The Extinction Series , Ellis, Tara [famous ebook reader .txt] 📗

think about Goldie again, and the bizarre world where animals were making strategic moves against humans.

The reminder that Akuba had already been through years of training to be the next Captain of their village had an effect. Her shoulders straightened, and she moved with more purpose as she went to sit at the desk. Arranging the notepad in front of her, she tapped at it with the pen for a moment before pointing it at Kavish. “Are you sure you can find them? My mother was to take me there on a pilgrimage before I became the next Captain, but we hadn’t gone yet. I can’t help you much with the navigation, other than what I remember from the stories. And we’ll be even more vulnerable with the two of you gone.”

Kavish smiled, obviously relieved. “I wouldn’t suggest going if I didn’t think we’d be successful. The most important part is your letter, cousin.”

Akuba grimaced, but began writing. “I’ll write the letter, but I think how you deliver it will bear more weight in the decision than you realize.” Looking up, she stared at Jess before focusing on Kavish. “You have to make them understand that everyone has suffered from the Kra Puru, and that we will only bring those who will respect the Tan Presi Rutu.”

“When are you going to leave?” Jess asked. Standing, she went to the nearest bookcase and ran her hand along a row of spines, the way she’d used to do as a child.

“Slaider is packing our things as we speak,” Kavish said. “We’ll leave after lunch. If we’re fortunate, we could reach the village in a couple of days.”

“I can get lunch ready while you work on that,” Jess offered. While she hated the idea of Kavish leaving, just the thought of having something to hope for was a tremendous relief. Her stomach already felt better, and she suddenly had an appetite.

Kavish smiled at her as he left, and his step looked lighter as he practically ran from the room.

“Thank you,” Akuba said, already bent over the paper. “The meat is thawing in the sink, and the washed vegetables are on the cutting board.”

Glad to have something to do, Jess went to walk away from the second bookcase, but her hand trailed along the edge and bumped into the world globe. The same one her father had taken down to show her where the initial eruption and other catastrophes had taken place. She stood staring at it, transfixed by the memory that felt like months ago, but was barely two weeks old.

The globe had been a prized centerpiece for as long as Jess could remember, though she had no idea where it came from, or why it had been important to her dad. Her eyes shifted from the globe and to a small framed picture of Jess and her father when she was a little girl of maybe five or six years old. They were standing in the backyard, holding hands, both of them smiling with the sun overhead and the vivid jungle in the background.

Her dad was carrying the leather satchel he always had with him, and she had either a mango or some other sort of fruit in her free hand. They were happy, the same as they were on most days during their life at the Libi Nati Preserve.

Picking up the photo, Jess held it to her chest and wished she felt like sobbing. She desperately wanted to cry about even the mere suggestion that they leave. To feel outrage that Kavish or Akuba would take for granted that she’d be okay with going, without even asking her opinion.

But as Jess stood there and held on to the past, she was still rooted in the present. There was no more denying that it had all changed, and for the first time in her life, the thought of leaving the Libi Nati didn’t fill her with dread, but relief.

Chapter 22

PETA

Northern Suriname, South America

Three hours. That was how long they’d been walking in the ninety-plus heat of the humid rainforest, with nothing more than what they could carry. Peta considered herself to be in fairly good shape and acclimated to a tropical setting, and she didn’t know how much longer she could keep pushing herself so hard.

Devon had sacrificed the camp stove after the first mile. She’d been impressed he’d held out for that long. After insisting on bringing it when the few cars they’d found were already drained of gas, he probably felt he had something to prove.

Jason believed the ferry terminal on the Suriname side must have been evacuated early on during the spread of The Kuru. The lack of running vehicles and bodies seemed to prove him right, but it left them without any options other than to walk it out.

They already knew the map was useless when it came to showing smaller villages. They had to hope that trend held out, because the nearest charted stop was at least fifty miles away. Peta was pretty sure they’d run out of water and whatever precious time they still had left long before they ever reached that destination.

The sound of an approaching vehicle made them all stop and stare at each other, maybe to confirm that everyone else was hearing it, too. She didn’t know whether to be excited or alarmed, and ended up feeling an odd mixture of both. By the way Devon began dancing around and dodging back and forth between the middle of the road and the edge of the jungle, he was just as conflicted.

Jason threw an arm out and gestured for everyone but himself and Eddy to get back. “Get out of view!” he ordered.

As Peta moved to comply, she tried to ignore the flash of annoyance at being so easily dismissed. Jason, she got. He clearly had not only the