Austin looks at my lips, with what looks like a sense of want. When I think he's about to lean in again, we're interrupted by Frank walking into the plane. Austin and I move away from each other quickly, but Frank doesn't seem to notice. He stands in front of us and there is slight panic in his eyes, "Thomas is gone." He says.
I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. I'm sure Thomas just didn't want to have to face me and Austin anymore so he attempted to leave, and now Frank seems more freaked out than when Austin was missing.
"I'm sure he just went to the river or something." Austin says.
"I don't think so. We found his backpack near the fire pit this morning, and Wanda doesn't think he even came into the plane to go to bed last night." Frank says.
Austin and I exchange glances and Frank just stares at us, "Will you help me find out what's going on?" Frank asks him.
Austin nods and pats me on the knee before getting up and walking out of the plane with him. I sit there, a little dumbfounded now, at Austin's actions. I'm surprised he would actually go help search for Thomas after what he tried to do to me. But something I've realized about Austin since this happened is he's a really caring guy, and I think he would probably do anything for anymore.
I get up and walk out of the plane, and everyone seems to be scattered around, doing different things. I guess Frank and Austin are the only ones that went off looking.
I walk over to Tiffany and the twins, and it seems to me that they are occupying themselves with different items they've found, such as rocks, leaves, sticks. I guess one of them packed a bottle of glue because that was lying next to their stuff. I almost wish I was their age, that way I could preoccupy myself so easily. Tiffany smiles at me and I return it before walking away.
Daniel and Rick seems to be best friends, they seem to always stick together. They are setting up the fire for tonight already, probably because there isn't much to do. I walk by them and go to the back of the plane where we keep our food supply. Wanda is sitting in front of a bin that we put the food in with a disappointed expression.
I cautiously take a seat next to her and stare at her until she speaks, "We need to cut down on food." She says.
"What? We can hardly get by on what we eat now." I tell her.
"I know, but we're running out of food fast. What are we going to do when we're out? I have only found a few berry bushes and I'm pretty sure we shouldn't eat those." She says and sighs.
I don't say anything, because it's true, none of us have found any other sources of food. We've all lost weight on how much we're eating now. A couple pieces of beef jerky or dried fruit a day is not filling at all, but it's all we can do.
"How long do you think we have until it runs out?" I ask her finally.
"I don't know exactly, a week or two maybe." She says.
I want to say that's fine, no big deal, we will be rescued by then, but for some reason I have this awful feeling that we will still be here by then, having to deal with having no food, and slowly starving to death...
Tiffany clears her throat and interrupts my daydream, well more like day mare. I just shrug and stand up. I head over to the fire pit and decide I could investigate Thomas' backpack. I stand over it and look at it. I don't think anyone has moved it, so I flip it upside down and that's when I notice bite marks. I gasp loudly and cover my mouth. Something defiantly chewed at the top, and that means either he left his backpack here last night and something came and snacked on it, or he got attacked by something.
I turn around to walk away and that's when Frank and Austin appear, running back from wherever they were. They say something to Daniel and Rick, but I can't hear it from the distance I'm at. After they stop talking, they all go running back to the direction Austin and Frank came from. Wanda, Tiffany and I all exchange glances with each other across the camp and I think we all know that something isn't right from that point on.
I don't know what to do with myself from that point on. I was too focused on wondering what was going on that I couldn't find anything else to occupy me. I could go in the plane, but it's not like I am going to sleep or something. I could help the twins, but I think they've got that covered. I also don't feel like sitting next to Wanda, who is staring helplessly at our food bin.
But my wait was over faster than I thought, as the four guys came walking back not too long later, without Thomas, without anything. Frank and the other two walk away, but Austin walks over to me. His face is pale, like he's just seen a ghost. He stands awkwardly in front of me, focusing on the dirt under his feet.
"What's going on?" I ask him.
"We found a lot of blood not far from here…" He says.
"Okay…" I say.
"Well, there was a ripped piece of cloth in the middle of the blood, and it looks just like the material on Thomas' shirt he was wearing before he left." He says.
The emotion I feel right after those words, I can't really explain. I sort of liked Thomas, in a friendly way of course, until he went completely psycho, and then I sort of hated him. But I feel a tinge of sadness, thinking that that blood could be his and thinking of a horrid attack that he may have went through makes me nauseas.
"What do you think it was?" I ask.
"There was a lot of blood, which makes me think there was more than one animal." He says.
I whisper my guess, "The wolves."
Austin nods in response. And that's when the conversation ends. We walk over together to the others who are circled around Frank. It seems as though he has waited until we got there to speak.
He clears his throat, and I notice that the twins aren't here. They must be in the plane. He probably didn't want them to hear about this, since they are quite fond of Thomas, "Austin and I found a lot of blood about a half mile over, and a piece of cloth that resembles the shirt Thomas was wearing right before he went missing." He starts, and Tiffany gasps, and Wanda covers her jaw dropped mouth with her hand.
"I'm not saying it was Thomas for sure, but I wouldn't know how to explain his piece of shirt. I don't know what to say to you guys about Thomas. Just pray that he is in fact alive and well out there. It's too late in the day to search now, but tomorrow morning Daniel and I will be going off looking for him. From now on, no one, and I mean no one is a loud to leave the plane at night without another person, got it?" He asks.
We all nod slowly, "And I'm not saying your even safe out here during the day, because my guess is you aren't, but we're more vulnerable at night, so just watch yourselves at all times, and try not to go far alone." He says.
None of us say anything, just nod when needed and after he's done he walks into the plane with Wanda to get the twins. I walk over to the fire pit and sit down on one of the long logs, staring at the ready to be lit fire. Austin walks over and sits next to me.
"I'm not leaving your side from now on." Austin says.
"I never wanted you to leave my side in the first place." I sigh, remembering when he told me to run the opposite direction and I had refused.
"I know, but it had to happen that way." He says.
"I missed you, a lot." I whisper, almost afraid of him hearing me. He turns his head and looks at me, but I keep my eyes straight ahead, avoiding eye contact.
I feel his eyes on me for a little while longer until he finally says, "I was scared," In a low voice.
I turn to him now, and he's still looking at me. The look in his eyes makes me believe him, not that I wouldn't have before. He looks so young in this moment, like a little boy, scared for his life. Before I can say anything back, he continues,
"Being out there like that in the dark, alone, was awful. I could feel eyes on me at night, and I kept waiting to get attacked at any moment. I heard so many strange noises, I felt like I was in a horror movie."
I shiver at his words, remembering the night I was out there. I know I wouldn't be able to handle that alone, "You didn't get attacked by any wolves?" I ask.
"No. But I saw one and I hid as fast as I could." He says.
"Isn't it weird that Thomas got attacked like that when he was right here, but you didn't get attacked when you were out in the woods for that long?" I ask.
Austin seems to think about this, and his face turns into confusion, "That is weird." He says.
We sit in silence for a while, until everyone walks over and starts the fire. I look around and I can't help but feel weird with Thomas not being here. I know that I shouldn't because of everything that happened, but I don't want any of us to disappear. The thought that any one of us could go missing tonight even, gives me the chills.
When the dried fruit gets passed along, I take a small piece. But I don't feel hungry, knowing that we'll be running out not too long from now. When everyone is nibbling on their food, Austin speaks up, "Ally had a good point earlier." He says.
Everyone's heads go up and they stare at me. I try not to turn red from all the attention and I just look at Austin. He nods and speaks for me, "She had said how it's odd that while I was lost in the woods, I didn't get attacked by any wolves. But then, you know…" He says, eyeing the twins who are only half paying attention.
"That's true. That just means there could be bigger, more dangerous, things out there. Or Austin was just lucky." Frank says.
No one says anything, and I think it is in fear of telling the twins too much. But I think they are old enough to know what's going on, especially if Thomas doesn't come back…
We all go to the plane after the fire starts to burn out. I sit down on my spot, suddenly not very tired. Austin lies down next to me, and everyone else drifts off to sleep quickly. I stare straight ahead, towards the front of the plane. It's just Austin and I at the end now. Thomas used to sleep right at our feet.
"Ally, go to sleep." Austin whispers.
I guess I was frozen for a while, so I listen to Austin and lie down next to him. He lays the blanket over both of us, and we lie down quietly. I still lay there, eyes open staring at the ceiling, until he wraps his arms around me finally, and I drift to sleep, wondering what tomorrow will bring.