Page 23 of Here for a Good Time
NINE
“I think we took a wrong turn somewhere.” It’s approximately the tenth time that Antonio’s said that, but I’m beginning to take his side. While we may have started out buoyant and optimistic, our batteries are drained and no one has said a word for the last hour, not even Antonio.
“No, we couldn’t have,” Leila says, still as adamant as she was the first time he made the observation. “Just give me a bit more time to gather my bearings.”
“The old trail usually takes us what, four? Five hours? But that sun”—he extends his arm toward the horizon where the former blue sky has been replaced by a soft blend of oranges and purples—“is setting. We’ve been out here for way longer than five hours.
And I’m pretty sure we’re going around in circles, because I’ve seen these trees before. ”
“We’re not going around in circles!” Leila snaps. “You have no idea if you’ve seen these trees before! I told you from the start that this is a new path, so you need to bear—”
“But we don’t even know if we’re any closer!” Antonio huffs. “Admit that you’ve got us lost!”
“I haven’t gotten us lost! Maybe if we cut through these trees—” Leila stomps off the path, then freezes.
“Leila? Are you okay?” Zwe calls to her back. We trade wary glances as she bends over. My first thought is that she’s spotted a snake.
“Leils—” Antonio starts, pausing when she stands back up and turns around. With a red emergency kit in her hand. The kit we’d left behind after patching up my ankle. My heart drops in my stomach, and I feel like I’m about to faint.
“Oh my god,” Leila whispers, staring at the bag in disbelief. When she looks back at us, her eyes are glazed with tears. “We are going around in circles. I’m so sorry. I thought—” She has to pause to hiccup.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Antonio’s already jogging over and pulls her in for a hug. “None of us know what we’re doing,” he says as he guides her back toward us.
I push past the tightening in my own chest to reassure her by rubbing one of her shoulders. “Yeah, you don’t have to—”
“I think we should break for dinner,” Zwe suggests.
“Dinner?” I whip my head around, uncertain if I misheard. Zwe nods. “Surely dinner can wait. I think we should focus on getting on the right path while there’s still light. Isn’t it better to get our route sorted before we rest?”
“But we’re all tired, and being hungry is only slowing us down,” Zwe replies. “We haven’t eaten since this morning.”
“We also haven’t made any progress since this morning. Which isn’t anyone’s fault,” I quickly add. “But resting now seems… counterproductive. Let’s just push on.”
“Come on, Poe, we could all do with some food.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Leila responds before I can. She shoots him a tired smile. “Food will help us recharge, get our brains working again.”
“Exactly,” Zwe says.
I look at Antonio for backup, but he’s taken a newfound interest in some moss on a nearby rock. “If you’re that hungry, you can have my remaining granola bar,” I offer, irritated by what’s happening. Zwe isn’t even considering my proposal.
“A single granola bar split between the four of us isn’t going to do anything,” he says in a near-sarcastic manner. “We’ll all feel less cranky once we get some proper food—”
“We don’t have any proper food,” I say, pointing out the obvious.
“I’m sure we can find something to eat,” Leila says. “I love camping. I know how to hunt for dinner. We’re not talking about shooting a deer or anything, but I can scrounge together enough for one meal.”
Zwe throws his arms open. “Exactly! We’re surrounded by plants and animals! We just have to start a fire, which will be easier to do while there’s still sun—”
“You want us to, what, forage for mushrooms?” I decide that I don’t like this alpha male Zwe who dismisses my suggestions without any further discussion, and seems very much like he’s trying to show off in front of his new crush.
And while Leila might be used to hunting for her food, I know for a fact that city boy Zwe is definitively not. “We’re not fucking Bear Grylls, Zwe!”
“Like I said, we can take care of that.” Leila gestures at her and Antonio. “We’re used to these woods.”
“We’re going to have to find something to cook our food with, though, not to mention keep us warm,” Zwe muses.
“We almost froze to death last night, and that was while you—” He raises his brows at me in a pointed manner, and I want to slap them right off of his face.
“—were wearing a sweatshirt. You’re in only a T-shirt now. ”
“A fire is the best course of action moving forward,” Leila puts in.
I grit my teeth before I say something I’ll regret. What the hell are they doing, tag teaming right now?
“How are we even going to start a fire?” I ask, fixing my stare on Zwe. “And what happens when the people with the guns who are looking for us see the smoke from your fire?”
His jaw hardens as though he wasn’t expecting me to make a valid point.
“Oh, that’s easy,” Leila’s breezy voice comes. Of course it’s easy for her. “Fire pit.”
“What’s a fire pit?” Zwe and I ask at the same time.
“It’s what it sounds like,” Antonio says, rolling his eyes like Duh .
“It’s a pit that you dig into the ground so you can start a fire underground.
It produces minimal smoke so unless you’re really looking for it in the sky, which will be even harder to do with no sunlight, there’s almost no way you’ll spot it. ”
“The fire also burns hotter because it’s contained within the pit,” Leila explains. “And it’s easier to start even when it’s windy, which it will be by nightfall. Do either of you have a pair of reading glasses, by any chance?”
“I do,” Zwe says.
“But we’ve never built a fire above ground, let alone under it,” I point out. “What if—”
“Oh, that’s okay, I’ve done them plenty of times!” Leila says with a casual wave. “My grandparents taught me. Come on, let’s find a place to settle for the night, and leave the fire to me and Antonio. It’s the least I can do, seeing as how the shortcut was my idea.”
“The shortcut that doesn’t exist,” Antonio mumbles.
“One more word”—she points a sharp, manicured finger at him—“and I will chop you up and use your limbs for kindling.”
Antonio sticks out his tongue. “Stupid, you’d be smelling burnt flesh the whole night.”
“I won’t mind if it’s your flesh.”
My gag reflex starts to act up at the increasing mention of burnt human flesh. “In that case,” I interrupt, “how can Zwe and I help?” I want to be a team player, and I suppose giving my ankle a rest wouldn’t be the worst idea.
“Hmmm, do you want to find food?” Leila offers.
“We can set up close to the river. There’s fish in there.
I can clean it if you can catch it.” I can’t stop my face from grimacing, and Zwe must do the same, because Leila laughs and adds, “Or we could stick to fruits and vegetables? Although maybe we stay away from the mushroom foraging tonight, just in case. Let’s stick to stuff that we know for a fact won’t kill us in our sleep. ”
“Let’s do that,” Zwe says. He grins at her as though they’ve exchanged some inside joke, even though they… haven’t. “But Poe, you should rest,” he says to me. “I can find the food.”
“No, I can help,” I insist.
Zwe glances down at my foot and shakes his head. “We need you to be better tomorrow. Keep that ankle elevated and take it easy for the rest of the night. The three of us have got this.”
I don’t want to feel like a useless loser while the three of them set about on their specific tasks, but my pain has been gradually spiking over the last half hour. “Okay,” I relent. Then, so as not to be rude, add, “But if any of you do need me at any point, you’ll let me know?”
“Promise. But for now, you rest,” Leila says, and guilt gives me a sharp slap in the face. Of course Zwe likes her—she’s sweet and funny and can build a fire pit with her bare hands. Silently, I vow to be less irritable going forward.
Once we’ve settled on a spot, and because it’s a) starting to get too dark to do much else and b) one of the few things I actually have to do, I take out my laptop and pull up my draft.
“I thought you were joking about bringing your laptop,” Antonio laughs. I’d mentioned it to him earlier.
“I’m an author,” I explain. “My latest book draft is on here. I didn’t have a chance to connect to the Wi-Fi and email it to myself.”
At that, Antonio’s expression changes, and he lets out an impressed whistle. “Oh shit, that’s fucking cool. I’ve never met an author before. Hey, are you going to put us in the acknowledgments section of this book?”
“Absolutely,” I say, meaning it.
“Okay, kid, let’s find some of this kindling before it’s too dark.” Leila jerks a thumb over her shoulder and into the woods. “And just so you know, Sandra might be okay with you blabbering on beside her, but I like to work in silence.”
“Is that because you’re concentrating really hard on not letting it bother you?” Antonio asks.
“Letting what bother me?”
“The stick up your ass,” Antonio says coolly. Leila gives his shin a swift kick. “Ow! That hurt!”
“Good! That’ll teach you to perpetuate the misogynistic joke that a woman in charge who likes things done efficiently has a stick up her ass.”
“Are you two always like this?” Zwe asks.
“Yep,” Antonio responds with a proud grin. “Leila’s the uptight big sister I never had. I’m the funny one, she’s the smart one.”
Leila rolls her eyes, but a smile dances at the corners of her lips. Despite their bickering, it’s clear she cares about him. “No need for flattery, let’s get this pit built.”
The two of them head out in one direction, and Zwe in the other.
Leaving me alone for the first time in twenty-four hours. If I were in better spirits, I’d almost view it as peaceful and tranquil.