Why Don't We Sickfics

Left Behind (Pt. 2)

Still Jachary in this one.

Missed Part 1? It's the chapter right before this.

It was so cold.

Zach's fingers had been freezing. About half an hour ago, they started stinging. Now, they were completely numb. He could barely move them-- or at least, he hoped he could move them.

He felt his eyes drooping shut, the exhaustion threatening to drift him away from consciousness. His energy was seeping away, draining into the frozen ground and the frigid air. He had been shivering for a long time as he sat there waiting. His legs had gone numb and his entire body felt frozen.

At some point he stopped shivering. Maybe his body was getting used to the cold. But considering the chill he felt deep in his bones, he knew that wasn't the case.

I want my mom. I want my dad. I want my sister. I want Jack to be here. Zach's thoughts were muddled, not coming through quickly enough. It was almost like he was just breaking down. Like his body was shutting down, slowly but painfully.

It's... too... cold...

Zach took one last shuddering breath before he slumped down the tree. His head lolled to the right as he slipped off the last frayed thread that was tying him to consciousness.

~~~~~

They split the group in two. Daniel and Corbyn went off in one direction, Jonah and Jack in the other. Jon stayed by the bus, where the cell signal was still present, in case the 911 emergency operator needed anything else. Each pair had a radio walkie-talkie that allowed them to communicate without cell service.

"Zach!" the boys shouted as they wandered through the forest, waiting--hoping-- for a response. Jack's heart was pounding so hard that he could barely hear a thing over the thumping pulse through his head.

"Zach!" The shouts from Daniel and Corbyn slowly but surely grew further away as the pairs spread apart.

Jack said a silent prayer for the fifteenth time. Zach had to be okay. He had to. Maybe he had found a campsite and found a place to spend the night. Maybe his phone had just died and he was actually sitting in a cabin somewhere. Maybe he was somewhere alongside the road, trying to follow the path of the bus.

A cold gust of air sent a shiver down his spine. Although he'd bundled up, with a hoodie and a jacket, it was still cold.

Jack tried to remember what Zach had been wearing the last time he'd seen him.

That black shirt. Of course, that black shirt. The one that said "Vision" on it. Zach looked so good in that t-shirt.

Looks. Not looked. Why am I already talking in the past tense? He's still alive.

He has to be.

The pair walked into a log. A massive log. It blocked the whole path, and strips of red cloth were tied around it.

Jack started climbing over it, but Jonah held him back. "Hold up. That log means that the trail is unsafe to go on. It's not safe to be there."

"Well, what if Zach's there? He doesn't know what that log means either."

Jonah shook his head. "I'm not letting you go on an unsafe trail. You can call for him from here, but no going past that log."

"ZACH!" Jack shouted as loud as he could, panting a little from the effort.

Jonah jumped a little beside him. "Whoa. I want him back just as much as you do, but you're going to lose your voice if you shout that loud. And there are wild animals sleeping. We don't want to wake up the whole park."