something?â
âNot technically,â I muttered.
Rachel shot me a look. âYes, technically. Weâre lost. L-O-S-T, lost. â
âNo prob.â Axel scratched his chest, looking around as if he had all the time in the world.
I looked at Rachel. She looked right back. Was this really happening to us? Because it was getting hard to tell if this was real or just some crazy-ass nightmare.
âAxel?â Rachel prompted after a full moment of silence.
âYeah?â
âGet us out of here?â
âOh. Right.â He turned and began to walk, then stopped. âNo, not this way,â he muttered to himself, and did an about-face. âThis way. Yeah.â
Rachel reached for my hand as we went to follow him, and pulled me close so that she could whisper in my ear. âMaybe you should take off your shirt.â
My stupid heart leaped. âWhat for?â
âSo we can tear it into strips and tie pieces on branches to mark our way. Since our guide is as lost as we are.â
âWeâre not lost.â
She sent me a baleful look. âWe are so lost.â
Axel pointed to the bushes through which heâd come a moment ago. âThere. Follow me.â And he vanished into them.
Now that my erection was gone, I had enough blood to operate my brain again. And I was able to think that we hadnât ducked through a bush to get here.
âYeah, not going in there,â Rachel said, staring at the bushes as she backed herself into me. âNo way.â
âWhy?â
âAxel?â she called out to the bush.
No response, and she wriggled closer to me, which wasnât so good for my thinking capabilities.
âHeâs gone already,â she said. âHe thinks weâre right behind him.â Grabbing my hand, she pulled me after her at a speed that was shocking given Iâd had no idea she could even move that fast. âRachââ
âWeâre going around the bushes,â she said, still gripping my hand as if it were a lifeline. âThere areâ¦things in those bushes. Spiders, and creepy crawlies, and more spiders.â
âOkaaay.â
âAxel!â she called out as we rounded the bushes.
I thought I heard him call back to us, and we followed his voice, but after a few twists and turns through the heavy growth with no sign of him, we stopped again.
Rach sagged against the closest tree for one brief beat before letting out a soft cry and straightening away from the trunk as if it were possessed.
But she was the possessed one.
âOh my God.â Turning in a circle, she looked madly around the small clearing like a cornered animal, one hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and wild. âTheyâre everywhere!â
âWhatâs everywhere?â
âCreepy crawlies!â
âRach?â
She shook her head violently, holding up a hand to hold me off.
Uh-oh. Sheâd cracked. Sheâd utterly lost it. I knew firsthand that she didnât fall apart easily. She had an inner strength that got her through any hardship that came her way. Iâd seen her struggle through a tough college curriculum while working full time to support herself; Iâd seen her work like crazy to make it on her own in the art world; and Iâd seen her go through the death of her father. Sheâd lived through them as she experienced everything else: with her spirit and strength intact.
But she was at her limit here. That, or sheâd hit her head harder than sheâd let on. Fearing that, I stepped toward her, but she backed away. âHey. Hey, are you okay?â
âNo. No, Iâm not okay. Thereâs⦠things out here, Kel. Rabid raccoons and crazy squirrels and gigantic bugs andâ¦â She clamped her mouth shut. Still wet, she shivered.
I took another step toward her, and she jerked.
âItâs just me,â I said in the voice I used with the dolphins when they were