Fearless

chapter 12

Jack's reaction was instantaneous and perfect: he quickly lay down on the ground, dragging me along with him by the arm. We lurched, listening to the sounds. A car was rumbling through the field.

Unnoticed, we lay on the cold ground, lurking like mice. After about 10 minutes, when the danger had passed, we stood up, making sure we were alone, and walked on.

No one wanted to break the silence, so we walked, each thinking about his own thing. The forest rustled quietly around us, as if trying to impose its quietness on us.

The radio faintly beeped on my belt, and I took a deep breath of fresh, crisp air, preparing to be whipped.

"Hi..." I said more to myself under my breath than into the phone.

"Hey, Nell." Ian's voice was surprisingly calm. "Where are you now?"

I looked at my screen and called out the coordinates. We were silent for a few seconds, which seemed to last for minutes.

"You can't do it alone..." said Ian in a still calm voice.

"I can't and won't involve you." I answered, glancing over at Jack. "Besides, no one forced me, I volunteered to help him."

"Nell, let's be logical. You need help, even if it's just reinforcements, backup."

"If we don't make it, you won't be able to get us out, you'll only hurt yourself." I muttered stubbornly. Ian whispered indistinctly.

"I don't care, I sure as hell can't stand to see you go into the Devil's Mouth."

"And why did I tell you..."

"That's it. I'll send Jack my coordinates and how I can help." Ian cut me off and passed out.

"It's getting harder every hour." Jack sighed and shrugged.

For a while we discussed the plan of action, Ian's suggestion and the upcoming route, but then the conversation slowly fizzled out. By evening, we reached our final stopover and overnight location, ate dinner, and went to bed under the open starry sky.

I woke up at 5 a.m. with a strange feeling of unease. Well, it was understandable, even explainable, since we'd be at the Devil's Mouth in a couple of hours. I didn't want to wake Jack and decided to wait for the alarm clock. I made my way to the river, which I'd spotted the night before. I washed up and drank water, sat on the dry branches by the bank, and wondered. The water gurgled smoothly and soothingly, the current carrying small twigs and occasional green leaves.

"Nell..." there was a faint sound behind me. I turned around and saw no one. The icy tentacles of some incomprehensible fear were slowly twisting in my stomach. I shook my head and stared into the distance again.

"Nell." I heard it more clearly. I turned back, and almost fell off the steep bank in surprise. Behind me was none other than Ian himself. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes with my fists. The vision didn't go away. I stood up and moved a little closer, holding my hand out toward him, eyeing him incredulously. Ian smiled and held out his hand in response, touching my hand lightly. I shrieked with joy and threw myself into his arms, realizing instantly that it was the real Ian.

"Is it really you?" I asked, wiping away the tears.

"Yeah, who else?" he grinned, and squeezed his arms around me even tighter. We stood there staring at each other for a few minutes, and then I cried again. I don't know why I was so emotional, I hadn't even cried when I'd broken my leg.

I heard the first sound of the alarm clock in the clearing. Ian looked that way, then back at me.

"Jack can't know I'm here." He said quietly. "Here's a map, I've marked on it where I'll be and which exits will be under my control. I sent Jack another map, but it's the right one, too. Just pretend like we hadn't met, he shouldn't get suspicious, okay?" Ian asked affectionately. I nodded quickly, clutching the piece of paper in my hands. Ian smiled and ran his finger down my chin and kissed my forehead. And then he disappeared silently into the bushes.