Survivor
Chapter 3
Kevin walked away. He needed to be by himself to think. How was he going to get them out of this mess? Here he was, stuck in the middle of God's country with two kids to take care of, one of them injured. No food. No shelter. He walked over to the debris and kicked around a few pieces of debris. A coiled cord caught his attention. The radio! He dove into the snow on his belly to retrieve it, but when he dug it out of the snow, he discovered that it had been burned severely, and was useless. Shit. Shit. Shit. Could their luck get any worse? Kevin was almost afraid to ask. He had to find some food. Bad news might set better on full stomachs. He walked into the woods, leaving Bailey and Nick behind.
"Nick," Bailey whispered, "come here and let me see what I can do with your arm."
"Huh?"
"Come here," she hissed. "I don't want Kevin to hear me. I'm afraid he'll yell at us or something since you wouldn't let him touch you."
"He always yells," Nick giggled. "Don't pay any attention to him. His bark is much worse than his bite."
Nick sat down on one of the leather chairs as Bailey went through her suitcase to see what she could scrounge up. She pulled out a pair of panty hose and a manicure kit.
"What? You gonna make me put on the hose, then do my nails?" Nick laughed.
"Shhh! No," Bailey whispered. "Just be still." She went to the wreckage and picked up two straight metal rods. She put one on each side of Nick's forearm and wrapped them in place, using the hose like an ace bandage. She then got another pair of hose out and cut a leg off, making a sling to hold his arm up.
"There," she said, smiling triumphantly. "Pretty good, if I do say so myself."
"Where did you learn to do that?" Nick asked, smiling a little.
"Well, Kappa Kappa Gamma's philanthropy is the Red Cross, and I've taken bunches of first aid courses and stuff. I just improvised," she said, looking down shyly. "Now let me see what else I have in here that might help us out."
Bailey searched through the pockets of her suitcases for anything that looked useful, but all she could find was a bottle of Midol, her bathroom kit, and some clothes. She read the bottle of Midol, and smiled.
"Here," she said, handing him two pills.
"I'm not taking that shit," Nick laughed.
"It's got tylenol in it, dummy! It'll make your arm feel better," she said, shaking her head at him. He took the pills from her and looked at them skeptically. He popped them into his mouth and swallowed.
"Alright. I took them. Are you happy? But if you ever tell anybody I took Midol, I'll kick your butt!"
Bailey laughed and looked into Nick's eyes. She could see the fear in them. She wondered why he was so afraid. Daddy would be sending help today for sure. He wouldn't leave her out in the wilderness like this. Daddy would find them. He could do anything.
"I'm hungry," Nick said, a pained look on his face.
"I know. Me too. I wish there was something to eat around here. I'm cold, too," Bailey sighed, as she sat down in the chair beside Nick. He put his un-injured arm around her and pulled her in closer. She rested her head on his shoulder. She was so sore, and her stomach felt like she hadn't eaten in days. Nick kissed the top of her head.
"Kevin'll get us out of this mess," Nick said softly. "Don't worry. He can fix anything."
Bailey looked up at Nick, her brow furrowed a little. "You really look up to him, don't you?"
"Well... yeah. I mean, he's KEVIN. He's... the boss, you know. He always fixes stuff. He'll figure something out," Nick said, his blue eyes wide with genuine admiration for his big brother. Bailey nodded and rested her head against Nick's shoulder again.
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Kevin found a stream. Fresh water. At least they wouldn't be dehydrated. Damn it. Nothing to carry the water back to the kids in. Kevin knelt down beside the stream and drank a few big handfuls. They could live without food for days if they had to. At least they had water. God, he was cold. His feet were going numb. He needed to get back to camp... if you could call it camp.
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"...the Jive Records jet, carrying Backstreet Boys, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson, as well as University of Tennessee student, Bailey Townsend, was due at the Denver International Airport at 9pm last night. Unfortunately, the plane never made it to Denver. Searchers are combing the area where the plane is thought to have gone down, but so far, no wreckage has been found. Stay tuned to MTV for the latest developements in this tragic story."
AJ sat in front of the television, staring, but not comprehending. No... No way was this happening. Nick and Kevin were supposed to be meeting him here in Vale. They were going to have a quiet Thanksgiving together. Just the three of them. No fans. No press. No families. Just the three of them. AJ was going to learn how to ski... There is no way their plane went down. No... fucking...way.
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Brian's hand shook as he replaced the receiver on its cradle.
"Leigh, wake up," he said softly, shaking his sleeping wife.
"Hmmm?" she said, openeing her eyes slowly.
"They crashed," he said, his voice cracking. "Their plane... it crashed. Kev and Nick... they're gone."
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Howie paced the floor of his condo. They weren't dead. He'd know it if they were dead. They were alive. He could feel it. They were out there... somewhere. His phone rang, and he jumped to answer it.
"Hello?" he said, breathlessly.
"Howie, this is Bob Nelson from the Orlando Sentinel. Any comments on Kevin and Nick?"
Howie stared at the phone for a moment, then slammed it back on the hook. He ran his fingers through his hair. They were not dead. THEY WERE NOT DEAD. He refused to believe it. He sat on the couch and tried to figure out what he could do to find them.
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"Hi guys," Kevin said, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry for my little outburst earlier."
"That's ok," Bailey said, smiling up at him. "Have a seat."
"Thanks," he said, taking a seat beside Nick. "Listen, we've got to get another fire going. Bailey, do you think you could go find some firewood? Nick's arm is making him pretty... uh... well, let's just say he's probably not going to be doing much manual labor."
"Yeah, sure," Bailey said, nodding. She stood up and started to walk towards the woods. "I get it from trees, right?"
Kevin closed his eyes for a few seconds and took several deep breaths. "Yes, honey. But try to make sure it's from dead trees, ok. You know? The ones that have fallen over and are kind of rotten? The green stuff won't burn very well."
"Ok, sure," Bailey said, smiling.
"And don't wander off too far," Kevin added. "I don't want you getting lost out there."
Bailey waived as she walked into the woods. Kevin turned to Nick with a serious look on his face.
"Nicky, the radio's busted," he said, shaking his head sadly. "We'll have to figure out some other way to get out of here."
"We?" Nick said, his eyes growing wide. "Kev, I don't know anything about anything. I was hoping you..."
"NICK!" Kevin yelled. "GROW UP, MAN! You've got to help me here. I can't do all of this myself, ok? I'm not fucking superman. As much as you want me to be. I don't know everything about everything. I can't do it all alone! So use your head and help me out here, ok?"
Nick looked down at the ground and his bottom lip trembled a little. Kevin sighed and sat back in the chair. He closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry," Kevin said quietly.
"I know."
"Who fixed your arm?" Kevin asked eyeing the handiwork.
"Bailey. She's pretty good at this first aid stuff," Nick said, smiling. The Midol was kicking in, and the pain was beginning to dull just a little.
"Good," Kevin said, nodding. "At least she's good for something."
"Kev, do you hear that?" Nick said, sitting up suddenly.
"Hear what?"
"That noise. It sounds like... a helicopter!" Nick jumped up from his seat and ran into the clearing where the plane had knocked down all the trees. He looked up into the clear blue sky, straining his eyes to see if he could find the helicopter. He listened as the sound got further and further away. His heart sank. They were going the wrong way. But at least they were LOOKING!
Bailey came running back, her arms full of wood. "Did you guys hear that? I knew daddy wouldn't let me sit out here forever!" she squealed.
"Yeah, but it went the wrong way," Kevin muttered.
"But it'll be back!" Bailey laughed. "You're so pessimistic. Daddy won't give up til he finds me. Oh, here's the wood. Is it the right kind? Oh shoot, I pulled my sweater."
Kevin sighed, but took the wood from her. "Yep. You did good, Bailey. That's great. You think you could get some more?"
"Sure!" she said, running off back into the woods. Kevin shook his head... she was such a kid.
Later that afternoon, they sat in front of the fire, quietly wishing they had something to eat. Bailey scooted over beside Kevin and looked at him for a minute.
"What?" he asked, trying not to smile.
"Will you let me do something?" she asked, looking a little nervous.
"What do you want to do?"
"Clean that cut on your forehead. It's starting to look infected or something," she said, looking down.
"There's a cut on my forehead?" Kevin asked. He hadn't even noticed. Bailey pulled out her mirror and handed it to him. He stared at his reflection, horrified. There was a three inch long gash on his forehead that looked like it needed stitches badly.
He nodded his head to Bailey, and she went to her suitcase to find something to clean it with. She came back with a bottle of Sea Breeze.
"This will probably sting, but it says it's an antiseptic," she said, dabbing some of the Sea Breeze on a pair of cotton panties she had pulled out of her lingerie bag.
"Panties?" Kevin asked, laughing. "You're going to wipe my face with your underwear?"
"Well, I'm sorry!" she cried, I didn't want to get your blood all over my sweaters, I don't have any cotton balls, and I didn't think my silk nightgowns would be very absorbant. They're CLEAN, Kevin! Just close your eyes and don't think about them being panties."
Kevin snickered as Bailey gently wiped his forehead with her panties. When all the blood was gone, she could see the damage that had been done to his beautiful face. It was a deep cut... She wished she had something to cover it with. Hmmm maybe she could put the panties on his head... She laughed at the thought.
As the sun went down behind the mountains, it got very cold, very quickly. Bailey sat by the fire, hugging her knees to her chest. Her teeth were chattering uncontrollably. She had never been so cold in her life. She was afraid to cry. She was afraid the tears would freeze on her face. She wanted her daddy. Kevin sat down beside her.
"Kevin, if I die, please don't eat me," she said, her voice filled with fear.
"Eat you?" Kevin laughed. "You've got to be kidding."
"No, I'm not. Please... I don't want us to be like that movie..." Bailey said, her eyes wide.
"Bailey, I can assure you, we will not eat you. And we're not going to die," Kevin said, putting his arm around her. She had worked hard that day. He was proud of her. Maybe she wasn't such a baby after all. Well... yes she was. But at least she tried.
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