Chapter 5 the hike pt. 1
"Hey what you doing?" Kendrix asked plopping down on the bench beside Leo. He looked up from his letter.
"Letter from home."
"Oh,"
"You still haven't gotten one?" He asked frowning slightly.
"Well no, my mother is probably pretty busy with work and things." Kendrix explained and found herself wondering if she was saying it more for her own benefit, so it wouldn't hurt so much that she was probably the only one there with out a single letter from her family.
"Do you think she'll come for parent day next week?" Leo asked breaking Kendrix out of her morose thoughts.
"I don't know she might not have time. It's not easy for her to be a single parent and hold down a full time professorship at the university." Kendrix reasoned and felt him nod his head although she was not looking at him.
"Hmmm," he said thoughtfully, if it was his Mom she'd fight the fates to be there for either of her sons. "Well you never know, she might make it after all." He said not wanting her to feel bad, it was too nice of a day and there was still a week, maybe she'd still send a letter.
"Yeah your right maybe." She said and he went back to his letter. She watched him as he read and saw the moment he read the line.
"So what did your folks have to say?" She asked trying not to sound like she was prying.
"Well, Mike got home from his soldier camp early because he broke his leg." Leo said and there was a pained look in his green eyes that said more than anything that he was feeling bad. It was probably guilt; he said he always had to look out for his biog bro. This time he'd not been there to do so. "And he's driving mom and Pop nuts."
"Oh, he isn't a very good patient?" She asked trying to lighten the mood a little.
"That's putting it mildly," Leo smirked a little. "He hates not being in control and he can't do much of anything right now." On that last his voice dropped and he once again looked at the letter a far away look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry." Kendrix said resting a soft hand on his shoulder. He looked at it then her and felt an odd tingling in his shoulder, right here her hand rested. She looked so sad and it mirrored how he felt minus the guilt. "I know he's very important to you." She finished and he forced a shrug.
"Hey it isn't the first time and knowing Mike it won't be the last." He said trying to sound unconcerned.
"But still." She persisted knowing she had to do something, something to make him understand. "It wasn't your fault because your not there."
"You know I think you see more than my mom," he said with a rye little smile. How had this little genius gotten so close? Most people didn't, he kept them at arms length with jokes and laughter but not Kendrix. She just had something more to her, an inner sight. It both alarmed and comforted him. He didn't understand either emotion but was very glad to have her there with him. "And she's got eagle eyes."
"Well, a friendly turtle once told me that friends stick together and when you do you I think you just learn to know moods and stuff." She reasoned as if knowing his very thoughts.
"Yeah." He said and would have thanked her but the P.A. system squawked then the morning announcements began.
"All campers interested in going on the nature hike gather at the flagpole. Campers interested in field games meet on the green, and al campers interested in arts and crafts meet outside the dining hall!" The camp director called and Kendrix had an idea how to take Leo's mind off of his problems.
"Come on." She said grabbing his arm
"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see." She said and pulled him to the flag pole where several other campers were gathered.
"A nature hike?" He frowned, why? Then he knew she liked science.
"Yep, now you just relax and I'm going to do the teaching." She said and he rolled his eyes good naturedly as a little of the old Leo returned to the surface.
"Oh no what have I gotten myself into?" He said and she socked him on the shoulder in a more she'd never done before. He just looked at her and then really did smile, she was coming along. At least if he couldn't save Mike he could be here with Kendrix.
"Oh big baby." She laughed and he made a face as several other the girls joined them.
"Hey…" He muttered as Misty smiled beguilingly at him. Oh boy this was not going to work, he mused.
***
"Ok and this is called Queen Ann's Lace." The counselor was saying but Kendrix just rolled her eyes.
"It looks like a dirty doily." One of the girls called.
"Actually it's wild carrot to be exact." Kendrix called and there were a couple mutters about know it alls and a few about big mouths. But instead of taking offense Kendrix stuck out her tongue and then when they rolled their eyes she'd grin over at Leo who was still lost in his thoughts. Great so much for that idea, she thought and then had an idea, if she could just…
The jab in her side had Kendrix staggering to one side and tripping into tree. The rough bark scratched her arm and she felt tears come to her eyes.
Looking around she saw Misty smirking back at her as the group got further and further ahead of her.
Kendrix thought of calling to the counselor but then everyone would just make fun so she decided that she'd bandage it up and be fine. She reached in her pocket for her emergency pack but found it was not there. Frowning she tired to remember if she'd brought it and realized that with Leo's news she'd completely forgotten to grab it. Oh well, she sighed and started after the group.
Leo didn't realize anything was wrong, he was thinking about the accident Mike had had. He'd been doing a mock recon mission at camp and had fallen from a tree. He had never listened to Mike when he told him he'd break his neck climbing and now thought it was kind of ironic that it was Mike who'd fallen instead of him.
"It's really too quiet out here don't you think?" Misty asked and he realized with a jolt that she was walking beside him and not Kendrix. Looking around his frown deepened, she wasn't even there. What was going on? She'd been the one to drag him there and yet…
***
Kendrix was hobbling along behind them, her ankle aching from where she'd twisted it on an unseen tree root. Still she knew she was getting further and further behind the group.
"Great," she muttered swatting at a mosquito that was flying around her head.
She really wished she could go back to camp and just lay down and this would all be a bad dream. She'd only meant to take Leo's mind off his problems but instead here she was almost completely alone and in pain.
Kendrix knew that if Leo wouldn't have any trouble in this kind of a situation, so she tried to think like him.
Well, if she were Leo she'd probably know what to do for a sprained ankle, in fact he'd probably had plenty of them himself. Closing her eyes she tried to think. Since she didn't know that she thought that if she could just get up into one of the trees maybe she'd be able to at least get the counselors attention and get them to stop. Morosely she wondered if Leo had even missed her, he'd been so deep in his thoughts…
She thought about the fact that she'd never ever even tried to climb a tree but she knew if she could go Canoeing she could do this too.
*** Leo had a bad feeling that something was really wrong, Kendlix wouldn't wonder off, she was not the type she was much to self
contained for that. No something had to have happened to her. He thought about calling to the counselor but knowing this one
she'd be much help. Then there was Misty, she'd i idlly mkved in beside him like nothing was amiss.
He stepped on his shoelace and thus untied it giving himself a valid reason to stop. Noone even really noticed even Misty who ran to catch up with her friends.
Once he'd gotten behind it was easy to backtrack.
***
Kendrix spaatted a giant rock not far from a tree and stepped towards it and hoped her ankle could hold her. She rested a knee on it and was standing on it a minute later. She lifted her hands and couldn't quite reach the branch. Lowering her
arms she tried to think, if she jumped she might; able to grab it or she could fall and get hurt worse.
Glancing around she couldn't sea any other way so she did what Leo would do. Once again she extended her arms and went into a croutch.
"1," she took a dep breath. "2," she preyed this would work. "3!" And she was air born. It felt as if she was moving in slow motion. Then she felt it and clamped her hand around the branch. She tried for the second but missed.
TBC
***
Well? Ok, It's not the best cliff hanger but it got the job done. So let me know what you think Plz.