The Price of Friendship Chapter 18
The first rays of early morning light began to shine through the natural hole in the cave�s ceiling. The sunlight gradually crawled its way across the five figures sleeping by the glowing embers of a fire that had been built last night.
Chris was the first to awaken when the sunlight penetrated his senses. The warm rays felt good on his bare back, and, for a brief moment, the young man found himself believing that he was awakening either at home or on the tour bus, his home away from home.
He casually turned from his side to his back, relishing in the delusion but was quickly brought to reality when his back made contact with a sharp rock. With a low, painful groan, the young man reached beneath his body and pulled out the offensive object. He gave it a disgusted glance before flinging through the cave�s entrance and into the waterfall.
With a small sigh Chris brought then his hands to his eyes and slowly rubbed the sleep from them. He stretched his tired and aching muscles and instantly felt them strain in protest. Sleeping on the hard ground was quickly becoming old. As he continued to stretch Chris allowed his mind to wander as he glanced about the room to see that he was the only one awake for the moment.
Sleeping about four or five feet away was Justin, with his back turned to him. Just beyond Justin were JC and Lance. With a shudder, Chris recalled how Lance had awakened two or three times during the night having nightmares. With each one, JC had been the only one able to coax Lance into wakefulness and ease him back into sleep. Thank goodness they had not had to resort to the tactic that Chris had found himself forced to use�a punch to his brother�s jaw.
During the aftermath of each nightmare, since Lance only seemed to respond to JC�s voice, it was finally concluded by the rest of the group, save Joey, that the reason had to be that JC had attempted to protect him during yesterday�s attack.
�Yesterday�s attack��
The sudden remembrance of events from the previous afternoon and evening flooded Chris�s sleep-clouded mind and immediately he sat up with a gasp and then a painful moan as his muscles and joints protested his sudden movement.
The slight noise that escaped Chris�s mouth caused the body lying next to him to stir. Chris heard a low, painful moan then, a groggy voice etched with pain weakly asking, �Did anyone see the 18-wheeler that hit me?�
�Joey?� Chris said as he quickly turned to see that Joey was holding in his hands the damp cloth that had been place on his forehead during the night.
�Chris�how did I get here�what happened to me?� Joey asked in a fearful tone of voice as his eyes darting about the room.
�The last thing I remember was being on the beach yesterday.�
Chris saw that Joey�s face bore a mask of confusion so, he gently cupped his friend�s chin in one hand and carefully guided his face until he was looking up at him while taking the cloth from Joey with the other hand. He placed the cloth back on Joey�s forehead as he spoke to him in quiet, reassuring tones.
�Hey�it�s nice to see you awake, Joe. You need to leave the cloth on your head. You�re still running a fever.�
Joey nodded his head at Chris then winced as he moved his right arm. Chris noticed his look of discomfort as Joey attempted to raise his arm.
�Arm bothering you?� Chris saw that the bandages needed changing since there were slightly stained.
�Yeah�it hurts to move my fingers,� Joey murmured as he attempted to move the swollen digits.
With a chuckle, Chris gently took the fingers in his hand and guided the arm back to rest on his friend�s chest.
�Then don�t move them, Joey,� he said, giving his young friend a �duh� look, which earned him a small smile from Joey.
�Do you remember what happened yesterday or last night?� Chris asked quietly, hoping that his question wouldn�t cause Joey any distress, but he needed to know just how much he actually remembered.
Joey closed his eyes and his face took on a look of concentration for a brief moment before speaking.
�No�like I said, the last thing that I remember is being on the beach,� Joey answered as he opened his eyes.
Chris noticed that Joey�s eyes were still glassy with fever. He decided to let Joey know a few details of what happened and he chose his words carefully so that Joey wouldn�t become alarmed and possibly cause the fever to grow worse.
�Well�we were on our way back to the cave when you kinda passed out on us on the trail.�
Joey�s eyebrows rose up with the information, but he didn�t say anything.
�Justin carried you back here and you�ve been pretty much out of it since then.�
�Oh,� was all that Joey said before looking about him in an effort to find the rest of the group.
�Is someone awake?� a voice quietly called out from across the room. Chris turned to see JC was now sitting up, looking in their direction.
�Yeah�Joey is awake, C,� Chris replied with a smile on his face.
JC glanced down at Lance to make sure that he had not awakened and he saw that he was still sleeping deeply. With a sigh of relief, JC quickly stood up, stretched his tired muscles, then made his way over to Chris and Joey. On the way, he picked up a water bottle, walked to the cave�s entrance then thrust the open bottle under the cool stream of water. Once the bottle was full, JC joined the pair.
�How are you doing, Joe?� JC asked squatting down beside him then patted his friend on the shoulder.
�Pretty good, but my arm hurts�so does my head,� Joey answered quietly with a slight grimace. JC glanced at Chris to see that he was looking a little worried and he decided to try to mask his own concerns.
�Here, let Chris help you take a few sips of water while I find the bottle of aspirin to help you out.� JC handed over the bottle of water to Chris then quickly walked over to the supply box and rummaged through its contents for the small bottle. A minute later, he had the bottle of pills in hand as he returned to find that Chris had been able to prop Joey up against a nearby wall.
�Here, you need to take a couple of these,� JC said as he poured two white tablets into the palm of his hand. Joey clumsily grasped the pills and put them on the back of his tongue before taking a few tentative sips of water from the bottle Chris was holding to his mouth.
Joey blinked his eyes and looked back at Chris with a small smile before once again wincing in pain.
�My head hurts, Chris�my arm too.�
Joey�s words were beginning to become slurred, as his eyelids grew too heavy for him to keep open.
�I know,� Chris replied in a gentle tone. �Let�s get you lying back down, Joey so you can get some more rest.�
Chris and JC helped Joey to lower himself back down to the dirt floor of the cave and within a few minutes, the young man was back asleep.
Once JC was sure that Joey�s sleep was deep, he quickly unwound the bandage surrounding Joey�s arm.
�Man�it�s not looking good, Chris,� he said, concern evident in his voice as poured water from the bottle he was holding over the wound, gently trying to clean it before wrapping it with the new gauze bandage that Chris was holding out to him.
�Someone needs to go with me to get some firewood,� a quiet voice said from behind them. JC and Chris turned in surprise to see that Lance was standing up, although unsteadily with Justin at his side, seemingly ready to catch his friend in the event he lost his balance. JC quickly exchanged looks with Justin who mouthed the word, no. JC gave a slight nod of his head then looked at Chris who did likewise�all of which was missed by Lance who had closed his eyes and was now pinching the bridge of his nose.
�Lance�why don�t you and Justin stay here with Joey,� JC answered. �Chris and I can go out for firewood and look for some more bananas for breakfast.�
Lance nodded his head then regretted the movement when a wave of dizziness washed over him.
�Umm�sounds like a good idea, C.� Lance said as he leaned into Justin in an effort to keep from falling flat on his face.
�I�m starting to get a headache any way,� he softly replied before slowly sinking back to the floor with the Justin�s help. He lay on his side, grabbed a nearby life vest and put it under his head. Within minutes, he was once again asleep.
�I don�t know about you guys, but I�m starting to get a little worried here,� Justin said as he added the few remaining sticks to the glowing embers. He looked up to see that Chris and JC�s looks of worry had to be mirroring his own.
�It�ll be okay, J,� JC said as he walked over to Justin�s side and gave him a pat on the back. �He had a pretty hard night and Joey just still needs to rest and take aspirin.�
�We won�t be long, Justin,� Chris said as he walked toward the entrance of the cave. He was just as worried about his friends but they still had things that needed to be done in order to keep everyone comfortable.
�You might want to rewet that cloth that�s on Joey�s forehead,� JC added. �I noticed that it was getting a little dry.�
�Okay, JC. Please be careful, guys�don�t lose sight of one another,� Justin said in a voice full of worry as he bento down and retrieved the cloth from Joey�s forehead.
�We�ll be right back, Curly.�
With that said, JC and Chris stepped through the cool stream of water that served as the doorway to the cave.
Chris and JC stepped down from the low ledge that led up to the waterfall. JC continued to walk on, not noticing that Chris had stopped and was looking at the trees surrounding the large pool of water into which the waterfall cascaded.
�Where do I start?� Chris thought to himself. Going out for firewood and food was the perfect excuse for his further searching for hidden video cameras.
Chris was so lost in his thoughts that he didn�t hear JC walk up to him.
�Chris?� JC said, placing his hand on his older friend�s shoulder. He was surprised when Chris jerked from his grasp, startled from his thoughts.
�You okay?� JC asked, slightly concerned at Chris�s reaction.
�Oh�sorry JC,� Chris said sheepishly. �I was just thinking about something.�
�Um�that�s okay,� JC quietly answered, unsure of how to take Chris�s reply.
�Why don�t I take the trail to the left to look for wood and you take the trail to the right to look for food.�
�Okay�and if you see anything�� Chris began.
�I�ll let you know,� JC finished for him with a small sigh.
�Don�t take too long and don�t go too far down the trail, C,� Chris warned.
�Yes, gramps,� JC replied with a smile which Chris returned.
The pair quickly split up and made their ways down the separate trails.
�Okay�one�um�two�oh, man�three,� Chris counted quietly, as he walked down the trail, trying to appear casual as possible as he continued to look up into the trees.
�Three of you��
As he looked at the third camera, he was completely unaware of the fact that he had a captive audience on a nearby island.
Russell Johnson�s eyes narrowed as he gazed intently at the image displayed on the video monitor before him. He stared in disbelief. This wasn�t supposed to happen. To the untrained eye, the young man called Christopher seemed to be casually stopping every five or six feet to look up into the trees. But, to Russell�s trained eye, he knew what Chris was actually doing.
�He knows,� Russell said quietly, his voice dark and foreboding.
�Who knows what, dear?� Russell�s wife, Leigh gently asked upon hearing his dangerous tone.
Leigh entered the room carrying a tray on which various breakfast pastries sat upon along with 2 cups of coffee.
�He. Knows.� Russell said, his voice venomous as he pointed at the monitor.
Leigh place the tray on a small table behind the couch on which Russell sat before turning to see one of the young Americans gazing intently back at her from the monitor.
�Oh�he does know,� she whispered.
Leigh walked back around to the front of the couch and sat down heavily upon it when she found her knees too weak to support her.
�How�how did he find one of them?� Russell spat out.
He pointed at the screen while glaring at his wife who was speechlessly watching the monitor. Minutes later, Leigh found her voice.
�How he found them is not as important as what his finding the camera will do to your experiment. What will become of your experiment, Russ?�
Russell looked down at his wife and saw that her eyes were wide with fear.
�I�m not sure, but we will continue with it.�
Russell stood up and turned his back to his wife.
�I need some time to think, Leigh,� he said quietly.
�Of course,� Leigh answered. �I think I will go work in the south flower gardens for a while,� she murmured, smoothing back her graying hair.
�I�ll see you at lunch time, my dear,� Russell said before turning to gently kiss his wife�s cheek.
�If you happen to see Marco, please send him to me.�
�Yes, dear.�
Chris cautiously continued to walk up the trail, casually glancing up into the trees every few steps in search of more cameras. He was still shocked by last night�s discovery and so lost in his thoughts that he was totally unaware of JC�s presence until the young man was practically on top of him.
�Chris?� JC said. He watched in surprise as Chris spun around, clutching at his chest and breathing fast as if scared to death.
�Oh�jeez�don�t do that to me, Joshua,� Chris said breathlessly.
�Sorry, man�I�ve been calling your name for almost 5 minutes, but you never answered me, so I got worried and started looking for you.�
JC watched Chris as his eyes darted about him at the treetops.
�Chris�is something wrong? What are you looking at?� JC asked, as he found himself also looking up, trying to follow Chris�s gaze.
Chris happened to catch what JC was doing and quickly grasped the young man�s arm.
�Nothing�um�we need to get back to the cave,� Chris said hurriedly.
�Uh�okay,� JC said as he allowed Chris to pull him back up the trail, all the while looking over his shoulder, trying to see what Chris may have been looking at.
After several moments of walking, Chris finally felt it safe enough to let go of JC�s arm. He knew that he was now going to have to tell the others about his find, but he was fearful of how they would take the news that someone was possibly or probably watching them.
��bananas��
�What?� Chris asked in confusion, having only heard a small portion of JC�s sentence due to the fact that he was so lost in his thoughts.
He watched JC roll his eyes in mock frustration.
�Jeez�they say the first thing to go is the hearing�I believe them now.�
�Alright�JC made a funny,� Chris replied. �Want to tell the old man what he missed?�
Chris stopped walking long enough to cross his arms over his chest and tilt his head as he waited patiently for JC to once again speak.
�What I said was�don�t you think we need to find a banana tree?� JC asked while gesturing with his hands. �We did promise to bring back some bananas for breakfast.�
�Oh�yeah�I forgot,� Chris said with a small smile as he shrugged his shoulders.
�That makes two strikes against you, old man�hearing and memory,� JC said tauntingly all the while pointing his finger at his older friend.
�Yeah�yeah�you just wait, C. Your turn will be coming up sooner than you expect, you little whipper-snapper,� Chris said in his best imitation of an older gentleman.
His speech caused JC to laugh out loud and soon Chris joined him in the laughter. For a brief moment, Chris was able to put aside his worries, but in the back of his mind he knew that it wouldn�t last for long.
While he waited for JC and Chris to return, Justin moved about the cave, first checking on Lance and then on Joey. As far as he could tell, Lance seemed to be resting comfortably�probably making up for the sleep that he lost throughout the long night with the nightmares that disrupted his sleep.
Joey was still running a fever that didn�t seem to be letting up no matter how many aspirin they had given him.
Justin carefully removed the cloth that had been placed on Joey�s forehead. He quickly moved to the cave�s entrance and held the cloth under the water�s flow then walked back to Joey�s side as he squeezed the excess water from the material. As he knelt down by Joey�s side he was surprised to see that his friend�s eyes were open but there didn�t seem to be any recognition. Justin ran his hand over Joey�s head and spoke to him in quiet tones until his friend fell back asleep.
�Dear God�please help Joey to be okay,� Justin whispered as he once again stood and returned to Lance�s side.
�I�ve got something to tell you guys,� Chris said as he, JC and Justin settled down on the cave�s dirt floor to eat their breakfast. He and JC had returned to the cave about ten minutes earlier and, after checking on Lance and Joey, the trio had finally sat down together.
�Would it have anything to do with your strange behavior back there?� JC said, motioning toward the entrance of the cave before taking a bite of banana.
Justin quickly interjected his thoughts.
�Chris and strange behavior go together, C,� he said with a small chuckle, which quickly died away when he saw the serious look JC was giving Chris and the uncomfortable look Chris was returning.
Chris sat quietly, trying to gather his thoughts together. He wasn�t quite sure how he needed to break the unbelievable news he had to Justin and JC. Good grief�he was having a hard time believing it himself.
�Just spill it, Chris,� JC said quietly, reaching out to pat Chris on the leg.
Chris nodded his head then looked up at the ceiling before looking back down at his friends.
�You�re starting to kinda scare me, Chris�please tell us what�s bothering you,� Justin whispered. There had been very few occasions when Chris had been this serious about anything, save the last few days they had been stuck on this island.
The fear in Justin�s voice made Chris swallow hard before telling them of his discovery.
�You mean to tell me that someone has been watching us this whole time?� JC said, his voice wavering in shock and anger.
�Yes�maybe�I�m not for certain,� Chris replied as he dropped his head into his hands. He was regretting having told his friends due to their reactions.
�Where�where are they?� Justin spat out angrily. He quickly stood up and began to make his way toward the entrance of the cave.
�Chris�tell me where they are.�
Chris looked up in alarm at Justin�s rapidly retreating form but he couldn�t find the strength to stand up and stop him.
�Justin�sit down�now,� JC said in a voice that was quickly gathering strength as he also leapt up to his feet.
Chris dropped his head back into his hands. He did not need to see this reaction from Justin or JC�not now.
�Guys�please,� Chris said, his voice muffled by his hands.
Chris glanced up through his hands to see that JC had his arm around Justin and was guiding him back to where they had been seated.
�Please, Chris�where are they?� Justin said, his voice tearful pleading with his friend as he knelt down before him.
�Someone may have seen what happened to us�or�or someone might know who we are�that�that we�re lost.�
With those last words, Justin allowed hot tears to trace their way down his cheeks as he looked up at JC then back at Chris.
He was then quickly pulled into Chris�s strong embrace.
�I can�t tell you where they are, J. If I do, something bad might happen,� Chris said as he held Justin�s shaking body against him all the while running a hand over the young man�s curly head.
�You think that who ever has been watching us might have had something to do with the attacks, Chris?� JC asked, his own voice full of emotion as he fought his own tears while he joined the pair on the floor.
�If that had been you watching, wouldn�t you have done something to help?� Chris asked in return. JC blinked several times before nodding his head in understanding of what Chris was saying.
�I think we need to be very careful now�we need to stick together�someone out there is trying to do something to us.�
Chris�s words sent a shudder down JC�s spine as the memory of what had been said to him suddenly sprang to the forefront of his mind.
�I remember what one of them said�I remember now,� JC said in a tortured whisper.
�What�who?� Chris said as he watched JC run shaking hands through his hair.
�I remember what one of the attackers said right before I passed out,� JC said, his eyes wide in amazement.
�What�� Justin began as he lifted himself out of Chris�s embrace, wiping at the stray tears that continued to stream down his face.
�One of them swore on his father�s grave that he wouldn�t bring any harm to me or anyone�and�� JC shook his head at the fuzziness of the memory and ran a hand through his hair as he struggled to recall the details that seemed just beyond his reach. He closed his eyes as if in deep concentration as he gradually took hold of the memory of the attack then continued speaking. �He said�that�there is someone�someone more powerful�� JC opened his eyes and stared into Chris�s as he slowly continued to speak.
�Someone more powerful�wishing to do that.�
Deafening silence followed JC�s words�they were all too shocked to speak.
A sudden gasp from Justin brought JC and Chris out of their silence. Justin stood up and quickly turned about, looking all about the rock room, his face full of alarm.
�What�what if there are some of those cameras in here?� he whispered.
Chris and JC stood up and joined Justin.
�I haven�t seen any sign of cameras in here,� Chris said. �I�m sure we�re safe in here. We just need to make sure that we�re careful�you know�make sure we�re not followed or anything.�
�Yeah,� Justin added as he sat back down on the dirt floor and rested his head in his hands.
�Don�t worry, J�we�ll be okay,� Chris said, not sure if his statement was more for Justin�s comfort or his own.
�Let�s just look around here�to be on the safe side,� JC said, looking at Chris for approval.
�Okay�go grab two of the longest sticks in the wood pile and put them in the fire. We�ll need torches to head to the back of the cave.�
�I�ll stay here with Joey and Lance,� Justin said, not really wanting to head into the deep recesses of the rock room.
�That�s fine, J. We shouldn�t be too long,� Chris replied taking the burning stick that JC was offering to him.
Justin watched them retreat toward the back of the cave, their torches casting an eerie glow against the darkness.
It was sometime later, when Justin heard JC and Chris�s voices as they approached. He quickly stood up and made his way toward the glowing light at the back of the cave.
�Hey�Justin�you won�t believe what we found,� Chris said excitedly.
�What?� he asked.
�We found a back entrance to the cave�it goes all the way to the outside and it�s accessible�doesn�t get too narrow or anything,� JC exclaimed as he walked over to the supply box and grabbed a bottle of water. After taking several swigs he handed the bottle over to Chris who also drank.
�So�that means we have a way out of here if they come back,� Justin said, feeling more confidence in knowing that they had a backdoor to so speak.
�Yeah,� Chris answered. �We�ll be okay.�
�Did you find any cameras or anything while you were back there?�
�No, J�nothing,� JC answered. �We�re okay in here and we�ll stay okay if we just stick together.�
Little did JC know that he would be replaying those same words in his mind later on.
�How are you doing, Lance?� Chris quietly asked as he knelt down beside the younger man who was seated on the dirt floor with his back against the wall.
It had been several hours since Chris and JC had made their discovery in the back of the cave. Since then, the trio had taken care of Joey and Lance, waiting for one of them or both of them to awaken. Finally, Lance was the first to awaken and had only done so maybe 20 or 30 minutes ago.
�I had a headache but Justin gave me some aspirin. It�s starting to work,� Lance replied in a tired voice as he scooted closer to the fire. He was still feeling shaken by the experience that he and JC had been through the previous evening and by the news that Chris had told him of his and JC�s discovery at the back of the cave. Lance was just as happy about this as the others, but his joy ended with what was discussed next. Chris sat down beside Lance and quietly began explaining to him what he had found in the trees along the trail earlier in the day and of the camera in the tree directly above them last night.
�Someone watched all of that yesterday�and didn�t even try to help us,� Lance whispered. �Someone watched me have�that nightmare�someone watched Joey collapse�� Lance�s voice trailed off as he glanced over to see JC wiping a cool cloth over Joey�s feverish features.
�Or�maybe that someone orchestrated the attack along with Justin�s and yours and Joey�s attack on the beach,� JC added, his voice grim with the admission. He wet the cloth that he had been wiping Joey�s face with then placed the dripping material over Joey�s forehead.
Both comments caused the group to become lost in their thoughts�someone watching them�someone planning. It was Justin�s voice that finally brought everyone back from their thoughts.
�Do you remember anything?� Justin asked as he peeled another banana and began to eat it. Lance looked over at his younger friend and instantly felt great guilt over what he had done to him when he saw the bandage wrapped about his right hand. He knew that he had unintentionally bitten Justin, but still, he couldn�t help but regret what he had done.
�Lance�you didn�t know what you were doing�it�s not as bad as it looks,� JC tried to reassure him when he saw what Lance was intently gazing at.
Lance gave an apologetic look and ducked his head before accepting the banana that Justin had offered him.
�Lance�do you remember anything?� Chris asked, repeating Justin�s question.
�About�the attack or�?�
�Anything,� JC answered as he moved closer to him when he saw Lance shudder.
�I couldn�t breathe�my side was hurting,� Lance answered slowly as his face took on a pensive expression. He looked at Chris as he continued to explain what he could remember of the attack.
�I guess I was starting to panic and I couldn�t catch my breath. I remember falling down against JC�then JC started yelling something, but I couldn�t really understand what he was saying�my ears were starting to roar.�
Lance looked down at his hands then brought his gaze up toward the ceiling as he began to blink his eyes quickly in an effort to prevent the tears that were stinging the back of his eyes from falling. He felt a hand on his knee and looked down to see that Justin was seated in front of him. The touch caused him to continue.
�I remember�JC getting on top of me�trying to protect me,� Lance said as he looked over at JC and gave him a small smile, which was returned.
�JC was pulled off me�then�one of them put something in my mouth�what was that C?�
�It was a leaf or a couple of leaves,� JC answered. �Right after they put them in your mouth, you started breathing okay, then you passed out. Chris found a smaller one under your tongue later on when you were still unconscious.�
�You mean�� Lance began in confusion.
�They helped you.� Chris finished the statement for him.
�But�why would they attack us then help us?� Lance asked in a voice still full of confusion. Nothing was making sense to him�nothing at all.
�I don�t know�I really don�t know,� Chris answered as he watched JC make his way over to Joey.
�Hey�guys�I think Joey is starting to wake up,� he said excitedly as he pointed at Joey�s twitching arm.
The others quickly gathered around their friend, their faces smiling at the thought of Joey finally waking up.
They watched, as the twitching slowly seemed to travel across Joey�s body. From his left arm to his right, then down his chest, to his hips, then his legs. Suddenly, Joey�s eyes opened and rolled back into his head as chest violently arched up, the tendons in his neck straining as his mouth began to open and close repeatedly while his body shook uncontrollably.
�It�s a seizure�he�s having a seizure!�