Not all of Silvana’s people are happy with this demonstration.
“Three.”
Behind the line of executioners, Sebastián and Óscar stand with their rifles aimed at the ground. Sebastián’s jaw is tight. Óscar stares at his feet.
“Two.” Silvana has only her pinkie finger left.
Penelope sobs.
“I’m so sorry for getting us into this,” I whisper to her. My rebellion has made it easier for our captors to kill us than to put up with us long enough to claim a ransom.
Silvana drops her hand without saying the last number. “That’s how long it will take to kill you if you try to escape.”
Penelope trembles so hard on my left that I’m afraid she’s having a seizure. I let my head fall forward, waiting for my pulse to slow.
“Álvaro.”Silvana nods to the soldier in front of me. I look up as he unsnaps a machete from a loop on his belt. He brings the blade to my throat.
I gasp, then freeze. The warm metal presses into my flesh. If I take too deep a breath, I’ll spill my own blood.
“And this is what will happen if anyone tries to rescue you,” Silvana says. “Are we clear?” My fellow hostages nod on the edge of my vision, but I’m too scared to move.
Silvana makes another gesture, and the gunmen lower their weapons.
The man with the machete at my throat winks at me, and chills slide down my spine. When he finally steps back,I fall forward, bent over my knees, wiping tears from my face as fast as they form.
I am not dead.
As I pick up my backpack and fall into line again, I pass Silvana and Moisés. “Busca el cuerpo,” she whispers to him.
My jaw clenches until my teeth creak. She just told him to find Maddie’s body.
40.75 HOURS EARLIER
MADDIE
I scream as I plunge into the river. Water fills my mouth.
The river slings me downstream, and I flail against the current. My elbow smashes into a rock. My lungs burn.
I fight toward the surface and suck in as much water as air. The current is too strong. My backpack is too bulky. The river rips it from me as I ricochet off rocks and floating branches.
I’mflyingdown the river.
Totally out of control.
GENESIS
Rain begins to fall mid-morning—just enough moisture to keep us damp and irritable.
No one talks. We are each stuck in our own heads, islands of fear and exhaustion isolated by the sound of the rain and the difficulty of the hike. As I lower myself down muddy hills with handfuls of bamboo and dangling vines, skinning my palms and bruising my knees, I think about Maddie and Ryan.
My cousins. Gone. Just like my mother.
Every breath is hard to take. Each step requires staggering effort.
Could I be wrong? Are they still alive? Can they be for much longer?
The only thing I’m sure of is that this is all my fault.
