Love Restrained | Yellowjackets

chapter twenty eight

XXVIII

It had been a while now and the group hadn't come back. Natalie was stressfully pacing around the porch, a million thoughts running through her head as she impatiently waited for any sign of the girls or Hayden.

She couldn't hear anything except from some murmuring inside the cabin, as Shauna, Travis and Mari watched her closely, ready to intervene if she tried anything.

"Why is it taking them so long? Do you think something happened?" Mari asked, leaning on the door frame, but Shauna just shrugged, "Should we go after them?"

"They'll be back at any time now, just be patient."

Some more minutes passed until the sounds of footsteps echoed through the air. They were back. And Natalie was not ready to see how the hunt had turned out.

Approaching the cabin with a blank expression, Van, Taissa, Misty and Akilah held the stick in which a lifeless body was tied to, while Lottie followed behind, being the one to break the silence

"The wilderness chose." She said as the other girls placed the body on the ground.

Natalie couldn't bring herself to look, not yet, she wasn't prepared. She didn't want to look at her and see the lack of color on her face, she didn't want to see the void in her eyes. She could never be ready to see Hayden dead.

Before she found the courage to open her eyes and look at it, the sound of Travis' desperation caused a moment of confusion. Why would he react like that to Hayden's dead body?

"No. No, no!" He knelt down, crying.

Finally opening her eyes, Natalie approached the boy from behind, peaking over his shoulder just to see his tears dropping down on his little brother. The wilderness chose Javi.

The feeling of relief took over her instantly, but Natalie was not able to feel relaxed. Them bringing Javi back meant that Hayden could still be out there.

"It can't be. No, Javi." Travis cried over his brother's perished body.

"What? How? What happened?" Nat looked from Javi to the girls, unable to hold her doubts any longer "Where's she?"

The girls took a moment to stare at each other, only making the anxious feeling in her stomach even worse.

"Atkins got away." Taissa was the one to let her know. No sign of emotion in her voice.

Natalie tried to hide the deep breath she wanted to let out since they left for the hunt as the words came out of Taissa's mouth. They didn't get her. She was still out there. She escaped.

"You killed my brother instead of her!?" Travis got on his feet again, anger stamped on his eyes as he accused the girls.

"He drowned." Lottie got defensive.

"Why didn't you save him?"

"We would but-" Akilah wanted to explain but the boy was too furious to hear her.

"You let him drown!" He shouted, a broken expression taking over "How could you?"

"The wilderness chose, Travis." Lottie stared at him.

"No! The wilderness chose Atkins."

"He betrayed us." Taissa stated.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Travis, we don't get to decide. It chooses." Lottie said.

He knelt down before Javi again, placing the boy's head on his lap. Travis stared at him, violently shaking his head, refusing to believe the destiny of his brother.