Desert Secrets

“What do you mean getting out of here might not be that simple?” she asked.

He handed her the last blanket, debating how much he should tell her. “Our emergency landing took us off course.”

She sucked in a lungful of air, then blew it out slowly. “How far off course?”

“I’m not sure.” He turned to face her, catching her gaze. “But if my team isn’t able to track us...we’re going to be on our own.”

“On our own?” she repeated.

“If they can’t track us.”

He took a swig of cold water from his insulated thermos, hoping it would help counteract the fatigue setting in from the unrelenting heat and the headache that had started. At least the temperature would start dropping soon, and they had enough emergency rations for a couple of days. But beyond that, it was going to be a race against the clock to find their way out of here. And the odds, unfortunately, were far from being in their favor.

Bret stepped out of the plane. The determined set of his jaw told Colton he hadn’t been successful.

Colton handed him a bottle of water. “Bad news?”

“I can’t get any reception at all. Something must have shorted out, and I’m not sure it can be fixed.”

Colton’s muscles tensed. In the military he’d been dropped into combat zones and faced roadside bombs. But today he didn’t have the backing of a special ops team. His passengers were civilians who weren’t used to facing hostile situations. And in an environment like this, anything—and everything—could go wrong.

“Okay.” Colton worked to keep his voice sounding upbeat. “Worst-case scenario is that we’re stuck out here a day or two until my team can pick us up, but we’ve got enough food and water to last us a few days.”

But they all knew that being found by their abductors first was more likely.

“I think I’ve about worn myself out for now,” Bret said. “I just need a short nap in the shade of the plane, and I think I’ll be okay in an hour or two.”

Colton grabbed a blanket from the pile. “Are you sure all you need is a rest?”

“I’ll be fine. Just need to store up some energy.”

Colton watched his brother-in-law find himself a spot in the shade on top of the blanket. “I’m worried about him. He’s been though quite an ordeal. He needs to be looked over by a doctor.”

“He will be,” Lexi assured him, then shot him a half smile. “Because you were right. We’re going to get out of here and we have enough supplies to last us until then.”

Colton stopped and caught her gaze. “Tell me more about your brother.”

Lexi blew out a short breath. “I don’t know much more than I’ve already said. The guys who work for the man he owes money to took me, hoping I could lead them to Trent. Except I have no idea where he is.”

Colton shoved his hands into his front pockets. “Are the two of you close?”

“Not really. He’s my stepbrother,” Lexi said. “My father died when I was thirteen. My mother remarried two years later, so Trent and I didn’t really grow up together. And he’s always been a bit of a...challenge.”

“Sounds like it.”

“From what I got out of the men in the short time I was there, he’s been embezzling money from a business partner. I think it had something to do with gun running.”

“Gun running?” Colton frowned. Clearly whatever Trent had gotten himself involved in, he’d messed with the wrong people.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” Lexi said. “When he stayed with me, he was out most nights, keeping strange hours. If only I had known...if I had seen or heard something I would have confronted him.” There was no inflection in her voice as she stared out across the cloudless sky. “It might end up costing us all our lives.”

Colton rubbed the back of his neck, but it did little to relieve the growing tension. “You’re not responsible for his actions.”

“You’re wrong.” Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at him. “I should have seen what he was doing...noticed that something wasn’t right—”

“And then what?” He ran his hand down her arm until his fingers caught her hand. “This wasn’t your fault.”

He studied her in the shadow of the plane. The cargo pants and T-shirt he’d given her hung a bit loose on her figure, but still managed to look both comfortable and flattering. He had a feeling she was the kind of person who could fit in pretty much anywhere. Whether it was a corporate board meeting in the States wearing business attire, or doing fieldwork in the middle of an African village.

In another place and time, he could see himself taking the initiative to get to know her. But after Maggie, he had no desire to jump into another relationship. Ever. Spending his days flying across North Africa had become the perfect remedy for a broken heart. He loved the freedom it brought. The time spent in the air where he felt the closest to his Creator, where he could do some good, and where the past seemed the furthest away. It certainly wasn’t a life he planned to let go of any time soon.

And everything that had happened today had only managed to remind him that life was volatile, and how everything could change in the blink of an eye.

“I’m worried, Colton.”

He caught the vulnerability in her eyes as she spoke and felt a crazy urge to draw her into his arms and tell her everything was going to be all right. That he’d make sure they got to the nearest airport and then on home to the States safely. But he couldn’t make her any promises. They were still at the mercy of the desert, and the men who’d shot down their plane.

He brushed his hand against her arm. “We’re going to figure this out. I promise.”

“But in the meantime, there has to be something else we can do,” she said.

“The plane’s beyond repair. Bret’s sleeping. So for now about the only thing we can do is wait. How about sitting down with me to watch the sunset in the meantime?”

Because he needed to spend the next hour thinking about something—anything—other than the mess they were in, and he knew he wasn’t the only one.

FOUR

Lexi hesitated at Colton’s suggestion, but already, the sky had captured her attention with its spectacular show of pinks, reds and oranges, lighting the sand in its golden hues. Before long the colors would shift to shades of blue until the vast sky faded into darkness.

“Come on,” he said. “You can tell me more about what you’ve been doing here.”

He led her a dozen or so feet from the plane toward a spot where they could have a front row seat to the incredible nightly display and sat down beside her. “I know you’re working here with a water program. What did you do back in the States?”

She settled into the space beside Colton, mesmerized by the scene in front of her. “I got a degree in engineering, then started working for a company that provides technical support to both public and private clients, specializing in environmental and marine engineering.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“It was, actually. At some point, though, I started doing a bunch of research on third-world countries and their infrastructure, particularly their access to clean water, and what I found shocked me. Almost a billion people are without access to safe drinking water. Two and a half billion don’t have adequate sanitation facilities. And somewhere around three and a half million people die every year because of this.”

“Wow. I knew the figures were high, but I had no idea it was that bad.”

“I probably sound like I’m reading a textbook, don’t I? My dad tells me the reason I came to work in North Africa was because of watching Casablanca too many times.” Lexi laughed at the memory. “But the truth is that this is a subject I feel passionate about. And this became a place where I could live out my faith and hopefully make a difference in the world. And as small as it might be, I’ve seen it change lives.”

“You’re wrong about one thing.”

She looked up at him. “What’s that?”

“It’s no small difference you’re making. To the people you impact, it means everything. The fact that their families now have clean water and they don’t have all the water-related ailments they used to have. The fact that their kids don’t get as sick so they can go to school.”

She stared out across the open sand, amazed once more at all the colors in the sky. The vastness of both the sky and the desert reminded her that they weren’t alone. That the God who had created all of this was still here and real and knew exactly what was going on. Which was why, despite everything that had happened over the past few days, she was beginning to relax.

“What about you?” she asked. “Why are you here?”

“A lot of the same reasons, I guess. After leaving the military, I decided I was done with the service, but not with flying. Bret introduced me to an organization looking for pilots. At first I was pretty skeptical, but I knew I didn’t want to teach flying, wasn’t sure I wanted to go into commercial piloting and certainly wasn’t ready to settle down in a desk job.”

“Are you glad this is what you chose?” she asked.

“I am. Every day is different, making it both rewarding and a challenge.”

But nothing like today, she thought. Today had challenged and stretched them emotionally, and the scary thing was that it was far from over.

She glanced over at the hunky pilot sitting next to her. Her stepfather would like him. A lot. And in another life, Colton Landry was exactly the kind of man she would have liked to get to know better. Because she couldn’t deny the attraction she felt toward the man. But anything more wasn’t an option. She was focused on her own healing after her mother’s death. Avoiding the complications of a relationship had seemed to be a wise decision in that process. Especially with the chance of things turning out the way her last relationship had.

She turned back to watch the colors of the sunset that continued to mute as darkness started to spread across the sky. “What do you find interesting about the desert?” she asked.

Before she’d even signed the contract to come, she’d been intrigued with North Africa, and she’d learned everything she could, not only about this country, but the desert, as well. She’d discovered it was one of the driest, and also one of the highest, places on Earth, where temperatures could easily reach over 130 degrees Fahrenheit and the total rainfall was less than three inches per year.

“Let’s see... How about the fact that there are over forty species of rodents?”

“Rodents?” Lexi wrinkled her nose, then laughed. “I ask you about the beauty of this place, and you give me rodents?”

“I’m sorry. How about this? The Sahara’s one of the most unique, diverse and yet beautiful places you’ll ever see. Life for those who live here is slow paced, and hasn’t changed for centuries. There are nomads, camels, colorful markets, small towns emerging from the earth like desert castles...”

He shot her that smile again. One that managed to jar her heart. She searched for a way to ignore it.

“I just wish...” She turned away from his gaze. “I wish circumstances were different right now. That my family wasn’t worrying...”

“We’re going to find a way out of this,” he said.

She felt her chest constrict. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Even Casablanca didn’t have a perfect happily-ever-after ending.”

He wiped away a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I’ve been in worse situations and made it out alive.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“An ambush by Iraqi insurgents during the war.” His voice darkened. “I never thought I’d make it out of there.”

“What happened?”

“I think I’ll save that story for after we’ve been rescued and we’re all safe and sound.”

She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of seeing him again, but even that crazy anticipation wasn’t enough to dwarf the reality of the danger they faced. The monotony of the desert seemed to go on forever. No landmarks. Just the endless rise after shallow rise of darkening sand.

A shout from behind them pulled Lexi from her thoughts. She turned around and saw Bret running in their direction with a look of terror on his face.

She jumped up beside Colton. “Bret...”

He was stumbling toward them as fast as he could on the uneven sand. Even in the fading glow of the sunset, she could see his chest heaving, and tears running down his cheeks.

Colton grabbed Bret’s arm to steady him. “What happened?”

“I don’t know.” Bret was gasping for breath as he slid down onto the sand in front of them and jerked up his pant leg. “Something...something stung me. But the pain... I think I’m going to pass out.”

Colton knelt down beside him and looked at the spot just above his ankle. The site was already red and swelling.

“Did you see what it was?” he asked.

“Yeah... It...it looked like a scorpion.”

“Can you describe it?” Colton asked.

“It was...I don’t know...three, maybe four inches. And a strange color. Yellow, maybe green.”

Colton drew in a sharp breath at the familiar description. If Bret really was describing a Deathstalker, it was one of the most toxic scorpions in the desert.

Can this day get any worse, God?

“Do you know what it was?” Lexi asked.

Colton shook his head. “I could be wrong, but I had a coworker who was stung by a scorpion a few months ago, and his description sounds like what you’re describing. It’s called the Deathstalker, or sometimes the Israeli desert scorpion.”

“How deadly is the sting?” Lexi asked.

“Reactions vary depending on the person.” He didn’t want to tell them that if he was right, it was extremely toxic. And with Bret’s immune system already compromised...

“Well, the name Deathstalker doesn’t sound encouraging,” Bret said. He clenched his jaw then threw back his head.

“What’s your pain level?” Colton asked.

“On a scale of one to ten? Off the charts,” he said. “And I don’t know if you remembered this, but I’m allergic to everything. Bees, wasps, fire ants—you name it.”

Colton caught the fear in Bret’s voice. That meant his risk of a serious reaction had just multiplied.

“Do you have an EpiPen?” Lexi asked.

“Yes...” He was rocking back and forth now, with sweat glistening across his forehead. “In the front pocket of my backpack. For some reason they let me keep it.”

“Okay. I want you to stay here and try to stay calm.” Colton stood up, then turned to Lexi. “I’ll go grab the first aid kit and a couple blankets. You can get the EpiPen.”

Lexi jogged beside him toward the plane. “What else do you know about this kind of scorpion?”

Colton hesitated a few seconds before answering. “From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t normally do any permanent damage to a healthy adult. But not only is Bret allergic to stings and bites, his immune system and health have been compromised over the past few weeks. Hopefully the EpiPen will counteract the fact that we don’t have access to any antivenom.”

Neither of them needed to state the obvious. In a best-case scenario, the swelling from a sting would subside after a day or two with no medical help. But if Bret had a severe reaction, this was an entirely different story. If the venom started moving rapidly through the body, his airways could be blocked. A reaction that could occur in a matter of minutes.

“And if the EpiPen isn’t enough?” she asked before heading into the plane.

“Then we both better start praying harder.”

Because in a few minutes any lingering light from the setting sun was going to vanish, to be replaced only by the white light of the moon. And striking out on their own across the desert looking for help in the middle of the Sahara at night wasn’t an option.

This day just keeps getting worse and worse.

Colton hurried to where he’d stashed the first aid kit, trying not to think about how his sister was doing right now. He’d promised to get in touch as soon as he got to Morocco, which meant she was going to start wondering why he wasn’t calling. And not only was he unable to reach her, he had no idea when he’d even have access to a phone.

At least he knew that her pastor was there with her, as well as their son, Noah. Bret’s parents had booked a flight to Atlanta from Michigan, but they wouldn’t get in for another few hours. He tried to push away the deepening worry for Bret and his family for now and forced his mind to focus on what they needed to do for him. And pray that what they were doing was going to be enough.

Grabbing the first aid kit and a couple blankets, he hurried back to the front of the plane, where he found Lexi holding the backpack and a bottle of water.

“Today hasn’t turned out the way either of us expected, has it?” she said as they hurried back to where Bret was lying on the sand.

“No, it hasn’t.”

Darkness was slipping quickly across the desert, save the light of the moon that was rising in the night sky, as they knelt down beside Bret.

“How are you doing?” Colton pulled out the EpiPen from the front of the backpack. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”

Bret groaned. “Sick. Nauseated. It hurts so bad.”

“I know. I need you to hang in there.”

He sounded disoriented, and a check of his pulse confirmed that his heart was racing.

Colton removed the safety cap, then pushed the orange tip into Bret’s thigh, while Lexi pulled out the cold pack and squeezed the bag to activate it.

“Will you grab a couple of the pain medicines from the kit and give those to him?” he asked.

Colton pressed the cold pack against the sting and continued praying.

Bret started shaking. “I’m sorry for getting you involved in this, Colton.”

“Are you crazy?” he asked as Lexi helped him with the pain medicine. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“And you know what else? It’s cold out here,” Bret said with a fake laugh. “We’re in the middle of the Sahara, and I’m freezing.”

“It’s the effect of the adrenaline,” Colton said. “You’re going to be fine.”

Bret’s eyes rolled shut.

“Bret...” Colton grabbed his wrist to check his pulse. “His heart’s racing. His breathing’s rapid...”

“You’re right,” Lexi said, placing her arm on Colton’s. “It’s just the effect of the adrenaline.”

Colton nodded. “I need you to take some deep breaths, Bret, and try and calm down.”

Bret opened his eyes and nodded.

“Slow breaths, Bret. Slow breaths.”

“I feel so sleepy now. Maybe if I sleep, I won’t feel the pain anymore.”

“You can sleep now. We’re both going to be right here with you.”

Lexi pulled him back a few steps and glanced up at him. “What if the EpiPen’s not enough? I’m an engineer who can design a water system, but this—I don’t know what else to do for him.”

Colton caught the fear in her voice and wished he had the answer. “I don’t either.”

She pulled a second pen from the backpack. “If the first one doesn’t clear up the symptoms, we can give him another dose.”

“I agree, but I’m worried about him. His system’s already weak from everything he’s gone through. He needs proper medical attention.” He felt his chest constrict.

“Come morning, do you think we can find our way out of here?”

“We don’t have a choice anymore.”

A swirl of dust formed in the distance in the fading sunlight. Lexi grasped his hand as it swirled higher.

Someone—or something—was coming.

FIVE

Lexi’s heart pounded as a shadowy row of camels appeared over the moonlit ridge. She glanced at Colton as Bret’s words played over in her mind. Either they were about to be rescued or their captors had found them.

“Stay here with Bret,” Colton said, putting a protective arm in front of her. “I’ll go see who they are.”

She knelt back down beside Bret and started praying as she checked his pulse again. The redness from the sting had spread. He seemed restless and drowsy, and his heart was still racing.

Above them on the ridge, men in loose-fitting pants and long shirts climbed down from their camels. One of them started speaking loudly, his hands moving animatedly, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying. Her gaze shifted to the rest of the group, and her breath caught. At least two of the men carried rifles.

“Who are they?” Bret asked.

She glanced down at Colton’s brother-in-law. His face and neck were glistening with sweat. His breathing rapid...

“I don’t know. Just try to stay calm and let Colton handle things.”

But was that even possible? It seemed clear that whoever was after them wasn’t going to stop because of a confrontation with the Malian army. They’d tried to escape, one of them had shot down their plane and chances were they were still looking for them.

No. This wasn’t over yet.

What are we supposed to do, God? We’ve got people willing to kill us for what they want, not to mention Bret could die without medical attention...

“Lexi?”

Her heart pounded as Colton hurried down the hill toward them beside another man.

“Who are they?” she asked.

“Friends of mine. I want you to meet Issa.”

“A friend of yours?” Lexi’s gaze narrowed as she eyed the man standing next to Colton. He had a broad smile on his dark face, but she still wasn’t ready to let down her guard.

“And the guns?” she asked. Her gaze shifted back to the two men standing on the ridge with their rifles.

Issa took a step toward her. “You must understand that not everyone who lives in this desert is willing to work for what they need. They wouldn’t hesitate to take what we have by gunpoint. It is our only way to protect ourselves.”

“It’s okay, Lexi,” Colton said. “I met Issa a few months ago during a medical evacuation of his wife and newborn son. Since then, he’s become an invaluable resource for our team.”

“Then I’m sorry for the cold welcome.” A sigh of relief spread through her. “It’s just that it’s been a difficult day.”

“Colton just told me about the kidnappings and the plane crash. That was not the kind of welcome you deserved in my country. You have nothing to be sorry for,” Issa said. “I’m simply happy that we can help.”

“Issa received a message from my base,” Colton said. “They realized from the GPS tracker that after crossing into Mauritania we must have had to make an emergency landing. They were able to get through to Issa and asked him to come find us.”

“Then we’re all grateful,” Lexi said. She glanced over at Bret. “But we’ve got an even more serious problem right now.”

“It’s my brother-in-law. He was bitten by a scorpion,” Colton said.

“And he’s not getting any better.” Lexi bit the edge of her lip to stop herself from crying. “I wanted to wait a few more minutes to see if the medicine would take effect, but he’s going to need another shot, and after that...”

There was nothing else she could do.

“I will take you to the Kasbah where I live,” Issa said, signaling to his men. “There is a woman there. A healer. She will know what to do.”

Lexi glanced up the ridge at the row of camels. Above them, the Milky Way dangled beneath a black sky.

She’d seen photos of a Kasbah. Fortresses, often built on hilltops in order to be more easily defended, with high walls and no windows. At least she’d feel safer there than out here in the open in the middle of the desert.

Issa turned back to Colton. “There is an airstrip—not more than three hours farther—where your team can land and pick you up in the morning.”

Colton nodded. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome, but if we are going to help him, we need to hurry.”

Any romantic ideas of riding a camel across the desert had been stripped away in the first twenty minutes of the trip. Each one of the camels was tethered to the tail of the one in front of them by some kind of halter, and together they moved at a slow but steady gait across the desert sands. If an hour on a horse could make her sore, she didn’t even want to imagine what she was going to feel like come morning. And on top of that, the stench of the camels was only outdone by their constant spitting.