Tarzan & G.I. Jane (Complete)

Part 6

I wake up smiling but it instantly disappears when I am reminded of the night before by the empty space next to me. I sit up. I scan the room for any sign of him. My stomach tightens with anxiety. The table is bare of any food. He always brought me something to eat for breakfast. 

Before I allow my emotions run away with me I jump up off the bed and get dressed. I have to leave! I look down at myself, all my cuts and bruises have faded. I pull my flight suit up halfway and tie my sleeves around my waist. I put on my socks and boots. My feet have enjoyed the time away from them but I will need their protection as I trek through the jungle. 

I step outside and towards the garden. I grab some tomatoes and eat one. I also pick some fruits and nuts and shove them in a bag I took from the house. I don't really know why but I find myself at the grave sites and whisper a quiet goodbye and sorry. 

I make my way to the western edge of the "property." I take one last look at the place that saved me. My soul yearns to see the man that saved me, My Tarzan, one last time. He doesn't appear and after a painful moment I force myself to step into the trees. 

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I am hot and sweaty. I have no idea where I am going and due to the thick canopy I can no longer tell which way the sun is moving. I am lost. If that wasn't enough to scare me the sounds of the jungle do. It could be just a figment of my imagination but I feel like the farther I get from the house the more animals I hear and see. It's like the animals know to stay clear of Tarzan's territory.

As it gets darker I start to doubt myself. I should have stayed with Tarzan. I am going to die out here. I wonder what the stats are for people lost and left for dead in the jungle. How many did my crew add to that number? My feet ache and my body is begging for me to sit down. My first mental breakdown is about to happen. I don't know if I should laugh or cry at the situation I've put myself in. 

And that's when I see it; lights off in the distance. I don't know who, what, or how but I don't question it I just run. When I break through the tree line everything seems to go into slow motion. 

I see the crashed plane. I feel shock and relief. At the same time four men turn to me and raise their guns. Before I can even lift my hands or say anything two things happen at the same time. I hear a gun fire and something blocks my view of the men. 

I look down and lock eyes with Tarzan. Everything falls away. All I see, hear, feel is Tarzan as I fall down to his side. What is he doing here?! That's when I see the blood and it's like I've been hit by a train. He's been shot!

I don't know what to do. I just stare at him.

"Jane." 

It's a whisper. I must be going crazy, surely he didn't just say something. I'm in shock as I watch his beautiful bright blue vanish behind heavy lids. 

The events that follow are all a daze. I only register small things about the men and what is going on. They are military, American, called in a medevac, we flew back to base, I was home.