Broken Trust

by Jill Williamson

  “I’ll take your word for it,” I said, catching the thing up in my raincoat hood. “I could eat ten of these.”

  “So let’s catch some more,” Grace said.

  We fished three more times and got better with each attempt. We ended up with six arctic graying, one of which was twice as big as all the rest. And we also caught two rainbow trout, which were closer to the size of the bigger grayling.

  “I’m so hungry I might eat one raw,” I said.

  “Please don’t, Spencer.”

  Our fire had burned pretty low. Grace added some wood while I cleaned the fish. It was only the second time I’d done it. Grossed me out then and grossed me out now, but I was glad I knew what to do.

  I cut some green cottonwood braches to make an oven rack and wedged them into the opening of my fire pit. I propped the fish filets on them with the insides facing the coals, then went to move my clothes from the trees to a couple of boulders near the fire.

  “I picked some cranberries,” Grace said, holding up the Ziploc, which was now full with the tiny greenish red berries.

  “They’re too sour,” I said.

  “Not with this.” Grace held up a white sugar packet.

  My jaw dropped. “Where did you get that?”

  She grinned. “Out of my sock.”

  “You’re such a cheater.”

  “You don’t have to have any if you don’t want to,” she said, walking up to me and taking the knife.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Cut the berries in half and sprinkle sugar on them.”

  “Those little things?” I left her to it and dug yet another hole. This one for my mud bowl. Once it was watertight without any cracks or loose chunks of soil, I stole the Ziploc back from Grace and started moving water from the river. Once my bowl was full, I returned the bag to Grace and set about putting some baseball sized rocks at the top of my fire pit. Once the rocks were cooking, I checked the fish.

  “Oh, honey!” I called. “Dinner is ready.” The fish was white inside and smelled so good I got dizzy for a moment. The thought made me look around for animals, but I didn’t see any. Dusty had said there was domestic deer and moose and caribou in the compound. But I didn’t recall his mentioning bears or mountain lions, things that could scare me up a tree and steal my dinner.

  Grace thanked God for our meal, then we ate. We had to pick out the bones, and even after I thought I’d picked them out, I ended up with some in my mouth. I didn’t care. Those fish tasted better than anything I’d ever eaten. Better even than the raspberries that first night. I inhaled one of the rainbow trout, and the thought occurred to me that Grace and I were alone.

  I could ask her about, well, me. Us.

  Since I had no idea how to broach that topic, I used a stick to push my hot rocks from the top of the fire pit into my mud bowl. The water hissed and steamed. I sat down again and ate one of the small graylings. It wasn’t long before the water in my mud bowl was boiling and smoking.

  It was a beautiful sight, though I envied Drew and his water bottle, which would have gotten the job done a lot easier.

  The distant sound of a sent adrenaline shooting through me and brought me to my feet. “Quick! Help me grab the clothes,” I said.

  “What if it’s Bill? You said you had their key.”

  I had already scooped up all the clothes and was headed for the trees. “Not willing to risk it. Come on!”

  She joined me under the cover of trees where we waited, listening to the engine draw nearer.

  I caught sight of the red plane through the canopy of trees. The bad guy’s plane. The one I had the keys to in my pants pocket. A shiver ran up my arms.

  “That’s them,” Grace said.

  “I guess they had a spare key.”

  “They’re flying toward the lodge,” she said. “If they land on Bear Paw Lake, they’ll be ahead of us.”

  “Mr. S and Kimbal can handle themselves.”

  But I didn’t like this. Not one bit.

  Grace helped me lay out the clothes again, then we ate her cranberries, which tasted kind of like Sour Patch Kids. I washed them down with another of the small graylings. It was getting windy, so I found a spruce tree on the edge of the clearing with a nice hollow under it and set about building a shelter with some of the sticks that hadn’t made the cut to be part of our net. I stabbed one end of the sticks into the moss and wove the other up into the branches. I did this over and over, making a little fort that reminded me of the bottom part of a broom. Grace started helping by stuffing leaves and moss around the sticks and into the bigger cracks. We put moss and leaves inside on the ground too.

  It was looking pretty nice.

  By the time we were done, the water in the mud bowl had cooled. I filled the Ziploc carefully, trying not to get any of the dirt and ashes that had come off the rocks. I gave Grace the first drink. She emptied the bag, and I filled it for her again.

  “You have that one,” she said.

  We drank all we could because, come morning, the water in the mud bowl would no longer be sterile. I filled the bag once more and zipped it shut. We still had some fish left. I wrapped them in one of my bandanas, tucked that in my stocking hat, and buried it under a pile of rocks on the other side of the clearing.

  The mosquitoes had gotten worse, and it was dusky. “Must be pretty late now,” I said.

  “Time for bed.”

  We looked at each other. We were probably thinking the same thing.

  Awkward.

  I was actually looking forward to this, but I didn’t want Grace to know that, so I tried to look like I really didn’t care.

  “You’ll have to get in first,” she said. “You’re bigger, so you need to be by the tree trunk.”

  “Okay,” I said, climbing inside. My hair snagged on one of the tree branches. I smoothed it down and crawled in. The leaves were crunchy and, even mixed with the moss, not as soft as I’d hoped.

  I shifted onto my back. It was too small in here to stretch out my legs, so I kept my knees bent. Something was poking the back of my neck.

  While I was investigating the prickly object, Grace slipped inside. She hung her coat over the door and tucked it around the sticks until it was tight over the opening, making it fairly dark inside. Then she sat down beside me.

  The prickly object turned out to be a leaf stem. I tossed it down by my feet. The wind gusted outside, rattling my wall of sticks and Grace’s coat, but everything held fast. That made me happy. A mosquito buzzed near my ear, and I slapped it silent forever.

  Grace lay down. And there we were, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip—not really since I was so much taller than her. I draped my raincoat over us for a blanket. Outside, the river fizzled and splashed. Feeling nervous, I tried not to look at Grace, but I kept thinking that this was like one of those moments in the movies. It would get cold later. We’d have to snuggle up for body warmth. Then she’d realize that I had saved her, carried her through the woods. She’d say goodnight and kiss—

  “Spencer, you stink.”

  What? “Why? What’d I do?”

  “Nothing. You just smell really bad. BO.”

  “Oh. You think this is bad, you should smell me after a basketball game.”

  “I just … I have something that will help.” She wiggled around, stuck her hand down the neck of her shirt, and pulled out a purple and white package. “Put this on.”

  “What is that?”

  “A travel deodorant wipe. Had it in my bra.”

  That made my cheeks burn a bit. “Why didn’t you put some food in your bra or a water bag or some water purification tablets. Maybe some Band Aids. Something useful?”

  She waved the package in front of my face. “Please, Spencer?”

  “But I’ll smell like a girl.”

  “You’ll smell better.”

  I snatched the package from her and read it. “Travel Lite Antiperspirant Wipe for Women, Pre-Moistened.”

  It had to
say “for women” right on the package.

  “Please?” she crooned.

  If I had to smell like Grace, that wouldn’t be all bad. “I’m glad there are no guys around to see me do this,” I said.

  She grinned at me. “Thank you, Spencer.”

  The things I did for this girl, I swear. I tore open the package and removed the wipe. I felt beyond stupid as I struggled to reach up my shirts and wipe this cold toilette on my pits. It totally smelled like flowers. I shoved the used wipe back into the package and tossed it down by my feet.

  So, now that I smelled April fresh, it was time to find out if Grace really liked me or not. How to phrase the question…

  “Spencer?” she said. “I have to tell you something. It’s important, so no joking, okay?”

  Or maybe Grace would do the job for me. Confess that she liked me. Our big moment had finally arrived.

  “Prière gave me a red card to do surveillance on you.”

  Oh that. “Yeah, I know.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I saw the red card in your house that day your dad… You know. That night.”

  She flicked my ear.

  “Ow!”

  “You knew all this time? Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “It’s what they’re training us for, Grace. We all get assignments. It’s not personal.”

  “You thought I was only hanging out with you because they asked me to, didn’t you? That’s why you got so mad when I asked what you did the weekend I went to the girls conference.”

  She shoots, she scores! “Mayyybe.”

  “I told Prière I didn’t want to do it,” Grace said, “but he convinced me it was important.”

  “They like keeping tabs on me.” Another mosquito buzzed by, tickling my cheek. I swatted at it, heard it buzz away.

  “Nick is a jerk for helping those men.”

  “Won’t argue with you there.”

  “Goodnight, Spencer.”

  Well, then. Nothing like talking about Nick to kill the mood. So much for my big plans. “Goodnight.”

  So this beautiful girl I liked was sleeping one inch away, and I still had no idea if she liked me.

  I did not sleep well.

  REPORT NUMBER: 23

  REPORT TITLE: I Make Peace with an Old Enemy

  SUBMITTED BY: Agent-in-Training Spencer Garmond

  LOCATION: Mission League training compound, Bear Paw Lake Lodge, Alaska, USA

  DATE AND TIME: Sunday, August 5, morning

  “Well, look at the happy couple!”

  “Aww!”

  “Es-pensor and Grace, you are so cute.”

  I lifted my head and squinted open my eyes, brushed a leaf off my cheek. I tried to sit, but Grace had her arm over my waist. Apparently she had cuddled up to me in the night.

  See? I knew she loved me.

  Our “door” of Grace’s sweatshirt had been lifted to the side, and three faces were framed in the open space. I blinked a bit to bring them into focus. Samantha, Isabel, and Lukas.

  “Wish I had my phone to take a picture,” Lukas said, grinning. “I would so post this on Instagram.”

  I rubbed my eyes with the palm of my hand and sat up, dislodging Grace in the process. “Shut the door, man. You’re letting in the cold.” My voice barely registered any volume.

  “You two look pretty cozy to me.” Lukas ripped Grace’s sweatshirt away and ran off, cackling.

  Lunatic.

  “Just you three out there?” I asked the girls.

  “Yeah, we haven’t found Arianna or Neek yet,” Isabel said.

  Nick. Bad guys. I needed to get moving. I crawled over Grace and out onto the mossy ground. The morning chill made me shiver, so I reached back into the shelter and grabbed my rain jacket off of Grace.

  “Hey!” she protested.

  I pulled it on and caught sight of Lukas inspecting the remains of my Dakota pit. His greasy hair was plastered to his scalp. I’d never seen him look so grungy.

  “You guys really made this place into a home,” he said. “You’ve got your bedroom, your kitchen, complete with stove and sink. A little laundry room.” He pointed at the clothes draped over the boulders. “So where’s the fridge, huh, Spencer? I see fish bones here. You got any fish left?”

  I came up beside him and snatched away Grace’s sweatshirt. “Why you ask, man? You’re not on my team. We don’t have to help you.”

  “Dude, come on!” Lukas whined. “I’m starving. All I ate today was the rest of my rabbit and some dandelion greens we picked in a meadow a ways back.”

  He caught a rabbit? “That’s more than I’ve had. I just woke up.”

  “Yeah, what happened in there, anyway?”

  “Absolutely nothing. We went right to sleep.”

  “Yeah, right. Now, give me some food.”

  “Shut up and get your own food.”

  “Spencer, be nice,” Grace said, walking toward me, flanked by Sam and Isabel. I handed over her sweatshirt. She pulled it on and pointed to the pile of rocks. “We buried our leftovers under there.”

  Lukas looked around, back to Grace, who pointed again.

  I was halfway there. I threw the rocks aside and picked up my hat just as Lukas reached me. He grabbed my arm and pulled.

  “Dude, get off!” I yelled.

  “You gotta share!” Lukas said.

  I elbowed him. “Only if you ask nicely.”

  “Pleeeaaassse,” Lukas crooned.

  “Go sit by the fire and wait,” I said. “I’ll divvy it up.”

  “Yes, Papi.” Lukas shuffled back toward the cold campfire.

  I walked by Grace, whose hair was frizzing out all around her face. “Don’t hog the food,” she told me.

  I snorted. “You think Lukas would share with us if the situations were reversed?”

  “Isabel would.”

  “Maybe. If you get hungry later, blame yourself.”

  “We can catch more.”

  “It took us hours to catch this, to build the fire, and to cook it. Plus we have other things to worry about. You know, bad guys in a plane?”

  She rolled her eyes and joined Isabel and Sam, who were sitting around our cold campfire. I unwrapped the fish. We had one trout left and three graylings. I gave Lukas, Isabel, and Samantha each a grayling, then I ripped the trout down the back and gave Grace one side.

  Lukas picked away some bones. “How many fish did you guys catch, anyway?”

  “Nine,” I said, happy to brag.

  “No way you caught nine fish,” Lukas said.

  “Yes we did,” Grace said. “We made a—”

  “None ya bidness, man. None ya bidness,” I said. “Just eat your fish and be thankful.”

  “We should pray,” Isabel said.

  “Go for it, Izzy,” Lukas said.

  Isabel gave thanks for the fish they didn’t have to catch, and we all ate.

  “Let’s walk together a while,” Lukas said. “At least until we find everyone else.”

  “You just want to see how we catch fish,” I said.

  “So tell me and we’ll leave,” he said.

  “Weren’t you in a plane, Grace?” Samantha asked.

  “Yeah,” Lukas said. “Who you get dropped with?”

  “Nick,” Grace said. “But I wouldn’t wait for him if I were you. I don’t think he plans to help your team.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Lukas asked. “He’s co-leader.”

  So I told them about the men in the plane and how Nick knew them and seemed to be working with them.

  “That’s messed up,” Lukas said. “What should we do?”

  “The plane left,” Grace said. “We saw it fly out last night. We think they were headed for the lodge.”

  “Why?” Sam asked.

  “Lie low at the lodge and wait for me to show?” I guessed.

  “You think Neek was on the plane with them?” Isabel asked.

  “No clue,” I said.

&nbs
p; “Well, we can’t stay out here and wait,” Isabel said. “We gotta head back.”

  “And do what?” I asked. “These guys have tranquilizer guns and—”

  “Heyyy yo! Yo-yo-yo!”

  Isabel gasped. “That sounds like Gabriel.”

  I jumped to my feet. “Let’s go.”

  ****

  We answered Gabe’s call, then packed up camp in a hurry. Grace let me strap the knife to my belt, and as we headed downstream, she carried the rolled up fish net like a staff.

  “I can’t believe Kerri let you bring that scarf,” Lukas said. “Didn’t she even look at it?”

  “Not really,” Grace said, shrugging.

  “Girls,” Lukas said. “They look all innocent but they’re not. Watch her close, Spencer. She’s a sneaky little chica.”

  “Oh, I know,” I said, wondering what else the girl had stashed in her bra.

  We came to a section of land with a rocky bank and made really good time. I yelled Gabe’s call again, and an answer came back from not far off.

  In another few miles, I saw Gabe, Arianna, and Drew on the south side of the river. We walked until our two groups stood right across the river from each other.

  “Where’s El McWilly?” I asked Gabe.

  “Haven’t found him yet,” Gabe said. “Why are you guys together? Did you forget this is a competition?”

  “Arianna’s with you,” Isabel said.

  “Because she’s following us,” Drew said.

  “I think the competition is over.” And I filled them in on the situation with Nick and the guys in the plane.

  “This is unbelievable,” Gabe said. “We need to get to the lodge.”

  “No way,” I said. “They want me. This is my problem, not yours.”

  “We’re a team, Spencer,” Gabe said. “If they’re after you, then it’s a problem for all of us.”

  “Diakonos too,” Isabel said. “We all should work together.”

  “That’s what I meant by ‘problem for all of us,’ ” Gabe said.

  “Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t making decisions for me again,” Isabel said.

  Don’t fight, you guys,” Arianna said.

  “We’re not fighting,” Isabel said.

  “You’re always fighting,” Lukas said. “That’s what makes you such a good couple.”