Free A Diamond in My Pocket by Lorena Angell Page B

witch’s mind in
the gem cutter’s office, why not now?
    Our group streaked north through
the Frank Church Wilderness of Idaho. The best way to remain undetected is to
stay to the uninhabited areas. Unfortunately, as evening approached, and the
shadows were lengthening, we didn’t have a safe place to sleep. We stopped at
the base of a waterfall to rest and maul over the situation.
    Justin pulled out a map and
estimated where we were, “Nice going Chris, you’ve led us into a trap.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “There aren’t any nearby towns in
any direction we can reach before nightfall!”
    “Give me that!” Chris grabbed the
map.
    Beth approached him, “Chris, you’re
wasting valuable daylight. We either need to run or we need to find a cabin or
something to hide in. Now!”
    Justin turned to Beth and said with
a heavy sting in his voice, “This is the protected wilderness, there are no
cabins!” He may as well of slapped her in the face for his comment had the same
effect and I pitied her.
    I questioned out loud, “Can we stay
in a cave? The Death Clan does and the Shadow Demons don’t get them.” No one
spoke for a moment. So I continued, “If we built fires to keep the Shadows at
bay, would that work?”
    Chris spoke up, “How did you know
the Death … I think maybe, only … where’s a cave large enough to support
everyone?”
    I pointed to the waterfall, “On the
map, this waterfall is called Cave Falls. Perhaps there’s a cave here.”
    Chris looked at me with shock and
awe in his eyes. Kind of like, how did you figure this out and I didn’t,
you’re just a girl. “The three of us will check it out. The rest of you
stand guard,” Chris said and motioned to Justin and me to follow.
    We approached the falls getting
pelted with mist as the water hit the rocks. A little way up the side of the
hill I recognized an opening in the rocks. I decided not to point it out to the
guys; they hated me enough already. If one of them spotted the cave then they
could be the hero. Unfortunately for me, neither of them found the cave, so I
said, “Hey, is that an opening up there?” I pointed trying to sound innocent.
    “I’ll go take a look,” Chris ran up
the hill quickly and entered the gap.
    “You don’t have to be like that,” Justin
turned to me sizzling with indignation.
    “Like what?”
    “Little miss know-it-all.”
    “Do you know how long I’ve been
staring at the cave opening waiting for one of you to see it? It’s not my fault
you’re both blind. I only spoke up because we are losing daylight.”
    “You are the lowest on the totem
pole, muck; your arrogance only makes you look more stupid.”
    If he only knew exactly how low on
the totem pole I really was; being a muck would be a step up.
    Chris rejoined us, “Good job,
Calli, the cave is big enough for everyone. Justin, go tell the others to start
gathering firewood.”
    Justin rolled his eyes and left.
    “Come check it out. I’m so relieved
you thought of this or else we would have been in big trouble.” He almost had a
smile or some kind of pleasant expression on his face while looking at me. Unbelievable!
    “Wait, can I talk to you a moment?”
I asked him.
    He turned and faced me.
    “Would you give Justin the credit
of finding the cave, not me?”
    “Justin? Why?”
    “He and I are not … well, he
doesn’t …” I was having trouble expressing myself. How should I tell Chris that
Justin was a jackass and hated every fiber of my being, even more than Chris
did? As I tried to formulate my thoughts, I stared into his bottomless blue
eyes. That’s when it happened. I entered his mind.
     
     

Chapter 5
    A Traitor Among Us
     
    Chris’s anger toward Justin sat on
the edge of his mind, along with the frustration of knowing Justin was a faster
Runner than him. I glimpsed the deep level of Chris’s insecurities and
self-loathing. He truly didn’t feel “worthy” to be the fastest, but continued
to hold the