Call Spirits in Your Past **Book Two**

Chapter 8 (Friday morning)

Teremki's fingers itched to draw something. Not in a "do it or else" way though. Just in a...he didn't know what else to do, way. Bella was carrying Dryda in her arms, so some others had to carry the other supplies--just not Teremki. Tago currently held the water jug, and Zillie had the pot, the bowls inside rattling with each step. Teremki opened his mouth to ask if they should put the bowls in one of the bags, but shut it again. That would just take more time, and the eastern horizon was already turning a pale, white-ish blue. And they still hadn't found any of their missing classmates.

Teremki stared down at the ground, checking that he wasn't about to step on any thorny plants. Or scorpions. Or snake tunnels. Or who knew what else.

His fingers wished for a paper. Or even just a vaguely flat rock, or some charcoal. Not that thick, messy stick figures would create a very clear image of the future, but still. Maybe then he'd know if there were scorpions and snakes nearby. Or maybe he would've known that Dryda was going to pass out, and made sure Ana was more prepared. Of course, she'd still kept Dryda from falling off a rock, so probably Ana didn't need to be more prepared.

Something on the ground in front of him moved and he jumped. That wasn't a--no, it was a rock kicked backwards by Tara. He stepped around it anyway.

Maybe if he had a long stick, he could draw things in the dirt. Maybe he'd find out where Verspri and the others had gone off to. Not that it would change anything. It'd just be...reassuring.

"I think I see them!" Bella cried, voice echoing over the flat terrain. She pointed to their right, Dryda held in her other arm.

"You found them?" Sorano asked, relieved.

"Yeah! I think that's Isaac!" she started jogging, angling towards the strewn field of boulders.

"Bella!" Ella shouted. "Wait up!"

Bella didn't slow. Teremki broke into a run, glancing back to the rest of his classmates following, weighed down by water jugs and sling bags. He jogged, keeping Bella in his sight while glancing over his shoulder to keep track of everyone else.

"Bella?" someone called. Verspri, maybe? "You found us?"

"Yes," Bella panted, then clambered over some rocks and disappeared.

Teremki caught up, climbing a rock toward Bella's voice and freezing at the top. He stared at the scene below him. Manuel had one leg stuck under a rock. One side of the sandstone boulder had been dug around, sprays and little mounds of dirt decorating the ground. Isaac sat perched on a tall rock, supporting Manuel's upper body with an outstretched leg. Below that was a cactus, writhing with...ants?

"Tamy got bit," Isaac was saying. "A lot. Me blowing wind at them just made them more mad, but somehow Manuel's okay."

"They didn't want my blood," Manuel said. "It's not sweet."

"Sure," Isaac rolled his eyes.

"Where is Tamy?" Bella asked, shrinking to her regular height and propping Dryda against a rock.

"I'm right here," Tamy called from behind the boulder Isaac was on.

"Verspri?" Ana clambered up beside Teremki, breathing hard. "Are you okay?"

Verspri, atop another boulder, glanced at her. "Manuel's the stuck one," he shrugged.

"Is Kwayo anywhere?" she asked.

Verspri's eyebrows creased, and he cast glances between her and Dryda's unconscious form. "I don't know where he is. Niko said Kwayo was circling as a vulture, so he, Chamrik and Rielle followed after him. I came back here when I heard Manuel shouting."

"Where's Tamy?" Tara asked from Teremki's other side, her elastic arms lifting her to the top of the boulder. He tried scooting forward on the rock, but it was already packed with the three of them on it.

"I'm over here," Tamy called again. Tara leaped away, legs stretching through the air. Ryn immediately climbed up the rock to take her place.

"What happened?" she asked, taking in the scene.

Verspri sighed, and shortly explained how Tamy had gotten attacked by ants and they couldn't get Manuel unstuck. Teremki hid a grin.

"Is Dryda okay?" Verspri asked.

Bella nodded. Then shrugged. "Yes? Mrs. Aterak gave her a vitamin. She has nutrient, um, defici..."

"Deficiency," Teremki supplied.

"Yeah. That thing," Bella shielded her gaze, squinting towards the horizon, tinged with orange.

"Oh!" Ryn exclaimed, and the rock shifted. "I got it!"

"Ouch!" Manuel shouted, but the rock started rising.

Teremki crept forward, but Verspri and his clone rushed in first. Ryn panted heavily, and Bella and Verspri helped heave the rock higher. Ryn gasped and the blue glow on the rock's underbelly disappeared. One side tilted, but Manuel scrambled away and Isaac lifted him clear of the cactus and furious ants.

"I'm out!" Manuel called, and Bella and both Verspri's let the rock collapse. It thudded to the ground, Teremki wincing with the loud crack.

"Yay Ryn!" Ana cheered.

Ryn kept panting heavily. "I didn't think it'd be that heavy."

Teremki bit his lip at the droplets of sweat on her forehead.

"But you got it clear of the ants," Verspri said, dusting off his hands.

"Yeah, thanks Ryn," Manuel massaged his leg, wincing painfully.

Isaac stood, shaking out his legs. "So...now what?" he asked. "Kwayo was supposed to find us shelter, right?"

"Yeah," Bella crouched next to Dryda. Behind them, the rest of their classmates slowly approached.

"And we have no idea where he went," Isaac said.