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Zoe
Zoe hung up the phone.
“What?” Jason prodded.
Zoe shook her head and shoved her phone into her back pocket. “The police say he didn’t use his phone while he was missing, so they can’t track it.”
“I don’t see how that can be true with today’s technology,” Derek said.
“He hasn’t used his phone since Friday?” Jason asked, sounding alarmed.
“I guess not,” Zoe said.
“Why, Jason?” Emma asked. “Why is that bad?”
Jason hesitated to answer, but Zoe gave him time. She wanted to know the answer to that question too. Finally, Jason leveled a sober gaze at her. “Think about it. What kid our age doesn’t use their phone for three days? That means that whatever happened to him, it must have happened on Friday.”
Zoe had already assumed that, but she didn’t say so.
Jason shook his head. “I’m just scared for him is all. Friday was a long time ago.”
“The best thing to do for fear,” Derek said, “is to move your feet.”
Wow, Zoe thought. That was a fairly profound thing to say.
But as he walked away, Derek added, “Move your feet, lose your seat,” and Zoe was no longer impressed.
They formed their line again and started walking.
“This time we go from this intersection back to the brook, and we go all the way to the water.”
“How far is that?” Emma sounded tired.
“I don’t know,” Jason said, sounding less worried now that he was moving again. So Derek had been right. “But it’s not too far.”
Slowly they combed the woods, not seeing anything unusual or out of place. They reached the brook, looked in it, and then turned and headed back in the direction they’d come.
“Oh no,” Derek said.
“What?” Jason asked. “What do you see?”
“I don’t see anything. But it’s starting to rain.”
Zoe looked up. There was no cloud overhead and certainly no rain.
“Okay,” Jason said dismissively.
But just as they reached the road again, Zoe felt the first drops hit her head.
Zoe expected one or more of them to talk about heading back to the church if it was going to rain, especially since they could see Jason’s car from where they stood. But no one mentioned stopping or leaving. They all just turned around and headed back into the woods, back toward the brook.
The rain fell harder, and Zoe got colder. She tried not to think about it, told herself that Levi, wherever he was, was probably pretty cold too. But when she saw that Emma’s lips were blue, she spoke up. “Jason, I think maybe we should take a break.”
Emma caught her looking at her. “No. I’m okay. We’re more than halfway done with this area.”
Jason gave Emma a long look. “Are you sure? There’s no shame in going to change into dry clothes.”
“We’ll just get wet again. Come on.” Emma starting walking again.
Jason took off his soaking wet coat and hurried after her. He draped it over Emma’s shoulders. “Zip it up. And stay in line. We don’t want to freeze to death and miss something.”
Emma gave him an exaggerated salute. “Yes, sir!”
Zoe wasn’t so sure. “If you get too cold, you have to admit it, Emma.”
Emma gave her a dirty look. “You’re the one wearing shoes with holes in them.”
Jason snickered. “Excellent point. All right. Let’s try to finish this chunk, and then we’ll go get dry.”
And so they continued. Zoe wondered if they might not be so committed if they weren’t together. She thought she’d probably give in to the cold if Jason and Emma weren’t watching. And she wondered if Jason and Emma were in similar positions. Derek was different, though. He didn’t even seem to mind being cold. He was so focused on searching. She should follow suit, she thought, and narrowed her eyes. It was harder to see through the rain. God, please don’t let us get close to him without seeing him. If he can see us or hear us, please give him a way to get our attention. This small prayer made her feel much more confident in their efforts. She even felt a little warmer.
