Jamison

Herding Hearts

Started: Skippers, VA 1/6

Finished: Ruther Glen, VA 1/11

WE HAVEN’T FOUND ANY NEW DAPHNE DE Silva books since Ruther Glen four days ago, but maybe they ran out of them. Or maybe they’re just not finished with whichever one they’re reading now. Walking down the streets of Bethesda toward Henri’s house fills me with more anxiety than I’ve ever felt. More than the hours leading up to tests in school. More than when I started to realize my feelings for Andrew. More than choosing to go back to Fort Caroline.

Because I don’t know what’s waiting for me when I get there. I know who, but I’m not sure how I’ll be received. I don’t know if Andrew will even be happy to see me, and I don’t know what the others think of me either.

I’m also worried about the Kid. Taylor and Jamar are probably old enough to understand why I left, but there’s no way the Kid could understand the complexities of my decision. Or even my reversal of that decision.

Newt seems to sense my anxiety because every time I give him the hedgehog, he nuzzles it against my leg until I finally take it back and he trots a few feet ahead of us, turning to check that we’re still following him.

He doesn’t even know where we’re going, but he stops and sniffs everywhere along the way.

“What’s his deal?” Niki asks.

“Probably smells the wildlife.” On our way in we saw a pair of monkeys watching us from the top of a light pole in a shopping center parking lot.

No lions, though. Yet.

Hopefully Newt will warn us if he smells them coming—and knows to run from them.

We turn the corner of Henri’s street and I stop. My feet completely unwilling to let me continue any farther. Niki makes it a few more paces before she turns back. Newt has stopped as well.

“We came all this way,” she says. “You can’t just stop here.”

Of course I know she’s right. But I can feel my hands trembling, and some of the anxiety has been replaced with excitement. I really do want to see everyone again. Whatever their reactions might be.

When the front door opens, Cara runs out with keys to unlock the gate. My heart leaps into my throat. Someone else appears in the doorway, but I can’t see who they are because of the tears stinging my eyes. Cara yanks open the door and wraps her arms around both Niki and me.

“I was worried.” I can’t even speak. She holds me at arm’s length and her voice lowers. “What happened?”

When the tears clear, I look up to see Amy and another woman watching us. Amy smiles, but the woman gives me a cautious look.

“Where’s Andrew?” I ask.

After dinner, Cara, Amy, Niki, and I sit quietly by the fire out back. Henri, Henri-Two, Ellie, and Kristy have all gone to bed.

Newt is fast asleep at my feet, his head on my right shoe.

Henri’s house is just as crowded as I thought it would be—it’s only slightly bigger than the cabin Andrew and the others are heading for right now, so that’s bound to get even more crowded.

“What do you think, Jamie?”

I look up from the fire to see Niki, Cara, and Amy staring at me. Niki was talking, but I wasn’t listening at all.

“Sorry, what?”

She looks frustrated but repeats herself. “Stay tomorrow, and depending on weather we can leave the day after. Lead me up to the cabin where I can wring my brother’s neck. With love.”

“They might have gone back to Faraway.” I don’t believe that, though.

Cara probably knows I don’t and frowns at me. “Andrew said he was going to the cabin.”

That still gets me. I have no idea why he would go back to the cabin instead of waiting for me here. Maybe because he knew that if I didn’t come here, I might have still been out there. But if I didn’t come back to the cabin, it meant I was dead. If he had just waited a little longer, though, we could have gone up together. Unless he wasn’t ready to see me yet.

“What if he took everyone else to Faraway before he went back to the cabin?”

“The Kid left Faraway to chase after them,” Cara reminds me. “And Taylor chose to leave Jamar, which is how he ended up following us.”

Niki shakes her head, still angry at Jamar, but I feel like she also might respect his decision. As long as it doesn’t get either of them killed.

“Okay,” I say. “We’ll rest here tomorrow, then head for the cabin the next day.”

But the following night, it starts snowing.