A/N: Hello again! Here's the next chapter of Harder To Breathe, sorry it took awhile, but thanks to all who have reviewed! You guys are absolutely amazing! I hope you enjoy this :)

Chapter 4

Rescue?

Caitlyn was becoming increasingly more anxious as the hours dragged by. It was now five in the morning, and Shane still wasn't back with Mitchie.

Something's happened to both of them, I know it, and it's all my fault.

She glanced nervously out of the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her friends. Daylight was approaching, but Mitchie and Shane were nowhere to be seen.

Caitlyn twisted her fingers together restlessly.

At least the storms over, she told herself. Oh, God, I hope they're okay.

Caitlyn could feel Connies eyes on her, and she felt a twinge of guilt. Maybe I should have told her the truth earlier, when Shane first went out into the storm to look for Mitchie.

Maybe then we wouldn't be in this mess.

"Mrs. Torres?" Caitlyn began timidly.

She is going to be furious with me.

"Um, I have to tell you something."

Connie looked at Caitlyn with concern.

"It's your ankle, isn't it dear? It must hurt terribly. But I don't know what else I can do. You'll just have to wait until morning when I take you to the doctor."

Caitlyn shook her head quickly, and gave Connie a weak smile.

"No, it's not that. It's about Shane. Earlier, when he left, he.. um.. didn't go back to his cabin…" She dwindled off into an uneasy silence.

Connie raised her eyebrows, waiting for Caitlyn to continue.

"He.. Well.. He went off to look for Mitchie," Caitlyn finished quietly. She avoided Connie's eyes and waited for the explosion.

It never came. Connie was angry, but she didn't yell. Her voice resonated with forced calm.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

Caitlyn flushed.

"Because I didn't want to worry you. He said he'd be fine by himself, and so I just let him go. I'm sorry."

"He's not back yet either?"

"No," Caitlyn moaned. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. What are we going to do?"

Connie thought for a moment, before replying gravely, "We'll call the police."

Shane wandered the forest aimlessly. He didn't have a clue where Mitchie was, and although he would never admit it, he didn't have a clue where he was either.

At least the storm's over, he told himself, looking up at the sky gratefully.

He ran a hand through his hair, deep in thought.

When daylight arrived, he would find his way back to camp, and when he had found his way back to camp, he would call the police. Then, a search team would arrive, and they would find Mitchie within an hour. She'd be fine, and they'd all live happily ever after.

Shane shook his head and looked around him with a sad smile. As if.

Morning brought with it a dull glow of sunshine, but not much else. Mitchie was still missing, and Shane hadn't returned either, which caused a great buzz within the camp.

The campers had been awakened earlier than usual, due to the drama of the previous night. They were all assembled on the outskirts of the forest, sleepily awaiting instructions.

"As you know," Uncle Browns voice boomed over the megaphone. "Two of our campers went missing last night. We don't know where they are, but since the Police have refused to do anything until 24 hours have passed, we're going to need all of your help to find them."

"I don't care about finding Mitchie," Tess whispered snidely to Peggy and Ella, yet loud enough for Caitlyn to hear. "But I hope I'm the one who finds Shane. He deserves to be rescued, unlike her. Liars can stay lost, for all I care."

Tess tossed her blonde hair and looked over at Caitlyn with a sweet smile. Caitlyn scowled.

How dare she say that about Mitchie?

Oh, the nerve of her!

Flicking that stupid blonde hair of hers, she thinks she's invincible. Wait till I-

"Don't pay any attention to Tess," Connie whispered, interrupting her train of thoughts. "Let's just focus on finding Mitchie."

Caitlyn nodded reluctantly. She was still seething with anger, but she tried to concentrate on what Uncle Brown was saying.

"Everyone will split up into groups of five. The groups will spread out in different directions once we enter the forest. And stay in your groups. Is that clear? We don't need any more kids going missing, alright?"

Uncle Browns usual humour had been abandoned in the seriousness of this situation.

It's his nephew that's missing; of course he wouldn't feel like cracking jokes at the moment, Caitlyn reminded herself.

She looked away guiltily.

It was her fault that Shane was missing in the first place. She should never have let him go out into that storm.

If they didn't find him, she would never be able to forgive herself.

She stared absentmindedly into the forest depths, willing both of her friends to walk out, unscathed.

After a moment of wishful thinking, Caitlyn sighed wearily.

She knew that it wasn't going to be quite that easy.

Shane groaned in frustration. How am I supposed to rescue Mitchie when I can't even rescue myself?

He was lost. Still.

It was now morning, and he was still wandering the forest, looking for a way out. The daylight made negotiating through the trees slightly easier, but Shane was still not having much luck in finding a path.

He walked rapidly through the forest for the next few minutes, the feeling of irritation growing.

This was stupid. How could he have gotten lost? They were probably sending out a search party for him by now. How embarrassing! It was broad daylight, yet he couldn't even find his own way back to camp.

Shane shook his head in disgust.

A faint sound caught his ears, and he stopped walking in mid stride.

What was that?

He heard it again and looked around, suddenly alert.

It sounded close.

He squinted through the dense canopy of leaves where he thought the noise had come from.

Probably campers searching for me, he thought. His curiosity finally got the better of him, and he zigzagged through the trees, until he emerged in a small clearing.

Shane glanced around expectantly.

There was nothing there.

He couldn't help but feel disappointed.

That might've been my ticket out of this place.

He listened carefully for any sound, but the forest maintained it's silence.

Damn! He thought crossly.

As Shane spun around to leave, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

A flash of red.

He heard the sound again, and his heart began racing.

This time, he knew what it was.

Breathing.

But something wasn't right.

Shane walked haltingly towards the sound, a perplexed frown upon his face.

The breathing sounded laboured. It was loud and rasping, almost as though the person was struggling to breathe. He broke into a run, and he felt his heart stop when the flash of red he had seen a minute ago came into full view.

Shane froze.

A fragile figure lay motionless on the ground. She was alive, but her chest rose and fell with rattling gasps. Her dark hair was tangled with leaves, partially covering her face; but Shane had no difficulty in recognizing her.

He rushed forward and collapsed to his knees beside the body, fear rising up inside him. With shaking hands he brushed the hair from her face, and stared with glassy eyes at the pained expression reflected back at him.

"Mitchie," he whispered desperately.

Yet he knew that there would be no response.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Chapter 5 coming shortly, so stay tuned! It's my birthday today, and there's nothing that would make me happier than you posting a review! Even if it's only one word, I don't care! Seriously I love them, so just do it :)

Kacee

:)