Until the Day I Die(44)

“We should probably put some food in Deirdre’s tent,” Jess says. “And a bottle of water.” “Who knows when we’re going to eat next.”

“Aw, look at you. Having a heart.”

She grins just as Lach trudges past us back to his chair.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

He sits heavily. Takes a swig of his tea. “She made it back to the resort. So that’s good.”

Jess and I exchange brief looks.

“What’s going to happen to her?” I ask.

“Oh, Antonia will probably put her on the first flight back home.” He settles back into his chair. “Some people don’t want to be helped. Nothing you can do.”

After we’re finished eating, Lach informs us that the rest of the afternoon and evening are ours. He grabs his walkie, phone, and a backpack from the picnic table, then disappears into the jungle.

“That was bizarre,” Jess says.

“What?”

“I think he was lying about Agnes. I mean why didn’t Antonia just send her right back up here to finish the challenge?”

“You heard what he said. Maybe she’s cutting her losses.”

Jess shrugs. “I don’t know. That part could be true. I heard Agnes pulled a shiv on her first L’élu guide.”

I gape at her. “What?”

“One of the women from her L’élu told me their guide—not Lach, some other guy—wouldn’t give them food after they’d been hiking all day. Agnes lost her shit and stabbed him.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“She stabbed him with the broken end of a plastic spoon, supposedly. But still. I heard the dude wrestled her to the ground in front of her whole L’élu group.”

“Jesus.”

“I know. It’s ridiculous. You’d think after an altercation like that, somebody would call the police.”

“You know, my concierge said there had been other incidents. Well, accidents, actually. At the volcano.”

Jess laughs. “Oh my God. Please tell me you’re making this up. There’s a volcano?”

“Apparently.” I dig into my aching arch. “Antonia told me the Saint Lucia police basically leave the island to her. I think she’s the only law around here.”

“Really comforting. God.”

I think about the fear in Agnes’s eyes this morning. “I heard Agnes’s family wanted her to marry somebody she didn’t want to marry. So they sent her here.”

“What?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“I cannot believe that shit still happens. Don’t folks know it’s the twenty-first century?”

I don’t reply. I’m dying to know what brought Jessalyn to Hidden Sands, how exactly she’s going to fit into the dynamic of our little three-woman survivor team, but that’s the manager in me talking; it’s actually none of my business. I need to remember that, basically, everybody has a virtual “Do Not Disturb” sign hanging around their neck. But I can’t help connecting the dots. Deirdre, Agnes, and I all seem to be in this group for reasons other than addiction. Maybe that’s what makes us trois, the common thread that ties us together.

Jess shakes her head. “Do me a favor: if I look like I’m about to stab that guy, stop me. I do not want to have to go through this all over again. Or get sent home.”

“Speaking of getting sent home . . .” I glance at Deirdre’s tent. “Maybe we should help her out.”

We unzip Deirdre’s tent flap and slip in a bottle of water, a wrap, and a couple of cookies. I can hear her soft snoring and feel a pang of sympathy. Despite her slowing us down this morning, we have to stick together. It’s the only way we’re going to get through this.

Back at the fire, Jess pushes the smoldering remains with a stick, and the wood rekindles, spitting sparks into the soft navy-blue sky. My gaze drifts off to the darkness beyond. Who knows what animals are hidden behind the cover of trees, burrowing into holes, nestling into beds of cool leaves? Maybe they’re dangerous. Maybe they bite or sting or shoot quills of deadly venom.

I guess I should add them to the list of challenges I’m unprepared to meet out here. I’m not used to failure, but Agnes certainly looked capable—healthy and fit—and she had to repeat her L’élu. What if I fail to meet the challenge, and they never let me leave this place? What if this is some kind of nightmarish, Sisyphean challenge where I have to relive this torment every day, hoping to survive?

“So. You going to ask me why I’m here?” Jess asks.

“No. I didn’t want to pry. And, also? I didn’t really want to talk about why I’m here.”

She laughs. “I hear you. But I’m pretty sure this is what they want us to do. Why they set up this whole vision quest thing. To get us to face why we’ve come here. So, if we want to get the certificate, we should give them what they want.”

I smile. “Okay, Jess. Why are you here?”

“I wanted things that I wasn’t allowed to have. And even though certain people didn’t like me wanting them, I couldn’t help it.” She lifts her face to the stars, lets her eyes flutter closed.

“You’re not going to stop there, are you? You’re killing me.”