Stranded Belief

Chapter 13: Hazel

Chapter 13: Hazel.
Song: You'll always find your way back home.

Tears spilled from Hazel's eyes. Everyone looked at her in confusion. Do they even know what day it is? Hazel thought.
It was Christmas Eve.
Hazel had a longing to be home with her family.
They would've returned home just days before. Families must be wondering where they were.
Unless, of course, they heard about the crash and had no idea that their children were still alive...
Would they be lost forever?
Had their funerals taken place?
Hazel began to get paranoid and started crying harder.

Her breathing was sharp.
She felt a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Calm down, Hazelnut." Jet said as he patted her hair.
She sniffled a few more times before, eventually becoming calm.
~*~
It had begun to get dark outside and the gang had made a rule that NO ONE (mostly Jet and Jack) was allowed to leave the campsite.
They couldn't take a chance on anyone else getting hurt.

"Maybe we need to set a bigger fire. Maybe it will get the attention of a helicopter." Mikki said.

"Or maybe it will burn us all to death. None of us know how to handle a fire that big." Jack replied.

Mikki knew it was true and chose not to reply. Instead she changed the subject. "Hey have any of y'all seen Destiny? I haven't seen her since story time earlier."

Jet stopped for a moment to think. "No, I haven't. I would love to go look for her, but it seems that for the time being I can't." He looked up and glanced at Mikki, then Bella, and finally setting his eyes on Hazel, holding her gaze for a moment longer than the others.

Bella spoke up. "I know Destiny. She would've returned by now. I'm really worried that something happened to her. If you boys are feeling up to it in the morning I think we should start looking for her." She looked at the girls to see if they agreed with her. Mikki was nodding her head and Hazel shrugged her shoulders, probably not too happy with the thought of trudging through the woods the way she knew they would have to in order to find Destiny.

"Let's get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Jack moved his stuff closer to Bella. He knew that she was still a little annoyed with him but would enjoy his company regardless.

Though she didn't speak, Bella shot Jack a grateful glance. She was worried about how tomorrow would turn out. Bella knew that Jack would do everything he could to put the others first and make sure the others were safe. But what would that mean for him.

Jack could tell Bella was worried, though he wasn't sure what about. He took her hand in his, knowing this would get her full attention.
Bella looked at him wide-eyed, then gave him a small smile, a slight red rushing into her cheeks. "Hey. It'll be okay. I promise." Jack reassured her. "But what if it's not. The person I'm most worried about is you. You always do everything you can to help us, but that may not be the best right now with your shoulder still healing." Bella looked at the ground, hoping that Jack wouldn't see the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. "Hey, you don't need to worry one bit about me. I was the best on my track team in high school. I've survived much worse injuries than this." Bella smiled at this. She knew Jack was feeling better if he was going back to his old flirty self.

Hazel sat about 10 feet from Bella and Jack with Jet. They watched in amusement as Jack was clearly flirting with Bella, her cheeks red enough to prove it.

"What's the game plan for tomorrow?" Hazel asked Jet. "What makes you think I have a game plan?" Jet replied. "Because you always do. And if you don't I will forbid you from searching tomorrow because I know something is wrong if you don't have a plan." "I'm still coming up with one but you will be the first to know when the plan is finished."