Heroes

Chapter 20. Another thing with Jack

I must have woken up a few hours later because when my eyes fluttered open, I was blinded by the sun's rays beating down on me. I was lying on the soft grass with a log under my head, supporting my neck. Sitting up on my elbows, I glanced around, squinting so I could actually see, using one hand to shield my eyes. As I panned the area, I saw that I was in a field about the size of a soccer pitch, surrounded by woodland. It was actually really picturesque: the sunlight raining through the foliage and casting halos of gold on the ground, illuminating everything it touched. I wasn't in the center of the field, just a little off to the side. I continued looking around and noticed that Nate was sat up in one of the larger trees. He wasn't doing anything; just sitting there and looking out over the forestry. I struggled onto my feet, and swayed there for a second, my head spinning. It was only for a moment though, and then I was fine. Slowly, I made my way over to him, taking in the scenery as I went. It was beautiful: the leaves were all shades of red, brown and yellow. There were piles of them on the ground, from which I could see small animals burrowing around and then dashing out hurriedly. Birdsong could be heard from overhead and the scamper of small paws over twigs. I stepped through the trees and found a dirt path marked out on the ground, presumably leading all the way around the area. The sunlight here was dabbled, the refreshing breeze gently rocking the trees. Even now, that is one of the most beautiful moments I've ever had. One thing was unsettling me though...where were the others? There was no sign of them anywhere. There were no tracks in the ground, no hint of human activity. I thought that they must have gone on without us, and we'd catch up to them later. If only I'd been right.

When I made it to Nate's tree, he was about 40m up, almost at the very apex. He hadn't noticed that I was awake. I couldn't hold a conversation with him from this distance, so I attempted to climb the tree. Note that I said "attempted". It didn't really work. I mean, I got up there but it took longer than it probably should have. Trying to find sturdy branches to cling onto is more difficult than it sounds. However, through the course of it all, I did manage to get up to Nate and join him leaning against the trunk.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, not looking at me.
"I'm alright, thanks, Nate," I replied, not at  all truthfully. In fact, I was very concerned that the others were nowhere around and I had a throbbing pain in my left shoulder.
"That's great. Now, instead of lying to me, why don't you actually tell me the truth?" He said in the same tone, still not looking at me.
To be honest, I should've known that lying to him would've been pointless.
"You already know the truth, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do," he said and he looked at me and smiled. "The others have carried on, but they're gonna wait for us at the stream crossing. It's about an hour's walk in that direction." He pointed vaguely to the east.
"How long was I out?" I asked, adjusting my position in the tree so I didn't fall out.
"A while. By the way, you're heavier than you look, you know that?" He circled his wrist for a second and I heard a crack.
"Wait, did you carry me here?" I asked.
"Of course I did. What else was I gonna do with you?"
I gave him a look that basically said 'you're a moron'.
"You could've just left me there and continued with the others. Or, if you were really passionate about staying with me, just wait until I woke up. You didn't need to take me anywhere."
He turned so he was looking me dead in the eyes.
"Yes, I did. I left you once, and it destroyed me. I'm never leaving you again."
My eyes started stinging for a second, but I just smiled and gave him a hug, which he reciprocated.
Kids, don't hug people when you're 40m in the air balancing on a thin stick of bark.
Suddenly, my foot slipped and I tumbled out of the tree, almost bringing Nate down with me. But I let go just in time and I landed flat on my back among the leaves. He jumped down after me and landed lightly.
"Mark? You okay?"
He pushed a pile of leaves off of me to find me laughing hysterically to myself, perfectly fine. He shook his head, smiling, and held out his hand to help me up. I gripped it, feeling the rough scales coating his skin.

The trek up to the river was one of the most pleasant experiences I've ever had. Nate and I reminisced about the past, now that my initial shock was over. The temperature increased throughout the day, but it never got too hot. The dense foliage obscured the majority of the sunlight, but we could still feel the humid air it left behind. Just like Nate said, it was about an hour when I heard what sounded like the lapping of water. As we continued following the path, the sound got louder, until we found the start of the stream. It led us up a steep hill that climbed for 20m and then came out at a wooden bridge. The bridge was suspended over a raging waterfall, throwing water vigorously into a pool below. The sound was deafening, amplified in the close-knit proximity of all the trees. But there was a greater sight than that. At the top of the hill, waiting at the bridge was Mat, Steph and Morgan. When they saw us, they ran over and pulled me into a giant group hug, saying my name and talking about how worried they are. Nate stood apart, looking out over the edge. When the hug broke up, I looked around the small clearing we were at: no sign of Jack.
"Hey Morgan...where's Jack?" I asked. She exchanged glanced with Mat and Steph and then looked back at me, clearly nervous.
"He split off from us a while ago, and he hasn't come back. We're really worried that something's happened." I knew she wasn't mincing her words. Her eyes said it all: they were genuinely concerned. I left her and went over to Nate.
"Can you contact Jack?"
He looked at me, then realised that I was serious and gave me a look.
"What? Now? From here?"
"Yeah, can you do it?"
"I can try. But he could be anywhere. Trying to locate someone who could literally be on the other side of the world is really difficult. But I'll give it a go."
"Thank you."
I went back over to the others and told them the plan.
"Are you sure he won't hurt Jack?" Steph asked, giving Nate worried looks.
"Hey, we can trust Nate. If he says he's gonna help locate Jack, I know that's what he's gonna do."
They still didn't look convinced, so I glanced back at Nate, to see that he had his eyes closed.
After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and he looked back at me, eyes wide. Sensing some urgency, I went over to him and asked him what happened.
"Mark, this is bad. This is really bad!" He whispered to me, not wanting to alert the others.
"What?! Nate, what's happened?" I asked, gripping his shoulders and locking eyes with him.
"It's bad, it's bad, bad..." He muttered to himself, his voice tailing off at the end, looking down at the ground.
I shook him slightly.
"Nate, tell me what's happened. What's bad?"
He lifted his gaze back to me, and I saw actual fear in his eyes.
"Jack's been hired."