Page 70 of Explorer's Revenge
“I am, and when men in big trucks come looking for me, tell them where you dropped me as quickly as you can. When I get back, I’ll give you more money than you could ever dream of.” I slip my bag on my front and open the door. The wind instantly whips me, and I wrap my arms around my bag as I scoot to the edge. Ignoring my aches and pains, I nod at the pilot as he gets as low as he dares, and then I leap from the helicopter, keeping my legs straight.
The impact as I hit the water isn’t too bad. I swim to the surface as quickly as I can and watch as he ascends again, observing me from his window. I salute him and swim toward shore.
When it’s shallow enough for me to stand, I wade onto the beach, and my boots sink into the sand as I swing my bag around and strap it on, removing my hunting rifle just to be safe. By now, my dad will have told Ajax the truth and shared GPS coordinates, and he’ll no doubt be scrambling to come after us. The clock is ticking, so with no time to spare, I head toward the jungle.
It looks completely different than it did before. Our shelter is gone, the trees are bent and stripped raw, and debris lines the beach, a reminder of the killer wave that swept in and stole us away. It means whatever markers we left are probably gone as well, so with nothing else to do, I simply head into the jungle with my compass and GPS and hope I can find them.
I won’t stop until I do.
FORTY-ONE
AIYARET
“No,” I snap, crossing my arms and glaring at them.
“I’m the fastest,” Way responds softly, reaching out to placate me, but I jerk away.
“Okay, I’ll go,” Logan offers.
“No!” I snap again, and they share a look.
“Aiy, one of us has to do it,” Wilder says. “You agreed to the plan too.”
I did, but now that I’m faced with it, the idea of losing one of them—I can’t stand it.
Terror makes it hard to swallow. “I can’t lose you.” It slips out, and they soften as they move closer.
“You won’t,” Rick promises, taking my hand. “We’re fast and crazy. Nothing will get us. Just call us Maeve fucking Carter 2.0.”
I smile despite myself.
“We have to do this. We are running low on supplies. If we stay here much longer, we’ll die, so we either die here or we make a break for it and possibly die out there. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t spend my life exploring and taking risks to sit back and let death come for me,” Wilder argues, never one to sugarcoat the facts. “We have to do this together or not at all.”
“You’re the only family I have,” I murmur. “I couldn’t live if something happened to any of you.” Blowing out a breath, I stand taller. “I’ll do it.”
“No!” Way yells.
“Yes. I’m fast and smart. Way is too bulky, Logan is too cocky, and Wilder and Rick are needed for the other part of the plan. I’m not. I know you want to protect me—” I lift my hand to stop their protests. “You always have, but I can do this.”
“He’s right,” Wilder admits, and I can tell he hates it, especially when Way gives him a glare that would frighten a lesser person.
Way guides me away until we are in the corner. “Aiy,” he begins.
“I’m doing this. You would ask me to sit back and watch you, so why can’t I do the same?”
“It’s different,” he argues.
“How?” I ask.
“Because if anything happened to you, I’d die as well,” he retorts before softening. “If it’s me, it’s okay, you can live on, but I can’t lose you.”
“Have you considered that I feel the same way?” I reply softly as I cup his cheek. “You need to trust me. I know you always want to shield me from the world, but you can’t this time. It’s my choice, and I’m doing it. I’m the logical option, and you know it. If it had been anyone else, you would have already agreed.”
“But you aren’t anyone else,” he says, the words tight. “You’re my Aiy.”
“Then make sure this works, okay?” I kiss him tenderly just in case it’s the last time I’ll ever get to do it. When I step away, he clings to me, but I face the others. “Let’s do this. There’s no time like the present.”
Wilder nods, but I can tell he’s worried, and Way is silent as he joins us.
