Wait
“Okay. It’s getting dark now.” Buddy started. “Did you guys want me to go check in on them?” He asked curiously. You could tell the energy had finally returned to him as he perked up to offer his assistance.
“I don’t know.” You added. The group gave you a bit of a sideways look as you suggested leaving their friends in the jungle, by themselves, after dark. “I trust they’re doing fine. Why don’t we just give it a bit more time.” Everyone reluctantly considered it as they all rested among each other. “Maybe just a bit more?” Suddenly, Duke butted in.
“You think we should just leave our teammates out there?” he barked loudly. “Come on now, you’re not trying to sabotage us, are you?” This actually caused a bit of a reaction from the others.
“Woah there! Why the accusation?” Casey replied. “If he were trying to do that, he would have just left Buddy AND me for dead!” She made a good point.
“I’m just saying.” You added. “Why should we waste our energy when we need as much as we can get to move forward?” You made a good point, making them consider your words once more.
“He’s right.” Buddy said. “I know I’m just anxious to check in on them, but I think he has a good point. We’re going to need to be able to handle whatever we do after they regroup with us.” The suggestion of their fellow platoon members seemed to make a bit of a difference in how they saw the situation. Plus, everyone was still in a pretty rough condition considering everything they all had just gone through.
“I have faith in them.” You added, making them feel more secure in their decision. To your surprise, they all started letting their guard down. It was clear that they all truly believed that the others could handle themselves, and surprisingly, they actually did.
It was about an hour after the sun had fully set. The environment had become dark and cold- the only light for miles around other than the stars was the fire you helped Duke light earlier. The flames were roaring and were nowhere near close to dying out. You figured, this was enough to help signal to the others that you all were here.
For a moment, you had doubted the directions you had given them, wondering if you were just unsure about the direction you had gone. Though after a while, your night-vision eyes focused deep through the thicket of bramble covering the jungle flooring. You picked up a bit of movement- a slow lumbering type of pattern as the dark shapes moved towards you.
You hopped up, deciding to check things out. This signaled to the others that almost instantly, something was different.
“What’s wrong?” Casey asked you. All buddy and Duke did was watch the spot where your eyes were facing along with you.
“It’s them!” Buddy was the first to catch their scent, despite them being upwind of you all. “I know their figure anywhere.”
Your eyes made out the three familiar figures as well and allowed the excited dog to run ahead to meet his other friends.
“Buddy!” You heard a voice calling out from the darkness.
“You’re back!” the golden dog barked.
“He’s not doing the best, but still alive.” You heard another voice return.
“Here, let’s get you rested up!” You heard the sentiment and immediately gestured for Duke to help you set up another pallet for the more injured dog to lay on. The others smiled at you as they slowly made their way to the fire.
Written by Drifting Dragon on 20 December 2021
