13

Avery

The sun beat down on Avery’s head as she walked. It was a relentless rhythm of thump, thump, thump. Her feet slid with every step, making her legs work extra hard to make it back to the jungle, and her thighs and lungs burned. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly through her mouth. She needed water. They all did. How could a mile take so long to walk?

It was a hundred times worse with Erin's predictions running through Avery's head. Who told Erin they wouldn't be leaving? And was this person keeping them trapped?

The driver had said the gas lines had a leak. It was almost like someone had sabotaged them, cutting the lines to keep them here.

Avery shuddered.

Luca walked ahead of her. He carried the bag with the bottled water, but she wouldn’t ask him to stop and get her one, not until they got back.

“Where are we going to sleep?” Leave it to Benny to ask a question like that.

Avery looked around and had to admit it was a legitimate concern. Hiking back and forth to the van didn’t sound very appealing, but neither did sleeping in the open. “I wonder if we could make shelters somehow.”

“Out of what?” Bradley looked at her like she was just as crazy as Erin.

Avery shot him a look. “Sticks and leaves. Anything. We have all day and nothing to do.”

Bradley shook his head. “I’m not sitting around here anymore.”

The finality in his words hung in the air and no one spoke for a few minutes.

Finally Luca chimed in. “What do you mean?”

“I’m walking. I’ll load up with water, then I’m going in search of the village. I’m good with directions. If I can’t find anything after a couple of hours, I’ll come back.”

“You’re going out there alone?” That sounded like the worse plan ever to Avery.

“We could go, too,” Tasha said.

Bradley laughed. “No thanks. We don’t need any girls to take care of.”

“Hey!” Tasha’s nostrils flared and she glared at him.

“No, he’s right.” It was the first time Erin had addressed them all day. “The girls don’t need to go off with the boys alone. The girls will stay here.”

No one argued with her, probably out of habit.

“It’s better to go in groups of three,” Luca said. “You need someone else.”

Two of the others stepped forward, leaving Luca, Benny, and David with the girls.

“Let’s get back to the tree line and load you up with some fruit and water,” Luca said.

Excitement fluttered to life again. If they could find someone and bring help back then the group might still be rescued soon. They weren’t totally hopeless.

In the meantime, Avery would have some time to look for Rae. He promised to help them. She wanted to see him again. To know whose side he was on. She wanted answers.

Everyone worked as a whole to gather fruit and water for Bradley’s group. Once they’d loaded backpacks full of supplies, the entire group huddled together.

“The village is in the east,” Sam said. “Keep the sun to your back. Look for any signs of civilization—roads, villages, huts. If you see a car, try to flag it down.”

Bradley nodded. It was surprising that he was willing to take anyone’s advice, but then Avery remembered they had worked on the van together.

Luca and Bradley both obviously respected Sam.

Avery would remember that.

The group stood together in the shade as the threesome made their way into the desert. Some of them sat in the sand to watch.

Avery had too much to do for waiting around. She turned to Luca. “We need to gather branches to make some kind of shelters. We also need our sunblock and sweaters from the van.” They’d carried water and fruit, but staying overnight meant they’d need the rest of their supplies as well.

He studied her a moment, seeming surprised that she was taking charge again. She felt a blush coming on but instead of ducking, she chose to ignore it.

Luca grinned. “Yes ma’am.”

She smiled and rolled her eyes. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

He glanced at the jungle then back to her. “If you don’t mind a hike across the sand again, you can help me bring back supplies from the van. Or you can wait here. Don’t go in the jungle alone. I’ll help you as soon as I get back.”

“I can get some of the other girls to help me while you guys go to the van.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but after a second he snapped his mouth shut. “Sounds like a good plan.”

Avery kept her smile to herself. Luca was trying to not boss her around like he was everyone else, but she could tell it wasn’t easy.

Benny and David stood with Sam, arms crossed, as they watched Bradley’s group grow smaller in the distance.

Luca made his way to them and spoke quietly for a moment, then the four of them headed toward the van.

“Where are they going?” June asked.

Avery watched them then turned away. “We need supplies and shelter. Want to help gather large branches and sticks?”

The other girls glanced at her, but no one offered to help.

Avery took a step closer to them. “Come on, guys. Do you want to walk back and forth to the van every morning and night?”

“We’re not going to be here much longer, though, right?” Katelyn asked. “So it doesn’t really matter.”

June shook her head. “It’s better than doing nothing.”

Katelyn looked to Gabby for support, but Gabby was already standing to help Avery. Katelyn rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. I’ll help.”

“What about you guys?” Avery looked at Tasha, Mallory, and Brittany. They didn’t look happy about it, but they finally agreed to help, too.

Avery led them into the jungle and everyone went their own way, searching for giant leaves and fallen branches. “Don’t go out of eyesight,” Avery warned. “Stay where we can see each other.”

Starting at the edge of the trees, they pulled large branches into the shady sand.

Avery scanned the jungle constantly, but there were no signs of Rae.

Sweat pooled on her forehead and began dripping down her temple. The humid air sucked the life right out of her, and the farther into the jungle they moved, the more she wished she’d gotten a bottle of water from Luca. She grabbed branch after branch and carried it to the tree line, then returned each time for more.

The other girls worked along with her, even though Tasha, Mallory, and Brittany took a few dozen breaks.

If it wasn’t so hot, she could get more done. She could move faster. Gather more. Clear her head. Think. She blinked rapidly to clear the sweat from her eyes. Or maybe it was to stop the blurs in her vision. She closed her eyes and held them shut for a few seconds as she swallowed and calmed her nerves. Then, a thought hit her. Every time her vision blurred, something strange happened. Something appeared.

She peeled her eyes open slowly and focused on the area directly in front of her. Fruit hung two feet away, dangling from the tree like a life line. Was she making things appear by wishing for it?

The fruit was round and red, exactly like a red delicious apple. She plucked one from the branch and took a bite. Sweet, cool apple juice swirled in her mouth and she swallowed in pure satisfaction. This was the fourth time this had happened. Whatever it was, she was glad for it.

She glanced around but nothing else seemed out of place. No more visions. No mysterious guy. Only a fruit tree in the middle of the jungle, and a few other girls who didn’t pay her any attention.

Avery finished the apple and tossed the core, then finished carrying her last few branches to the tree line.

June came close as they piled up their branches and she leaned in to speak to Avery. “I was thinking that everyone seems a little down.”

Of course, everyone was down. No one wanted to be stuck here. Avery only smiled sadly and nodded.

“What if we did something fun?”

“Fun? Like what?” Avery couldn’t imagine doing anything fun in this place.

“I have an idea, but I’m not sure how you guys do things at your church.”

Avery frowned and wiped the sweat on her forehead. “What do you mean?”

“What if we turned a part of the creek into a swim hole?”

Swimming? Right now that sounded like heaven. “I think that would be perfect, and I’d bet everyone would go for it.”

June’s smile erupted into a full-scale grin. “Great. We can work on it when we’re done with this.”

The thought of swimming boosted Avery’s spirits and she worked on the shelter with an extra spring in her step.

They finished separating the branches into piles by size just as the guys hauled a few suitcases toward them.

Sam and Luca carried a large box between them.

“What’s that?” Avery asked.

“Food.” Luca didn’t look happy about it, but Avery remembered the conversation with Benny the day before. They had to eat. “At least they’ll have medical supplies when we get to the village.”

But going to the village didn’t sound appealing at this point. By the time they got out of here—if they got out—the trip would be over. Besides, Avery wanted to go home.

Daddy’s arguments against her coming here passed through her memory. Maybe he’d been right. Maybe she should have stayed home. Something in the back of her mind nagged at her, telling her he was always right. Right about her college future, right about this trip, right about Luca.

“Are you finished gathering branches?” Luca's words broke into her thoughts.

She turned to him and smiled when she realized, no, she didn’t regret coming. She’d missed Luca’s friendship. She’d missed him a lot, no matter what anyone said about him. “We have enough branches to build the shelter. And June has a really great idea about making a swimming hole at the creek.”

Luca’s eyebrows shot up. “Swimming? That sounds great.”

“That’s what I said.”

The other girls moved to get what they wanted from their bags, and Avery noticed the sweatshirt she'd given to Luca was tied around his waist. Her heart squeezed. She never intended to give the sweatshirt back. She wore it to bed almost every night back home. Of course, she wouldn’t tell him that.

“You want to see what’s in here with me?”

Avery frowned and glanced away. She’d been staring at Luca. “What?”

“Do you want to look through the food with me?”

“Oh. Yeah, that sounds great.”

He pulled a pocket knife from his pants—who knew where he’d gotten that from—and sliced through the tape on the box. The flaps lifted easily and the greatest treasure she’d ever seen sat before her. Boxes of noodles, jars of sauce, boxes of individually wrapped peanut butter bars, and more were stacked neatly to the top of the huge box.

She looked up at Luca and grinned. “I think we’re going to have a feast tonight!”

He smiled back and nodded.

They tossed a few peanut butter bars around then put the box to the side to begin working on the shelter.

Luca, David, Avery, and Sam worked on figuring out structures for the walls, and the others worked on filling in the walls once the structures were built. By the end of it, they were all drenched in sweat.

“That swim-hole idea is sounding better and better,” Luca said. He grinned at June and she blushed.

Avery tensed, hating herself for it. Instead of pouting she turned away. “Should we do that next?”

Erin didn’t protest so they made a beeline for the creek in the jungle. The path was well worn by now. They chose a spot down creek from where they gathered their water in the mornings, and everyone pitched in to dig out a pit that was big enough for swimming.

Avery pulled brush away from the shoreline so they could make a clearer path, but her foot got stuck in the mud. She tugged at her leg, and her foot came loose with a sickly slurping sound. She tumbled toward the ground, fast.

The splash into the water was enough to get everyone’s attention. She sat, blinking back the droplets that had sprayed into her eyes. At first, no one moved, but then Luca chuckled and shook his head. “You couldn’t wait?”

Avery smiled and scooped an arc of water towards him.

He didn’t need any more provocation. Jumping in, he made a splash big enough to drench anyone standing nearby.

Everyone followed his path then, and before long they were laughing and having fun. That was a first since they’d arrived.

Avery kept an eye on Luca while they goofed off, but he didn't seem to pay any more attention to June. He caught Avery looking, and she blushed and turned away. They used to have all kinds of fun together like this, but that was before their lives went down the tubes. Before Luca turned into a 'rabid dog', as Daddy called him.

But maybe the old Luca was still in there. Somewhere. Maybe he just needed help finding his way out.

By the time they finished, everyone was cooled off and happy. They marched back to the tree line, all dripping wet.

“It’s a good thing you brought our luggage back from the van,” Avery said.

Luca smiled. “Yeah. Too bad I don’t have any.”

“You can borrow some of Benny’s. It might be a little tight.”

He snorted and shook his head, then moved away to talk to David. Luca was taller, but David’s clothes would be a decent fit.

Avery looked around at their shelters and the box of food near a small fire pit they’d dug into the sand earlier. This wasn’t so bad. They could last here another night or two. She glanced toward the desert and thought of Bradley’s group. Where were they now? For their own sakes, Avery hoped they'd found the village.