Shadowed Eden (10 page)

Benny paused. He glanced between them, then shifted from foot to foot. Finally, he smiled and forced a laugh. “I'd rather be just about anywhere than home.”

Avery's heart squeezed. She'd seen his grandparents once or twice, and she had to admit, they didn't seem like the nicest people. Once, after church, she'd seen Benny's granddad smack him in the back of the head. She needed to be nicer to Benny from now on. It wasn't that she wasn't nice to him back home, but she'd grown used to no one talking to her and her talking to no one in return.

They stuffed the bottles back into her bag, and Avery waved her arm for them to lead the way back. Benny took front and she brought up the rear. Her gaze roamed from tree to tree as she tried to find anything out of place, particularly shifting air or a boy in white. The closest she came to something odd was a bright yellow lizard with neon blue spots.

Her blood pulsed through her body, her heart thundering louder with each step she took toward the desert. If they left, she would never know if this place was for real. She wanted to see Rae one last time. She wanted to find out if he was real. Did he live here like he said?

And had he talked to Erin?

That was her biggest question. Someone told Erin they wouldn't be able to leave. Someone had spooked her, and they must have done it as soon as the group had been stranded because Erin had acted strange ever since they'd arrived.

Avery frowned. Who else had been seeing things and keeping it to themselves?

She shuddered. It was best if they got out of here as fast as they could. Forget Rae. Something was definitely wrong with this place.

They marched back to the desert, and she took one last look at the inner jungle. Rae didn't appear, and she didn't see him hiding behind any trees. He was nowhere. He may not even be real. And now she would never know.

She stepped into the desert, ready to haul the bag of water back to the van.

The sun had already dipped behind the trees, and shadows danced across the sand. The food group had returned with fruit, and someone had repacked the luggage on top of the van.

A group of teens gathered around Luca at the hood of the van, and their voices carried in the late-afternoon air.

June frowned. “Do they sound angry to you?”

“I'm afraid so.” Avery closed the distance between them and dropped the heavy backpack. “What's going on?”

“Your boy here thinks we should wait until morning to get out of here. The rest of us want to go now.” Bradley scowled at Luca.

Avery ignored Bradley's used of
your boy
. “If Luca thinks we should stay then there has to be a good reason.” Even though she couldn't think of any.

“I've explained all of that,” Luca said impatiently. His red ears gave away his frustration. “It's getting too dark. We'll never find the road before night fall. Even Sam admitted he doesn't know where we are.”

Avery glanced at the van driver—whose name was obviously Sam. “What's the harm in waiting until first light? We can get a good night's rest and leave in the morning. I think the plan is solid.”

Bradley didn't acknowledge that she'd spoken and she rolled her eyes.

“I'm not keeping us here to be a jerk,” Luca said. “Can anyone even see the sun now? Because I can't. We won't make it a few miles in this sand before we won't have enough light to guide us. The headlights will only get us so far when there are miles and miles of sand in every direction. At least right now, we have food and water. What if we get stuck out there with nothing?”

Avery held her breath, but no one argued with him. He made legitimate points, and she hated to admit she was relieved. Something drew her to the jungle. It was almost as if they weren't supposed to leave, not yet.

“Maybe staying until morning is best,” Tasha said. She, Mallory, and Brittany huddled together at the corner of the van. Her dark skin glistened with sweat, and she wore her ball cap pulled low over her face.

“You've got to be kidding me!” Bradley looked at every member of the group, but no one met his eyes.

No one except Avery. She wasn't afraid to tell him he was being a jerk. Not that he cared about her opinion all that much.

He held her gaze for a few moments and finally growled. Kicking at the sand as he spun on his heel, he stomped away—at least as well as he could stomp in shifting sand.

The others broke up and headed for the protection of the tree line.

Luca looked to her. “Got any water in there for me?”

She pulled a bottle from the pack on the ground and handed it to him. “Are you sure about this?”

“Are you doubting me, too?”

“Of course not. I just want to make sure we're not doing anything stupid. Right now, we're all together, and the van runs. We're not jinxing ourselves, are we?”

His face fell and he scowled. “Jinxing ourselves? Are you superstitious now?”

“Of course I don't believe in jinxing. It's just an expression.” Apparently, he wasn't up to having his decision questioned. Not that it was really his decision to make.

Erin hadn't been in his little pow-wow. Maybe because she knew they weren't going to leave.

Uneasiness settled over Avery. It was almost as if Erin's warnings were coming true.

No, not Erin's warnings.
His
warnings.

Rae said he was trying to help them leave, but he'd also said he was waiting for her, and he'd given Avery the creeps. What if he was trying to keep them here instead of trying to help them leave?

The uneasiness turned to panic when she remembered what else he'd said. He'd implied that their leaving wouldn't be easy.

Part 2

Genesis 3:3-5

“But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods.”

12

Luca

Luca stomped toward the tree line, ignoring the others who stared at him. He had to get away—be alone—at least for a few minutes. Back home he'd gotten used to his solitude. His brothers knew to leave him be, and even Mom gave him whatever space he needed.

Here? It was never quiet, and there was never any down time.

He followed the natural wave of the growth until he was out of sight, then he punched a tree and let out a yell of frustration.

No one else had stepped up to take charge when they first got stranded. Nobody had thought about needing food or water, and no one else lined up to find Gabby and Katelyn when they went missing.

They sure wanted to be in charge now, though. Now that they didn't like his decision. Now that things seemed to be going good again.

Pain shot up his arm and blood seeped through a split on his knuckle. He wiped it on his shirt and took a deep breath. It didn't matter what they said. They'd be leaving in the morning, and after they finished the remainder of the mission, they'd be going home.

What a waste of time this trip had been. Signing up had been a mistake, period. He never would have volunteered if he'd known what was in his future.

Taking another deep breath, he started back toward camp. He kicked through the sand and looked across the wide, open desert. It was huge—easily the biggest thing he'd ever seen. It went on for miles and miles, and it made him feel like a blip. A tiny dot on the map. Totally unimportant.

How were they supposed to navigate their way out of an open desert? Finding a road in there would take a miracle.

He picked up a handful of sand and tossed it toward the nothingness in front of him.

“You are thinking what I am thinking.” Sam stepped beside Luca. He looked at the desert. “We are very lost.”

Luca studied Sam. “Do you think we're doing the right thing by staying overnight?” This guy knew the area like most guys back home knew their video games, but Sam had never seen this jungle before. Luca trusted his opinion.

Sam nodded slowly. His bare feet dug into the hot sand. “Yes. I believe so.”

Luca choked back his relief. “Thanks.”

Sam brushed sand from his pants. “We will leave in the morning. That will be good.”

It couldn't come fast enough. This place creeped him out. Visions of white? Lost girls who didn't remember being gone?

Throw in a half-baked youth leader and you had yourself a regular circus.

Benny's face popped in front of Luca's as they reached camp. “How long between here and the village?”

Yep. Definitely a circus.

“I don't know, Benny. We don't know where we are.”

Benny's face scrunched up like a pit bull's. “This place sucks.”

Luca barked out a laugh. “You're right about that.”

Benny kicked at the sand and mumbled something as he walked away.

Everyone was ready to get out of here. This wasn't the way they'd planned on spending their summer, least of all Luca.

What if they never really got out of here?

Mom was completely on her own without him home to help. How was she supposed to keep the other four boys in line? The thought made him stop and laugh. Like she needed his help. They were all afraid of her—including Luca.

Still, she could use his help. Making him come on this trip was pointless. No amount of meddling from Mom was going to help him “heal.” He was fine. Over it.

Yeah, he'd had a bad few months after Dad died. He was a bit angry.

Even Avery had let her dad convince her that Luca was no good, but what did Mr. Miles know? He was clueless when it came to his daughter. And his wife, for that matter.

If only Luca could get Avery to see he was fine. OK with Dad's death. “Healed.” He sighed. That was enough of that. He joined the group in the shade and dug his heels into the sand. His mouth felt as dry as the desert air. He'd never complain about rain again.

Grabbing a bottle of water, Luca sat down on one of the logs someone had dragged from the jungle. At least someone around here could act without his instruction.

“We're going to sing,” June said. “Want to join us?”

Her kind smile calmed him and he nodded. She turned to the group and started a slow song. It was a hymn, something he'd learned as a kid. At first, he couldn't remember all the words, but after a moment they came to him. He joined in, soft and low.

Avery took a seat near June. She watched him, but he tried to ignore her. If he stared back, it would only spook her and make her look away.

After a few songs, even Erin joined them. She didn't sing, but she passed around fruit so they'd all have something to eat.

It was good they were leaving in the morning. Luca would have hated to bust into the food supplies for the village.

Thoughts of the village stopped his singing for a minute. The people from the mission had to be wondering about their group.
Someone
had to be wondering. They'd been stuck here for two full days but no one had come. That was enough to make him think the other van hadn't made it to the village, either. Pushing tomorrow from his mind, he dove back into the music.

June smiled when he rejoined them. She was easy to please. That was refreshing.

The song ended and everyone headed to the van to get some sleep. Hopefully, it would be the last night they'd spend here.

He expected to stare at the van's ceiling while everyone slept, but once he'd gotten comfortable in his seat, his eyes slid shut and he couldn't get himself to reopen them. Sleep came fast.

Excitement buzzed in everyone's voices when Luca woke the next morning.

The girls hurried to refill their water bottles and wash up while the guys gathered fruit. They were back and ready to go within an hour.

Luca didn't have to instruct anyone to do anything—they were ready. The guys loaded into the back and the girls into the front. Luca sat in the passenger seat beside Sam, who looked to him and grinned.

His dark curly hair stuck to his forehead, and he wiped it away. “Are you ready?”

Luca smiled back. “Yep. Let's go.”

The guys had worked the day before on unburying the tires and driving out of the rut, so now all they had to focus on was driving forward. Sam cranked the engine and put the van in gear.

Luca held his breath. This was the moment they had waited for—getting out of the desert.

The van lurched forward.

“We're moving!” Mallory laughed and a few others cheered.

Luca couldn't help smiling. He looked at Sam, and the driver gave him a thumbs up.

Sam drove slowly so the van wouldn't slip in the sand.

The jungle behind them began to get farther away.
Sayonara.

Luca turned to take in the group. His eyes locked with Erin.

She didn't smile. She didn't even look happy to be leaving. A frown turned her mouth down in a way that put a bad feeling in Luca's gut.

He gulped and turned back to the front. “How are we doing?”

Sam smiled and nodded, but it wasn't the same excited grin from before.

Luca's hope sprouted tiny wings and began preparing for takeoff. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
Please let us get out of here.
It had been a few years since he'd bothered God with his life, but now seemed like a good time.

They were on a church mission trip and all.

They drove a few more yards, inching toward the open space and away from the oasis.

Erin's bad mood shouldn't affect anything.

They were fine.

The others laughed and carried on conversations behind him.

Even Avery seemed happy, except she kept glancing at Erin.

Avery felt it, he could tell.

Something was wrong.

Luca caught Sam's frown before Sam could hide it. “What's going on?” he asked quietly.