A. Colucci - Seeders

“I can’t let you go out there.”

“Just try to stop me,” she snapped, and then put a hand over her mouth, looking shocked. “Oh, I see. You want the diamond for yourself, don’t you? Now that I’ve told you where it is, I guess you’ll send that boy of yours to go dig it up. Well, I won’t hear of it.” She stiffened her lip. “I insist you tell me how to get to the pond.”

Isabelle reached the end of her tolerance and snapped, “Why don’t you check the map in the study?”

Thunder rumbled from the windows, giving Ginny pause for a moment. “Of course,” she said, and hurried out the door.

Isabelle raised the scrap of paper in her hand and stared at her father’s last words, wondering what they could mean.

Monica did her best to convince Luke they should look for the diamond, but it was useless. He sat on the bed peeling the label off a wine bottle, unwavering in his decision.

“Beecher’s a geek,” she said. “Besides, there’s two of us and one of him.”

“He’s like seven feet tall. He’s got knives and a crossbow.”

“Has he hurt you? Has he hurt anyone? You can’t just assume a person’s dangerous.” She crossed her arms and her eyes narrowed. “You said you wanted to go to Paris with me.”

“Not on stolen money.”

“It’s not stolen. We spent every day looking for that damn rock. You almost drowned.” She took the bottle from his hands and set it down hard. “We deserve our share.”

“It’s not ours. My grandfather wanted Ginny to have it.”

“Fine, I’ll go myself.”

He shot her a glance. “You will not.”

“Watch me.” For a moment she hesitated, and then Monica walked out of the room.

Luke heard her stomping down the staircase, making a big showy exit. He rolled over to the window, waiting for her to emerge into the yard, but hoping she wouldn’t.

Within a minute the kitchen door sprang open and Monica trudged down the path. Luke felt his heart kick up as she drew closer to the entrance of the woods. She slowed for a moment, and then the trees swallowed her up.

Another door opened at the opposite side of the house and Luke watched Jules emerge onto the patio, turn toward the lab and wave, smiling.

“No,” Luke whispered. “Go back in the house.”

But Jules began walking down the path toward the woods, and Monica.

Luke felt his blood turn cold, and when Jules reached the trees, Luke took off down the stairs and ran straight into Isabelle. She was rushing from the library with a stack of lumber in her arms, a hammer sticking out of her coat. She dropped the wood at his feet.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she said.

“To the kitchen,” he answered.

“Where’s Monica?”

He swallowed hard. “Upstairs.”

“Grab a bunch of wood. We’re going to board up some of these doors and windows. I’ll do the front rooms and you start in the back.”

“Mom, there’s like a million windows in this house. Some of them are huge.”

“Mostly in the library, and I can keep an eye on those. The large ones are strong, but the smaller ones could use some reinforcement.”

Luke shook his head at the planks. “This isn’t going to stop someone who really wants to get in.”

She knew he was talking about Jules. “It might slow him down. Until I can shoot him.”

His face drained of color. “You really think he’s dangerous?”

“Yes. I do.”

He could tell she meant it.

“I’ll have to look for Sean if he isn’t back soon. He’s out there with that maniac. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you and Monica not to leave this house again. Now take this wood and get started.”

He looked out the window. “Can I get something to eat first?”

“No, come with me.”

He had no choice but to follow her instructions.

Not my problem, he thought but felt sick to his stomach.

BLACK CLOUDS ROLLED across the sky from the north. The woods grew dark, the temperature had dropped, and the island was becoming bitterly cold, eerily silent. Monica turned up the collar of her leather jacket and moved swiftly down the trail, trying to squelch the ghastly images of Hodges that kept popping into her mind.

Instead, she kept her pace steady by focusing on objects along the path—smooth, round stones and perfectly formed leaves, roots and saplings protruding from the ground. It was the first time she noticed that everything was covered in the black fungus, just like Luke said. But she wasn’t going to think about that now.

The important thing was to follow the red tags and never look up. Even if you heard voices. There would be a fork up ahead and then she would take the left path, or did Luke say right? Shit . No, it was left, definitely. She pictured herself digging up the diamond. Shit . No shovel. She’d have to dig with her hands, which would take forever. Shit. Shit . Shit . She could have at least brought a spoon. There was no turning back now, not if she wanted to get the jump on Ginny. Plus she’d have to face Luke again, listen to him whine about the diamond.

As she rounded the bend, someone was standing in the middle of the fork. It was Sean and he was smiling, shoulders hunched and arms hanging loose at his side. He was wearing a light jacket that wasn’t even zipped. Monica thought he must be too dumb to know it was cold.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

He didn’t answer.

Then she asked, “You know where the pond is?” She mouthed the words, slow and loud. “ Pond . You know ”—her arms made a wide circle—“ big puddle .”

Sean didn’t move.

“Get out of my way.” She stepped to the left and so did Sean. Then she went right, but Sean copied her moves, blocking her each time she tried to slip by.

“Cut it out, weirdo.” She smacked his shoulder.

Sean pushed back with both hands, so she fell against a tree. He wasn’t going to let her pass and she lifted her chin, ready to fight.

Behind Monica came a cheery voice. “ Ah, le dahlia noir! ”

Jules was coming down the trail behind her. She drew in a breath, startled by his appearance. The combination of soiled clothes, muddied hair, and gaunt face covered in black rot and stubble resembled a man buried and raised from the dead.

“ Ravi de te voir, ” he greeted her. “I was hoping for visitors.”

She raised a lip. Jules seemed more clownish than dangerous. “I’m not visiting. Unless you have a shovel.”

He squinted. “Shovel, shovel. Yes, I do. If you come this way, mon petit chou. ”

Monica knew she didn’t want to go anywhere with him. Sean followed Jules, but she didn’t move.

Jules turned with a puzzled expression. “Coming?”

“Actually, I was going to find the pond.”

“The pond? Yes. It’s right down this path, just past our camp. Shall we?”

“Never mind. I have to go back, I forgot something.”

He smiled wryly. “Are you afraid of me?”

“Yeah, right,” she said with a snort.

“The pond’s not far. You want my shovel?”

She didn’t reply.

“Well, then, come along.”

Although Jules’s appearance implied insanity, his grin and jauntiness made him seem fairly harmless. Besides, he was far less scary than getting lost and confronting Hodges again. So Monica followed along. Pretty soon the trail narrowed to nothing. She was stepping over trees and tangled vines that scratched her pants, holding her arms out for balance. She swallowed hard, keeping a close eye on Jules as he took long strides and passed through the woody terrain with the dexterity of a native.