Desolation

Chapter Four

((Here is a picture of Ian.))

My entire body tenses when I hear the snap of a twig behind me. Someone is here, watching me. I slowly turn my head around and my heart skips a beat. A boy is standing behind me, about ten feet away, just staring at me. My cheeks immediately burn bright red when I register that he saw me sobbing my eyes out. And they burn even more when I realize how hot the boy is.

He is just standing there, his arms crossed and a stolid look on his face. The next few moments, I am frozen, just staring at him. Then I finally break out of it and begin to stutter, "I...um...I..." I cannot make any words. It's as if I have forgotten how to put words together to make a sentence.

"Who are you?" he asks brusquely, his tone of voice sharp and clipped. He continues to stare at me, his dark eyes burning into mine.

"Tessa," is all that I manage to say. I quickly wipe the tears from my face.

"You weren't there before," he says. The tone of his voice is still cold and impassive.

"Yeah, I know. I...well...Tristan found me. I...well...I was tied up in a tree," I stutter. Smooth, Tessa, smooth.

He continues to stare at me, not breaking his gaze. Something about him is making me feel uncomfortable.

"Why were you crying?" he asks. I am suddenly filled with anger.

"Why??? Because I'm confused, okay? Because I have no clue where the hell I am, who any of you guys are, or how I got here!" I exclaim.

There is a long silence, then I say, "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just really frustrated."

"We all are, aren't we?" he says.

Just then, I turn to see Tristan coming towards us.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asks me. He then turns and looks at the boy.

"No water?" Tristan asks. I realize that this boy must be Ian, the one they said went looking for fresh water out in the jungle.

Ian shakes his head.

"Nope, no sign of it. Guess we're going to die pretty soon," Ian says, chuckling. Neither Tristan nor I find it funny at all. I realize how thirsty I am and how dry my mouth is.

"I want to look for water," I say.

"Tessa, you should get some rest instead of going trekking through the jungle," Tristan says.

"But I want to look for it. There must be a source of fresh water somewhere in this jungle. I can't just sit here and wait for fresh water to magically appear," I say.

Tristan looks at me, unsure of what to say.

"Let her. She can come with me. We'll be back by sunset," Ian says.

I look at Ian, then back to Tristan.

Finally, Tristan says, "Okay fine. But be careful. And make sure that you two are back before it gets dark."

Tristan then turns to me.

"Are you sure that you want to go?" he asks.

I nod.

"Alright, good luck," Tristan says, then turns around and begins walking back down towards the beach.

"Let's go," Ian says. We begin to walk through the jungle. After a few minutes, Ian breaks the silence.

"Why do you want to come with me?" he asks, glancing at me.

"I can't just sit around with the others on that beach. I need to be doing something, or else I think I would go crazy on that beach with them," I say.

"Big groups of people not your thing?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.

"I guess not," I reply.

His lips curl up into a smirk.

"Same here. The moment I met them today, I couldn't stand them. Everyone's yelling and arguing. That's why I left to go search for water," Ian says.

There's a few moments of silence, then I ask,

"Um...do you know how to get back?"

He turns around, looking back at me.

"Worried you're not going to make it back home?" he asks, a derisive glint in his eyes.

My cheeks burn red again. Why does he have to be so attractive when he makes fun of me?

"No, it's just that I prefer not to be lost in the middle of a wild jungle," I say.

"Well if we do get lost, you'll be with me. And I don't think that you could ask for more than that," he says, smirking.

Damn, why does he have to be so freakin hot?

My legs start to burn as the ground begins to slope upwards. Now is when I wish that I were in better shape.

"You need a break?" Ian asks when he hears me panting. I can hear an edge of mock in the tone of his voice.

"No," I say quickly, even though I am dying for a break. I don't want to seem wimpy.

"You sure? Because you seem pretty tired," Ian says, raising his eyebrows at me.

"Okay fine. A quick break," I say.

We both sit down on rocks across from each other. My legs are now on fire and beads of sweat are cascading down my body. If we don't find water soon, I am going to die from dehydration.

I close my eyes for a moment, then snap them back open when I remember that Ian is facing me.

"It's okay, you can close your eyes for a little. I'm not going to attack you," he says, smirking.

I roll my eyes at him, then shut them again. The only thoughts in my mind are of water. Clean, crisp, cool water. I have never needed water this bad.

I am suddenly broken out of my daydreams by Ian's voice.

"Tessa, we are being watched."