9

Avery

Avery blinked against the sweat dripping in her eyes. Every step she took toward the heart of the jungle made her head spin faster. Every thought was a chore. Her mind was a war zone.

She swallowed against the fear in her stomach. No matter what her eyes told her, small black creatures were not following them. The creatures didn’t increase in number with every step they took.

This was a certainty because no one else seemed to notice the shiny black things crawling everywhere.

Not crazy.

Not crazy.

Not crazy.

“Do you suppose they just got mixed up?” June’s words broke into Avery’s thoughts. “We’ve been walking for hours. They had to have realized they were going in the wrong direction.”

Luca shook his head and shrugged. “It’s easy to do when the light gets dim.”

Speaking of dim. The deeper they hiked, the darker it grew. Avery shuddered at the thought of spending a night in the jungle, especially with the imaginary black things. They looked like giant water beetles crawling up the trees, through the leaves, across the paths.

Except they didn’t crawl anywhere because they weren’t real.

“I’m hot and hungry,” Benny said. “Can’t we take a break?”

Luca slowed to a stop and pulled out a few water bottles. “Here. I figured we could find some fruit here in the jungle.”

“More fruit?”

Avery tuned out Benny’s whines as she tipped the water bottle toward her lips. It wasn’t even cold anymore, but it was the sweetest thing she’d ever tasted.

For the first time she felt clear-headed. She took another long gulp. Maybe dehydration was to blame for her “sightings.” She nearly laughed as relief washed over her. She wasn’t crazy after all.

“Avery?” Luca nudged her with his knee, bringing her back to the present.

“Hmm?”

“Are you OK? I called you three times.”

She shrugged it off. “Sorry. I was thinking.”

“Do you want some fruit? Benny found pomegranates.”

“Oh, yeah.” She shook herself and took the fruit, even though she agreed with Benny. If they were here much longer, they would need to break into the food supplies.

The soft, wet fruit opened her senses even more, and the black beetles began crawling away. She quickly ate the rest of her fruit and asked for more.

Benny sat down on the grassy floor, and June joined him.

Luca sidled up to Avery again. “Hey, are you sure you’re OK?” he asked quietly.

Avery took another bite and nodded. “I am now.”

“You seemed upset earlier. Kept frowning.”

She shrugged and continued eating. She wasn’t about to admit what she’d seen. He might worry about her. Wonder about her. She could take everyone else's cold shoulder, but not Luca’s. She couldn’t stand it if he deserted her, too.

Kind of like she’d done to him?

She pushed away the guilty thought. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Luca watched her for another few seconds before giving up on the interrogation. They finished their fruit, and he stretched. “OK, let’s keep moving.”

June and Benny stood up and brushed off their pants, then they continued their trek.

Avery followed behind them, with Luca at the rear. Farther and farther they trudged, but Avery only focused on the next step. As long as she didn't look around, she wouldn't have to see anything that wasn't actually there.

“How much time do you think has passed?” June asked. She wiped at her forehead.

“A few hours maybe,” Luca said.

Benny shoved a hand in his pocket and pulled out his phone. “It’s two seventeen, Iraqi time, if you must know.”

Luca’s hand shot out and grabbed Benny’s arm. “Wait, you mean your phone is getting signal?”

The rest of the group stopped and stared at Benny.

He shrugged and laughed nervously. “Of course it does. It’s the latest model.”

Luca growled and rolled his eyes. “Why haven’t you called for help?” He punched Benny in the arm.

Avery winced. He shouldn’t go off on Benny, not here, and not now.

“Get with me when we get out of this blazing, hot jungle, will you?” Luca growled. He waved his hands forward and they re-started their march.

After a few steps in silence, June continued her questioning. “Do you think the rescue van arrived yet? Or maybe they got our van working.”

“I hope so,” Avery said. “I hope my dad is there.”

“Your dad?” June glanced in Avery’s direction and frowned.

“He’s the group leader. He’s in the other van.”

“Oh, I remember him. I bet you miss him.”

Avery smiled and shrugged. She did miss him. Didn’t she? Truthfully, she wasn’t used to him being around anyway.

He was always off searching the globe. And when he was home, he was dictating her every move—like where she’d go to college. What she would do for a living. Who she was not going to spend time with. Or he was making promises he never kept.

“Guys, look!” Benny said. The path veered to the left and there was a small, round section of grass and brush that had been beat down. “What do you think it means?”

“It looks like someone slept here,” Luca said. He squatted beside the spot and put his hand out. “It looks big enough for two people.”

Avery studied the space, thinking about Gabby and Katelyn sleeping out here for the night.

It might have been someone else sleeping here, though. What if it was Rae? She hadn’t been dehydrated when she saw him.

Glancing around, she searched for anything that looked like a house. She even looked toward the trees for a tree house, but there was nothing. He’d said the girls were on their way back, but here was a place where it looked like they’d slept. Besides, they hadn’t made it back yet.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. He hadn’t been real, either. He’d been as imaginary as the black beetles. She needed to accept that. She opened her eyes and turned to Luca. “What do you think?” She needed to focus on the real. The here and now.

Luca sighed as he stood. “I don’t know. Do you see any other trails leading out of here?”

Avery glanced around with the others. It looked like the trail stopped cold with this alcove. Refusing to give up, she stepped into the circle and looked for a way out of it. The move paid off. “Here,” she said, pointing to a narrow but definite path.

Luca hurried toward her. “Good eyes. This looks like a single person made the path. Would they have walked single file?”

June shrugged. “Who knows? I think it’s worth it to follow.”

Luca nodded and looked at June. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

He agreed with June a lot. Why did that bug Avery?

Again, she pushed the thought away and refocused on the search. They’d walked for hours and had seen nothing. No people, no houses, no sign of life in this jungle outside of normal jungle creatures. This path was their only hope. It seemed to take a fairly straight shot, and the group walked for an hour without saying a word. The confusion seeped back in as sweat pooled at the small of her back. She swallowed hard, noticing her mouth felt like cotton. Why hadn’t she grabbed a spare piece of fruit?

Her vision swam, and instead of seeing three companions she saw six. She blinked them away and gritted her teeth. “Luca, do we have any more water?”

He glanced at her, studying her. Hopefully he couldn’t see her confusion. “Sure. Here you go.”

She snatched it from his hand and quickly turned it toward her lips. The wet liquid rushed down her throat and she sighed. Much better. She closed the bottle and handed it back. After a few more steps, something began moving up ahead.

It definitely wasn’t the girls, and no monkey stalked them that she could see.

Was it the tree branches? Or the air? Whatever it was, she was seeing the wind again. She turned away, trying to put the strangeness of the place out of her mind, but the movement held her eye.

Maybe it wasn’t the air, after all. She squinted ahead and realized she wasn’t seeing things. There was fruit on a few trees in front of them. “Look, guys!”

“Are those bananas?” June asked.

Benny grinned. “Score!” He jogged to the tree and began shimmying up.

“You can climb that?” Luca asked.

“Sure, my granddad used to take me hunting, and we climbed up without a stand.”

Avery couldn’t imagine giving Benny a gun, but she kept that to herself.

He tossed down a bunch of bananas.

Avery grabbed a few to distribute. The sweet fruit was better than any full course meal she’d ever eaten. “Should we take the rest back to the group?” she asked.

“Yeah, good idea,” Luca replied.

June frowned and kicked at the dirt. “So, is the search over?”

Luca studied June, his eyebrows drawn tight. “We’re not giving up, but this path seems to lead back to the desert. They may have beaten us to it.”

Found their way back? That’s exactly what Rae said would happen.

Still, June didn’t seem to want to accept it.

Avery put her arm around June’s shoulder. “It will be fine.”

June smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.

“Let’s get back to the group,” Luca said. “We’ll rest and see if they’ve made it back.”

“And then what?” June pressed.

He shrugged. “We’ll go from there. We’re not giving up on them.”

Why was Luca coddling her? The path was obviously leading back to the group. What more did June want?

Avery took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. She wasn't being fair. It was just this place. She grabbed the remainder of the bananas and continued her walk.

The others caught up.

“What’s the hurry?” Luca asked, jogging to catch her.

She shrugged. “I just want to get out of here. I need to see the sun.”

That appeased him. “We’ll figure something out. We’ll find them.”

Let him think that’s why she was upset. She sure wasn’t going to tell him the missing girls had nothing to do with it, and she wasn’t going to admit a huge, black beetle had just crawled across her feet.