Thrown to the Wolves (The Faith in Peril Trilogy) by Holly Newcastle Page B

dog. Her running around caught their attention.”
    “Won’t they come eat us too?” asked Anna. Her face was ashen, and I worried for her.
    Without another thought, I slid from the branch, my feet touching the ground. Hurrying to her tree, I grasped at the rough bark, hauling myself upwards. Anna and I stood on the same branch, and I reached for her, hugging her. “It’s going to be all right. They’re gone now, but we’ll wait for a bit before getting down.” She trembled in my arms, her face tear-streaked.
    “This has been a very bad day,” she murmured. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared.”
    “I know. That was dreadful, but we’ve had food and water. We must count our blessings. We’re alive.” I brushed a lock of blonde hair from her eyes. “The important thing is we’re together and unharmed. I don’t have a scratch on me. Neither do you. Jacob’s just fine. That’s all we need to concern ourselves with.”
    “But we’re stuck in trees, and our dog was eaten by wolves.”
    “Yes, that may be, but they’ve left us alone.” The sounds in the distance had lessened, as the animals settled in for the feast, although one small dog did not a meal make.
    They won’t come back and eat us, will they?
    Gracious, I hope not.
    Why, why haven’t we been rescued? How much longer must we suffer like this?
    Try to be strong, Rebekah. You’re the oldest, and you need to be strong. Jacob and Anna look up to you. You need more strength now than you have. Pretend if you must, but someone has to take control, or everything will fall apart.
    “We’ll wait a bit,” said Jacob. He reached for a higher branch. Then he began to climb.
    Alarm raced through me. “What are you doing?”
    “I wonder if I can see anything.”
    “Please be careful.” I gazed at him, his small, yet sturdy body lifting from branch to branch.
    “I’ve been climbing trees my whole life. I’m good at this.”
    “See if you can tell which way the sun is setting,” said Anna.
    “I doubt he can go that high.” If anything happened to Jacob … I couldn’t let myself think about that. Even contemplating such a thing was too terrible. “The animals are quiet now. I don’t hear the howling.”
    “Or gunfire.”
    “No, everything’s … too quiet.”
    “I agree.”
    “Do you think the wolves will leave us alone?”
    “I hope so. I’ve been praying they go away.”
    “They did go,” I said, craning my neck to glimpse Jacob climbing ever higher. “Oh, Jacob. That’s far enough.”
    “I need to see over these trees. The limbs are still sturdy. I’m perfectly fine, girls. Just a bit more.”
    “Do you see the wolves?”
    “No.”
    I glanced at Anna. “They might’ve eaten and gone.”
    “We can only hope.”
    “Jacob, please come down now.” He hung far overhead, his small body grasping and climbing with skill.
    “I can’t go any higher,” he said. “I … oh, that’s just great.”
    “What?” asked Anna. “Do you see something?”
    “Lots of trees. We’re nowhere near open land. I don’t see nothin’. Rotten eggs.” He sounded dismayed.
    “Which way is the sun?” I asked.
    “Over there.” He pointed to our right.
    “I wonder what time it is?”
    “Afternoon,” said Anna, shrugging. “I’m not sure. We were up very early. It might even be morning still.”
    “No, it’s later than that. The shadows are expanding. It’s afternoon or later. If it’s going in that direction, then south is this way. I do believe we live more towards the south, don’t you?”
    She gave me a look that was a mixture of exhaustion and exasperation. “I’ve no idea.”
    I sighed. “I don’t hear the wolves anymore. I’m getting down.”
    “Be careful, Jacob,” called Anna. “Come down now. We’re going down.”
    “I am. That was a waste of time,” he said. “We’ve really gone and done it now. We’re all turned around.”
    “I think we’ve ascertained that fact. We’re very, very lost,”