Page 54 of Charlie and Her Sweet Escape
“Mhmm,” I grunted as I tried to match her smile. I must have missed the mark, because her lips turned down.
“You sure?”
“They’re going to draw for sites soon.”
“Okay.” Her smile had dimmed with concern, but she didn’t press me about it as we rejoined the others.
21
CHARLIE
A new family moved to town today. There’s a girl my age, and she has three older brothers. They’re all anyone can talk about. I’ve heard that they’re orphans. That they’re secretly rich. That they are all models. That they escaped a cult. That they are spies from the CIA. Someone even started a rumor that they have superpowers. (It was my mom. She started that rumor to be ridiculous. Didn’t expect it to catch on.) I’m going to go investigate. The model claim has me intrigued.
—from the journal of 18-year-old Charlie Savage
Dark clouds rolled in the distance, and I shivered with anticipation as we took a boat toward a drop location. Bennett tugged me closer to him, our life vests an awkward buffer as we sped across one of the biggest lakes in northern Canada. It was so big, it was easy to forget we weren’t still on the ocean.
“Are you ready for this?” he said, close to my ear so I could hear him over the boat’s engine.
“It’s too late if I wasn’t.” I motioned toward the open water around us.
He threw his head back and laughed, and my attention got caught on the long lines of his neck and the way his Adam’s apple bobbed. Bennett was in his element out here—open air, sea spray and wind whipping through his hair, the promise of adventure.
It was my element too, except nerves had replaced the excitement that had been driving me until now. The conversation with Savannah kept playing through my mind. Bennett and I really had to sell this relationship, or they were going to send us home, and all of this would be for nothing.
Ben scanned the horizon, his jaw firm and tight, but the lines around his eyes were soft with contentment. His hand cupped my arm and rubbed it up and down when I shivered again. “Cold?”
I nodded, because it was easier than explaining that I was second-guessing everything—even though it was too late for that. It was like regretting bungee jumping after I’d already flung myself off the bridge. At that point, you needed to just enjoy the ride.
One of the crew members approached us. “See those trees over there?” he shouted. “That’s where we’re going to drop you.”
As we drew closer, I saw that it was a mix of rocky beach and cliffs that disappeared into a dark forest filled with bears,wolverines, foxes, moose, caribou, and plenty of other animals I would love to see—theoretically. From a distance.I allowed myself to daydream about finding an adorable, fluffy forest animal to rehabilitate and safely return to the wild.
The crew helped us disembark and unload all of our gear. We went through one last check of our camera equipment with the crew as they helped us set up our tripods, reminding us to unpack the chest cams and put them on as soon as possible. Then they left.
As I turned in a circle to take in the place that would be our home for the foreseeable future, my brain and body felt weird. Tingly and disconnected. Like a part of me was floating above all of this, or in another room while white noise played. I blinked and tried to focus.
Bennett whooped, his voice carrying in an echo over the isolated landscape. “We’re here!” he shouted with the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his face. He picked me up around the waist and spun me a few times. I gripped his neck at first then let my hands go free like I was on a roller coaster.
Sound and sensation came back to me in a rush as I let the fresh wind and mist flying across my skin ground me in this moment.
I slid down Bennett’s body as he lowered me, aware of every place my body touched his. My heart raced as he grinned, tiny droplets of dew budding on his long eyelashes.
“Where should we start?” he asked.
Lightning flashed in the distance, and we both looked toward the ominous clouds heading in our direction. “What do you think?” I wasn’t used to being asked for my opinion on something like this. Greg would have taken charge and expected me to follow his lead.
Even if it was something he didn’t know a lot about.
“I’m leaning toward building our shelter first, so we have a place to put all our gear before the rain comes,” he said. “But we’re going to be hungry, so we’ll need a fire. I’m good with whichever one you think we should do.” He looked at me expectantly, and I realized he respected my opinion. It was a strange feeling.
“I think we should strip naked and dance in the rain,” I said in as serious a tone as I could as I looked toward the approaching storm. Right now, especially with all the adrenaline racing through me and wearing too many layers, I was melting. “Give the viewers something to talk about.”
“Oh.” Bennett sounded like he was choking before he laughed. “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”
“I never joke about nudity.”
His eyes flickered down my body so quickly, I might have been imagining it. “I like it, buddy. Sounds like a cool time. But I just want to make sure you remember that we have to record everything. Someone over atWildwill have to look at the footage and blur things out.”
