5

Avery

Brittany, Tasha, and Mallory sat sniffling in the sand. June had them mostly calmed down, but tears still dripped from their chins. Taking a deep breath, Avery stepped forward. They probably wouldn’t listen to her. None of them had spoken more than a dozen words to her all school year. Still, she’d come to Iraq to help people, she might as well get to it.

“Anything I can do to help?” she asked.

“I’m hungry,” Tasha said. “And hot.”

Avery studied Tasha’s face then looked at the others. Now that Tasha mentioned it, everyone’s skin was an angry red color around their eyes, noses, and foreheads.

“Did anyone bring a hat?” Avery asked. “I brought sunscreen. Maybe we need to get them both out of the luggage.”

“Why would we need those?” Bradley asked. He sat on a broken log near them, kicking at the sand. “The other van’s coming, right?”

Avery swallowed hard and glanced around for Luca. He was better at explaining things and demanding a little respect. “It’s best to be prepared. Besides, I don’t want to end up miserable because I have third degree burns.”

“Avery is right.” June stepped forward and stood next to her.

“Thanks.” Avery gave her a small smile. She could use some backup, even if it was June who didn’t actually know her. She turned back to Tasha and the others. “You guys found fruit, right? So we can eat that along with any of the snacks everyone has left. The other van will be here soon, whether that means tonight or first thing in the morning.”

“I ate all of my snacks for breakfast,” Mallory said. Her red hair was pulled into a tight ponytail on her head, and her pale skin glistened in the sun. She looked miserable.

Avery grabbed the backpack of fruit beside the girls and began passing it around. “We can share. It’s important that everyone has enough while we’re stranded here. We can survive without our cheese crackers and snack cakes once we get to the village, but right now we need them.”

A few people grumbled, but they began passing around their snacks, and Avery wiped her forehead. This heat was enough to make anyone crazy. They’d all be tearing at each other’s throats soon, if they didn’t do something to stop it.

Avery turned to June and smiled wearily. “Thanks for your support.”

June shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I want to get home, too, but until we can go we might as well get along.”

June’s help meant more than Avery could say. The urge to get to know her better was strong, but before she could say anything else, Erin and Luca approached from the tree line and Luca stepped toward Avery. “I think we should move closer to the trees so we can stay in the shade and out of the direct sunlight.”

It was amazing how much they were on the same page.

“You want us to go inside the jungle for protection?” Benny’s voice went up an octave.

“No, not inside.” Luca pointed to the thick line of shade at the edge of the trees. “We can stay at the edge and keep out of the sun.”

“I think that’s the best idea,” Avery said quickly. “I also wanted to get sunblock and any hats from the luggage.”

Luca nodded and stepped onto the van’s bumper. “Come over and get your bags.”

Avery was the first in line. She had something she wanted to get out besides sunblock. A few others stepped up behind her, and the line moved slowly.

“Why are we doing any of this?” Bradley stepped forward, his arms crossed.

Luca pulled someone else’s luggage off the top and handed it down. He glanced at Bradley. “You want to bake in the sun?”

“I wasn’t talking about that.” Bradley took another step, his jaw working back and forth as he leaned dangerously close to Luca.

Avery braced herself. Luca had been taking care of himself way too long for him to take orders from Bradley.

“I meant why aren’t we getting ready for the other van? Why pull down more luggage and lounge in the shade? Let’s get inside that jungle and find those girls. Let’s work on this van and get it running.”

Luca’s eyebrows shot up. He swept his arm toward the van. “Your dad’s the mechanic. Work away.”

Bradley rolled his eyes and stepped even closer.

Avery swallowed hard and shifted in the sand. Luca would win any fight, if it got to that point, but the last thing they needed was two guys punching each other.

A thump and a movement from the inside of the van drew everyone’s attention. The driver climbed out of the driver’s seat, his eyes widened in a hopeful look. He pointed at Bradley. “You know engines?”

Bradley’s face froze, his eyes wide. “What?”

“Engines. Maybe I could help you. I know some.”

Bradley backed away and shook his head, but it was too late. The driver moved to the front of the van and popped the hood. He waved Bradley over. “Come on. I’ll help you.”

Bradley’s face fell, and he glanced around. No one piped up to help him. Why should they? If he could fix the van, he should be trying. In fact, this was exactly what they needed to do—start looking for a way to save themselves.

Save themselves?

Fear knotted in her stomach, and she looked across the desert. If Daddy was out there looking for her, why hadn’t they been rescued? The storm had lasted only a few minutes. It couldn’t have blown them that far off course.

But if Daddy wasn’t out there looking for her, where was he?

She pushed the thought away, refusing to cower without Daddy’s protection. He’d never been there for her anyway, only in theory. She turned back to the van.

All the boys huddled around the hood, listening as Bradley pointed and the driver questioned. Even Luca peered in.

The others in the group made their way to the shady tree line, and June stepped to Avery’s side. “Aren’t we going to look for Gabby and Katelyn some more?”

Tears pooled in June’s eyes and Avery hoped she wouldn’t break down again. It had been a long, hot day, and Avery was still starving. She couldn’t deal with anything else. “It will be completely dark soon,” Avery said. “We won’t be able to see anything.”

“Couldn’t we make a torch or something? We can’t just leave them alone in the jungle all night.”

Avery paused and looked toward the trees. June had a point. What would it be like to get lost in there? They hadn’t seen any wild animals, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any. It was the jungle, after all.

“I’m sure we’ll go in at first light.”

June’s lips quivered but she didn’t argue. Instead, she shuffled to the van and climbed inside, alone.

Avery’s gaze swung back to the darkening jungle and she shivered. Getting lost for hours sounded bad enough, but staying overnight would make her go crazy—something she didn’t take lightly.

And speaking of crazy. Erin stood at the tree line with the others who had moved to the shade, which was everyone besides the guys bent over the open hood of the van.

The girls under the tree canopy huddled together, drinking water and glancing at Erin who paced and rubbed her temples with two fingers.

Avery grabbed what she needed from her suitcase—sunblock, a black and red cap she’d bought at Disney World a few years ago, and a sweatshirt—and stacked the suitcase next to the back bumper for Luca to put away later. She sighed as she moved to join the group.

Maybe some of them should go into the jungle. They could call out and give it one last shot at finding Gabby and Katelyn. Katelyn could be in danger without her inhaler, and what if the other van did come?

“Do you think she’s OK?” Tasha asked, nodding to Erin. Tasha had apparently recovered from her breakdown earlier.

Avery looked at Erin, too, and frowned. “I don’t know.”

“Do you think we should say something to her?”

“I don’t know if there’s anything we can say.”

Tasha nodded and stepped back to her clique. They had gone to church together for years, but they had different friends at school, so they never really hung out.

Avery didn’t want to force her way into their circle of friends, so her gaze returned to Erin. Maybe there was something Avery could, or should, do.

Erin was the only adult in charge of their whole group. She was probably in shock and didn’t know what to do.

Avery empathized with her. She stepped over to Erin. “So, what do you think of all this?”

Erin shook her head, frowning. “I can’t think.”

“It’s good the guys are trying to fix the van, wouldn’t you say?”

“I don’t know.” She kept pacing.

Avery frowned. What wasn’t to know? “Well, I’m here if you need me to do anything. Really. I’m at your beck and call.”

Erin stopped abruptly. Her gaze flew to the trees.

Avery jerked around.

Had Gabby and Katelyn found their way back?

She stood still, scanning the trees, but nothing caught her eye.

Erin slid into a sitting position in the sandy grass and leaned her head on her hands.

Avery paused. Should she say something else? But it seemed like Erin had already forgotten about her, so she turned away.

Something cracked in the jungle behind her and she looked back. Maybe that was what Erin had heard. Avery glanced at Luca, but he was busy working on the van. She looked at the sun. It moved closer and closer to the ground.

The noise sounded again.

It was almost dark, but the noise could be one of the girls needing help. She had to go. Peeking inside wouldn’t hurt anything, and it would only take a moment to make sure things were OK.

Dim light surrounded her as she stepped into the jungle, and the sticky air clung to her skin. “Gabby? Katelyn?” She strained her ears, listening, but no one answered.

Her eyes moved quickly as she scanned the dense trees. The only visible path was the one they had made going in after the girls earlier that day.

She wouldn’t go in farther. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if she ended up lost, too. But something strange was going on here. The air seemed to shift the way it had right before the sand storm and right before she’d found the pears earlier this morning. She squinted into the dim light, stared ahead, and then blinked. When she opened her eyes, her vision had cleared. That was enough of that.

She turned to go back but froze.

It was as if the whole jungle had shifted, and the desert was no longer a few trees away like it had been. In fact, all she could see in any direction was thick, green foliage. This wasn’t happening, right? She took a few more steps, but nothing looked familiar. Spinning in a circle, she groaned.

This was just perfect. She was obviously lost. No wonder Gabby and Katelyn had gotten turned around so easily.

Standing here wasn’t getting her anywhere, so she started moving. One step, two, three. After a few minutes it was clear she was going in the wrong direction. She had no light, which didn’t help, and she stumbled through the huge banana leaves and overgrown brush.

She waded through a few more feet of jungle until her foot caught a vine and she tumbled head first into a thorny patch. “Ow!” She stared at her hand and the giant thorn sticking out of it. How did a thorn even grow that big?

She gritted her teeth and yanked it out. It came loose, along with a flowing river of blood. “Ow,” she moaned again.

She had to get out of here. This entire trip was a nightmare. If only she could remember how to get out, or how she got lost in the first place.

Blurry images swam in front of her eyes. The green leaves, green grass, green canopy above her—everything mixed together and she pressed her eyes closed. Why couldn’t she concentrate?

A twig snapped behind her. Something moved in the brush.

Avery froze. She turned slowly, keeping as still as she could. It could be a tiger, or a panther, or something much bigger and stranger.

“Don’t be afraid.”

The voice was soft and smooth—and definitely male. She spun toward it and spotted the speaker. He was tall, probably taller than Luca, though it was hard to tell from her place on the ground. His blond hair covered his head in short waves, and his blue eyes stood out in the sea of green jungle.

He had told her to not be afraid, but why would anyone start with that unless they were going to hurt her?

She scrambled to her feet and backed away. “Who are you?”

The guy paused. His shoulders were broader than a football player’s, and he held out his large hands in a defensive gesture. “My name is Rae. I’ve been waiting for you. I can help you get back to your group.”

She shook her head. Somewhere along the line she had started shaking. “Waiting for me? Where did you come from? How did you know I was with a group?”

“I live here,” he said. “I know everything that goes on.”

He lived here? That changed a few things. She cautiously stepped forward, eager for more information but afraid to get too close. “Where are we? Can you tell us how to get out of here?”

The sooner they got out of this jungle the better. Getting to the village and helping people was the whole point, but after everything they’d been through Avery just wanted to go home. Maybe she wasn’t meant to start a new life after all.

Again he paused.

He.

Rae.

What did he need to think about? He lived here, and her group didn’t. He knew how to get out, they didn’t. He could tell them how, they could leave, end of story.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Relief washed over her, and she even forgot about the sweat and grime covering her skin. “Thank you. I need to take you to my group. We’re trying to get our van fixed, and you can tell the driver which way to go.”

He seemed to consider her words, something that must be a habit of his. “I can’t come right now.”

The boy—Rae—made no sense. “But you said you would help us.” Her head began to swim again.

“I will,” he said quickly. It was the first time he’d spoken without thinking first.

“Then we need you.”

“You’re lost, aren’t you? I can help you get back, for now. Your group is that way. If you follow the path you will find them.” He pointed to the area behind her.

She turned and recognized the path she’d made earlier in the day with Luca.

Besides the fact that the path hadn’t been there a few minutes ago, something weird was happening here. “When will I see you again, Rae? You said you would help us.”

“I don’t know. It will be soon.”

She swallowed hard. “Thank you for your help.” She turned to go, but paused. “Wait, there are others who are lost. We had two girls wander off alone. Have you seen anyone else?”

This time he paused for a little too long.

Avery frowned. She was about to hurry away when he spoke. “I pointed them in the right direction. They’ll be back soon.”

Avery’s frown deepened, but staying with this guy another minute was the least appealing thing ever. She hurried back, trekking in the direction he’d pointed her, but something about his behavior didn’t make sense.

The further she stomped through the brush the more her mind worked and the faster she moved. This place was doing weird things to her. Hadn’t she been unable to think just a few hours before? Unable to focus just a few moments before?

Erin had slipped into some unhappy place, and two girls had gone missing just by going to the edge of the jungle.

Avery ground her teeth and examined herself hard. Was that guy even real? Was she hallucinating?

She couldn’t deny it might be a possibility. And she definitely couldn’t tell anyone else about Rae.

Maybe that was what was wrong with Erin. The youth leader’s wife had never been anything but on top of things, so her behavior since getting stranded was definitely out of character.

Avery picked out the path they’d worn earlier that day and she glanced back. The mystery guy was nowhere in sight, which didn’t do anything to dispel her theory. Luca would have questions when she got back—he’d probably be furious with her—but she wasn’t sure which facts she would tell him.

All she knew was that she needed out of this jungle, and fast.

She turned back to the path and ran.