The Silent Forest

Summary: A field trip becomes a nightmare when the gang is separated from the rest of the group in the middle of a vast forest. Things go from bad to worse when they discover that they are not alone.

Pairings: Chaylor, Troyella and some mild Zekepay. Ryan will also feature but with no pairing.

Disclaimer: Yep, I own it. *Keeps dreaming*

Warnings: Possible character death(s). Rated T for some language and quite a bit of violence/blood. Probable spelling and grammar mistakes due to my lack of beta.

6. Relocation, Relocation

Taylor didn't notice that Gabriella and Troy were no longer behind them until she distantly heard Gabriella shout. She stopped on the spot and turned around to where the sound had come from. The multitude of trees obscured her view, but Troy and Gabriella were definitely far behind. She began to back-track, catching the attention of her peers and urging them to join her.

Their curious dawdling evolved into a distraught sprint as they heard Troy clearly yell; 'I'm not going to drop you, Gabriella!' Even from a distance, they could hear the agony and strain in his voice.

When they finally arrived at the site of the shouting, they were met with a shocking sight.

Troy lay on his stomach, his face red and eyes watering. He leaned dangerously far into a neat round hole, where Gabriella dangled from her arms. She was slipping. And so was Troy.

Troy didn't see or hear his friends arrive. His head was pounding, the pain in his shoulder taking over most of his thoughts. He could hear his blood roaring in his ears. And his gaze stayed fixed on Gabriella; afraid that if he looked away, she'd disappear.

Strong hands clamped around his ankles. Before he could think, he was being dragged out of the hole and Gabriella with him.

It was a group effort; Ryan and Chad pulled one of Troy's legs each and when he was far enough out, Sharpay, Taylor and Zeke hoisted Gabriella out after him.

Each one of them lay flat on their backs on the floor, drained. Their chests rose and fell heavily as they wheezed with exhaustion.

All Gabriella could think of was how close she had come to death. If Troy hadn't been there…. Troy. He'd been so brave. And loyal. He could have let go and saved himself. But deep down, the whole time, Gabriella knew he wouldn't. And if the others hadn't come back…. They were an efficient bunch. She realised that they had wordlessly worked together, assessed the situation and saved the day.

"Thanks." She whispered, still struggling to get her breath back. Now pressure-free, her arms felt weightless and tingly as if they were floating.

"What happened?" Sharpay asked. Her eyes stayed fixed on the sky and branches above her.

This was the first time they'd actually thought about it. With all the drama that was going on, they hadn't exactly had the chance to figure out why it was happening in the first place.

What did happen? Why did the floor suddenly disappear? The hole was a perfect circle; clearly man-made. There was only one chilling explanation.

"It was a trap." Troy said. He attempted to sit up, failing miserably as strain was put on his forgotten, injured arm. Before he could stop himself, he let out an almighty howl of pain, alerting his friends to his discomfort.

Gabriella sat up suddenly and eyed him with worry. "What's wrong?" She asked. He was trying to disguise his agony, and failing.

"Shoulder." He said simply, unable to muster the strength for detailed sentences. "Dislocated. I think."

Gabriella felt a twinge of guilt. Troy was hurting because of her. "We'll need to… re-…locate it." She said, unsure of the technical term. "Before there's any permanent damage."

Apprehension and distress momentarily flashed over Troy's features. But he nodded. "Okay…." He sighed. "Chad?"

Chad had stayed quiet, not wanting to be noticed. Sure, Troy needed help. And sure, Chad knew the basics of first aid; 'relocating' shoulders being one of the things he'd learnt at scouts. But he also knew that in order to do so, he'd have to inflict a great amount of pain on his best friend. And that, he did not want to do.

"Yeah?" He said, rolling onto all fours and crawling to where Troy lay.

"Little help?" Troy asked.

Chad looked at his friend, then at the floor. "It's gonna hurt." He pointed out as if it wasn't obvious.

"Yeah, well…" Troy shrugged his good shoulder. "I'll get over it." He said, smiling reassuringly.

Chad sat back on his heels. "Fine." He said. He looked at the others. "You might wanna give us some room." He advised. He didn't want them looking over his shoulder. And he certainly didn't want them to be there to see how much agony he was going to cause Troy.

Ryan, Sharpay, Zeke and Taylor gladly shuffled off, the pain of a friend not really being their cup of tea. Gabriella stayed put.

"Trust me Gabriella," Chad began. "You don't wanna see this." He was already helping Troy to a seated position, leaning his friend's back against his chest.

Troy nodded with agreement. Gabriella could be stubborn, but she knew when Troy was doing something for her own good. Reluctantly, she went to stand at a distance with the others.

Now it was just Troy and Chad.

Chad laughed nervously. "Can't believe you're making me do this, man." He shook his head, literally, not believing the situation he was in.

Troy gave his friend a playful pat on the cheek. "I owe you one." He said, meaning it. "Now," he squeezed his eyes shut in preparation. "Just get it over with."

Chad took a deep breath. What if he did it wrong?... "Ready?" He tried to stall.

Troy saw through his vain attempt. "Do it." He ordered forcefully, eyes still shut.

Chad squirmed a little, growing more and more uncomfortable. "Okay…"

He took Troy's bad arm in his hands and held it up. Troy hissed and buried his head into Chad's neck. In one swift movement, Chad twisted Troy's arm and popped it back into its socket. Troy screamed and sobbed at the same time. His unhurt arm clutched Chad's back. He was breathing rapidly and unevenly as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Chad had never seen Troy like this. It hurt him to know that it was his fault. Unsure of what else to do, he wrapped an arm around his friend and started to rock him, cradling him like a baby. "Shh," he soothed. "I'm sorry. It's over." He continued to whisper, feeling tears well up in his own eyes. "I'm sorry."

They weren't watching. But they heard. Hell, the whole forest heard. Troy's blood-curdling scream echoed through every crevice of the forest. It bounced off the trees, disrupting the area's constant peace.

Gabriella gasped but refused to turn and look. Taylor put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. Ryan scratched the back of his neck and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. Ouch, was all he could think. Sharpay tried to ignore the sound. As did Zeke, who found the echoing scream was boring away at his brain. He winced and started to walk away.

Sharpay put a hand on his arm to stop him, but he shook it off wickedly. "Don't." He growled, continuing away from the group, shaking his head slowly.

The remaining four exchanged worried glances behind his retreating back. Something was wrong.

Sharpay decided she wasn't going to sit back and allow him to talk to her like that. She was still Sharpay Evans after all. She straightened her back and strutted pointedly after him.

"Zeke!" She called after him. He didn't stop. If anything, his steps hastened. "Zeke! Stop!" She continued to command. She sighed, feeling defeated. He didn't want to talk. Clearly. And they were getting pretty far out into the woods. She realised, only now, just how far. Behind her, the others were lost from sight. "Zeke…" she said, less forcefully now. More compassionate. "Please, just stop."

He didn't, but he slowed down considerably. His back was still to her but Sharpay thought it was progress at least.

"What?" He asked bitterly.

She was slightly hurt by his tone of voice. She'd certainly never heard it from him before. "Zeke, what's wrong?"

He surprised her by letting out a hearty yet sarcastic laugh. "What's right?" He bit back, cryptically. He didn't allow her to answer. "We're lost." He pointed out. "And we're hungry. Tired. I-I…." He paused and took a breath, getting carried away and stumbling over his words. "Troy was hurt." He continued. "Him and Gabriella… could have died."

"But they didn't." Sharpay declared with triumph.

"But they could have." He said, stopping suddenly and throwing his hands up in the air with defeat. He shook his head and, to Sharpay's dismay, continued walking. "And that… that would have been on me." He finished, finally letting out what was troubling him.

Sharpay was lost. "What?" She asked. "How?"

"It's my fault." Zeke said. His voice cracked momentarily. "I was the one with the compass. I was leading the way. I knew something was wrong but I was too afraid to say that we might be off track so I kept my mouth shut. I got us here, Sharpay."

She could tell from his voice that he was either crying or close.

"And we're never gonna find our way back." He said sombrely.

Sharpay was shocked that Zeke had been hiding his true feelings the entire time. Her mind flashed back to the day before, when she had rejected his consolation. She pursed her lips. Momentarily, and only for a very brief moment, she resented herself. "Well," she started quietly. "If you're to blame, then so am I." She said.

He didn't say anything but she could tell he was listening by the way he cocked his head to the side and slowed his pace further.

"I didn't listen to Ryan." She continued. "I got too close to the edge and we all ended up down here with no way back up." She had a point. She'd tried not to admit it to herself before now.

"That was an accident." Zeke assured her.

She smiled, glad of his choice of words. "And so was what you did. We all did something that got us off track. Stop beating yourself up about it." By now, he'd slowed enough for her to catch up to him. She put a hand on his shoulder and he finally stopped walking.

He turned and faced her; a mixture of doubt, gratitude and freshly shed tears on his face. She gave him a half-smile.

"Ready to go back?"

He nodded, not really trusting his voice.

Sharpay looked back in the direction they'd come. "We walked pretty far, huh." She noticed, starting their long journey back.

Zeke walked beside her and smiled awkwardly. "I guess so." He said. "Sorry."

Not thinking, Sharpay slid her hand into Zeke's and squeezed it comfortingly. He squeezed back and didn't let go. She flashed him a smile; for the first time in two days feeling completely at ease. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a heart-stopping sound.

An unmistakable and familiar sound.

One they'd heard earlier that day.

The distinct sound like ice snapping.

The definite sound of a bear trap being triggered.

A/N: There were two moments which I thought were quite cute in that chapter (even if I do say so myself). I thoroughly enjoyed writing the short but sweet Troy/Chad comfort scene. And then, I don't usually do Zekepay, but (pre-beartrap) I thought they were getting along quite spiffingly as well. :D

Thanks, as usual, to; Always-Here-Imani, zanessatroyella4evr620, Kt luvs, Saynt Jimmy , utmy123 , RissaIzDeBomb, ChaylorTwilightQueen10, Daydreamer299 and ChocolatexChicaxCasey95. I've received a fantastic bunch of reviews for the last couple of chapters so thank you all!

Sorry for the wait. That one was nice to write but a toughie. Reward me, why don't you, with more lovely, lovely reviews.

xX M Xx