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At first, James was sure his friends would figure out that the James' they were talking to weren't really him. After all, the duplicates were assholes, even when they were trying to come across as nice, and he also learned after a particularly bad fight with one of them that they blew up when they received a hard blow to the head.
However, as the days passed by, he grew less and less sure that his friends would ever find him, and he was growing more and more helpless. He wanted to escape, but that was far easier said than done, and his diet of mud was making him very weak and an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach followed him throughout each day.
The mine was shut down, too, so it wasn't like anyone would be through there for a long while. At a certain point, he began to realize that he'd most likely just die down there and no one would even notice.
When Kanduu was defeated, all of the James duplicates disappeared with him, and suddenly everyone was forced to confront the fact that James was missing.
After Margot used Kanduu's spell to revive Isaiah, the duplicates reappeared, but it was too late. Everyone knew that wasn't really James, but they all agreed not to confront the impostor about it. No, they couldn't do that if they wanted a good chance at finding where their friend actually was, if he was even still alive...
Eventually, they managed to track down a duplicate going into the mine and, after some struggling with the duplicates, it was Isaiah who eventually found him in the pit, dangerously malnourished and dehydrated. He was so weak that he could barely even move, so Isaiah picked him up and got him out of there while the others fought off the duplicates.
Once he got some food and water and medical attention, James couldn't help the anger he felt. How long had it been? How long did it take for his friends to realize that the person they were talking to wasn't really him?
If it weren't for the 'Kanduu situation' (whatever that was), would he still be stuck down there?
Isaiah walked into his hospital room. The hospital was beginning to make him stressed, given how much he'd been there recently, for his broken arm and then his gunshot and subsequent literal death, but that didn't matter to him at that moment. No, he needed to check on James.
He sat down next to James' bed with a solemn expression on his face and the two just sat in silence for a moment. It was James who eventually broke that silence.
"Why did it take you guys so long?" he asked sadly. He just wanted to know. Isaiah avoided his gaze.
"We didn't... Realize" the jock admitted. James laughed humorlessly. "I'm sorry"
"God, those guys are fucking assholes, Isaiah!"
"We all just thought you were going through something at home and didn't feel like talking about it" Isaiah explained. "I mean, is that so crazy to think, considering the way your mom is?"
"I almost died, Isaiah"
Isaiah swore he could hear a pin drop in that room. There wasn't anything he could say, not really. James was right. They should've realized, especially considering all the other crazy stuff that had happened. Duplicates taking the place of their friend who's been caught in a time loop weren't even in the top three in terms of impossibility turned reality.
"I'm sorry"
"Leave" James said. Isaiah sighed.
"James-"
"Leave, please" James begged. Isaiah swore he could see tears pricking at the boy's eyes. "I just... I want to be alone right now"
"...Okay"