Shadowed Eden (18 page)

In the winter months, he helped his uncle at the family taxidermy shop. His dad and his uncle worked there together for years, stuffing animals and preserving experiences. They also ran a meat processor, but when Luca's dad died a few months ago, his uncle couldn't handle both sides of the business.

Luca had begged Uncle Jimbo to keep the processor so he could run it when he graduated from high school, but Uncle Jim said he had no choice.

Now Luca was nearing graduation and had nothing to fall back on. Uncle Jim didn't need a partner, and the new meat processor wasn't looking to sell the business back. What would he do when he got back home?

He stood at the base of the tree and peered up, trying to figure out how to get the bunch down from the tree. He sighed and placed his foot against the peeling bark. Going up was the best way he could figure. He hefted himself up the first few paces before it started to get hard, and at the top he pulled out the small pocketknife he'd found in the van a few days ago.

The knife was dull and the stalk was thick, but the bunch finally broke free and fell to the ground with a thud.

“Watch it!” someone called up.

Luca sucked in a fast breath and stumbled on the tree branch. He grabbed onto the closest branch he could to steady himself before looking down.

A guy his own age stood on the ground below. His dark hair stood in spikes around his head, and his dark skin reminded Luca of Sam, the van driver. This guy definitely was not from their mission trip.

“Who are you?” Luca needed to get out of the tree, and fast. Standing up there made him feel like a coward, but climbing down put him in a vulnerable position, and that was something he didn't much like.

“Rafa,” the newcomer said. “And you are?”

Luca frowned. This guy—this Rafa—acted as if they were meeting at the skate park instead of the middle of an abandoned desert oasis.

“I'm Luca. Watch out. I'm climbing down.” Luca kept his gaze on Rafa as best he could as he slid down the tree trunk. The thick bark sliced into his arm at one point, but he kept his gasp in so Rafa wouldn't notice. At the bottom, he slipped into his shirt and wiped the blood from his arm on his shorts. His other hand palmed the knife, just in case. “Where did you come from?” Luca demanded. “We've been here for days and haven't seen anyone.”

Rafa's eyebrows rose. “I thought you met Rae. He said he'd spoken to the group of abandons.”

Rae.

Luca tried to relax, but he found himself tensing instead. “You know Rae?”

“Yeah dude. We both live here.”

They lived here. In this jungle. “We haven't seen any housing. We haven't seen anything that hints at people living here.”

Rafa smirked. “You think you have seen the entire jungle? This is a big place.”

The guy made a good point.

Luca took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. “Sorry. That's true. Can you help us? We want to get out of here.”

“Of course we can help you. Anything you need.”

Just like that? After Rae's hemming and hawing, Luca hadn't expected immediate compliance. “Really? Because we could use a phone or computer, or a working van to get out of here.”

“You left another van on the other side of the jungle, didn't you?”

Chills pricked Luca's arm. Did these guys see the group's every move? That wasn't right. Something wasn't right.

He smoothed out his face and worked to look cool. “That's right. We had two vans, and the other group moved to stay with our group. They had to leave their van behind because it wouldn't start.”

“Couldn't you take the gas from the non-working van and use it in the other van?”

Luca shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I guess that could work.”

Rafa grinned. “Glad I could help. Listen, we're around if you need us. We don't go hanging out in the open because, hey, that's not our thing. But if you need us, just come looking. Really.”

The muscles in Luca's shoulders relaxed a little more, and he nodded. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

Rafa nodded then stepped into the shadows and out of sight.

Luca grabbed the bananas and slung them over his back, heaving a grunt with their weight. It was stupid they hadn't thought of it earlier. All they had to do was patch the hole in the gas lines of their own van while someone else made the trip to the other van and drained the gas out.

Now they just needed a gas container, but there had to be something lying around they could use.

He had worked up a full-blown sweat by the time he reached camp, and it was only as he set down the bananas and Avery glared at him from the girls' shelter—she must have noticed he'd gone alone—that he realized something. Two somethings, to be exact.

How did Rafa know they had a gas leak in their van?

And if he lived in this jungle—and had for a while—why did he speak in non-accented English?

Part 3

Genesis 3:24

“So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east…Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

21

Rae

Fire seethed through Rae's body, his mind, his blood.

Rafa had spoken to one of them. He had implied he and Rae were friends. He had promised to help them. Rafa had no intention of helping them do anything, least of all leave the jungle.

Rae stormed through the trees, not caring when the branches snagged his clothes or skin.

Rafa needed to answer for what he had done. He did not have permission to speak to the outsiders, and now he was going to explain himself.

The air grew thicker. Heavier. More damp. The foliage curved around Rae's body like a blanket, bending and moving with his every step. What little sunlight filtered through the trees dimmed. Rae stopped and watched as a night flower bloomed before his eyes. It was midday, at latest, and these flowers only bloomed in the dark. “Rafa,” he called.

Silence answered.

“Rafa!” His nostrils flared, and he barely contained his anger. “I know you are here.”

Rafa stepped from the burrow in a huge tree trunk. He smirked at Rae, his face full of ego and amusement. His dark hair stood on end, and his clothes were a crumpled and dirty mess. “What could you possibly want with me? Unless you're willing to accept my offer, that is.”

“You spoke to one of them. That is against the commandments.”

“You spoke to them, too, don't forget. More than once, and more than one of them. You are a watcher, so you have commandments to follow. I broke no supposed law.”

Rae worked to control his breathing. He had not allowed himself to consider the facts Rafa presented, but the fallen angel's words rang true.

“I was trying to help them,” Rae spit out. “And you are not.”

The air fluctuated and Rafa stood directly in front of Rae in the blink of an eye. “I can help you, though. Would you like to be human? Live like the humans? Have the freedom they have?”

Every muscle in Rae's body coiled like a snake ready to strike. Rafa's offers were ridiculous.

“I see your mind working behind those eyes.” Rafa circled Rae. “You follow the elders' rules so easily. ‘Don't speak to them,'” he mimicked. “‘Don't help them. Don't intervene. They will find their way out.'”

“And they would,” Rae interrupted. “If you would leave them alone.”

Rafa stopped and grinned. “Perhaps you are right about that. But I have other events in mind.”

Rae knew all of that. It was exactly what Rafa had said when he'd tried to get Rae to join his cause the first time around.

Rae could help him
, Rafa had said.
Rae could have whatever he wanted in return
, he had promised.

Rae clenched his fists. “I will never help you.”

“Then you will have to work hard against me,” Rafa said. “Because I won't stop trying. And I'm through playing nicely.”

Rafa slinked back to the hole he crawled from and Rae worked to calm his nerves. He did not succeed. Instead, he shot through the trees at the speed of the jungle cats. His feet barely touched the ground.

The elders had to be notified. Someone had to do something to stop Rafa. His goals were wholly unacceptable, and Rae would do all he could to put a stop to it. When he had reached the entry to the inner jungle—his home—he paused. Closing his eyes, he sniffed the air. He stood perfectly still and let the air vibrations bounce off his skin.

Finally, he let out a relieved breath. For today, at least, Rafa had not won. Their home was undisturbed.

“You have done foolishly.”

The voice of the highest watcher spun Rae around. “Jacob. You scared me.”

Jacob stood patiently, so Rae went on.

“I have come to warn you. Rafa is working to keep the outsiders stranded. He hopes to bring them here, to the inner jungle. I felt I had to intervene in order to help them find a way out.”

“They don't need your help to leave.” Jacob towered over him. He was almost big enough to frighten Rae, but Rae had seen enough of Jacob to know he was not to be feared. They had been working together for years.

“You forget your place,” Jacob said. “Your job is to keep them out. Whatever else they do is not your concern.” He stepped closer to Rae, almost nose to nose. “That includes whether or not they find food or water. Stop intervening.”

Guilt seeped through every pore of his body. Jacob knew everything Rae had done—the times he had shown them how to find food, water, paths back to their camp. But Rae felt the love of the Father in them. He pitied them—loved them, even.

He bowed his head. “Forgive me, Jacob.”

“You do not need my forgiveness.”

Rae glanced up and Jacob smiled at him. “Do not worry over Rafa. He is a fallen angel who is doomed for eternity. Unlike others I know.”

Rae stood a little taller and nodded. Jacob had been the keeper of the jungle since the beginning. The fact that he thought Rea sufficient enough to help him and the other elders spoke volumes.

Jacob slipped inside the inner jungle and left Rae to stand alone. Rae would not fail the elders, but what about Avery and her group? If he left Rafa alone, he would get to her.

Rae had already almost failed once. The other girls, Gabby and Katelyn, had come way too close once before. If he had been guarding his post as he should have been, instead of following Avery and her group around, the girls never would have gotten near the place.

At least Jacob had not reminded him about that.

Rae clenched his teeth and thought of Jacob's words one last time. He had orders. He had a job. A mission.

He had to forget about Avery's group and protect his home.

22

Avery

How could Luca? Tromping off through the jungle alone? Bringing back a huge bunch of bananas? He must be losing his mind along with everyone else.

Either that or he hadn't changed at all, not since he'd impulsively punched out a window in his downstairs living room in a fit of blind rage. Not since he'd let his anger take over his personality, and she'd had to stay away from him.

He set the bananas down and a few others flocked to him.

“Do we have enough water to boil the noodles for tonight's meal?” Tasha asked.

Avery pulled her attention away from Luca—who now stood with a few other guys, speaking with serious faces—and pointed to one of the baskets in the shade. “All of our water is being stored in there, but I think we've got plenty.”

Tasha smiled and grabbed a few bottles, then moved back to the logs around the fire.

Now it was time to find out what was going on with Luca. Avery marched toward the guys.

“You should stay with Erin,” Luca was saying to Chad.

“No. I need to get her out of here. I was at the other camp, and I know how to get there and back. I'm going.”

Luca's lips pressed into a thin line but he didn't argue.

“What's going on?” Avery asked.

“We're sending a few guys to get the gas from the other van, while I stay and fix the busted gas lines on our own van.” Bradley puffed out his chest like he was the homecoming king and had just scored the winning touchdown at the big game.

Avery turned to Luca. “This just came to you, or what?”

He frowned and turned away, and a tiny seed of guilt wafted through her. OK, so she shouldn't have been so snappy, especially not in front of the others, but he shouldn't have gone into the jungle alone.

The guys talked for a few more minutes and Avery had to admit, it wasn't a bad plan. It would be dangerous to send others around the jungle for a second time—who knew if or when they'd come back—but it was worth the risk. What other choice did they have?

They finished making their plans and agreed that Chad and a few other guys from his van would leave first thing in the morning.

Avery peered around their broad shoulders at Erin, who lay in the girls' old shelter. It was what she seemed to do most of the time, lately. She claimed sleep was the only way to ignore the things she saw and heard.

The other guys moved away but Avery stayed put, staring a hole through Luca so he would know, without a doubt, she wanted to talk to him.

Finally, he sighed and turned to her. “It's the best way to get out of here, Avery. You have to see that.”

“I do see it, but why did you have to be alone to figure that out?”

His eyebrows rose and she could almost see his anger beginning to boil. “Are you serious? It's constant girl chatter around here. A guy needs some alone time.”

Alone time. It was something he'd always needed, so she couldn't really fault him for it. “You could have at least let someone know so we could come looking if you weren't back after a while.”

He studied her for a few moments. His eyes clouded over, and she gulped. He was going to let her have it. But he only nodded. “You're right. Sorry.”