Vicious Memories

Chapter 71

Alice and I stopped at the fire pit in the center of the village, one of Felix's many unfinished projects. I stared down at it sadly. Try as I might, I couldn't make sense of the concentric rings of stones, or the two incomplete tunnels bored through the earth on opposite sides. I sensed that this construction would remain as it was for a while.

The buzzing of insects swirled around us in a tornado of buzzing wings. Arun watched the two of us from the doorway to his cabin, his stare palpable. Our argument was far from over; Alice couldn't come between us forever.

Right on cue, a gentle hand found a comfortable spot in the middle of my back.

"It'll be okay."

"How do you know?"

"Because it has to be."

"Says who?"

"Says me." Alice tucked a lock of brown hair behind her ear, a gesture I'd come to associate uniquely with her. She radiated warmth. "Time passes. Things work themselves out. This will, too."

The same sun that hesitantly kissed my skin highlighted the yellow rings in her eyes. Her pupils expanded as I stared at them, windows that pushed her irises out and away, black supernovas, growing so large that I could have fallen into them.

Words danced on the edge of my tongue, demanding release. If I talked about the night we had spent together, about the way I'd come to think of her as the foundation holding me in place, would she feel the same? If I didn't say it now, would I ever get another chance?

I opened my mouth to seize the opportunity but movement on the edge of the clearing shattered my trance.

Barbara - the juror from the fishing detail - was running directly toward us. She reached us in a flash, putting her hands on her knees as we stared in alarm. Frizzy brown hair framed a wild face. Full lips made a perfectly round circle as she gulped down air.

"What is it?" Alice asked.

Arun jogged over to us. Barbara's eyes swiveled in every direction, as if trying to decide who to address. She finally turned her hips toward me and Alice. Arun grunted angrily.

"Finn," Barbara said, fitting the name in between breaths. "He's back about ten minutes in the jungle. Too heavy to carry."

"You left him alone?"

"Well we could hardly just sit there, waiting and hoping you'd stumble on us," she snapped. "Like I said, he's too heavy to carry. I came to get help bringing him back."

"Maybe start at the beginning," Arun said.

"I told him it was too heavy to take back all at once," she muttered under her breath. Her high cheekbones were dusted with red spots. "The fish were really biting today, so we left the others to bring back the first haul in the wicker basket. That way Mads could start prepping the food early. Of course he was thinking about her. He piled too much into it, must have weighed close to a hundred pounds. I told him it was too heavy, but he said we'd be fine. We got two thirds of the way back, he overbalanced, tripped over a root, and fell down a steep hill. Cracked his leg on a rock and can't put any weight on it. Also the fish spilled everywhere."

She rolled her eyes at this last part, clearly annoyed.

"Okay," I said, relieved. "Spilled fish aside, not the worst thing in the world."

"So let's go. I'll show you where he is."

"Wait a second." Arun raised a hand. "We can't just run back off into the jungle. We made a plan. Why weren't there six of you?"

"Oh please," Barbara huffed. "We were just carrying back a basket of fish. Taking six people to do that would have been overkill, cutting the amount we could catch."

"Finn is alone in the jungle because you didn't listen! I expected—"

"Yes, and Finn and I are very sorry we didn't listen. Can we go now? He's in the jungle by himself."

"What's going on?" Bev, looking far steadier than she had twenty minutes ago, wandered up with Mads in tow.

Perfect, I thought.

"Finn broke his leg," Barbara blurted.

"Finn broke 'is what?"

"Okay, enough!" Arun said sharply. "Finn is going to be fine. He broke his leg walking through the jungle. Everyone please stop talking so we can put a group together to go get him."

"Alors allons-y. What are we waiting for?"

"Waiting for Bev, actually. Can you come with me, Alice, Ollie, and Barbara? With Finn included that makes six. Bev can splint his leg if it's bad, and we'll bring him back here."

"Ollie and I can bring him back," Bev said. "No need for all of us to go."

"No. Groups of six only. Besides, you're the only doctor. You're too important to be out there by yourself."

"I'll be fine."

"I said no."

Bev's eyes flashed sharply and she looked like she was about to argue, a dangerous expression planted on her face. Then the moment passed and the look slipped away like it'd never been there.

Mads's blue eyes swam with anxious tears, twin sapphires above the pale skin of her cheeks. She'd been through more than the rest of us combined, and the worry I felt for her was familiar and real.

"We'll have him back within the hour," I promised. "No need to worry."

"Mais, je pense que—"

"I know, but there's no need for you to come. We'll be right back." I fixed my most mischievous smile on my face. "Then you can feed us more of your horrendous food."

It took a second, but eventually an outraged expression spread across her face, chasing away the lingering fear. She pushed me back a step and swatted the air.

"Maintenant, tu me fais chier! Go. Bring me Finn. Be careful."