Well, here it is!! The last chapter of Trust! Sorry it took so long to post it, but I've been working really hard on this chapter and I really hope you like it, since it's the round-off to the story. Thanks for all the support and the reviews, they've really helped me to write this last chapter. All I can say now is, enjoy!!!
Morning finally arrived, and the storm was still keeping up. Jackson awoke to a silent plane; everyone else was still asleep. He stretched, got up and crossed to the window. The wind was powerful, and the rain was heavy. He was beginning to worry, for he thought Nathan would be sure to turn up in the night, but he hadn't. Maybe they would have to go looking for him, after all. He'd been hoping they wouldn't, and that he'd turn up safe and sound before long. Jackson sighed and came away from the window. He looked around the plane.
Melissa was sleeping soundly next to Jackson's sleeping bag, Lex next to her on the other side, his head on her shoulder. Next to Lex was Taylor, who was resting on Eric. And finally, Jackson looked upon Daley's sleeping bag, only to discover it was empty.
Jackson gasped and ran over to the sleeping bag, just to make sure his tired eyes weren't seeing things, but Daley was gone.
"Eric, Taylor, Lex, Melissa! Wake up!" Jackson shouted.
"Jackson…. What….?" Lex asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Come on, chief, five more minutes?" Eric said with a yawn.
"Oh, get up, Eric!" Jackson said, kicking him.
"Jackson, what is it?" Melissa asked him.
"Daley's gone," he told them worriedly.
"WHAT?!" Eric exclaimed, sitting straight up.
"Yeah, I woke up five minutes ago and she was missing," Jackson told them, pacing.
"Well, is her gear here?" Taylor asked.
"No, that's gone, too," Jackson replied.
"Do you think she…?" Eric broke off, but it didn't matter; they all knew what he was thinking.
"Went to look for Nathan?" Jackson finished for him. "I'm sure of it. And now she's out there, too."
"Oh, man," said Melissa.
"What should we do?" Taylor asked with a worried expression on her face.
"I don't know…" Jackson said, "We can't risk anyone else getting lost out there, we better just stay put and let Nathan and Daley find their way back. At least until the storm slows down." After an afterthought, he added, "They're strong, they'll make it." He glanced at Lex, who hadn't said a word the entire time, and gave him a small, reassuring smile, which he returned. Melissa wrapped her arms around Lex and gave him a hug.
"So…." said Taylor, "Now we wait."
"Now we wait," Jackson echoed her.
Waiting was the last thing any of them wanted to do at that moment, but they had no choice. Lex and Melissa played cards, Jackson read a book, and Taylor and Eric talked quietly together before lunch, in which they had, what else, but fruit and fish. After lunch, Eric took a nap, Taylor read a magazine, Jackson listened to music and Lex read a book, but the storm still pursued. Finally, Taylor couldn't take it anymore.
"That's it, I'm going out there!" she exclaimed, rising to her feet. This awoke Eric and caused everyone to look up at her.
"Taylor, no!" Jackson said, getting up and taking hold of her arm.
"Jackson," she said, "How can you just sit here when Nathan and Daley are out there alone?"
"Look," Jackson said to her, "I know it's hard. Believe me, I know. But we can't-"
"Sure we can!" Taylor exclaimed. "I'm not just gonna sit here and let them-" but she broke off as she looked up and saw a tall boy with bushy hair standing, soaking wet, in the doorway.
"Nathan!" Melissa cried, and she jumped up to hug him.
"Oh my gosh," Lex said as he got up. "Nathan, where have you been?"
"You had us all worried sick!" Taylor cried.
"Are you alright?" Eric asked him.
"Okay, okay," Jackson began, going to Nathan and putting an arm around him. "Let him breathe. Come on, Nathan, sit down…"
Jackson helped Nathan into the plane and over to one of the seats they had managed to fit in there.
"Are you hurt?" Jackson asked him.
"No," said Nathan. "Not really, well, just…" and he lifted his shirt to reveal a long, deep scratch across his chest that was bleeding. Taylor freaked out and Eric said, "Oh, please, Taylor…"
Jackson examined the cut and applied some antiseptic cream to it, as well as to some others Nathan had. They fed him and gave him water, and then Melissa asked, "What happened?"
Nathan sighed. "Well, yesterday when we were all putting everything in the plane, I realized I'd left my pack in the jungle, where I'd been cutting down trees. And it had everything in it, so I couldn't risk going on without it. So I ran back to get it, and that's when it started raining. I found my pack, but by then it was really raining hard. I thought I'd be able to make it back, but before I knew it, I couldn't see the path, so I decided to find shelter, hoping I'd do better the next day. The storm was still going strong when I woke up, so I waited awhile before I started off again. I didn't know exactly where I was going, and I still couldn't see, which why I walked into a couple trees and pricker-bushes… but a while later, I began to recognize everything, and then I ended up back here…"
"Wow," Taylor said. "You must be really tired!"
"Yeah, I-" Nathan broke off as he looked around. "Where's Daley?" he asked them.
The others exchanged glances at this, unsure of what to tell him. They all looked at Jackson, who glared back at them before saying, "Well, um,…. you see, Nathan, um…" He was obviously choosing his words very carefully. "What happened, was that, when you… um…" He looked helplessly at Lex.
"Well," Lex took over for him. "Well, when you went missing, Daley… um,… she kinda… well… she…… um…" Nathan was looking at him expectantly, so he had to tell him. "Oh, Nathan, she took off looking for you last night."
Nathan's expression turned from confused and unsure to shocked and worried in less than a second.
"What?" he cried. "She went looking for me in the middle of the night?" The others all nodded. "And now it's her who's lost out there." He sank to his knees. "This is all my fault," he said, staring at the floor.
"No it's not, "Jackson said. "We're the ones who didn't stop her."
"You couldn't have," Nathan said quietly. "You had no idea."
There was silence for a few minutes, and then Nathan stood up and said, "I've gotta go back out there, I've gotta find her."
"Nathan, you can't!" Jackson said, rising to his feet. "You're weak and you're tired. You'll get lost out there again-"
"I don't care!" Nathan cut him off. "Daley's lost now, and it's because of me. I'm not just gonna sit here and pray that she comes back soon. I have to go out there, Jackson." He looked him right in the eye as he said that, and finally Jackson gave in.
"Alright," he said, and Nathan smiled. "But you're not going alone this time."
Ten minutes later, Jackson and Nathan were preparing to go out into the storm. As he put the first- aid kit into his pack, Jackson said to Melissa, Taylor, Eric, and Lex, "None of you leave this plane. You'll be able to take care of yourselves, but we should be back before dark."
"And hopefully, we'll have Daley with us," Nathan added, as he and Jackson shouldered their backpacks and prepared to leave the plane.
"Just be careful, won't you?" Lex asked them, and Jackson and Nathan exchanged looks before smiling at him.
"Don't worry, Lex," Nathan said reassuringly, and he and Jackson left the plane.
29DWN
"Got any three's?"
As Eric asked this he lay back on the floor and stared up at the ceiling in obvious boredom.
"Go fish."
As Lex looked through his cards, Eric let out a long sigh and threw his hands in the air and his cards on the floor.
"This is so boring!" he cried. Lex sat up and put his own cards down as well. "I mean, there must be something we could do to pass all this time, even if it won't get us anywhere!"
"I don't think there is, Eric," Melissa said from the corner, where she was attempting to get the radio working, but she worked only half-heartenedly; they had long ago given up on picking up any kind of signal whatsoever. "I think we should just wait… and don't think I don't know what you're thinking, because I do, and I think we should find some other way of passing the time…"
Eric exchanged glances with Taylor, who shrugged and flopped down on the floor next to Lex. Eric grudgingly recognized defeat. "Fine," he said, but shot Melissa a glare all the same. If he could have it his way, they would be taking action…
29DWN
Hours later, Nathan and Jackson continued their trek through the rain and the wind and the jungle. They had been searching vigorously for Daley, but to no avail. It was beginning to get dark, and Jackson was beginning to worry.
"Nathan," Jackson said, "We've been searching all day, but there's been no sign of her. We should find somewhere to stay overnight-"
"No!" Nathan said suddenly, turning around to face Jackson. "Not yet! Jackson-"
"We'll keep looking tomorrow," Jackson said, giving him a meaningful look.
"Daley!" Nathan screamed, but no reply came. He sighed.
"Come on, Nathan," Jackson said, and, very reluctantly, Nathan agreed, though not before calling Daley's name one more time.
"Daley!" shouted again, his voice hoarse. He had been calling Daley's name all day, and he was getting used to hearing nothing but silence. Which was why he almost had a stroke when he got a respond.
"Nathan?" came an astonished voice.
Nathan's eyes lit up. He knew that voice…
"Daley?!" he cried. He spun around, and there she was. Unexplainable emotions spread through his entire body, and he gave a cry and ran at her. He swept her into his arms and spun her around in joy.
"Nathan!" Daley cried. She clung to him like she never had before, never wanting to let go. They simply held each other for a few minutes, and Jackson watched them happily, glad that his friends were finally reunited.
"Oh, Nathan, you're safe!" Daley cried happily.
"And you!" Nathan replied. "I managed to find my way back to camp, only to find out that you'd gone out looking for me… oh, Daley, I was scared to death that something might have happened to you… I'm just so glad you're alright!" he said, and held her closer to him.
After a few moments, Jackson cleared his throat and said, "Um, maybe we should think about finding somewhere to spend the night…"
"Oh, right," said Daley, pulling away from Nathan. "There's this little cave over there that I've been waiting out the storm in, come on," and she led the way to a small cave that was strewn with her belongings. There were even the remnants of a campfire in the corner. Outside the door to the hideaway was a small patch of land and then a cliff, which, judging by the looks of it, was at least a fifty- foot drop. Jackson peered down it wearily, and then followed Nathan and Daley inside, where they all soon fell asleep.
29DWN
Back at camp the next morning, Lex awoke early and looked around eagerly for any sign that Jackson, Daley, and Nathan had returned during the night, but he was soon disappointed. Their spots were empty and the plane was still. He suddenly looked out the window and gave a gasp of shock.
"Guys! Wake up!" he called, not moving from the window.
"Lex?" Melissa asked, looking over at him. "What is it?"
"The storm, it's stopped, look!" Lex cried, and Melissa and Taylor soon joined him at the window, followed by a dreary- looking Eric. However, he perked up when he looked out the window.
The storm had indeed stopped. Trees were bent, everything was soaked, and the few things they hadn't been able to fit inside the plane were strewn across the beach, but the wind and rain had stopped.
"It'll be easier for them now," Lex said with a smile.
"They'll be back today, Lex," Melissa told him. "I can feel it."
29DWN
"Nathan?"
Nathan slowly opened his eyes to see Daley in his arms, smiling up at him.
"Good morning," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead and pulling her closer.
'Yes," said Daley, snuggling up to him. "It is a good morning. The storm's stopped."
So it had. Nathan looked around as he sat up. It was cool and silent outside, and everything was shining with water. Jackson was at the fire, cooking three fish he had apparently just caught.
"Breakfast," he said when he noticed that they were awake.
They joined him at the fire and dug into the fish.
"I say we set off right away," Jackson said, finishing his own fish. "Even though the storm's stopped, we still need to figure out where we are."
The other two agreed. Jackson and Daley packed up all their belongings while Nathan went outside. After five or so minutes, Daley emerged from the cave, Jackson behind her. Nathan was standing on the edge of the cliff, throwing the remnants of their breakfast and other wastes over it.
'Nathan," Daley said, eyeing the wet ground cautiously, "Be careful over there…"
"Calm down, Daley, I'm f-"
But as he turned to face her, his foot slipped on a wet rock, and with a yell of shock he fell over the cliff and out of sight.
"NATHAN!" Daley screamed, running over to the edge of the cliff and trying to look down it. She felt herself lose her balance just as a strong pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her up.
"Daley, we can't have you falling over as well!"
Daley looked up into Jackson's face and saw, for the first time, fear in his eyes.
"We have to see if we can see him," he said, letting go of Daley, getting down on his hands and knees, and looking cautiously over the edge. Daley followed him. After a few minutes, Jackson shouted, "There!" and pointed.
Nathan was lying crumpled on the ground below, his eyes shut and his body motionless.
Daley tore her eyes away from him to look around for some way of getting down to him, and she found a hill some twenty yards away that led to the ground below.
"Come on," Jackson said, spotting it too, and he grabbed her hand. The two of them sprinted down the hill, over the rubble and rocks littered everywhere, and they finally reached Nathan.
"No," Daley whispered.
Nathan was bleeding heavily from the head and his leg seemed to be broken. His whole body was covered in bruises and cuts, and he looked so fragile that Daley didn't dare touch him.
"Daley," Jackson's urgent voice said. "The first- aid kit."
She sprinted over to where they had dropped their packs, ripped Jackson's open, pulled out the first- aid kit and brought it back to Jackson. They bandaged Nathan's head as best as they could, but it continued to bleed.
"We need to get him back to camp," Jackson said, as calmly as he could manage.
"What, and move him?" Daley asked. "That could only make him worse!"
"It's his only hope," Jackson said gravely, and Daley nodded, knowing that he was right.
"Alright, do you know your way back to camp from here?" Daley nodded again after looking carefully around her. "Good. Take our gear and run back to warn the others. I'll bring him," Jackson finished. Very carefully, he wrapped his arms around Nathan and lifted him up.
"Be careful, won't you?" Daley asked, turning back to look at Nathan.
"Don't worry," Jackson reassured her. "I'll get him back to camp safe, Day, I promise."
Daley nodded and then turned and sprinted up the hill and out of sight, Jackson following as quickly as he could, but slow enough to not bring further harm to Nathan.
29DWN
He has to be alright, he has to be! Daley thought as she sprinted through the jungle. If he isn't…
She didn't even want to think about what could happen to Nathan. She just ran and ran, until she finally broke through the trees and emerged in camp.
"Help!" she cried, running around frantically, looking for a sign of any of her friends, but she didn't have to look long; she came across Taylor and Melissa, who had apparently just re-pitched the tent.
"Daley!" Taylor cried, spotting her.
"What's going on? Are you alright?" Melissa asked, rushing over to her.
"It's not me you've got to worry about!" Daley gasped. "It's Nathan!"
"What about Nathan?" came Eric's voice. He had just come over, Lex right behind him.
"He's hurt! He's fallen off a cliff and he's unconscious, Jackson's bringing him now-"
"Get everything ready!" Lex said, and at once Melissa, Taylor, and Eric hurried away, knowing exactly what to do. Daley dug the first- aid kit back out of the pack. Lex kept asking her questions about Nathan's condition that she didn't really want to answer, for they made her think of all the bad things that might happen to him. But she was saved the trouble when Jackson came hurrying into camp, carrying Nathan as gingerly as he could.
"Put him in the plane, quick!" Lex said, grabbing the first- aid kit, and Jackson immediately obeyed, the rest following him.
Lex examined Nathan and tended to him as best as he could. Then he told all the others but Melissa to leave the tent, which they did, reluctantly. Daley strode over to a tree, sat down on the ground, and cried. She knew that if Lex didn't want the others in the tent to witness whatever it was he was doing to help Nathan, things couldn't be looking good.
All she could do was sob for Nathan and try not to think the worst. After a while, Jackson sat down next to her, took one look into her tear- filled eyes and engulfed her into his arms. They sat there for awhile, holding each other for what seemed like hours, until Melissa approached and said, "Lex wants everyone in the plane."
Daley and Jackson both jumped up and followed her into the plane, where Taylor and Eric were already sitting with Nathan and Lex. Daley immediately went to Nathan's side and looked at Lex, who, in turn, looked around at everyone else.
"Well?" Jackson asked anxiously, finding his voice before any of the others.
"Will he be alright?" asked Eric softly.
Lex and Melissa exchanged glances, and Lex finally said, "I think he'll survive, but…" he paused as he gazed at Nathan. "But… there's no way of knowing for sure. And if he does, he's still sustained major head injuries, and those will definitely need time to heal. Which means, he may not be himself for awhile, and he'll be weak, and he may not remember who he is, any of us, or even the crash." He avoided everyone else's eyes as he spoke.
"So, we're just supposed to wait?" asked Taylor fearfully.
"Yes," Lex said. "Only time will tell what will happen…"
"How long until we know… for sure?" Daley asked.
"I don't know, Day," Lex said sadly. "He's gone into a coma; it could take as long as weeks for anything to happen…" He broke off.
They all looked down at Nathan, who was once so energetic, eager to help others, and full of life, and now lay weak and helpless, and nothing could be done to help him. The idea that he might never wake up was too much for any of them to handle, and so they all decided to brace themselves for the foggy future, where anything could happen.
There it is! I hope you guys liked it! Thanks so much for all the reviews and for sticking with this story for as long as some of you did. Sorry, I know so many of you didn't want anything bad to happen to Nathan, but I had a good reason. I'd been planning to do it from the very beginning, so I wasn't about to back down. Plus, it will make the sequel much more interesting. I'm already writing it, and it will probably be called Hope (but I'm not entirely sure yet). It'll continue where Trust left off, but I'm not sure when it'll be up. I start school in a few days (no!) and then I'm going camping, but I'll work on it after that. I'll post more details about it soon. Thanks again, guys!