Page 77 of Faking Forever 1
Swinging my bag around my arm, I secure it on my back again, stepping in the direction that felt most familiar, based on the placement of the rocks nearby. All I had to do was find my circle, and then it’d be fine.Iwill be fine. It’s a miracle that Josh hasn’t come looking for me already. It’s been well over ten minutes. The mud is probably going to make me take longer than that. It’s getting softer with each step.
A sudden movement catches my eye when I am wandering through the woods. Before I could react, a majestic buck leaps out from behind a nearby bush, its antlers glinting at the light from the oncoming moon. My heart burst into a racing panic as his eyes locked with mine, leaping forward. A surprise rock catches my foot, and, tumbling backward, I take the ride of my life, belting out a scream in the process.
I felt the ground give away beneath me, my feet slipping on the wet mud as I tumbled down a mildly steep hill. The impact winds me, and the smell of forest fills my nose while twigs and branches scratch at my arms, which I use to shield my face. It was a chaotic blur of motion, rolling and rolling until I could find my handling stop myself. The sound of leaves rustling and the distant calls of all the critters echoing around me was almost a disorienting sensation, waiting for the tossing and 179
FAKING FOREVER
turning to end.
Finally, with a sudden jolt, I came to a sudden stop at what I assumed to be the bottom. Panting and covered in dirt, I couldn’t stop shaking enough to uncurl from the ball that helped me survive. My backpack softening the impact helped, too. It hurt like hell, the twists and turns, but my legs hurt like burning lava pouring right on me. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know that it was completely dark, cold, and massively damp whereverI was. The chunks of mud were heavy on my head, too. This was an indescribable nightmare.
“Find your phone…” I whisper to myself, sniffling.
Feeling my legs, I pull my phone from my thigh pocket and tap the screen.
The bright light allowed me to see that I wasn’t near my campsite anymore. Instead, I was near some river, the waters moving like the ocean and loud. For a moment, I thought it was just my ears ringing. I squinted my eyes, looking at my phone battery. The screen now has several brand-new cracks.
“Twelve percent, no!”
My thumbs zig-zag across the screen as I lift my body from the ground, hurrying to find Josh’s number in my call log. As soon as I see his first initial, I press it, putting it on speaker.
“Pick up, please…” my voice shudders.
Beep, beep, beep!The line drops, forcing me to accept there’s no connection. I tried it a few more times but was unsuccessful in reaching him with each one. Looking up at the hill, I could see a trail from where my body tumbled. With a dying phone and no mental map, my only choice was to try and climb up the hill to regain some kind of connection before anyone got too worried about my whereabouts.
180
EXES MARK THE SPOT
Ifanyone but Josh cares, that is.
181
13
rough terrain
JOSHUA
I press my thumb against the side button on my phone, rechecking the time. It should only take a few minutes to take a piss. I realize it’s different for women in the woods, but she should’ve been back by now unless she was up to something else. Nick and Darcy had already caught up and passed us, and they were ages behind us on the hike. My instincts are always spot on, and I knew I should’ve just gone with her. I hate making her feel like she can’t do things alone, though, and she despises it like a bad cold.
When I feel the anxiety coming on, I like the pace to try and ease whatever jitters are taking control of me. Walking around is like the cure for my mind when it’s restless. For all I know, she could be on her way back. I also said that to myself about two minutes ago, and still, I’m waiting to see her walk out of those woods.
“Josh, come look at this!” Darcy’s voice echoes as she comes 182
ROUGH TERRAIN
running my way.
Her body crashes into mine as she grabs my arm, pulling me in the opposite direction of where I saw Paisley runoff.
“No—Darcy, something is wrong.”
“Wrong with what? Your dad wants you. He won’t stop yapping about getting the fish ready. C’mon, the site is like five minutes away.”
She begins tugging on my arm again, managing to pull me finally.
“Wait a minute, would you? Paisley’s in the woods still.” I exclaim, prying her fingers from my arm.
