Sinbad tried his best for over an hour to find a trail, a broken twig, anything that could tell him which way they had gone, but he found nothing. *That man's probably lived here all his life,* Sinbad thought. *He'd know this island like the back of his hand, and look at me, I don't even know how to find my own campsite.* With that thought Sinbad perched himself on a log to put his head in his hands in frustration (much like Maeve had earlier) and simply waited.
On the verge of tears, Sinbad started at the sound of a twig snapping. He turned his head and saw a hopeful sight: a little brown hawk. Dermott. *Good,* Sinbad thought, *Maybe that means they're nearby.*
*Closer than you think, my friend,* a voice cooed inside his head.
*Great, I'm losing my mind,* Sinbad thought.
*No, actually you're gaining more of it.*
"Sinbad!! Little brother, where are you!?" Doubar called.
"Over here!" Sinbad stood up just in time to see Doubar and the others come bursting through the bushes. Doubar immediately grabbed Sinbad up into a bear hug that knocked the wind out of him.
"Uh... Doubar... can't... breathe...." Sinbad wheezed. Doubar immediately let him go and apologized.
"Where's Maeve?" Firouz asked, scanning the clearing while waiting for the response.
"Maeve... she... we got in a fight-"
"Don't you always!?" Doubar laughed good-naturedly, but stopped when he saw the look on his little brother's face.
"She ran. She slipped and... and... and I wasn't there to catch her..."
"Sinbad, where is Maeve?"
"The man took her. She's gone. I tried to find a trail, but I can't. She's gone..."
The four men stood there in silence and tried to absorb what they had just been told. Firouz was the first to recover from the shock. "It's getting too dark now to look for her. We might as well make camp here and begin a search in the morning. There's no use in all of us getting lost, too."
In silent agreement the others made a make-shift camp and laid down for the night, but none slept as they wondered where their beloved friend could be.
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