Page 52 of Explorer's Revenge
That makes me grin. “Yeah, well, you guys aren’t so bad yourselves, but if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll kick your asses.”
They laugh, and we lapse into silence.
“I liked Antarctica. There aren’t many people, and it was desolate but beautiful,” Wilder murmurs.
“Tibet,” Logan says.
“Greenland,” Way adds.
“Brazil,” Aiy shares.
“Canada,” Rick says, and we turn to him as he grins. “What? I like the food, and it was fun.”
We laugh again.
“What’s the scariest thing you’ve done?” Logan asks a while later.
“Besides getting a killer crocodile to chase me?” I tease as I look at him. “Leaving my dad behind. I don’t know if he’ll be there when I get back, and it terrifies me.”
I feel their gazes on me after that admission, making me feel vulnerable.
“We should get some sleep,” Wilder says, saving me. “We move again at daylight.”
“Will you guys be comfortable enough to sleep?” I ask curiously, since we are on top of each other and scrunched up.
“Eh, we’ve slept in worse places,” Logan replies softly. “Try to get some rest, okay?”
Nodding, I close my eyes and scoot down, trying to get comfortable, but it’s useless. My body is one big, giant ache. The inside of the truck lapses into silence, and before long, snores fill the air. Annoyance bubbles up at how easily they passed out, but I try to temper it since they’ve been taking care of me and helping me as much as they can.
“I’ll make sure you get back to your father.” Wilder’s soft whisper makes my eyes snap open, and I swear I see him leaning into me. “I promise, Carter, you’re going to make it back to him.”
Self-consciousness raises its ugly head for a moment as I stare at him. I’m always so strong and sure of myself. I’ve been in situations others would only have nightmares of and come out alive, but as I look at his face, I allow some of my vulnerability to come through. “If I don’t, please tell him I love him.”
He covers my hand with his, offering comfort. Despite our differences and the bad blood between us, he doesn’t hesitate to give me that. “You can tell him yourself. Now get some sleep, okay?”
“Thank you, Wilder, for helping me and coming in after me. You didn’t have to,” I tell him as I hold his hand, needing that connection.
“Eh, I just didn’t want Ajax to blame me,” he teases, and I chuckle, closing my eyes as I relax as much as I can. “We’re in this together, Carter. You don’t need to thank us. You saved us down there in that cave, so let us return the favor.”
Nodding, I clutch his hand like a lifeline. “Can you keep talking until I fall asleep? Part of me is terrified I’m going to wake up in that cave.”
It isn’t something I want to admit, but the terror is there. The moment I woke up alone and in pain will be ingrained in me for life.
“Did you ever hear about the time I got drunk when we were in a cabin in Alaska and had to fight off a bear?” I smile as he launches into this elaborate, soft whisper of a story, and my brain finally shuts down enough to allow me to rest.
I have a fitful sleep. Every time my body unconsciously turns, pain flares up my leg. It isn’t as bad as before, but it’s unexpected and wakes me for a bit.
Sometime later, when something rocks the truck, I groan, my eyelids feeling heavy as I force them open and look around. Everyone else is snoring, but I definitely felt something. Grabbing the light that’s near me on low, I crank it up and press it against the foggy window, trying to peer outside.
Was it a jaguar or a falling branch?
The light reflects back, however, and I struggle to see past the glass. Did I imagine it?
Frowning, I put the light down and glance around at the others. They are still sleeping, no one else seems to have felt it, so it has to be me. My other hand is still clutched in Wilder’s, and I focus on that as I try to get comfortable again, when something smashes into the truck. The force spins it, and I bolt upright.
The others do the same. “What is that?”
“What’s happening?”
