100 Hours
Page 61
“Damn it.” I turn to Indiana. “Will you go with him?”
“I’m not leaving you.”
I spread my arms. “This is the safest place in the jungle. Everyone here is dead or unconscious. We’ll find the phones and be right behind you, and we need the boats ready to go.”
Luke gives Maddie a kiss on the forehead. “If I don’t see you in five minutes, I’m coming back for you. Got it?”
Indiana pulls me close, and I really wish we had time to linger.
“We’re almost out of this,” I promise him. Then I tug him down, so I can whisper in his ear. “And when we are, I expect to be able to moan your real name.”
Indiana groans into my hair. “Hell of a sendoff, G.” He grins as Luke tugs him into the jungle, on the footpath toward the beach.
MADDIE
“Are you sure this is where you dropped the phone?” Genesis asks, sweeping torn straw mats aside with both hands. “I don’t know. Everything went crazy after the explosion. But it has to be around here somewhere. I was right there . . .”
“We don’t have time for this, Maddie!” My dad’s ship could already be out of range. “People are going to die.”
“I know! I can’t—” My hand brushes something hard, and I grab it. “Found it!” I sweep dirt from Holden’s phone and press a button to wake it up. The screen is dim. “There’s only five percent power.”
“Then don’t waste it.” Genesis pulls me up by one arm. “Call your phone. They’ve turned it into one of the detonators.”
My hands shake as I dial my number and press send, but . . . “There’s no signal.”
A twig crunches behind me, and Genesis and I spin toward the sound. Silvana stands with one hand pressed to her bloody forehead. The other aiming a pistol at us.
Fear spikes my pulse. Genesis should have let me kill her.
“Give me the phone,” Silvana orders.
“Dial,” Genesis says, her voice low and calm. “She got her ship, but she’s in this for the money, and we’re all she has left.”
“You think your papi hasn’t already paid? Give me the phone!” Silvana shouts, her accent thick, her words slurred from the concussion.
Genesis backs toward me, waving me toward the trees. I glance over my shoulder and aim for the footpath. We’re just feet away. “Keep dialing,” she whispers.
“Don’t!” Silvana snaps. “If you want to live, give me the phone.”
I press redial, but there’s still no signal. “There’s only three percent power!”
“Maddie?” Genesis whispers.
“Yeah?” My heart hammers against my sternum. My ears still echo from the explosion.
“Run.”
NOW
GENESIS
Gunshots echo behind me. I race through the jungle, swatting aside branches and jumping over exposed roots. Moonlight flashes through the canopy, glinting off the sweat on my skin and the blood splattered across my shirt, but the narrow trail is still shrouded in shadow.
I can’t even see my boots as they beat the path.
“She’s getting closer!” Maddie pants behind me.
I glance over my shoulder, and the movement throws me off balance. Maddie grabs my arm before I can fall, then she’s in the lead, clutching the cell phone in one hand.
Footsteps pound behind us. Silvana huffs, as if each step drives more air from her lungs. But her pace is steady. She’s strong and fast.
She’s almost caught us.
“There it is!” Maddie points at a break in the jungle trail, and ahead, I see moonlight gleaming on dark water.
The beach. The boats.
We’re almost free.
“Ow!” Maddie stumbles, then hops two steps, trying to grab her ankle without stopping. “I can’t—”
“Yes you can!” I take her arm and haul her forward. “We’re going to make it.”
Maddie pulls me to a stop. I start to yell for her to go, but then I recognize the look in her eyes. Valencia stubbornness shines, even in the dark. “We are going to make it, but I can’t run, so you have to get Silvana off the path. Take this.” She slaps the phone into my palm. “Draw her into the jungle and press send as soon as you have a signal.”
“I’m not going to leave—”
“Go!” she whispers fiercely as Silvana rounds the curve behind us. Then she ducks into the brush to hide, to the left of the path.
I make sure Silvana can see that I have the phone, then I take off into the jungle, to the right. I run with everything I have left, thrashing through the foliage to keep Silvana on my trail. Branches slap my face and tear at my clothes. Dirt gives way to sand beneath my feet, and I stumble, fighting to stay upright.
At the edge of the water, I see Luke run to Maddie and carry her into the boat. I hear music, and in the distance, I can see a cruise ship lit up like a party on all three levels. Help is right there. All we have to do is get to it.
There’s a closer, smaller boat running dark in the water. Headed north. My dad’s cargo ship. It has to be.
The phone has one percent power and two signal bars. I press redial.
The cruise ship explodes.
MADDIE
The night lights up like midday for a split second. An instant later, the boom echoes. Then the shock wave hits us. The boat rocks violently. Luke and I fly into the dashboard, still clutching each other. He slams his shoulder against the steering wheel.
Indiana is thrown past us, into the windshield. He hits his head on the glass and crashes to the floor at my feet, eyes closed.
“No!” I kneel next to him, gripping the seat for balance as the boat rocks. I put one hand on Indiana’s chest. It rises. He’s still breathing. “Where are Penelope and Rog and Domenica?”
Luke points to the east, and I see the other speedboat barreling forward, parallel to the coast. Rocketing over wave after choppy wave.
They got away.
My cousin runs from the jungle onto the beach in a pool of torchlight. “Maddie—”
Silvana bursts from the brush and rams her from behind. Genesis hits the sand face-first. Silvana pounces.
“Go!” Genesis yells as she struggles to throw Silvana off.
“I’m not leaving you.”
I spread my arms. “This is the safest place in the jungle. Everyone here is dead or unconscious. We’ll find the phones and be right behind you, and we need the boats ready to go.”
Luke gives Maddie a kiss on the forehead. “If I don’t see you in five minutes, I’m coming back for you. Got it?”
Indiana pulls me close, and I really wish we had time to linger.
“We’re almost out of this,” I promise him. Then I tug him down, so I can whisper in his ear. “And when we are, I expect to be able to moan your real name.”
Indiana groans into my hair. “Hell of a sendoff, G.” He grins as Luke tugs him into the jungle, on the footpath toward the beach.
MADDIE
“Are you sure this is where you dropped the phone?” Genesis asks, sweeping torn straw mats aside with both hands. “I don’t know. Everything went crazy after the explosion. But it has to be around here somewhere. I was right there . . .”
“We don’t have time for this, Maddie!” My dad’s ship could already be out of range. “People are going to die.”
“I know! I can’t—” My hand brushes something hard, and I grab it. “Found it!” I sweep dirt from Holden’s phone and press a button to wake it up. The screen is dim. “There’s only five percent power.”
“Then don’t waste it.” Genesis pulls me up by one arm. “Call your phone. They’ve turned it into one of the detonators.”
My hands shake as I dial my number and press send, but . . . “There’s no signal.”
A twig crunches behind me, and Genesis and I spin toward the sound. Silvana stands with one hand pressed to her bloody forehead. The other aiming a pistol at us.
Fear spikes my pulse. Genesis should have let me kill her.
“Give me the phone,” Silvana orders.
“Dial,” Genesis says, her voice low and calm. “She got her ship, but she’s in this for the money, and we’re all she has left.”
“You think your papi hasn’t already paid? Give me the phone!” Silvana shouts, her accent thick, her words slurred from the concussion.
Genesis backs toward me, waving me toward the trees. I glance over my shoulder and aim for the footpath. We’re just feet away. “Keep dialing,” she whispers.
“Don’t!” Silvana snaps. “If you want to live, give me the phone.”
I press redial, but there’s still no signal. “There’s only three percent power!”
“Maddie?” Genesis whispers.
“Yeah?” My heart hammers against my sternum. My ears still echo from the explosion.
“Run.”
NOW
GENESIS
Gunshots echo behind me. I race through the jungle, swatting aside branches and jumping over exposed roots. Moonlight flashes through the canopy, glinting off the sweat on my skin and the blood splattered across my shirt, but the narrow trail is still shrouded in shadow.
I can’t even see my boots as they beat the path.
“She’s getting closer!” Maddie pants behind me.
I glance over my shoulder, and the movement throws me off balance. Maddie grabs my arm before I can fall, then she’s in the lead, clutching the cell phone in one hand.
Footsteps pound behind us. Silvana huffs, as if each step drives more air from her lungs. But her pace is steady. She’s strong and fast.
She’s almost caught us.
“There it is!” Maddie points at a break in the jungle trail, and ahead, I see moonlight gleaming on dark water.
The beach. The boats.
We’re almost free.
“Ow!” Maddie stumbles, then hops two steps, trying to grab her ankle without stopping. “I can’t—”
“Yes you can!” I take her arm and haul her forward. “We’re going to make it.”
Maddie pulls me to a stop. I start to yell for her to go, but then I recognize the look in her eyes. Valencia stubbornness shines, even in the dark. “We are going to make it, but I can’t run, so you have to get Silvana off the path. Take this.” She slaps the phone into my palm. “Draw her into the jungle and press send as soon as you have a signal.”
“I’m not going to leave—”
“Go!” she whispers fiercely as Silvana rounds the curve behind us. Then she ducks into the brush to hide, to the left of the path.
I make sure Silvana can see that I have the phone, then I take off into the jungle, to the right. I run with everything I have left, thrashing through the foliage to keep Silvana on my trail. Branches slap my face and tear at my clothes. Dirt gives way to sand beneath my feet, and I stumble, fighting to stay upright.
At the edge of the water, I see Luke run to Maddie and carry her into the boat. I hear music, and in the distance, I can see a cruise ship lit up like a party on all three levels. Help is right there. All we have to do is get to it.
There’s a closer, smaller boat running dark in the water. Headed north. My dad’s cargo ship. It has to be.
The phone has one percent power and two signal bars. I press redial.
The cruise ship explodes.
MADDIE
The night lights up like midday for a split second. An instant later, the boom echoes. Then the shock wave hits us. The boat rocks violently. Luke and I fly into the dashboard, still clutching each other. He slams his shoulder against the steering wheel.
Indiana is thrown past us, into the windshield. He hits his head on the glass and crashes to the floor at my feet, eyes closed.
“No!” I kneel next to him, gripping the seat for balance as the boat rocks. I put one hand on Indiana’s chest. It rises. He’s still breathing. “Where are Penelope and Rog and Domenica?”
Luke points to the east, and I see the other speedboat barreling forward, parallel to the coast. Rocketing over wave after choppy wave.
They got away.
My cousin runs from the jungle onto the beach in a pool of torchlight. “Maddie—”
Silvana bursts from the brush and rams her from behind. Genesis hits the sand face-first. Silvana pounces.
“Go!” Genesis yells as she struggles to throw Silvana off.
