Chapter 15: Tug of war

                                    

                                          
     I turned the corner and there he was. I had found Cameron, tightly wrapped in a significant number of vines. I was taken aback—this guy was seriously strong. It never occurred to me that some vines could overpower a man with such strength. Still, he was trapped. I stood there, a few steps from him.
 "Cameron!" I yelled, trying to get his attention.
     Cameron continued to struggle with the vines as they gradually got tighter. They were all around him, most of them controlling his right hand, which was his dominant one, and both his legs. If I could estimate, at least three or four vines were grabbing every part of his body except his left hand. It was the only thing keeping him from being completely engulfed. All this time, he had managed to fend off most of the vines using what little effort he had left and the adrenaline coursing through his body. He seemed to still have the will to fight, but he could keep up this pace no longer. After struggling some more, he finally looked at me, then at a vine. He pulled it from his chest as it moved and looked at me again.
 "Well, don't just fucking stand there, idiot!" he said with an expression of disbelief. "Help me, damn it!"
     He made a point, though. He was almost being strangled right in front of me, and I was just standing there. I was caught off guard by the situation, but I quickly jumped in Cameron's direction to help. Just as I was about to pull the vines from him, he yelled.
 "Don't touch me!" Cameron said, stopping me in my tracks.
 "But you told me to help you!" I replied almost immediately.
     I didn't understand at the time, but he was trying to protect me. Either that, or he was trying to keep his only chance to survive alive so he could escape. I prefer to think it was the first one.
 "I know! I did. But you have to do it some other way," Cameron said as he struggled.
 "Then what can I do!?" I replied, looking in every direction. I could only watch as the vines slowly gripped him tighter and tighter. He could still talk to me as long as he remained conscious, but one of the vines was slowly tightening around his neck, and the only thing stopping it from choking him was his right arm, which was constantly applying pressure.
 "Agh!" he winced in pain as the vines gripped him harder. "I'm sorry, Chris. I need your help, okay? This thing is starting to get really tight."
     Suddenly, the arrogant and cocky front Cameron had shown since we met started to crumble. The hardened vines had presented an unbreakable wall, one he could not face alone. He was a humbled man, his weakness exposed for all to see. I was the only spectator at the time. But nonetheless, he was obligated to ask me for help. And so, he did, with his bruised ego, powerless, he requested help from me—help I would have gladly offered anyway. But hearing his humbled voice for the first time compelled me even more to help. So, I listened.
 "It's fine! It's fine! Just tell me what to do," I said quickly.
     I knew we were in a race against time. And we were losing—losing our chances of survival, and along with it, a valuable part of our team as well.
 "These are vines, sturdy I know. But I have a lighter in my back pocket. There's a gap between my arm and the pocket. Try to grab it," Cameron said, his face engulfed in sweat from the constant effort he had to make just to keep the vines from completely overpowering him.
 "Okay," I said decisively, bending down almost immediately, looking to extend my hand between the vines.
 "Do not touch the vines, Chris!" Cameron said again. "If you do, they'll know you're there and grab you. If they do, it's game over, man. We'll both be trapped in this shit."