Wild Kratts - Desolate

Chapter 5: Home

Cold.

That's the main feeling penetrating Chris' body right now. Cold and Pain.

He slowly opens his eyes, almost not having enough energy to do so. The world seems blurrier than usual today, although whether it's from fog or something else, he doesn't know for sure.

Everything just hurts. His throat feels like it's on fire. His head is killing him. His chest feels like a knife is being twisted in it. And his wrist hasn't magically gotten any better since he broke it, so that is still radiating a horrid pain that hits him every time he accidentally puts pressure on it.

Seeing that he's still being bombarded with the same muddy-gray color he's been forced to look at for god knows how long, Chris knows that he's still not inside the Tortuga. Still not home. Still not with his friends.

Still not with his brother.

He wonders if he'll ever be found. He's lost track of how long he's been out here, the days muddling together in a big mush of nothingness, and no matter how hard he tries to stay hopeful, he can't help but feel terribly exhausted by everything.

Chris knows he should move, should get going, should start doing something that'll make it easier for the others to find him, but he just... can't move. It's as though his entire body has given up on him, telling him 'Just give up already'. He has already lost the feeling in all of his limbs, completely unable to move a single muscle, not even an inch.

He heaves a suffocated sigh. Breathing alone has become painful.

He's also sweating badly thanks to his fever, contradicting the fact that the rest of his body is still soaked and very, very cold.

He slowly moves his blood-shot eyes to the right, spotting a blurry, brown-ish shape on the ground. It takes him a moment to register that it's his bag that he'd dropped from exhaustion the day before. It's not like he has the capability of reaching it anyway.

He whimpers silently at the stinging pain in his wrist. He just can't catch a break.

He's fighting to keep his eyes open, but all the hurting and agony coming from all directions makes that practically impossible for him.

He has had enough. He just wants this to end.

Somewhat accepting his "fate," he finally allows himself to sink back into unconsciousness, for what he presumes to be the last time.

He closes his eyes on the greenery before him, letting it just...be.

After having searched the new area they had just gotten to earlier that day, more hopelessness slips inside each member of the team as they've found no trace of the lost Kratt brother.

It's day nine, and the search feels like it has lasted for an eternity.

Aviva, Koki and Jimmy are in the main room, putting their heads together trying to figure out what the next right move should be.

"Okay, so we've already searched all of the other areas Chris was most likely to have gotten lost in, which only leaves us with... this area," Koki recapitulates, using a map she has opened on the big screen.

"But we already started searching this morning and had no luck!" Aviva points out with an exasperated tone.

"I don't know, you guys. What if... we never find him?" Jimmy's words cut through the air and render the whole room silent.

The girls turn and give him disturbed, shocked looks. But before they can respond, they hear the sound of footsteps as someone enters the room, followed by a quiet GASP.