Shadowed Eden by Katie Clark Page B

a few dozen breaks.
    If it wasn’t so hot, she could get more done. She could move faster. Gather more. Clear her head. Think. She blinked rapidly to clear the sweat from her eyes. Or maybe it was to stop the blurs in her vision. She closed her eyes and held them shut for a few seconds as she swallowed and calmed her nerves. Then, a thought hit her. Every time her vision blurred, something strange happened. Something appeared.
    She peeled her eyes open slowly and focused on the area directly in front of her. Fruit hung two feet away, dangling from the tree like a life line. Was she making things appear by wishing for it?
    The fruit was round and red, exactly like a red delicious apple. She plucked one from the branch and took a bite. Sweet, cool apple juice swirled in her mouth and she swallowed in pure satisfaction. This was the fourth time this had happened. Whatever it was, she was glad for it.
    She glanced around but nothing else seemed out of place. No more visions. No mysterious guy. Only a fruit tree in the middle of the jungle, and a few other girls who didn’t pay her any attention.
    Avery finished the apple and tossed the core, then finished carrying her last few branches to the tree line.
    June came close as they piled up their branches and she leaned in to speak to Avery. “I was thinking that everyone seems a little down.”
    Of course, everyone was down. No one wanted to be stuck here. Avery only smiled sadly and nodded.
    “What if we did something fun?”
    “Fun? Like what?” Avery couldn’t imagine doing anything fun in this place.
    “I have an idea, but I’m not sure how you guys do things at your church.”
    Avery frowned and wiped the sweat on her forehead. “What do you mean?”
    “What if we turned a part of the creek into a swim hole?”
    Swimming? Right now that sounded like heaven. “I think that would be perfect, and I’d bet everyone would go for it.”
    June’s smile erupted into a full-scale grin. “Great. We can work on it when we’re done with this.”
    The thought of swimming boosted Avery’s spirits and she worked on the shelter with an extra spring in her step.
    They finished separating the branches into piles by size just as the guys hauled a few suitcases toward them.
    Sam and Luca carried a large box between them.
    “What’s that?” Avery asked.
    “Food.” Luca didn’t look happy about it, but Avery remembered the conversation with Benny the day before. They had to eat. “At least they’ll have medical supplies when we get to the village.”
    But going to the village didn’t sound appealing at this point. By the time they got out of here—if they got out—the trip would be over. Besides, Avery wanted to go home.
    Daddy’s arguments against her coming here passed through her memory. Maybe he’d been right. Maybe she should have stayed home. Something in the back of her mind nagged at her, telling her he was always right. Right about her college future, right about this trip, right about Luca.
    “Are you finished gathering branches?” Luca's words broke into her thoughts.
    She turned to him and smiled when she realized, no, she didn’t regret coming. She’d missed Luca’s friendship. She’d missed him a lot, no matter what anyone said about him. “We have enough branches to build the shelter. And June has a really great idea about making a swimming hole at the creek.”
    Luca’s eyebrows shot up. “Swimming? That sounds great.”
    “That’s what I said.”
    The other girls moved to get what they wanted from their bags, and Avery noticed the sweatshirt she'd given to Luca was tied around his waist. Her heart squeezed. She never intended to give the sweatshirt back. She wore it to bed almost every night back home. Of course, she wouldn’t tell him that.
    “You want to see what’s in here with me?”
    Avery frowned and glanced away. She’d been staring at Luca. “What?”
    “Do you want to look through the food with me?”
    “Oh. Yeah, that sounds