Page 12 of Keeping Amanda
Buck had thought about that, but decided stealth was a better option. Yes, the truck could get them to the border faster, but the rebels would follow, and the last thing he wanted was to get into a car chase in the middle of the freaking jungle. The rebels knew this area like the back of their hands. He’d be more likely to drive them into a ditch or river. He was better offstealing what he needed and sneaking out of the area with Mandy. At least then, they stood a chance of the rebels not even knowing they were out here. Hopefully.
“Not a good idea,” he told her. “They’d know immediately we were here.”
She nodded. “Right. Okay. I’ll hunker down right here by this tree. Wait for you. But I can do my fair share of carrying whatever it is you get.”
Impressed all over again, Buck nodded. He wasn’t going to make her carry a damn thing. She’d have a hard enough time just walking to the border as it was. He hoped to find a duffel bag or something to put supplies in while he was at camp.
Though now, for some reason, Buck was reluctant to leave her. He needed to get going. It would be light way too damn soon, but the thought of leaving Mandy behind was making him hesitate.
“I’ll be back,” he forced himself to say.
“I’m counting on it,” she said calmly. “Because if you aren’t, I’ll be walking in circles in this damn jungle until I can’t take another step, then I’ll just lie down and die. And I’m not being dramatic. I have no sense of direction and don’t know the first thing about survival stuff. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I don’t know a damn thing about teaching. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.”
She gave him a small smile.
Buck forced himself to give her a nod, then he turned and headed for the camp. Every step felt like a mistake, but he had to do this. Had to find provisions.
By the time he got to the outskirts of the camp, he’d calmed somewhat. Became focused on the mission at hand. The rebels had set up lights in the clearing, which actually worked in his favor. They could see what they were doing, but everything outside the circle of light would be darker. Their vision would be slightly impaired…hopefully enough to let him dowhat he needed to do and get the hell out without being detected.
The camp was set up exactly as Mandy had described. He could see the obstacle course the boys had been forced to run over and over. The tents where they’d slept, and the kitchen tent was right where she said it would be. On the far side of the camp was the large firepit. It looked like most of the men were currently sitting around the fire, bitching about the rescue and the fact that the girls, in particular, had slipped through their fingers.
It was disgusting, but Buck forced himself to forget about vengeance and concentrate on what he was there to do.
Just when he was about to head toward the kitchen tent, something caught his eye.
It was a dog.
At least, that’s what hethoughtit was. The animal was lying on the periphery of the group of men. Every time one of them brought a hand up to their mouth, the dog’s gaze followed the movement. He, or she, was super skinny, from what Buck could tell from his vantage point, its fur matted and covered in dried mud. The thing looked pathetic…and it hurt Buck’s heart to see it. He had no idea if it had arrived with the men or if it was a stray, but the latter seemed unlikely since they were so far from any kind of civilization.
As he slipped around the camp to where the kitchen tent was located, Buck did his best to keep his temper in check. His job was such that he couldn’t really have a pet, but he had a soft spot for animals. Why anyone would ever have an animal if they couldn’t care for it, he didn’t know. Why would the rebels keep a dog around if they weren’t going to feed it, at least?
Doing his best to put the dog out of his mind, for his own sanity if nothing else, he concentrated on the job at hand. From talking to Mandy, he knew there wouldn’t be anything useful inside the tents where the kids and Mandy were kept, becausetheir captors hadn’t given them blankets or spare clothes. Most of what they needed was inside the tent where all the females were forced to make food.
Getting down on his belly, Buck slowly lifted the edge of the canvas tent, listening and looking for anyone who might be inside. Relief filled him when he saw it was empty. That didn’t mean someone couldn’t enter at any second. He needed to be fast. It would be easier to cut the canvas than wiggle under, but a damaged tent would instantly indicate someone had been there. And he needed every second of time it would take the kidnappers to realize they’d been raided. The longer that took, the farther he and Mandy could get before they began hunting them down.
With luck, they’d never miss the things he pilfered.
But that hope died as soon as he was inside the tent. Mandy had warned him that she and the girls hadn’t had a lot to work with, as far as cooking items went, and she hadn’t lied. There was one large stockpot, which wouldn’t be practical to take, and two smaller pans. There were a couple of spoons and a pair of tongs. One fork, and two dull kitchen knives. Anything he took would definitely be missed before too long.
However, hedidspot a backpack lying in the corner. It had seen better days, the seams were coming apart, but it was better than nothing.
Working quickly, Buck packed one small pan, the fork and a knife. He padded them with the random dirty cloths lying around the tent so nothing would rattle as he walked.
Even though there wasn’t much in the way of cooking items, Buck was extremely pleased with the amount of food. Mostly canned goods, which wasn’t ideal, but once empty, the cans could be used to hold water and as cook vessels. That was why he didn’t bother taking both pans. The cans would do in a pinch.
Better yet were the several matchbooks scattered haphazardly on the ground.
But the best item he found was the packet of purification tablets. They made water taste funky, but would kill any bacteria that could otherwise make them extremely sick.
Voices outside alerted Buck to the fact that his scavenging mission was quickly coming to an end. He needed to be gone by the time whoever was coming his way entered the tent. He shoved the backpack under the canvas at the back, then quickly lay down and crawled out himself.
He made it out just in time. Freezing in place, not wanting to make any noise whatsoever, Buck held his breath as two men entered the tent.
They were speaking Spanish, of course, and complaining about having to make breakfast for everyone. Thankfully, it didn’t seem as if they noticed anything missing; they obviously hadn’t spent much time in the kitchen tent, so they didn’t know what supplies were normally available.
Moving slowly, Buck eased the pack onto his back and carefully moved away from the tent. There were more items he would’ve liked to have taken, but he’d have to be satisfied with the things he’d managed to grab.
