AN: Back from vacation with a new chapter. Updates may be slow now though. I got a cold up north and college starts soon, so there's like constant plans every day before we all separate. My goal is to finish before college starts which COULD happen so we'll see.

/…/…/…/

Chapter 6: Plans

Both boys lied down to sleep not long after. Their clothes were still drying, so Matt stayed wrapped up in the blanket despite his protests that Mello would be cold. In the end they ended up huddled together on the ground, trying desperately to get some sleep. It did not take as long as they thought it might; they were so exhausted that even the fear of their environment could not keep them awake.

Matt woke slowly the next day, trying to blink the tiredness from his eyes. He groaned quietly, feeling his muscles aching from the swim the day before. Despite sleeping for a few hours, he was still tired, and without really thinking about it he curled up closer against Mello, burying his head against his chest.

"Matt, you have to get up."

Matt shook his head, tightening his grip on Mello. The blond was so comfortable, and warm. Not only that but he felt better while near him. As illogical as it was, he felt safer near him. If he just stayed this way and went back to sleep, maybe he could ignore his pained muscles, his cramping stomach, and how heavy with exhaustion his head felt.

"Matt get up. We need more firewood, and we need to plan out what to do now."

"But I'm so tired Mel," he muttered, shifting slightly to look up at Mello. Mello sighed.

"I know Matt, but we need firewood, if there are any dry pieces left after that storm. We need to eat, and figure out what to do today. In all honesty I'm not sure how much I can walk on my ankle," he admitted. "It's as bad as the day I got it so I may just need to keep off it today. There is no way I can climb that hill in this condition." He didn't add that he doubted Matt could climb the hill in his condition either. Instead he shifted, trying to gently push Matt away from him. "Come on Matt, if we stay you can sleep all day, but first we have to figure this out."

Matt sighed but sat up, tugging the blanket tighter around him. Mello moved to stand but winced when his ankle protested the movement. Seeing this, Matt stood and moved towards their clothes to see if they were dry. Thankfully they were, and he dressed quickly before handing Mello his clothes and the blanket. "I'll go get firewood," Matt said.

"Wait, Matt," Mello protested, images of the day before flashing through his head.

"You need to rest your ankle or we'll never climb back up that hill. I won't get lost, don't worry," he reassured.

"Just don't go far okay?"

"I won't," Matt said, leaving the blond behind. He glanced around before heading in the direction Mello had gone the night before. His initial findings were slim, but the farther into the trees he went the more wood he found. It was taking a while though; a lot of the wood was still damp from the storm. He winced as he bent down to grab another piece of wood. Swimming so much in that river had left his muscles sore and aching. Once satisfied that he had enough, he slowly returned to their shelter.

Mello was sitting up, waiting. Matt stacked most of the wood out of the way then handed Mello a few pieces, just enough to make a fire. It didn't take the blond long to get the fire going, and soon both were seated before it. Mello dug through his bag and pulled out the apple and a chocolate bar. As before, both ate half their share before exchanging.

"How much do we have left?" Matt asked.

"A sandwich and two chocolate bars," Mello said.

Neither said anything, but they both knew it wasn't even close to enough. The small meal hadn't been nearly enough for either of them. It hadn't seemed to help as much as it made them want more. Both of them, especially Matt, had burned a lot of calories yesterday that neither of them had in the first place. Mello took a swig of water, sighing as he finished it off. He made to stand but Matt managed it first, taking the canteen from Mello.

"Matt-"

"Just keep off your ankle, I can do it," Matt told him.

"Really Matt, be careful. Neither of us is up to our full strength," Mello warned. Matt nodded and left once more, climbing out onto the rocks to fill the canteen. He managed to do his task successfully and returned to their shelter, dropping in the purification tablets that would make the water drinkable in about an hour. He set it off to the side then sat beside Mello.

"So what's the plan?" he asked.

"I was thinking that tomorrow we could hike back towards the hill, and then keep moving west to see if it grows less steep. If it stays steep, then we're just going to have to climb it."

Matt nodded. "That sounds reasonable enough."

Mello sighed, lying back on the ground." "I just hope it stops swelling. It's just going to get worse after I climb that."

Matt mirrored his friend's actions. "Yeah, but we'll never get back until we climb that." He was silent a few minutes. "How are we going to ration the rest of this food?" he asked.

Mello closed his eyes. "I don't know. We could try splitting a chocolate bar tonight, then half the sandwich tomorrow morning? If we're lucky we'll find camp tomorrow."

Matt's stomach seemed to physically decline this new information. They were both so hungry, especially after yesterday. A person could survive several weeks without food, but it only took one day of being underfed for symptoms to show up. Irritability was the least concern they had. With this little amount of food any strenuous activity risked not only the bothersome symptoms, but the dangerous ones like passing out. They would have to be careful tomorrow when climbing. Mello certainly could not handle his weight if Matt collapsed, not with his injured ankle. Matt also suspected that if Mello were to collapse, no matter his will and worry for the blond, that he simply would not be able to carry him anywhere.

They weren't naïve. Both of them knew it was only going to get worse. It would make sense to climb the hill even today, before the hunger grew worse. The symptoms were only going to get more and more severe. Exhaustion would prevent them from climbing if it got too bad.

Matt was suddenly tired, not only physically but emotionally. He was scared, tired, hungry, and in pain. He didn't want to be stuck out here anymore. He missed sitting in his room and playing video games. He missed listening to Mello's angry rants and having three meals a day and even going to class. It would be better than being stuck out here in the woods.

A wave of hopelessness overtook him. How could they get out of here? How could they climb that hill with Mello injured and him ready to kneel over? How would they survive with almost, and by the end of tomorrow, no food?

A hand touched his shoulder lightly, and Matt opened his eyes. He turned his head, facing Mello. The blond gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze and Matt rolled over so he was completely facing Mello. Mello put an arm around him and hugged him, rubbing his back soothingly. "We're going to be okay. I promise."

/…/…/…/

L had not been particularly worried when Mello and Matt had not returned within the hour. In fact he had not been particularly concerned for several hours; nearly ninety percent certain that Matt had managed to sneak a portable video game device into the woods and the duo were staying away from camp to give him time to play. As night drew closer however, he began to suspect that his initial deductions were incorrect.

By this point though, it was nearly nightfall, and there was not much he could do. He could not send a search team out in the dark, and he could not send a large team of people he did not know. Certainly he wanted Mello and Matt retrieved safely, but he could not risk the safety of the other students. L had made a quick call to Watari, asking that a five man team be sent to their location the next morning.

L did not fully trust many people, and these five searchers were no exception. He did at least, trust them more than most, and that would have to do. After all he had to make an attempt to find his successors.

The team did arive promptly the next day, and L had briefed them quickly on the situation. "Two of my students are lost in the woods. They were to retrieve firewood early yesterday afternoon and did not return. I have briefly explored the terrain. There is a steep hill approximately fifteen minutes from this location. They are not likely to have gone down there unless they fell, so the initial search should be to the east and west of this camp on top of the hill. If the search is unsuccessful efforts should move to searching at the bottom of this hill. Any questions?"

There hadn't been, but when the storm has descended nothing could be done about it, and the search had to be put on hold. Now Matt and Mello had been lost for two days with little to no supplies, and if that wasn't enough, they had been out there in the midst of a strong thunderstorm.

L was not pleased with this predicament. It was rather annoying that two people who could possibly be his successors could get lost completing such a simple task. At the same time, he had been watching their progress for years and he could not help but be somewhat concerned. There were a lot of dangers in the woods, and the fact that neither boy had returned most likely meant that something had happened to one or both of them.

The original search plan remained the same. The team was currently investigating the area west and east of the camp, looking for clues as to where they may be. If there were no results, the team would search the bottom of the hill tomorrow. He would expand the search each day until they were found.

He didn't know where they were, but he was going to find them.

/…/…/…/

AN: I know not a lot happened but I had to explain what L has been up to. Next chapter should be more exciting, once I feel less sick and can write it.