John was so excited about the detected signal that he could not help but dance around and shout several times.
"We hear you, John!" Jim hissed as he was busy giving instructions. John’s shift was already over, and Jim was now replacing him, but he refused to leave. He kept monitoring the tracked signal. Everyone that was in the room promptly did what they were assigned to do.
John’s fingers were swift on the keyboard as he was searching for the exact coordinates of the signal. "It’s still up! Damn, I must not lose this!" John exclaimed as his blood boiled with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
"I got it! I got the location! Oh God, it’s an island that’s not on the map yet!" John burst out after seeing a piece of area surrounded by water on his screen and compared its coordinates with a map. As expected, the couple had been stranded in one of the numerous deserted and unknown islands in the Pacific Ocean.
That time Field Marshal Chan entered the control room and shouted his instruction, "John, go with the rescue team and don’t lose that signal! I want my children out of there immediately!"
"Yes, Sir!" John answered and quickly disappeared with his laptop. John was so overwhelmed, it felt as though his veins were on fire. It was truly a miracle that the tracker had suddenly worked.
Everyone, except for Field Marshal Chan, had actually lost hope. Because combing through the vast ocean for the two missing persons who might either be stranded in one of the many undiscovered islands or dead in the sea, was an arduous task. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
But Keira’s father never gave up. John shook his head as a contented smile formed on his face. Waiting for a possible signal from the tracking bracelet was absurd since the chance for it to work was close to zero. They were waiting for a miracle, and some people might have thought they were crazy, but the miracle had just happened.
Back in the control room, Field Marshal Chan was suffused with happiness. His heart was beating fast as he pleaded a silent prayer, hoping for the rescue operation to go well. Hoping that his daughter and son-in-law were in good condition.
Everything was monitored on the screen, and he could hear the communication between the teams. It was still dark, but it was not a hindrance, especially to Zach’s men who had volunteered for the search and rescue operation.
.........
Keira was awakened by Zach’s tapping on her arm. They had been both kept hostage in one of the shelters with two tribesmen guarding them. The two guards had both fallen asleep, so Zach moved and tried to loosen up the rope that was tying his hands. But the knot was too tight.
Keira saw Mara furtively approach them as she signaled them to stay quiet. As Mara proceeded to free them, Keira had this inexplicable feeling that everything was surreal, just like in a movie. For some reason, she didn’t feel nervous anymore. It was as though her gut feeling told her that nothing dire would happen to them. ’I must be crazy,’ she mused.
Mara then signaled them to follow her quietly. "I think she’s leading us to a shortcut to the beach," said Zach as they dashed away with Mara.
She stopped by a particular spot to retrieve some weapons, which she probably had hidden there, and gave them to Zach and Keira. "Wow, she’s well prepared..." Keira praised, as they immediately dashed back towards wherever Mara was leading them to. Not long after, they heard the sound of a loud whistling.
Mara ran faster... Zach and Keira did the same, tailing right behind her.
But Keira’s pace had started to slow down, and Zach noticed it. He grabbed her hand and fretted, "You are burning." He immediately moved in front of her and carried her on his back. Keira smiled as she murmured, "I still can run. We’ll be slower like this. Put me down."
"No! I can still run faster even with you on my back," Zach retorted and ran as fast as he could. "You’ve lost a lot of weight. It doesn’t feel like I’m carrying anything at all," Zach mumbled. It was true, Keira had lost some weight. He had noticed it, of course, but carrying her on his back like this had made her lightness even more apparent. And it worried him.
Zach and Mara ran for almost an hour before the familiar sight of the ocean came into their view. The sun was about to rise as the sky started to glisten in lovely red and orange hues. Keira sighed in relief.
They reached the beach, and Keira noticed that their SOS signal was still intact.
Zach gently put her down. Keira was feeling so weak. Her body seemed to be burning up. She tried her best to keep her posture as she watched Zach and Mara start to push their broken speedboat back into the ocean. ’Oh, God, help us,’ Keira prayed silently. She felt faint.
But suddenly, Keira heard another sound of whistling. Mara bolted toward her to protect her. She was aiming her bow and arrows toward the tribesmen who had now emerged from the jungle. She was shouting to them in their language.
"What are you saying?" Keira mumbled as she tried to move, but she fell on the ground instead.
Zach had now engaged in a one-on-one fight with the son of the tribal chief. Keira wanted to help him, but she felt so weak and couldn’t lift herself up to her feet. She could only helplessly watch. Luckily, Zach seemed to have the upper hand.
At that moment, she heard a swishing sound combined with the sound of chopping in the air. She looked up to the sky and saw it was a military helicopter with their country’s flag painted on it. And it was about to land on the beach.
"Oh, God, thank you!" Keira whispered in a weak voice, as tears started to fall from her eyes. Her heart leaped for joy and gratitude. ’Everything is fine now...’ She kept murmuring the same thing over and over again.
She saw all the tribesmen get scared of the sight and sound of the helicopter and scattered away from them, back into the jungle.
Mara went back to Keira’s side and kneeled next to her to support her. Keira could see Mara’s eyes widened at the sight of the helicopter. She must have been scared and nervous, so Keira gently patted Mara’s arm, as she reassured her with a smile, "Don’t worry, they’re friends. Everything is fine now."
The tribal chief’s son was now unconscious from Zach’s final punch. "Is he dead?" Keira murmured. "No, I just let him sleep for a while," said Zach as he immediately swooped his wife into his arms and carried her toward the helicopter.
"Sir!" John saluted, and so did the other soldiers. Zach greeted back with a slight nod before he shouted, "Medic!", signaling for the medical team to quickly come and check on Keira.
Mara, who was following them, held Keira’s hand tightly, not wanting to let her go. And her eyes that were already shimmering with tears never left Keira’s. "She wanted to come," Keira whispered to Zach. She then pointed her finger to herself, Mara, and the aircraft. Mara seemed to understand as she nodded and held Keira’s hand tighter.
Keira then shifted her gaze to John and said firmly, though weakly, "She’s coming with us, John... And for goodness sake, close your mouth, and find something to cover her with... Don’t just stare like that!"