The Hawaiian land and seascapes were the best Faye had ever seen in her whole life. It brought her a sense of nostalgia, remembering how much greenery her little town offered her. Even the best landscapers could not compare with the artistry of Mother Nature herself. Its chaotic wild-side gave it even more appeal, and though she wanted to go deeper in the densely wooded mountains, she didn't. What was in them, she could not be entirely sure, nor did she know if she'll survive or get back if she got lost. Besides, it was nearly time to go back to the ship. She only had thirty minutes before the ship would sail.

She sighed. Deciding to stay out in Hawaii instead of in the cruise ship had been her best decision since taking the vacation. Nathan was nowhere to be seen and so she was able to sleep a good ten hours – something she had never done in her entire life. And her peace was ending too soon. The dread was soon looming over her head as she became more and more aware of the time. After the fiasco the other day, she didn't think she could ever look at him straight without blushing.

Resigned to her fate, she walked along slow enough to make it just in time.

A boy's voice off to her right stopped her from heading toward her destination. She decided to follow the boy's voice and soon, she could hear a puppy – or a toy dog – Soon, she found a boy calling to what looked like a white spitz. Whatever breed the dog was, it was up on a huge boulder barking at something above it.

"What's going on?" She asked the boy.

The boy turned at her, worry creasing his young features. "I can't get Minty back! She doesn't want to give up on chasing that butterfly! We have to get back. The ship's almost leaving!"

"Alright, calm down. I'll get Minty." Faye smiled at her sounding more confident than she felt. She had never climbed on rocks even as a child. Their little town was all plains and farmland, but she just couldn't expect the child to chase after the dog and likely hurt himself.

Her hands found places on the boulder to latch onto, but found them dangerously narrow. She inched on upward until she was able to haul herself up to where Minty was barking. As soon as she was able to steady herself on all fours, the dog ran off chasing the butterfly once again. "Minty, no! Come back here!"

As Faye expected, the dog did not listen to her and she had no choice but to run after the dog, hoping that the dog would either finally be able to catch the butterfly or just give up the chase. She ran on vainly calling the dog's name hoping against all logic that the dog would listen to her.

Her better sense told her to give up on the dog as the rain started falling. They had taken so many twists and turns, she wasn't sure she would be able to get back. Another part of her told her to continue on considering that she had already put so much effort in it. Besides, she was already wet.

Finally, the dog stopped, sniffing the ground and the air, then whimpered. Faye approached her cautiously. "Come on, Minty. Your master's waiting for you."

As she got within arm's reach, Minty suddenly growled and started barking angrily and she stopped. "It's okay, girl. I'm not going to hurt you," she said with no effect to the dog.

"Faye..." a familiar voice called to her softly.

She turned to her right seeing Nathan tense and she automatically felt her face light up, unable to speak. What was he doing there?

"Behind you is a bear," he continued on a quiet voice.

"What are you talking about?" She glared at him, feeling that he was insulting her intelligence. "There are no bears in Hawaii!"

A deep full roar froze her and her head slowly turned to its source. The first thing on her mind was, What the hell is a grizzly bear doing here? before her mind switched to Oh sweet baby Jesus, I'm going to die! and then to, Shut up, you crazy dog, you're going to be the reason we're going to get killed! as soon as she realized the dog began to whimper like crazy.

"Back away slowly, Faye," Nathan continued speaking softly behind her. "Just relax and back away slowly."

She slowly backed away, crouching to take the dog in her hands, thankful that it was too scared to protest once she touched it. As soon as she had the dog in both hands, the bear stood and roared another time echoed by another one behind her and Nathan.

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus!" She breathed.

"Run!" Nathan caught her wrist and dragged her off, the bears in hot pursuit behind them.

By then, she couldn't do anything but match his pace as he weaved in and out of the woods, sometimes upward, sometimes downward. But they never seemed to be able to dodge roots that almost tripped them and rainwater in their eyes that the trees never seem to be able to catch. Through it all, she continued to wonder how the bear was able to navigate through it all, but at the same time, never really catching up to them. But she didn't turn to find out. It was too frightening.

They slowed as they neared a rushing river and Nathan urged her toward a fallen log, serving as an unstable bridge.

"Go!" he pushed her on looking behind her, on the lookout for their predators.

Her heart leapt to her throat as she made her way shakily. Every step felt as if they lasted for minutes to take and the roars kept getting louder and louder. She knew she wasn't moving fast enough and they could all die because of her. All of it combined rattled her nerves even more until she could no longer take it.

She couldn't channel her tension to the dog she was clutching so she screamed instead, "Nathan!"

"You're doing great, Faye. Just continue on," he told her calmly.

"I can't! Nathan, I'm scared!"

"Of what?"

She trembled unable to answer fearing that if she did, she would lose her balance. Another roar made her squeak, freezing her further.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. You don't want to die, right? You have a job to go back to, right? Your aunt's waiting for you and she'll kill you if you don't come back!" His tone was getting more urgent. "You can do it, Faye. Anything I can do, you can do, right? Now, go!"

She forced herself to move and continued to inch on as fast as she could until she reached the other side. Her knees collapsed beneath her as if the last of her strength had been used up by the effort. On the other side, the bears appeared as soon and Nathan stepped onto the log. He hurried to cross as one of the bears stood on its hind legs and dropped its whole weight on the log. The makeshift bridge jarred and he held onto the log, one of his feet dangling on the current. He continued to pull himself toward her as the bear put its weight on the log a second time. But this time, the log did not hold and it fell into the river, along with him.

In a sudden rush of adrenaline, she dropped the dog and held out her hand to him. Their hands grasped each other's wrist and she felt the pull of the current as it uprooted her feet from the ground. Her other hand grasped the grass and her knees dug into the ground, but even so, she felt herself slipping slowly with the slickness of the mud.

"Nathan...come on!" The water was reducing the grip she had on his wrist and she could feel him slipping little by little.

Her slipping slowed and she saw his other hand hauling himself up to the ground. The act gave her another dose of adrenaline. With a deep breath, she hauled him up with all her strength until he was able to get his upper body out of the water and fell directly on top of her. She dropped back on her elbows gasping for breath, and he supported his body by placing his hands on the either side of her head. Both were panting heavily. Water droplets from his hair were falling onto her face. They both were oblivious of the fact that how intimately close they're to each other.

A long boom off the distance echoed though the trees breaking their gaze.

"The...ship..." she panted trying to push herself up. "It's leaving!"

Nathan rolled over to her side and laid on his back nothing but relief on his face. "Well-it's gone," he said, just as tired, "There's nothing—we can-do about-it. Unless-you have-a work—ing phone."

She looked beside her where the dog had its tail wagging and looking up at her oozing with cuteness. She glared at it. "It's all your fault..."

Minty barked at her as if nothing was wrong and she could do nothing but roll her eyes. And those eyes fell on him. "What are you doing here?"

He grunted. "You're welcome."

She took her time to catch her breath before answering. "Okay, okay. Thank you for saving my life. But that's not my point. I mean, why are you here? You weren't anywhere near here."

He took his time to sit up and catch his own breath and looked around. He didn't answer immediately, but instead, looked down at the rushing river he dipped his hand a few times and then shook his head. He looked at her, his calm replaced by worry. "If we can't cross the river now, we'll never be able to cross it again."

"Let me guess, this rain isn't going to stop anytime soon?"

He nodded. "Worse is, this water is going to rise really high and I'd hate to be here when the river rises higher."

"Let's find another way around it, then."

He nodded and started off.

"Hey! You—" she stopped and picked Minty up before following him. "Are you trying to leave me behind?"

"No. I just want you to hurry up." He looked back at her and smiled down at the dog. "The trouble-maker, eh? It was the boy."

"I'm sorry?"

"The boy." He turned back to looking for a path that could lead them back. "The dog's owner. He was crying when I passed by. I asked him why and he told me that his dog ran away and that a lady was chasing her and they both disappeared. So I tried to help and told him to go back to the ship. It wasn't hard to follow your screaming from there."

"I see. You're welcome."

"What for?"

She kicked him on the leg and he crumpled to the ground with a growl.

"Oww! What was that for?"

"I should have let you get washed away in that river!" she growled looking down at him.

She looked up at her rubbing his leg. "Alright. Thank you."

With everything over, she was finally able to feel everything. She dropped beside him thankful that the rain was hiding her tears. First, she was stuck with him and had very little rest, if any at all. Then, she chased a dog and ruined her clothes in the process. If that wasn't enough, she was chased by a bear that shouldn't even exist in the first place, and now, she was lost with the worst person in the world to be ever stuck with. And she knew that apart, their chances of survival would be reduced so much. There was no other option but to stick and work with each other.

She felt the weight of it all and the tiredness creep into her mind and soul until she finally sobbed. By then, it was impossible to hide the fact that she was crying in frustration.

Crying was something she had never done in over ten years and it felt awful. All she knew was that she needed comfort and even if it were his arm, she welcomed it. He placed her head on his shoulder and cried as he muttered words to her that she barely understood.

Hello guys! I am back for a while. I have been really busy with my exams. I was able to update this chapter as I got a little free. I don't think there will any updates for a while. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for the love and support you've given me.

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