Page 20 of Captured on Film
“But …!”
“I want to find Nessie, too. But not without dry clothes.And you probably need to eat. We skipped lunch.”
“You’re right.” Josheb was shamefaced.
“Yes, I’m right.” Caleb fished in his own bag for somethingto wear. “It’s strange, though. Usually, Nessie finds me no matter where I am.I mean … she’s a bloodhound.”
Josheb tossed his wet shirt outside. “Your camera was gone,too.”
“What?” Caleb remembered putting it down. He’d been worriedthe barrier would mess with his film.
“Your camera was gone, and I think whoever took it tookNessie.” For once, Josheb looked troubled rather than tantalized. “We’re notalone out here.”
Stay Put
“Is it smart to try this at night?” asked Caleb.
“No.”
“Do you want to wait for daylight?”
Josheb twisted his hair into a knot atop his head beforeshoving a stocking cap over it. “No.”
Caleb pulled on a heavy hoodie. It might be summer, but thedamp and their drenching had chilled them both. Which was all the morenoticeable because the winds were whipping up. “Is it going to rain?”
Light flickered along the edges of clouds, and an ominousrumble echoed in the distance. Josheb’s jaw clenched. “It’s going to storm.”
“Got it.” Caleb moved to get the fire restarted. “I’mboiling water before it does.”
“I’ll add a tarp.”
Caleb fed kindling to the fire to hurry along the bigkettle, which he refused to watch lest it never boil. Instead, he kept an eyeon Josheb, who checked tent pegs and stretched a sloping tarp to divert theworst of the rainfall.
He was just topping off Josheb’s thermos when the firstraindrops hissed into the embers of his fire. Focusing determinedly on histask, Caleb tipped in powdered orange drink before securing the cap. It was oneof Josheb’s favorites—or used to be—and his brother needed the vitamin boost.And the sugar.
Back inside the tent, Caleb handed it over. “Drink it all.”
Josheb breathed in the steam, smiled ruefully, and took acareful sip. “How’s your phone?” he asked.
“Dead. Yours?”
“Fine. Mine’s waterproof. What about the field journal?”
For once, Caleb’s caution would be appreciated. “Left itunder my pillow. I’ve been updating it from notecards. Seemed safer.”
“Turns out you’re right.” Josheb quietly added, “Sorry.”
“I thought you’d be more excited, given the things we’vefound.” Hugging his thermos, he asked, “Isn’t this what you were after?”
“No! Well, yes. But … aren’t you mad at me?”
Caleb had been afraid, wasstillafraid, at least forNessie’s sake. Usually, his brother was the one to brazen through the scrapesthey found themselves in. But for the first time, Josheb seemed afraid. OfCaleb.
“I’m not blaming you,” he said gruffly. “I’m worried. Andembarrassed. All the work we did has been undone. But maybe that was the point.”
Josheb’s expression went blank, then sharpened. “You thinkit was intentional?”
Caleb doubted anyone could have planned for him blunderingpast a barrier. It wasn’t as if they’d sprung a trap. “I think someone couldhave seized an opportunity. And our evidence.”
