I was on pins and needles since I was afraid they would see eye to eye and bring me away against my will. Thus, I yelled, âLyle, you better not try anything silly! Iâm merely grateful youâre around to do me a favor! Thereâs no way Iâm falling for you! I wonât stop you if youâre going to leave, but thereâs no way Iâm leaving Christopher alone!â
Lyle turned around and looked at me in the eyes. A few minutes later, he marched in my direction. I got myself a rock to defend myself just in case he tried to bring me away against my will. To my surprise, he leaned over and reached for my phone in the bag instead.
Once he returned to Christopherâs side, he handed the frail man the phone and asked, âWhy donât you do everyone a favor and try getting in touch with your comrades? Iâm sure itâs not much of a challenge for you to send someone to rush to our rescue, isnât it?â
Christopher frowned since none of us took his words seriously. In the end, he gave up and took over my phone. He retrieved his broken watch and started disassembling the watch to acquire the parts he needed.
After another few minutes, he put everything aside and announced, âIâve just delivered the message, but Iâm not sure if weâre going to make it out alive since itâs going to take at least three days until they reach us. Iâm afraid John will take us out before then.â
It wasnât great news, but it was something for us to look forward to when we were stranded in the middle of nowhere.
I took a seat next to Christopher and tucked him in. It was then I found out Zachary had passed out due to his serious injury. He had caught on high fever, but there wasnât anything else I could do to turn the tables around since the antibiotic wouldnât even work.
Once Christopher accessed my phone, he started perusing the photos of us and responded with a frown as he took a trip down memory lane.
I urged, âWhy donât you take a short nap?â
He remained silent and had a mouthful of water. All of a sudden, he stared dead ahead and announced, âItâs almost dawn break.â
I turned around and stared dead ahead when I caught the sun rising from the horizon. âWhatâs wrong with us? Can we stop catching the sunrise whenever our lives are at stake? Once we make it out alive, weâll wake up early in the morning to catch the sunrise up the hills!â
Holding me in his arms, he assured me, âAlright, once we make it out alive, Iâll take you somewhere to catch the sunrise!â
Lyle couldnât stand our interaction. The moment he turned around, he caught a glimpse of others closing in. He announced with his face scrunched up, âSomeone is closing in with guns!â
âWhat?â The moment I craned over, I saw a few vicious-looking men closing in with guns.
âWhat are we supposed to do? Whereâs the gun?â As absurd as it might sound, I thought of taking out the man with Zacharyâs gun when I had merely fired a shot throughout my life.
Christopher sat upright and leaned against the boulder, aiming at those closing in from afar. A few seconds, he fired a shot and took the rest of the opposing party by surprise.
âYouâre such an exceptional marksman, Mr. Lane! However, Iâm afraid you canât take us out with your limited bullets!â John guffawed and asked, âIâm sure it feels awful after spending a few days in isolation, huh? Itâs only a matter of time until you starve to death even if we stay away from all of you! Why donât you do everyone a favor and surrender yourself? I may consider doing you a favor and set the rest of your party free if Iâm pleased!â
Christopher asked in a callous tone, âYou donât think Iâm going to fall for your promises, do you?â
âWow! I canât believe you still possess the strength to talk back against me! I saw someone sneaking their way to your side last night! Iâm sure one of them is the woman you hold dear in mind, isnât she? Are you sure youâre going to leave her to death? As long as you surrender yourself, Iâll do her a favor and set her free!â