16 : The Sound Of Being Saved

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"Hey Chris, you should try the water, it's great!" Marley said as he immersed himself in the lake.

"I should but someone needs to be on the look out." He replied.

"I'll take your place. Come on in." Marley said as he got out of the water and started wearing his clothes.

Chris took off his clothes leaving just his boxers and went into the lake. As soon as the water touched his body, he let out a soft moan.

"Water is life." He said looking at Jacqueline.

"Indeed!" She replied while getting out of the lake. "Ouch!" She screamed.

"Hey, are you okay?" Chris yelled as he rushed over to her.

"I brushed my leg against a stone inside the water."

"Here, let me help you." He said as he got closer to her and held her by her waist.

At this moment, Jacqueline locked eyes with him as she slid her hand across his shoulder. She could feel her heart racing as his strong hands held on to her tightly.

Chris also began to feel some type of way. He could feel her body's warmth radiating through his. He observed her closely with his eyes noting how pure and delicate her facial features looked. He lost control of his thoughts and his lips parted as he drew his face closer to hers. Just as he was about to kiss her, she gasped.

"CHRIS..." She tapped him, "LOOK!" She screamed.

He immediately turned in the direction she was pointing to. "OH MY GOD!" He let out a joyful laugh, "THEY'RE HERE!"

"KIM, WE'RE SAVED!" Jacqueline called out to her friend who in turn was screaming for joy despite the pains she was feeling.

"Hey... Hey... Over here!" Marley screamed while jumping and waving his hands.

Two helicopters started to descend. As Marley waved at them, he noticed that some people in the second helicopter were waving back in a hysterical manner. As they drew closer to the ground, he saw that it was Riley, Barry and Mark.

Jacqueline hurriedly put on her clothes and ran to get Kim on her feet.

"Oh Jacqueline, we made it!"

"We did Kim. You'll be well again soon. Come on, easy now."

Kim held her by her shoulder and Marley joined in from the other side. Kim went in the helicopter first followed by Jacqueline, Marley and then Chris.

The pilot went further, and around the forest to see if there were more people to be rescued but there were none so he flew them back to Manhattan.

They could see the Paramedics waiting for them as they approached the heliport. As soon as the helicopter landed, they rushed over to them with stretchers and they helped Kim get on top of one.

"I'll be at the hospital this evening okay. Hang in there." Marley said as he planted a kiss on Kim's cheeks before they wheeled her to an ambulance.

"See you soon." Kim gave a faint smile and waved to him.

"Guys, I must say it was a pleasure meeting you both under very petrifying circumstances. But I'm glad we were able to see this day." Jacqueline said as she shook Marley and Chris' hand.

"I'm happy to have crossed paths with you Jacqueline. You are a very loyal and brave woman and I commend you for that." Marley extended his hands and gave her a hug.

"Thanks Marley." She smiled.

"Excuse me while I go to check on Kim." He nodded and walked.

"Well... I guess this is..."

Chris leaned in and kissed her before she could get all her words out. Though he quickly realized he acted on impulse, the feelings of deep affection he's developed towards her, forced him to keep going.

Jacqueline felt a wave of pleasant emotions take over her as his soft lips brushed against hers gently. She held on to his neck with one hand while the other rested on his shoulder. His arms remained wrapped around her waist and with each passing second, his hug grew tighter.

She opened her eyes and unlocked her lips from his. She reached for his arms and freed herself from his strong embrace. "Goodbye Chris." She smiled and walked away.

He watched her as she got into the ambulance and sat beside the stretcher Kim was on. The door closed and the they left for the hospital.

"You okay Man?" Marley said as he came back to meet Chris.

"Yeah." He let out a deep breath. "Now wasn't that the greatest trip ever? I bet you'd do it again, wouldn't you?" He chuckled.

"Not even in my dreams! As a matter of fact, I'm never traveling again!" Marley rolled his eyes.

"No way! We must do this again! How does next week sound?" Chris threw an arm on his friend's shoulder.

"Huh? You're on your own Bro. Get away from me!" He laughed as he shoved Chris' arm off.

"Hey Chris... Marley... Over here!"

The guys turned around to see Riley, Mark and Barry waving to them.

"Guys, you're alive!" Chris said as they all hugged each other.

"We are! Those masked men almost killed us but we sure showed them." Riley said.

"Oh yeah?" Marley smiled.

"Yeah! They thought they were smart but found out they were in no way, a match for 3 outstanding intellectual beings such as us." Barry replied with a cocky grin.

"Is that so now? How did you guys outsmart them?" Chris smirked.

"Well, when they captured us, we started crying over the thousands of dollars and gold jewelries we buried when the train crashed. They became really interested and said we should take them to where it is. We then made a deal that we'd take them there but with our hands untied. Of course the fools accepted." Mark chuckled.

"3 guys accompanied us to the spot were we hid the imaginary goods." Riley chuckled. "On our way there, we started talking about random funny stories and even engaged them in our conversation. They became super engrossed in the topic and got sidetracked which made it the perfect opportunity for us to attack them." Riley said.

"Wow!" Marley exclaimed. "You guys are very smart."

"Yep! They actually put up a good fight though, but we won at the end. We left 2 guys unconscious and the third led us out of the woods in fear for his life." Barry added.

"Whoa! So how did you guys find the helicopters?" Chris asked.

"When we got out on the road, we saw a lot of cops around the area. Turns out the Police were already looking for us. They took him in and then ordered for the helicopters to come get everyone lost in there." Mark concluded.

"I must say, I'm truly proud of you guys for being so intelligent." Marley smiled.

"A big thank you, guys. If not for you, we'd still be trapped over there." Chris said.

"Well, we've got to take our leave now but how about we all exchange numbers? It would be awesome if we can all meet up some time and laugh over drinks." Marley said.

Of course the guys were more than happy to oblige his request. Everyone exchanged numbers and Marley and Chris went home for a well deserved rest.


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