Two Manipulate

Karlos carried me back. Everyone grew silent as Karlos put me down.

"You don't need to stop because of me," I said, leaning on one of the thick trees.

"Miss Karina is alive and in good health... thanks to Karlos," Pedro said sarcastically.

"I am sorry you feel that way," I replied, everyone else whispering to themselves while some laughed at Pedro.

"You still think that you are the boss?" Pedro asked, coming to me.

"She might just be," Karlos took over, "Because it seems you can't move forward without her input."

Pedro moved back and clicked his tongue as he walked away.

"Stop thinking you are the boss of us, Hernandez," Daniella said, walking up to Pedro, "We don't owe you anything. Both of you."

"Seems like you want to," I replied, "Because you wouldn't need to explain yourself if you didn't care."

"I hate you," she said, pointing her finger at me as she walked away.

"It's not a big deal, so don't worry," I replied, with a smirk on my face.

"You," she said, walking up to me slowly, "I will make sure you and your family pay for this!"

Everyone looked at Daniella and then to me.

Blankly, I shot back, "Your anger is not my responsibility."

"ARGH!" Daniella walked away fuming.

"You think you are stronger than us huh?" Pedro asked, as if, turning away.

Standing close to Karlos, I knew this twist would land a punch in Karlos' face.

"KARLOS!"

He was about to land a punch in Karlos' face when I blocked it. Pedro was still confused, while Karlos chuckled, "Tough buddy."

"It seems that this trip has caused many trust issues that it ended up being vented on the wrong people," I spoke softly, not wanting the others to hear, "And it's okay, but your temper problems, are never Karlos' or I's responsibilities, okay?"

I let go of his fist, and Karlos and I walked past him and over to Camila.

"Oh, Karina!" Camila exclaimed, "¡Estoy tan feliz de verlos a todos bien!"

"Gracias Camila, Todo gracias a Karlos," I replied.

"Our new sleeping spot," Karlos said, pointing over it.

"Thanks," I said, "Right now, I feel extremely deadbeat."

We three walked over to our new sleeping spot and I was placed in the middle and I immediately went to sleep.

THE NEXT MORNING

DAY 3

Pedro decided that remaining deep in the forest would slim our chances of being rescued, so we had to wake up early. Sleeping for longer hours was never my type of thing, so it wasn't a hustle for me to up early and join the others on the spot that Karlos and I were on yesterday. I found a tree trunk to sit on. I was standing next to Camila while Karlos was a few steps away from me.

"The device no longer works," Pedro said.

"That's impossible, that has already lasted for the past 3 years," Karlos said.

"Hey, some things tend to die faster than others, okay?" Pedro said, shutting the topic off, "So, we will need to do the hard job ourselves."

We nodded as he continued speaking. As he asked some questions, Rico, the quiet boy in the class, raised a question that surprisingly got Pedro shaking.

"I know it's off-topic, but the plane crash felt strange," he spoke.

"In what way?" Pedro asked, "A plane crash is a plane crash."

"No, I mean in the sense that the plane's malfunction is a bit strange to think about."

"Look, things happen in ways we didn't expect," Pedro shuts Rico down again.

"Let the poor guy speak," Andres spoke up. "He is bringing an important aspect of this trip."

"As you were saying?" Karlos added, encouraging him to speak up.

"I was saying that the reason for our plane crash is not because of a plane 'malfunction'."

"What?" we all asked.

"Yeah," he continued, "It felt like a setup."

"Meaning?" Pedro asked, annoyed.

"It means someone purposely made the plane malfunction."

Some were taken aback by Rico's theory. Karlos and I exchanged looks.

"You two seem quiet," Daniella spoke.

"Got a problem?" Karlos asked.

"No, but I have a confession to make."

Everyone turned to face Daniella.

"Karina Hernandez and Karlos Ramirez are the cause of this plane crash."

"Support your stance," Camilia said, gaining everyone's approval.

"Please do," I said, standing up to face her, "You have my attention now."

"Not until I tell everyone about your dirty little secrets," she said, "I know what you and your family are doing, especially you, Hernandez."

I gave her a blank expression.

"Yeah, you pretend that you do not know, but you do know!" she shouted. "Karina Hernanadez's family killed my Aunt and Uncle!"

Everyone gasped.

"Yeah," she continued, "Your parents, along with Karlos' parents - you made my Aunt and Uncle take a "mission" to do something when it was only leading them to their assassination!"