Shadowed Eden (13 page)

The phone chimed again.

Battery depleted. Powering down.

“Great,” Luca said. “That didn't do us any good.”

But it had done Avery some good, even though she chose to keep it to herself for now. They had been whisked hundreds of miles from the road where they were driving, and they really were lost in the middle of nowhere.

This jungle just got a whole lot weirder.

15

Luca

Luca pushed another branch out of the way and peered at the jungle. No white flash, no natives, no vision. Nothing. The phone idea hadn't done any good, and now Avery's directions were coming up short.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed. How much longer should they keep trying before heading back? They'd already stopped twice to eat fruit, but after eating real food for supper last night, his stomach was demanding more than the few pears he'd scarfed down.

“Anyone see anything?” he asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

Avery stared straight ahead as she walked, almost like she was determined to find whatever it was she was looking for.

But the others looked tired, the same way he felt. June's shoulders sagged and Benny kept falling farther behind. Katelyn and Gabby had walked most of the morning with linked arms, but even they had stepped apart and now trudged one behind the other.

“I wish we knew what time it was,” he said. “I have no idea if we should head back.”

“I don't know what time it is, but I do know I'm tired,” Benny said.

No surprise there.

Avery stopped and frowned. “We haven't found anything. If there are people who live here and can help us, we need to try and find them.”

“No one lives here,” Katelyn said. “All I said was that I saw a vision.”

Luca turned to Avery cautiously. He didn't want to upset her, but he was really tired. “And all I saw was a flash of white.”

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't accuse him of calling her crazy again. He would have to be more careful about his word choices from now on, especially if he was ever going to convince her that he wanted their friendship back.

“I know what I saw.”

“And I believe you. All I'm saying is we may need to call it quits for today. We can try a different path tomorrow.”

“Besides, maybe that Bradley guy will be back by tomorrow,” Katelyn said.

“We can't wait on the hope that he's coming back,” Avery said. “He may not find anyone.”

Luca didn't like the tone of her words, or what they implied. She said it like it was already a done deal—Bradley's little excursion into the desert was pointless. He would have to ask her about that later.

“Why don't we go on for a little while longer, and we can come back tomorrow if we don't find anything soon?”

Avery frowned but nodded.

He kept in his sigh of relief. He hated fighting with her.

They walked for what felt like an hour or more when Avery stopped. She glanced around, her breathing quick. “I think we're close.”

Luca stepped around everyone to stand close to her. “What makes you say that?”

She frowned and glanced around, then looked back at him. Studying his face for another few seconds, she almost seemed—nervous?

Finally, she gulped. “Because the bugs are gone.”

Now it was his turn to frown. “What bugs?”

She sighed. “I see huge black bugs. I've seen them all through the jungle. But there aren't any here. I think we're close to him.”

Luca kept so still he didn't even blink. Giant bugs? For real? He kept his breathing steady as he glanced around. Nothing stirred on the branches, not even a few small bugs.

But others had seen weird things.

Even he had seen them. It was hard to swallow, but the least he could do was take her seriously. “OK. So he's around. Can you call to him?”

She bit her lip and glanced across the jungle.

He followed her gaze. Nothing here indicated someone had come through recently, and it definitely didn't look like anyone lived here.

She cleared her throat. “Is anyone here?” Her voice barely made it to the canopy of trees above them, and it echoed weakly through the air. “R—Rae?”

Silence answered her, and the look on her face snapped his heart in two. The urge to squeeze her hand and show his support was so strong he had to clasp his hands behind his back.

“Hello?” she tried again.

They waited a few more moments and he was just about to turn the group around when a twig snapped nearby. He spun around, looking for anything that might have made the sound. For all he knew it could be another crazed monkey, or worse.

But they all stared in shock when a guy their own age stepped through the trees. His eyes didn't scan the group because they were stuck on Avery.

Luca frowned.

The guy stepped forward tentatively, coming closer and closer to Avery. “You found your friends, I see.”

Avery stared at him with wide eyes. At first, she didn't reply, but then she seemed to shake herself. “Yes. Thank you.”

“So, it was you!” Katelyn said. “You're the one I saw!”

He—Rae—glanced at Katelyn. “Yes. It was me. I am glad for your safety.”

His gaze swung back to Avery. “Why are you here? I told you I would find you when the time was right.”

“We need your help getting out of this place.” Avery stepped closer to him, her voice pleading. “We tried to leave and it didn't work.”

Rae frowned, and he looked around at all of them. “The time is not yet right.”

That was enough of that. Luca pushed forward. “Where are we? If you can give us some idea then we'll be on our way.”

Rae looked at him then, but he didn't give in to Luca's demand. “You sent others away.”

Luca tensed thinking about Bradley and his group. “How do you know that?” Had this creep been watching them?

Rae backed off. “I know this jungle well. I move fast through it, and I see a lot of things. I believe you will find your way out.”

Luca stepped close to Rae, his fists balled and his breaths coming too fast. “Tell us where we are!”

Rae's eyes softened as he stared at Luca.

After only a few moments, Luca wasn't mad anymore. Not anxious, or jealous. Whoever—or whatever—this Rae guy was, he had some sort of calming powers.

Luca frowned and stepped away, and Avery stepped forward. “Are you going to help us?” she asked. “You promised to help.”

He nodded. “I am working on it, but it takes time.”

“Who's in charge? Are there others besides you?” Luca asked.

“As I said, I am working on it. I will find you all when I have something for you.”

That wasn't nearly good enough for Luca, but his desire to fight had all but vanished.

Rae took a few steps backwards, like he was ready to leave, but Avery stopped him.

“Wait! Are there others? Others who aren't as kind as you?”

Rae frowned deeply, his face cautious. “What do you mean?”

Avery shifted from foot to foot. She wrung her hands. “Our youth leader is seeing someone, but she said he's not like you, and none of us can see him.”

Rae's face fell, and his nostrils flared. “I was not aware of this. I will try to take care of it.”

“So there are others,” Luca said. It came out louder and more angrily than he'd meant for it to, but he didn't care. If Rae was keeping things from them, they couldn't trust him.

Rae didn't acknowledge his statement. “I will find you. Soon, hopefully.” He retreated to the mass of trees behind him and was gone.

Everyone pressed closer together.

Luca couldn't blame them. He didn't know how to describe it except to say it actually felt less safe with Rae gone. Luca looked to Avery and she smiled.

“He's real,” she said.

His heart softened a little. “Did you think he wasn't?”

She nodded and swallowed hard. “I worried.”

He tried to smile but it came out more like a grimace. “I don't trust anything he said. Let's get out of here.”

Benny spun toward the direction of camp and started walking. “You don't have to tell me twice.”

The others followed him.

Luca tugged on Avery's arm, gently asking if she'd walk with him. She hung back until the others had gone a few steps ahead, then they began walking together. “Why didn't you tell me about him?” he asked softly.

She glanced at him. “You saw him too, but you didn't tell me.”

He shook his head. “That was different. I saw a flash of something that could have been my imagination. You saw him and spoke to him.”

“He could have been my imagination, too.”

“Avery, you can't say things like that.”

She stared forward stubbornly and didn't answer him.

Luca let it go. Her self-confidence had never been all that high, but in the last couple years, her dad had squashed what little she did have right out of her. Luca longed to see it built back up. She'd been amazing since being stranded, always stepping up and volunteering for whatever needed to be done. He wanted to help her see who she really was.

Luca sighed and moved on to something else. “You say there aren't any black beetles around when he's there?”

“That's right.”

“What about out in the desert, when you're around Erin. Do you see anything then?”

She frowned and glanced at him. “I don't think so. It's only in the jungle. Why?”

“Whatever Erin is seeing is different than Rae. If the bugs don't come around him, I thought maybe they were coming from whatever's bothering Erin.”

Her frown deepened and she hugged herself. “Would you agree that whatever is bothering her isn't human?”

He didn't like thinking of it that way, but…

“Yeah, I guess so.”

She glanced at him, her worry written all over her face. “So what does that make Rae?”

16

Avery

Erin sat near the small fire when they returned. She poked it with a stick, keeping it from burning out. Not that they needed the heat during the day—it was sweltering—but at some point they would run out of matches, so they'd decided to keep a fire going at all times.

Benny had pointed out it might help with rescue, too, if a plane happened to fly overhead. Not that anyone had seen a plane.

Sam sat near Erin, whispering quietly. He seemed to be helping her.

She didn't look as upset as normal. She looked up as the group approached. “Did you find him?”

Avery nodded. “Rae said he would try to help us.” He also said he would try to help Erin. She hoped he followed through with that.

“No sign of Bradley?” Luca asked.

Sam shook his head but Avery wasn't surprised. Of course, he wouldn't be back with help.

There weren't any villages or cities around for hundreds of miles, though no one else knew that.

She wanted to bring it to their attention, but at this point, something held her back. It was the same feeling she'd had earlier, the feeling of the jungle drawing her in. Maybe something had brought them here for a reason, even if she had no idea what the reason could be. It was almost as if she belonged. As if she were needed. The thought bugged her. “Can we eat?” she asked, ready to put those thoughts aside.

Erin nodded. “Some of the others went to get fruit and water.”

Avery sat beside Erin and sighed. The jungle always took something out of her—it took something out of them all. Water sounded like heaven.

It wasn't long before she heard laughter coming from the trees, and a few moments later the others in their dwindling group stepped through the tree line.

David carried a bag of water bottles and the girls each carried a bundle of fruit in what looked like handmade baskets.

“How did you do that?” Avery asked. She fingered one of the delicately weaved contraptions. “That's awesome.”

Mallory beamed. “My mom took a basket weaving class last summer.” She rolled her eyes. “I was totally annoyed when she made me come, but I guess it came in handy.”

Everyone gathered around the fire and passed out the fruit and water. They had agreed to only eat the boxed food once a day. It would last longer that way, just in case Bradley couldn't find help. No one talked about what would happen if Bradley never came back at all, or if no one ever came to their rescue.

Avery hated to admit it, but she was beginning to realize that without some serious intervention from God, they weren't getting out of here any time soon. She glanced at their group and considered what this meant for each of them. They had clothes, but how long would those last? A few years? A few decades? She shuddered and looked at the group. No one else seemed all doom and gloom. In fact, the others seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Luca said something that made June throw back her head and laugh.

Avery frowned. That was something she didn't plan on watching.

The sun crept closer to the tree line and before long June and Luca started singing an upbeat song she recognized from church. How did Luca even know all these songs? He hadn't been to church in months.

She turned away from them so she wouldn't have to watch. If the van were here she'd close herself in, but the shelters were in plain view of everyone, and she'd still be able to hear them if she holed up inside one. For now, she was stuck listening, but she didn't like it. Music didn't soothe her like it used to, not like it did before Mom left and Daddy wrote her off.

The songs ended and the cool, desert air began stirring. The sun was gone now, and the desert was bathed in darkness.

Avery turned her face toward the sky. Stars stretched into infinity. It was the first time she'd looked up and noticed the stars since arriving, and the sight took her breath away. The others' chatter faded away as she stared into the heavens. The silence of space echoed in her head and for the first time, she realized it was silent in her mind. That was encouraging, at least. She could make it a few minutes without worrying. Without wondering.