Read Online Shadowed Eden by Katie Clark - Free Book Online

running when I knocked you down.”
    Snakes? Avery shuddered along with June. “There really could be anything in there.” She regretted saying it right away. Could there be people inside? People who lived in the jungle and could help them find their way home?
    “Give me a few minutes, and we’ll get going, OK?” Luca said.
    Avery nodded and watched him move toward the trees. She scooted to the raised hood of the van and peered inside. “How’s it going?”
    “Good.” Bradley's voice didn’t hold the hissing frustration it had yesterday. Now his eyes were opened wide and full of excitement. “Hey, can you guys bring me back water? I need it to clean off this sand.”
    “Hold on, I think we have some.” She reached inside the van and pulled a half empty bottle from the pack in Luca’s seat. “Here, use this. We’ll bring back more for drinking.”
    Bradley’s smile grew. “Excellent.”
    He poured the water over the engine hoses as she turned to study the others. Everyone was hungry and thirsty, and none of them had any food. They needed to hurry.
    Luca came back a few minutes later and Avery stepped forward.
    June and Benny gathered around.
    “I think we should bring back water before we start our search,” Avery said. “Everyone needs something to drink.”
    Luca nodded. “That sounds great.” He turned to Benny. “You sure you want to come along?”
    Benny frowned. “I think I’ve proved myself by now.”
    Poor Benny. He’d never be able to prove himself.
    “Come on,” Avery said. “Let’s get moving. Hopefully they’ll get the van running soon.”
    Luca nodded and they began their hike into the jungle. “I don’t even know where to start looking for the girls,” he admitted.
    “I’ve been thinking about it,” Avery said as they moved toward the creek. “We saw their path. We need to follow it and look for any part where they might have strayed from it. A place we might not have noticed yesterday.”
    Luca watched her as she talked, not looking away or blinking, and heat burned her neck.
    Finally, he spoke. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”
    It took a while to reach the creek, and they took time filling each bottle. Avery drank two bottles of water, then she found the tree with the pears a few feet over. She picked one and began eating when Benny, Luca, and June joined her.
    “We’re going to need more to eat than fruit if we’re here much longer,” Luca said. He took a bite.
    Avery didn’t like the thought of being there much longer, but she kept it to herself.
    “There’s that box of food in the back of the van.” The idea came from Benny, which surprised Avery. By the look on Luca’s face it had surprised him, too. Benny chomped on his pear, fruit juice running down his chin. He wiped it with the back of his hand.
    “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s not a bad idea,” Luca said. “Hopefully we won’t have to break into it.”
    They stuffed a few pears in with the water and quickly headed back to the desert. As they walked, Avery kept an eye out for the path she’d taken last night. The spot where Luca tackled her was obvious—the grass and brush were all smashed to the ground. She looked into the distance, to the place where she would have seen Rae, and she swallowed. Would he reappear? Would he speak to her?
    Would anyone else be able to see him?
    They reached the sand and delivered the water. The others had returned with a bundle of fruit, but Avery didn’t plan to stick around to eat it.
    Two girls were missing in the jungle, and it was time to find them.

8
    Luca
    Luca was never so happy to unload a backpack. Carrying a couple gallons of water a mile in the hot jungle was the opposite of his favorite workout. He hefted the pack onto the ledge of the van’s hood. “Here’s enough water for everyone for the day. We’ll be back in a few hours.”
    Bradley nodded, his head bent toward the engine.
    “We are making great progress,” Sam