Author note:
Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me. Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated.
Have a nice day.
Chris heard many camping stories from his friends before plus he had seen so many movies. He thought he knew what being in the jungle would be like and handle them but he was wrong. Hearing stories about camping in jungle and actually camping in the jungle are two different things.
"Chris, you okay there, buddy?" Matthew's voice broke Chris's thought patterns.
"I'm good," Chris answered with a smile to assure his friend.
"You know," Ethan, his other friend spoke next. "We all have those things we prefer not to do, there's no shame in it. Chris, you shouldn't have forced yourself to come camping with us. We know this is not your element."
Chris smiled genuinely to his friends. "You're right, I'm not in my element but I'm definitely with people I should be. Camping with best friends is way better than sitting in my dorm, in my underwear waiting for the weekend to pass. Although I think I might a blood transfusion by the time we round up our camping trip. These mosquitoes are sucking out my blood."
Ethan instantly chuckled before he dug into his backpack and tossed the mosquito repellent to his friend. "Told you to bring the repellent with you."
"I know," Chris grumbled. "I left it in the cabin. I thought it just going to be a small hike. Where are we going anyway?"
"We will reach a small river in a while. We will sit there for some time before we head back to the cabin before it gets dark out there." Matthew informed as he continued walking in the front, leading his friends to the river.
The three friends continued walking further in silence. Chris took the quietness as a chance to simply marvel the beauty of the nature. He was not a nature person like Matthew or Ethan, but it doesn't mean he doesn't appreciate them. Between the never-ending of trees stretching its way up and noises of birds, Chris somehow felt welcomed. He felt soaked in the richness of the jungle. His first ever experience of camping with friends seemed to be not that bad after all. The sudden increase in the screeching of birds brought him out of his thoughts.
"We are almost there," Ethan said and Chris could hear the gentle murmur of water in a distance.
True to Ethan's words, they reached a river. Matthew quickly took out his boots, sat on the bank of the river, dipped his foot into the running water and let out a deep satisfied sigh. Ethan followed next. Chris, however, took a moment to inhale the fresh air. He felt so relaxed with the sound of the running water.
"Chris, come on, join us. I can assure you, the river is free from piranhas." Ethan smirked.
"Haha. Very funny." Just when Chris was about to join his friends, something to his left caught his attention.
"Where are you going?" Ethan asked when he saw Chris taking slow steps towards their left.
"Hang on a minute," Chris said as he dropped his backpack, walked just a little further and gasped rather loudly.
Matthew was alarmed. "What is it?" He stood up.
Chris didn't bother to answer. He jumped into the river and fought with the flow of the running water to get to the other side. Halfway balancing himself, he pulled himself up onto the bank and turned the unconscious man to face him. His helping instinct took over him. He pressed his finger against the man's neck and was slightly pleased when he felt a weak but steady beat against his finger. Matthew and Ethan was next to him in a minute.
"Is he alive?" Matthew asked as he studied the feature of the unconscious man.
"For now, I guess." Chris shrugged. "I mean, look at him." Chris mentally winced when he saw the bruises and marks covering every inch of the unconscious's man exposed skin. Slowly, Chris turned the man's face and could see a single line of red blood coming from the cut on his forehead.
"Guys, I think I know him." Recognition dawned on Ethan's face. "It's Commander McGarrett. Head of Five-0." He whispered.
"What?" Chris's eyes almost bugged out. "Are you sure?"
"I'm positive. I even saw him in the news a few days ago, something about a drug bust." Ethan confirmed Chris's doubt.
"Yeah, I read about it too," Matthew nodded. "Something about Five-0 making the biggest drug bust. They seized few tons of cocaine worth billions."
"Chris is that…" Ethan stammered as he pointed to Steve's left shoulder. "Is that gunshot wound?"
Chris followed Ethan's gaze and his eyes grew wide when he saw the bullet hole. Chris was a number one fan of crime drama, but the bullet wound right in front of his eyes looked nothing like what he saw those shows before. The entry wound looked small, but it was a gaping mess. The reddened hole had a steady flow of blood oozing out. Quickly, he pulled the loosely tied jacket around his hips and pressed the fabric on the bleeding wound.
"What do you think we should do?" Chris tried to look passive but he could feel his heart beating its way out of his ribs.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Ethan spoke in a rush.
"I agree. Guys, Commander ending up injured in a jungle just a few days after a major drug bust, I don't think all these are coincidences." Matthew looked alarmed, his expression dulled. He looked around, his eyes scanned the surroundings. He wondered if they were safe to be there. "Come on, get him up, we will carry him back to the cabin."
"Are we sure we gonna do this?" Ethan asked for confirmation, stopping Chris and Matthew for a moment. "What if the drug syndicate is looking for a payback? Which means they will not rest until they finish him for good. If we help him, we might end… well, you know… with those bullet holes as well. So I just want to be sure, are we still going to help him?"
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