My friend and I traversed the forest making sure to keep track of the way we wandered. Lukehiem had left us moments ago without my notice. One second he was right behind us and the next he was gone like the wind. Maybe he would have better luck on his own.
Life was amusing and funny, one afternoon you could be having a conversation with someone and the next they're gone. Mr Fixx's disappearance left me deeply disturbed. I was probably the last person that talked to him beforehand. Now that he was missing and I had this feeling that it might be my fault.
I thought back to this morning and how I had to explain that I encountered Mr Fixx in the woods. It was concluded that I was the last person that had a proper conversation with him. Then the questioning started, I did my best to answer the overwhelming number of questions. But I fell short on most of the answers. Unsurprisingly, asking for details from my sleep deprived mind was surprisingly difficult.
"Hey do you think there are any bears in these woods?" Ted asked me, but there was no fright in his words, instead I heard barely restrained excitement. "I don't think so but we can't completely rule out the possibility." Bears hadn't been spotted here in a long time. That was another reason the school chose this camp site for yearly excursions.
"Do you think Mr Fixx got hurt by a bear?" I asked him. Ted knew a lot about these things. I was sure that if we sighted a bear right now he would approach it instead of running away. "Hmm not really. It is highly unlikely but we can't rule out the possibility. Even if he did encounter a bear, the chances of him getting attacked are quite low." If he thought that, why did he bring up the question in the first place.
Now I had to deal with more morbid thoughts. The search proceeded for a while, we went through as thoroughly and quickly as possible. A few hours later we met up with other groups as agreed by the lake. We had a small meeting debating if we should continue past the lake or wait for the authorities.
There was a disagreement on what to do and two people broke into a screaming match. The lady had to be pulled away, the same girl that suggested we look for him in the first place. The boy she was arguing with seemed fed up with the idea of continuing the search, like he had something better to do. His blatant disregard and nonchalance angered a lot of people.
In the end the search party was divided further. Most people wanted to continue the search until we lost daylight or the police got here. The others made their way back to camp under the judging eyes of those that remained. The groups were rearranged and I found myself with an additional partner, to replace Luke.
"You were with Luke, weren't you? Where the hell is he?" Delan approached me just as we were about to depart. He was seething and I understood. To him it might seem like Lukehiem was playing around and not taking this seriously. "He went off on his own, he believed he would have better luck alone." The answer did nothing to lighten his mood, in fact it probably made him angrier.
Just when I felt like he was about to explode on me, Jonathan called for his attention. Delan's questions and anger made me rethink this whole thing. I had doubts, what if Luke wasn't taking this seriously, what if he didn't care for Mr Fixx at all. We needed to have a long talk once this was over. He had kept me in the dark long enough. His demeanor and actions didn't make much sense to me anymore.
"Let's get going." My other partner interrupted my thoughts with a pat on the shoulder. "There's been a change of plans. Delan just got off the radio with Ms Rita. A park ranger just arrived and the others will be here shortly. We're supposed to meet back in under an hour." Our search would end soon. We had nothing to show for it, but the the dedication and effort we put in said something about us.
The police and park rangers would take over soon. They would have better chances, equipment and strategies needed to find him. For the next hour we gave it our all and screened every nook and crany. There was still no evidence that anyone had come through here.
With sighs of defeat we made our way back to the lake. We shared the details of our search. No one has seen anything. With degected expressions we shuffled back to camp. ["Come"] the illusions whispered to me and I stopped on the trail. "Not now, please not now. The sun isn't even down yet."
["Listen. Aid"] a strange compulsion came over me. I entertain the voices and listened to them. I moved slowly, almost like I was in a trance. I relied on a gut feeling and warped psyche to continue the search. 'I should probably head back.' I considered the thought for half a step and continued walking. The voices didn't resound anymore but I felt their intent and trusted the feeling.
***
I crouched by a tree and took time to catch my breath. This was the longest I had ever ran and I hoped never to do it again. My search had yielded no results. I began to doubt if he was even in these woods. Perhaps he wandered towards the road.
'Let's keep going.' I did not have time to lament about my burning lungs.
There was a silver lining to this. I'd covered a lot of ground and now I knew where not to search. The areas prior to the lake had been completely surveyed. There were only a few areas left, I encouraged myself and continued at a much slower pace. It was unfortunate but my abilities were purely of the mind, they gave me no physical enhancement.
The forest was much quieter now, all the others had pulled out. Law enforcement should be here by now, it was only a matter of time till they flooded the forest.
Now there were only one spot left to investigate. If he wasn't there then why role was finished. Going even deeper into the forest and trees was not feasible. Especially with current position of the sun.
There was no one there. It was time to give up and head back. I didn't, I resolved to give it one more push. I journeyed even further into the forest and crossed into unknown territory. My legs were heavy and my breath laboured, I turned around and prepared to go the other way. That was when I felt it.
I found him, just on the periphery of the veil. Just when I told myself to go no further. I ran one final time, but slowed down at the incline. Keeping my knees together I slid down and landed by his body.
He was still breathing. I also didn't notice any injuries or visible wounds on his body. I could never be too certain. I gave a thorough exam and assessed his body, creating a detailed map in my mind.
Just as I approached his unconscious form a new presence walked towards us. Tobias came over and paused briefly when he took in our forms. He crouched beside Mr Fixx and propped his head on his lap. He didn't speak, he didn't panic. He just silently examined him and then breathed a sigh of relief.
There was no catastrophic damage aside from the bruises on his head and arm. I inferred that he sustained them when he fell down the muddy incline. There was no internal bleeding, I was thankful for that. I had no idea why he was still unconscious though.
Tobias tapped his shoulders gently, trying to wake him up. "Mr Fixx can you hear me. It's time to get up." No response, it didn't seem like he would be getting up anytime soon.
*Buzz* a crackling hum pulled me out of my thoughts. It was coming from his pockets, his phone was buzzing. Tobias reached down and searched his pocket carefully. He passed me the beefy receiver and with a silent nod he prompted me to answer.
It was Ms Rita on the other side of the call. I informed her that I had found Mr Fixx and to send help as soon as possible. It was difficult to provide a description of our current location, so I opted to meet them at the lake. There was a lot of noise on her end, I heard sirens and men yelling, probably the police.
One of them took the phone from her to continue the conversation. He instructed us on what to do and how best we could carry him without causing further damage. Tobias was quick on his feet and was already lifting him by the shoulders by the time the call ended.
Minutes later, with heavy breaths and exhausted bodies we reached the lake. The police spotted us almost instantly and took over. They escorted us back to camp, loaded Mr Fixx into the ambulance and carted him off. A few stayed behind to ask some questions and make sure we were alright. They reassured everyone at the camp and promised that someone would be here tomorrow to escort us back to school.
Two hours later, everyone had settled down and sat by the fire to rest. We all deserved a bit of rest. Today would be a memorable experience for all of us.