Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Once

"You wouldn't think they'd gone to Martin, too, would you?" "No." Dodge's voice was very sure.Where else might they go?The car is still there, they can't go far. "Do you think they're just going around?" "Maybe." He could hear that he didn't believe in the possibility. I tap my fingernails on the plastic arm of the folding chair I'm sitting on.The high-pitched, incoherent knocking tormented my nerves, but it was better than sitting there motionless and doing nothing.I found it very difficult to just sit in a chair. The whole thing was so frustrating.I wanted to drive out and call the police that Martin was missing.I want to take Dodge to the hospital and get an X-ray of his ankle to see if there is a fracture in the swollen area.He propped his feet up on another chair and groped around the bottom of the cooler for the last bits of ice, which he put in a towel and wrapped around his joints, though he followed my advice and kept his shoes on.He didn't cry out, but I knew it hurt him.

But the thing I want most is to find Emma and break her neck!Why is she so inconsiderate of others?I didn't expect much from Darren, but I didn't expect Emma to be so inconsiderate.They didn't even wait to see if we got in touch with Martin! "I'm going to put on a coat." I said standing up.I'm not actually cold, just looking for an excuse to move around and find something to do.I went into the tent and rummaged in my backpack for my zip-up top when a crumpled wad of paper rolled to the floor.The paper was stuck under the tent curtain just now so I didn't notice.Out of curiosity, I picked it up.After opening it, Emma's scribbled handwriting appeared in front of her eyes.

Go find firewood.It is estimated that there is a small bay near the beach.Return in an hour.Emma. I pursed my lips and stared at the note.The note did not explain their absence, nor was it an excuse for their indifference to Martin.I still can't forgive Emma for siding with Darren.But at least we know where they went. "I've got a note," I called out from the tent, holding my overcoat in one hand and the note in the other. "They've gone off to the cove for wood." Dodge narrowed his eyes, and I knew he was just as angry as I was. "The note says they'll be back in an hour." I said and handed the note to him, "but I don't know when they left. It shouldn't be long." Seeing Dodge's frowning and dissatisfied expression, I said I can't go down.

"This is ridiculous! We can't wait here - we have to do something for Martin." He looked at me. "Let's see how your phone is doing." This is not a good idea.Even if the phone can be turned on, there is no signal here.However, I did as he said, took out my phone and pressed the power button hard.no response. "Or not." He growled in frustration. I watched him thoughtfully.Do we have to wait for Darren to come back? "Can you drive?" I asked.It's a different question now than it used to be: I'm not sure if his ankle will hold up when he hits the gas pedal.

He frowned. "I don't know. Maybe it will work." He took his leg off the chair, stepped on the sand, and immediately grinned in pain. "Maybe not," he confessed. "Can you drive?" Won't.I never learned to drive, or even backed my parents' car out of the driveway.The Volvo was like a boat, and the thought of driving it across the steep, narrow, potholed road into crowded places terrified me.Darren's reaction to finding out I'd driven away was even more horrific.I wouldn't be surprised if he punched me hard in the face!But Dodge looked at me hopefully.I stood on the sand, flipping my feet back and forth, feeling uneasy.

"I have no idea……" "I'll help you," he said.He grabbed my hand and wrapped my cold fingers in his warm palm. "Come on, Heather. We still don't know where Martin is." I can't say no. "Then try it." I murmured. Dodge had told me where Darren had left the car keys, and thankfully he carried them with him without fuss, and I limped back to the car with Dodge on my side.He carefully leans into the passenger seat while I open the driver's door.I couldn't even reach the accelerator and had to yank the seat forward and make a sharp rattling noise.

"Okay," I said, "what should I do?" "First, put the key in the ignition," Dodge said to me, smiling.I didn't laugh, I was so nervous.Trembling, I inserted the key into the keyhole. I turn the key.no response.The key won't turn, it can be said that it won't move.I turned harder, fearing I might break the key. "What's wrong?" Dodge asked. "It won't turn." I complained. "try harder." "I tried hard." Dodge sighed and held out his hand.I leaned back and watched him try with displeasure.He didn't succeed either, and my scowl turned to smugness.

"Wait, the steering wheel lock is on." He shook the steering wheel slightly, and turned the key again.This time the key could be turned, but the engine still didn't respond.Not even a sound.The situation in the driveway was repeated: only a series of unsatisfactory clicks. "Trash!" Dodge burst out.He slammed on the center of the steering wheel and the horn blared. "The battery is dead again." I didn't say anything, I already knew that was the case. Dodge shrugged his shoulders, his upper body lay across me, still gripping the steering wheel, as if he could start the car by willpower.

"What now?" I asked after a full minute of silence. He sighed angrily. "Wait for Darren and Emma to come back," he said after a while, "We have to get back on the road, and we can't have you helping me the whole time. Unless you do it yourself?" He looked at me, and I immediately Shake your head. We slowly made our way back to the still deserted sand.Looking for something to do, we made lunch.Neither of us had breakfast, and at the moment I feel sick, but it's hard to tell if it's because I'm worried about Martin, or because I'm just too hungry.I force myself to eat, every time my mouth is full of food.

We finished eating and they still didn't come back.With nothing better to do, we sat and watched the ever-moving water.We did not speak.Blaming Darren and Emma, ​​guessing where Martin was, would do nothing but fuel the anger and fear.After a while, I took the brooch out of my pocket and stroked it, running my fingers along the curved edges, tracing the design with my fingertips.As before, the metal is still cold to the touch, although it has been pressed against my body all morning. It was another moment before I realized that Dodge was staring at me, at the brooch. "I want to give it back," I said softly. "I always feel like we shouldn't take it. It doesn't belong to us, and it might be important to someone else. They take it for some reason." It’s there, so it’s where it should be.”

Dodge didn't answer, and I turned to look at him.His expression was puzzling. "How?" I asked. "As you like." He said flatly. I tried not to knit my eyebrows together, but I didn't like the way he reacted.I pouted, feeling the need to explain. "I just... I just feel ominous about this thing. Look at what's happened since we found the damn thing." Dodge frowned, and I hurried on, "I mean, they had a big fight , Martin left angrily, and disappeared after that. Then, there was something wrong with the phone, and your ankle—" I pointed to his swollen leg, "now the car won't start, Emma and Darren are not at the camp, and they Should have come back long ago." Dodge laughed. "Darren and Emma will be fine," he said, crossing off the last item on my list, "as for the rest...Martin was reluctant to have Darren come in from the start—" (I Not surprised by that, but I'm a little bit annoyed that he never told me what he thinks himself.)"—and, no matter what Darren says, that damn Volvo is a dodgy piece of crap .” "I know, but I still wish I could send it back. It always feels... always weird to take it away. I don't like it." "I'm not fit for the trek right now," said Dodge, "and the first thing to do is to find Martin—" He stopped short, watching my face carefully, "but if you don't want it—" Before I could figure out what he was up to, he took the brooch from me.He sat up straight in his chair, threw his arms back, and threw the little ring into the air.It made an arc through the cloud-covered sky, followed, and fell into the sea a few meters from the shore, splashing a splash in the rough waves.I stared dumbfounded at the sea, then my eyes fell on him.I don't want this, I really don't want this. "Solved." He said, looking at me seriously. "Dodge!" My apprehension about the brooch was suddenly heightened.It is impossible to get it back now.I only know the approximate location where it fell, but the constant movement of the waves must have washed it elsewhere, not to mention that the sea is so dark and gloomy and extremely dangerous. At this moment, I feel that I am more hateful than a thief.I'm a vandal and have no respect for other people's stuff.I'm... I'm... I don't know the words to describe it.I feel my internal organs stirring. But I don't want to argue with Dodge, with so much going on right now, so I swallow my anger and let it burn my heart. "I want to find Emma and Darren," I said, standing up suddenly. Before I could finish, he started shaking his head. "My ankle—" "I know." I interrupted him, "You stay here, I'll go alone. That way we don't run into trouble with them." I could walk away for a while, to calm my anger.It was just a brooch after all, and there couldn't be a voice in my head whispering to me that it was very, very bad behavior to throw it away so blatantly. "Are you going alone?" Dodge asked in disbelief. "Heather, you have no idea where that bay is." "That—" he was right.Rubbing my hand that didn't have a single grain of sand on my jeans needlessly, I wondered how to retort, "Isn't it just a beach?" It wasn't really a question, but Dodge nodded anyway. "I can walk along the coast." "Maybe." He looked at me, not believing me. "What if you get lost?" "I'll be fine. I just...I just can't sit here any longer." I didn't give him a chance to continue arguing with me.I turned and walked back to the tent to change into a pair of lighter shoes and put on another dress.The sky was full of dark clouds, and the temperature was cooling on the beach; it was colder in the bay—the tide was too far away to wash over the rocks where the shoreline bent. Dodge watched me leave with a displeased expression on his face.I guess he was very worried. If I never came back, he would be stuck on the beach and couldn't get out alone. He didn't know what would happen.But I won't go far.Besides, his parents know where we are, and they will definitely come to find us. When I think of this, I cheer up.We were supposed to return in three days, and there was enough food to last us till then.Even if we couldn't drive Darren's car, even if Dodge couldn't make it back to civilization, his father would come to our rescue. The only problem now is Martin.If I have to worry about his safety for three days in a row, I might as well die.I hoped with all my heart that he would have gone home to speak ill of us to his parents and the rest of our friends.I hope I still have a chance to not "strangle" him for his resignation. I walked a short distance up the steep slope until I came to the low cliffs that rose and fell at the edge of the land.The dirt on the path was well trampled, full of loose gravel that would roll away under the soles of my shoes.In some places, I had to pull on the long grass to stabilize my body.The view from the top of the mountain is magnificent.The sea lay before me, the undulating waters stretched to the horizon, and I saw a ship in the distance.The heather-covered hills lay behind me, but I didn't look back.I knew the cairn was there, like a lighthouse in the area; I imagined it silently accusing me. I continued walking along a narrow path, and the road under my feet was at best a grass that was trampled down.According to Dodge, it must not be very far to get to that bay.He felt that, according to his father's description, it would take ten minutes at most.I hope so, because it's getting darker by now.I knew it would be many hours before night fell, but it was so dark that it was unnerving.The whole world therefore appears a little blurred, a little less clearly seen.I do not like this.Strange shapes kept appearing out of the corner of my eye, horrifying me until at last I realized they were nothing more than swaying branches or birds rushing skyward. "Emma, ​​I must make you look good." I muttered as I walked.I feel less alone when I hear someone talk, even if it's me. I don't know how long our friendship will last after this trip is over.After that, Martin would never be willing to appear in a place with Darren, which is actually no big deal, Emma will go wherever Darren goes.To be honest, I don't want to get along with Emma anymore.Darren seemed to extract unattractive qualities from her: vanity, selfishness, pretending to be weak so that boys could please her.I imagined her coquettish smile and felt uncomfortable.I felt bad, but I imitated her laugh, and then giggled again when I heard the half-smile echoed.Suddenly, another voice came.A voice that made my hair stand on end. I heard Emma screaming.