Selena had been burned to death by mountain fire after being mutilated, so there wasn’t even a skeleton left of her. Even if Rachel didn’t say much, Lionel could probably guess that Selena wasn’t buried in this part of the mountains.
However, trees had souls. Since Selena was buried deep beneath this soil, he’d be mourning for her indirectly by talking to these trees.
Meanwhile, Rachel wasn’t sure how to feel when she looked at the man in his fifties.
Justin, on the other hand, let go of her. “Go to him if you want to.”
Slightly stumped, Rachel hesitated for a moment before standing up straight behind the tree.
Before she could go over, a grunt came from behind. She turned around upon hearing that, only to be muffled. The last thing she saw before passing out was Justin being dragged away.
“They still haven’t returned?” Jolly cornered Bobby as soon as she returned to the homestay at noon. “Are you sure about this?”
“I swear they didn’t come back.” Bobby shook his head in response. “I’ve been here all day. No one came in after you guys left in the morning.”
“Which room is Chris staying in? I want to take a look.”
“Upstairs—”
Jolly rushed upstairs at that, not waiting for Bobby to finish his words. Alas, Rachel and Justin’s rooms were as they left them in the morning, and not a single soul was inside either.
“What’s wrong?” Lionel came out of his room and into the lobby when he heard noises outside.
Leroy happened to come back inside right then, and he explained, “We, Justin, and Rachel went up to the mountain together. We split up for a while, but we couldn’t find her or Justin after that. We assumed they had come back before us, but as it turns out, they didn’t.”
“Have you guys tried calling them?”
“We did, but we couldn’t get through either.”
“Could it be because of the poor signal?” Bobby explained. “The signal has always been bad up in the mountains. You can never get a call there.”
“It’s been two hours, and Chris isn’t a careless person. It’s impossible for her not to contact any of us after disappearing for so long.” Jolly dashed down the stairs frantically, stomping as she went. “Something terrible must’ve happened. I’m sure of it.”
Just then, Carmen dashed right inside. “Leroy, Jolly, it’s going to rain.”
“Carmen, we don’t have time for this right now.” Leroy, too, believed the situation was getting serious. “Maybe they got lost in the woods. Can we get those living in the mountains to help?”
“There’s a huge, dark cloud. You can’t go there. It’s going to rain in the mountains.” Carmen pointed outside as she tugged on Leroy’s sleeve. “Look, Leroy, there’s a dark cloud.”
“What dark clouds?!” Jolly became irritated. “It’s a sunny day today.”
“No, Jolly. Look!” Leroy’s grave tone made everyone look outside.
Thick smoke came from somewhere in the mountains, and it seemed like it had been going on for a while as massive black smoke billowed into the air, slowly concealing the sky above the mountains.
Hell, that was no dark cloud—it was wildfire!
“Wildfire!” Bobby’s shriek awoke everyone, and Jolly’s countenance turned awful. “Chris and Justin might still be in there!”
At that, the gang rushed over.
Meanwhile, the smoke had long billowed where the fire was happening in the mountain.
Awoken by the choking smoke, Rachel then found Justin tied to a tree across from her with piles of dried leaves and wood surrounding him.
Terrified, she struggled to get to him, only to discover she had been tied to a tree as well.
The thick rope was so tightly wrapped around her that she thought her bones would break. There was no way she could break free.
“Justin! Wake up, Justin!” At last, the man finally woke up amidst her desperate cries and coughs.
Justin reacted about the same as Rachel after regaining consciousness. “Rachel.” His expression turned grim.
“We got ambushed.” Rachel looked at the surrounding smoke with despair. “We’re going to die here today.”
“We won’t.”
Justin’s face tensed up. His face had been scorched bright red amidst the wildfire, and beads of sweat kept rolling down his cheeks. Even so, he kept fighting the rope tied to his hands behind his back.
Who knew how long had passed when he finally managed to free his one hand with a forceful tug? However, nearly the entire skin had been scraped off his back, mangled.
“Rachel!” He charged toward the woman and hurriedly untied the ropes the second he broke free. “Rachel, wake up! Don’t sleep!”
Rachel kept coughing, and her voice was already raspy. “Forget about me and just get out of here.”
“What are you talking about?! We’re leaving together.” Justin removed his jacket, wrapped it around her, then carried her in his arms and strode out of there.
However, fire enveloped their surroundings, and the way down was completely blocked. Their only option was to head up the mountain, but the thick smoke made it hard for Justin to tell where he was going. Worse, the fire was only getting bigger.
This scene was like a nightmare, one that had accompanied them for twenty-plus years.
To think this day would actually come.
When he heard Rachel coughing, Justin loosened his grip on her slightly. “Don’t worry, Rachel. We’ll definitely get out of here.”
“Forget about me. Neither of us will be able to get out of here if you carry me.”
“We can.”
“Justin Burton.”
“You always call me that, and it makes me feel like we’re only acquaintances. Call me something else.”
Rachel could see his moving face as she lay in his arms, but he was moving so much that she felt dizzy. She was well aware that he didn’t care what she called him; he just wanted to distract her.
At that, she felt a massive lump in her throat. However, she chose to play dumb and went along with him. “What do you want me to call you, then?” she asked while nodding.
“Anything but that.”
“Do you have a family nickname?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Liar, you clearly do.” Rachel’s voice was so weak that it nearly drowned in the crackling noise of burning trees. “I remember it well. Your grandpa and aunt used to call you… Jay.”
“In that case, call me that too.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It’ll be like everyone else. I don’t want that.”
“Why don’t you come up with one, then?” A hint of laughter laced his voice.
“Okay.”
Rachel’s head spun terribly, and right then, Justin had been standing on the same spot for quite some time.
The blazing fire surrounded them, inching their way closer to Rachel and Justin. The fresh leaves held back the engulfing flames, but just barely. Then again, the gradually thinning oxygen would probably get to them before the fire could.
“Don’t sleep, Rachel.”
Justin was still desperately trying to find a way out, but the thick smoke made his bloodshot eyes water badly.
Meanwhile, Rachel’s grip on his neck began loosening, and her voice was becoming barely audible.
“Justin, I’m really sleepy.”
“No, don’t sleep. We’re almost out. Rachel, stay with me here! Stay with me and don’t sleep. Talk to me. Think about our girl. Charlotte and Samuel are still waiting for you to go back to Riverdale!” Justin cried out in a shaky voice. He couldn’t take losing her another time.
He had already lost her twice, and both times nearly ended him.
