Page 31 of Dance Practice, Marooned: Part 2

“I don’t know,” Ace mutters. “Let’s see what Kellen notices first. Go from there.”

So we wait, for what feels like a fucking eternity we wait.

And nothing.

Not right away, at least.

Then, everything changes.

It’s funny how quickly everything goes wrong. One second everything is running, then all of a sudden it screeches to a terrifying halt and the world stops spinning.

That’s what it feels like, at least.

It starts as a sound, an echoing through trees. If you were to guess, you would say it sounded like a tree coming down and slamming against the earth. Just a crashing, rumbling sound. If only it were that simple. If only that was how this story went. But it isn’t. Nothing ever is out here.

Kellen appears through the trees, and I have never seen an expression like the one on his face. It is twisted in pain, his mouth tight, his eyes wide with pure horror. Jesus Christ, I don’t know how to describe it. It’s not just fear, it’s something deeper. Like his soul’s been cleanly scooped out and left somewhere in the sand. He looks at Ace but doesn’t speak, his mouth doing this thing where it twitches, then stretches flat.

Something is wrong.

Ace notices it, too. He drops the makeshift roasting stick and stands, his own face a mask of something hard and military. He reaches Kellen in a matter of seconds. “What happened? Where’s Zeke?”

Kellen doesn’t answer. For a second, I think maybe he can’t. His hands are fists, hanging rigid at his sides.

“Kellen!” Ace barks.

His words come out low, sharp. “Zeke. He’s—” He looks to us, because we’re all there now. “They got him. He’s just—” He moves his hand through the air, like he can’t get the words to work properly.

Tati, who’s behind me, gasps. “What do you mean they got him?” she whispers.

Kellen ignores her, and looks straight at Ace. “We split up. I went for higher ground, to see if I could get a better look through the scope. He went to the shore. They must have been watching—he was just looking, and then they fucking shot him. They fuckin’ shot him.”

What?

My vision fuzzes at the corners, eyes already wet. There’s no blood, no body, but my brain fills it in with too much detail. All I can picture is Zeke out there, lying in the sand, surrounded by his own blood. Dead. God, is he dead?

“Is he dead?” Aggie yells out, her voice high-pitched. “Fuck, where is he, Kellen?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know. I came back here as fast as I fuckin’ could because if I went out there, I’d be shot, too.”

Ace exhales through his teeth, his jaw ticking. He isn’t the fragile type, but watching him now, I see how close he is to splintering. “Did they see you?”

Kellen shakes his head. “No, that’s why I didn’t go out.”

Ace turns to the rest of us, his whole bearing changing. “We need to move. Kellen, you’re with me. Leave everything but water and what you can carry in five seconds. Get to the cliffs, hide. We are going to see what we can piece together. It’s clear they fuckin’ figured out someone is here, nobody comes prepared like that. We can only fuckin’ hope they think Zeke was alone, but we can’t assume that. Go.”

His voice is cold and sharp, a blade slicing through panic.

Rachel is already yanking Aggie towards the shack. Tati is crying and I want to tell her it’s going to be okay, but my own body feels cold and hollow. Adrian hobbles back to camp, mumbling.

“Do we use the same cave we went to last time?” I ask Ace before he disappears. “Or do you think they saw us there?”

“Don’t risk it, go further, deeper,” he says. “Hug the edge of the rocks, keep low. They’ll expect us to run deeper in. First sign they land, we double back, hope for a chance to get that fuckin’ boat.” His words are short, precise.

“You’re going back out there?” I say, my voice breathy, scared.

“I have to see if he’s alive. I have to see what we’re fuckin’ workin’ with. We’re goin’ to be fine, just go find somewhere and get out of sight.”

I nod.