She follows the stream

It is only when she is back in the woods and out of sight of the safe house that Jade truly feels Kayo's absence. I'm alone, she thinks. She was with me for only a few hours, but that was enough time to get used to being with someone. And I'm not likely to find anyone else who's willing to partner up and let me have the prize at the end, so it's just me from here on in. I'm so sorry, Kayo...

Once she is back at the stream, Jade scoops up some of the water and tastes it carefully, swishing it around in her mouth. Seems clean, she thinks, and pulls out Malik's bottle to empty it into the stream and refill it. I've probably already consumed enough of their little "performance enhancer" to keep me horny for however long I'm here, but I might as well avoid it if I can.

She looks down the stream, the way the Director told her to go. I don't really have a choice here, she considers. Oh sure, I COULD go into the woods and make for the final safe house, but he'd probably make good on his threat to send the men after me. My only chance to avoid them is to play ball for a little longer. Once I'm closer to the goal, then I can take a chance on defying authority. I hope LaShonda's not too hard to seduce...

Jade feels a fluttering in her stomach as she thinks about the tall, athletically-built dark-skinned woman who she remembers from the helicopter ride into the island. LaShonda happened to be sitting right across from her, and although they avoided eye contact for the most part, Jade couldn't help but look her over. Out of all the girls there, LaShonda was the only one who really radiated strength and confidence, and Jade had known right then that she would be the one to beat. That's why Malik looked familiar, she realizes. They have the same eyes, similar faces. God, I can't imagine what that must have been like... if I saw my father here, I'd probably throw myself off another cliff, one without water at the bottom!

The distant sound of a woman's cry startles Jade out of her thoughts, and reminds her that there are predators about; she cannot linger. Hefting her pack, she starts her journey along the stream, following the water. There's no cover at first and she feels horribly exposed, but around a bend the trees grow taller, and she's able to get out of sight. At first she looks for a stick to carry with her, but soon realizes that the thick foliage near the stream makes it necessary for her to use both hands to push her way through some tighter places, and a stick would only get in the way.

This is slow going, she thinks. If LaShonda is following the beach, she'll be able to move much faster than this. There's no way I'll make it there ahead of her going this way, but what else can I do? If I move away from the stream, I could lose my way and have to backtrack when I get to the beach, but I can't walk through the stream itself - even with these sandals on, I'll break an ankle trying to walk on those slippery rocks! Thinking of this makes the image of Kayo's mangled leg appear unbidden in her mind, and Jade has to fight the urge to retch.

Around the next bend, she sees her answer. A short man-made dock extends into the water, and resting on it is a large inflated inner tube. It's exposed, so Jade makes her way up to it carefully, looking around for anyplace that someone might jump out at her, but it's clear that there's no one there.

This is risky, she thinks. In the stream, I'll be completely out in the open. If someone sees me, all they'd have to do is head downstream ahead of me and wait. But if I - "What's that?" she says aloud, interrupting her own thoughts.

The sound of a helicopter rises suddenly in the air, and Jade ducks back under a tree that leans out over the stream. The helicopter zooms over her head moments later, flying low and slightly sideways. It's similar to the one which picked up Kayo and Malik, but Jade can tell it's not the same. As she watches, it suddenly veers hard to the side, tilting over dangerously and curving out of sight past the treetops.

It's out of control! Jade realizes.

The sound of the chopping rotor fades as the helicopter drifts further away, and then there's a sudden crunch, a ripping of wood and earth, and a repetitive metallic clanking followed by silence. Then, above the trees where the helicopter vanished, a plume of smoke begins to swell into the sky.

"They crashed," she whispers.

Jade starts to head in that direction, then stops herself. There might be someone hurt... but that shouldn't be my problem! Something tells me that they're not going to give me any points for rushing in there to help. Besides, I can't be the only one who saw it go down, the men are probably converging on the crash site right now to see if there's anything useful they could salvage from it. For that matter, there might be something I could salvage... no, I'm not about to strip the bodies for their clothes or anything like that! She hesitates for a long moment, then finally shakes her head. No, I'm not in any position to help, and there's nothing I could get from the wreck that's worth the risk. This is a distraction, and the best thing I can do is use it as one, and head downstream on that tube while anyone who might be around here is going to get a look at the crash site.

Even though she knows her decision makes sense, Jade can't help but feel a sense of guilt as she rolls the inner tube into position and then launches herself off the dock, pushing out into the middle of the stream where the current is fastest. Soon, she's proceeding at a brisk walking pace, lying face down on the tube to make it easier to paddle her hands in the water and keep herself facing forward. This could be a trap, like the zipline, she thinks. This stream makes a lot of turns, I can't see what's around each bend until I'm right on top of it. Anywhere along here, I could run into something that stops the tube and makes me easy to catch. I need to be ready to jump off this thing and run at any second. I wonder what made that helicopter crash? There wasn't any wind to speak of...

The water grows rough and choppy, and Jade's train of thought is broken as she is compelled to hold tighter to the tube to keep from slipping off. The rapids go for only a short stretch, and then a second stream joins the main channel, widening the streambed and calming the water. The ground to either side begins to flatten out, no longer so steep and hard to navigate.

Time to get back to dry ground, Jade thinks. I've pressed my luck enough - if I ride this thing all the way to the ocean, I'm bound to run into someone.

Jade dips a leg into the water, and touches bottom - she's moving surprisingly fast, and almost loses the sandal on her foot. As a precaution, she slips the sandals off, and discovers they make effective paddles on her hands. It doesn't take long for her to push her way to the pebbly bank, where she's able to stand and pull the tube from the water.

It's too big to carry it with me, she thinks, and I can't imagine what else it would be good for. Jade hauls the tube up and tosses it into the reedy grass on the bank, then sets off on foot.

Around the next bend, she sees that she abandoned the tube just in time.

The stream, more like a river now, pours over a cascade which drops in several two- to four-foot waterfalls, but that isn't the real danger - across the stream just in front of the first fall is a wooden plank bridge, and waiting off to one side is a group of three men. Jade ducks down as soon as she sees them. They're on the other side, where the foliage is thick - but on her own side, there's no cover at all. She can see the sand dunes in the distance which are the beach, and can just barely make out the small hut which must be the safe house.

How the hell do I get past these guys? she thinks to herself. I can't outrun them... not over that much distance, and it won't do me much good anyway to reach the safe house if they know I'm in there, they'll just wait me out. Besides, LaShonda's coming this way, and I'd be leading them to her. It's not like I owe her anything, but it still seems wrong to deliberately set her up like that. Could I backtrack, cross the river to the other side, make my way behind them? That's chancy, I can't tell what's behind the trees on the bank, there might not be any cover there either. Come on, Fox, think... there has to be a way!