Chapter 19

© Copyright 2011 by Elizabeth Delayne





“This must be it,” George said as he and Tyler stopped before the nondescript white box. It was the height of a two liter bottle, but thicker. Basic rectangular. “Should we just take it back, wait for everyone else to open it?”

Tyler shook his head as he knelt down, opened the top. “You never know if there are other directions inside.”

“Phase one.”

“Maybe,” he said, then pulled out a basic desk lamp, its cord dangling into the box.

“Obviously this is the end of our road,” George said. “Or path.”

“Not much we can do with this out here. Unless somebody else has a generator they have to tote back,” he replaced the lamp, and stood with the box. “Let’s go.”

The trip up had been a struggle, especially for George. It was steep at times.

But it was the trip down they would have to watch. They didn’t want to take a spill like Jamie had. There was no way a golf cart would reach them to help them out.

As he started down, box in hand, he thought of Jamie. Her knee had started to bother her. She’d put up a stiff front, but they didn’t need further injuries.

And he knew she wanted to avert any extra attention.

He appreciated it about her, but he wondered how long it would be before it started to annoy him. Not her, or the knee really, but the situation as a whole. After all of the years on the show, the one girl he was interested in was uninterested in being interested on the show.

But she was interested.

He would just have to play the game, wait the filming and the crews out. He would just have to see what happened when the cameras really stopped rolling and it was time—finally time for him—to head home.



Jamie stared at the oversized orange board in the shape of a waving flag that sat in the middle of their path. It was taller than her by several feet, wider than her arm span by more than that..

“I guess this is the result of being given the easy path,” Jamie murmured as Felicity walked over to the shape.

“It’s some type of foam board. Pretty sturdy,” Felicity said, but managed to lift it with one hand.

Jamie tapped her nails against it, then looked back at their camera man escort. “We just don’t need to tumble over with it if we want it in one piece.”

He grinned at her, but said nothing.

She walked to the other end grabbed it. “Front or back?”

“I’ll take the front,” Felciity said. “I know better what to look for.”

Good—though Jamie didn’t want to think about what they needed to look for, or look out for, other than the orange flags that marked their path. They continually clapped and snapped and made other sounds when the brush got dense.

But sometimes the view opened up, and was absolutely breathtaking. It was easy to forget that they weren’t alone, and their company could be lethal.



Tyler and George had made it back to the center first and watched within a half hour as Cameron and Thessa appeared from their path.

Cameron carried a box, much smaller than the one George and Tyler had found.

“Black light,” he announced, “or a black light bulb.”

“Goes with our lamp,” George said.

“Jamie?” Thessa asked and glanced down the last path.

Tyler shook his head, but followed her gaze. He usually didn’t have a problem waiting. He had a book in his pack, could sit back and read.

But he was restless. Too restless to just wait. And he had to. He didn’t have any other option at the moment. They could go, follow the path, look for them ... and make a bigger deal than was warranted, bring further attention that would only serve to unnerve Jamie.

There was no reason to be worried, but he’d sent both of them down that path. He’d made the choice.

So it would weigh on him until she returned.



“Wait a minute,” Jamie said as the negotiated the path in tandem. “Have you seen an orange flag recently?”

“Just a few minutes ago.”

“Okay ... good.”

Their path back was much slower, even with the brief stop going up during Felicity’s story. At times they had to negotiate turns, change the angle of the giant flag. They couldn’t carry it with the shorter width between them at all times because tree limbs got in the way, and they couldn’t tote it the other way because the twists and turns made it impossible.

Someone had really wanted to make this difficult.

“Never take your mind off the trail. My father taught me that.”

“I’m having a hard time taking my mind off this super sized flag.”

Felicity laughed.

“Who in the world took the time to tote this thing in here?”

“Some unpaid intern. At least we only needed to find a big one. What would have happened if it had been regular sized? Or smaller than that? We would have walked right passed it.”

“Now we just have to get back without doing anything to it.” Jamie said. “You have any idea what it’s for?”

“Maybe something’s written on it. Like directions or another code or something.” Felicity mused. “Like using lemon juice to write secret notes.”

“Do much of that?” Jamie asked.

“My dad was military. I had a good imagination.” Felicity said. “You didn’t?”

“I have a brother. I did a lot of covert stuff,” Jamie answered. “Though my favorite was writing backwards. Had a knack for it.”

“Maybe that will come in handy. Did you mention that in your application?”

“My grandmother sent in the application. Who knows what she said.”

“Really?” Felicity said. “You didn’t have to go through the whole process?”

“Sure. But she made the video, or she said she had a friend who put the video together for her. She did this interview thing that she said was to help my sister out with a project for one of her classes, and of course, my sister was going along with it. I talked to the camera about my unexciting life as a nurse ... and well, I guess they think I’m more exciting than I do. Once they contacted my grandmother, she pushed me into it.”

“You’re close with your grandmother. You must be willing to do about anything.”

“About.”

“Moving to a new state to help out while you’re in high school, leaving behind your family,” Felicity briefly glanced back. ‘Were you close to your brother and sister?”

“Yes.”

“Then you missed them. And you mom and dad.”

“Yeah.”

She shook her head. “I just don’t get it, I guess. I would give anything to have another moment ... just another moment with my mom or dad. Both of them. Just more moments. It all seems so short. And you gave yours up.”

“No,” Jamie murmured. “Not up ... we still talk all the time, probably more at times than we would have in the same house. Family plans and cell phones and all that. And they came out often, sometimes every other month. My mom’s close to her mom.”

“Yeah, I guess ...”

Jamie heard the struggle in her voice. And understood.

“And we didn’t live in the best area of Chicago,” she could still remember night after night of her parents sitting at the dining room table, working on a budget, trying to get their kids into a private school. Her brother was getting into some trouble, into the wrong crowds. He’d been so young.

“Money was really tight, it was a way to help out everyone.”

Conversation stopped for a moment as they reached another turn in the path that snaked a couple of directions before it flattened out again.

But they were in open territory and she could see the mountains in the distance across the wide open prairie.

When they were moving again, Jamie thought back over their conversation. What Felicity had been through and to her own past, to when she made her own decisions.

It hadn’t been easy. She’d not just left her mom and dad behind, and her church, her high school friends, but she’d left behind the familiar shops and sights where she’d spent her entire life. She’d left behind opportunities in the city, should she have wanted to be a dancer like Thessa. Besides prior brief vacations with her family to her grandparent’s farm, she hadn’t spent all that much time there.

Her grandparents had loved to travel, so they’d come east more often then Jamie had been taken west.

“Sometimes,” she said at last, “you have to do what you have to do. And grandmothers ... they are some of the most special people on earth.”

“I guess so.”

“You didn’t know yours.”

“Not really. No.”

“I’ll introduce you to my grandmother. You can adopt her if you want. She’d probably get a kick out of meeting you, part of the cast. And your friends, your roommates who loved the show.”

“I’d like that. To meet her.” Felcity glanced back again. “But you know you’re just falling into that mom of the group pattern again. Taking care of me.”

“I am no one’s mother.”

“Maybe not,” Felicity agreed, “but how would you feel like being a big sister?”

“I’m already a big sister,” she pointed out. “But I wouldn’t mind another sister. My brother has more than made up for being the only boy.”

“I always wanted a sister.”



Tyler was still standing when Felicity and Jamie appeared down their path, carrying between them a gigantic orange baord. Flag shaped, obviously awkward. He stopped, told himself not to rush forward, and checked his watch.

They weren’t even thirty minutes behind Cameron and Thessa, but it had seemed like much longer. Next time, well, if he had a choice, Jamie would stay back.

But that would never, ever be his choice. She wasn’t a girl that would take to coddling. He’d seen the surprise on the face when he’d singled her out on what path to take.

She would have to deal with it.

“Took your time,” he said when he stepped over to her. It came out a little harsh. He’d meant it more flippant.

Jamie raised her brows in surprise as the others scrambled around them. “Problem?” she asked as Cameron took the flag from her.

“No–“ he shook his head and reached out to pat her arms as he walked passed her. “Good job.”



Jamie turned around, followed him with her eyes, then let it go.

“Does someone want to tell me where our giant orange monstrosity fits into everything? Do we know?”

“We got a black light bulb,” Cameron said as he stepped back, squinted his eyes at the oversized flag. “Obviously there’s a message on here we’re meant to see.”

“Then I guess we should head back.”

“We’ll make it back to camp,” Tyler said as he pulled on his backpack. “But we’re not making it back to the bus tonight.”

“Then I vote we make an early start in the morning. There’s a shower, somewhere, with my name on it.” She said as she walked past Tyler carrying one end of the flag with Cameron on the other side. “And I hope that shower is somewhere in a hotel room, not on the RV.”

“You and me both,” George said as he fell in step with Felicity. He looked over at Tyler and sent him a grin.

Jamie frowned as she took her position at the back of the group beside Tyler. She hadn’t missed the look, hadn’t missed the look before when she’d come back into camp.

It was getting harder and harder to ignore him and his flirtations. To ignore what she was feeling about him.

So she concentrated on Felicity’s info.

He’d broken up with his girlfriend over the phone. On the show.

She wasn’t ready to share anything like that, herself, with the world.

“Don’t,” she said as he started to speak. “I’m fine, you’re fine, the task was complete. Just tell me about your trip up.”

“We found a lamp.”

“So I hear,” she said. “A genie’s lamp?”

“Maybe,” he countered. “Would you like to know what I wished for?”

“If you tell me, it won’t come true.”

She looked over, caught his grin, and her heart skipped.

“Then I’ll keep it to myself,” he said cheekily. “Some dreams you want to come true.”

And some, Jamie thought, needed to stay right where they were.

“You better be careful, Tyler. Someday, someone’s going to take you serious.”

For a moment he stopped, and held her eyes with his own. He smiled, just a little, and it was enough for her to know that he was serious.


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