Emerging Compassions

Chapter 31: Where's Cindy?

(Jimmy's POV)

Right when I heard Libby's news that Cindy'd run away, I felt incredibly awful. I had a feeling all those comments made about her and Libby must've driven her to the breaking point... Libby was upset about it at first, but she eventually got over it and began rebuking those who were making fun of her and Cindy. Cindy, on the other hand, didn't seem to take it as well, as she looked more and more depressed as the day wore on. The last place I saw her in was my second-to-last class of the day, which was AP World Politics, then I got ready to go home that day and Libby'd reported that she'd disappeared.

I felt partially responsible for this, mainly because she and I'd had a scuffle the previous evening before heading home. She looked somewhat upset as she returned home, but it would take a lot more to break her spirit, and the mockery and teasing at school did it. I cared about her and wanted to see her again, to see her shimmering, emerald eyes one more time, to tell her that I deeply cared about her feelings and her as an individual. It wasn't my fault we'd fallen into that tunnel leading to BTSO's headquarters in the Pacific, nor was it that embarrassing incident happened because of that. It was just how we happened to land on eachother; it wasn't my fault that she was with child! It also wasn't my fault that we were hit by a missile from Calamitous, forcing us to land in Indonesia, and nor was it my fault that the heat and humidity made us wear garments woven from the native flora, and that Butch Pakovski just happened to be there to photograph us without our knowing! Gas planet, all those unfortunate happenings really frustrated me!

I just stood there, just outside the school entrance while packed up for home, thinking about these things in depth, when Libby walked up to me and tapped my shoulder, almost scaring the heck outta me! I jumped slightly and yelped, turning to face her, "Yaahh! Libby, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, Neutron... I'm just concerned about Cindy," she apologized, her hands joined behind her back and looking down at her shoes.

I could only nod and look at her, finally admitting after about 5 minutes, "So am I, Libby. I hate to admit it, but I'm gravely concerned about her well-being, as well... I just want to see her again, to look deeply into her emerald gems one more time, to tell her that I lo-..." Thankfully, I stopped myself before I completely admitted it.

At that moment, Sheen sauntered up to us, with Carl not far behind him, and he asked, "What were you 2 just talking about right now, hmmmm?" There was a sense of extreme curiosity in his voice; I could sense it almost immediately!

I just placed my forehead into the palm of my hand and muttered, "Nothing, nothing, Sheen..."

"Come ON, Jimmy! With you, nothing is always something! Do you miss Cindy?" he persisted, an eager look in his eyes.

I let out a deep sigh and muttered, "Yes, Sheen, I do..."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find her!" Sheen announced, starting to run ahead of us as if he was Vibrating Lad again.

"Sheen, wait UP!" Carl hollered, trying to catch up to him as he ran breathlessly.

"Guys, wait up! You'll need my help if we want to find her successfully!" I called after them in hot pursuit, with Libby not far behind me. Just WHERE do they think they're going? I'M in charge here! I thought, gradually becoming breathless as I ran after them. Finally, I had to stop, and so did Libby. With that, I requested, "Libby, whistle for them, please..."

"Gladly," she replied, and with a large breath, whistled as hard as she could. TWEEEEEET!

They apparently heard her, so they turned tail and returned to us, with Carl breathing heavily, as usual, despite his leaner physique. "What's the deal, you 2?" Sheen wanted to know, crossing his arms on his chest.

"I need OXYGEN!" Carl gasped, and puffed deeply on his inhaler, then breathed, "That's better... So, why'd ya have Libby call for us, Jim?"

"Because I'M usually the one in charge and who usually knows how to keep everyone safe...," I said firmly, slightly glaring at them for running off like that. Then, in a gentler tone, I added, "Let's head to my lab so we can find Cindy somehow..."

With that, we all headed in that direction.

About 10 minutes later, we were inside my laboratory, with me at my usual post, typing furiously in front of VOX's screen. Within moments, it became a tad frustrating, and I thought to myself a tad nervously, It should NOT be this hard to locate her! Has she deactivated the tracking device I implanted on the back of her neck? Oh, gas planet! Get it together, James! There is simply no WAY she could remove it without my assistance! I've personally made sure of that. A few excruciating minutes later, I discovered her location. Finally! "Jumpin' Jupiter, I believe I've done it!" I exclaimed, hardly able to contain myself.

The others heard me and ran up, with Libby anxiously asking, "Done what? Have ya found her?"

"I've located Cindy, guys! According to my calculations, she's somewhere in the Chilean Andes...," I informed them, pointing at the screen.

"I'm allergic to chili," Carl told me.

"No, Carl, that's the country she's in, Chile," I corrected him, rolling my eyes.

I then glanced at Libby, who had a slight grimace on her face while glaring at Sheen. Man, girls are so mysterious sometimes...

At that moment, Sheen proclaimed, "To the hovercar!" Libby just slapped her forehead in disgust.

We all boarded my hovercar and I set the coordinates to central Chile, then we were on our way within a couple minutes. One thing baffled my understanding, though... How the heck could she get to her present location without a rapid form of transportation? Then I remembered: the jetpack I'd made her last Christmas! THAT'S what she used to get there so quickly!

The real question, however, was where in the Andes was she... That girl can be rather stubborn when she chooses to be, and I hate to admit it, but I admire that about her personality; quick to the complaints and arguments, but I can be just as quick, and when she decides to be benevolent and considerate, she really goes all out. Whenever she looks my way, I'm just ever captivated by those beautiful, emerald gems of hers, her golden blond locks swaying gracefully in the breeze...

My thoughts were interrupted when Libby groaned and impatiently asked, "Neutron, it's been 20 minutes by now! Are we there YET?"

"Just hold on, Libby... We should be at her present location within 5 minutes," I informed her, briefly glancing at my radar screen.

"Thank goodness...," she muttered, breathing a sigh of relief.

Within 5 minutes, we'd landed on a flat plateau section of one of the Andes' highest mountains. We all climbed out and began looking for Cindy. Before too long, Carl pointed upwards and exclaimed, "I think I see part of her hair, Jim!"

"Really?" I gasped, straining my eyes to see her, but because of my somewhat shorter stature, I couldn't quite see what he was talking about. So I slowly backed up, unknowingly getting rather close to the edge, and a few moments later, I could just make out what he just showed me. I took a few more steps backward to get a better view, and said, "Guys, I think I see her-!"

Suddenly, my foot slipped off the edge and before I knew it, I was hanging off the edge of a cliff! "Guys, help!" I shrieked helplessly.