“Rives!”
A girl’s voice, laced with panic. The pauses between shouts were as terrifying as the shouts themselves.
Thad caught me as the trail widened. Our legs matched each other, stride for stride, and I knew if we kept going, eventually we’d hit the valley, the one before the rain forest. But I also knew we’d never get that far—that we’d find something first. Or someone.
A girl staggered from the trees. No, two. One was Asian, with slick dark hair, tiny like Li but younger, with eyes full of fear. The other girl was Talla. Bloody and unconscious, her head lolled like a rag doll as the smaller girl half dragged, half carried her up the path, crying for Rives.
The instant she saw us, the tiny girl collapsed, shouldering Talla to the ground.
“Want me to help find Rives?” I asked as we closed in on the girls.
“No. Stay.” Thad’s voice was clipped.
Talla’s arms and face were scratched, and a jagged, bloody gash slashed up her forearm and wrapped around her elbow, exposingbone. Her left arm hung at a funny angle. She needed a hospital, but all she had was us.
The whimpering girl seemed to have shrunk. She rocked Talla on the ground, tears staining her childlike face. “Do you speak English?” Thad asked gently.
She nodded.
“I’m Thad,” he said, using the same soft, steady tone. “What’s your name?”
“Mi-Miya.” Her word jerked through tight breaths.
“Okay, Miya. Do you know what happened?” Thad pointed to Talla, who was unconscious.
“Wolf. She save me from wolf.”
Where’s Miguel? And Heesham? And Bart? Where’s her team?
Thad was obviously thinking the same thing, because he asked Miya, “Did you see anyone else with her? Boys?”
She shook her head.
Rives came running, with Jillian limping behind. It turned out Jillian’s mom was a physical therapist, and Jillian was now the de facto head of island medicine. “I don’t know crap,” she said, her voice shaking. “But her shoulder looks dislocated to me.” Gently, Rives lifted Talla, his face drawn.
Back in the City, Thad and Rives reset Talla’s shoulder. Her scream was bloodcurdling, then she passed back out, which was probably good. Jillian took over when Thad left. Rives refused to leave Talla’s side.
Feeling helpless, I brought Rives a plate of pineapple. “Rives, you need to eat.”
Rives didn’t move. I set the plate on the small table.
“Can I get you anything else?”
“Deadleaf,” Rives said. “We’re out.”
His eyes never left Talla.
“Where do I get it?”
“Closest strand is near the groves.” Rives turned to me and, for an instant, purpose replaced desperation. “It’s a haul, I know. Don’t go alone. Take Thad, or Jason. And don’t touch the leaves.”
“Why?”
Jillian answered. “Because your hand will go numb. The leaves weep white juice; it’s an instant anesthetic. Sabine’s the one who taught us about it. If you crush the leaves, they make a numbing compress. When you harvest, one person cuts, and one packs. Don’t touch. And don’t eat the fruit. Not that you’d want to—it smells terrible—but the fruit’s poisonous.”
I stopped. “It smells bad? Like throw up?”
“Yup.” Jillian crinkled her nose. Rives was intent on Talla. He held her hand, watching her closed eyes.
