Too Young (The Jewel Project #1)

Chapter 25.1 The search

Chapter twenty five

The search

Jessie walked to Kyle's tent, trying to control the spring in her step, but she couldn't do that or wipe the silly grin off her face. It had been days since she last felt the least bit happy. Now, she felt lighter than air. Jimmy was right, it will be hard to break the chains around her, but she wanted to be happy.

Her stomach did a somersault as she remembered the previous evening. He'd almost kissed her. Twice! And when he came to tell her about Kyle's idea, Jimmy acted as though everything was normal. But she sensed the change in his tone, the tender note.

She stopped at the entrance of the tent and took a couple of breaths to pull herself together.

"Well, that's odd," she heard Jimmy saying from inside.

"Odd? That's such an inappropriate word," Kyle replied, his voice strangely panicky.  "I have to find her."

"Look, you don't know for sure. You were in and out of trances all night. She could be around. Maybe Jessie knows."

Taking it as her cue to join the conversation, Jessie stepped inside. Jimmy was standing near the entrance while Kyle paced the length of the tent.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Kay may have not turned up last night." Jimmy said hurriedly. "Have you seen her?"

Jessie took a second to take in the sound of his voice and search for the different note. It was still there. "No, I haven't. But Jimmy's right, Kyle. She could be around. Let's just go and maybe she'll be back by the time we return."

Kyle pressed his lips together, obviously not convinced, but shrugged. "Just tell Jerry to keep her here."

The three had a quick breakfast, grabbed their survival kits and headed for the hut. In her desperate run towards camp, Jessie hadn't noticed how bothersome the vegetation was. It had seemed like a straight, smooth run. Now, nothing looked familiar and she had to check the compass every few minutes to make sure they wouldn't stray. Jimmy didn't know the way and Kyle seemed to have no idea where he was going. He just followed them blindly.

Two hours into the journey, Jessie was really getting frustrated. It was hot, she was wet stiff, mosquitoes buzzed around her head, and she had the feeling they were completely lost. She shook the compass, but it still showed they were on the right path. She was sure it hadn't taken this long the last time she'd made the distance.

"Are we lost?" Jimmy asked.

Jessie refused to answer and took a couple of steps, jumping over a log and a large rock. She heard Jimmy asking Kyle the same thing, but didn't get Kyle's answer. A stinging smell reached her. Smoke. It was very faint, but they were getting closer.

"This way!" she called and pushed forward through some vines. It took a couple more strides to reach the small clearing that preceded the plunge to the valley. This place was painfully familiar.

With trembling legs, she walked to the edge of the hill and looked towards the hut. There was no sign left suggesting it was ever there.

Jimmy stopped by her side. "This is it?"

Jessie swallowed the lump in her throat. She hadn't expected it to be so hard to return here. "Yeah. Let's go see what's around." She marched down the hill, needing to be alone for a few moments. She'd never actually considered Sam, Tom and Billy dead. The idea to look for them was great, but only now did she realize they might find corpses. She wasn't sure she could take that.