The Missing - Kiersten Modglin (the reading strategies book TXT) 📗

“That’s really nice.” I could finally catch my breath, as his pace had slowed considerably.

“They both died a few years ago,” he added, his tone grim. “My grandparents.”

“Oh.” His words caught me off guard. “Noah, I’m so sorry.”

He gave a stiff nod but didn’t respond. “You know what other phrase I remember her saying all the time?”

“What’s that?”

He stopped abruptly, turning to face me. “Huwag kang magtiwala sa di mo kilala.” I waited for him to explain, watching something deep in his eyes darken. “Don’t trust strangers.”

My breath caught, and he registered the panic on my face before snickering. “Relax, Ace, if I wanted to kill you, I already would’ve.” His eyes slid down the length of my exposed body, and I wrapped the thin sarong around me with a shiver. “For now, you’re more useful to me alive.”

“Why do you do that?” I asked when he turned to walk away and I quickly regained my composure.

“Do what?”

“Why do you choose to be such an ass? You were kind to me on the boat…kinder. We’re all just trying to survive here. Why are you purposefully making it more difficult?”

“I’m not trying to make anything more difficult, I’m just not interested in making friends like the rest of you. I’m trying to get the hell out of here.”

“And what do you think the rest of us are doing?”

“Well, it looks a lot like you’re preparing for sleepaway camp, as if our parents are coming back next week to pick us up. As if none of this is real. You aren’t taking this seriously enough. Any of you. We can’t make friends here. We can’t build a shelter and pretend we just have to weather the storm. We have to figure out what’s going on.”

“No one’s pretending this is anything less than incredibly dangerous, Noah. We know this is real and we know we have to find a way off the island, but the only way to do that is to work together. Making enemies out of each other will only make it worse.”

“But we’re already enemies, don’t you see that?” he asked, no anger in his voice, just curiosity. “You saw the note… We’re going to have to kill each other eventually. Or let nature do the dirty work. Either way, I have no interest in getting close to anyone because I fully intend to make sure I’m the one getting off of this island.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” I said softly. “We would never hurt you, Noah.”

He rolled his eyes. “Please. That’s a lie, and we both know it. You would if it meant you were going to die otherwise, as you should. It’s every man—woman, I guess—for themselves out here.”

“I don’t believe that. People are generally good if you give them a chance.”

“Believe whatever you want,” he said, “but I’m going to do the same. And, I hate to break it to you, but our beliefs starkly contradict each other.”

“Well, I want us all to make it home. I know we have family waiting for us…” I tried to appeal to his humanity, if there was even a shred of it to be found. “Who’s waiting for you?”

His shoulders tensed. “Look, what do you not get about the fact that I don’t want to be best buds?”

“I do get that. What I don’t get is why that means we have to be enemies instead. I, for one, think we don’t have to be either.”

He was quiet for a moment, and I resisted the urge to look over at him, letting him process what I’d said and hoping somehow, I’d managed to get through to him.

“Look, you already have Too Tall and Princess Knives-A-Lot to help you with whatever friendship complex you seem to have. Can we just…not talk? We’re almost there anyway. Keep up.” With that, he picked up his pace, and I was forced to run to stay with him, my breathlessness keeping me from talking any more.

“Slow…down…” I begged, my chest growing tight as I tried to move faster when he disappeared behind a tree.

“Keep up,” I heard his voice in the distance. He sounded so far away. Suddenly, black dots began to fill my vision, and I stopped in my tracks, trying to make sense of what was happening. My lungs burned for the air I couldn’t seem to suck in fast enough. I clutched my chest, trying to ease the pain as I felt my knees go weak.

“Noah…” I said, or tried to… I couldn’t tell. I felt my legs give way, and seconds later, my body connected with the ground with a loud thud. Darkness found me all at once.

Chapter Ten

When I came to, I saw tree branches stretching upward, the small sliver of blue sky and clouds peeking through. As the memory of what had happened came back to me slowly, I tried to sit up, to decide where I was and what direction I’d come from. Had he left me? Would I find my way back?

As I moved, a sharp pain tore through my skull, making me gasp.

“Whoa, hold on…” I heard a voice—Noah’s voice—say, though I couldn’t make out where he was. Had he hurt me somehow? Had he made this happen?

I tried to push up farther, but my head began to spin and my vision blurred, so I gave in and allowed myself to collapse once more. “What happened—”

I felt a hand on my arm, and when I turned my head slightly, I saw him sitting next to me. His chest was bare, his face solemn as he stared down at me, sliding one hand under my head. “You’re dehydrated,” he said. “Here, drink this…” He lifted a coconut to my lips, and I had no choice but to drink on command, allowing him to pour small amounts of the lukewarm liquid into my mouth, swallowing as quickly as I could. After a few drinks, he stopped. “Don’t try to sit up just yet. I think