Julie touched her forehead. “Oh, that. That’s nothing.”
“And there’s blood on the sleeve of your jacket.”
Julie looked at her sleeve. “I must have wiped my forehead with it. I think I hit my head on the seat in front of me when the plane went down. But I’m all right. Thank you for asking, Jack.”
“How’s your ankle?”
“I’d completely forgotten about it,” Julie said, and focused on her feet. “No, it doesn’t move. But it doesn’t hurt, either. So, I think I’m all right as long as I don’t put any weight on it.”
“You just sit there, and I’ll go and get the others.”
“What?” Julie looked startled.
“There are two more of us. Nancy and Andrew, remember? It’s better if we stay together as a group.”
“But isn’t it better if we go down to them? We might need to drink water eventually.”
“That’s true.” Jack nodded. “So how do you want me to carry you?”
Julie climbed up on Jack’s back, and the two of them carefully descended the steep hillside.
They eventually met up with a man who was resting his back up against a tree. The man squinted, and then rose to his feet. Julie climbed off Jack’s back, and they both shook hands with the man, who introduced himself as Andrew.
“So, how’s your leg?” Andrew asked.
“I think my ankle is broken, but I’m all right.”
“You climbed that hillside with a broken ankle?”
“No, I didn’t break my ankle when the plane went down,” Julie said. “But I lost my footing as I ran into the woods.”
“Why did you run into the woods in the first place?”
“I don’t know,” Julie said. “I guess I was confused after the crash.”
“So, where’s Nancy?” Jack asked, and looked at Andrew.
“Who?”
“I thought her name was Nancy.”
“Who are you talking about?” Andrew asked.
“The woman from last night.”
“What woman?” Andrew looked confused.
“The woman who was here last night,” Jack said loudly.
“What did she look like?”
“What do you mean, what did she look like!” Jack yelled. “It was dark.”
“Well, I haven’t seen her.” Andrew shrugged.
“The woman you talked to last night,” Jack said harshly. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Andrew claimed. “I only talked to you last night.”
Jack’s jaw dropped, and he kept staring at Andrew with wide eyes. Then suddenly, Andrew burst into laughter.
“You should see your face, Jack.”
Jack didn’t laugh; instead he kept staring Andrew in the eyes. Andrew turned his head and pointed toward the lake.
“You see that purple rock by the water? The one with the blonde hair attached to it? That’s Nancy. She’s on her knees, washing away her makeup,” Andrew said, and then looked at Julie.
“I picked a good day not to wear makeup.” Julie smiled.
“So, is she all right?”
“She has some swelling by her temple, and she keeps forgetting where she is. I had to calm her down a few times last night. She got confused, and started talking to people who weren’t there. You and she have a lot in common.” Andrew smirked.
“Oh, now I see.” Jack had a stiff smile. “I know what I heard.”
“Did you hear someone yelling for Pamela last night? I mean, besides Jack?”
“I didn’t hear any yelling at all,” Julie answered. “But I ran into the woods.”
“I heard a male voice yelling for Pamela last night.”
“A male voice you say.” Andrew nodded. “Did the voice say anything else?”
Jack frowned. “No, he just yelled her name.”
“But the voice didn’t command you to eat the other passengers, or anything, did he?”
Jack gave Andrew a sharp stare before he picked up Julie in his arms, and began walking toward the lake.
“It was a joke,” Andrew said, and then casually followed in Jack’s footsteps.
The group met up with Nancy down by the lakeside. She’d washed away her makeup and was now drinking water from the palm of her hand. When she noticed them, she rose quickly, and then, she looked at Jack, and suddenly, her face lit up with joy.
“It’s you,” Nancy said with a tremendous smile.
Andrew looked surprised. “You two know each other?”
“No.” Jack sounded doubtful, and then looked at Nancy. “I think you’re confusing me with someone else. I’m not the person you think I am. I’m Jack, from last night. Do you remember talking to me last night?”
Nancy suddenly looked sad and bowed her head. “I’m so sorry.”
“You two know each other?” Andrew asked once more.
“This here is Julie. The woman who screamed for help last night. Do you remember her?” Jack asked Nancy.
Nancy looked at Julie, but never spoke.
“How are you feeling, Nancy? Are you all right? How’s your head?” Julie asked.
Nancy kept staring at Julie, but didn’t respond to the question.
Eventually, Julie looked across the shore in the opposite direction of where she and Jack had spent the night. Then she pointed at a tree close to the shore. The tree had the same shape as a crooked Chanterelle mushroom. The branches seemed to be drawn to the water, and the whole tree appeared to be sloping.
“You wanna go over there? We can sit by that tree. Would you like that?” Julie asked Nancy in a soft and gentle voice.
“Okay,” Nancy said, and then suddenly walked toward the tree on her own.
“It looks like a good place to sit and wait for the cavalry, wouldn’t you say?” Julie looked at Jack. “I mean, in case the rain picks up again.”
“So you’d never seen her before?” Andrew decisively asked Jack. “Is that what you’re saying, Jack?”
“I told you, I don’t know her,” Jack insisted.
“You’ve never seen her before?”
“No, I’ve never seen her before today.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Andrew smirked, and began walking toward the Chanterelle tree by the shore.
“Do you two know each other?” Julie asked.
“I don’t know who she is.” Jack shook his head. “She probably saw me boarding the plane and is confusing me with someone else.”
“No, I meant, do you and Andrew know each other?”
“No.” Jack frowned. “Why would you ask that?”
“Well, you kind of argue like an old married couple.” Julie smiled.
“I don’t know him. In fact, I don’t remember seeing him or Nancy boarding the plane,” Jack maintained. “I noticed you though.”
“Oh, did you?” Julie smiled. “It’s nice to be noticed.”
The group sat in silence under the odd-shaped tree. The ground under the tree was dry; the pine branches were thick and worked as an umbrella. Julie had her hands in her jacket. Andrew and Nancy had their hands tucked into the sleeves of their sweaters. Jack had his shirt up to his elbows. The group looked mostly at the sky, but occasionally they looked at each other, never speaking.
Finally, Andrew broke the silence.
“So, what do you guys do for a living?”
The others acknowledged his question, but none of them seemed eager to respond.
“I’m a welder myself, and I’m thirty-six years old,” Andrew added.
The others stared down in silence, and seemed reluctant to answer.
“How about you, Julie, what do you do?” Andrew asked.
“I’m thirty years old, and I clean people’s houses.”
“There’s no shame in that.” Andrew shrugged. “You look younger by the way.”
Julie looked at Andrew with a stiff and artificial smile.
“How about you, Jack?”
“I’m forty-two, and I’m currently unemployed,” Jack said. “But I used to drive a truck.”
“I thought all truck drivers were fat and out of shape. I figured you for a bouncer or something,” Andrew said. “How about you, Nancy? What you do for a living?”
“I do some modeling,” Nancy mumbled, and bowed her head.
“I bet you do,” Andrew said.
Nancy looked suspiciously at Andrew. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, you look hot,” Andrew responded. “Hot enough to be a model.”
Jack looked at Andrew as if annoyed.
“What?” Andrew mumbled and looked at Jack. “It’s a compliment.”
“Do you remember how old you are, Nancy?” Jack asked.
Nancy took her time before answering. “I’m not sure…”
“You look no more than twenty-five,” Jack said. “Were you born in ninety-two perhaps? Does that sound right?”
“I was born the same year as Nelson Mandela,” Nancy blurted out.
Andrew chuckled. “That makes sense.”
“She means the election,” Julie said in a ridiculing tone.
“Oh, yeah,” Andrew mumbled. “When was that? Mid-nineties? Ninety-five?”
“Ninety-four,” Nancy quickly responded. “Ninety-four was a good year, I’ve been told.”
“Do you remember when your birthday is?” Jack asked. “Is it summer or winter?”
“It’s Christmas,” Nancy said. “I always got fewer presents on my birthday.”
“Well, there you go, you’re twenty-two years old then,” Jack said. “Do you remember my name?”
“You’re Jack.” Nancy hesitated.
“And do you remember seeing me boarding the plane?”
“What plane?” Nancy looked confused.
Jack explain in details to Nancy about the accident, and then the group didn’t speak much after that. Nancy slept on and off.