Thank you all for the kind reviews!

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine… but Charlie is still hot.

I'm sorry for how lengthy and boring this chapter is guys! I assure you that I am just preparing for the action… I gotta get 'em lost first, you know?

Chapter Two

They walked clumsily through dead leaves and old sticks. The night time crickets now replaced with the songs of various birds. Massive trees shot up into the sky with branches that didn't start popping out until half way up their trunks, provided shade for the men and for that, Charlie was grateful. Despite the cooler weather, he was sure they'd end up getting hot from their hike.

They had woken up and got some breakfast in a local diner, then with high spirits, headed out into the world for their adventure. They drove for hours down all sorts of dirt roads to ensure that they'd be alone and the outcome was wonderful. Not a soul was seen and that was exactly how Charlie wanted it. If this trip wasn't fun, it would at least be good exercise and provide some memorable conversations with his friend.

"Uh oh, I know that look. Don't you dare think of leaving me," Larry said, keeping an average pace through the thick foliage of the woods.

"What look?" Charlie asked, grinning at the older man.

"You know what look I am talking about and if you will just refrain from it, it will be greatly appreciated." He answered, stepping awkwardly over a tree limb on the ground. An uncomfortable silence followed Larry's warnings and Charlie drove himself back into his thoughts.

He knew what look Larry was talking about, Don had pointed it out many times in the past when Charlie would be thinking about his math at dinner, or a bully during class. The thought of Don caused him to frown. He'd forgotten about the fight they had up until now.

"Shouldn't we be dropping bread crumbs or tying little knots on tree trunks?" Larry asked, startling Charlie. They had been walking for about a half hour and Charlie didn't even think about what would happen if they got lost. With a little bit of worry in his mind, he pulled out his cell phone and wasn't surprised to see there was no reception.

"I'm sure if we just keep walking straight, we won't get lost." He said, putting his cell phone back into his pocket and taking a quick rest against a tree. Larry stopped too, but he was far from tired. His eyes gleamed and Charlie had to smile, Larry was having fun. "Think it would be a good experience to get lost, huh?" Charlie asked, looking up and covering his eyes against the harsh glare of the sun through the leaves.

"A good experience? No, but it surely would not be boring." Larry answered, smiling back.

"Maybe we'll come back and get lost tomorrow. As for right now, I think we'd better stay on track Mr. Adventure." Charlie chuckled, liking the sound of the name. "That's it. That will be your forest name: Mr. Chet Adventure." Larry only looked confused.

"Chet?" He asked, resuming walking with Charlie close at his back.

"Catchy," Charlie replied, finding his way up to be next to Larry.

"I think I'll continue calling you your name, if you don't mind." Larry feigned seriousness, but Charlie only laughed and patted him on the back. "I'll race you to that tree up there." He said, pointing wildly into the distance and leaping into a fast paced jog through the forest.

"Which one?" Larry asked, pushing forward in a hesitative run, unsure of where he was going. Charlie weaved through trees and weeds, jumping over even the smallest branches.

"That one!" He shouted in answer, already a great deal ahead of his friend. He laughed, wondering how long it would take Larry to realize that there was no goal to their running. Suddenly Charlie took a bed step and hooked his foot under a tree root. The world jumped from under him and he went face first into the ground. He would've been embarrassed if not for what caught his eyes.

In front of him was a large pool of blood. Most of it was dried up and caked all over the grass, but some of it still was fresh looking. He quickly pushed himself onto his knees and then completely up. Larry caught up then.

"This tree?" He asked, out of breath. He paled when his eyes dropped to the blood. For about five minutes, the sounds of birds and the wind through the trees dominated.

"Maybe it's deer blood," Larry spoke up, not taking his eyes off of it, but scratching the back of his head in contemplation.

"What's big enough to kill a deer?" Charlie asked, trying not to be frightened.

"A bear," Larry replied. Another long silence. Charlie couldn't help but think of what his father's latest girlfriend had said. "I don't think a bear will attack us unless we bother it." He said, catching Charlie's distressed look.

"You're thinking of bees," Charlie corrected, walking around the blood and wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Maybe he shouldn't of dressed so heavily. He wore a dark gray hoody and jeans, while Larry wore a pair of worn brown pants with a button up short-sleeved shirt. Though, he figured it was alright to discard the sweatshirt if necessary.

"Er..." Larry mumbled, following Charlie around the blood. "Then maybe it's more afraid of us then we are of it?"

"I think that's goes for mostly everything but bears and I seriously doubt that a 400 pound animal with razor sharp claws is going to be afraid of two mathematicians walking through the wilderness." Charlie said, walking away and trying to forget what they had seen. He wanted so bad to just not have to worry about anything.

"Maybe that's so, but I read in a magazine once that bears are attracted by food, Charles." Larry said, proud of his knowledge and holding up a finger while making his point. Charlie didn't look back, but kept walking. Larry stayed about four or five feet behind the younger man.

"Yes, but wouldn't you say a bear would have a spectacular time eating us... for food?" Charlie almost shouted the last part out and quickened his pace. The silence from earlier came back and their conversation ceased. The sun was now high in the sky as they walked on. The brisk morning air was gone and in its place was a noon-day heat that forced Charlie to remove his sweatshirt and stuff it into his bag. He was wearing a navy blue tee shirt under it.

Larry had caught up by now, and another ten minutes passed before anyone hazard to talk.

"I'd assume we'd be pretty boney..." Larry mused, bringing a hand up to his chin.

"What?" Charlie asked, caught off guard by his friend's words. He couldn't still be talking about their previous subject, could he? Whatever Larry was talking about was silenced as they came to an enormous river. The water was shallow and quick. It sparkled with cleanliness and Charlie could see fish swimming in place. It was something out of a movie, or magazine... a dream. "I bet ya' if we go a little way down we can find a good place to go swimming." Charlie stated with excitement in his voice. He looked to the left and then to the right, trying to think of which way may lead to a deeper area.

"Swimming?" Larry asked, following Charlie as the younger man took the left - the way the water was flowing. "I don't think we discussed swimming when we were planning on coming here." He said, but Charlie knew that Larry just didn't like the idea of getting into the freezing water.

"Just because it wasn't in the package doesn't mean we can't do it." Charlie chuckled but stopped quickly, his smile fading. Larry almost ran into him, but stopped just short of his back.

"Something wrong?" His friend asked, taking a step to his side to get a good look at Charlie's face. Charlie only gazed at the sky knowing that it would only take a few seconds for Larry to also notice the dark clouds appearing all over. Rain was coming. It normally would not have bothered Charlie so much, but being in a strange place was unnerving. Adding thunder and lightning to the plan wouldn't help at all. He heard Larry take a deep breath from beside him and assumed that the older man had spotted what he was looking at. "Today is just not our day," He said plainly while scratching at the back of his head.

Charlie kept his mouth shut. He didn't know what to say so he stood biting the side of his cheek. He could only hope that the storm would blow right over them. "Maybe it will pass," He said, beginning a slow walk. Charlie sensed Larry's nod and heard his friend start walking too.

They barely got a quarter mile down the river when the rain started to come down hard. They were soaked in a matter of seconds.

"I've never seen it rain so much!" He shouted to Larry, his voice being drown out in the sudden gusts of furious winds. He put a protective arm up to shield his eyes from the painful drops of rain and looked to the river. "We have to get away from the river!" He added, hoping Larry would be able to hear him. The water was already becoming murky and less like the dream he'd seen earlier.

Charlie made a hard left into the woods and looked back to make sure his friend was following. He was and Larry had an understanding look on his face. Good, Charlie thought. Larry heard me.

He wasn't sure how long they'd been walking, and he didn't care. His whole body trembled with cold and he wrapped his arms tight around himself. The temperature had dropped drastically and he would dig through his bag for the sweatshirt he had discarded earlier, but his fingers were numb with cold. He continued on though, slightly ahead of Larry, but not too far. The world was quiet to him, no noises of birds or even the pounding rain. His cold body barely registered that he was still moving.

The ground under his feet was squishy and slippery and he slipped on more than a few occasions, but again his feet moved without his mind as if they were separate. The mood around him seemed to change for a second. Larry was saying something, he was sure of it, but he ignored him. A hand grasped on his shoulder tightly, but before he could react, the ground fell away from in front of him. In that instant, the world was un-muted and Larry's desperate cry filled his ears.

The ground in front of him was a slope, a mountain and Larry was tumbling down it. Where had it come from? How did Larry manage to get in front of him? The ground again slipped from under him causing his body to tip back. He hit the ground but shot up in an instant, but it was too late. Larry hit the ground and lay motionless on an earthy bed of leaves and mud. He didn't waste a moment and started to slide quickly down the hill toward his friend.

His hand slid over rocks and pointy sticks, but he ignored the sensation. Finally he reached the bottom which had only been twenty feet away, but Charlie was sure Larry was badly hurt. After all, twenty feet was a lot to fall.

"Larry," He called in a short whisper, afraid to touch him. His hands trembled as he held them in place. "I'm so sorry." He choked out, not sure if he was crying or if it was the rain. Checking for a pulse and sighing in relief when he found one, Charlie forgot about how cold he was and rested his hand on Larry's shoulder. He still was not sure how Larry had gotten in front of him or even where the dangerous slope of land had come from, but it was obvious that Larry has seen it and tried to stop him. Larry saved his life.

Charlie studied the older man's face, noting the watery blood that started to drip from his hairline. They needed somewhere to duck the rest of the storm out. There were rocks ahead of them, but nothing large enough to shelter them.

"Larry," He whispered, his voice hoarse, but the man did not stir. It was useless. He was on his own for this part and it scared him. Thunder roared through the sky and he stood up. The slope they were in was starting to fill with water! It dripped from all sides and from some parts was coming down in small waterfalls. This was not good. He wasn't sure if he could even get himself up it let alone him and Larry.

He brought his hand to wipe some of the water from his eyes and gasped when he saw blood on them. He looked to Larry but saw no wounds on the shoulder that he touched. That could only mean that it was... his blood. He held his hands up so the rain could hit them and felt a painful stinging. Great.

He walked around the small bowl of land and found what he could only assume was a good place to climb back up. The ground was too slippery and shifty. He knew that the second he managed to carry Larry over to here the ground would just keep sliding out from underneath him. He tested it again, climbing about a quarter of the way up before the ground caved in and he slid on all fours back to the ground. By now he was covered in mud.

A loud rushing noise in the distance filled his ears and he turned to see more water falling from the other side of the slope. There was no way the river could already be that deep, but he couldn't stand by and debate it. Now with the additional water coming in, there was even less time to find a way up. He jogged over to Larry and did his best to left the man over his shoulder.

With a grunt he managed to get over to the side, but fell to his knees there. He wasn't strong enough for this. Unable to give up, he shifted Larry onto the ground and contemplated a better way of holding him.

"I can't to this!" He shouted out knowing that no one could hear him. It felt good to be able to vent out his frustrations, so with one big breath he screamed. When he was done his throat hurt and his chest heaved, but he felt so much better. Charlie bent down to his friend and pulled Larry's arms over his shoulder so that Larry would be on his back. He crossed Larry's arms and with numb hands dug through his bag for their rope.

Once he found it he tied it around Larry's forearm and stood up. It was hard to move with so much weight and he was forced into a hunched position, but a little hope stabbed at his heart when he took a step and didn't lose his balance. The muddy water swelled around his ankles, but he ignored it.

He began to climb through the wall, using his hands, knees, feet, and anything else that would help. The rushing across from him became louder and he stole a glance over. From his position he could see that a small river was flowing directly into it. More water gushed over and it began rising faster. Feeling panicked he took a hasty step and fell a few feet back. Dirt dug into his nails as he clung to the wall trying to avoid falling any further.

He wished Don was there. He wished his older brother would come to the rescue just as he had used to do when they were younger, but he knew that there was no Don where he was, so he kept climbing. Hand after hand and foot after foot until finally he was able to grasp the side of the slope. A run-off of water greeted him by slamming into his face.

Charlie sputtered for breath but was unable to keep any grip on the muddy ground. He fell.

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Whoa! Rocked that one out. Go Charlie, we know you have the strength within you! Lol. Again, sorry for how long that was. Reviews and suggestions would be nice! Thanks!