The Wild Ones - Part 2 - The Catalyst

11.

"We'll be at camp soon," Adam called back.

Tom wiped a grotty mixture of sweat and dirt from his face with his shoulder. It felt like they'd been walking for hours - they probably had. He'd tripped a few times; something about the combination of not knowing where you were going and having your hands tied had made him lose all balance.

His thigh began to vibrate. He wasn't overly sure what was going on at first, but eventually the upbeat sounds of his ringtone began to emanate from his trouser pocket. No doubt it was his brother, trying his last resort. He sighed and slowed a little in the hope that none of the others would hear it and inevitably take his phone away.

Tom looked over to the still unconscious Daniel, swaying gently over the burly man's shoulder. All that blood rushing to his head couldn't be good, Tom thought. He felt sorry for the kid. He was a naïve idiot; clearly no idea of how the world outside his several million-pound house functioned. But in many ways this was his last chance. Tom knew from experience he was right at the age where you either get your act together and begin growing up, or stay a child forever. Maybe that's why they'd been drawn to one another - to force Daniel into becoming a man. Or at least, a semi-functioning human.

His phone started vibrating again. One of the men just ahead of him caught ear of a few notes and looked around suspiciously. Tom casually looked up at the trees until the man had turned back. Tom pulled his arms around to his pocket. The rope burnt against his wrists, and his shoulders barely gave way, but he contorted just enough to pull out his phone. He felt around for the volume controls on its side and turned it down until he assumed it was on silent.

Just before he put it into his back pocket a thought struck him. As casually as he could, he looked behind him at the screen. Unfortunately, handling a phone behind your back with tied hands and without being noticed was harder than one would imagine. But after a few awkward button presses it had served its' purpose. He slid it into his back pocket and continued walking.

Max took the phone down from his ear and stared at the screen.

"Oh my God!" Becky moaned. The other two turned to look at her. She was literally pulling her hair out. "We've been sat on this stupid kerb for, like, two hours now. And you somehow decided calling him would actually work?"

"I said it would be a long shot. Better than any of the ideas you had, which included getting fish and chips and going home," Max retorted.

"We could've been in the forest following them, or asking around, or researching these stupid bird people. But instead we're phoning him up? I think you've forgotten the idea of being kidnapped, Max."

"Ok, can we all calm down a bit," Lily said, her placating arm movements not really helping matters. "You're both right. It was worth a shot in case he was momentarily alone, but equally we should start doing other things. Asking around sounds good; someone's bound to have spotted a bunch of people dressed in rags walking around town."

Max and Becky looked at one another and begrudgingly agreed. The three of them stood up and dusted themselves down, finally leaving the Black estate as the late afternoon sun set in.

After only a few steps Max paused and looked at his phone.

"What's up?" Lily asked, trying to look down.

"It's from Tom," Max said, his bemused face scanning the small screen.

"And? What's he say?" Becky hastily asked.

"Well, nothing," Max said, confusing himself even.

The girls stared at Max who quickly held up his phone to show what he meant. On it was simply a blurry picture of what looked like a forest floor. No text, seemingly no hidden messaging, just an assortment of browns.

"Great time as any to admire your brother's photography skills," Becky sighed, and continued walking.

"He must have hit a few buttons accidentally and sent that," Lily suggested. "At least we know he's OK. Or, at least, functioning to some degree."

She smiled at Max and walked with Becky. Max stood staring at the screen for a few seconds shaking his head.

"You don't know my brother. Rarely anything he does is without purpose. Even if it was an accident, he would've immediately tried again to correct it."

The girls stopped and walked back to Max.

"What's it mean, then? Are you seriously telling me we have to examine the pieces of dirt to find clues?" Becky asked, snatching the phone from Max and peering at the screen.

"No, but...why would he take a picture of the ground? To tell us he's in the woods? We already figured that out." Max looked off to the distance.

"Well I guess it would be the easiest thing to take a picture of without being noticed," Lily added.

"So maybe it's not what's in the picture that's significant," Max's brain began to whirr and his eyes lit up. He took the phone back from Becky and tapped on the screen. "Yes!" he exclaimed, smiling broadly.

"Care to fill us in?" Becky asked.

"It wasn't the picture at all, it was the data within it; he geotagged the photo," Max passed his phone back to the girls. "He's given us his coordinates."