The J Project

Chapter 5

Day 3- Gwen

I woke up earlier than I have these past two days. The red- orange sun was just breaking over the horizon as I gazed out the little window. Climbing up out of my corner with the wall supporting me, I stretched my hands as far as I could, almost brushing the ceiling with my fingertips.  I glanced across the hut to see Alex in a very uncomfortable position. Blake had draped his arm across Alex's face mid-slumber, and Alex was just staring at me with pleading eyes. I chuckled, leaving him to his own devices, and stepped out of the hut.
Once outside, the air felt great against my face. Of course my ankle had to sprain, there's so much I want to explore. A jungle like this, so large, majestic, mysterious.. It seemed to call to me. I decided that even with my ankle, I would go for a walk.
As I made my way out there, I  listened all around me. Birds chirping, the wind rustling through the many branches of the treetops, whipping past my head, blowing my hair back and into my eyes.  It wasn't until a minute later that I could sense someone behind me. Alex.
"Gwen, haven't you learned by now that it's not a good idea to come out here alone with your ankle?" He asked.
"I know, I know, but the jungle, it was calling to me and I figured it would be okay this time... You know what they say, third time's the charm..." He just looked at me. After a moment of realizing he wasn't going to say anything more, I turned back and continued walking into the forest.
"Gwen." Alex called after me.
"What now, Alex?" I asked in return.
"If you get hurt..." He hesitated. "Don't make it my problem." He turned and walked back towards camp.
I stood there, dumbstruck for a moment. Part of me wanting to go after him and back to camp, the other listening to the sound of the wind, calling me in further. I ended up deciding to walk farther into the jungle. "I'll show him," I began to mutter to myself. "I'll be fine out here alone. Nothing will happen. He's just some stupid guy, he doesn't understand..."
I continued on through the jungle, looking all around me constantly. The different colored leaves of the trees and plants, the smell of fresh air all around, the calls from the wolves, showing they were about to go after prey. Wait. I stopped and listened. Another howl. At this point I had no idea where I was, I couldn't see any clearing to where camp might be, or which direction I should even start going towards. I was completely and utterly, lost. I just stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then, I bolted. Or, tried to at least. I didn't get very far with my ankle. I stopped, moaning in pain, not sure I could go on. Knowing I had to though, I limped towards the direction I thought was the camp. I heard another howl, and this time it sounded closer. I couldn't go on anymore. I had to stop. I sat down on a near by root, holding my ankle in agony. A rustle from the bushes in front of me startled me back into reality. I have to get out of here, I thought.
I tried to get up and failed, falling back on my butt. Another rustle from the bushes. Right then and there I knew I was dead meat. I sat there and waited. Something was coming out of the bushes now. Or should I say someone. Alex came out of the bushes.
"I thought you didn't care what happened to me out here.." I retorted. He walked over to me and helped me up.
Looking right at me, he said, "Never think I don't care about you. We're all in this together you know, we all need you." We stared into each others faces for a few moments then started making our way back to the hut.
It was silent the whole back and when we got to the hut, the sun was high in the sky, and everyone was up and about. They stopped what they were doing to look over at me and Alex. After staring for a few seconds, they looked away and continued on with what they were doing, obviously not caring anymore since it had already happened two times before.
They all think I'm the weak link. Every last one of them. Looks like I'm going to have to prove them wrong.