The Price of Friendship Chapter 4
It had been several hours since the young men had awakened. Unbeknownst to them, they were on a different beach from where they had first awakened the day before thanks to Russell Johnson and his helpers, Marco and Davis. Justin had awoken with the odd feeling that this had not been the same beach, but had shrugged off the feeling. He figured that the feeling had to do with the situation as a whole. Who would have thought a two-day deep-sea fishing trip would turn into this living nightmare.
Justin allowed his memory to return to the peaceful events leading up to the present day nightmare that they were now living in.
�This is the perfect ending to a perfect day,� said JC quietly. He did not want to spoil the moment for his friends or himself. The five young men were seated on the deck of their rented yacht in companionable silence, mesmerized by the scene playing itself out in the distance. Before them to the west, the sun, its brightness dimming was beginning to dip its fingertips into the warm waters that were gently lapping against the sides of the vessel. The brilliant colors that were splashed across the darkening sky seemed to be competing with each other�almost as if in an attempt to outdo each other in color�in depth...in intensity. Never had any member of the group witnessed a sunset from the deck of a boat. No obstructions to hamper their view�no buildings�no people�nothing but open emptiness that seemed to explode with the dazzling colors against the darkening skies.
�Greatness,� whispered Lance in complete awe of the spectacle.
�Yeah,� Joey whispered�almost afraid that a normal tone of voice would hasten the setting of the sun.
The group continued to quietly watch as the sun completely sank into the darkening horizon before them.
Chris cleared his throat. �You know�with all the touring�the business and all�it�s so easy to forget how much beauty there is around you.�
�Couldn�t have said it any better, man.� Lance placed his hand on Chris� shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
Several more moments of silence passed by before one of the group spoke.
�I can�t believe how fast this day flew by,� said Justin wistfully, looking down at this hands. He wasn�t ready for the day to end since that would mean the return to the hectic pace of their work.
�Do you think we could get one more day?� He looked up hopefully at the faces of his friends, but the shake of JC�s head made him realize that his request was unrealistic.
�You really know how to burst a guy�s bubble. Jace.� Justin pouted as he turned away from his friends to watch the moon and stars began their own brilliant show.
�Sorry little man,� said JC as he ran a hand through Justin�s curls before getting up to make his way downstairs into the cabin.
�Bed already?� JC stopped long enough to look at Joey.
�Yeah�I�m really tired and tomorrow is going to be pretty busy�gotta go in to the studio and all tomorrow evening,� he quietly explained. � I�ll see you guys in the morning.�
�Night Jace. We�ll keep it down when we come to bed,� Chris called out.
JC waved in response and headed down the narrow staircase into the hold of the vessel
Little did they know that the peaceful night would end and a nightmare would begin in a few short hours.
Justin shook his head at the memory and brought himself back to the harsh reality around him.
�What do you think we need to do first,� he asked squinting while looking up toward the sun in an attempt to judge the time, but found that he had no earthly idea what he was doing and dropped his gaze back down to the sand he was sitting on.
�We probably need to find fresh water and food first, don�t you think,� JC answered as he looked at the vegetation that lined the beach behind them.
�Yeah,� Joey replied as he slowly stood up then brushed the sand off his shorts. �Two of us could go looking for the water and the rest could stay here and build some sort of signal fire.�
�That�s a good idea, Joey.� Lance said as stood up just as slowly and winced in pain at his movements. The ache in his side was not getting any better�in fact, the pain was bad enough for him to see stars, but he did not want to complain. Everyone was going to have to work together in order to survive and he was determined not to hold anyone back.
Chris saw Lance�s painful look and decided to hand out assignments so that Lance would not be straining himself since he seemed to be the only one who had noticed Lance�s discomfort.
�Lance, why don�t you and JC go look for water while the rest of us work on the signal fire.�
�Sounds good to me,� Lance said to Chris with relief evident in his voice. He knew he would not be able to lift anything heavy for the time being and he was fairly sure that he could hide his discomfort from JC if they simply walked through the forest behind them.
�Chrissy takes charge,� kidded Justin, as he playfully tossed a seashell in Chris�s direction, which was caught and promptly thrown back at him.
�Well, you heard the man,� yelled Joey. �Let�s get cracking.� With that remark, Joey looked directly at JC and grinned widely.
�That statement has possibilities,� joked Justin referring to the word �crack� as he watched the looks that were flying between JC and Joey.
It suddenly seemed to dawn on the others what Joey and Justin had said, and there was instant laughter. They all needed a good tension breaker. Lance and Chris then looked at JC who simply shook his head as he laughed at the inside joke. There had been some very ugly rumors running rampant everywhere claiming that he had tried the stuff, but he had shrugged them all off. It was just another one of those things that just wasn�t worth his time. The people who truly knew him and mattered the most to him were the ones who also knew that none of the rumors were true.
�Don�t even go there,� JC exclaimed through his laughter as he thumped Joey on the head then took off running with Joey in close pursuit. The rest of the group laughed loudly, watching as Joey caught up with JC and pushed him into the sand. Seconds later, Joey had JC�s wrestling form slung over his shoulder and proceeded to carry him into the surf. The others took Joey�s actions as an open invitation and they also raced into the surf and joined in the fun, temporarily putting their troubles behind them.
�They have quite a bond.� Russell Johnson stood up from his seat, continuing to watch the young men on the monitor laughing and carrying on in the waist deep waters. He was amazed that they were able to find the so-called �sunshine in the rain� with the frightening situation that they were in. He and his wife Leigh continued to watch, or rather, observe the behavior of the group of young men via video cameras and microphones as they continued to play in the water. After a few moments, Leigh also stood and joined her husband who was now standing directly in front of the large video monitor, watching the young men.
�Yes they do have a strong bond...but a lose thread may be found eventually dear.� Leigh rested her head on her husband�s shoulder as she and Russ continued to watch the antics on the video screen.
�Have you decided when you want to begin?� she whispered into his ear.
�Yes,� he whispered back, reaching for the hand that she had placed on his shoulder. He lovingly caressed her hand as his attention was once again drawn to the monitor.
�Have you devised some sort of plan as to how to carry out the experiment?� she again whispered, but this time with a hint of anticipation in her voice. She laid her head on her husband�s shoulder with a sigh.
�Yes�yes I have, dearest.� Leigh brought her head off Russell�s shoulder and pointed toward the screen before them.
�Which one will you use, Russ�which one?�
�I believe�I will start with�him,� he answered pointing at one of the boys as they unknowingly smiled directly into the camera hidden in the dense vegetation. �Yes, I think he will work out just nicely.�
Chris stood by the pile of wood and brush that he, Joey and Justin had busily been putting together for the last 2 hours. He was growing tired and had noticed that Justin was no longer moving as quickly as he had in the beginning of their task. That did not concern him so much as what he was seeing with Joey.
Chris watched the young man lean heavily against a nearby tree, his back turned to him. This was the third time that Joey had taken a break in the last 15or so minutes, and Chris was becoming a bit concerned. He moved closer to Joey and saw that he seemed to be struggling to catch his breath as he stood, bent over with his hands resting on his knees, his head hanging low. If Joey�s back had not been turned to him, Chris would have seen how pale he had become and how unfocused his gaze seemed to be.
�Let�s take a break,� suggested Chris to Justin without glancing his way. In his growing concern, Chris couldn�t break his gaze away from Joey�s back.
�Good idea,� Justin answered with a deep sigh as he plopped himself down on the sand in the shade of a large palm tree. He grabbed a nearby water bottle and took a few sips before offering some to Chris who was still standing, gazing at Joey.
�Here�you want some?� Justin asked, holding out the bottle in Chris�s direction when he acted as if he didn�t hear him. After asking once again and getting no answer from Chris, Justin pulled himself up and walked over to his side.
�Hey, Chris�do you want some water?� Justin asked again, this time tapping Chris on the arm with the water bottle to gain his attention.
Justin looked at his friend and noted the concern written on the older man�s face. Chris waved off the offer, not breaking his gaze from Joey�s back. Justin frowned then followed Chris�s line of sight. Seeing Joey bent seemingly in exhaustion caused Justin to suddenly realize why Chris had not been answering his questions. Justin took a deep breath before speaking as he walked over to Joey�s side.
�Hey, Joey�you want some water?�
Justin placed a hand on the young man�s shoulder to get his attention when there was no answer to his question. Justin looked behind him and gave Chris a look that asked the question, �what�s going on?� Chris shrugged his shoulders at Justin who turned back around at the same time that Joey turned to look at him. Immediately Chris and Justin knew that there was something definitely wrong with their friend as they took in Joey�s face that had grown as white as the sands that they were standing on and his eyes had an unfocused, distant look to them. Joey silently gazed in confusion at the pair before once again allowing his head to hang low, his chin almost resting on his chest.
Chris walked over to Justin and Joey, not even trying to hide the concern on his face or in his voice as he spoke.
�Joey�you okay?�
Chris then stood in front of Joey and gently cupped his chin in his hand then lifted his head up so that he could meet his gaze. Joey seemed to struggle to swallow as he blinked heavily several times. Chris asked him again how he was doing but his voice seemed to be coming from a thousand miles away instead of the arms length that separated them.
�Headache�spots,� Joey whispered as he began to slightly sway on his feet�his vision suddenly dimming.
�Whoa there,� Chris said as he quickly grasped Joey�s right arm in an effort to steady his swaying form.
Justin immediately grabbed Joey�s left arm, as his eyes rolled back in his head and his knees suddenly gave way under his weight. The two alarmed young men managed to gently lower the now unconscious form down to the ground and Chris began giving Joey�s face gentle slaps in an effort to revive him.
�Joey? Joey?� Chris said quietly, trying to keep his growing panic from being evident in his voice.
�This isn�t working Chris. What do we do?� asked Justin, his own voice laced with his growing panic.
�He�ll be okay J,� Chris said, trying to reassure himself as well as Justin. Chris looked about him and saw more trees that offered better shade nearby
�Let�s get him up there by those trees. It might be a little cooler up there.� Chris pointed at the tree line and then reached down for one of Joey�s limp arms as Justin grabbed for the other.
�What do you suppose happened?� said Justin as he and Chris dragged Joey�s limp form over the sand and into the shade of the trees he had pointed out.
�He must have hit his head harder than we thought the other night,� Chris answered. �He was complaining about seeing spots earlier when we all woke up on the beach. This must be some sort of delayed reaction.�
Chris sat down with his back against a tree then pulled Joey�s body into a semi reclining position against his chest.
�I�ll go get some more water,� Justin said before racing down the beach to their supply box. Seconds later, he returned and knelt down beside Chris.
�Just dribble a little into his mouth, Justin,� said Chris as he leaned Joey�s head further back against his shoulder. �We don�t need him to start choking or anything like that.�
Justin shuddered at the thought of that happening before carefully obeying Chris. Moments later, the pair was relieved when they were rewarded with Joey lightly coughing as he swallowed what little water Justin had allowed to enter his mouth.
�Go get your shirt wet in the surf, J,� Chris instructed as he poured some water from the bottle into his hand. He then brought his cupped hand to Joey�s forehead and gently poured the water over his face in an effort to revive him.
At the same time, Justin jumped up and ran toward the surf peeling off his shirt along the way. He quickly dipped the shirt into the water then raced back up the beach to Chris and Joey. He handed over the shirt and stood watching Chris gently wipe at Joey�s lax face, all the while whispering into Joey�s ear as his head lay against his chest.
�Do you think JC will be okay?� Justin asked, his fear mounting at the thought of JC collapsing in the middle of the forest with only Lance to help him. Both Joey and JC had been unconscious when they had left the sinking boat after striking their heads on the decking. Was he going to have the same problem that Joey was having? His question was answered with a look of alarm from Chris.
�Oh man�I think you need to go find them,� Chris answered, looking up at Justin in alarm and shaking his head at the thought. �Lance couldn�t carry anything with his side looking like it does.� Chris then looked back down at Joey and continued his ministrations on his still form, trying to stay focused on the task at hand. He didn�t think he could worry about JC and Lance too right now. His hands were pretty full at the moment with taking care of the unconscious Joey lying in his arms.
�What happened to his side?� Justin asked in astonishment. He couldn�t believe that he had missed two of his friends� injuries.
�His right side is all black and blue, Justin,� Chris answered. �Lance figured that he must have hit one of us while we were drifting at sea two nights ago. I don�t know�maybe he hit some floating debris or something like that�I don�t know.�
�How could that happen with a life jacket on?� Justin asked, trying to make sense of this new revelation. �Wouldn�t the jacket have protected him?�
�Oh�I hadn�t thought about that,� Chris said quietly. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before he shook his head then looked back up at Justin.
�J, go find JC and Lance and bring them back here. We�ll go look for the water together tomorrow. Right now we need to just take care of each other.�
�Okay. Be back as soon as I can.� Before leaving, Justin took one more look at Joey�s pale features and shook his head.
�Don�t worry J. I�ll take care of him.� Chris tried to make his voice sound confident, but at that moment, he was scared senseless. He watched as Justin raced back to the supply box, grabbed a bottle of water and take off into the tree line further down the beach where JC and Lance had gone earlier.
Russ and Leigh watched the goings on with slightly detached interest until they saw the one called Justin leave the beach to head into the thick undergrowth of the forest.
�Let the experiment begin,� whispered Russ as he reached for his wife, pulling her into his embrace before reaching for a nearby phone.
�Davis�you know what to do�it�s time to begin.� With that said, Russell Johnson hung up the phone and returned his gaze to the monitor. With the push of several button, Russell was able to get a still shot of one of the boys from video taken earlier in the day. He enlarged the still shot and with a grin he touched the face of the young man who would help him complete his work�
�Yes�I think you will do quite nicely,� he whispered.