The Wilderness

Chapter Eight

Stephan ran, and ran. In the back of his head he wondered how he was able to run for so long. Somehow, his body found the energy to do so. The boy didn't stop till he was sure that he was far enough away from the bear. Only then did he allow himself to sit and rest. Despite his utter exhaustion, he knew he had to find Alex, and Jason and Ally. Now that he thought about it, he wondered where Jason and Ally had run off to. He couldn't remember seeing them since the bear attack. Where were they?

"Alex?" Stephan yelled as loud as he dared. He wasn't sure whether or not the bear was near, or if it was still angry, and the last thing he needed was to run into it again. "Alex?"

Stephan heard the sound of someone running and turned to see Alex running for him.

"Stephan, how'd you escape?" Alex asked, panting. Stephan was about to explain how Chris had died for him, for them, till he remembered what Alex had done right after he tripped. Alex had left him. He knew he couldn't really blame his friend; after all wouldn't he have done the same? No, he wouldn't have.

"Chris saved me," Stephan said coldly, some pain in his voice. His best friend had abandoned him, and he had been saved by someone he had for days viewed as an adversary, a rival.

Alex suddenly felt guilty about his actions, though at the time he felt it was the best thing to do. What would've he done to help him? There was nothing he could've done, so why was Stephan mad at him?

"C'mon, we gotta find Ally and Jason," Stephan said as he promptly shoved Alex aside. He winced in pain as he realized he had shoved Alex using his right side, which was beginning to bruise. With some reluctance, he zipped off his jacket and lifted up his shirt to see if there was any visible damage to his side. He breathed through clenched teeth as he saw the long, purplish bruise covering his ribs. Quickly, he put back on his jacket. Alex watched him the whole time, and he gasped when he saw the nasty looking bruise. Did the bear do that to him?

With his jacket back on, Stephan began calling out for Jason and Ally. Alex eventually joined him, but neither of the missing kids called back. The two boys cautiously traced their way back to where they were when they first saw the bear. They checked the ground, looking for human tracks. The rather wet ground proved useful in preserving their trails, and they eventually were able to pinpoint Ally and Jason's footprints. Stephan was rather shocked when he realized that, according to their tracks, the two missing kids had run off in a different direction from him and Alex and Chris. Why'd they do that? He wondered.

Stephan and Alex followed the tracks of the two renegade kids, getting closer and closer to the mountain that they had crashed on. It didn't take long for them to realize Jason and Ally were heading back the way they had come. Stephan suddenly remembered earlier when Jason had protested against them traveling down the river, and had tried to convince them to return to the mountain. Was that what he was doing now? Leading Ally and himself back to the mountain?

"Jason!" Stephan shouted. Having seen no sign of the bear for over an hour, Stephan now felt safe enough to shout out as loud as he could. But since his energy was at an all time low, even his loudest wasn't very loud at all. "Jason!"

"Stephan?" A distant voice shouted. It was Jason.

"Jason? Where are you? Where's Ally?" Stephan shouted back. It took a moment, but Jason replied.

"She's with me," Jason answered.

"Where are you guys?" Stephan shouted.

"By the river," Jason shouted back. Stephan and Alex looked up the river, but they couldn't see the two.

"I don't see you!" Stephan shouted to Jason. Alex ran up a little ways, looking back and forth to try to spot Jason and Ally, but he was unable to do so. Stephan watched Alex, before the sound of rustling leaves got his attention. He turned toward the trees that sandwiched the river, but he couldn't see anything. There was more rustling, much closer this time, and Stephan looked at the trees closest to him. Still nothing.