Andy forced the nerves from his voice. “Hi, buddy.”
The goanna cocked its head, its flicking tongue tasting the direction in which to charge.
Andy moved only his eyes. If it did charge, there was only one place to go.
The goanna lumbered toward him. Andy let out an involuntary scream and backed up to the gum tree, reaching for the lowest limb. The bark peeled away, and he staggered back with fists full of the flaking rough skin of the gum. The goanna was closing in.
Andy again grabbed for the limb, the smooth skin of this ancient tree now slipping under his fingers. He found some purchase and pulled himself off the ground. His feet dangled as the lizard slowed. It stood beneath him, eyeing him with suspicion, its serpent tongue flicking.
Andy’s heart pounded in his chest and his ears. A tremor rippled through him, his limbs buzzing. He’d failed the first challenge, but he still hadn’t called for help. I will deal with this myself and not give you the satisfaction. He could do this—all he had to do was chase away the goanna. He surveyed the area. A fallen limb rested against the trunk. That would do.
With an annoyed headshake, his attacker lumbered away with its strange, swaying gait. Halfway to the bushes it turned and headed straight for Andy’s backpack, nosed it open, and rummaged inside.
“Hey!” Andy’s voice strained in the rapidly drying heat. “Hey!” His arm waving went unrewarded, but the path was now clear to the fallen limb. Andy landed with a thud, turning his ankle on the loose rocks. The goanna eyed him, a sliver of candy wrapper trailing from its mouth.
He lunged for the branch and, with a primal scream drawn from the depths of his very survival, ran at the prehistoric beast, waving his newly found weapon with gusto. The reptile gave a startled hiss and rushed into the only place it could find to hide. Andy’s swag.
Andy skidded to a halt. Any instructions of what to do next now sat underneath a giant lizard, along with his hat, sunblock, glasses, and everything else he’d need. He reached for his backpack. At least he still had his water bottle, small as it was.
He fixed his eyes firmly on his adversary, the swag now still. A flickering in the corner of his eye grabbed his attention. Away from the cliff, a distant deep-red vein throbbed in the heat haze. That could be the dirt track they’d used to drop him off, and it wasn’t too far away.
And there was a dust cloud heading toward him. They were coming back, and if he made good time, he could probably reach it. He would turn the tables and catch them unawares. And, holding the element of surprise, he would unload. On them all.
With one eye on his now-still swag, he hoisted the backpack onto his shoulder and jogged away from the cliff, grinning as he headed for the dust cloud.
Fifteen
Eliza’s hot breath assaulted her senses into action. The claustrophobia from the green wall an inch from her face clawed at her neck as her mind slowly caught up with her body. Her shallow breaths lengthened as she centered herself, until the memory of last night crashed into her self-control. She was responsible for the intervention that had blown up in all their faces. At least Andy had found his way back. The slamming car door had told her as much.
The flashes of last night continued to fire. Andy, hooked not by the specter of drugs but gambling. And Lincoln, a lovesick old boyfriend stuck in the past, obsessed with a woman she used to be, and using her rejection as an excuse for ruining his life. There was no way she would be the rebound after a divorce. Still, she wouldn’t let it spoil her time away. She had Bree and would leave Lincoln to deal with his issues.
Bree.
The betrayal from her old friend bit deep. She’d lied for years about an audition she’d never gone to. Eliza’s mind raced ahead and she reined it in. Now wasn’t the time to evaluate everything they’d shared, inspecting it for clues.
She gritted her teeth as her resolve hardened. This trip would still be significant, even if she had to experience it all by herself. She shuffled the memories and filed them away, but one card wouldn’t fit. Part of her life was missing, and the missing part of the puzzle could be someone. But it definitely wasn’t Lincoln.
She reached for her phone: 7:00 a.m. Hopefully the storm hadn’t wrecked their campsite and whatever Eddie had in store for them today. The dust had blasted her swag for hours until she had given in to sleep.
Eliza listened intently for movement outside, to determine which conversation she would need to lead first. Silence. Being the first up was good. It would allow her to set the tone for the morning. Eliza wrenched open the zipper. The sky above her was baby blue, shining in unblemished perfection with not a hint of the previous night’s maelstrom. She fully unzipped the swag, and as she got to her feet, something about the terrain jolted through her like an electric charge.
Her swag lay next to a graded road of dirt. A straight line of powdered red, the road fashion-runway straight to the horizon in both directions. Behind her, away from the road, nothing but empty plains. Across the road spinifex and scrubs dotted a landscape bereft of any signs of humanity.
The campsite was gone, and she was alone.
“Guys?” Eliza flicked through her options as she spun. “Eddie? Sloaney?”
Her analytical mind kicked into gear with the silence, turning over her situation until it found the most obvious solution. After telling her for two days that they wouldn’t do a walkabout, Eddie had granted her wish, and this had to be the start of her journey of discovery.
The sense of dread that lapped at the edges of her self-control receded, replaced with the fierce determination that had carried her through life on her own, and that everyone in LA fashion knew was a trademark in itself.
She’d asked for a challenge, and she had one.
Her solitude took on a different dimension. She’d been left alone—that was good. She was with the only person she had trusted since college. The others didn’t seem that keen on self-reflection and improvement anyway.
The sun flooded the landscape with an orange warmth. Eliza breathed in through her nose, letting it escape through her mouth as she stretched into it. Found center. Her drive now topped up, she loaded her backpack with the supplies she knew she needed—her phone, albeit still disconnected from the world, a towel, and a half-empty drink bottle she wished she’d filled last night. If only she’d been told. She would make do until she found the next checkpoint and the supplies certain to be there. There was no question she would beat the others back to the campsite. And she would make a point of beating Lincoln.
Discomfort. How deeply had she slept for them to bring her out here? Then a deeper layer of discomfort. What had they given her to make her sleep that deeply? The negativity rolled on.
Bree.
If they were all doing this spiritual trek, Eliza knew Bree wouldn’t cope. Once again, responsibility fell to her—another series of jobs to do. She had to get back. Quickly.
Eliza craned her neck as she made her choice. “Let’s do this.” Turning left, she hiked along the road, head down, arms swinging, full of purpose.
“Challenge accepted!” She shouted over her shoulder to no one in particular, as she jammed down her Giants cap on her head. This was the reason she had come to Australia. This was the journey of discovery she’d been waiting for, not just for the past few months, but longer.