Ethan
With the amount of water that was falling from the sky, our water supply would no longer be a problem. Catching the rain however was a bit of a problem. We tried a few methods to catch the rain. Luckily Riley still had the tarp we were going to use to bury Aaron's body, and I had a milk crate that we used to put the empty water bottles in and keep them upright.
Over the next three hours, we had refilled about nine bottles, two gallon jugs, and a couple sports bottles. After the rain stopped, it cleared up like the first day of our journey. It was too much of a coincidence to just ignore.
"Hey Riley," I asked while we were putting away the tarp. "Please don't make fun of me when I ask this. But what if the storm and the lightning strike was all Aaron's doing?"
Riley just looked at me with a blank expression and sighed, "Normally, I would say it was a coincidence. But with this, and a few other things I noticed, I'm not so sure."
It was comforting to know that I was not alone in thinking about this. If Aaron really did have some sort of power to make things happen, then maybe he can stop the world from ending. A ridiculous thought but it would be a miracle if it were true.
With the water crisis being solved, another arose. Riley took the larger gas tank that was left and refueled the car. But the gas didn't last too long. We made it to San Marcos and we were already at half a tank. With all the driving we did to avoid the hindrances to our journey, we feared we might not have enough gas to make it to San Antonio. With that, we decided to stop at a campground and strategize our next moves.
We needed a back up plan in case the gas ran out and we were stranded out somewhere in between here and there. We figured biking would be a more feasible option since it doesn't need gas but it might be difficult to carry supplies and with the heat, we'd be drinking water at a faster rate.
Aaron had gone to see if he could find four bikes for us that were abandoned, while the rest of us unpacked the SUV. We had found a cabin that was vacant and decided to rest there.
"I wish we made it to San Antonio today." Riley said as he carried a box of supplies into the cabin.
"I know, right?" replied Jonathan.
"Nothing we can do about the gas running out." I said. "But we gotta save as much as we can for when we get to the city."
"So," Jonathan asked, "What's the plan?"
"Well," Riley answered, "We'll go as far as we can tomorrow, then we ditch the car."
"I hope there's a functional gas station." I said.
"Here's hoping." Riley said, "Still, I'm glad you're here Jonathan…"
"Shhhh" I said as I peeked outside to see if Aaron was there.
"Don't worry," Riley said. "He went to look for bikes and he was pretty far away while I was coming in with this."
"That's sweet of him." Jonathan blushed.
"You'd think he'd be tired after exerting himself back there." I said, referring to the storm he summoned. "Well, let me get dinner started."
"I'll go search for some firewood." Riley said. "We can't go camping without a campfire."
I rolled my eyes at him and laughed.
"I'll go too," said Jonathan. "We can see if we can find marshmallows and chocolate to make smores."
"You're on." Riley said as he and Jonathan left the cabin.
The sun was setting when they left and I had finished preparing the food for them. It was already dark outside and Aaron was the only one who came back.
"Hey, I found three bikes around the camp and brought them here." He noticed I was the only one here. "Where's Natalie?"
"She and Riley went to look for firewood," I answered. "They've been gone for a while now. I hope everything's ok."
"Shit!" Aaron said as he went back out.
I grabbed an electronic lantern and a flashlight for Aaron. We searched for them around the campground and found no trace of them.
"How far did they go?" I asked aloud.
"Let's split up," Aaron suggested, "I'll check here, you check there."
I went down a walking trail for about a quarter of a mile and I heard some voices talking. It was them. I approached the direction where the voices were coming from and the closer I got, the more I heard.
They were arguing. I turned around the bend in the walking trail and saw them at a pavilion.
"Just knock it off will you?" Riley asked, his tone indicated he was annoyed.
"No," Jonathan said, "Tell me the truth."
"I already told you, I don't know anything."
"That's not true." Jonathan said.
I slowly and quietly approached and I was able to see that Jonathan had a desperate look about him.
"I want to know why?" Jonathan pleaded, "Why didn't you answer her calls that day? You were the last person she ever reached out to. I want to know why? If you answered her calls, or were by her side, then my sister would still be alive." As he said this, he was crying. "Please, tell me. I want to know the truth. She didn't leave a note, or called anyone else. I want to know why my sister is dead. What drove her to do it?"
Riley remained silent for a few moments but the look on his face indicated he was carrying a burden he didn't want anyone to know. My suspicions about him and Dani crept in and I was suddenly finding myself wondering if this was the reason he was contemplating suicide himself. "I wouldn't know." was all he said to Jonathan.
"I'm sure it's all your fault." he replied, "You were dating her, right?"
"Is it true?" Aaron asked. I looked over at the other end of the trail and Aaron was standing there in disbelief. "Tell me she's lying."
"Hey, Aaron." I said as I walked in his direction but Aaron walked towards them.
"Riley, were you dating Dani?" Aaron asked, obviously heartbroken.
"No," Riley answered, "We never dated. I swear, Dani and I were just friends and nothing more."
"Then answer me this," Aaron proceeded, "If you two were friends, then why didn't you tell me when we first met? Judging by the way you look everytime Dani is mentioned, you feel guilty about something, am I right?"
Riley answered with his silence. He said nothing but it was obvious that he did feel guilty about her. I started to believe that Dani met the same fate as me where Riley was concerned and she couldn't bear to live anymore thanks to him.
"You see," Aaron continued. "Unlike you, I'm just your typical fanboy, unable to do anything for her. Like everyone else, we had to hear about her death after the fact. But you? You were her friend. You were the only person she could count on that was there with her."
Aaron
I couldn't believe what I heard, Riley was Dani's friend and he was the last person Dani reached out to. I couldn't stand to be around him after hearing this. I left and didn't know what else to do. I was so angry with Riley and felt sorry for Natalie that I wanted to punch Riley for the both of us.
Instead I was crying. I hated that Dani was dead and Natalie was in the dark about it. But Riley was in a position where he could've stopped it and he didn't. I wished more than anything that Riley would suffer for this.
"Hey Aaron," Ethan called out to me. "Hey, wait up kid." He grabbed my arm to stop me.
"Leave me alone!" I screamed back.
"It's dark and dangerous out here."
"SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
The next thing I heard was Ethan screaming and a loud thump. I looked over and saw that he was gone. I took a few steps closer to the direction Ethan was and saw that there was a steep drop in the terrain and at the bottom was Ethan's body lying motionless on the ground below.