Path of Ranger: Volume 1 (21 page)

Now the adventure didn’t seem a game anymore. It all felt real more than ever. Like never before JB got an idea of the danger that surrounded him. One wrong step would be the last. He had to move on, and the faster his pace would be, the better.

JB looked down at the fire. His only source of light and warm became a threat now. The monsters might notice it. If they hadn’t already. It felt dangerous to get down during the night, but there wasn’t much choice. Everything was the ground: food, water, and, most importantly, the backpack with the gun in it. Now it was his only hope for survival, nothing else mattered that much anymore.

His head finally cleaned up. The gangster prepared to act. He grabbed the vine and jumped off the branch. His hands skillfully lowered him down the tree, without even help from his legs. JB felt the crank pumping through his blood, and he sort of liked that feeling. In the thirteen years of his criminal lifestyle, he hadn’t experienced anything like it. He wanted to try something new. A great force awakened in him.

Without even getting to the end of the vine, the big guy released it to go into free fall. He made a backflip and landed on his feet.

Not wasting a second, JB ran towards the fire. He picked up one of the water-fruit to tear it apart over the flames. The water poured on the fire to kill it immediately, turning liquid into steam. The hiss from it broke that perfect silence that used to be there. The light faded into darkness. JB closed all of the zippers on the backpack and threw it on his shoulders. He was ready to leave that jungle. The break lasted for too long. It was time to return to the original plan – to run without pause.

Two months later…

The group of survivors kept living on the north beach in hope of rescue. Many weeks passed while they were waiting for a ship, or a plane, or anything that might save them. It was worthless, nobody showed up. They were left on their own.

Life was hard on them lately; a tragic plane crash, a loss of close ones, who had never made out, a tough survival in the wild. And help didn’t come. So the people had to stay alone on the island, which they hated with all heart. Time passed, it healed some of the damage. Somehow most of them made peace with all those terrors that had happened to them. Each one had to get used to the island in their own way.

Perhaps, if the situation was different, the group might even love that place. After all, if looked at objectively, it was a beautiful location; white sand on the beach, crystal clear water, and tropic jungle around. Lots of people dream about a piece of paradise like that for their entire life. All they needed was to settle, and it could be better. The jungle was full of food, so was the ocean. Not far from the beach the guys had found a small river with fresh water. Surviving became much more comfortable.

The captain of the plane, Josh Skyman, remained in his leadership, and Steve Wash became a good friend and advisor of his. The relationships in the group were more or less democratic. All the main decisions were voted on and anyone who wanted to had an opportunity to participate in discussions. The idea of surviving was a concrete basis for peace and order for a long time. Unless the priorities changed, it would be that way for a long time.

After three weeks of waiting for a rescue mission, some of the survivors realized that no one was coming for them. An alternative had to be found. They built a solid camp on the beach. As construction materials, they used anything, from parts of the plane to jungle trees. The palm leaves were perfect for making hovels. Ivy and vines replaced ropes. The group had built a large water reservoir with bamboos and rosin that held about fifty gallons of liquid. There were shifts among people to bring the water from the jungle. Everyone had to contribute.

Thus, people who couldn’t imagine their life without the endless fuss of urban rhythm had to learn how to deal with their only task there – survival. With time, labor had diverged. Men, students mostly, became pioneers, builders, and hunters. They were making most of the runs in the jungle, supplying food, searching for plane parts, et cetera. The women took care of the signal fire, watched the horizon, and picked up fruit at the nearest areas.

It was evening. A thick cloud cover, as usual, held upon the island, turning the sky into a solid black background. A warm oceanic breeze brought a freshness to the beach. The weather had changed in the past few days. The air got warmer and the humidity rose. It was gasping. People felt strange, they hoped for it to pass, just like a season happening. But each of them was caught in shivers when thinking of an alternative. Humans, like any other species, can sense danger. It’s like a madness in the air that roils the consciousness. Yet, on the contrary, people find it hard to believe in what they can’t see. The group had already made it there for more than ten weeks, so they didn’t consider the possibility of something ending that.

Tina and El were spending their time around the campfire. It was their shift on ‘signal fire duty.’ They had to keep the flames up and watch the horizon in case a ship showed up. If a vessel came by, they would light up a big fire that was not far. That actual signal fire was about eight feet high and had enough firewood in it to produce a light that would be seen from long miles away.

The girls sat in two seats that had been found in the jungle few weeks before. They kept it quiet for a while. Tina was reading a book, enjoying the warm light from the flames that brought comfort to her mood. Only the heat occasionally distracted her from the storyline, but whenever that happened, she took a deep breath and went back into the world of her favorite characters.

On the other side, El didn’t look like herself. From the very first day of the crash, she tried to find any work she could. Doing something useful helped to take her mind off the problems around. Sometimes she contributed to making the fishing nets or joined the food gathering parties. Lots of time she and her bestie spent discovering jungle flowers to bring them to the beach. There was a lot to explore in that forest, especially for noobies.

It was obvious that El worried about something that night. Tina had noticed that at once, but she blamed it on the heat. Yet, after El spent the better part of an hour staring at the fire, her friend decided to say something. She finished the chapter, put a bookmark between the pages and closed the book. The brunette looked at the blond. She didn’t react at first, but one could tell by her expression that El knew what that was about.

“Hey, are you alright?” Tina asked softly.

“Yes, I’m fine,” El replied staring at the fire.

“You look unhealthy, girl. Do you feel well?”

“No... I mean, yes. I’m okay. It’s just, I feel a bit dizzy. This heat is driving me nuts.”

El finally turned to her friend.

“Here, have some. You’re going to feel better,” Tina picked up a bottle near her seat to hand it to El.

“Thanks… Do you still have hope for someone to come?”

“Yeah, sure. A little bit more and the rescuers will come for us. We have to hold on,” Tina radiated optimism.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, I’m sure. But that’s not why you are sitting here like a stone for the whole evening, right? What’s wrong? Tell me.”

“It’s just… No, I can’t, it’s silly…”

El’s lips were shaking, Tina saw that it was serious.

“Come on, we’ve known each other like forever. If something is bugging you, then it’s bugging me. I promise I won’t think that it’s silly.”

El made a deep breath.

“Alright. I’m thinking about that call from Jerry when he talked to Alex.”

“So that’s it? You’re worried about your boyfriend?” Tina smiled. “Come on. I had already thought that it was something big.”

“First of all, he’s not my boyfriend. I just have a bad feeling about it.”

“Come on, El. You’ve promised yourself to forget him, remember? And about that call… Lots of time passed. He knows where we are. He would have joined us a long time ago if he wanted.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. The connection got interrupted, why? And he has never made it here, why? Something could happen to him. He may be lying there, somewhere, injured, with no one to help…” Each next word made El’s voice tremble more and more.

“I think he’s okay. There may be thousands of reasons why Jerry didn’t come here. No one knows what that guy has on his mind. Even if everything is as you say, we can’t really do anything, can we? Don’t worry so much over nothing.”

“Can’t you see, Tina? It’s our fault. We were there, our people searched the plane for survivors. And we left him there. They took him for dead when he was alive. Think about it. We left him behind. It’s on us.”

“I remember that day as clear as possible, one can’t forget something like that… The captain said that he personally checked his pulse, he didn’t breathe. No one knows how he could’ve survived. All we can do now is to hope for a better thing to happen.”

“Perhaps you’re right. We really need to take care of ourselves.”

After a talk with her friend El felt better. She even forgot about the heat for a minute. It was just a fire that took over her thoughts. But that kind of state didn’t last for long. Soon she went back to thinking about JB. Tina, on the other hand, opened her book again to keep enjoying the evening.

While the girls were talking, they missed that moment when another person joined them. A dark silhouette of a man came out of the shadow to join them. It was Wash. He moved one of the stumps, nearby, closer to the fire, to sit with the girls. Steve's hand pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

“Here goes the remains of luxury… I found them in the jungle just a few days ago, and now they’re all gone. Huh…”

He exhaled sadly and continued twisting the pack in his hands.

“Better for your health," El said.

“Well, it depends on how you look at it. The people in modern society always treated smokers with prejudice. But take the eighteenth century, per se, smoking then was considered a noble activity for the elite.”

“Really, man? Everyone knows that smoking is a disgusting and harmful habit,” Tina looked at Steve skeptically.

“Of course, it’s harmful, I agree. But what about the psychological effect? I’ve learned a lot in those years of serving in U.S. Army. But the most important thing I’ve learned on my trips to hot spots. A man does dumb things mostly when there is nothing else he can do.”

“How’s that?” El asked. She looked at Tina. The brunette got interested too.

“For example, imagine a young fellow, which applies to the armed forces. Lots of them do. They already have families, loved ones, friends. Not many of them are ready to leave everything behind to focus on the present. Most of the young soldiers hold on to the past, to everything they had before their military service. Unfortunately, they have to experience that life keeps moving without them. Girlfriends don’t stay for long, friends change. A soldier feels that others gradually leave him out. Often they blame the army, or themselves. And that’s not even speaking about the war,” Wash got far-reaching, he tried to keep eye contact with both listeners to maintain their interest. He took a short pause. “It’s all about the pressure, you know. But once you pull out a cigarette, light it up, and take a drag, everything gets better. Of course, the problems stay, but your attitude changes. It gives an illusion of control, a small one, but still… That’s a psychological effect.”

Steven finished his long monologue. None of the girls looked very convinced about the goodness of smoking itself. Still, they wouldn’t want to argue. The colonel’s eyes were shining with sincerity, and he looked so passionate about the speech. They didn’t wish to take that from him. So no one spoke after. All three of them just looked at the fire enjoying the night.

Terrifying noise and trembling took over El’s mind. She was lost. Soon the blond realized that it was just a dream. The noise was coming from the camp, it magnified through her sleep to create a hyper real feeling of fear. When opening her eyes, she found herself alone on that part of the beach. The fire was almost out. She couldn’t even recall when exactly she had fallen asleep. However, how can one remember such a thing?

El stood up to look at the camp, which was in viewing distance from where she was. The girl looked scared and confused. She automatically threw some wood in the fire and ran to the camp.

Despite the fact that it was deep night, the entire group gathered up. They had surrounded a few, and everyone was staring at those in the middle. Most of them were stunned in horror. All attention was paid to Vladimir, whose body was covered in blood, from head to toe. Skyman and Ellison sat near him.

“What happened?” El asked.

She stood there, with others, keeping a safe distance.

“Guys have brought him like that from the jungle. When they shouted for help, the doc was the first here,” someone from the crowd explained.

Steven kept close as well. He held the crowd away, making sure that the doctor wasn’t distracted.

Firstly, Ellison carefully scanned the teenager's torso. She looked at each of the wounds. His whole body was full of cuts, deep ones, it looked like a pride of wild cats tried to tear him apart. His breathing was so frequent that it almost seemed like a seizure. His eyes were glassed-up, staring straight in front with no movement whatsoever. And the most unpleasant thing for others was a constant bloody coughing. The view shocked.

After a close look at the patient, Ellison turned to the captain.

“We need to move him to my tent. Bring all of the medicine there, and lots of fresh water.”

“Yes, got it. What else?” Skyman asked.

“Now,” Ellison said, already looking at the boy again.

Soon as Josh got up to run for everything that doctor asked for, Steve brought Alex and Fred to relocate their friend. All four of them picked up Vladimir and moved on.

For the whole time Ellison kept herself at hand, never stalled, never gave out a shred of doubt. But despite her experience in surgery, she had never been in such a situation. The boy’s life depended on her, and there were absolutely no suited conditions to save him. The woman knew how thin his chances were. Suddenly, she lost it. She felt a heavy pressure on her chest, she started to suffocate. Her hands went shivering and her fingers got cold. The doctor realized how bad it was.

Guys brought Vladimir into the tent, but when they looked around, the doctor wasn’t with them. Steve went outside. Ellison stayed in few feet away from the tent. She was stunned. Wash instantly knew what was happening, he had seen such looks before. The colonel came closer to the doctor. Then he softly placed his palms on her shoulders and lowered down a bit to establish eye contact on the same level. From serving for such a long time, Wash had seen lots of young doctors being stunned on the field. He had to help her to snap out of that state.