PART 5

They looked up to see a large tree rushing towards them. Before they knew what was happening, the tree hit them, knocking both of them down on the ground. For a second, they both remained motionless; too stunned to do anything. Gradually, they realized what had happened to them.

"Angie? Where are you? Are you OK?" Alex inquired.

"I've been better but I don't think anything is seriously wrong. I can't move though, I'm tangled up in the branches. How ‘bout you?"

"Same here but my arms are free. I'm gonna try to get us out."

Alex tried to lift the tree a little bit so they could slide out but was unsuccessful. The tree was just too heavy.

Before they could start calling for help, two park workers came rushing over to assist them. One informed them that an ambulance and a work crew are on their way.

Sirens could be heard sirens in the distance, gradually becoming louder. The park workers order Alex and Angie not to move because any movement might increase the pressure on the other person.

People started to gather around the fallen tree. Some offered their help while others just stood there watching. Luckily, another park crew arrived at the scene and barricaded the area. The last thing they wanted was people getting in the way of the rescue efforts. The park workers kept calling words of encouragement to the trapped duo and re-enforced the fact that they should keep still.

Five minutes later, which seemed like an eternity to those on the scene, the fire department arrived and took control of the situation. They did a quick check of Angie and Alex’s condition to confirm that they were not seriously injured. Next, they huddled together, out of earshot, to discuss the best extraction plan. The firefighters could be seen gesturing wildly to each other trying to visualize how each plan would work.

Finally, they reach a consensus and start to pull equipment and protective gear from the vehicles.

"Don’t worry. We’re just going to cut some of these peripheral branches to get rid of some of the weight," yelled one of the firefighters.

"What do you mean, cut?" replied Alex, who was ignored, as he couldn’t be heard over the noise coming from the chainsaws.

The firefighters, with some assistance from the park crew, made short work of the branches near the top of the tree. The firefighters then inserted several inflatable pads throughout the side of the tree that trapped the pair. The firefighters began to inflate the pads, millimeters at a time to ensure they inflated evenly. As the pads inflated, other things were jammed under the branches to increase the gap between the ground and the tree.

After many stressful moments, there was enough clearance to extract Alex, who was closer to the outside. He was escorted to the waiting ambulance, where EMTs tried to convince him to be transported to the hospital. He refused, saying he could leave until he knew Angie was free. He tried to go back to help Angie but the EMTs wouldn’t let him. They did agree to treat him on-site and started to clean and patch him up. All Alex could do was sit and watch the rescue workers try to free Angie.

The rescuers were getting closer to where Angie lay trapped. However, they still couldn’t free her because some branches were in the way. After, telling her to close her eyes and remain very still, they started hacking at the branches with an axe. Less than five minutes later, Angie was pulled from beneath the tree and carried to the ambulance. They tried to take her to the hospital but she refused, forcing the EMTs to treat her on-site as well.

"I am so glad to be outta there," said Angie as the EMTs started cleaning her scrapes.

"I’m so glad you’re OK." Alex said refusing to leave her side.

"How are you? No offense but you look terrible."

"I’m a little sore, but not bad. They only had to stitch one of the cuts on my arm."

"Good thing you were wearing helmets and pads. You saved yourself many injuries." commented one of the rescue workers who passed by.

The EMT finished cleaning Angie and stitched up one long cut on her leg and another smaller one just above her eyebrow. He then gave both of them a supply of antibiotic cream with orders on how to look after their abrasions. After confirming that neither wanted to be checked out by the hospital, the EMTs re-packed their equipment and took off.

At that moment, a man in a suit approached Alex and Angie.

"I’m so glad you two are OK. I’m Jon Trant, the park manager. I have some paperwork I need you to fill out before you go, if that’s OK?"

After seeing both nod their heads, he said, "Why don’t we go back to the park office. You’ll be more comfortable there."

After arriving at the office, he gave each of them a souvenir shirt to change into as theirs were badly torn and something to drink. He proceeded to ask them a series of questions about the incident. Where were they standing, what did they see, what did they hear? A short while later, he was satisfied and offered them a ride home. They quickly accepted, as both wanted to get out of that park as soon as humanly possible, if not faster.

*****

Meanwhile, Rollie paced around the hotel room, wondering where Angie was and why wasn’t she back yet. He stalked over to where he had his plans spread out, intent on finalizing how the effects would be done, even though he would have liked Angie’s input. He just got settled at the table when he heard the door open. He turned in time to see Angie, covered in dirt, blood and bandages, limping through the door.

"What happened to you?" exclaimed Rollie, rushing to Angie’s side.

Waving him off, "I'll explain the whole story to you after I changed."

Angie had a quick shower, being careful not to get her stitches too wet. Then she got dressed in clean clothes and went out to the terrace to join Rollie

"Are you OK? What happened?" Rollie asked, as he poured the tea he ordered from room service.

Angie, in between sips, related the story to the Aussie.

"You could have been killed!" he said angrily, jumping up from the table. "What was he thinking of, taking you someplace so dangerous."

"Rollie, you’re over-reacting. It was just an accident. Alex didn’t plan for a tree to crash onto us, " she defended.

"I’m sorry, it’s just that I wanted you to relax and have fun on this trip. Instead, you were almost killed."

"But I wasn’t so let’s just forget about it, OK? Oh, almost forget. Alex invited us out to dinner. He’s picking us up at 6."

Rollie nodded his head to show his approval. However, he was less interested in having dinner with the young intern than he interested in Angie not being alone with him. Where did that thought come from? Was that strange emotion he was feeling jealousy? Nah, couldn't be. He noticed Angie was giving him an odd look. He didn’t want to explain what his was thinking so he said, "Come on, let’s get to work. They want our effects for tomorrow afternoon’s filming."

*****

Later that day, Rollie was waiting for Angie to finish dressing for dinner when he heard a noise. He looked up and his jaw nearly dropped open. There, in front of him, was an Angie he rarely saw. She was wearing a long clingy dress he had never seen before, and more make-up than usual. She looked more like a model than his capable assistant. His first thought was she's beautiful and doesn't even realize it.

"You look great. You can't see any of the bruises."

"I usually make people look like monsters. I just used those same make-up skills to make a monster look like a person."

Upset that she minimized and made jokes about her looks, he gently grabbed her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. Looking directly into her eyes, he said, "Angela, you could never look like a monster. Never."

Angie was not sure how to respond to that and was eternally grateful when the doorbell rang indicating that Alex had arrived to take them to dinner.

Alex gave Angie a beautiful bouquet of flowers in an attempt to help her forget what happened earlier that day.

"They're beautiful. Thank you, Alex." she said softly.

"They're not as beautiful as you but I'm glad you like them."

Rollie almost gagged at the sweetness of that statement but knew better. Angie would never forgive him.

They went to a small restaurant, nestled on the top of a local mountain. Despite the restaurant being full, they were quickly shown to one of the best tables. The view from their table was spectacular. They could see the mountains in the background. The sunset was reflected in the water surrounding the area and gave everything a soft, warm glow. This would make a nice addition to the VR system thought Rollie.

Alex and Angie sat facing each other, next to the window, while Rollie sat to Alex's right. The restaurant’s overhead lighting was very dim, relying on sets of candles in the center of each table to provided most of the illumination. Rollie was glad about that fact because it gave him the opportunity to watch Angie without her realizing it. Then he realized, she wouldn’t notice him because she's too busy looking at Alex. He tried to read the expression in Angie’s face. He wasn’t able to identify it but he knew he wasn’t comfortable with it. Why, he wondered. Just 'cause he doesn't like the way she looks at Alex, doesn't mean he's jealous. Or does it? Suddenly, he knew the answer. He realized he want her to look at him that way.

Great timing, Tyler, he berated himself. Angie finally finds someone who interests her and you decide you’re interested too. Now, what to do? He quickly decided that he shouldn’t say anything right now, because if this guy makes her happy, well, that's what's important. He thinks though, that if this doesn't work out, he owes it himself and to Angie to tell her how he feels so that they can decide together how to proceed.

The trio finished their meal, and departed soon afterward due to the fact they had to leave early the next morning.