GANGSTA’S PARADISE
The chime of Aster’s phone ringing was so startling it was a moment before she finally got around to answering it.
“Aster—Aster, you there?” Javen’s voice was cutting in and out. “. . . been trying to . . . you.”
“Hold—hold on!” Aster shouted. Exiting the empty shack, she put him on speaker so everyone could hear. “Let me find a place with more bars. . . .” She traced a wide circle, frantically searching for a spot where she’d be able to hear him. “How’s this—better? Javen, can you hear me?”
“A little. Listen . . .”
“What?” Aster made a face at the phone, as everyone huddled around. “Javen, can you repeat that?”
“. . . got your location.”
“And?”
“. . . you need to keep moving . . . so . . .”
“Details, Javen, and make it quick! The reception sucks. I could lose you any second.”
“You’re going to . . . hike . . .”
Aster stood outside the shack and looked all around. “For a second I thought you said hike.”
“I did.”
“But . . .” She looked around again. “There’s nothing out there.”
“There is . . . on my screen.”
“Sure you’re not looking at a coyote—or rather a pack of coyotes? We can hear them howling.”
“. . . trust . . . it’s the tracker . . . weak ping . . . needs Wi-Fi from your phone . . . lead you to it . . .”
She gazed into the dark, dreading the idea of venturing into it. Other than the wig that might or might not belong to Madison, the cabin and shack hadn’t offered anything of real use, though they had provided more than enough creep for one night. What Javen was asking her to do was unthinkable. And yet, they’d traveled all this way; there was no point in stopping until the search was complete.
“Fine.” She sighed, resigning herself to the task. “Which way?”
“Take a few steps . . . I’ll direct . . . there.”
“What if I lose you again?”
“We’ll deal .
. .”
Aster took a step forward, and her friends instantly followed.
“A little . . . right,” Javen said. “. . . straight.”
“Right or straight?” Aster made a frustrated face at the phone. After several steps right and then straight, she said, “Anything?”
“. . . still a ways . . .”
They trudged along in formation, walking four across as their shoes audibly crunched over the dirt, kicking up great clouds of dust.
“Closer . . .” Javen’s voice was fading, and Aster stared at her phone in dismay. She was losing bars with each step.
“I might lose you,” she said.