16STEVAN AND I walked for an hour, two hours. We were beyond tired and starved. My watch was cracked and permanently pointed at 2. I didn’t want to take it off. I
didn’t want to leave anything in that infernal forest. We found a small path where there were no shrubs and tall grass. Stevan led the way, covered in mud. We both were, even though we had
been under the rain for hours. There was no washing away that thick paste of dirt that clung to our hair and skin.
Stevan signaled for me stop. My heart leapt up my throat, and I had to swallow hard.
“Listen,” he said.
I stared at the ground and concentrated. There was the sound of water. Not the steady batter of rain but a sloshing kind. Moving water.
“We’re near the river!” Stevan said, suddenly animated. He walked faster, almost runnin
