Somehow They're Alive (part 17)

Part seventeen did come out very fast. I have a lot of time at the moment, so why not put out two quizzes? Please enjoy and leave some comments. Do you

think that Tammy is actually dead? Do you wonder who it was that Jay met in the woods? If you're wondering all of these things, then all of them will be answered here. :P

Created by: Topaz
  1. ***Jaslina's Point of View*** Running through the woods in the dim light of the evening isn't safe, but I don't care. None of us do. All that matters is getting to Jay. It feels like it took us forever just to get as far as our car. Sapphire sat in that section of the hallway talking to Landon for forever it seemed like. They talked about music and TV shows, about where they're going for dinner when he gets back to her, about which motel rooms are the cheapest. Once he said that Tammy is as dead as a doornail they switched conversation topics just that fast. It was as if they weren't talking about the girl they killed just moments before. How can they be so cruel? At this point I no longer care about how confused and regretful Landon is. He sure isn't remorseful enough to save the life of a past friend. Rayla's voice, raw with emotion, brings me back to where I'm at. "Why don't we go to the police station instead? We need to tell them about what happened to Tammy!" "We'll go to the police station after we get to Jay," I reply. "We can't leave Jay completely alone with murderers on the loose, or he might be next!" Those are the last words any of us speaks for a while. All of our focus is so much on finding Jay that chatting is nothing more than a distraction. When talking to Sapphire it sounded like he'd been separated from her for days. Was he looking for us the whole time, or was he burying Tammy? Maybe he was doing both? If God is with us, we'll get to Jay before Landon does. For the next several minutes of running my mind stays completely blank. It's okay that it only lasted for a few minutes though, because we finally come to the clearing where our camp is set up.
  2. When I see something cooking in a pot over the fire I'm relieved, but when Jay is nowhere to be seen I start to panic. Slowly we all walk into camp. For a long moment none of us says anything; the reason being because we're hoping that Jay will come into view. After a moment or so he's still not anywhere. "Jay!" Ryan shouts. "Jay, are you here?!" To my surprise and my relief he emerges from one of the tents when he realizes that we've returned. Rayla runs up and hugs him. "You're alright! Thank goodness! We were afraid something terrible happened!" It's Audrey's turn to chatter away at him. "Jay, you won't believe what happened to us after we got inside the mountain. We were walking around trying to find our way out of fake tunnels when we heard Sapphire. She was having a phone conversation with Landon, and we learned something horrible. They've done something awful to Tammy. We need to drop everything and go to the police right now. We need to find Tammy! Or...what used to be Tammy..." Looking at Jay I see that his face is completely expressionless. Well, not exactly expressionless. He looks scared and sad. It's like he just came back from a funeral or got done working the night shift at a morgue. Only the fear part of it is deeper; much deeper.
  3. "Jay, did you even hear me?" asks Audrey concerned. "Yes, I heard every word." "Good, then let's go." We all turn to leave, but he stops us. "No. Finding Tammy won't be necessary." I feel my jaw drop. "What are you talking about?" asks Ryan. He tries to form a response and then stops. A tear comes to his eye while he moves toward one of the tents and motions for us to follow. Exchanging glances we follow without complaint. Before opening the flap he manages to speak. "Tammy has already been found." With my eyebrows raised, I ask, "You found Tammy's body?" "Well, I didn't exactly find her." Before any of us can ask him what he means by that he opens the flap wide. Inside the tent all wrapped in blankets is Tammy. Her skin is normally so tan that I'm severely alarmed when I see her freckled cheeks so pale. She's so pale that she could be a ghost. Her mouth is opened in such an awkward position that she must be dead. It's when her chest rises and falls in extremely labored breathing that I know she's alive somehow. All of us are so focused on Tammy that we don't even notice the male figure sitting there next to her covering her in extra blankets when she starts to quiver. His face sports a pained expression and his eyes are puffy as if he'd been crying. You should know who he is. Wide eyed, Landon looks up at us. "Please don't kill me. I can explain this."
  4. ***Unsure of whether we should listen to Landon or run him out of our camp, we decide to let Jay handle him for a moment. We stare as Jay leads him to take a seat by the fire; all of us are still the least bit surprised. Landon crosses his legs, holds onto his ankles, and rocks back and forth nervously. He appears very distraught. Of course, who am I to judge? His expression probably mirrors my own perfectly. Before any of us can get in a single word, Landon says, "I promise you what I told Sapphire on the phone was a lie. I was never on her side when she wanted to kill Tammy; in fact I tried everything in my power to stop her. Sapphire won't listen to reason." Ryan scoffs. "My sister won't listen to reason? What a surprise." Rayla walks up to Landon and engulfs him in a hug. "Landon, there's no need to explain yourself to us. Based on the fact that Tammy is in our tent alive I'd guess that you saved her life." For a moment he looks like he wants to cry, but he bites his lip and quickly pushes down the emotion. "I wouldn't say that I've saved her life. Her condition is so unstable that she could die within the next couple of hours." For some reason I suddenly trust him again; enough to ask him for specific details. "Landon, what exactly did Sapphire do to Tammy? She doesn't look injured." "Yeah, not injured, just pale," Audrey adds. He gives a shaky sigh and then continues. "Well, she didn't get beaten up, ran over by a car, or anything like that. Something worse was done to her." "Like what?" asks Rayla. "Did Sapphire poison her?"
  5. At that question all he can do in response is shake his head yes. Then all of the sudden he opens his mouth and it all spills out. "I didn't even know she had access to poison! When she said she'd kill Tammy I thought that she was referring to a quick death with a gun. Not poison that slowly kills you!" "Why didn't you stop her?" asks Ryan through clenched teeth. "I didn't know about the poison until it was too late. We'd followed her to the airport, and Sapphire wanted food. I go to get a salad for her and next thing you know I'm getting a text asking me to meet her in some alley. When I got there she tossed Tammy at me, said "˜dispose of her', and ran off into the night. That was three days ago. Since then I've been doing everything I can to keep Tammy alive. This morning things took a turn for the worst, so I came looking for you guys for help." "You've really been working this hard to keep Tammy alive?" I ask. "Yes, and this isn't easy. I was actually surprised that she made it this long. According to Sapphire, she should've been completely gone by yesterday afternoon. I have no idea what the heck she used on her, but it's the worst kind of poison you could ever imagine. How would Sapphire get her hands on a substance so lethal?!" "Did you see what Sapphire used?" For the first time this evening Landon lets go of his ankles. "What?" "The poison. Did you see it at all? Even for a second?" "Yeah. Sapphire gave it to me to destroy the same time that she gave me Tammy. Why?" "Because if the liquid is in a tiny vile and if it's completely clear like water, then I know the antidote."
  6. We must've all jumped up at one and given Ryan the biggest hug of all time, because suddenly Ryan's being smothered by our joy. "You seriously know the antidote?!" Rayla exclaims. "But how? Poison doesn't have a cure." "It does if it's my mom's own recipe." "If your mother wanted somebody dead, then why would she give them poison that can be remedied?"asks Audrey out of pure confusion. Really, even with the dire situation at hand, I'm just as curious for the answer to that one. "Mom used it because it's painful and it works slowly so they're in pain for longer. There's nothing dear mommy enjoys more than putting people in pain. The only bad side to it is the antidote." "So will the ingredients for this be hard to find?" asks Audrey. "Unless there's a bunch of grocery stores that sell rare fruits from Asia then they probably won't be easy to find. Or cheap. But if we work together and hurry then I think that we might just be able to pull this off." "For Tammy's sake you'd better," says Rayla. "You'd better?" asks Audrey. "I'm staying here with Tammy. Someone needs to keep an eye on her." Rayla explains. "Alright, you can stay," says Ryan. "Come on, we have to work if we're gonna save Tammy." "Count on it," I say. "Now let's go. There's no time to waste."
  7. ***"This is hopeless!" Ryan exclaims in sadness. "None of these stores have what we're looking for!" "Do you think we'll get lucky and find the right ingredients? Tammy's depending on us!" I say. "Don't you think I know that? The problem is that nobody here sells Asian fruit!" "Well, let's hope we get lucky and find a store that does sell Asian fruit." "Look at it this way," says Audrey. "Jay and Landon are out searching too. Maybe they've found some of the things we need. And, for now, I'm sure Rayla's doing her best to keep Tammy alive." "Her best might not be enough," Ryan retorts. "Sorry," says Audrey tensely. "Trying to calm the situation will do no good. Let's keep looking." We step off of the sidewalk and briskly walk across the tiny parking lot. Looking at the simple wooden building, I've already decided inside my head that this will be of no success. Hopefully Audrey is right and Landon and Jay have found some of the ingredients. Splitting up to cover more ground was actually a pretty good idea on Jay's part. If only his idea would work. Once we enter through the simple glass door and walk up and down the aisles my opinion is confirmed. There are rows and rows of medications which at first makes me and Audrey hopeful. However, after looking at all of them, none of them are right to hold back the affects of the poison even temporarily. According to Ryan, taking any type of medication with poison still in her veins could be enough to instantly end her. So we're stuck looking for the original ingredients. How we'll ever find them here in Killarney Ireland I have not the slightest clue.
  8. "We need a miracle," I say under my breath. Audrey and Ryan didn't hear me. It's okay. They weren't supposed to considering that it was my plea with God. At that thought I beg with God some more. "God, please help us get the ingredients for the antidote in time. We've tried everything and have searched everywhere without finding anything. Even if I don't find my dad and sister like I want to at least keep my friend alive. Please? We need a miracle." I quickly assist Ryan and Audrey in examining the store's shelves some more. It doesn't take long since the shop is so minuscule and all of the fruit is contained to one corner. All in all, our search scarcely takes fifteen minutes; a wasted fifteen minutes if you ask me. Frustrated and in a rush, we race-walk toward the door. "Wait, don't you younguns want to buy anything?" The source of the voice is from the older cashier lady behind the counter. I wouldn't go as far as to call her elderly. She must be sixty-eight at the very oldest. Her red hair has hints of gray, and the dark circles under her grey-blue eyes make it known that she gets little sleep. Although, in the blue denim skirt and with the bright orange sweater with polka dots the lady seems very awake indeed. Attached to her collar is a name tag that reads "Francine" scribbled in black permanent marker. "Sorry, ma'am," I say. "There's nothing here we need, so we'll have to be on our way." Francine's cheerful expression is exchanged for one of somber curiosity. "You seem a bit rushed and a little too distressed for a group of young American tourists'. Is everything alright?" "Yes, we're fine," I lie. "Now we really must go." "Are you sure? If you need any help at all I'll give it to you." I'm about to tell her that we don't need any help, but Ryan beats me to her.
  9. Taking our folded shopping list out of his jeans pocket, he says to her, "Really, we do need some help. Whether or not you can I'm not sure, but could you look at this anyway? It's crucial that we find the things on the list." Delightedly she takes the folded piece of lined paper from his hand. As she mentally goes over the list her brows furrow together while her lips twitch into a puzzled frown. "Hmmm, an interesting list of items. You realize that combining all of these fruits might not taste as good as one would think?" "We understand that. So can you tell us where to get them?" Francine lets out a soft chuckle. "Sure can. But first you must tell me why you want rare Asian fruit. Clearly none of you are from that region of the world." "It's for a friend," Ryan answers hastily. "For a friend? Alright, that's good enough for me. I'll cut you a break." Audrey keeps the conversation on track. "So is there really a place where we can get everything on our list?" "Oh, why yes. I almost forgot! I have a friend that lives in a little cabin in the forest. She's from a country in Asia, although, I can't remember which one it is. Anyway, she was a medicine woman before she moved her with her husband. Even though my friend is here in Ireland she still practices her talent." "This is great, but how do you know if your friend has what we need?" I ask. "Simple. I order everything she needs so that she doesn't have to put herself out traveling to town. Her house contains every item on your list, I can assure you. Perhaps if you pay her enough she'll give the fruit to you for whatever it is you're cooking."
  10. "You really think so?" I ask with a sudden surge of hope washing over me. "Most likely. Besides, if she sells it all to you she'll be able to put the money toward the very rare and very expensive spices that she wants. I'd like to see her argue with me on that one!" All of the sudden Ryan asks a random question. "Just out of curiosity, is this friend of yours a witch doctor?" Laughter comes bubbling out of her. "If people had any idea how many times I've answered that question they'd tumble over in shock! No, young tourists, she is most definitely not a witch doctor. My dear friend uses natural elements to create home remedies. Not once have I seen her dance around a fire and chant in another language or anything of the sort." "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I was just curious." "Don't be sorry. It's perfectly fine. While you're still here do you want directions to her house?" "Yes!" we joyfully exclaim in unison. "Can we use your phone too?" asks Audrey. "We have some friends that should probably come with us." "Not a problem. I'm glad to see some kids that aren't glued to their cell phones." As the friendly and very helpful cashier lady walks away to seek out of a pen and paper Ryan engulfs us in a hug of relief. Usually, under no circumstances, is Ryan the type of person for group hugs. (He hugs me, but I guess I'm the exception.) However, there is a first time for everything. Right now it finally feels like we can breathe a little. Who knew that God would answer my prayer so quickly? Of course, we shouldn't be too calm just yet. Tammy isn't safe until the antidote is in her stomach.

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