by Abby Tyson
The driver was a tall man with a shaved head and a hooked nose, who called out to them as they approached. "You call me two hours ago saying you need me by the Milltail Creek bend ASAP, then I have to sit and listen to Dottie giving me grief about you not signing raft number three back in last night; and then I have to sit here for forty-five minutes smelling, but not eating, this breakfast food that you asked me to bring."
His disrespectful tone made Savi bristle, but Rudy didn't react other than to wave and nod his head apologetically.
"He's not your boss, is he?" she asked, trying to draw out the self-assuredness she'd seen in him the night before.
"He jokes around," Rudy said. But as they neared the boat, Savi wasn't convinced.
"I might stop answering your calls altogether," the man added in a sharp, whiny voice.
"Sorry, Kareem," said Rudy. He offered a hand to Nissa as she started climbing into the boat, but she refused his help.
"Sorry doesn't give me my morning back," Kareem snapped.
"It's not his fault," said Savi, taking offense on behalf of Rudy. "He was helping us."
Kareem turned his gaze on Savi and his eyes went wide. "What in the world happened to you? You spend the night wrestling a bear in a mud hole?"
Savi looked down at herself. Every inch of her skin was flecked and smeared with dirt, her hair was so filthy that dust rained down every time she touched it, and her clothes were hopelessly stained and wrinkled. She'd been catching whiffs of body odor all morning and had thought it was Rudy, but now she realized that it was probably her.
"Raft three is a loss," said Rudy, turning his back on Kareem to help Savi into the boat. "Some punk set it on fire -- probably the same one who called in the fake stabbing."
"On fire? What's wrong with these kids?"
Muttering about his wasted morning, Kareem handed all three of them paper bags with their cold breakfast sandwiches, then shoved off. The sound of the boat motor ripped into the fabric of the peaceful scenery around them, but Savi hardly noticed, consumed by questions: Would Marley be there? Would Glenn? What about Amber and Pearl?
They'd traveled about halfway when Rudy lifted his hand and pointed at the riverbank, directing Kareem to stop. Savi followed his finger and saw a figure jogging after them, waving his hands and trying to get their attention.
"Another wayward hiker?" shouted Kareem over the motor as he pulled up.
Savi's heart was racing. She thought she recognized the figure, but was it real? Did she just want it to be true?
"Marley?" she whispered, wiping at her eyes to clear her blurring vision.
As they neared the bank and Kareem cut the motor, she knew she was mistaken. The hair was too long, his shoulders too square.
"Ren!" she called.
"You know him?" asked Kareem, guiding the boat against the shore.
"He's my boyfriend's brother," said Savi.
"What are you doing out here?" Kareem asked Ren as he boarded the boat.
"I was hiking. I lost my way."
"Of course you were," Kareem said with heavy skepticism.
Savi greeted Ren as he sat across from her, but he merely gave her an unsmiling nod and looked away. She needed to tell him about Marley, but there was no way with Rudy and Kareem so close. And was it her imagination, or was Ren acting as cold towards her as Nissa?
Great, she thought, as Kareem started up the boat again, both he and Nissa aren't talking to me.
If she had to drive back to Massachusetts with only the two of them, she would definitely go nuts.
Worst. Road trip. Ever.
Her mom's van was still there, but so was Amber and Pearl's car. Between Ren the coywolf and Rudy the origin, they should be able to handle anything the two troublemakers could throw at them. But would either of them risk it with Kareem there?
Savi's fears were allayed when out of the van leapt a wolf that was almost entirely black except for a few spots of white on its tail, belly, and face.
"Glenn!" Savi cried as Kareem steered toward the grassy shore.
Right behind the wolf, someone else jumped out of the van.
"Marley!" Savi called. She stood up in her seat, aching to be near him, and half-jumped, half-fell towards the water. Luckily Rudy wasn't as delirious as she was, and grabbed her before she went overboard.
As soon as the boat bumped into land Savi jumped out and ran over to Marley. His grin matched hers as she lost herself against him.
"I was so worried," she said, barely holding in her tears.
Marley's smell, Marley's touch -- she basked in it. He was here. He was alive. The wall she kept upraised between them crumbled into dust, and Savi gladly let it fall. Nothing would come between them again. She pressed her body against him, hugging as tightly as she could, unable to get close enough.
"Are you okay?" Marley asked, prying her off of him and bringing her to arm's length. Taking in her spattered and stained body, his face contorted with something between revulsion and anger. "What did they do to you?"
"Most of it was me, actually," she said. His hand went to her burnt hair. "Well, that was Amber. She's a pyro, apparently." She laughed it off, giddy. "It's not as bad as what they did to you." Her hand went to his back. "Are you totally healed?"
Unsmiling, he said, "I woke up right at sunset and barely had time to get ready. Luckily they took the knife out -- otherwise I wouldn't have been able to heal." Searching her for more signs of mistreatment, he pulled a twig from her hair.
Savi laughed. "I'm totally disgusting right now, I know. You shouldn't even be looking at me, frankly." She wiped at some smudges on his yellow t-shirt that had definitely been transferred from her.
With great solemnity, Marley took her chin in his hands and stared deeply into her eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then his nose twitched. He bit his lip and gave a little cough that turned into a chuckle.
"You smell awful," he said, bursting into laughter.
A wave of anger passed over Savi, but his laughter was too contagious, and she was too happy even to be hearing it not to join in.
"What's this?"
Savi and Marley lifted their heads from their hysterics to see Rudy peering down into Amber's car, with Kareem coming up behind him.
Marley's laughter froze on his lips. Pulling Savi to him, he whispered in her ear. "Act like you don't know them." Savi didn't understand until he led her beside Rudy, Kareem. Ren came over as well, and Savi was forced to release Marley's hand for the twins to do their sweet handshake greeting. Rudy and Kareem glanced their way when they slapped hands, but then looked back down. Reclaiming Marley's hand, Savi followed their gaze to see Amber and Pearl on the back seat of the car with their hands, mouths, and legs tied with duct tape.
"Who are they?" asked Kareem.
"I don't know," said Marley, returning Ren's questioning look with a slight shake of the head.
"They set my boat on fire," said Rudy. "You didn't wrap them up?" he asked Marley.
"Me?" Marley scratched his throat. "No, I didn't even know they were here. I woke up when you guys arrived."
Ren went back to the van while Rudy opened the car door and started dragging Pearl towards him.
"Give me a hand?" he asked over his shoulder.
Kareem took Pearl's feet and helped put her in the back seat of his SUV.
"How'd you get them?" whispered Savi.
"I found them in our van this morning," he whispered back. "This time I had the element of surprise." He kissed her cheek. "It was no contest."
Rudy and Kareem came back for Amber. Seeing her hateful eyes lock on Marley, Kareem asked, "She don't know you, huh?"
"Nope," Marley said.
Shutting the car door, Rudy walked back over to them, leaving Kareem in the car. "You okay?" he asked Marley, his voice tentative -- or was that suspicion? "She said you were hurt."
"I must have been seeing things," Savi said before he could respond. "He's obviously fine."
"Good," he said. Turning to Savi, he spoke too quiet for Kareem to hear. "They'll stay locked up longer if you come down and talk about being kidnapped."
"We need to keep moving," said Savi. "Besides, there's no prison that can hold Amber for long. She's a werewolf."
Marley stiffened beside her, but Rudy nodded and said, "Good to know."
"Rudy," Kareem called from the car, "you already cost me half my day. Let's move."
With a wave of acknowledgment to Kareem, Rudy remained where he was. Meeting Savi's eyes for the first time that morning, he said, "We'd be happy to have you, if you change your mind. Can't force you, of course," he added, "just want you to know."
There was no anger in his voice, nor blame. He would have been well within his rights to send her away with words designed to instill guilt and shame. Instead, when he offered his hand to her and said, "Glad to have met you, Savannah," there was tenderness in his eyes, and even a gentle smile.
Savi took his hand, but her gratitude for his companionship demanded more than a polite hand shake. For the first time since their reunion on the shore, Savi let go of Marley, and gave Rudy a hug.
"Thanks for taking care of me," she said. His arms rested light and stiff on her back. When she pulled away, his nose and cheeks were bright red, but his eyes twinkled with delighted surprise. With a shy nod, Rudy joined Kareem in the car.
"What was that about?" Marley asked, taking the hand that Rudy had held and kissing it.
"Be sure to come back next month," Kareem called out his window as they drove away. "Our Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival is a real hoot -- we even give night tours!" He honked the car horn and pulled onto the road.
"Brother," Marley called, waving Ren over.
"What are you doing?" asked Savi as they both bent down and took hold of the bottom of the car.
"Making it harder for them to follow us," said Marley. "You might want to back up," he added with a wink. On the count of three, the brothers began tilting the car onto its side.
Savi watched in awe, thinking that it probably took more effort for her to lift a big stack of books than these two were using to flip a whole car.
"Could one of you do it by yourself?" she asked.
Marley shot her a wounded look, and her cheeks burned as she realized her error.
"I didn't mean -- I was only wondering out loud. It was a stupid question. Go super coywolves!"
Marley muttered something to his brother, and though Ren clearly wasn't happy about it, they lowered the car back to the ground.
"Never mind," said Savi, a dagger of shame digging into her heart at the thought of Marley feeling like he had to prove himself to her. "Don't do anything crazy. We need to go and find a shower before I pass out from smelling myself."
"It's no problem," Marley said, stretching his arms over his head. "I can do it." With a few steady, deep breaths, and Ren scowling a few steps behind him, he squatted by the car and began lifting it.
While it had been easy for the brothers together, it was far more difficult for Marley alone. Savi did her best to hide her worry as his face turned beet red, and the veins at his temples swelled to resemble tiny, pulsing snakes. He'd raised it a little more than halfway when he nearly lost his grip. Ren leapt to his side, but Marley shouted, "I can do it!" Sending a dark look in Savi's direction, Ren stepped away.
With one last pained groan through gritted teeth, Marley shoved the car away. It teetered on its side, and for a heart-stopping moment Savi thought it was going to fall back on Marley, but he gave it another push and it toppled over with a loud crash.
"Yeah!" Marley bellowed. He jumped on top of the upside down car and raised his hands in the air, letting out a primal cry of victory that made Savi's heart race with a mix of fear and exhilaration.
Leaping back onto the dirt road beside Savi, with one quick motion he picked her up and tossed her high in the air.
"Hey!" she cried. "I'm not a car!"
Laughing at her fear, he caught her easily and put her back on the ground. He grabbed her arms and pressed his lips to hers in a ravenous kiss that made Savi feel like she was being thrown in the air again. When he pulled away, he looked down at her with a wild grin. "I lifted a car for you," he said.
That wasn't for me.
Instead of giving voice to her thoughts, however, she said, "That was very impressive, Mr. Superhero."
Glenn barked and trotted up to Savi and Marley. "Where the heck were you?" Savi asked. "You disappeared. I thought you were in trouble."
The wolf barked again and jogged to the front of the van. Savi and Marley followed to see Nissa standing on the bank with her feet in the water, facing the river. Savi tugged on Marley's hand to keep him from getting too close.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
Savi wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't ashamed of her choice not to go along with the origins' plan, but would Marley understand?
"The origins won't help rescue Nissa's soulmate," she whispered.
"Why not?"
Savi was trying to decide what to say when Nissa whirled around on them.
"Because she has been working against me!" she cried, pointing at Savi.
"Working against you?" asked Savi.
Nissa stormed over. "You've been working with the ona since last weekend, trying to lead them to the torra," she screamed. "Here I am, stupid enough to lead you to one of our nests!"
"Hold on," Marley said, stepping slightly in front of Savi but keeping hold of her hand. "Savi was tricked by Ebony -- you said so yourself."
"So I thought," snapped Nissa, her hair sticking to her face, wet with tears. "It was all a ploy. How else could they have found us twice in two days? You told them where we were!"
Marley turned around on Savi. "Twice?"
With no wall between them to brunt the blow, the confusion -- and accusation -- in Marley's eyes struck Savi hard in the gut.
This is what happens when you let down your defenses.
Clutching his hand with both of hers, she said, "I was about to tell you yesterday when they surprised us."
"Why didn't you tell me yesterday morning?" he asked. "I could have been more careful. Maybe I would have --"
"Because she's a liar!" cried Nissa.
"No," snapped Savi. Turning back to Marley, she said, "I didn't want you to worry about it. You already worry too much about me as it is."
He didn't smile at her nervous laughter. His hand inside hers twitched, sending a shock of panic through her.
"I should have told you -- I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
"You told them where we were!" Nissa shrieked.
"Amber lit my freaking hair on fire!" snarled Savi. "Would she do that if I'm on their side? Besides, you were the one who insisted I come on this road trip through hell. Little did I know it was so you could use me."
"I was gullible. I thought you needed protection. I warned you not to go near the torra. I begged you to leave! They weren't supposed to see you -- I just needed to know exactly where you were so Tumo would know I wasn't lying. Now, not only will I never be with my soulmate again, I've put the fate of my people at risk!" Nissa turned on Glenn, who was still barking. "Shut up!"
As Marley, Savi, and Nissa all started shouting at each other, a car horn blared over them, unabating until they were all silent. The passenger door of the van swung open.
"I have an idea," Ren said, his voice calm.
"About what?" asked Marley.
"Helping Nissa's soulmate," said Ren, "If the origins won't help, maybe the coywolves will."
"The coywolves?" asked Savi.
"I thought they didn't like contact with others," said Marley.
"They don't," Ren said, "but the one I met is in Roanoke, and we'll get there by mid-afternoon if we leave now. It's worth a shot to see if she's around."
Marley turned back to Savi. Still gripping his hand, she said, "I'm sorry."
His face softened, and Savi felt herself breathing again.
Is this what it's like opening yourself up to someone? she wondered. Was this normal? One angry look reducing her to tears, while one forgiving smile made her want to sing?
"You up for it?" Marley asked her.
"I'm just along for the ride," she said, unable to tame her grin.
"Nissa," said Marley, "are you on board?"
With her back to them once more, Nissa didn't answer.
Savi glanced at Ren, and was surprised to see him watching her instead of Nissa. His expression, as always, was unreadable, but Savi thought she detected the undercurrent of hostility he'd exhibited on the boat.
"Maybe you should talk to her," he said.
Marley's head whipped around. When he saw Ren looking at Savi, his back straightened and his grip on her tightened. "Why?" he asked.
"She's mad," said Savi, still trying to gauge Ren's intent. She'd been hoping she wouldn't have to tell them about Tumo, at least not right away.
"Because she thinks you're a spy?" asked Marley.
With a sigh, she said, "Because apparently the origins believe the veru malar can save the world. Nissa was hoping I would promise to help them do that in exchange for them promising to help rescue Karis."
Savi couldn't continue. It had been the right decision -- the only decision she could make. But watching Marley listen to her, she knew he would never understand.
Finding herself on the brink of tears at the mere thought of him being upset with her, Savi realized she couldn't go on this way. She'd been blinded by her joy at finding him alive, and had unwittingly begun to lose herself. The thought of her happiness depending on Marley's approval of her was offensive. She released his hand and covered her face, willing the wall between them to rebuild.
"I don't get it," said Marley. "Why would she be mad if you got them to help?"
"Tell him!" Nissa cried, her child's voice breaking. "Tell him what you did!"
Savi waited, laying the bricks, blocking out the light, until she was no longer defenseless. Fortifications intact, she lowered her hands and met Marley's confused gaze. "I said no."
It was as if he didn't understand her words, like she had spoken a different language. "No?"
Turning to Ren, Savi asked, "How could you know about this? It was past sunset by the time we were talking about it."