Chapter 4
Jubilee ran around the base of the formation looking for any kind of entrance to a cave, or at least, a deep indentation where they could be shielded from the heat of the sun. When she found nothing at ground level, she climbed up. Scampering over boulders, jumping cracks and crevices, she checked out every place that looked like it could hide a shelter. She felt that if she could even find a hollow that had been blocked by fallen rock, she could remove enough rocks to make an entrance big enough for Cyclops to crawl through.
When she had thoroughly covered the whole area, she sat down and rested. Although hot, the water from the canteen was refreshing. She hoped that Scott found the other container she left with him. She debated whether to go onto the next formation that she saw in the distance or go back and check on her friend. What would she find if she went back, either Cyclops was awake, still unconscious or dead. If he wasn't dead, she still needed to find shelter. She looked in the direction she left him, then around to the direction she needed to go. She took another sip of water and headed away from the injured man.
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"Remy?"
"Yea, mon ami? You have somet'ing for Gambit?" he asked the highly intelligent blue furball standing in front of him.
"Not much. But I'm afraid enough to know something as happened to Scott and Jubilee. My computer was able to enhance just one word on the recording, 'Mayday'. But there was not enough of it to get a location. I have tried calling him, there's no response. I'm not receiving the emergency beacon that's activated when the ship goes down either. I fear that they are lost somewhere out west with no way of finding them."
"Da Professor could find dem easy if he was here."
Hank just nodded, "But we know how important that conference is in DC. I think, my friends, it is up to us to find our missing companions."
Logan growled, "Just dump me somewhere in the middle of Colorado and I'll find 'em.'
McCoy smiled, "While your keen sense of smell far exceeds that of any other creature, Logan, we are still talking thousands of miles. If they are in trouble near the Mexican border or Canadian border, I don't believe you will be able to find them. I'm going back to my lab. If we are lucky, we may be able to triangulate the general area where the mayday came from. Then Wolverine, we can 'dump' you off there."
"I'm not going to sit around and wait. They could be dying somewhere."
Remy looked at the gruff man, "If you leave, you may delay t'eir rescue. S'pose you head up Nort' and we find t'ey are sout'? Ya know we need you nose to help find t'em, once we be in da area."
"Listen, Gumbo…"
Hank broke in, "Remy is correct Logan. We may be able to find the general area. But that is when we will need your keen senses the most. I will page the Professor, and fill him in on the problem when he calls."
A deep throaty growl emanated from Wolverine.
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Jubilee sat down as soon as she reached the second rock formation. The heat was beating her into submission but she was not going to let it win. She took a sip of water, then poured a small amount into her hand. She patted that on her face making sure none of the water fell useless onto her clothes or dry earth. Fanning her wet face, she felt the cooling evaporation.
Rejuvenated, she performed the same search pattern as before, starting by walking the base of the rock. But she didn't go far. While peering though a crack, she saw what looked like a perfect room inside, illuminated by a small opening from above. She circled around the area to see if there was a more appropriate entrance. When none was found she climbed up to where she thought the 'window' was. It was no larger than a watermelon. Even she had trouble squeezing in there. Sticking her head and right arm into the hole, she let off a burst of firecrackers. She was pleased with what she saw. There below her was a cavern with a flat dirt floor. Plenty large enough to hold the two of them comfortably.
As she backed out, she sat down with a sigh. How was she going to get Scott in there? A tear rolled down her cheek. She was so close, yet so far. Here was the perfect shelter for him and she couldn't get him inside. She looked up at the harsh blue sky. It was mid-afternoon. Although still oven-hot, the worst of the day was over. Maybe they could still spend the night outside. She didn't fear rain or snow, nothing like that. Plenty of people camp out in the desert. She heard it gets cold during the night, but how cold could get when the day hit over 100?
She let out another sigh of resignation and started back to Scott. She would take inventory of the water and food on the ship. So if she needs to go looking for either, there would be some daylight left. She was hot and tired, and since this outcrop was further away, it was going to be a long walk.
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"Professor, I was just planning on contacting you."
"Hank, I need you to work on something…"
Beast interrupted Charles, "I hope whatever it is can wait Professor. It seems that we have lost contact with Scott and Jubilee."
"That is exactly why I am calling, Beast. Jean received a telepathic cry for help, but it was so fleeting that she was unable to pull any more information from it other than Scott was hurt."
"Good, it seems we are on the same wavelength, Professor. Gambit received a distress call, but needed the help of the computers to enhance it. All we got was 'mayday'. We weren't sure it was even from Scott at the time, but since none of us have been able to contact either of them, we concluded that the cry for help came from them. I have been busy trying to track down their last known location and try to triangulate that with the mayday. So far, I just have them in the southwestern U.S."
"That is still a large area Beast. As soon as I can leave this meeting I will come home and try to locate them using Cerebro. I hope you realize though, that this conference is too important to drop on the account of two people."
"I do, Professor. Logan is having a hard time swallowing that."
Charles took a deep breath, "As is Jean, Hank. As is Jean."
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Jubilee was walking on auto-pilot, her energy drained. The thought of Scott being out there alone was the only thing keeping her going. She trudged on, her foggy mind trying to think of a solution to their many problems.
"Ow!" She screeched. She grabbed for her arm where the sequoia scratched her. In her fury, she was about to create the first cactus fireworks in space. She shook off the urge. What was she thinking? She ran into it. It was just standing there minding its own business. She looked up at the tall, eloquent plant, marveling at its size and ability to survive in the parched conditions.
Her breath caught in her throat when she realized that she didn't remember seeing such a large succulent anywhere near where they crashed. She looked around, her heart pounding a native dance in her chest. She thought she left Scott around here against a rock formation. But she didn't see him, or the plane. The light was fading fast, the horizon a brilliant fire orange against a navy sky. Where was she? The desert looked so different with these elongated shadows.
She turned around to look for the two outcroppings that she had visited today. Maybe she could get back there and try to retrace her steps again before it got too dark. She cried out, "Scott! Scott!"
Silence.
"SCOTT!" she cried even louder.
"Jubilee?"
Relief flooded her system. She had just overshot where he was and didn't recognize the area from this angle.
She jogged back over and noticed that her coat was in a tangled heap next to him. She didn't remember any breeze that could have blown it over.
"Scott? Scott?" she asked, shaking him.
If she could look at his eyes as she would look at any normal human eyes, she would have seen that he was conscious. But since they were wrapped, she couldn't tell he was awake until he muttered, "Jube? Is that you?"
"Hey Cyc. Glad you could join the real world. Howarya doing? Did you drink anything today? Here, take a sip." She offered the canteen to him.
"Where are we? What happened? Owwww." The last statement came as he tried to sit up.
"Do you remember that we crashed, Scott?"
He nodded. "I also know why you bandaged my eyes."
"Good. Then your memory is pretty intact. We're out in the middle of a desert. The plane is toast. I went looking for some shelter because it got pretty hot out here today. Hmmm, you look pretty sunburnt, Cyc."
"That's the least of my discomfort."
"Anyway, I thought I found a great place to hole up in while I figure out a way to send for help. But we can't fit through the opening." Her voice trailed into defeat.
"You're forgetting, Jube. My eyes aren't injured, I just don't have my protective glasses. If you just point me in the right direction and say when, I can still blast an opening."
She lit up almost as bright as her powers. "You're right Cyc. But, it's getting dark now, I thought we'd camp out tonight and go there in the morning."
"Are you planning on building a fire? There should be blankets in the plane."
"A fire? Are you nuts? It was over 100 here today. I'm gonna enjoy the cool night."
"Jubilee, do you know how cold it gets out here at night? If we 'camp out' like you say, we're gonna need a fire." Feeling that his shirt was off, he rubbed his upper arms, "I sure as hell am going to get cold."
"It gets that cold?"
He nodded.
She looked up at the distance to the where the cave was. "There's not much light left. Do you want to try to get to the cave tonight?
"How far is it?"
"Maybe half a mile. No more than a mile."
Scott dropped his head in thought. His body ached all over. He didn't know what other injuries he had beside the broken leg and bullet wound. But he also knew the harsh desert nights. "Is there anything around that I can use as a makeshift crutch?"
"I don't know. Let me look around. I'll also go into the bird and see what we have regarding extra clothes or blankets. I should bring food too. I don't want to waste time eating now then trying to travel in the dark. Sit still, I'll be right back."
Time seemed to stand still for Scott. What was taking Jubilee so long? She just went for supplies from the ship. Was the ship that far away that she got lost in the dark? How dark was it? He couldn't tell. He knew when the sun was up, but not the difference between dusk and dark. He jerked his head to the sound of feet crunching on the desert floor.
"Hey Scott, I found what would be a perfect crutch for you, but I can't get it out. It's a T shaped pipe. I tried my powers but they aren't strong enough to cut through metal. I was thinking, if I can get you back to the ship, let you feel where it should be cut, you could do it. Whatcha think?"
He nodded, "Help me up."
She was having second thoughts about her suggestion when she heard the core-deep groan. Since it was his left leg that was broken and the bullet wound was in his right side, the only way for her to support him was with his left arm.
"Am I too heavy for you?"
"Scott, if you weighed a ton, I would still tell you that I can handle it. And I WILL handle it, no matter what. So just shut up and lean on me."
Suddenly the ship seemed very far away.