How awsome is it that I'm updating twice in a 24 hour period? I'm spoiling you all :)
Just so you all know, there will be 2 more chapters after this one. Then it's off to outline the sequel to "Say What You Mean", entitled "Destination: Beautiful" (after a Mae song lyric, of course!) Yup, I'm definitely going to write it.
Ok, off to type while listening to The Academy Is...
Disclaimer: I don't own TSL. I do wish, however, that I owned William Beckett, the lead singer of The Academy Is...
Chapter 11
John and Carey were following the path with the boys' footprints for about an hour before noticing the shack up ahead. This caused John to stop.
"Why are we stopping?" Carey asked, turning to John when she noticed he had stopped walking.
John just stared at the shack absentmindedly, off in his own little world.
"John? Hello?" Carey said, waving her hand in front of his face. Suddenly he snapped back to reality, shaking his head.
"Oh..sorry," he said, taking one last look at the house and turning back to the ground. "Look here," he said, pointing to the footprints in the dirt path. Carey walked over, careful not to upset the prints, still worried about John.
"They started running here," he pointed out, walking swiftly. Carey, along with George, the other officer, walked in sync with him. He led them up to the door of the shack. "They probably beat on the door to see if anyone was inside. Oh, no one has lived here for years..." John said, noticing Carey reaching for the door handle. She looked at him.
"Ok, now what? she asked impatiently. She didn't want to wait around while her boys could be struggling for their lives.
"They went this way," John said, pointing towards another path that attached onto the one that ran to the front of the house. There were a few more footprints.
"So?" Carey asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. John, not paying attention, walked over to George.
"Tell everyone to start heading southeast, towards the river. They're not dumb kids, and once they find the river, I'm sure they'll follow it," he said, as Carey was listening intently to his every word.
"Is it a good thing that they're by the river, John?" Carey asked cautiously.
"The river eventually hits the ocean. If they stay with it, and follow it downstream, they'll hit it, too. It's a big river that winds around the woods, though, so it might take them a while. But from how you described your boys, I'm sure they'll have the sense to stay near the water..I just hope they don't stay too close..." John said, whispering the last sentence and staring into space again.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Carey asked, feeling worried. John seemed to be acting erratic to her.
John shot his head up again. "No, I'm fine. Let's keep walking," he said absently, his mind obviously elsewhere.
"Awww, crap," John said suddenly. Carey didn't need him to explain what he was upset about, however. She saw it, too. The path, though still slightly visible, turned into mostly sticks and grass, so the footprints were no longer an aide. She wore a pained expression on her face, which John noticed.
"It's ok, Carey. We're gonna head down to the river, anyway, which, I'm sure that's where they are," he said confidently. Carey closed her eyes and nodded, though she still felt sick. She looked around at all the people who were out there, trying to find her boys, and prayed.
An hour later...
They had been walking for a while before George, who was behind them, shouted, "Ay, John! What's that up there?" Carey craned her neck above John's head and saw something lying on the ground up ahead. A wave of nausea flowed through her body as she took off towards the object.
"Wait, Carey!" John yelled, running after her.
Carey knelt down and picked up what was lying on the ground. Her heart skipped. John ran up to her and looked at what she was holding. "It's Cody's backpack," Carey choked, hugging it tightly to her chest.
"Carey, this doesn't mean..." John started, but Carey cut him off, on the verge of hysterics.
"He would never leave it sitting here! Something happened! What if something happened?" she cried, never letting go of the backpack. One of the volunteers came over and wrapped her arms around Carey.
"Come here, sweetie. Let's calm down for a moment," the lady said, guiding Carey to a rock.
John and George scanned the area for a few minutes before John stumbled upon the animal trap that Cody had fallen into.
"I think one of the boys may have fallen into the trap. See that branch?" he said, pointing out the branch that Zack had used to pull Cody out of the hole with. "They might have been too hurt to carry the backpack and left it here," John said quietly. He didn't know that Carey was listening to his conversation. She swooned where she was sitting.
"We're going to have to stop for the night, George, it's getting too late. It won't be safe out here after dark," John added, trying to keep his voice low. However, it wasn't low enough, because Carey stormed over to where he was standing and started freaking out.
"We're not stopping! You just said they might be hurt, and you want to stop? My boys are still out there, and I'm not leaving until I find them!" she yelled, dropping the backpack to the ground and clenching her fists.
John, realizing Carey had overheard what he was said, tried to calm her down by explaining himself. "Carey, it's getting dark and the search won't be as effective..." he began.
"NO! We can't stop now!" she said, shaking her head violently.
"We have to stop for the night, Carey! It's too dangerous out here!" John said, raising his voice a little. Carey began to throw a fit.
"I need to find my sons!" Carey bawled.
"I know what it's like to feel helpless, but staying out here in the dark isn't going to help that. We need to come back early with fresh eyes," John explained loudly, causing people to stare at the arguing adults.
"You don't know what it's like! You have no idea what it's like to lose your child!" Carey said angerly, her eyes closed tightly.
"You don't know me, Carey! You have no idea what I've lost! I know better than anyone out here what it's like to lose someone!" John roared, his raspy voice shaking with anger. Carey stood in front of him, shocked as the hot tears fell down her wet face. She watched John run his fingers through his long, dark hair, and then walk briskly past everyone into the cover of some trees. She turned her head to George and shook her head absently.
George walked over to Carey and leaned close to her. "John lost his son a few years back, out here. Drowned in the river," he explained. Carey put her hand over her mouth.
"Oh, I feel horrible," she whispered, staring at the spot where John had walked to. She started towards it, then stopped, turning back to George. He nodded, so Carey turned back and continued forward. She saw him kneeling on the ground, gripping his hair tightly with his hands.
"John?" Carey whispered, kneeling beside him
"I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. It was very unprofessional of me," John whispered, wiping a tear from his cheek.
"Talk to me, John," Carey said, sniffling. John continued to shake his head.
"It was my fault," he said, rubbing his knuckles. "Amy, his mother, didn't want him to go. 'Shawn is too young to go camping by himself with his friends' she said. I told her to lighten up. He was 12, let him grow up. I should have known better," John said, finishing his last sentence in a whisper. He looked up at Carey. "They said they were going to stay in Rick's old shack. But they went down to the river, and he fell in..."
John shook his head again and Carey wrapped her arms around him. They stayed that way for a few minutes. Finally, John stood up, bringing Carey with him.
"I swear to you, I will find those boys," he said with such emotion that Carey's heart leapt into her throat.
"John, it's not your fault..." she said, leaning closer to him with sympathy shining on her face.
"I will find them," he said, and he turned and walked back to where everyone else was.
Carey just stood where she was and sighed, wiping her face with the back of her hands. "God, just let me get my boys back," she said. And with that, she walked back to find out what the next step was.
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