Ignited by Desni Dantone Page B

in the jungle with Tarzan. At least it would be warm. And he grunted actual words. Nathan just sounded like a caveman. Or an ape.
    Before he’d forgotten human language, he did inform me of his plan to hike through the night and most of the next day before stopping. He was confident that would put enough distance between us and our followers to rest comfortably. I wasn’t a fan of the idea. I also didn’t want to have another run-in with the bad guys. So I trudged forward on no sleep, an empty stomach, and a throbbing ankle. 
    Only my thoughts kept me company. I thought about Gran, and wondered what had happened to her after we’d left. I worried about Callie, and wished there was a way to let her know I was okay. I wondered what, if anything, Alec had told her. I wondered if Nathan was right about him. Was he one of them? Had he been using me? I didn’t want to think that everything between us had been a charade. It sure hadn’t felt like it.
    I didn’t know what Nathan knew. I didn’t understand Alec’s role in this whole mess. All I knew was that I missed him. The void that had been left in my chest following the accident was ripped wide open again in his absence. The pain he had eased was back, worse. Only my determination to not break down in front of Nathan kept me from crying.
    We took few breaks and spoke only to convey the bare necessities. The night faded, and the rising sun brought much needed warmth to the air. It gave me a boost of energy, but by midday, I was beat and my stomach was protesting loudly.
    I skidded to a stop when I remembered the cracker stash in my book bag. Nathan was all too happy to stop and search for them, and we were each rewarded with a pack. Nathan washed the crackers down with a sip of water, and offered the bottle to me. My hesitation was brief. I was so thirsty I didn’t care that I was practically swapping spit with him. In fact, when I handed the bottle back to him, and he took another swig from it before placing it in the bag, I thought it was kind of hot. It helped that the guy was too attractive for his own good. 
    The snack helped, but by late afternoon, I was losing steam fast. Nathan kept a watchful eye on me, glancing over his shoulder repeatedly, and slowed his pace for me. After catching me all but sleep-walking, he proposed we look for a place to camp for the night. Five minutes later, he dropped the sac to the ground with a thud, and I got the announcement I had been waiting for.
    “I’ll set up the tent,” he said. “Can you gather some firewood?”
    He showed me what kind of timber to collect, and set me off to do it. I desperately wanted rest, but knowing that we were done walking for the evening made the extra few minutes on my feet tolerable.
    I was about to return with an armful when I heard a rustling in the brush behind me. I spun around, half expecting a shiny-golden-eyes beast of a man to come barreling toward me. I saw nothing, but the noise continued. It wasn’t loud and didn’t sound to be getting closer, but after my experience last night, nothing eased the fear that gripped me. I hated the woods and the things that lived in the woods. I really hated bad guys that tried to kill me in the woods.
    With the sun setting, it was getting darker by the second. I had no intention of being out there, by myself, in the dark, with something making noise in the brush. Keeping my eyes on the suspicious spot, I retreated in the direction of the tent and Nathan. I doubted it was one of them. If it were, they would have attacked me by now. What if it was a bear, or a wolf? I decided nothing was impossible. Not after all I had seen in the past twenty-four hours.
    I found Nathan putting the sleeping bags inside the tent.
    “Hey, Nathan,” I called.
    He stood and looked at me.
    “I heard something out there.”
    He followed the direction of my gaze. “You see anything?”
    “No.”
    He shrugged dismissively. “Probably a rabbit or a squirrel.”
    I glanced