Shit! Shit! Shit!
What was that?
I’m sure it’s nothing. A night critter or one of those enormous bugs I refuse to think about.
Or it could be one of them trying to sniff me out.
I get goose bumps all over my arms and have to force myself to breathe slowly all over again.
I’m fine.
There’s another rustle right by the tree, and I picture one of those huge, red-marked males crouched right outside, head tilted, scenting the air the way the one in the clearing did before he came at me. I picture clawed fingers working through the brush at the entrance, finding the gap, finding me, and then I picture the rest of it and have to stop, because if I keep going, I’m going to start screaming.
I’m fine.
It’s all good.
I’m safe.
Magma will be back soon, and no one will find me.
I press my lips together. My heart is slamming hard against my ribs. Every breath feels too loud, so I slow it.
Think happy thoughts.
You’re fine.
You can do this.
You’re going to get through this. And get back home. You’ll go on that date with Flint. It’ll be magical and fun.
Something brushes against the leaves at the entrance, and every part of me locks up at once. I suck in a breath because that didn’t sound like a bug or a critter.
“Carla. It’s me.”
The relief is so enormous I almost laugh. I press a hand over my mouth instead and then exhale so that my body sags against the dirt.
“Magma.” His name comes out shaky, but I don’t care. “Oh, thank god.”
“I’m going to clear the opening. Stay where you are.”
Branches scrape and rustle, and then a thin gray slice of night sky appears where solid black used to be, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Moonlight filters down through the canopy.
“Come on. Give me your hand.”
I crawl toward the gap and find his hand waiting, huge and warm, and let him guide me out into the open. My legs have gone stiff, and I stumble the second I’m upright. He catches my elbow and steadies me.
“I found us something,” he says. “Come sit. It’s not much, but it’ll do.”
He guides me a few feet from the tree to a spot where a fallen log makes a kind of bench, and I sit. Even with the moonlight, I can’t see much more than shapes. Magma is a solid outline. I can’t see his features as he sits right next to me on the same log, giving me my space.
“What did you find?”
“A few things. There’s a guava tree not far from here, and some kind of nut I recognized as edible. The shells are thick, but they crack easy enough. And these.” Something heavy and round is pressed into my hands. “Coconuts. I found a couple of them. The water is nutrient-dense and will work well at quenching our thirst.”
“That sounds amazing.”
My throat is dry. My lips feel like they might crack open.
