"W-Where would they go?!" Charlotte's voice tinged with frustration and anxiety as we rushed through the dark forest in attempt to find our missing friends.
My heart raced inside me, not enough oxygen was entering my lungs. As we tried to quicken our pace, the weight of Keane's arms around our shoulders made it difficult to move quickly.
"H-Hold on..! Huff," Keane panted, his steps coming to a slow halt, making us stop with him. "I-I gotta catch my breath for a sec.." we loosened our hold, allowing him to breathe as well as everyone.
"We'll take a break for a sec," I huffed. "and continue on, okay?" they nodded in reply. Caily and Keane both sat on a huge rock that was sitting by a tree, their faces exhausted from the night.
"I hope they're okay.." Caily muttered under her breath but enough to reach our ears. I approached her with a hug.
"They are, Caily. I promise." my voice was a soft whisper in her ears, hoping to give reassurance. We released and gave everyone a moment of silence.
At that moment, I was considering calling the police. Though knowing that they would oppose, they watched as I took my phone out in attempt to call.
"What is it, Leeia?" asked Charlotte, her tone low and curious.
My brow furrowed in frustration, sighing as I reluctantly put my phone back down. "There's no signal." I said in disappointment, "No way to call for help."
Their hopes faded, and their expression grew downcast. Except Charlotte lifted her head up in a flash, shotting us with a shocked look.
"Oh! I just remembered," she leaned off the tree, explaining, "before Aiden went out to pee, I checked my phone for an email. It was 12:36 and I had 2 bars." her tone excited and uplifted.
Caily had stood up. "R-Really? So, just up there?" her expression carried excitement and hope.
Both me and Keane exchanged looks, silently taking in the realization. "Yes, but wait," he started, "we'll go there once we'd found the others. We can't leave right now." he struggled to rose up to his feet, Caily quickly assisted him, though he held out a palm. "No, thank you, Caily and Leeia. But I can walk by myself," his tone in a gentle reassurance.
I held out a hand on his back as to give a push to help him balance. "You sure?"
He simply nodded, smiling softly. "Now come on," he faced the others. "let's go."
I was glancing over Charlotte who was turning her head to the direction we were going, though she suddenly stepped backwards, gasping loudly, "L-Look..!! Isn't that blood?!" I dashed over to where she was pointing, Keane following after me.
"Shit.." I muttered under my breath, my gaze fixed on the smeared blood staining the bark of a tree.
"Is that..? Aiden's blood?" asked Keane between his heavy breaths.
Caily, who was just done looking over my shoulder, gasped loudly. "That isn't.."
"N-No, it's not!" Charlotte protested, her voice desperate with panic. "We swear, we wrapped his cut tightly," she reasoned out, turning her gaze towards the blood trail again. "So how could.. there be.."
Keane replied, "Are you sure? He might've ran and tripped, possibly opening his cut again," followed by a desperate glance, "we're the only ones here.. so," his voice trailed off.
