The Missing by Kiersten Modglin (essential books to read txt) 📕

“Just be glad I do. I’d like to see you try to open a coconut with a seashell or rock instead of this. We’d all dehydrate before you managed to get an ounce.”

“Well, just put it away,” I whined, putting up a hand to shield myself from it.

“I don’t think I will. I’m going to go find us some dinner.”

“You’re going to gather fruit?” Harry asked skeptically.

“Nah, I’m talking about real dinner. There’s gotta be some wild animals out here.” He pointed the knife directly at me. “What do you prefer, boar or rabbit?” Then he pointed the knife at Ava. “Or maybe rattlesnake.”

To my surprise, Ava’s grin spread. “I’d like to see you kill anything besides a rabbit with that measly thing. You’re not even holding it right.” She reached for it, managing to swipe it from his grasp with minimal effort. “Besides, if we only have one, we’re much better off using it to sharpen the ends of sticks. If this breaks or dulls too quickly, we’re toast.”

He ripped the knife back from her, his fingertips carefully gripping the blade. “Well, it’s my knife, so I think I’ll do what I want with it.”

“Hang on now,” I interjected. “That’s very possibly the only thing we have to find food for any of us. Ava seems to know what she’s talking about. We need to listen to her.”

“I do know what I’m talking about,” she said. “My dad and I go hunting and camping all the time. If that knife hits a bone in something like a boar or a goat, it’ll break. We can use it to fashion other spears that we can use for fishing and hunting, and it’ll give us a much better range. And we can sharpen it on rocks or sea glass when it gets dull.”

“Well, if you were going to be picky about its uses, I guess you all should’ve brought a knife of your own, shouldn’t you?” he replied, folding it back up and sliding it into his pocket as he walked away, a gleeful grin on his lips.

“Where are you going?” Harry called. “We need your help!”

“I’m going to find food,” he said. “You can thank me later.”

“We shouldn’t separate! It’s too dangerous!” I yelled after him, but it was no use. He was gone. Huffing a breath of frustration, I turned back toward Harry and Ava.

“I guess it’s up to us,” Ava said sadly, a haunted look in her eyes.

“Then I think while James is building a fire, the three of us should build an SOS signal. It won’t take long, and once it’s done, we can search for shelter and maybe even some sort of stream with fresh water.”

“Okay… How are we going to make the signal?” I asked.

“Let’s get some of these sticks and logs that James didn’t use, and we’ll lay them out on the sand…” He went on instructing, and Ava and I followed his lead, carrying the logs to a clear spot of sand far enough away from the water that they wouldn’t get washed away, yet not so close to the tree line that they might be covered up. We wanted a plane to see us. It was one of our only chances of escaping.

As we worked, we discussed theories about what had happened.

Ava had thought her parents might be trying to punish her by sending her to the island, but she had her doubts about why they’d include the rest of us.

Harry thought they may have gone back for help, but neither of us could understand why they wouldn’t have told us that.

I told them my theory—that we had been kidnapped and that we may be trafficked or held for ransom. No one argued with the possibility, though we did agree it seemed far-fetched.

“I don’t have a lot of money,” Harry said. “I can’t imagine why they’d choose me.”

“My parents are well-off,” Ava confirmed. At least I’d found a connection with one of them, but if Harry wasn’t, the ransom made less sense.

As we worked, I watched James several feet away from us, still digging a hole around the fire pit he’d constructed. We hadn’t seen Noah since he’d disappeared, and though that made me worry about him, I kept reminding myself that he’d chosen to go out on his own.

If he was in danger, it was his own fault.

“Hey, Harry, did you charter the boat or were you invited to ride on it?” I asked, remembering my question from the night before.

He wouldn’t meet my eye, busying himself with straightening the logs. “They let me ride for free. I guess you guys didn’t fill it up all the way or something.”

“That’s what they told us, too,” Ava and I said at the same time. I watched the truth wash over Harry’s expression, more worry seeping into it.

“We were chosen, then. For something. There’s no way that’s a coincidence…” He trailed off, shaking his head. For a while, we worked in silence, each left to our own thoughts.

When we’d finished, we stepped back, admiring our handiwork. The three letters were several feet thick, made up of sticks, logs, and stones.

SOS

“Do you think that’ll work?” Ava asked, her fists pressed into her hips.

“It has to,” Harry said, wiping sweat from his brow. He glanced up at the sky, squinting as he looked toward the sun. “If a plane flies overhead, even if they couldn’t read it, they’d be able to see that something was here. The thickness of the letters, plus the contrast of the dark objects on the white sand…”

“What about at night?” Ava asked, chewing her bottom lip. She brushed a bit of her hair from her eyes.

“That’s why we’ll have to keep the fire going,” he said.

“How often do you think planes fly over here? I haven’t seen one yet,” I pointed out, looking at the sky too. It was true; I hadn’t seen nor heard a single plane in the sky since we’d arrived.

“It depends on where exactly we are.