seemed to be there, and it seemed to be stronger. "Shut up!" he said. "You're going to attract something!"

"Sorry," I mumbled, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. Eric's bed things had been cleared away, but this hardly made the box-covered, rusty piece of junk seem any cleaner. The hatch was open, letting in a steady stream of light.

Eric pulled the blankets off the bed and stuffed them in the back of the water truck, then came back out, sighing and crossing his arms over his chest.

I grinned broadly when I saw how funny his hair looked. Sticking out all over the place, it reminded me of how 'Harry Potter's' hair was supposed to look … only black. I reached out my hand and tried to brush a clump down that looked oddly like a horn.

Eric's eyes lit up, but a mask quickly came back over them and he shook my hand off. He combed his fingers hurriedly through his hair and walked over to the hatch. "Bring your bow. We have to make some arrows today or else the stupid thing will be worthless."

I picked the bow up off the floor, slung it over my shoulder, and followed Eric out of the truck. Somehow, I had a feeling that today wasn't going to go over too well.

I slowly sharpened a long, thin stick on the sharp edge of a rock while watching Eric do the same … only he was going fast. His pile of newly made arrows was probably three times the size of mine, but he didn't urge me to go any faster. In fact, Eric had hardly even spoken to me since the morning. I could probably count the words he had said. It was kind of depressing and perplexing. Why was Eric so … distant? It almost seemed like he was avoiding me, like he was mad at me … or something. Maybe he was mad at me for watching him in the hot springs the other night? No … that couldn't be it … could it?

And then there was the fact that he had never asked me what kind of dinosaur had eaten Hannah. I mean; it was hard to think about her, yes; for me at least. But I wouldn't think it would affect Eric this badly. I was putting on a good show and masking my feelings. Why couldn't he? He didn't know her nearly as well. Had he liked her? That was a possibility. But did he think that it was my fault?

I looked over at him. It looked as though he was trying to take his feelings out on the poor sticks. It only took him about ten seconds to make an arrow, one that would pierce your skin easily, and even more if you shot it from the bow.

He hadn't acted anything like this the day before. He had acted almost … almost affectionate. Why would he be acting like this?

I sighed and slumped down on the ground, letting my unfinished arrow balance for a few seconds on one end before it fell onto the stack of my finished arrows. Eric glanced over at me, stopping on his own arrow for a second. "I'm hot," I explained, wiping the back of my hand across my forehead.

It really was rather hot outside, even in the shade. I couldn't believe how humid it was. It felt as though the air was pressing in on me from all sides. I could feel the beads of sweat rolling down my body in nearly every place imaginable. Funny thing, sweat is. It's supposed to make you cooler, but at this time in my life, it only seemed to be adding to my body temperature. There was not a breeze in the air, and on the rare occasion that there was, it was very warm and not in the least bit refreshing. What I would give for a safe place to go swimming in a nice cool pool and have some ice-cold lemonade to sip on.

I let my head fall onto my knees and looked down at my skirt. Yesterday, it had looked almost clean. I mean, you could tell that it wasn't; the white looked a bit … off white. But already, it was beginning to get dirt smudged all over it. I guess there was just no way you were going to keep anything clean here.

I sat there for a long time, finally drifting off into a doze. I mean, I was sleeping … in a way; but I also wasn't sleeping. You know? All the while, I was waiting for Eric to come shake me awake and tell me to get back to work, or wrap his arms around me and we'd just sit there, him thinking this was about Hannah. But he didn't. In fact, he didn't come up to me until late in the afternoon when he needed my help filling the sacks with the arrows.

Author's Note: Okay, sorry this was so short and everything, but I know what I'm going to write in the next chapter … mostly. Again, sorry that you didn't find out who … or what… was watching Eric from the last chapter, but you probably will in the next one.

Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys are fantastic. Without you, I don't think I would have gotten this far in the story. Mahalo! (That means 'thank you' in Hawaiian, for those who wanted to know.)

PLEASE REVIEW!

Lauren To answer your question, no, I have not seen TREVOR MORGAN with his shirt off … but I've seen Eric. Oh my GOSH I'm kidding. Man, what do you take me for? I'm just developing my character, here. Besides, my reviewers … or some of them … seem to like this mushy junk.

The Elfin Child Sorry, but I'm not going to tell you if it was Tina or not. But, yes, I would shake my fist at her as well. And as my sister, you've got to wait like ALL the other pretty little reviewers to see if they're going to end up "together".

Shooting Star Yup, it was the most romantic. Might stay that way, too. Hey, I said MIGHT people! Gosh, get all mad at me for saying something like that. Who do you think you are? My … sorry, sorry. I'll stop now. Oh, yeah, you're welcome for the Trevor Morgan pic. They were askin for it, so I sent it. -shrugs-

Jack Kelly's Lady YAY! -cheers loudly- ANOTHER HOMESCHOOLER! I like you. Ok, A-CRAT THEN! Golly. Am I EVER going to get this right? But, A-crat makes sense.

Morning Sunrise ERROR. NO MESSAGE WAS LEFT FOR THIS REVIEWER, DUE TO COMMENT ABOUT LAST CHAPTER BEING SICK AND FORGETTING THE AUTHORS NAME. SHAME ON YOU!

Antiope COOL! Can I wiggle my eyebrows with you? … YES! -wiggles eyebrows- WEEEEEE! That was fun! Uh … you'll just have to drive yourself crazy some more, then, cuz you aren't finding out yet.

SWJPanimefreak I CURSED? WHERE! -mouth hangs open in silent scream- … Wow … did I sound paranoid or what? Or … um … never mind.

Mione Malfoy Wow. That was deep. … Just kidding. Thanks for reviewing!