“Arabella?” He says quietly.
I wipe away my tears, even though he can't see them. Clearing my throat, I say, “Yes?”
“I’m probably going to pass out, so if I do, I want you to promise you’ll leave as soon as the sun comes up. Just go. Do everything I taught you so you can get out of here.”
His words are like a kick to my gut. “No, I don’t want to leave you. There must be a way to lift you out of there.”
“There isn’t. I can’t walk and you can’t carry me. You’re already defying the odds to have made it this far after being so sick.”
I sit, listening to the rustling in the trees, to the cicadas, and the frogs. He’s right. I can’t make this hike in the dark. Not on my own. I pull my sleeping bag out of my pack and cover myself, then lay down and let the tears flow while I wrack my brain for some solution to this. There must be a way to save him. This can’t be it. Think, Arabella, think.
I wake to the sound of the birds. The sun isn’t up yet, but there’s enough light to see. Sitting up, I lean over, my eyes adjusting for a second before I can make out Will’s body. His head is tilted back and his eyes are closed. My heart jumps into my throat. “Will?!”
He opens his eyes. “It’s time. Get going, okay?”
“Can’t I—?”
“No,” he says, wincing. “If there was a way, I’d have thought of it by now. But, there’s still a chance that you can make it back and someone will find me in time.”
“But—”
“You can do this, Belle. I know you can. Forget all that shit I said to you yesterday. I was just angry and hurt and … being a prick. I didn’t mean any of it.”
“I'm so sorry, Will. I didn't mean anything I said, either. Well, that's not entirely true because I do think you have commitment issues, but that's beside the point because the truth is, I've never …” My voice trails off as I remember him saying the words ‘finished’ and ‘over’ and ‘never going to happen.’ And I know he meant it. But even if he didn’t, this is how it has to be because there is no way to make anything work between us. We’re just too different.
“Listen, my best shot is if you go for help. It's about a five-hour hike from here straight east. Do you remember what I said about how to make sure you're not going in circles?”
“Yes,” I nod and wipe the tears from my cheeks. “Pick an object in the distance, keep my eyes on it, and when I reach it, pick a new one. And then keep turning back to make sure the last one is behind me.”
“That's right,” he says, his tone encouraging. “You've got this, Belle. I know you do.”
“I hope so,” I say, wiping at my tears.
“I know so. You can do this. Just think of everything you've done over the last nine days. You’ve rappelled from a helicopter into the jungle, swung from vines into a lagoon, free-climbed down steep cliffs, you’ve hiked for over ten hours straight at night. You made it this far. You’ll make it out.”
I nod, letting his words fill my soul with courage. “Okay, I'll go, but you have to promise me you're going to survive until I get back with help.”
“No problem,” he says doing his best to give me a confident smile even though I know he must be terrified that I'm the only thing between him and death.
“Will, I'm going to go now. But before I do. I just wanted to say …” I stop myself, unable to tell him I love him. Instead, I take the wimpy way out. “Thank you.”
“Buy me a beer when we get to town.”
“Okay,” I answer, letting out a small chuckle through my tears. “I'll be back for you before you know it.”
“Yes, you will. You can do this, Arabella.”
“How are you so sure?” I ask.
“Because you've always been able to. You just needed a reason to try.”
28
Broken Bones, Tree Sap, and Sappy Goodbye Videos
Will
What a humiliating way to go out of the world—falling into a ravine because I was too pissed off to follow the rules I live by. And now I’m lying here, wedged in between two slimy boulders, covered in blood, dirt, and sweat, with my right ankle pointing the wrong way. And to top it off, I'm waiting to be rescued by a freaking princess who doesn't know her way around the jungle any better than I would know my way around the cutlery at a state dinner.
I stare down at my ankle, realizing it should hurt, and the fact that it doesn't is not a testament to my toughness, as much as I wish it was. It's a sign that my body has gone into shock. I touch the back of my head, and when I check my fingers, I see the bleeding hasn’t stopped. It’s still sticky and hot. I likely have a concussion, which is responsible for this massive headache. And all the fresh blood ought to draw some attention from those awful giant rats that are scurrying around these woods. I suppose that’ll be a quicker way to go out than just starving to death while I wait to be rescued. Horribly painful and disgusting, but quick, at least.
As much as I wish it weren't the case, the chance that she’ll find her way out of this jungle, and then figure out how to get back here in time is about as likely as Bear Grylls giving good survival advice.
Okay, fine. I’m jealous, okay? He’s like the Kleenex brand of tissues and I’m … the no-name brand that everyone calls Kleenex.
Whatever.
I manage to wiggle out of my backpack, which is lodged between my body and the rock behind me. Tugging it out, I open it and find the plastic container of salve I made for Arabella’s ankles. The sight of it causes my heart to squeeze. Bollocks, I really did hit my head hard. I use the rest of the salve, knowing that it's basically pointless because I am definitely going to die anyway.
Picking up my camera, I give myself a minute to think, then turn it on and aim it at myself. “My name is Will Banks. If you find this, it means you found my body. I'm a citizen of Avonia and of the Benavente Islands. Please contact my brother, Harrison Banks, or my sister, Emma Banks-Davenport, at The Paradise Bay Resort on Santa Valentina Island.”
I pause, swallowing hard, trying to think of what I want to say. Fuck it. I might as well just wing it. “Harrison and Libby, Emma and Pierce, Rosy, Darnell, baby Clara—you are all the people I love in this world. And I'm sorry that I took you for granted, and that I’ve spent my last few years running away from you. When I think about all the moments I've missed while I was out flying over volcanoes and sliding down icebergs with penguins, and all the moments I’m going to miss …” I close my eyes for a second. “Well, you know. I’m sorry. I wish it could be different.
“I've been a lot of things in my life. One of them is stubborn, and for that, I apologize. To Dwight Anderson, my manager, thank you for always having my back and being the voice of reason. I know I haven't been an easy guy to work with all the time, and I appreciate that you never gave up on me. To Mac and Tosh, thanks for the years of friendship and adventure. I hope you each get to enjoy more decades of seeing the world on ABN’s dime. Have a beer for me once in a while.”