Джордан Шор - The Search

“I have to go to the ladies’ room.”

Jake stood up. “I’ll carry you, Julie. You shouldn’t walk on your ankle.”

“No, I’m fine,” Julie said. “Just stay there, please.”

“I won’t look, Julie. I just want to help you.”

“No, just stay there, please,” Julie said once more. “I do not want you to see what I’m about to do.”

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Jack said, and took a step closer to Julie.

“I said no!” Julie yelled.

“Okay.” Jack put his palms up in the air.

Just then, Nancy woke up. “Is she leaving?”

“No, she has to… pee,” Jack hesitated.

“So, what’s your name?” Nancy looked at Andrew.

Andrew didn’t answer either; instead, he tilted his head and looked at Jack.

“His name is Andrew, and I’m Jack.”

Eventually, Julie emerged from the nearby bushes, and limped slowly, as she made her way back under the sloping tree. She glanced at Jack, but when their eyes met, she quickly trained her eyes toward the ground.

“Any sign of the cavalry?” Julie asked and looked at Jack’s chest.

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“You’re sure there was a transmitter on the plane?” Julie asked.

“Yes, I’m sure of it,” Jack responded.

“Can it transmit through water? I mean, the plane is at the bottom of the lake.”

“They would have thought of that,” Jack said. “Don’t worry, Julie. They’ll come for us sooner or later.”

Jack stood up and began pacing randomly toward the lake. Andrew shook his head a few times, then he walked the short distance to the lakeside, and joined Jack down by the water.

Julie squinted and focused on the two men standing by the lakeside.

“Do you have a headache or something? Is that why we’re just sitting here?”

“I lost my contacts,” Julie answered hesitantly.

“So, are you going to fuck those guys or what?” Nancy asked casually.

“Excuse me?” Julie looked astonished.

“The tall one is kind of hot. I like a man with muscles. But the short one is cuter,” Nancy said. “Wouldn’t it be great if you could put the little guy’s face on the big guy’s body. You know what I’m saying?” Nancy smiled, and winked at Julie.

“I’m not going to have sex with either of them.”

Nancy smiled and brushed up against Julie. “Yeah, me neither.”

Then Julie squinted again. “Are they fighting?”

Nancy looked at the men by the lakeside. “The big guy is grabbing the little one by the neck. But I think they’re just playing around. Guys do that all the time,” Nancy said. “Guys are weird that way.”

Julie kept squinting.

“So, do you want to get out of here or what?”

“Of course, I…” Julie trailed off, and then looked cautiously at Nancy. “Do you know where you are, Nancy?”

Nancy face plummeted; suddenly she looked furious. “What did you call me?”

“I thought your name was Nancy?”

“Who told you that?” Nancy yelled.

“Jack called you Nancy.” Julie sounded startled.

“He told you my real name?” Nancy muttered, and looked toward the lake. “He shouldn’t have done that.”

“Do you know where you are right now?”

Nancy looked confused and blinked a few times before answering. “No, where are we?”

“The plane crashed in the lake, and we’re waiting for help.”

“What plane?”

Julie took her time and explained what had happened. Nancy seemed confused by all the information, and eventually she fell asleep. Shortly after that, Andrew joined them.

Julie squinted toward the lake. “What happened to Jack?”

“He got pissed off, and said he’d walk home.”

“What?” Julie looked terrified. “What happened between you two?”

Andrew’s face shifted. Now, he looked surprised. “I was just kidding, Julie.”

“So, where is he?”

“He thought he saw some movement on the other side of the lake,” Andrew claimed. “So he went there to check it out.”

“But the sun is about to set. It’ll be dark soon.”

“That’s exactly what I said, but he wouldn’t listen.” Andrew shook his head, and then said. “The shadows are moving.” It sounded like a quote.

“He thought it might be other survivors?” Julie asked. “That doesn’t make any sense. They would’ve seen us. We’re out in the open.”

“Maybe they can’t see us.” Andrew shrugged. “I lost my glasses in the crash. I can’t see across the lake.”

“I know what you mean. I lost my contacts when I swam to shore.”

“Well, there you go, “Andrew said. “Other survivors might be sitting there, right in front of us.”

“But why didn’t he just yell?”

“Oh yeah.” Andrew suddenly looked concerned. “Why didn’t he yell?”

Julie’s posture dropped. “You don’t think he left, do you?”

“No, staying together as a group is better.”

“You can’t see. I can’t walk, and Nancy can’t even stay awake,” Julie said. “He doesn’t need us, Andrew. We need him.”

“He wouldn’t leave the crash site.” Andrew shrugged. “It’s the first day.”

“If the plane was transmitting a signal, they should’ve been here by now,” Julie said in a trembling voice. “Something’s wrong, and Jack knows it.”

Andrew looked across the lake and kept squinting.

Julie broke out in tears. “This can’t be happening.”

Evening

The sun had set, and darkness surrounded the three remaining residents of the Chanterelle tree down by the shore. Jack hadn’t returned. Nancy was still asleep, and Julie had just checked Nancy’s pulse.

“Did you hear something just now?” Andrew asked.

“It sounded like an owl.”

“That’s a big owl,” Andrew mumbled.

“So, what was the fight about?”

Andrew sighed. “I told you, it was just two guys blowing off steam.”

“So you said,” Julie answered. “But what was the argument about?”

“What difference does it make?” Andrew responded. “Besides, he left well after that. It’s not like I scared him away or anything.”

“What was the argument about?”

Andrew took a few breaths before answering.

“He made some demeaning comments about Nancy, and I responded rather harshly, and he grabbed me by the collar,” Andrew claimed. “It’s no big deal.”

Julie exhaled loudly. “Are you sure it wasn’t the other way around?”

“I didn’t grab him.”

“No, I meant.” Julie exhaled. “Never mind. Did Jack specifically say that he saw people on the other side of the lake?”

“No, he said he saw movement,” Andrew answered. “Something black moving behind a cliff or something.”

“Maybe he meant debris from the plane. Perhaps he saw something we could use,” Julie said. “That could explain why he didn’t yell.”

“No, I don’t think that’s what he meant. He saw something dark moving in the shadows by a cliff close to the water. It had to be something big for him to notice.” Andrew chuckled. “Perhaps it’s Bigfoot . ”

Sunday morning

George Stanton had a pounding headache—which he assumed was due to the lack of sleep—and he almost dozed off listening to the advice from a board member telling his boss, Michael Williams, how important using proper language, having a pleasant demeanor along with a professional appearance, and seeming as concerned and sympathetic as possible was when dealing with the press.

George wondered if the depressing atmosphere in the boardroom was due to the loss of lives, or the loss of financial potential. He assumed most of the board members were also shareholders.