Page 1 of Keeping Amanda
CHAPTER ONE
Amanda Rush was scared. Not just a little scared either.Terrified. According to her calculations, it had been two weeks, give or take a day, since she and twenty-three kids had been taken from their school in Guyana, put into a truck that had crossed into Venezuela, and then forced to walk day after day deeper into the Amazon rainforest.
She was exhausted, dirty, hungry, and petrified over what the men holding them hostage could possibly want. They hadn’t spoken a lot, just prodded them along with their rifles when they slowed down too much. They hadn’t explained where they were going or why they’d been taken in the first place.
Even though she wished she was anywhere other than where she was, Amanda wouldn’t change what she’d done. If she hadn’t stayed with the children, if she’d run in the opposite direction when the men stormed into the classroom, like the other adults had done, the children would be out here all alone.
And while she didn’t think she was anything all that special, Amanda was proud that she’d stayed with them. Even though it probably meant she’d die as a result.
But she wasn’t dead yet. And even though things were bad,they could always get worse. So far, none of the rough-and-tumble soldiers guarding them had made any kind of move toward her. They hadn’t beaten her or any of the kids. They’d kind of seemed like robots…quiet, blank…unmoved by the children’s crying. Immune to Amanda’s begging on their behalf for food, water, to be able to sit for a moment.
So on they walked.
Rain was falling, as it had been for basically two weeks straight. Not constant, but just when she thought she might have a chance to dry out, inevitably it would start raining again.
But today things had changed. They’d arrived at a sort of makeshift camp. There were quite a few ratty canvas tents in a small clearing in the trees. A large firepit sat to one side of the camp, smoking as the rain did its best to extinguish the flames. She didn’t see anyone there when they arrived, but someone had to be close, since the fire was lit before their arrival.
The man who she assumed was in charge—since the other soldiers did whatever he ordered without hesitation—gestured to the tents. “Boys over there, five to a tent. Girls, there,” he said, pointing to the other side of the camp. “All eight in the far tent.”
Looking where he was pointing, Amanda realized it was going to be a tight fit to get all eight of the girls into the smallish tent he was pointing to, but she didn’t protest. She actually preferred they all stay together. The girls ranged in ages from four to eleven, and the boys were anywhere from three to thirteen.
She gave Michael a small smile, trying to let him know that she was okay, that everything would be all right. The boy had stayed near her side for the last two weeks, doing what he could to protect her. It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. Because she knew without a doubt if the soldiers wanted to harm her, there wasn’t anything he’d be able to do to stop them.
“We want to stay with the girls,” Michael told the leader.
He ignored him, turning his back on the group and heading toward a bigger tent near the edge of the trees.
“Hey! We want to stay with the girls,” Michael said again, louder and more forcefully.
The man stopped, and Amanda’s heart nearly quit beating in her chest. Something bad was going to happen, she knew that as well as she knew her name.
He turned around and stared at Michael for a long moment. Then he slowly walked toward him.
Michael’s shoulders went back and he lifted his chin. His refusal to back down to this man was impressive…and not very smart.
Before Amanda could utter a word to tell the leader that Michael was tired and hungry, that he hadn’t meant to be disrespectful, his arm swung. He backhanded the boy so hard, Michael went flying backward, landing in the mud several feet from where he’d been standing.
The leader nodded at one of the other soldiers, and the man leaned down, hauled Michael to his feet, and shoved him toward the trees.
Amanda could barely breathe.
“Please don’t!” she begged. She had no idea what the soldier had in store for Michael, but it couldn’t be good.
The leader turned his icy gaze on her, and for the first time since she’d been taken, Amanda felt as if he was seeing her.Trulyseeing her. His gaze roamed up and down her body, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
She’d never seen herself as very attractive. She was…cute? At five feet tall, she’d been mistaken for a teenager more than once, even though she was almost thirty. Back in Virginia, at the school where she’d taught, she was shorter than many of her seventh-grade students. Her hair was a mix of light brown and blonde and she kept it short, simply because it was easier to take care of, something she was very glad for here in the rainforest. Her eyes blue, her weight average. Not too skinny and not overweight. In truth, she was average. Not height-wise, but in every other way.
But when the leader looked at Amanda, her skin crawled.
“You want to join him?” he asked in a low, smooth voice that lacked any real emotion. His khaki pants and shirt were sweat-stained and dirty, just like Amanda’s and the kids’ clothing. He had dark hair, a square jaw covered by a full beard. The rifle strapped around his chest was a vivid reminder of her current situation…that it was in her best interest not to piss this man off.
“No, sir,” she said, as respectfully as she could. “Michael is just worried about the girls. He’s always done his best to look after them.”
“They are no longer his concern. He has a new job…to become a soldier.”
Amanda’s belly clenched. She’d been pretty sure that’s why the kids were taken, but to hear this man say it so nonchalantly was still a shock.
“That’s what you all will be!” he said a little louder, looking at the rest of the boys, who were huddled together. “You will learn everything you need to know here. You will be trained, and as long as you cooperate, you will earn the right to sleep in the tents and eat. If not…”
