Date: 10/3/2000
From: SouthernSlider

Good morning, all. Ah, a new day dawns and season 3 is underway on the old reruns. Couldn't we just skip it and get to season 4 and Colin? Speaking of Colin...on with the story.
---------------------------

United We Stand, Divided . . . We Disappear

Chapter Sixteen

Quinn's eyes popped open, another image of Wade and Colin dissolving in the mist. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, and swept his eyes over his rumpled clothing. He had fallen asleep without ever actually getting into bed. Combing his fingers through his hair and quickly washing his face with cold water, he left for the small
airport again to resume his search.

There were only a few more islands left to have a look at. As the small plane lifted off, he opened up the map and started marking off the islands they had searched
yesterday.

"What's the name of the first one you're headed to?" he asked the pilot. On hearing the answer, he marked it with his pen, then settled back in the seat. His fingers
gripped the arm until his knuckles were white. What would he do if they found nothing after searching every island? What would he do if they found only the remains of a
wrecked plane? He continued to torture himself with unanswerable questions until the pilot indicated land.

They came upon the eastern side of the island then swung to the south. Following the same pattern as yesterday, they would circle the entire island twice unless they spotted
something, then move on westward to the next one. Quinn grabbed the binoculars and started sweeping the beach to his right.

"There! Down there! I see something yellow!" Quinn shouted to the pilot. When he confirmed what Quinn had seen, the plane took a downward turn for them to get
a closer look. Quinn's heart suddenly started to race as he realized the yellow object was a raft. He could feel the hard thumping against his chest.

"I think I can set her down on the beach just beyond that rock wall jutting out into the water," the pilot told him. Quinn strapped himself in and tried to prepare his mind.

When the plane hit land, he was up and out of his seat before the pilot could come to a halt. He ran first toward the yellow raft he had spotted overhead, but his eyes
suddenly caught something else near the treeline. A body! He stopped and stared for a second, his breath caught in his throat. His heart sounded like a bass drum in his ears.

He slowly approached the figure, his palms growing damp. He swallowed hard as he neared. It wasn't Colin. He bent down to get a better look.

"Conrad?"

"Is that your man, buddy?" asked the pilot. "Is he alive?"

"No. It's not my brother, but I do know him . . . kind of. And he is alive." The pilot frowned when he didn't explain further.

Quinn rose and looked around. A circle of rocks surrounding cold ashes was close by. Conrad obviously had survived, made it to the island and had passed out.
Quinn ran down to the raft. It was empty and gave no indication there had been others. The plane must have gone down in the water. He returned to the unconscious body.

After scouting the immediate area and noticing a scattering of coconuts and bananas, he wondered what could have gone on. Did the man go crazy? Did a wild animal happen upon the scene? He released a dejected breath and cursed.

"I don't see anything else around here, fellow, but I think we should get this guy back to main island. He's going to need some medical attention." Quinn wanted to balk
but he knew the pilot was right.

The pilot retrieved a blanket from the plane. They settled Conrad on top, then held onto the corners and carried him to the plane. While the pilot strapped him down as
best he could, Quinn took one more turn around the area, hoping he had missed something. Nothing. There were no other signs of life. His brother must be dead.
Surely, if others had survived, this Conrad Bennish would have made an attempt to save them.

Quinn stood, staring out into the ocean. Tears formed in his eyes. Another one gone. How many more involved in his sliding would disappear from his life? It was just
a matter of time until it would be Maggie and Remmy. Was that his punishment for being a cocky kid too full of himself to test things out before involving innocent
bystanders?

"Hey, buddy! We had better get out of here, now. Looks like there might be a storm brewing off to the west. We don't want to get involved in that," the pilot yelled.
Quinn was pulled from his thoughts and headed toward the plane. Why not, he thought. Everyone else had died, why not me? He boarded slowly, and never looked back as the
plane pulled off into the sky and away from the island. Kelly's blouse lay on the ground, undiscovered, behind some underbrush a few feet beyond the treeline. The strong breeze from the approaching storm had blown it off the branch Kelly had place it on to dry.

***

Colin struggled against the current as he tried to make his way to shore. He held Kelly’s head against his chest with one arm and used the other to pull them through the
roughening seas. Off in the distance, he noticed an angry-looking bank of clouds. Another storm. He had to get to shore before it came or they would be swept out to sea
for sure.

After inching along for several minutes in their present position, he positioned Kelly on his back and held onto her arms across his shoulders. He sputtered and kicked
vigorously, dipping underwater occasionally to swim forward. After a few minutes, he noticed he was making headway, but so was the storm. A huge wave curled over their heads and crashed in front of them, pushing them forward and covering them with salt water.

Colin and Kelly bobbed to the surface as he gasped for air. Deciding he was close enough to the shore, he put her against his chest once again and began to claw at the
water, letting the waves push him forward as much as possible. His foot finally scraped the bottom, just as he heard rumbling thunder not so far away. The sun was suddenly covered by the leading edge of the clouds.

He got a foot-hold on the ocean floor and pulled himself and Kelly to the sand. As the water began to swirl around his calves, he picked Kelly up and walked the rest of
the way out of the water. Several feet away from the rushing tide, he collapsed on the sand with Kelly in his arms. On his hands and knees, he worked feverishly to regain his breath. He knew he would need full lung capacity to help Kelly. Maggie had taught him
CPR early on, saying they all needed to know how to administer it in case of an emergency. Thank goodness, because this definitely was one. He just hoped he could
remember everything she had said.
-----------------------------

Will our boy be stranded there by himself or will Kelly survive to keep him company?

Previous post #s: P)2277 1)2280 2)2283 3)2285 4)2292 5)2295 6)2298 7)2303 8)2306 9)2312 10)2313 11)2322 12)2325 13)2331 14)2333 15)2337

SS

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Date: 10/3/2000
From: MissingSliderRyan

You left us hanging again. I can't wait for the next part. Amazing story, SS. I made time to read the last 14 chapters. Reading your stories are ten times more interesting than studying for a test I'm going to take tomorrow. Please consider posting on Vortex62's board. I know the posters there will enjoy it.

MSR

I am back and just in the nick of time..

Date: 10/3/2000
From: nycslider

this is fabulous waiting for a new chapter I read all of them just now. Yeah!! I knew I was missing something during my lunch break... your stories.

Have a good one

Poof I am gone. :)

Original URL http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/1095/2876
Nominated by DieselMickeyDolenz