Chapter Three

"We're rescued!" Eric yelled to the youngest of the group. Lex looked up from his latest project.

"What?" he asked.

"We're rescued!" Eric repeated. "There's a helicopter on the horizon… look!" He grabbed onto Lex's arm and pulled him out from behind the plane. "There it is, right out there!" Lex squinted his eyes and peered out over the water.

"You're right! Tell everyone else and take these!" he instructed, going back into the plane and bringing out multiple mosquito nets.

"What are these for?" Eric asked, giving him an absurd stare.

"We need to attract attention. Tell everybody to meet on the beach and give everyone one of these. You'll see. Have Jackson build a quick, big fire and can you tell Taylor to grab some of her brightest clothes, please?" Lex said, handing Eric the mosquito nets. He nodded as if he were a zombie, his jaw slung open and his mind trying to process everything that Lex had spat out. Lex turned around and quickly scurried over to his radio.

"Hello?! Hello?! Mayday! Mayday! This is 29 Delta William November! Mayday!" he desperately said into the radio. Lex heard only static… no answer.

Eric raced up the beach to Daley and Taylor, who where sitting in the plane seats in the sand. "Take these," he said, out of breath, as he threw some mosquito nets at them. "Head to the beach, by the plane and hurry up." Daley gave him a look.

"Why?" she asked him. Eric smirked for a moment.

"Because there's a helicopter on the horizon," he said smugly.

"WHAT?!" Taylor screeched, shooting up from her seat and looking over the water. "Oh my god, we're saved!" she shouted. Eric laughed slightly.

"They're still out there a ways. Meet by the beach." Eric continued to jog down the beach. He finally caught up with Jackson, Nathan, and Melissa, who were all working on the new canopy for the fire.

"Here," he said, handing Melissa the last few mosquito nets. "There's a helicopter on the horizon and we need to draw attention. Oh yeah, Jackson, you need to build a big fire, fast. They're still far out, so we have time, but you still need to hurry up and meet on the beach, by the plane." They all looked at each other.

"Helicopter?" Jackson repeated. Eric nodded, pointing to the beach. They all followed his finger out, and sure enough, there was a figure on the horizon. With no more questions asked, everyone went off to do what they were told. Jackson headed towards the beach to build a fire and Nathan and Melissa took their mosquito nets and headed off to the plane.

"Are you getting anything?" Jackson asked, appearing in the doorway of the plane. Lex looked up from his radio.

"No, only static." Jackson shook his head and gave a small sigh.

"We have to pick up something soon," he told Lex, looking back out at the helicopter. Lex picked up the radio again.

"Mayday, mayday. This is 29 Delta William November. We have crash landed on an island. Mayday. We are alive. I repeat, we are alive," Lex said into the radio. He gave Jackson a look of disappointment. "I don't think this is working." Suddenly, a voice rang out.

"This is Flying Gar 2. We copy your distress signal, 29 DWN. Please give your location," the voice said. Jackson watched Lex's eyes light up. Lex and Jackson both grabbed for the radio at the same time.

"Hello! Hello! We're on a Pacific desert island somewhere. We see a helicopter off in the distance. If that helicopter is Flying Gar 2, you're only about 10 miles north. Please, hurry if you can," Jackson said. Lex shot him a look and raced out of the plane. All the teens were galloping along the beach, waving their mosquito nets… almost.

Daley was standing in one place, waving her arms. Eric was lying under a palm tree. Melissa was slowly running along the waterline with the net over her head. Taylor was standing in the sand, picking at her nails, with her net by her feet. They were all giving half-hearted attempts at getting rescued.

"Well?" Melissa asked, running up to Jackson excitedly. He flashed a brief smirk.

"Don't give your hopes up. We think we have them on the radio, but I know I don't want to get disappointed," he warned her. Melissa nodded.

"Well I'm going to. What did they say?" she pleaded to know.

"They say they're heading this way and to sit tight. Mel, I'm not sure why, but I have a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. This doesn't feel right for some reason," he replied. Jackson looked deep into her dark brown eyes. "But if I'm wrong… and we are rescued… I don't want to forget about you." Melissa felt a small smile crawl across her face. She felt goofy inside, melting at Jackson's charm.

"I don't want to either," she whispered.

"Look, I know I said no romance… but think of this as a promise from me to you," Jackson quietly said, kissing her gently on her lips. He got up and walked back into the plane to help Lex.

Melissa wanted to scream and flail her arms with joy. She could hardly contain her excitement. Had that really just happened? Was Jackson really into her? She felt giddier than Taylor right before a tanning session at the moment.

"It's coming in everyone, hold up your nets!" Daley shouted, seeing the helicopter change course and start to fly in their direction.

"I can't believe this is it," Nathan said to Daley. She nodded in agreement.

"29 DWN, we see you and we are scouting for a landing," the voice said over the radio again. Lex jumped to his feet and glanced out over the horizon. It was true. The white and black helicopter was close to the beach. All the teenagers were running frantically around the beach now.

"Move out of the way!" Lex called to them. He ran back inside the airplane and tended to the radio again. "Flying Gar 2, you are clear to land," he replied. Lex ran back and joined the rest of the teens on the beach as they stood around, yelling and celebrating.

The helicopter circled over the island for a little bit, picking out their spot to land, and carefully setting down on the far end of the beach, where the trees were fewer. The survivors ran towards the helicopter eagerly as a pilot climbed out, followed by a slender black and white dog.

"Hello!" Daley called out, running to the pilot as the engine died and the helicopter blades slowed. The pilot turned around and they were surprised to see the pilot was a woman.

She looked young, about 15 or 16, and dirty blonde hair, accented with light blonde highlights, which barely touched her shoulders. She had bright blue eyes and an athletic body. She sported a light gray hoodie and faded denim shorts.

Her companion looked like he was some type of Golden Retriever mix. He wore a red bandana around his neck and he had light brown eyes. He had light brown and gold-colored fur all the way down his back and some creamy-white on his belly and legs, as well as parts of his face. The dog was skinny, maybe weighing only about 40 or 45 pounds. His tail was constantly wagging.

The pilot scanned over her audience and flashed a white smile. "Wow, how long have you guys been on this island?" she asked with a cheer in her voice.

"Too long," Eric huffed, rolling his eyes.

"So who are you?" Nathan asked, looking her over.

"Oh, sorry, I'm…" she paused as she went to shake their hands. Her eyes were locked with Jackson's. "Cojack!" she shouted. Both their eyes lit up and Jackson got a big smile across his face.

"Jo!" he shouted, running to hug her. She laughed as he hugged her tightly, picking her up and swinging her some. Jackson's whole personality seemed to change and everyone watched in surprise, amazement, and confusion.

"It's been forever!" she shouted to him. Jackson nodded.

"I know! I missed you so much!" He slowly stopped playing with her and looked back at the group, who were all staring at them. Jackson cleared his throat and tried to swallow his smile, but it stayed, planted firmly on his face. "Uh, this is Johanna… she's my… we haven't seen each other in… a while." He stood there, not quite knowing the words to say without having to explain his horrible and quite traumatizing past.

Nathan was the first to speak up. "Well, welcome to the camp."

"Can you take us home?" Taylor asked desperately. Johanna shrugged off her rudeness with a polite laugh.

"Oh, yeah… I'll have to make a few trips though. Usually, our choppers only carry two people and a few several pounds of gear. Well, when are you guys going to be ready to leave?" Jo asked, looking at them.

"Right away," Daley answered. "Thank you so much! You don't know how scary this has been getting… being stranded for so long with no knowledge at all of when anyone will be looking for you."

"Hey," Lex suddenly interrupted. Jo and the others turned their attention to the 10-year-old. "Where were you going?" Jo looked back at her chopper for a quick second and turned her attention back to him.

"I was headed back home from a touring job in Maui for a few city-slickers. Why do you ask?" Lex paused for a moment.

"Are you part of the search and rescue team looking for us?" he asked. The group was silent, waiting for a response or answer from their new friend. Jo hesitated.

"Um… I work part-time as a search and rescue assist and I haven't gotten the alert… but I'm sure they called someone. They wouldn't let a bunch of kids go missing and not let it go unnoticed. Someone is looking for you guys," she assured them. "So… how have you guys survived this long?" Jackson smirked.

"Would you like me to show you around Camp 29 Down?" he asked, putting his arm around Jo's neck and leading her towards the fire pit. Everyone else started to go back to the camp and prepare to leave.

Melissa stood there, watching Jackson lead Jo around with s big grin on his face. She felt something in her that she hadn't felt before. She didn't like it either.

"Someone looks jealous," Taylor teased, standing behind Melissa and picking up on her sour face. Melissa suddenly snapped out of it and turned around to face the blonde girl.

"What?" she asked.

"You're jealous," Taylor repeated with an evil grin. Melissa rolled her eyes.

"I am most definitely not jealous," she said. "She's just an old friend of Jackson's." Taylor nodded, still teasing Melissa.

"I'm sure that's why he suddenly forgot all about you when she got here." Taylor walked away, sporting a devious smile. She turned around, following the group to the camp and left Melissa standing there, speechless. Taylor was right and she knew it.

"So where have you been all these years?" Jo asked Jackson as they walked through the jungle, to Jackson's hiding place. Jo's dog, Summit followed intently, wagging his tail the whole way. Jackson hesitated, looking down at the trail and thinking back to when things were so much simpler and happier.

"Oh, um… after I… left the house, I went to live with multiple foster families… tried running away from multiple foster families… ended up in this rich private school… went on a field trip right before my CDC worker could send me away to juvi… crash-landed on a desert island with a bunch of rich kids… and now I'm relieved to be talking to you," he answered, somewhat sarcastically. Jo sighed.

"We were really kind of torn apart after you left. Aunt Sam and Judith got into a big argument and your mom moved out. Honestly, I haven't heard from her since. Uncle John came home and things aren't quite the same. He barely talks to Mark and me, but I know Aunt Sam is really trying to give him another chance." Jackson gave a sarcastic laugh and shook his head. "Yeah, I know," Jo continued. "I don't have much respect for the man left after he abandoned us, but he really did a lot for the family before he left. He built the tree house, he got us into reading, and he really did do a lot. That's about the only reason I'm putting up with him." Jackson nodded.

Melissa watched from behind a big palm tree, in some brush. She wasn't the nosy or spy type, but this was an emergency and she wasn't about to let Jackson get taken from her. She tried listening to what they were saying, but it was near impossible. They were too far away and they had their backs to her.

"Are we going to leave all this stuff here?" Eric asked as he picked up some of the gear from camp. Nathan shrugged and Eric looked up at Daley, who was quickly walking towards the girls' tent. "Daley, are we supposed to take this stuff with us?" he asked again. She ignored him, walking by. Eric scrunched his nose and finally got up, going to pack his own stuff.

Melissa angrily walked through the camp, storming into the girls' tent. Daley looked up at her for a moment as Melissa came in and went back to packing. Melissa sat on her sleeping bag, next to Daley.

"What's wrong?" Daley asked, sensing frustration in her friend. Melissa sighed.

"Do you think Jackson and that girl, Jo, dated ever?" she asked. Daley picked her head up, knowing what this was all about… Melissa was jealous. She briefly smirked, remembering how Melissa had just made up with Taylor over the whole Jackson thing, and now she was back to where she started… only with someone she had never met.

"Are you still not over him?" Daley asked, trying not to sound mean.

"No… and now I'm competing with a girl who flies a helicopter," she answered glumly. Daley stopped packing and sat by her.

"Look… I know this whole thing is probably really frustrating… but soon, we'll all be back home and you can continue things with Jackson again. It sounds like those two haven't seen each other in a good few years, so the chances of them seeing each other at school are minimal. Cheer up, Melissa, he won't forget about you." Daley got up, going out the tent to retrieve more of her stuff. Melissa sat and thought about what she said and tried to think about coming home to see her family and to see Jackson at school again.

The group gathered around the fire pit and picked up more of their stuff, sitting around after they finished. "So this is it," Nathan said, looking around the camp in disbelief. After all that, it was finally over.

"I guess so," Nathan answered.

They all looked up and saw Jackson and Jo walking in. Summit raced over to Eric and licked the teen's face, sitting down beside him. Eric stuck his tongue out in disgust and gave the dog a look.

"Sick!" he shouted, wiping his face off. "That's why I hate dogs." Everyone gave a small chuckle.

"Well, is everyone ready to go?" Jo asked aloud.

"Wait!" Lex shouted from over by Jo's helicopter. "I think you have a problem." Jackson followed Jo and a few others over to Lex. He was bent down by the bottom of the helicopter. "Look," he said, pointing to some liquid in the sand.

"The fuel line…" Jackson mumbled to himself before Lex could explain anymore. Jackson bent down next to him and inspected the aircraft. "He's right, there's something wrong with the fuel line." Jackson stood up and gave Jo a scared look. "Jo… I think you're stuck here with us, too," he said grimly.