2

Luca

Luca tightened the last rope in place, re-securing the luggage to the top of the van.

The driver smacked the bags and gave the ropes a solid tug. “This is good. Strong.”

Luca nodded and climbed down. Everyone had what they needed to get through the night—sweaters, snacks, magazines. He’d even hauled down Erin’s thirty-two pack of bottled water.

He had nothing, since his bags were on the other van. A cold, desert wind hit him, and he rubbed his arms to keep warm.

Most of the group huddled around a fire someone had managed to light. Lighters and matches had specifically been on the “Do Not Bring” list. Whoever brought them probably wouldn’t admit it. The heat took away the chill as he sat with the others around the fire.

Each face stared at the flames. No one said anything.

Not that Luca could blame them. They were lost in a desert a million miles from home. He slid his thumb across his phone one last time, but no bars still meant no signal. Why did he even keep trying?

He shouldn’t be here. Coming on this trip was the last thing his family needed to shell out money for, and now he was stuck in the middle of nowhere. He could be at home fixing their leaky roof or looking for a summer job. Or a permanent job. Movement to his right caught his attention, and he turned.

Avery stumbled her way through the sand and finally found a seat next to the blonde girl. She looked up when she had arranged her legs—Indian style—and her eyes met his. She looked away. Up, down, around. It didn’t seem to matter, as long as she wasn’t looking at him.

She was avoiding him, just like she’d done the entire trip. If she was surprised he came, Luca didn’t know why. They had committed together when Chad and Erin had first brought the idea to the youth group. Of course, that was nine months ago; six months before he and Avery broke up.

Now Erin sat on a box in the sand, eating crackers and staring into the flames like everyone else. Luca had hauled the box from the back of the van for her. There were two of them, one filled with medical supplies for the village, and the other filled with food. At least they’d been stranded with the van that had the food.

His thoughts moved back to Erin. Was she going to step up and take care of the group? So far it seemed like the answer was no. She’d done nothing but stare into space for two hours now.

Avery had told everyone that help was coming first thing in the morning. Sure, that was a great thing to hope for, but they were pretty far out.

He looked again at the huge nothingness around them. Empty sky and land stretched for miles on end, rising and falling in waves of sand. No buildings, villages, or roads.

Help might take more than a night to come. While some of them were used to fending for themselves, others like that blonde girl looked like they needed a chaperone telling them what to do.

Luca cleared his throat and called across the small space. “So Erin, what’s the plan?”

The youth leader looked up, her eyes glowing in the firelight. “What?”

“The plan? For the night? What should we do?”

Her confused look cleared, and she sat up straighter. “Oh. Right. I guess we’ll have to sleep in the van. Girls in the back and boys in the front.” She threw in the last line with a glance between Avery and Luca.

Luca looked to Avery for her reaction, but Avery only stared at the sand. If Erin’s insinuation meant anything to her, she sure didn’t show it.

He ground his teeth and kicked at the sand. If it wasn’t so cold, he would get as far away from the group—and her—as he could. How were they supposed to survive the next two weeks if she acted like he had some sort of disease?

“Maybe we could sing,” the blonde girl said.

“Nobody feels like singing, June.” Benny rolled his eyes and looked around for support.

Benny was getting on Luca’s nerves already. He’d sat beside Luca on the plane, showing him the differences between his old phone and his new smart phone. For fourteen hours. “Actually, I think singing is a good idea.”

The blonde girl—June—smiled at him. “Thanks. We always sing at my church.”

That reminded him he didn’t really know her. Wasn’t anyone else from her group on their van? There were a few other kids he didn’t know, but they didn’t flock to June’s side like Avery did when June had her breakdown earlier.

June started singing a praise song that he recognized from church, so he joined in. After him, a few others piped up, too, until most of them were singing.

The harmony carried in the clear night air, and Luca started to relax. Singing did that to him, and in the deserted—literally—area, it felt like God himself could hear them.

When the song ended, June launched right into another one. Nobody hesitated this time.

Luca sang along as he scanned the area. Finally, his gaze landed on Avery. She still stared at the sand. Her lips didn’t move.

After a second, she stood and stumbled back through the sand, away from the group and toward the van. The faint sound of the van door closing carried through the air.

Luca sighed.

After a few more songs, Erin stood and held up her hands. “Let’s get some rest. We’ll get out of here in the morning.”

Luca waited until everyone else had wandered away. He stomped on the small fire until it smoldered out, and he made sure no one had left anything behind, then he climbed into the van and took the last remaining seat—the front seat across from the driver.

A few of the girls huddled together under sweaters. Most of the guys were turned as far away from each other as they could get. Avery curled into a corner, alone. Her eyes were closed and her chest moved up and down, slowly.

She’d probably looked that way since everyone else climbed in. They probably all thought she was asleep.

She wasn’t, though. Her breaths were too shallow, and she lay too still, like she was trying not to move.

Luca turned around and tried to get comfortable in his seat. The driver was already snoring beside him. No wonder the passenger seat had been empty.

He stared at the ceiling and did a mental run-through of what needed to be done tomorrow. If he was right, no one would make it to them for a while. That meant they needed food and water. There had to be a water source close by with that huge, green jungle behind them, and there had to be fruit. Two groups could go out; one for food and one for water. Everyone else could stay back and wait for help.

Out of the thirteen teens there were six guys and seven girls, even though Benny wasn’t exactly a dependable choice when it came to any hard labor. On the other hand, Luca would trust Avery to get any job done, so maybe that evened things out.

They could split the teams, half guys and half girls. Avery was with him, whether she liked it or not. Who knew what kinds of animals lived in that jungle? She could go back to ignoring him once they were rescued.

As the night wore on, Luca glanced around. Almost everyone was asleep. A few people looked out the window. He twisted further to check on Avery.

She watched him but must not have expected him to see her because she quickly turned around.

He grinned as he faced forward. He knew she’d been awake earlier. He knew her better than she knew herself. Maybe this trip wasn’t as big a mistake as he thought. She’d actually smiled at him once or twice. There might still be hope.

He kept himself awake until the last passenger nodded off, and sometime in the darkest hours of the night, he fell asleep, too. He woke up when the blinding desert sun shone in his face. The others were already climbing from the van and cold air blew in from outside.

He twisted around. Avery was already out.

Too bad no one had left their sweater behind. Bracing himself against the cold, he hopped out with the others. A few of the girls stuck together, huddling for warmth. Avery wrapped her sweater more tightly around herself, looking anywhere but at him and standing alone.

His gut clenched at seeing her by herself, and he wanted to move toward her. Protect her. Make everything better for her. It’d surprised him when he found out she was still coming on the trip herself. She’d signed up in a flurry of independence, but Mr. Miles usually stomped out those flames pretty fast.

The sun rose toward the sky behind her, towering like the huge ball of fire it was.

One day she’d learn how strong she was on her own.

“Hey, where can I go to the bathroom?” Benny’s face blocked his view and Luca punched him in the arm.

“Dude, go find a tree.”

“In there?” His voice went up an octave.

Luca rolled his eyes. Maybe Benny should be on the team that stayed behind.

“You want someone to hold your hand?” He meant it as a joke, but when Benny’s eyes lit up, Luca shoved him. “Get out of here.”

Benny skittered away and Luca glanced around.

Avery was gone.

He huffed and scanned the crowd for Erin. He needed to tell her his ideas and try to get her on his side. She wouldn’t let anyone go trekking across the jungle if she believed help was coming any minute.

Erin stood near the spot where they’d gathered around the fire last night, and Luca made his way toward her. He scanned the area as he moved—a habit from all his years spent hunting in the woods—and he had almost reached her when he froze.

Something moved at the tree line. Something white.

Whatever it was, it was fast and it looked about his size, maybe bigger.

He frowned and stared for a second, trying to get another look.

Just then, Benny came strolling out of the jungle.

“Are you OK? Luca?” Erin’s voice broke into his thoughts.

He looked to her then back to Benny. The white image couldn’t have been Benny. The kid had on a red jacket.

He swallowed and turned back to Erin. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to talk to you.”

He glanced one last time toward the jungle. Whatever it was, it was gone now.