Shadowed Eden (16 page)

It was so unlike June, Avery wasn't sure what to say. She looked to Luca.

Leaving someone alone in the jungle was a definite breach in the rules everyone had agreed to.

“What if I stay but the guys go?” she asked. “I won't go in with you. I'll stay at this end of the creek, and I won't look.”

June frowned but didn't argue.

Benny took the pack of water from Avery's shoulders and put it on his own back. Luca grabbed her elbow. “Are you sure about this?”

“What other choice do we have?” she whispered.

He nodded, his frown deep. “OK. We're coming back for you, though. Stay put until we get back.”

She agreed and glanced at June.

The blonde girl smiled shyly at Luca then moved toward the swim hole as the guys moved away.

Great. She was alone in the dark, creepy jungle with a girl whose eyes had changed color and who was seriously acting weird.

Finding a big rock, she slid to a seat and folded her legs Indian style. The soft sounds of splashing drifted upstream from where June washed a few feet away. Shampoo sounded heavenly, even if June didn't think so. When they got back, she would have to get all the girls together and return to the creek. She sighed and lay back on the rock then stared at the trees above her. No matter how small he made her feel, Daddy's presence in their camp was good.

He brought a feeling of security to everyone. Of leadership. A plan.

But how had Daddy's van ended up on the other side of the jungle? And where, exactly, was this jungle? She focused her mind on maps she'd seen in Daddy's study over the years. He'd been almost obsessed with Iraq, and he'd made many archeological discoveries throughout the Middle East since Avery's childhood. Was he after another one on this trip? Was that why he'd come?

Anger. Betrayal. Disbelief and yet total belief.

Feelings ransacked her heart until reason pushed them out.

He couldn't have known about this place. No one could have predicted a sand storm that would blow them halfway across the country and deposit them in an uninhabited oasis. Whether he was prepared or not, though, he seemed excited to be here. He suspected a few things about their location, and remembering the maps on his desk, Avery suspected a few things as well.

She closed her eyes and let her mind drift, and she almost didn't notice when the sounds of the water faded away. June must have finished.

Avery opened her eyes. That was when she saw the first bug. It scampered over her rock and disappeared into the water. Avery gasped and pushed herself to the edge, looking over to make sure there weren't more.

A second bug darted along the creek bed, and a third sat in the middle of the path back to the desert.

“June?” she called. “Are you OK?” She hated the way her voice shook.

No one answered and Avery frowned. She did not want to get off this rock with that giant, nasty bug sitting on the path, but it didn't look like she had a choice. “June, I'm coming over there. I need you to answer me.”

The only sounds echoing in the air were the jungle sounds of bugs and leaves rustling. Avery shivered when another black beetle crawled up the tree in front of her. Panic crept up her arms and she picked up her speed. “June?”

The swim hole was empty of June, but also of black bugs.

“June!” she screamed.

No one answered her.

Perfect. She stood at the edge of the water and searched for any sign of where June had come out of the water. A muddy path across the creek led into the jungle. They'd never trekked that way, and it was obvious this side led to the path. How had June gotten turned around?

Unless she hadn't gotten turned around at all. Something was different about June since she'd gotten bit. Something more than her eyes.

Avery gnawed her lip, unsure of what to do. If she went after June she might miss Luca when he returned, but if she didn't go after her, June could be in trouble.

She glanced into the denser part of the jungle and paused. Maybe she had one other choice. Maybe.

She closed her eyes and prayed a silent prayer that she wasn't crazy, then she turned and hiked toward the path she'd used to find Rae.

Luca wouldn't be returning for a while. He wouldn't want to chance coming back before June finished, and then there was the time it would take to hike back and forth.

Black bugs followed as she walked, but once she'd gone further, she stopped and swallowed hard. This probably wouldn't work at all. “Rae?” she called out. “Rae, if you can hear me then I need your help.”

The black beetles scurried off the path.

Avery swallowed hard and tried again. “Rae?”

More beetles raced up the tree trunks and out of view.

She took a shaky breath and tried one last time. “Rae?”

Leaves rustled and the sound of someone approaching echoed through the thick, jungle air. Avery held her breath.

Something moved up ahead. Leaves rustled. The air vibrated.

Avery squinted. It almost looked like a building. A temple or something? She glanced around, but the beetles were gone. Gulping, she turned back to the temple. She was really seeing this, wasn't she? She stepped toward the stone structure cautiously. She still knew where she was—which meant next to nothing in this place—but hopefully she could find her way back.

The stones of the building were stacked in neat rows, and moss and other vegetation covered them. It was old but well cared for. And it had appeared out of thin air.

Avery moved to the door, an old wooden thing that seemed in as good a shape as she would expect. “Hello?” she called out, knocking on the wood. It was rough under her fingers, but definitely there. Real.

She laughed to herself. It was a nervous-type laugh. Maybe she was crazy after all, if she was knocking on doors of what might be an imaginary temple in the middle of a magical jungle. Taking a deep breath, she pushed through the door and looked around.

The temple had one open room. The middle of the room held some kind of podium or pulpit. The rest of the room was empty from what she could see, so she moved closer to the middle.

The podium was made of stones, and the closer she got the more she could see. It wasn't a podium at all. It was more like an altar. Avery swallowed hard and ran her fingers along the cold stones. Had something been sacrificed here? Animals?

People?

Icy fear crept up her back and she shivered. Suddenly, she had the worst feeling that the black beetles were crawling across her skin. She cried out and jumped away, brushing at her arms and shuddering.

“Are you well?”

The voice made her cry out again, and she spun around. “What are you doing here?” It came out as a shout, and she clamped her lips closed and took a deep breath through her nose.

Rae's face was guarded, and he stepped back. “You called me, did you not?”

“And then an old church appeared out of thin air.” Her words still held an angry clip, and she forced herself to calm down. “Sorry. I called you because I hoped you could tell me more about this place. Like what's on the other side of the creek, and why can't you tell me more than what you have?”

It wasn't why she'd come at all. She'd wanted to find June. Find out about the change in June, and the snakes. But now all of her questions came bubbling to the surface. “We were separated from the rest of our group, but now we've found them. Where did they come from?”

Rae opened his mouth like he would answer, but instead he shook his head. “You have to leave this place. I‘ll help you.”

“You keep saying that, but it's not doing any good.”

“You can help, as well,” he said. He glanced behind him, toward the door, and his face became more nervous than before. “You can help.”

If she wasn't crazy, Rae definitely was. “You're not making any sense.”

He nodded toward the altar then stepped away. “Hurry. You do not have much time.”

Then, he stepped out the door and was gone.

“Rae? Rae!” Avery rushed to the door, but the area was deserted. She growled out her frustration and turned back to the altar. He'd said to hurry. Hurry and what?

A book sat on top the altar. The altar that had definitely been empty when she first came in. Taking another deep breath, she stepped toward it.

The book cover opened easily, and the pages fluttered with the effort. She licked her lips and searched the book. She expected the words to be in Arabic, or at least Latin, but they weren't. It was more like Middle English. Not that she knew much about Middle English. She couldn't even master basic Spanish, but call her crazy, some of it seemed to make sense.

She scanned the words, trying to understand them.

For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

What did that even mean?

A voice called in the distance, and Avery spun toward the door. Would anyone else see this temple? Dread filled her, and she remembered Rae's words. She could help. She was meant to see this temple and read this book. She knew she'd felt a pull to the jungle like no one else had.

Making a final decision, she slammed the book closed and hurried out the door, back into the jungle.

June burst through the trees several feet away. “Avery? What's wrong? I heard you yelling and thought you were hurt.”

Avery spun to see if the temple was still there, but only jungle greeted her. She deflated. She wasn't sure what was bigger—her relief at seeing June or her disappointment at not seeing the temple. Finally, she turned back to June. “Where were you? You scared me half to death!”

June shrugged, her cheeks turning red. “I had to go to the bathroom.”

Heat crept up Avery's neck and ears. She hadn't thought of that. “Oh. Sorry. I just got worried.” At least her overreaction had led her to Rae. To the temple.

“It's OK. I'm actually ready to go back now, if you're ready.”

Avery nodded and they began walking back to the path when Avery stopped.

June turned and frowned. “What is it?”

Avery watched June for only a second before shaking her head and moving forward, but she shivered.

June's eyes were green again.

As they reached the path near the creek, Luca made his way toward them.

“Wow, that was perfect timing,” June said with a smile.

Luca smiled back. “Excellent. Let's get back, shall we?”

Shall we? Since when did he talk like the words from a Middle English book of prophecy?

Avery caught one last smile between June and Luca, and her stomach twisted in knots.

She frowned and dropped to the end of the group as they marched back to camp. June was OK, and that was fine and dandy, but Avery didn't want her and Luca to become best buds.

The pettiness of her jealousy hit her full on. She'd just read words from an ancient book, in a disappearing temple in the middle of a mysterious jungle. High school drama wasn't worth her time.

Avery glanced behind her one last time as they exited the jungle. She knew she wasn't crazy when a flash of white dashed behind a tree.

19

Luca

Avery and the other girls had been gone to the swim hole for almost an hour. Everyone except June, who seemed happy to sit alone in the girls' shelter.

Luca turned back to the guys sitting around the small fire. “We're going to need more shelters,” he said. “We have twice the people now. What do you say we bring the van back? It's what we'd originally planned for today.”

Bradley leaned forward. “You want us to push that thing through the desert?”

“Why not? There are a dozen of us. It should be easy, and we need the shelter.”

“It's a good idea.” Mr. Miles nodded slowly, looking at the nothingness of the desert. “You should get started right away.”

Which meant he wouldn't be pitching in, obviously.

Sam stood. “I will help.”

Luca stood, as well, and several of the others joined him, including the other van's driver. Bradley huffed and rolled his eyes, but he stood, too.

Luca ignored the bad attitude, for now, but he couldn't help thinking that a smack down would knock the problems out of him once and for all. “Once we get everything situated we can start looking for another way out of here.”

“I say we find a way out of here now and forget about getting things situated.”

Luca bit back his reply to Bradley. They had tried getting out of there, taking many different avenues, and so far, it hadn't worked. Now their only hope of being rescued had shown up at their door. For now, they needed to concentrate on staying safe and alive.

They reached the van and Sam put it in neutral.

“You think you can steer this thing?” Luca asked Benny.

“Of course I can.” Benny hopped in to the driver's seat.

The rest of the guys began pushing it backward toward the jungle. Even with so many of them working together, moving a heavy, metal vehicle through the sand wasn't easy. Luca's feet slipped and slid constantly.

At one point, Bradley lost his grip and slid face first into the sand. He jumped up, sputtering and glaring at everyone, but he put his hands back on the van and kept pushing.

By the time they reached the camp, the girls were back.

Avery met them with the bag of water bottles and quickly handed them out while the other girls sat around the fire, laughing and talking.

A moment later, June joined Avery.

“Mind telling me what's going on?” Avery asked.

“We needed more shelter with all of these people. I thought this was easier than building more rickety structures.”

She smiled. “You think of everything. But the girls get the van, right?”

He would give her anything she wanted, but he kept that to himself and just laughed. “Yeah, I guess that could work.”