Lose Control (The Jewel Project #5)

38.2|| Desert Walkers

Sam wasn't sure what he hated more. Damp air and constant stubborn vegetation, or the dryness and dunes of the desert. Bottom line was, it made walking a bitch.

It took them a few minutes to get over the fact that their means of transport exploded, time in which Tom called Eye Patch and Snitch Gravel every name in the book. But once the novelty wore off, Sam focused on convincing Skye that it could've been much worse. They could've actually been in the car, or have to jump without luggage.

Anyway, the lack of originality was a good sign. It also meant that Snitch Gravel had played his card and might actually not follow them for this one, especially since he was convinced there was no jewel.

So, on that positive note, they started off towards their destination. Everything was desert. The sun over them cast a sickly yellow light and a ridiculous amount of heat for the time of year. They couldn't even see very far, heatwaves dancing in their vision. 

"Everything looks the fucking same," Tom mumbled next to him. "How do we know we're even going in the right direction?"

Tom made a good point, so Sam instantly decided the jungle was preferable because then at least then they could use plants for orientation. He took out his compass again and noticed they'd veered slightly to the right. It was annoying to keep changing directions, but the dunes and shifting sand made it impossible to go straight. Unless...

"I have an idea." He grabbed Tom's shoulders and fixed him in place, turning him to face the correct direction. "Stay here. Kyle, come next to Tom and move in a straight line until you can hardly see him, then stop."

Even if he raised a questioning eyebrow, Kyle obeyed. Sam continued to direct everyone, making them move one in front of the other, having them correct their position if they strayed from the imaginary line between them and the person behind them. And once he finally became first, leaving Skye as a barely distinguishable silhouette, he realized his plan worked.

They could keep the right direction by correcting their position according to the person behind them, and after they were all spread out, do it all over again.

Sam pressed his earpiece to activate his communicator. "Tom, you can come to me now and pick up everyone on the way." Then they could start again from their new ground zero.

What followed was calculated movement which resembled a snake moving coil by coil and a lot of team-building which consisted mainly of people screaming at each other that they were going to wrong way and fighting over who lost their position. Quality bonding.

By the time darkness set, Sam was convinced they were on track and that they'd reach their destination by midday the next day.

"How can you be so sure?" Skye asked, sitting by him in front of the fire.

"I checked the compass constantly, and with our minor corrections, we managed to keep the perfect direction and save a lot of time and confusion," Sam explained, trying not to sound too proud of himself. "So the chances that we're lost are very slim."

"I surely hope so," Jessie mumbled from the log in front of them. "Everything looks the same to me."

Sam glanced at her, a little worried by her tone. "You can give me one good kick if I'm wrong." She didn't answer, still fumbling with what looked like a compact mirror. "You okay?"

"Yeah..." She twisted the compact and he noticed it was actually a screen. "I just... Jimmy made me this while I was in Harvard so we could... um, facetime. And I took it because I hoped... Well, obviously I can't contact him this way."

"You really miss him, don't you?" Skye asked, her voice soothing. "He'll be back in four days, you do know that, right?"

"Yes, I do. It's just..." She raised her eyes to them and they were misty. "I don't want to scare you Skye, but Sam, what if we actually die or something? What if something happens to him? What if I never see him again?"