A Candle in the Dark

It was killing her. She wanted so desperately to talk to him, walk with him, or just sit by him at meal times. Her thoughts had been so occupied by Ezra that she didn’t even notice that the couple had gone missing. Although she’d only seen them once, in a fleeting introduction from Jack on her first day, she felt dreadful. The uncertainty of the whole situation was what worried her. It made her feel ill, but she almost would have preferred for them to find the bodies. That way, they would know for sure what had occurred.

Astrid was trying to stay alert as they walked through the forest. She’d gotten only an hour or two of sleep, because a nightmare had kept her up most of the night. Monroe could feel Astrid’s exhaustion, and was sticking close to her side. Every few minutes, Astrid would reach down a hand and run it along Monroe’s back. It was reassurance for both of them.

The decision to walk behind Ezra was a selfish one on her part. She’d spent so much time looking away from him that she couldn’t help but stare shamelessly at the back of his head. Nobody seemed to notice that she wasn’t scanning the forest as often as they were, and Astrid was grateful for that. She wouldn’t know what to say if somebody were to ask what she found so interesting about Ezra’s hair.

He had been walking with Maddie until she suddenly jogged up to Jack and Carter. Astrid was caught off guard when Ezra swung his head around to look at her, bewildered. Her reaction was still quicker than most, and she fixed her eyes on a pine tree in the distance. When she felt it safe to look back at him, Ezra was no longer in front of her.

“Hi,” he said, now to her right.

Astrid swallowed. She’d been avoiding him, and now he wanted to talk to her. It would only make things more difficult in the future. He was ruining her entire plan.

“Seen anything interesting?” he asked, after a moment of silence.

“I think I would’ve said something if I had,” she replied, not at all surprised with how easily it had come out. Even the simple conversation filled a hole in her that she’d only allowed herself to suspect was missing.

Ezra chuckled. “I suppose so. Maddie ditched me, as you can see, so I thought I’d keep you company.”

“Not the other way around?”

“If we do it right, it can be for our mutual benefit.”

“How democratic of you.”

“Well, I was in Model UN in high school.”

Astrid quirked an eyebrow. “Oh? What country?”

“Spain.”

“But you wanted to be an English teacher,” Astrid said slowly, trying to piece together how he’d come to that decision after being in Model UN.

“I did a lot of stuff in high school, Model UN was just one of them.”

Astrid grinned at him. “I bet you were valedictorian too.”

He tapped the handle of his machete, hanging from his belt, and said nothing.

“I knew it,” she teased, prodding him in the arm. “Was Eden the same in school?”

“Quite the opposite. She got a lot of pressure from our parents, which I think turned her off. It’s a shame too, she’s a lot smarter than I am, academically speaking.”

“That sort of thing doesn’t count for much nowadays. Nobody cares if you can recite the first twenty digits of pi or know all of the European capitals.”

Ezra shrugged. “I guess not. But being intelligent is never a bad thing.”

“Maybe not, but adaptability and having a good shot are more important.”

He chuckled. “Fair point.”