Calm down, Maddie. Think.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath.Use the sun.
I look up. Since I’m in the Southern Hemisphere, facing the sun means I’m facing north. So I turn to my right andhead as close to east by northeast as I can.
Within minutes, I come to a narrow path. In the middle of it is a moss-covered log I tripped over shortly after the kidnappers started to march us out of camp.
Relieved, I take off down the path at a jog. Fifty yards later, I find a cigarette butt with Silvana’s lipstick staining the tip. I start running, stumbling with every other step, and when I see the top of a bright yellow tent, I stop in the middle of the path, sobbing.
I’ve made it. All on my own.
Score one for the girl with diabetes.
Fighting the urge to race through the camp in search of my brother, I creep along the back side of the line of tents instead. I listen for the footsteps and voices of anyone who might have stayed behind, but I hear nothing louder than the roar of my own pulse.
Ryan was shot at the end of this row of tents. I’m just yards away. A single orange tent blocks my view.
My heart pounds so hard it threatens to throw me off balance. I push back the flap of the orange tent.
Ryan is gone.
The camp is empty.
But there is a pile of loose earth beneath a tree on the edge of the clearing.
A single grave.
37 HOURS EARLIER
GENESIS
The gunmen prod us with their rifles, forcing us to move faster and faster in the slick mud, until we’re virtually sliding downhill. Penelope’s eyes are unfocused, and every time we need to climb over or under something, I have to practically shake her back to reality.
The temptation to slap her awake is almost irresistible, but she’s in too much shock to understand that my motivation is at least as much retribution as friendship.
If I hit her, I want her to understand why.
Indiana tries to help me keep her going, but Holden is lost in his own thoughts, and I can tell from how often he glances at the gunmen’s rifles that his thoughts are going to get us killed.
Finally Silvana calls for a bathroom break. “Five minutes,” she shouts. “Nada más.”
Pen, Domenica, and I head into the woods to relieve ourselves, escorted by Natalia and her rifle. On my way back to the clearing, I hear Sebastián and Silvana arguingin hushed voices. I stop behind a tree, trying to listen, but I can only pick up bits and pieces.
“No se suponía que iba a morir...” Sebastián hisses.He wasn’t supposed to die.
They’re talking about Ryan. My hand clenches around my backpack strap, and the buckle bites into my skin. Do theyknowhe’s dead or are they just assuming?
“...mi jefe se pondrá furioso...”My boss will be pissed.
“Myboss won’t give a shit, as long as he gets what he wants,” Silvana replies.
My head spins. She doesn’t work with Sebastián. And she obviously doesn’t care if some of the hostages die. She could be part of some splinter political group or maybe a member of a drug cartel. Maddie said the conflict in Colombia was over, but it’s not like people have stopped using drugs.
A stick breaks beneath my foot, and I suck in a startled breath, waiting to see if they’ve heard me. But they’re still arguing.
Silvana lets her rifle hang from its strap and props both hands on her hips. “You deal with the hostages and let me do my job.”
Does that meanhe’sin charge of us?
