Desolation

Chapter Thirty Seven

((Hello all! Desolation reached 17k reads today! Thank you all so much! I really hope that you are enjoying this story! Many people have asked me, so I am happy to announce that there will be a sequel to this book! Yayyyyy hahaha!! I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and don't forget to vote and comment!))

For a few moments, we are all too stunned to say anything or move. We watch in pure shock as the parachutist descends through the canopy of the trees, disappearing from sight. The rain continues to pour down, soaking us to the bone.

"Oh my God," Dylan whispers under his breath, breaking the deafening silence.

I swallow hard, trying to clear the lump of worry  in my throat.

"Wel,l what are we standing here for? Let's go!" Nikki finally exclaims, starting to run.

"Wait!" I cry out.

Everyone turns around, looking at me.

"What if it's one of them?" I ask, my voice trembling.

"What do you mean?" Dylan asks, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

"A few days ago, Tristan and I found a boat out in the ocean. We swam towards it, thinking that it was a rescue boat. But it turned out to be them and they captured us," I say.

Everyone stares at me. As much as I want to go see who it is, a small part of my instinct has a horrible feeling whoever it is, is not here to rescue us.

"But what if it is someone who has come to rescue us?" Nikki asks.

Ian's eyes lock with mine. He stares at me with an impassive look on his face. 

"Okay fine, let's go," I say reluctantly.

We begin to run towards the jungle in the direction of where the helicopter crashed. As we keep running, the acrid burning smell gets stronger and stronger. We must be getting close.

My heart pounds in my chest nervously. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this.

"There!" Dylan shouts, pointing his finger.

We all slow to a stop and look to see the helicopter on the jungle floor. Its rotor is smashed into pieces on the ground and black smoke is still billowing from the engine. We walk towards it slowly, as if it is going to blow up any second.

I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

As far as I can see, there is no Blair Institute painted on the side of the helicopter like the boat had. But still, I have a strange, unsettling feeling about this.

"Where is the person?" Tristan asks, looking around.

We all look around us, but there is no sign of the parachutist on the ground.

"What the hell? It's like they disappeared into thin air," Dylan murmurs.

"No. Right there," Ian says quietly, pointing his finger upwards.

We all look up, following the direction of his finger to see the parachutist hanging from the top of a tall tree. I gasp when I see that they are precariously hanging by the strings of their parachute, which are looped around one of the branches. They must be at least a good thirty feet off of the ground. 

I squint up at the person, shielding my eyes from the drizzling rain. By the looks of it, it is a female. Her hair is sticking out from underneath her helmet and she is wearing a black body suit.

"Hello!" Tristan shouts.

The person remains motionless.

"Are you okay?" Tristan cries out.