Keys: Of course I did! I love cliffhangers!
JG: One of your personal fav's, eh? Yeah…well…that doesn't mean much coming from you. ducks as you throw a frying pan at me Ok! Ok! Chill out! And, no, I am NOT going to bite you.
Liz: Thank you very much. And I promise that it'll be finished. I don't like reading or writing unfinished stories either. I think it's unfair.
Bunny: What can I say? I love drama (obviously). Haha. Anyway, thanks for the review!
Tracey: Thank you so much. I'm glad my efforts haven't gone to waste. Haha. Just one more chapter and then you'll be free!
IshTara: Trust me, it'll be ended. Like I told, Liz, I hate unfinished stories, too. If the author isn't going to finish a story then he or she should at least take it off the site.
MedStudent: No worries. No more cliffhangers. And only one more chapter! Yippie!
Chapter Eleven
Escape
PART TWO
Once the earth had finally settled and the dust cleared, Roxton lifted his head and glanced around the dark cave. A sliver of light squeezed its way through the pile of rocks, illuminating the room just enough for Roxton to make out shadowy forms. Underneath him, Marguerite grunted and rolled him off, grumbling: "Do you mind? A woman does need to breathe, you know."
Roxton crawled hesitantly to his feet and wobbled over to their blockade. He examined the pile, shaking a few stones here and there, the ones around them rattling in the process. He glanced back at Marguerite and snapped: "Sit down!"
The heiress scowled. "Don't boss me around!"
"Damn it, Marguerite, your leg!"
She rolled her eyes and continued to stagger her way over. "Forget my leg! At the rate this day is going we're as good as dead anyway! This has been the worst day of my life! I don't see how it could possibly get any worse," she ranted. "Death wouldn't be the final punishment…it would be our release!"
Roxton laughed, shaking his head. "Marguerite, it hasn't been…"
"What," she shrieked, throwing her hands up. "That bad? Were you going to say 'that bad'? Because, guess what, Roxton, it has been that bad!"
"Marguerite, your bellyaching isn't going to change a thing. These rocks aren't too heavy and they're not that many. I can dig our way out. Now would you please go sit down! You might be spreading the infection."
"What infection," she cried. "There is no infection! If there it had been a venomous snake then you must've gotten all the poison out when you sucked my blood."
Roxton chuckled. "I'm not a vampire, Marguerite. I was sucking the poison out."
"I know that, Roxton." She wrapped her fingers around a stone and tugged.
"Mar-guer-ite," he half-scolded, half-whined.
"Roxton, I'm not in the mood. Don't push me. I'm going to help dig us out of here. It will be the highlight of my lousy day."
PART TWO
Within two hours, they had a large enough hole to climb through. Roxton stepped out into the night and then turned around and helped Marguerite. "Maybe we should wait here until daylight," he said.
Marguerite shook her head. "No way. I am through. We are heading back home and that's that."
"Marguerite, we're not even sure where home is."
"Who cares," she retorted, frustrated. "If I get eaten by a raptor then it'll only be the perfect ending of a perfect day."
"It's night, Marguerite."
"Whatever! The sky may be dark, but our day doesn't seem to be ending!" In a huff, Marguerite began to march away.
Roxton growled and ran after her. "Marguerite, it'll be daylight in a few hours…"
"Forget it, John. I'm going back to the tree house. Or I will die trying."
"God, you're so infuriating!"
They trekked through the dangerous terrain silently; heading in what they could only presume was at least the right direction.
As the sun began to make its appearance, the jungle was cascaded in a haze of oranges and reds. If their circumstance wasn't so dire then Roxton may have been able to talk Marguerite into admiring the sunrise, but he knew that even mentioning it would be suicide.
A noise suddenly caught Roxton's attention and he placed his hand on Marguerite's arm. "I think we've got company," he whispered, yearning for the comfort of his rifle.
"Where?"
"Just ahead of us."
"What should we do?"
"Get out of its way," he said matter-of-factly, pulling her off to the side. He looked over in time to see a flash of white disappearing around a tree.
End Chapter Eleven