One Was Lost(32)

Something drags in the dirt. I search for the noise, seeing Emily tuck her legs closer, her chin settled on her knees.

“The sun’s dropping. That’s west. It’ll be dark again in a few hours.”

“We lost a day building that sled,” I say, my voice wobbly. “An entire day.”

And we only have one left. But one left until what? I don’t ask because I know I don’t want that answer.

“Nothing else has happened today,” Emily says. “Maybe it’s over.”

“Pretty sure our little carved messages are an indicator that this isn’t over,” Lucas says. “Somebody didn’t go through all this just to change their mind. We should keep moving. It’s not dark yet.”

“I agree,” I say. “I just wish it wasn’t so…mountain-y.”

“It’s going to get worse,” Lucas warns, nodding north where we can all see the shadows of mountains rising higher.

“Perfect,” Jude says.

I sigh. “I just wish we knew how far the road is.”

Lucas opens his mouth to respond, but the words never come. I can tell he’s heard something by the look that crosses his face. Emily lifts her head, and Jude cocks his chin. Then I hear it too. A faint whir whines through the air to the east.

It fades away, and Jude starts to speak, but we hush him, straining to hear. It couldn’t have been our imagination. We all heard it. Unless the water drugs are coming complete with mass auditory hallucinations.

After a tense silence, it comes again, rising in pitch and then falling off. It’s definitely east, and it’s not an animal. It’s too steady and even, more machine than beast. I look up, feeling a hard swell of hope rush into my chest.

It sounds like an engine.





Chapter 13


Dirt bikes. We thought quads at first, but Lucas was sure that wasn’t right. He’d ridden both and said this engine was higher in pitch. Either one could make it through the tangles of ferns and moss-covered rocks around here.

“We need to head that way,” Jude says. “If they have dirt bikes, then they have a truck. A trailer. They came from a road somewhere or at least a path that leads to a road.”

“I agree,” Emily says.

I nod because I agree too, even if I’m not sure how I’ll actually stay upright to head anywhere. I pull myself up using the maple tree behind me for support. The bark digs into my raw palm, but it’s OK. The pain gives me something to hold on to.

“Maybe I’m a cynic, but I don’t trust it.” Lucas stretches his arms wide, pointing in opposite directions. “The road is north, and whatever we’re hearing is southeast. How do we know it isn’t a trap? We’ve probably only made it a couple of miles at this point. Following that noise could erase what little we’ve done.”

“Seems like a pretty poor trap to me,” Jude says. “We could just as easily ignore it.”

The engine grows a bit louder, and we all look up. I can feel myself leaning toward the sound, the idea of vehicles. People. Civilization. Home. It pulls me like a june bug to a porch light.

“Ignore it, huh?” Lucas’s voice stiffens my spine. He’s shaking his head at all of us. “If I weren’t here, the three of you would be tearing through those woods.”

“Because it makes sense to tear through those woods,” I say. “There are people over there. Probably people with phones. We would be insane not to try.”

“I agree,” Jude says. “That sounds like a way out of here.”

“Sound travels weird in the mountains. We could be wrong. Mishearing it. Or worse, they could be long gone by the time we get there,” Lucas says. “And then what? How much time will we have lost? How much longer can we go?”

“We’re going,” Jude says. “Well, I’m going.”

“I’m with you,” Emily says.

“Be smarter than this,” Lucas says, but he isn’t talking to Jude or Emily. He’s given up on them, and that searching look he’s wearing? It’s for me.

In the distance, the engine starts again. Emily shifts on her feet, waiting for me. How am I supposed to make a choice like this? We can’t move Mr. Walker without Lucas, and everything about the way he’s crossing his arms tells me he knows it.

Do they think I can talk him into it? The Darling on my arm itches. I run my thumb over the letters and bite my lip.

“We’ll just give you two a minute to decide,” Jude says, and somehow, he’s woven a smirk into his tone. I suck in a breath to snap at him, but he holds up a hand. “Emily and I are going on ahead. We’ll stay in shouting range.”

Emily won’t look at my eyes, but she’s edging closer to Jude. My mind goes back to their conversation last night. I thought things had changed between us, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe they still think Lucas is in on this, that he’s trying to keep them from getting help.

“Maybe Lucas has a point.” I’m not sure I agree with his points, but they’re making choices about Lucas’s character that are just wrong. He isn’t the bad guy here. Lucas is notorious for a smart mouth and a quick punch, but I can’t imagine him behind something like this.

“Yeah, you two talk all you want about those points,” Jude says.