36

Avery

They arrived back at camp just as darkness fell across the desert. Avery’s body shook with exhaustion as she and Benny lowered June to the floor of one of the shelters.

“What happened to her?” Erin asked.

The others swarmed around them.

Avery glanced at Luca before speaking. “We got lost. She must have overheated, and she passed out. Then she had a seizure.”

“Was it like before?” Erin asked. She immediately moved to check June’s vital signs.

Avery had almost forgotten about the earlier seizure. “Yeah, I guess it was like that.”

Erin nodded as she continued to work.

“What about him?” Chad nodded to Daddy.

Luca lowered Daddy to the sandy ground. “He’s the reason we went in to start with. We found him, but he’d been hurt. He hasn’t woken up yet, but he’s breathing.”

Erin moved immediately to her next patient. “Benny, can you bring the medical supplies from the back of the van?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Benny’s shoulders slumped as he moved slowly toward the van. Poor guy was exhausted.

“Hey loser, think you could speed it up?” Bradley asked.

Luca spun around and scowled at Bradley. “He’s got more guts than you’ll ever have. Leave him alone.”

Bradley must have seen something in Luca’s eyes, because he stepped back, frowning.

Avery almost smiled. Almost.

Benny returned with the box and Erin began digging through it. She came out with gauze to clean Daddy’s bleeding lip and head.

Avery winced. She’d done that to him, busted his forehead. But it was the only way to get him out of the garden. They’d had to leave before Rae changed his mind.

Erin’s voice snapped her out of her daydream. “We need water. Someone found your backpack when we went swimming in the creek. Somehow, it’d been knocked into the water. It’s over by the fire now.”

Avery didn’t question the explanation, just rushed to the bag of waters and returned with two bottles for Erin to use. She held the water to each of the patients’ lips and poured a few drops. Daddy and June seemed to respond, but they remained unconscious.

“I think they’re going to be OK,” Erin said. “We’ll get them help first thing tomorrow.”

But Erin had no idea what they’d both been through. The things—the beings—who had tormented them. How could June ever recover after being tormented by a demon?

Erin worked furiously and Avery paused. Erin had recovered from whatever tormented her. If Erin could do it, maybe Daddy and June could, as well.

“Maybe we should leave now,” Luca said, pulling Avery from her thoughts.

Avery knew the darkness would prevent them from making much progress, but she couldn’t blame Luca. She wanted to get out of there, too. Now. Before Rae changed his mind about letting them go so easily.

“First light,” Chad said. “A very wise guy put that idea in my head.”

Luca managed a small smile and nod, but Avery knew it cost him. “You got it, boss.”

“Let’s get some rest. We’ll be ready to ride as soon as the sun peeks out in the morning,” Chad said.

The group broke up and went to their sleeping quarters.

Avery moved toward the van, but Luca grabbed her arm.

“Are you OK?”

Was she? Her whole body hadn’t stopped shaking since she cast Rafa from the garden. Her mind reeled at the thought. Where had she come up with such an idea? Finally, she shrugged and gave him a small smile. “Sure. What about you? You’re the one who got into a fist fight with an angel. And for my dad, no less.”

He shrugged. “I was doing it more for you than him. I’d do anything for you. You know that, right?”

Did she?

She ran through everything that had happened since coming here. She’d seen visions, dealt with her fears of rejection, and faced her father—and all in a few days. Luca had been by her side the entire time, no matter if she’d abandoned him three months ago.

Of course, he would do anything for her. Daddy wasn’t right, not even most of the time. Hadn’t her heart told her that for years? The desire to have someone take care of her, to have someone want to take care of her, had been so unfulfilled for so long, she’d just latched on to the idea that if she was perfect enough for Daddy then he’d eventually come around.

Maybe he would never come around.

Luca was her friend. Her very best friend.

She swallowed her fears and took his hand. “Yes, I know that. Thank you.”

He wove his fingers into hers and squeezed gently. “You’re not going to forget it before we get back home, are you?”

Tears burned her eyes and she forced out a smile. “No. I won’t forget it.”

“Good.”

“What do we do about Daddy, though? He’s sure to remember.”

Luca glanced away, frowning. Finally, he looked back to her. “I hate to say it, but he hit his head. We’ll use that against him.”

Avery winced. It hurt to agree with Luca on this point. She didn’t want to accuse her own father of seeing things—of being crazy—but she agreed. “OK.”

He brushed her cheek and tingles raced down her neck. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She nodded and watched as he slipped away to his own shelter. Taking a shaky breath, she climbed into the van. There was no way she’d get a decent night’s sleep. It was going to be a long eight hours.

Morning sunlight irritated her eyes as she peeled them open the next morning. She rubbed her gritty eyes and looked around. Had she actually fallen asleep?

The others scurried around the van, packing supplies and getting ready to split.

They were leaving! Avery bolted from the van, her heart pounding a hundred miles a minute. This had to work. She wasn’t sure how, but it had to.

Daddy lay sleeping in the open, near the logs at the fire, but June sat awake and alert. Erin kneeled in front of her, holding up four fingers.

“How are you?” Avery asked when she’d made her way over.

June shrugged. “I can’t remember anything, but I see we found your dad.”

“Yeah, we did. Thanks for going with us.” Avery studied her friend—she was sure she could call her that now. If what Rae said was true, June didn’t have God in her life. Did June even realize it? She went to church and played the part, but had she really never come to know God herself?

“I’m going to get you some aspirin before we leave,” Erin said. “Sit tight.”

Avery scooted closer and took June’s hand. “You had a tough time in there.”

June nodded. “I just remember not feeling well. I felt,” she paused, seeming to struggle for the right word. “Scared. I felt scared.”

“What had you afraid?”

“I was afraid I was going to die. It was like I could see the flames of hell all around me.”

Most likely it was the flames of the wall of fire around the garden, but Avery didn’t mention it.

“Avery, I think I’m going to hell.”

So Rae had been right.

Avery smiled. “That’s not too hard to fix, you know, if you’re willing.”

June didn’t return the smile. Instead, she nodded quickly. “Yes. I’m willing. Will you help me? Will you pray with me?”

“Of course,” Avery said. She bowed her head and prayed a simple prayer with June—a prayer for forgiveness and salvation.

When they finished, June’s green eyes shined with tears. “Thank you, Avery. I want to tell everyone as soon as we get home.”

“I think that would be lovely.” Avery squeezed her hands. “But first we have to actually get home.”

June finally smiled and nodded. “Right.”

Daddy moaned from his place in the sand. At least someone had spread a few shirts out before leaving him there for the night. He rolled over and coughed, then tried to sit up.

Avery rushed to his side. “Take it easy, Daddy. You’re hurt.” She helped him sit the rest of the way. What would he say about everything?

He frowned and looked around. “My head hurts.”

She bit her lip. “You hurt your head.” Or, more accurately, she had hurt his head.

“How did I get out here? I was in the jungle.” His frown deepened. “You were there, too. What’s going on, Avery?”

“You hit your head.” Luca’s voice sounded behind her and she spun around. “You’ll probably be confused for a while.”

Something flashed in Daddy’s eyes, and he scowled. “I am not confused.”

Avery sucked up her fears and patted his hand. “It’ll be fine, Daddy. We’re going to get you home and checked out at the hospital.”

“I’m not going anywhere!” He tried to stand, but he wobbled before he even got to his knees. He scowled again but kept quiet.

“Let’s load up!” Chad called.

Avery sucked in a tight breath. “This is it,” she said.

Luca nodded. He called Chad and Bradley, and the three of them helped Daddy to a seat in the front row. Fitting thirty people inside a fifteen passenger van wasn’t easy, but no one complained. Well, except Daddy.

Sam climbed into the driver’s seat and cranked the engine. Avery let out a quick sigh of relief when the thing started. He gave the gas pedal a few taps, and the engine revved. “It seems the gas lines are doing well,” he said.

Another sigh of relief.

Avery glanced at Luca and held her breath. He held her gaze as the van lurched in the sand. They pulled away slowly and nothing went wrong. Avery gripped her seat and watched out the window as the jungle faded into the distance.

Finally, Luca smiled. “Ready to go home?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I want to put everything that happened here behind me.”

He reached out and took her hand. “Not everything, I hope.”

She smiled as the van rolled on, and she took a deep breath. This trip hadn’t been anything like she’d expected, but somehow she knew it had turned out exactly as it was supposed to. Finally, she shook her head and squeezed his fingers. “No. I won’t forget everything. I promise.”

~*~

It took hours to make it to a town, and another day to make arrangements to leave Iraq. The entire two weeks had passed while they were stranded in the jungle—the Garden. The mission organization accepted their story easily enough. They’d been blown off course by a sandstorm, and gotten stranded in the desert.

As far as most of the group knew, it was exactly what had happened. Only she knew differently, just as Luca and Benny did. And Daddy.

He was already making plans for a dig in Iraq. While no one believed his story of what he’d seen in the jungle, he seemed to know it was truth. He hadn’t spoken more than three words to Avery since they arrived home the month before.

Luca knocked on her door just as she finished brushing her teeth. She raced to answer it, and he smiled and shoved his hands in his pocket. “Ready?”

“Yep.” She grabbed her purse and followed him out. Tonight he was coming to youth group with her. She hadn’t even asked him to, he’d just decided it on his own.

They climbed inside his beat up car, and started down the road. “Erin said we’d be splitting up tonight—girls in one group, guys in the other.”

He kept his eyes on the road and nodded, and she turned toward the windshield as well. Things were good with Luca, and even good with the others. While she wasn’t best buds with any of the girls, they didn’t treat her like she had the plague anymore.

“Did you hear from June? She texted me and said she got a clear checkup from her oncologist.”

Luca glanced at her. “That’s great. I hadn’t heard.”

Avery smiled. It was great news. Even if she hadn’t become close friends with the other girls, she and June kept in constant contact.

They drove a few minutes in silence, but it was comfortable silence. Warm. Happy.

They stopped at a red light, and just before it turned green, Luca reached over and took her hand. He squeezed it softly and heat crept into her stomach. His eyes stayed on the road, and Avery acted like it was nothing, but as they pulled away she couldn’t stop her smile. Her start over had turned into a get-back-on-track, and at least for today, things were good.