RAIN

Chapter twelve

He kept his focus on the helicopter. It must be a news crew coming to survey the area and the incoming surge. Jet smiled widely, the prospect of getting out of this hell was liberating.

    He dashed out the door, the memory of the body in the bog sunk into to the recesses of his mind for the moment. He had to find a way to flag them down.

"Rain wake up!" He shook Rain from his sleep. "There's a helicopter out there, we have to flag them down, come on, hurry up!"

The young man drifted out of his sleep with confusion on his face. His sleepy eyes stared at Jet with a blank expression as he tried to understand what the excitement was.

"Get up Rain, help me get their attention." He grabbed his arm and pulled him to get going.

He stumbled from the altar, groggy and confused as Jet pulled him behind. He moved the wooden slab from in front of the door, throwing all caution to the wind. The idea of getting back to civilization was truly maddening.

"Wait!" Rain grabbed his arm to stop him, his eyes were wide with fear. "We can't go out there. Have you gone mad? Do you remember who is out there?"

"There's a helicopter, we need to get their attention. They can get us out of here."

"But what if my grandfather sees us and the helicopter doesn't? Then what?"

The question resounding in his head, conflicting him. Rain had made a valid point but the promise of escaping before he was buried in that water tasted to sweet to give up. He groaned, pained by the conflict in his mind.

"I don't care. It's a chance we have to take. I'm not going to sit here and wait for those people to kill me," he said as he threw the door open.

The wind lashed at him, howling against his ears so loudly that it hurt. He stumbled a few steps back and Rain caught him. His arm shot up in front of his face to shield his squinted eyes. He regrouped and then steadied his nerves and like a madman, he sprinted outside, fighting the wind.

He hopped his way over the rubble and craned his neck to the sky. The villagers were the last thing on his mind. The helicopter's deafening whirling came closer, the sound of the massive rotors drowning out the storm's fury. Jet felt his heart sink in his chest. It had taken a route that sent it close by but not overhead and with the thick trees and vines covering them, he knew the chances of them being discovered down there were slim to none. Still, a lingering hope that refused to die, prompted him to keep fighting.

"HEY, DOWN HERE...DOWN HERE!" His voice pierced through the storm as he waved his arms, slicing the air with his hands, praying that the people in the helicopter would see him.

"They can't hear us. Let's go back inside...please Jet," Rain said as he grabbed his arm and attempted to drag him back inside the temple. Jet snatched the lantern from his hands and started waving again. The flame quivered as the wind entered through the small opening at the top.

"HEY COME ON...DOWN HERE...WE'RE DOWN HERE. WE NEED HELP!"

"Jet..."

"HEY LOOK DOWN. COME ON...HELP US!"

Rain froze, his frightened eyes looking in the direction where he had heard movements. His breathing quickened and his fingers gripped onto Jet's bicep but Jet was too focused on the helicopter to even feel Rain's fingernails digging into his flesh.

"They're coming! They found us!"

Rain's words suddenly brought Jet's senses back to him. He stared at Rain with wide eyes, the realization of what he had done dawning on him. A faint rustling in the trees caught his attention and now the memory of what he had just seen out in the bog, resurfaced from the recesses of his mind where he wished it would stay. He held his breath as Rain's fingers dug deeper into his bicep, sending a message of the terror that he felt to Jet.