The Disappearance of Taylor

Chapter 5

"How do we get down there?" Merrick inquired.

"Morph," Cole explained. "We can jump down from here."

"Wild Access!" they shouted.

Cole and Merrick morphed into Ranger form and leaped down onto a small ledge jutting out from inside the large ditch. Cole gasped again.

Alyssa was lying on her side on the next ledge. Her face and arms were covered with cuts and a small pool of blood surrounded her head, as if it had been struck against the side of another rock.

Cole leaped over to the next ledge and knelt down by Alyssa.

"She'll be fine," he called to Merrick. "Luckily, we packed a good first-aid kit."

He picked up Alyssa and gently carried her back to the campfire. Then he demorphed. Merrick took out the first-aid kit and a small towel. Cole placed the folded towel on the ground and laid Alyssa down with her head resting on it. Merrick opened the kit and together, they fixed up Alyssa quickly.

"It's good that we brought that, huh, Merrick?" Cole couldn't resist adding as he and Merrick laid out sleeping bags and placed them on the ground on each side of Alyssa. Merrick rolled his eyes again, but he was smiling as he and Cole went to sleep.

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Cole grunted as he felt hot sun warm his face and he slowly opened his eyes and sat up. Merrick was already up and he had his back to Cole as he ate some of the food that they had packed. Cole grinned and joined in. Soon, Alyssa did as well.

"Are you feeling okay, Alyssa?" Cole asked her, rubbing her forehead with one of his hands, feeling some of the stitches he and Merrick had put in.

"Yes, I'm fine." Alyssa pushed Cole's hand away when she felt it touch her stitches. When they had all finished their food, Alyssa wasted no time in asking, "Can we please go search for Taylor now?"

"I think we should do that, too," Merrick said. Cole nodded and the three Rangers packed their bags and continued through the forest.

"I wonder how Max and Danny are doing," Alyssa sighed wistfully.

"They're probably fine," Merrick responded.

"I just wondered something else," Cole ventured. "If Taylor had been gone for so long, wouldn't she have called us?"

Merrick replied again, "When Princess Shayla called us to speak with her, she said that Taylor had been separated from not just us, but her growl phone too. Until she finds it, we will be unable to contact her."

"That's sad," Alyssa remarked, her face filled with fear. "She's stuck with no way to contact us. Worse than that, it was an org who sent her to wherever she is, so her condition right now could be who-knows-what."

Merrick, who usually matched her comments with one of his own statements, was silent, as if Alyssa's ranting had exhausted him. They continued their trek through the forest, not saying a word until they reached the edge of the forest. Across the clearing stood more acres of forest.

As they started trekking across the large clearing, Cole sighed. "I hope the others at having better luck in their surroundings than us."