Love Unspoken

Sean's eyes lit up, and he was all in on the idea. He pulled the car over and called up a few Dixon family members to tail Walter. He and Matthew then did a U-turn and headed back.

Matthew said, "Man, we've come a long way. Wonder how Alexander and Quinn are holding up."

Earlier, they were near the forest, but now they were so far out that if anything went down, it'd take a while to get back.

"We'll find out soon," Sean said, whipping out his laptop and firing up the drone's feed. But the footage was all fuzzy, couldn't see squat. "What's the deal?" Sean muttered, tapping the laptop, but it stayed the same. Was the drone busted?

"Can you still control it?" Matthew asked.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Sean checked the controls. He could still steer it, and the GPS was spot on, but the camera was toast.

"How do we fly it blind?" Sean asked.

"Send another one in. This one's toast," Matthew suggested.

No other choice. Sean spun the car around and launched another drone into the forest.

By now, it was pitch black, but the night-vision cam showed the forest clear as day.

Sean didn't dare get too close to the cave, so he hovered at a distance. The feed showed a tiger heading for the cave.

"Is that a tiger?" Matthew blurted, eyes wide.

Sean zoomed in, and sure enough, it was a full-grown tiger.

Matthew freaked out. "Oh crap, that's a big tiger, and Alexander's out of bullets, right? Plus, he's hurt. What do we do? We gotta get there, now!" Sean's face was all serious. They couldn't mess around anymore; they had to make sure Alexander was safe.

"Let's roll!" Sean ordered.

The crew grabbed their gear and bolted into the mountain.

Inside the cave, Quinn was checking Alexander's wound. The firelight lit up the cave, making his wound stand out.

His face was pale, and sweat was dripping down his forehead. Quinn couldn't tell his exact temp, but he felt like a furnace.

"Your fever's back, and you're burning up again," Quinn said, looking worried, feeling helpless 'cause there was nothing she could do.

Alexander turned to her, his voice weak, "I won't die. Don't worry."

Quinn handed him some hot water. "Drink more water."

"No more, I'm about to burst from all this water," Alexander said, pushing her hand away. "You should get some sleep."

"I..."

Before she could finish, there was a slight noise outside, like a branch snapping.

Alexander's head snapped towards the entrance, his eyes sharp.

"Is someone coming?" Quinn whispered.

Alexander shook his head. "Doesn't seem like it."

As he spoke, he grabbed the gun beside him and got up.

Before he could step out, a massive tiger squeezed into the cave. Quinn was momentarily frozen.

At first, she thought it was a stuffed animal, but when she saw its eyes move and its mouth open, she realized it was real. She jumped back, pressing against the wall with nowhere to go. Alexander's face went pale.

The tiger stood at the cave entrance, eyes locked on Alexander, nostrils flaring. They were in a standoff.

Quinn's fingers clenched tight, and she glanced at Alexander. He was still standing, gun in hand, staring down the tiger.