means seagull in Spanish. It’s a ruin where only the birds hang out.”
“Our contact is a seagull? Cool,” she replied.
He smiled briefly and turned up a path that looked more like a washed-out gully at the moment. They wound up the hill about halfway when they reached a massive washout, maybe twenty feet across and at least as deep.
Alex screeched to a stop on its lip and she barely avoided plowing into him and pushing him over the edge. “Whoa,” she gasped.
They stared down into the ravine together. A raging torrent of water rushed down the mountain. If either of them fell into that it would smash them on the rocks before washing their broken bodies down the hill.
She looked up the mountain, and the slash of the ravine was visible all the way to the top. She murmured, “Got a plan C meeting point, Captain Preparedness?”
“No. We’re on our own for now.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
He shrugged. “I’m good at improvising. I’m going to suggest we head toward the area where the ships have been seen coming and going and scout around for ourselves.”
“Where is this area exactly?”
He shrugged. “Up the coast a little ways. I’ve got a map and GPS on my phone. We’ll find it.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, this island is trashed. It’s not like we can just take off hiking over hill and dale. We’ve got no food, no water and, worse, no bug spray!”
He arched an eyebrow at her.
“I’m serious! Think about the size of mosquitoes that are going to start breeding in this mess. In a week, they’ll be carrying off small children.”
“I have industrial-strength bug repellent,” he replied dryly.
“You do? Hand it over.”
“There aren’t any insects out to speak of.”
“I feel itchy,” she declared.
“That’s the sand in your clothes. We need to preserve the supplies we have. I have no idea what we’ll find when we get to where we’re going.”
“Do you know exactly where that will be?” she asked in resignation.
“Nope.”
He took his bearings using his cell phone, and then backtracked cautiously to a side road they’d passed a few minutes earlier. No telling if there were more military patrols out hunting for them or not. She rather thought that they would still be out here.
She stared up the narrow track that disappeared into the darkness. “You’re seriously going to just head off into the jungle?” she asked in dismay.
“There are fresh tire tracks on this road. It’s passable for at least a while.”
Well, that was encouraging. This “road” of his looked like a pair of bad ruts and not much more. Her irritation, and her certainty that he was torturing her on purpose, mounted as they hiked up into the hills. The “road” did, in fact, hold up for several miles. But then, they hit a patch where, as far ahead as Alex’s high-powered flashlight could reach, nothing but downed trees was visible.
“End of the road,” he muttered.
“How far to wherever we’re headed?”
“Far enough that it’s time for us to make camp and get a little rest before we finish the hike.”
Oh, God. She watched in dismay as Alex moved a ways up the hill and off into the brush. She followed glumly and helped him spread out a tarp on the ground. They spread another over a downed tree limb lying several feet above the first tarp. They laid big banana leaves in a shingle pattern over the shelter to help it shed water and then covered the whole mess with brush, no doubt to camouflage it from prying eyes.
She crawled into the tiny tent and Alex followed suit. She muttered, “Did I ever mention I hate camping?”
“I got that memo when you went looking for an electrical outlet in a cave in Zaghastan so you could blow-dry your hair.”
“I did not look for an outlet! I merely complained that there wasn’t one.”
“I rest my case,” he murmured.
“Just tell me there aren’t ginormous snakes crawling around all over the place out here.”
“There
“Our contact is a seagull? Cool,” she replied.
He smiled briefly and turned up a path that looked more like a washed-out gully at the moment. They wound up the hill about halfway when they reached a massive washout, maybe twenty feet across and at least as deep.
Alex screeched to a stop on its lip and she barely avoided plowing into him and pushing him over the edge. “Whoa,” she gasped.
They stared down into the ravine together. A raging torrent of water rushed down the mountain. If either of them fell into that it would smash them on the rocks before washing their broken bodies down the hill.
She looked up the mountain, and the slash of the ravine was visible all the way to the top. She murmured, “Got a plan C meeting point, Captain Preparedness?”
“No. We’re on our own for now.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
He shrugged. “I’m good at improvising. I’m going to suggest we head toward the area where the ships have been seen coming and going and scout around for ourselves.”
“Where is this area exactly?”
He shrugged. “Up the coast a little ways. I’ve got a map and GPS on my phone. We’ll find it.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, this island is trashed. It’s not like we can just take off hiking over hill and dale. We’ve got no food, no water and, worse, no bug spray!”
He arched an eyebrow at her.
“I’m serious! Think about the size of mosquitoes that are going to start breeding in this mess. In a week, they’ll be carrying off small children.”
“I have industrial-strength bug repellent,” he replied dryly.
“You do? Hand it over.”
“There aren’t any insects out to speak of.”
“I feel itchy,” she declared.
“That’s the sand in your clothes. We need to preserve the supplies we have. I have no idea what we’ll find when we get to where we’re going.”
“Do you know exactly where that will be?” she asked in resignation.
“Nope.”
He took his bearings using his cell phone, and then backtracked cautiously to a side road they’d passed a few minutes earlier. No telling if there were more military patrols out hunting for them or not. She rather thought that they would still be out here.
She stared up the narrow track that disappeared into the darkness. “You’re seriously going to just head off into the jungle?” she asked in dismay.
“There are fresh tire tracks on this road. It’s passable for at least a while.”
Well, that was encouraging. This “road” of his looked like a pair of bad ruts and not much more. Her irritation, and her certainty that he was torturing her on purpose, mounted as they hiked up into the hills. The “road” did, in fact, hold up for several miles. But then, they hit a patch where, as far ahead as Alex’s high-powered flashlight could reach, nothing but downed trees was visible.
“End of the road,” he muttered.
“How far to wherever we’re headed?”
“Far enough that it’s time for us to make camp and get a little rest before we finish the hike.”
Oh, God. She watched in dismay as Alex moved a ways up the hill and off into the brush. She followed glumly and helped him spread out a tarp on the ground. They spread another over a downed tree limb lying several feet above the first tarp. They laid big banana leaves in a shingle pattern over the shelter to help it shed water and then covered the whole mess with brush, no doubt to camouflage it from prying eyes.
She crawled into the tiny tent and Alex followed suit. She muttered, “Did I ever mention I hate camping?”
“I got that memo when you went looking for an electrical outlet in a cave in Zaghastan so you could blow-dry your hair.”
“I did not look for an outlet! I merely complained that there wasn’t one.”
“I rest my case,” he murmured.
“Just tell me there aren’t ginormous snakes crawling around all over the place out here.”
“There
Similar Books
