The Price of Friendship Chapter 14
The frantic yells of Justin, Joey, and Chris caused Davis�s footsteps to falter. The three men walking with him noticed his hesitation and watched as he quickly changed directions. In a quiet whisper over his shoulder, Davis spoke to his brothers in his native language.
�Just a moment my brothers�I want to make sure that they will be alright�they sound so afraid.�
The three men looked at each other knowingly realizing that they would not be able to argue with Davis�this was something that he needed to do. All three of them would readily admit having some guilty feelings tugging at their hearts, but if their plan was to work, the deed that they had just done had been one of necessity.
�I�m sure that they will be alright, my brother, but where you lead Davis, we will follow,� his youngest brother, Thomas said in reply.
The four men quietly retraced their steps, stalking through the thick underbrush until they were within 50 yards of the young Americans. Unnoticed, at least by the young men in the distance, the four older men silently knelt behind the bushes to listen to and watch the drama, taking place before them. Unfortunately, for Davis and his brothers, they were also being observed from a distance�by a camera previously known to them, but temporarily forgotten due to the current circumstances. Moreover, to make matters worse, this camera�s audio equipment was in perfect working order.
�What are they doing?� Leigh Russell asked her husband as they watched Davis and his brothers abruptly retrace their footsteps. A stern look aimed in her direction cut off any further questioning for the moment. Leigh, understanding that her husband didn�t want to be distracted, simply stood closer to him and watched his profile harden with what he had just seen and heard. Why was Davis expressing concern for the well being of the very young man that her husband was bent on using to the point of complete and utter destruction of the boy�s body, as well as, his soul�his inner self�his faith in goodness and in faith in himself as a human being?
�I�m not exactly sure what they are doing,� Russell whispered, his voice so fierce that a sudden shudder of excitement made its way down Leigh�s spine. With a smile, she tentatively took a small step toward her husband and laid a hand on his shoulder before again looking at the monitor screen to watch Davis and his brothers.
�They�re okay, aren�t they Chris?� Justin breathlessly whispered in disbelief. Just minutes earlier, the trio had stumbled upon JC and Lance lying on the trail unconscious and tied up. He and Joey joined Chris in kneeling on the ground beside JC and Lance�s seemingly lifeless forms.
With shaking hands, Chris leaned over JC�s pale, limp body and reached for his neck to feel a faint, but even pulse. He released a breath that he had not even realized that he had been holding.
�JC�s okay. His pulse is kinda slow, but it�s steady. Start untying him.�
With trembling hands, Justin and Joey began to quickly untie the ropes firmly wrapped around JC�s wrists and ankles while Chris pulled the gag from JC�s mouth, leaving it to dangle loosely around his neck.
Chris then turned to Lance, who was as white as a sheet, and placed his fingers on his neck only to feel a much slower and irregular pulse. Glancing over his shoulder, Chris spoke in a tone of voice that held a mild hint of growing panic.
�Lance�s pulse isn�t as strong as JC�s and it has a weird rhythm to it.�
Chris heard Joey and Justin audibly gasp at the information.
�His heart murmur maybe?� Joey asked, trying to remain calm as he knelt on the other side of Lance and began to work on untying the thick gag surrounding his mouth so that Lance could possible breathe better.
�I don�t know�� Chris said, looking at Justin�s face, which probably looked much like his own�scared senseless.
�What do we do?� Justin asked as he gently began to run his hand through JC�s hair.
�I don�t know�� Chris repeated softly, watching Joey untie Lance�s gag. Something about Joey didn�t look quite right to Chris.
He knew that Joey was running a fever that he suspected had been caused by the fact that Joey had lay for almost 12 hours, trapped under a huge tree limb that had fallen on him during a strong thunderstorm the previous night. Joey happened to glance up at Chris and saw concern written on his face. He gave Chris a wan smile before looking back down at the knot that was finally falling apart in his hands.
Being too far away, Davis and his brothers could not see the looks of concern that Joey was receiving, but they were close enough to hear words that caused Thomas�s stomach drop�heart murmur�the leaves and a heart murmur. Davis looked at his youngest brother and saw distress written on his profile. He very slowly put his hand on Thomas�s shoulder, causing the young man to drop his head and tightly shut his eyes.
�What is it that troubles you?� Davis asked as James and Matthew turned their attention to the two, watching the look of panic on one�s face and the others, a mask of concern.
�The leaves�the leaves�his heart��
�Do you think there is a connection?� Matthew asked, trying to understand the conversation better.
�I do not know,� Thomas replied in a tortured whisper. After a few moments, Thomas thought of one possible cause to the problem that Lance was experiencing.
�Are you sure that you removed all of the leaves from his mouth after he lost consciousness?� he asked Davis.
�Yes, but I may have missed a leaf if it had been very small. Would such a small leaf cause problems with his heart? Davis asked his brother.
�Possibly if that person had a condition to begin with, but I am not sure,� Thomas answered. He had never heard of a heart murmur before, but the alarmed tone of the young men�s voices in the distance was enough to cause him concern. If they were scared of the blond one�s heart, then he should be also.
The group grew quiet then turned their attention back to what was going on in the distance�hoping to hear more of the condition of the young man called Lance.
Joey pulled the gag out of Lance�s mouth as Chris again checked his pulse and felt that it had made some improvement. He then laid his head on Lance�s chest and listened to his friend�s heartbeat for several seconds. From his stooped position, he spoke in a voice that was full of optimism.
�It�s still a little irregular, but not as bad as before�I think getting that gag off helped some.�
Justin let out a shaky breath and whispered a prayer of thanks as he continued to watch over JC.
Thomas let out a deep breath silently and looked at his brothers with an expression that spoke of relief.
�He will be okay�� he whispered.
�Let us go then,� Davis mouthed as he slowly began to crawl backwards. The rest of the group followed suit and, once they were far enough away, the four rose and walked deeper into the forest. Little did they know, that their movements�their words�their concern�had been caught on video.
�Let�s get the rest of the stuff off of Lance�that might help some more, don�t you think?� Chris asked slowly as he straightened up from his stooped position. He looked over at Joey and saw him grimace then wipe a slightly trembling hand over his face.
�You okay, Joe?� Chris asked, his concern moving from Lance to the figure stooped over him.
His question caused Justin to look over at Joey then to quickly glance up at Chris. Chris flashed a quick look of concern at Justin before looking intently at Joey.
�Headache�my arm hurts some too,� Joey whispered as he began to concentrate on untying Lance. He looked up at Chris and saw worry written on his face. Joey then took a deep breath, willing himself to feel better. They needed to be more concerned with Lance and JC�s condition right now�not his.
�Do you want to turn Lance on his side so we can get him untied?� Joey asked in a voice sounding slightly strained.
The word headache had sent chills through Chris and Justin since a headache and seeing spots had caused Joey to black out two days ago and neither wanted a repeat of that incident. Joey seemed to read their thoughts and repeated his question with a voice that seemed slightly stronger.
�Do you think we need to turn Lance over so that we can untie him?�
�Yeah�help me turn him over,� Chris murmured distractedly.
The pair carefully turned Lance�s lax body over onto his left side and quickly worked together to remove the bindings surrounding his wrists and ankles. Within minutes, the ropes had been removed and Lance was once again lying on his back, his head now resting in Chris�s lap.
�Do you think they�ll be waking up soon?� Justin asked in a voice choked with tears. Chris and Joey looked over at Justin who had placed JC�s head in his lap and saw tears tracing their way down his face.
�J�they�ll be okay�I don�t know when they�ll be waking up, but they will�okay,� Joey said as he attempted to stand up and walk over to Justin. The attempt was short lived, as the world seemed to unexpectedly tilt crazily under his feet, causing him to lose his balance and crash back down onto the dirt trail, narrowly missing Lance�s prone body.
�Joey?� Chris�s voice seemed oddly far away to Joey even though he was just a mere three or four feet away.
�Mmm�I don�t feel�so good Chris,� Joey managed to say before deciding that lying down on the dirt under his own power would be an excellent decision at that moment.
Chris carefully lifted Lance�s head from his lap then lowered it down to the ground. He stood up and moved quickly over to Joey�s side.
�What�s the matter Joey?� he anxiously asked while placing his hand over his friend�s sweaty forehead. He did not even have to place his hand directly onto Joey�s skin to find out what the problem was�he could feel the heat radiating from his friend. Chris looked in alarm over at Justin and mouthed the words, �fever�really bad fever.� Justin closed his eyes and dropped his head in frustration over the helplessness he was feeling with the whole situation. With his free hand, he quickly pinched the bridge of his nose to prevent any additional tears from falling. Chris felt his own control beginning to crumble. He hesitated to return his gaze to Joey for a moment out of fear of losing his own battle with tears. Joey�s voice brought Chris out of his thoughts.
�It sure is cold all of a sudden�� Joey�s voice barely audible due to chills causing his voice to tremble with cold.
�Why don�t you just close your eyes, Joey while Justin and I take care of Lance and JC,� Chris answered slowly.
�I should really help you guys,� Joey weakly protested, but he was rapidly lacking the strength to rise up from his position from the ground.
�Listen to me, Joey�they�re still out of it. Why don�t you just let us worry about them and you try to get some rest,� Chris said in a convincing tone as he reached down and patted Joey on the shoulder.
Joey numbly nodded his head then allowed his eyes to close. Moments later, Chris and Justin knew that Joey had either fallen asleep or passed out�which of the two, they didn�t know for sure. Chris made a fist and placed it over Joey�s sternum and gave it a quick, hard rub. There was only a slight response from Joey leading Chris and Justin to believe that he was unconscious, and not just merely sleeping deeply.
�He�s out cold,� he said to Justin. Justin nodded his head and rapidly blinked his eyes, fighting to keep his tears of fear at bay.
Chris crawled over to the discarded supply box, opened it and pulled one of the few remaining water bottles from it, along with the last remnants of his t-shirt. After tearing the shirt into three pieces, he poured water over them and handed one to Justin.
�Here,� Chris said. �Use this to rub over JC�s face. It might help him wake up faster�it helped you.�
Justin slightly shuddered at the memory as he took the cloth from Chris�s hand and gently began to wipe JC�s slack features.
Hearing a groan from Joey caused Justin to glance up from his task to stare at his sick friend. He watched Chris carefully fold the small, dampened cloth and place it gently over Joey�s fevered brow.
�What do we do about Joey?� Justin asked in a strained whisper, barely able to tear his gaze away from Joey�s slack features long enough to look at Chris. Chris shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what to do at the moment, other than try to let Joey rest long enough that he might be able to make it back to the cave on his own steam�without being carried. He and Justin were going to be busy enough trying to keep JC and Lance on their feet without having to worry about Joey too.
�I think we just need to leave him alone for a little while,� Chris answered, knowing that rest probably wasn�t going to be the only thing that Joey needed.
�I guess him being trapped under that tree overnight in the rain caused the fever,� Justin said quietly, looking down at JC, as he continued to run the cloth over his face, wishing that JC would wake up soon.
�How�s JC doing, J?� Chris asked as he turned his attention back to Lance, who was beginning to show slight signs of awareness now that he had been wiping his face with the wet cloth.
Justin placed his hand over JC�s neck and searched for his pulse. Seconds later, after finally finding the pulse point, Justin breathed a sigh of relief before speaking.
�His pulse is starting to feel stronger,� Justin answered, hoping that it meant that he would be waking soon. As if in answer to the silent question, JC gave a slight moan through his parted lips. Remembering the fear that he had felt when he had awakened on the trail two days earlier, Justin grasped one of JC�s limp hands and began to speak to him in hushed tones.
�JC�JC�come on man,� Justin whispered in his friend�s ear. �You need to fight it Jace�fight it and wake up.�
JC again moaned and slightly turned his head in the direction of his voice. Justin felt the hand that he was lightly fingering begin to come to life, gripping his hand in such a way that led Justin to believe that JC was attempting to fight the darkness surrounding him.
Chris watched the pair intently until he felt Lance jerk his head under the cloth that he was holding against his forehead.
Chris quickly rubbed the cloth once again over Lance�s face.
�It looks like Lance is trying to wake up too,� he said, his voice full of relief.
The pair continued with the ministrations for nearly another 15 minutes before JC�s eyelids slowly began to flutter open.
JC felt as if he was swimming through molasses in order to reach the surface of the blackness that threatened to suffocate him. He cautiously opened his eyes, finding everything to be blurry and confusing at first, then slowly, his vision began to clear and the first thing that he saw was Justin�s concerned face hovering above him.
�Hey�glad to see you finally awake,� Justin whispered as he watched confusion wash over JC�s features.
�What�� JC began before coughing. He desperately needed some water, but didn�t have the voice to ask for it. Justin seemed to sense what was needed and asked Chris to hand him the water bottle.
�Here,� Justin murmured as he carefully raised JC to a semi-reclined position and brought the bottle to JC�s lips.
�Don�t let him have too much,� Chris warned. �We don�t need him to get sick.�
Justin nodded in response and gave JC time to swallow a few sips of the cool liquid before pulling the bottle away from him.
�That�s enough, JC.�
Justin lowered JC back down to the ground and watched him turn his head in the direction of Chris. With an audible gasp, JC realized Chris was kneeling on the ground by Lance.
�Is he breathing okay?� JC blurted out at Chris as he struggled to sit up in an attempt to get a better view of the still unconscious blond.
�What?� Chris and Justin asked at the same time. Justin pulled JC up into an upright position against his own chest as he and Chris exchanged looks of confusion at what had just been said.
�What did you mean?� Chris asked. �Lance couldn�t breathe?�
�They�those men�one of them put something under Lance�s tongue. He couldn�t breath�� JC said, knowing that he was making any sense at that moment because of the chloroform. A sudden and unexpected wave of dizziness washed over him, causing him to suddenly lean heavily against Justin. Justin wrapped an arm around JC�s chest, and then pulled him as he scooted a few feet back to lean against a tree, all the while watching to see what Chris was doing.
�Where�s Joey?� JC whispered, realizing that he had not seen Joey since he had come to.
�He�s over there,� Justin said as he pointed a few yards down the trail at Joey�s sleeping form.
�What happened?�
�Fever.�
While Justin explained to JC about Joey�s condition, Chris dropped the cloth that he had been wiping Lance�s face with and gently eased his slack mouth open. The action suddenly brought Lance somewhat to life. He raised his hands and feebly batted at the hands that were trying to, what he thought, do him harm again.
�Sh�Lance�it�s just me�Chris.�
Chris could tell that Lance had no earthly idea who was touching him. His movements, although weak, along with the fearful expression crossing his semi-conscious face caused anger to build up inside Chris at the thought of Lance and JC being attacked for no apparent reason.
�Need some help?� Justin asked as he watched Lance�s feeble movements against Chris and the look of despair that the older had on his face.
Chris quickly shook his head no, not daring to talk, knowing that he probably would not be able to control his tears if he did speak.
Lance again groaned weakly in protest when Chris had to tighten his grip on Lance�s jaws due to the struggles that he was now making against his hands. His vocalizations caused his tongue to temporarily raise itself to reveal a tiny, shiny leaf that had gone unnoticed before. Chris reached into Lance�s mouth and gently grabbed at the leaf as quickly as he could before Lance had a chance to accidentally bite him. He released Lance�s jaws and ran his hand over the young man�s head while speaking to him in quiet tones in an effort to calm him and seconds later Lance had once again lapsed back into a deeper level of unconsciousness.
Chris then placed the leaf in the palm of his hand and examined it. It didn�t look all that special. In fact, it looked very similar to leaves that he might find in his own yard back home. He then turned and showed the leaf to Justin who took it from his hand to show to JC.
Russell Johnson brushed his wife�s hand off his shoulder in order to push several buttons on a control panel. Looking at the screen before him, he watched the image became larger as he continued to punch more buttons. The leaf came into view and, immediately, both Russell and his wife were able to identify what kind it was and its medicinal purposes. What circumstances had caused Davis and his brothers to give the young man medical aid. Davis had not indicated that there had been a problem, but then again, the audio components of the camera were not properly functioning. Russell�s thoughts were interrupted when he heard Justin begin to speak.
Justin looked at the small, green item lying in his hand. It seemed almost unbelievable that something so small could cause Lance so much trouble. With a shake of his head, Justin brought his arm around JC�s body so that he could see the leaf for himself.
�This leaf was in Lance�s mouth�did they put it there so that he couldn�t breathe?� Justin asked, trying to keep his tone even as anger slowly began to well up inside him at the thought of someone trying to purposely cause further injury to Lance. The thought of someone �kicking a person while they were already down� made him feel sick to his stomach.
JC shook his head and closed his eyes.
�No. That�s not what I meant,� JC answered in frustration before taking a deep breath in an effort to unscramble his disjointed thoughts. He leaned the back of his head against Justin�s shoulder and took another shuddered breath while Justin wrapped an arm around JC.
�It�s okay, Jace,� Justin said in a voice full of understanding. �Just take your time.�
He remembered how confused he had been when he had first awakened from his stupor after he had been attacked.
Justin and Chris gave JC several minutes to gather his thoughts. Chris looked down at Lance and saw a slight improvement in his coloring�maybe that was due to the leaf no longer being in his mouth. He then looked back over at JC. He was anxious to find out what had happened so that they could possibly find out why the attacks were occurring.
�What happened, Jace,� Chris asked, his voice taking on an almost pleading tone when he saw that JC seemed ready with his explanation. JC took another deep breath and, in a voice slightly trembling, began to explain what little he remembered of the attack.
�I don�t remember everything and what I do remember is kinda hazy.�
�That�s okay,� Justin said.
�Just tell us what you do know,� Chris added. JC slowly nodded his head and began to speak in a hesitant voice.
�We were walking down the trail toward the cave, when we heard a noise. That guy that we saw Chris�the one with Justin�he was the first one we saw.�
Chris nodded his head in understanding, not wanting to interrupt JC�s thoughts. JC�s voice dropped off as the memory of the attack became somewhat more vivid.
�Three others came out from behind the trees�Lance started breathing really hard�he was so scared.�
JC closed his eyes and swallowed hard before continuing.
�He fell against me and hit the ground. He couldn�t breathe�he told me that he couldn�t breathe.�
JC closed his eyes again as the hazy memory became clearer.
�That first guy grabbed me�I wanted to help Lance, but I couldn�t break out of his grip. Another one of them grabbed some leaves off a bush and pushed them into Lance�s mouth then covered his mouth with his hand.�
JC quickly blinked his eyes in an effort to control the emotions that were beginning to well up inside him.
�What happened after that, JC?� Chris asked.
�He started breathing okay�the leaves helped him�and then he passed out. That man helped Lance,� JC said in a voice that spoke of disbelief of the fact that someone violent enough to attack them and tie them up would be kind enough to offer help. It just didn�t make any sense�none at all.
JC slowly sat up and turned to look at Justin and Chris.
�That man may have saved Lance�s life.�
�If he did that, why did they knock you and Lance out and then tie you up?� Chris asked in bewilderment.
�I don�t know�� JC cocked his head to the side. There had been something said to him by the man who had held him�what was it?
�Did you think of something else?�
�I don�t know Chris�someone said something to me right before I passed out, but I can�t seem to remember what he had said.� JC shut his eyes and rubbed his forehead. A headache was beginning to form behind his eyes effectively blocking out what little remaining memory he had of the incident. He had a nagging feeling that there was something he needed to remember�something important. What could it possibly have been?
Russell Johnson sat heavily on the plush couch behind him, his thoughts running rampant�thoughts of Davis and his brothers possibly attempting to undermine his plans in tearing a closely-knit group apart. He leaned his head against the back of the couch and ran his fingers through his sparse thatch of hair on his head. He simply could not allow that to happen, but how. He had never expected Davis to turn on him. Where had this new-found courage come from? He had to put a stop to it�immediately put it to an end.
Leigh watched her husband, patiently waiting for him to tell her what he wanted her to do. Finally, after several tense minutes of silence, Russell spoke.
�Leigh�find Marco. Have him come here,� he whispered.
�Yes, dear,� she answered as she made her way to the door. Just before leaving the room, Leigh turned to look at her husband.
�What do you have in mind for Davis and his family?�
�I don�t know yet, but whatever I decide, I�m sure that no one but you and I will enjoy it,� he said with a grim smile. �I�ll make sure of that.�