It was six thirty in the morning, and Leaf and Magnus had just gone back out to start searching again in the daylight. They'd gone back to camp just past four thirty, getting something to eat and talking with the other camp staff who'd been searching. No one had seen any sign of the boys during the night, which was both worrisome but also could be due to the fact that they had simply found somewhere to settle for the evening that was safe. They would probably have better luck during the day when they could see.
Magnus was driving now since Leaf had been driving all night, and Leaf had insisted they go back to the river to search again. Magnus had agreed, mostly to appease Leaf. Other teams were scouting different areas. The other boys would be coming back into camp during the day, and Magnus hoped they could find the missing campers before everyone returned. None of the girls were aware of any problems yet, and so far the only other boys who knew were Teddy and Bud.
Magnus reached the start of the river, stopping briefly so Leaf could scan the area. "I wish there was a bridge so we could drive on the other side," Leaf said, that feeling still weighing heavily on him that the boys were on the opposite side of the river.
"You wanna get some wood and construct one?" Magnus asked with a smile, laughing when Leaf glared at him.
"I'm serious. I feel positive they're over there; it's the only thing that makes sense. Let's head back toward the area where the river bank levelled out on that side," Leaf suggested. Magnus agreed and drove off slowly, leaving time for his younger partner to search the tree line on the other side of the bank.
They'd been driving for ten minutes when suddenly Magnus saw two boys in the woods off to his right and he stopped. "That's not them is it?" He asked Leaf, who turned suddenly to study them with his binoculars.
"No, not them. Just Reed and Cobalt," he replied, disappointment heavy in his voice. They continued on, Leaf turning his binoculars back to the other side of the river. He wasn't sure what he'd do if the boys didn't turn up today.
I walked back toward the river and stopped when I heard the currents rushing. We'd gone further into the woods than I'd thought last night, which was a little distressing. How was I going to remember where he was? Especially if help came back when it was dark out? I looked around on the ground, scanning for anything I could use to identify the site. I could always shove some sticks into the ground by the river; maybe make an arrow that pointed into the woods? That way if anyone who was out searching saw it without finding me first, they'd investigate. That seemed like a really good idea to me, so I set about picking up sticks from the ground. Once I had enough I walked out from beneath the trees, pulling up the hood of the sweater to shield myself from the rain as much as possible. I made an arrow pointing back the way I'd come, going back twice to get more sticks to make it bigger and more noticeable. I also shoved a few sticks into the ground so they would stick up, easier to see than wood lying on the ground. I guessed that was all I could do for now. I just hoped nothing would come along to ruin my arrow.
I went back under the trees to stay out of the heavier rain, though I was already wet. I took the sandwich out and started eating, starving after my work on the arrow. It really sucked walking through the wooded area here, because it wasn't as well covered as the area further in where I'd left Ace. The grass was wet and muddy, so my hiking boots were ruined already and my feet were wet. I kept getting splashes of water in my face from the rain and tree branches alike, but at least it wasn't whipping into my face like it would have been were I out in the open.
I wondered if anyone was looking for us yet. I had assumed that someone would have checked on us last night, and once they'd seen we hadn't made it to our camp site they would have alerted the camp. But would they have started looking already, or would they wait until everyone returned, and gone out to look then? Maybe they'd just thought we'd camped in the wrong area.
I hoped someone was looking now. Ace couldn't afford to wait much longer. I trudged along through the grass and bushes, feeling desperately hopeless and guilty again. This was all my fault! If only I hadn't lost the map, then Ace and I would have been at our camp site last night, and we would have had a nice night (despite the fact that we probably wouldn't have talked to each other) and even though walking back into camp today would suck, at least we'd both be okay.
Then again, Ace had been extremely open with me about why our friendship had gone sour. Maybe things between us would be okay again when we got back and he got better. Maybe I could talk to Teddy for him, and tell him how Ace felt. Or maybe when he was better, Ace would resent me for ruining the trip for him, and then he'd be embarrassed that he'd told me about his problems and he'd deny them all and hate me even more.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but anything would be better than this. I just wanted him to be okay.
I'd been walking for half an hour when suddenly I thought I heard something above the drum of the rain. I stopped and listened more intently, even coming out a little closer to the river. I thought I was hallucinating at first, but I wasn't. There on the other side of the river, on the top of the twenty foot high cliff, was a camp Jeep.
I ran out from the trees like a lunatic, yelling and waving my arms and hoping they would hear me over the sound of the motor and the rain (which had of course only gotten heavier). The Jeep was a little bit further back from where I was, and I wondered how it had passed me by without me hearing it? That didn't matter though, because I ran full speed in its direction, yelling at the top of my lungs.
Suddenly it stopped and one of the guys in it turned back in my direction, throwing down his binoculars and jumping out of the Jeep. I recognized him as being one of the counsellors from Ace's cabin, though I couldn't remember his name. To my relief the guy who joined him suddenly was Magnus, from my cabin.
We were going to be okay.
Magnus felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when Leaf said that he could see Lancer, and when he saw the boy with his own eyes he felt like collapsing in relief. He'd shouted at Lancer to stay there, and that they'd come over.
"Okay so we found Lancer, where the hell is Ace?" Leaf asked, still worried.
"He must be hurt, that's my guess." Magnus hated the thought, especially since he knew that Ace was Leaf's favourite kid this summer. "Listen, I'm going over, but I want you to stay here. I know you're going to protest, but if he is hurt, we're probably going to need to pull him up the cliff and it'll be a hell of a lot easier if we use the Jeep. And you know I'm better in rescue scenarios than you so don't argue."
Leaf nodded, though he wanted to say fuck the pulley system and simply dive into the river. He knew he wasn't thinking straight though, his concern mingled with his lack of sleep causing him to react irrationally.
"Help me get the rope hooked up to the Jeep, okay?" They went back to the vehicle, pulling a length of rope out of the back seat and securing it to the bumper. Magnus tied the rope around his waist, before preparing to scale down the cliff to the water.
"Hey be careful, all right? The current looks pretty strong," Leaf said, worried that Magnus's lack of sleep might work against him. The pouring rain certainly wasn't helping matters at all.
"I will be." That said Magnus started his descent down the cliff face, and Leaf watched on in worry, hoping he wouldn't slip. After what seemed like an hour to the worry-fraught Leaf (but was only a few minutes) Magnus had reached the water and untied himself before making his way across the river. Lancer had been right there to meet him, and all Leaf could do was watch and wait.
It had been pure torture, waiting until Magnus finally got across the river. Numerous times on his way down his foot had slipped on the rocks, and all I could envision was him losing his footing and plummeting to the rocks below. Luckily Magnus was skilled in rock climbing and river crossings, because all of a sudden there he was, coming out of the water with his eyes set on me. I rushed to him and was torn between my desire to blurt everything out and my desire to hug him purely out of relief.
"What happened? Where's Ace?" Luckily he started asking questions before I had to decide.
"He's badly hurt, he fell and hit his head on a tree and I think he has a concussion!" I wished I could explain more calmly, but I just wanted to grab his hand and tug him back up the river to where I'd left him, hoping that the rain hadn't washed my sticks out.
"Where is he?" Magnus was calm, though, which made me feel a little better.
"He's about half an hour back that way, I was trying to get back to camp," I started explaining, but he cut me off.
"Do you know for sure where he is?" I nodded and explained my arrow, and Magnus nodded.
"Okay, good. I need you to lead me back to him, I'll tell Leaf to drive ahead." I watched as Magnus went back to the river's edge, yelling out instructions to Leaf. They had trouble communicating over the sound of the river and the rain, though, but suddenly I had an idea. I looked around me and found a few sticks, which I brought over to Magnus.
"I thought maybe we could show him an arrow made out of sticks so he'd know what to look for?" I stood next to Magnus and held up the sticks.
"Great idea, Lancer! Good thinking!" Magnus grabbed the sticks out of my hand and made a crude sort of arrow with them, showing it to Leaf and then pointing in the direction he should go. Leaf nodded and seemed to understand, hauling the rope up into the Jeep before turning the engine over and taking off.
"All right Lancer, you up for a jog?" He asked me with a slight grin.
"No, but I will anyway!" I replied, not waiting for him as I turned and took off the way I'd come from. I figured a thirty minute walk would take maybe ten minutes to run, and I just hoped I'd make it that long. I was pretty good when it came to running long distances, at least, but I was pretty drained and running with heavy wet clothes in the mud was a little difficult and took a lot out of a guy.
I could feel my legs begin to tremble as I ran, and my heart was pounding extra hard. I thought that maybe I was pushing myself a little too hard, but it didn't matter. I would just have to deal with it for now. I could rest when we got to Ace.
After what felt like half an hour to me (probably because I was feeling so winded) we heard the horn of the Jeep and saw Leaf standing next to it on the other side of the river, the rope already hanging down the side. Magnus waved to him and yelled at him to wait there.
"Okay Lancer, where is he?"
I pointed into the trees, unable to talk at the moment. Magnus nodded and crashed into the thicket, and after a moment spent catching my breath, I followed. Magnus had veered off to the left a little, so I called out to him and he followed me. My heart pounded uncontrollably and I felt as though my entire chest would explode until I saw Ace on the ground, exactly as I'd left him. That had been over an hour ago, and I hoped he was still okay. Despite being aware of himself enough to hold a conversation, he'd seemed to be in pretty rough shape. His violent shivering had me worried the most. What if he'd been too chilled to warm up in the sleeping bags?
I just stood there while Magnus dropped to his knees beside him, pulling the sleeping bag back and touching his forehead, before putting a finger to his neck. I saw him frown and that had me suddenly fearing the worst. I stumbled toward them, almost on the verge of breaking down. Ace had to still be okay, he had to be! I couldn't have gone through that just to lose him in an hour!
Finally Magnus stood up, motioning for me to come over to him. I was afraid of what he would say. "Okay, tell me quickly what happened."
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat so I could talk, but I couldn't. I was overcome with guilt and shame again, reminded that this was entirely my fault. It took me a moment before I could start forcing words out. "I lost our map and Ace started climbing down the cliff to get it, but then he fell off and hit his head on a tree," I paused to catch my breath, "so I had to climb down after him because he was just floating down the river. I pulled him out, and he was out for a while, then he woke up and said he wanted to walk back. I, I didn't think he should try, but he said he was okay," I stopped talking then, guilty again about not forcing him to stop sooner. If he'd just stayed where he was the first time, he wouldn't be as bad as he is now.
Magnus didn't need to hear any more, though. "Okay, that's enough. I need your help now, okay? We need to get him back to the Jeep, so I need you to help me get him up the cliff."
I nodded, though I didn't know what I could possibly do to help out. Whatever he asked, I guess. Magnus leaned down again to pick Ace up, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He started making his way back out to the river, and I wondered if I should bring the sleeping bags. I decided not to - my dad could always pay to replace them anyway.
When we made it back to the river Magnus studied the water for a moment, as though he was debating if this was a good idea. He motioned for me to stand next to him. "Do you feel comfortable getting across the river? I need you to help me with the rope. If you don't feel like you can get across though that's okay, be honest." He studied my face and I knew I couldn't lie to him.
But I did feel confident about crossing the river. "No I'm okay, besides I'm a strong swimmer, and if anything happens I know the river goes out to the lake so I'll be okay." He studied my face again and seemed to feel confident enough in my ability.
"Okay, follow behind me and be careful!" He walked out into the river first, and I followed closely behind in case anything happened to him. I was more scared that Magnus would misstep and drop Ace than I was scared about making it myself. It took us a few minutes because the current was really strong, but luckily the river only went to our waists at this point, so we were able to walk across it.
We made it to the other side and pressed up to the rock. Magnus pulled Ace down from his shoulder, propping him up against the rock wall. He fumbled with the rope and I got as close as I could, asking what I could do to help. I couldn't help but notice that Ace didn't appear to be conscious.
"Lancer, can you tie a bowline knot?" Magnus asked me all of a sudden, and I nodded. I knew all about knots, my dad had taught me from the time I was a kid. We went boating a lot, so I had to know them.
"Yeah, I can!" He told me that he wanted me to tie a bowline knot at the end of the rope, so he could use it as a foothold since there wasn't enough rope to secure around he and Ace. I knew it was rather dangerous, but thinking quickly about the situation and how much rope there was, I had to agree it was the best bet. The cliff was too rocky and sharp for them to pull Ace up on his own, because he'd constantly be scratching up against the rock wall. Worst of all was that he might slam his head against the rock.
"Okay, no problem," I said, before crouching down to start. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he wouldn't have a good grip on the rope while being pulled up. There was enough rope to make another knot for a handhold, so I told him I was going to make him an alpine butterfly so he could have something to hold on to. He nodded, and in a matter of seconds I had both knots tied and ready for use. I helped him slip his foot into the bowline and then secured it.
I stood back as he got ready to be pulled up, looking up to see Leaf giving the signal that he would start pulling them up with the Jeep. I really hoped he had a good enough grip on Ace, because if he dropped him... It would be a disaster.
The ascent was slow, which was good. You have to take your time with these things, my father stressed that constantly. If you rush, you'll make mistakes, especially in the rain! Climbing rock in the rain has all kinds of possibility for trouble, especially if you're carrying someone else.
It took a few minutes, but I felt relieved when I saw them disappear from view. Ace was going to be okay. He was safe.
The moment Leaf saw Magnus's head appear over the rocks he felt the first wave of relief rush over him, and when he saw Ace's body follow he slammed the Jeep into park and jumped out, rushing over to the cliff to help Magnus get the boy up. Looking at Ace's pale skin had Leaf worried. He figured the kid must have a concussion, but from what? Ace was always so careful!
He grabbed the kid under the shoulders, linking his arms around his chest. He pulled the boy up onto the grass and soon Magnus was up and over, crouching beside him. "What happened to him?" was the first question he asked, as he was quickly checking his pulse.
"Apparently he went rock climbing and fell off, cracked his head on a tree lying across the river."
Leaf frowned at the answer. "He's not that careless, was he after something? Did they lose their map?" His pulse rate seemed a little low, but that wasn't surprising if he'd fallen unconscious again. He was mostly concerned about how cold the kid was. Perhaps an onset of hypothermia from the rain? If he'd been in wet clothes ever since falling into the river and it had been raining all night, it certainly was a possibility.
"It blew off; he climbed down to get it. I don't know how many times I tell them not to do that! The cliff walls are so unsafe."
"Sure, but what else were they supposed to do? Without a map they wouldn't know where to go." Leaf couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at Magnus's comments. It was as though he thought the kid was irresponsible and rash, but Leaf knew him better. Ace wouldn't have tried climbing down if he hadn't thought the situation was safe. Accidents can happen to anyone.
"That doesn't matter; we need to get him back asap. What do you think? Lance said he refused to stay put and tried to walk back to the lake. Imagine he just made himself a great deal worse doing that."
Leaf nodded, "that would make sense, most kids think they aren't that affected by head trauma. I'm worried he might be on the hypothermic side, if he spent all night in wet clothes and now he's lying out here in the rain. What do you think?" Magnus nodded and told Leaf to get Ace in the Jeep while he went back to pull up Lancer.
A few minutes had passed since Magnus and Ace had gone over the top of the cliff and I was starting to feel just a tiny bit worried. Weren't they going to throw me the rope so I could climb up?
As the minutes went by and I neither saw nor heard anything, I suddenly started getting paranoid. They hadn't forgotten me, had they? Was Ace's condition so unstable that all they'd thought about was getting him back to camp and to a doctor?
Or maybe they were angry at me for this whole mess. It was my fault, after all. I'd told Magnus that. Were they going to teach me a lesson now, to be more careful with my stuff when out in the woods? Make me find my own way back to camp? It was what I deserved, after all. Ace was only injured because of my stupid mistake in losing the map. I stood against the rock, shivering now from the cold. I needed to get out of the river, at least.
I looked up again, deciding to give it another minute. I could try calling, but would they hear me? And what if they really were gone? Just as I was about to start truly panicking at the thought of being left behind Magnus's face appeared over the side, looking down at me. I breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't leaving me behind.
Magnus threw down the rope, yelling at me to secure myself with it. Too tired and cold to think of anything else, I made a bowline knot for my foot and grabbed the still present alpine butterfly, gripping it with both hands. I gave Magnus a thumbs up to indicate I was ready, and Magnus started pulling me up. It was a little scary when the rope first went taught and I lifted off the ground, but I quickly calmed myself down and held on, kicking off from the wall with my free foot so I wouldn't scrape against it. It was over quickly and I all but collapsed when I made it over the top, Magnus reaching down to pull me in further.
"Are you okay? Sorry we left you waiting," Magnus laid a hand on my shoulder, watching me intently.
I nodded, breathing heavily. "I'm okay," I said, still feeling frazzled. I had really thought for a moment they'd been about to leave me. I looked at Magnus guiltily, so exhausted and distraught I was on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault!"
Magnus frowned and pulled me in to his chest, one arm around my shoulder. "Hey, calm down, it's all right. It's no more your fault than it is his for climbing down to begin with."
"But he never would have climbed down if I hadn't lost the map! It's my fault! And then, I knew he should have just stayed where I pulled him out, he would have been okay, but I let him get up and walk! I should have said no, I should have made him stay," I could feel my shaky hold on myself crumble now that we'd been saved.
"He would have gotten up and walked anyway after you'd left him if he was so inclined. You did all that you could do, Lancer. You did the right thing, okay?" Magnus looked back at the Jeep, seeing that Leaf was now ready to go. "Come on, we need to get moving." He stood up, reaching down to grab me by the arm and pull me up. "Come on Lancer, I mean it. You did a good job, you made the right decisions."
I heard Magnus but didn't believe him. How could anything I had done have been right? Ace was unconscious again, after being coherent just an hour ago. I'd totally screwed up! I followed Magnus back to the Jeep, sitting in the passenger seat next to him while Leaf sat in the back, holding an unconscious Ace on his lap.
I felt guilty all over again. I'd seen them joking around camp enough to know that Leaf favoured Ace out of all the boys in the camp. Every time he demonstrated anything in any of his classes, he would always use Ace as his demonstrator, and they would always joke around and Leaf would wrestle him to the ground and ruffle his hair like an older brother every time he saw him. And now he was sitting just behind me, holding an unresponsive and probably near-death Ace in his arms.
And it was all my fault. Every last bit of it.