The Price of Friendship Chapter 9
Davis silently stole through the forest although he really did not need to worry about being heard since the lightning and thunder from the approaching storm were sure to mask any sounds that he would happen to make, as would the wind.
Davis quickly made his way from one video camera to the next throughout the entire island checking to make sure they were all operational and secured for the approaching tropical storm. He was going to carry out this task for sure, but as for the other task, he was not going to do that...not yet�not ever. Davis had been given two duties by Mr. Johnson to complete this evening before the storm made landfall. The first was checking monitoring equipment. The second was to inject Joey with a full dose of the mind-altering drug that Russell Johnson had developed himself. It was this second duty that Davis was avoiding. He moved out of view of the last camera he checked before pulling the full syringe from his pocket and quickly pushed the plunger, emptying the contents onto the ground. He then placed the empty syringe back into his pocket so that he could discard it later. Glancing nervously around him, Davis quickly moved on to the next camera as he continued to fulfill one of Mr. Johnson�s orders.
Ominous black clouds hung low overhead and the intensity of the blowing wind was gradually growing with each passing hour, but the figures on the beach remained oblivious to the approaching danger until�
A loud clap of thunder startled Chris and Lance awake.
�Wha�� Lance mumbled as he turned from his side to his back. He raised his hands to his throbbing head and opened his eyes to see that Chris was sitting up beside him.
�It looks like a storm is coming,� Chris said loudly, trying to be heard over the growing winds. Chris looked down at Lance and became concerned when he saw the younger man grimace as if he was in pain.
�You okay, Lance?� Chris asked as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
Lance closed his eyes and nodded his head.
�Headache,� he quietly replied, knowing that Chris would probably be unable to hear him, but if he spoke any louder, his head would protest to the sound.
Chris would not have known what Lance had said had he not been looking directly at him...the approaching storm was too loud. He looked up behind them and saw that the treetops were being whipped about� limbs twisting awkwardly in the wind.
Chris then looked out to the sea before them and saw that there were whitecaps�very big whitecaps that not too far off shore. The waves that were crashing against the shoreline were growing larger and larger and coming onto the sandy shore farther and farther. Chris again looked behind him, considering which could potentially be worse�staying on the beach without shelter or running into the forest and using the trees for shelter. The water suddenly lapping over his feet clinched the decision for him...the forest it was. He looked back down at Lance and the others who were still surprisingly sleeping through the growing storm.
�We need to get up and find some cover,� Chris yelled. �It�s not safe out here in the open.�
Lance nodded his head in agreement and pushed at the figure lying beside him as Chris crawled to the other end of the group.
�Justin�Justin.� Lance leaned up on his elbow and looked down at his sleeping friend. �Come on J�wake up.�
Another loud clap of thunder startled the youngest member of the group awake with a jerk. With a startled gasp, Justin sat up and clutched at his chest as he fearfully looked about him.
�Where is he,� Justin choked out as he tried to catch his breath and continue looking for the men who had attacked him in the forest the previous day.
Lance quickly sat up and wrapped an arm around Justin�s trembling shoulders in an effort to comfort him.
�It�s okay J�it�s just thunder�there�s no one else around�just us,� Lance said in reassuring tones, knowing that Justin was still remembering what had happened to him in the forest yesterday. With an inward groan, Lance suddenly realized that they might have problems getting Justin back into the forest, but it was going to be necessary. The growing intensity of the storm was making that quite obvious.
Lance continued to rub Justin�s back and speak to him until he had finally calmed down while at the same time, Chris was busy trying to awaken JC and Joey from their deep, exhausted slumbers. By the time Lance had calmed Justin from his scare, Chris had been able to get JC and Joey up and now everyone was standing, trying to decide what needed to be done next.
�Where are we going to go, Chris?� Joey had to yell to be heard over the wind and the thundering waves crashing heavily against the beach.
�We�ll head into the forest,� Chris answered, gesturing at the trees behind him. �There�s bound to be some place that we can wait this storm out at.�.
�Yeah,� JC yelled in agreement. �It�s not safe out here.�
Already the group had had to retreat further up the beach as the swells hitting the shoreline increased in size. They feared being sucked in by the water out to sea. There was no way that anyone one of them was a strong enough swimmer to survive that kind of situation.
Lance had kept an arm wrapped around Justin�s shoulders and immediately felt Justin tense up at the mention of their having to go back into the forest. He was terrified of possibly meeting up with the two men again.
�We have to J�it�s not safe out here in the open,� Lance yelled at the blonde he was holding against him.
�It�ll be okay, Justin�we�ll all be together this time.�
At those words Justin numbly nodded his head in agreement. Lance was right�he wouldn�t be alone this time. Everyone would be watching out for each other...watching each others� backs
�Safety in numbers, right?� Justin yelled in reply and was rewarded with smiles and claps on the shoulders from his friends before Chris spoke out once again.
�Come on, guys,� Chris pointed at the supply box as he spoke. �JC�Justin�can you guys get that?�
Justin looked at JC and the two ran across the beach to grab the nearby box before returning to the rest of the group.
�Ready?� Chris yelled as he glanced at the others.
The all nodded, then headed into the dense forest.
Russell and Leigh Johnson watched the group enter into the forest in search of safe shelter.
�The storm is going to be quite severe,� commented Leigh to her husband as she leaned into him. She could hear the winds picking up outside their own home some 4 miles from the island where the young men were.
�Yes�it will be interesting to see how they handle the storm,� answered her husband as he wrapped his arms about his wife.
�How is Davis progressing?� Leigh checked the other monitors to see if Davis was anywhere in sight, but could not find him.
�I do believe he is about to be finished with the equipment, but with this weather, he may not be able to complete the rest of the task. We�ll just have to wait and see.�
With that said, Leigh and Russell left the room to prepare the evening meal, all the while not knowing that they would later regret that decision.
The storm�s intensity had not begun diminishing in the least in the hour that the group had wandered about in the forest in search of shelter. The occasional flashes of lightning were now coming about every 10 to 20 seconds and the thunder was beginning to cause problems for those of the group with splitting headaches�namely, Lance and Joey, who winced in pain with each thunderous clap.
The rain had not yet begun to fall, but there was a definite change in the temperature and the air was growing thicker with humidity, telling them that it would be coming soon and they had not been successful in finding any kind of shelter from the approaching storm. The group had been walking around, seemingly in circles when JC suddenly gave out a shout from the back of the group.
�Why didn�t I think of it?� he shouted in a disbelieving tone as he dropped his side of the supply box, much to Justin�s indignation.
�Lance!� JC shouted again in excitement, trying to gain the blonde�s attention. �Lance!�
Everyone stopped and looked back at JC to see that he had a wide grin on his face.
�Remember the waterfall that we saw when we found the fresh water?� JC yelled as he approached Lance�his smile widening.
Lance nodded, �Yeah! What about it?� He had no idea where JC was going with his end of the conversation but the expression on the older man�s face was enough to cause him to smile as well.
�Maybe there�s shelter behind it?� JC shouted with a big smile. The thought had never occurred to him until seconds ago and it made perfect sense.
The others looked at him in confusion, then Joey�s face suddenly lit up as he remembered where he had seen the same idea.
�You mean a cave?� Justin shouted in surprise.
�Like in that movie, �The Last of the Mohicans�?� yelled Joey.
JC nodded his head and everyone looked at Chris, their faces full of hope.
�What do you think Chris?� shouted JC. Chris looked about him and saw a giant limb fall from a treetop about 30 feet away. That did it for him.
�Show us!� Chris shouted as he took JC�s place with Justin in carrying the box.
JC trotted up to the front of the line and he and Lance led the group deeper into the forest.
Davis had been kneeling not 10 feet away from the group, hidden in the thick underbrush. He had been concerned in how to get the boys to find what little secure shelter there was on the island and now he didn�t have to worry about that. The boys� choice had been a good one seeing that the Johnson�s probably had no knowledge of the cave hidden behind the waterfall. Davis let the group of young men get far enough ahead of him before he stood up and turned in the opposite direction to leave.
He was going to head over to the very far end of the island where his family still lived. He was going to need their help.
�Are we any closer?� shouted Chris to Lance and JC who were leading the group through the forest to a possible cave behind a waterfall. He was growing tired and knew that the others had to be also.
�Yeah�not much farther,� answered JC as he looked at his friends.
�It�s up ahead,� Lance added as he pointed in the direction of where they were going. �Maybe another 1000�2000 yards or so.
The group once again began walking not realizing what would be happening to one member of their group in the next few minutes.
The wind was blowing so hard now that the group could not hear each other without being almost on top of each other. Lance and JC had taken the lead with Chris and Justin not far behind, carrying the supply box between them while Joey had taken up the rear and was beginning to lag behind. His headache was not getting any better and it was beginning to wear him out. With the heavy winds and now the start of the rains, Joey never heard the telltale cracking noise overhead until it was too late. The rest of the group would not hear it at all.