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Meanwhile...........
“Well? Did you find them?” Sean asked anxiously. He had been searching for everyone the moment he got over the shock of the sudden scenery change. He had managed to do it, too. That is, everyone save one of his best friends and the love of his life. Sean had found himself in the middle of an open field near the cabin. That was were he stood now, with the rest of the group huddled nearby. Sean fit the description for tall, dark, and handsome to a tee. At around 6 feet, few looked down on him. That was far from the reason he was highly respected among his peers, however. Sean managed to instantly take over a situation, even one as strange as this one was turning out to be.
“Nothing.” Bret Willits replied breathlessly. Bret had searched high and low, he knew how much Kristen meant to Sean. Being cousins, Bret felt that he knew Sean better than anyone else, and no one argued. Bret was shorter than Sean, slightly taller than Zach. His soft brown hair and caring blue eyes made him look very much like a soft teddy bear. Not that anyone would tell him this. He’d take you out on the basketball court and show you how much of a teddy bear he really was.
“You’re sure? You checked everywhere?” Sean asked, begging for a different answer. The cabin was now engulfed in flames. There was no way Kristen and Zach could have gotten out of that inferno.
“Why would I lie to you?” Bret snapped, regretting it the moment the words left his mouth. He was tired, he had no idea where he was, and there was a very good chance that his best friend and his cousin-in-law were dead. “Sean, I, I....” he stuttered.
“Save it, cuz. If we got out, they must have.” Sean replied stubbornly, refusing to believe the inevitable.
“All right, Sean. All right.” Bret replied, too exhausted to argue. He moved slowly to the rest of their little group. Jordan Evans stood up when Bret arrived. The tall, blonde, “heartthrob” of the group had been sitting beside his wife, Mandee. Jordan and Bret, despite the five year age difference, were best friends. They had been nicknamed “Frick and Frack” by their band mates, because of the tight relationship that never seemed to die.
Jordan eyed Bret questionably. Bret responded with a single shake of his head. Jordan gave a sigh that seemed to suck the life out of him, and hung his head. LeighAnne, Bret’s wife, came up to Bret and put her arms around him. He leaned against her, barely strong enough to stand.
“Come to bed,” she whispered in his ear. Bret shook his head, and turned to stare at Sean, who stood as close as he dared to the flames, praying for a miracle. Bret sighed and pushed away from LeighAnne. He limped slowly towards the far side of the clearing where they had taken refuge, stopping in front of a whimpering form.
“You okay?” he asked softly, gently raising the head of Amanda Wallace, Zach’s wife. She had heard the news, she knew what it meant.
“Zach’s dead, isn’t he?” she asked harshly, pulling away from his grip. She could feel the tears streaming down her face.
“We don’t know that.” Bret responded, refusing to meet her accusing gaze, as if he were to blame for all this.
“Don’t give me that shit, Bret. No one could have lived through, that!” she shot back angrily, gesturing towards the flames.
“We don’t know that.” Bret repeated weakly. He needed sleep. He turned away from Amanda and headed back towards LeighAnne.
Fifteen minutes later........
Jarred LaTona watched Bret and Jordan, curled up next to their wives. He turned to his own wife, Claudia. He stroked her long, silky black hair, eyeing her beautiful chestnut eyes. Her Asian heritage gave her a beauty that Jarred had yet to match. She was short, shorter than Jarred, something he appreciated. Few girls were shorter than the 5’5” Latino. Jarred’s long, dark, curly hair laid loosely on his shoulders, the trademark pony-tail forgotten for a night.
Jarred was half-asleep as it was when it happened. Sean suddenly jumped up from where he had been sitting. But he was awake enough to hear his last words.
“I’ve got to find them! I’m going after them! I’m coming Kristen!” With that, Sean raced into the flame-consumed cabin. Before Jarred could so much as make a move, the entire building gave it's last dying cry, and collapsed on top of Sean.