Page 68 of Charlie and Her Sweet Escape
“Hey, I’m serious,” I said, grabbing his arm before he left the shelter. “You know that, right?”
His responding nod wasn’t believable in the slightest.
“Why would you think you’re not smart?” This probably wasn’t the time for this conversation, but I couldn’t let him go out there, thinking this. “No one would expect you to know what a burdock looks like. Identifying plants is my expertise, which is probably why we got this challenge.”
“I know. And you’re brilliant,” he said sincerely. He held out my coat for me, and I turned to slip my arms into it. “I’m sorry you got saddled with me.”
“Stop. I’m notsaddledwith you. You’re a great partner. And we’re doing this together,” I said firmly.
He paused, his lips pressed together, and for a split second, my heart sank.
What was I doing? I needed to listen to his judgment, soothe his ego and make sure he didn’t think I was smarter than him—No. Bennett wasn’t Greg. It was hard to undo years of conditioning that nothing I said was important enough to listen to, and that everything I said needed to fit into someone else’s worldview, where they were the center.
I softened my tone. “There are thousands of plant species out here. And I can’t describe them to you, because some can only be differentiated by smell, especially since it’s so dark.” I spoke quickly, but I didn’t need to, because in that moment, it hit me. Bennett would sit here all evening and listen to me talk if that’s what it took for me to say what I needed to say. The thought was freeing, like taking off an overly heavy coat and letting the sun touch my skin.
He didn’t act like he was the center of the world. And he was okay with me calling him out. In fact, judging by his sheepish smile, I think he kind of liked it. “This weather is dangerous.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure, Forrester? It’s our first challenge!” These were so much fun to watch as a viewer, and I was often left feeling like I could have done a better job than the contestant. Now it was time to prove it.
“We’re going to get wet,” he warned.
“Then we’ll warm up when we get back.”
We both looked at the sleeping bag, which always loomed in the middle of the room like another planet to our two-body gravitational mix. It was a recipe for chaos.Science to the rescue, explaining things again.
“Let’s go,” I said quickly, and we left our shelter with a camera each, our list, a flashlight, and a pail, and entered the dark and stormy night.
Iwas soaked clear through my clothes within minutes, and we’d been out here for at least an hour. All my initial adrenaline had worn off, and I trembled with every step I took. I couldn’t afford to burn through too many calories, but we had to win this challenge.
The only upside to the terrible weather was that any wild animals usually wandering at night were holed up inside some sort of shelter. One less worry.
“What do the last two look like?” Bennett shouted to be heard over the lashing rain. The frequent lightning lit up the sky enough for us to see clearly through the trees, but we kept our flashlights close.
Through chattering teeth, I described what they looked like. “They’re both-th-th probably under a l-l-log or inside a hole of s-s-some sort. They like wet, dark pla-a-aces.”
“So everywhere out here.”
We kept searching, but my bones hurt from all the rattling. Even my skin was feeling achy from the constant barrage of sticks, leaves, and rain. We’d stopped narrating our every move for the camera once my teeth began chattering too hard to clearly talk anymore. We officially had until midnight, but I doubted I could last another hour, much less three.
“I’ll search over here,” Bennett said.
I huddled next to a thick Douglas fir where the tree could protect me from getting pelted as fiercely. Bennett’s concerned glance told me he was one too-loud shiver away from insisting we go back.
I dropped to my knees to search around the ancient trunk, squinting to see a cluster of tiny shoots near the base. I pulled them up to my nose and breathed in their pungent scent. Yes, I was pretty sure I had the right ones.
“I f-f-found one!” I yelled.
I shoved the find in my pocket and walked in his direction when he didn’t turn around. He wasn’t moving, but bent over, either looking at something or injured.
I picked up my pace, panic lancing through me. “Bennett!”
This time his head lifted, right as my leg slammed into a root. I rocketed to the ground, where a sharp, protruding branch shredded into my side, stealing every last thought from my mind.
28
BENNETT
One moment, I was fiddling with one of my triggered traps, trying to reset it, and the very next I heard Charlie yelling my name. I whirled around and didn’t see her anywhere. She’d been over by the fir tree a moment ago.
