Page 86 of The Pilot

He felt alive in a way he hadn’t in a very long time. Even spending time in Fort Bad Assery didn’t make him feel like he did right this moment. He felt tiny in the big scheme of the universe. He already knew how big the universe was, but right then, the scope of it really hit home.

Kash stood there, staring at the water and enjoying the feel of the sun on his face, for what seemed like forever, but in reality was probably less than a couple of minutes before he heard Ginger calling his name.

“Kash? Are you out there?”

He sighed. So much for his peaceful morning. But he wasn’t heartless. Couldn’t let Ginger think he’d somehow disappeared and left her all alone. He turned to leave, but immediately paused. He looked back at the water and closed his eyes.

“I’m okay, Mom. But if you and Linc could please come find me sooner rather than later, I’d appreciate it.”

He felt stupid saying the words out loud, but he hoped that maybe, just maybe, they’d fly across the water and make it to his mom. And Linc.

Kash had never been more grateful his mom had Lincoln Young. When she discovered he was missing, that he hadn’t made it to the robotics competition, she’d be a complete mess. But Linc would reassure her. Would do whatever needed to be done to find him. Of that, Kash had no doubt.

His job was to stay calm. To wait for whatever was going to happen next. Either Donny would come back to get them, or someone else would find them. Today, tomorrow, a week from now, a month. However long it took, he’d try to be patient. Because no way would his mom give up. She’d turn over every rock, browbeat whoever she needed to in order to get them to get off their butts and find him.

With the image in his head of his mom yelling at Donny, threatening him, Kash headed back into the trees toward the cabin.

All the while, Ginger continued to yell.

“Oh my God, Kash?! Are you okay? Did you get eaten by a bear?”

He sighed. Ginger was pretty stupid. Kash couldn’t believe she thought there were bears on this island. But he had to be patient with her too. She might be older than him, but she was naïve and clueless in a lot of ways.

When he got back to the house, she was standing in the doorway with one of the blankets wrapped around her shoulders.

“I thought you were gone!” she accused, as soon as he got within earshot.

“I told you I was going to pee. Besides, where would I go?” He asked what he thought was a very reasonable question.

“I don’t know! But I’m scared! I want to go home! I’m hungry and cold and thirsty. We’re going to die out here, aren’t we?”

Drama queen for sure. “I want to go home too. I’m also hungry and cold and thirsty, but we aren’t going to die. We just have to wait for either Donny to come back and get us, or someone to find us.”

“Donny’s not coming back,” Ginger wailed, her shoulders slumping. “He always told me I couldn’t leave him. That I was his forever and ever. If he can’t have me, no one can. That’s always what he said.”

Kash didn’t understand that. Not at all. “Well, you did leave him, and when everyone finds out what he did, he’ll be in big trouble. You think your parents won’t look for you?”

“Of course they will,” she said, sounding offended.

“Then what are you worried about?”

She scowled. “I know you’re smart and all, but in case you haven’t noticed, we’re on a random freakin’ island! One that no one lives on at the moment. How are they going to find us? It’s not as if they can search every single island. It’ll take days, even weeks for them to search them all.”

“If it does, it’ll be warmer by then, and whoever lives in the cabins on this island will return and find us and take us home,” Kash said reasonably.

“I can’t stay out here for weeks! I’ll miss prom! And my birthday! And Alistair’s solo in the band recital! We’ll starve! There’s no food out here. No stores. And I can’t even wash my clothes! I’m already smelly and it hasn’t even been a day!”

Kash was holding on to his patience by a thread. He wasn’t getting a girlfriend. Ever. He couldn’t deal with this level of stupidity and drama.

“Look, we’re actually lucky. We have a house, a couch to sleep on, and blankets. No, there’s not a lot of food, but there are still a few houses we haven’t checked out. Maybe there are tools around somewhere, so I can get the boards off the other windows. We’ve been here for less than a day. If we have to, we’ll figure out how to survive. It won’t be fun, but we aren’t going to die out here.”

Ginger mumbled something under her breath that Kash didn’t catch.

“What was that?” he asked.

They’d gone back inside the house by now and were standing in the middle of the one-room living area.

“Nothing.”