Before she’d even signed the contract to come, she’d been intrigued with North Africa, and she’d learned everything she could, not only about this country, but the desert, as well. She’d discovered it was one of the driest, and also one of the highest, places on Earth, where temperatures could easily reach over 130 degrees Fahrenheit and the total rainfall was less than three inches per year.
“Let’s see... How about the fact that there are over forty species of rodents?”
“Rodents?” Lexi wrinkled her nose, then laughed. “I ask you about the beauty of this place, and you give me rodents?”
“I’m sorry. How about this? The Sahara’s one of the most unique, diverse and yet beautiful places you’ll ever see. Life for those who live here is slow paced, and hasn’t changed for centuries. There are nomads, camels, colorful markets, small towns emerging from the earth like desert castles...”
He shot her that smile again. One that managed to jar her heart. She searched for a way to ignore it.
“I just wish...” She turned away from his gaze. “I wish circumstances were different right now. That my family wasn’t worrying...”
“We’re going to find a way out of this,” he said.
She felt her chest constrict. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Even Casablanca didn’t have a perfect happily-ever-after ending.”
He wiped away a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I’ve been in worse situations and made it out alive.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“An ambush by Iraqi insurgents during the war.” His voice darkened. “I never thought I’d make it out of there.”
“What happened?”
“I think I’ll save that story for after we’ve been rescued and we’re all safe and sound.”
She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of seeing him again, but even that crazy anticipation wasn’t enough to dwarf the reality of the danger they faced. The monotony of the desert seemed to go on forever. No landmarks. Just the endless rise after shallow rise of darkening sand.
A shout from behind them pulled Lexi from her thoughts. She turned around and saw Bret running in their direction with a look of terror on his face.
She jumped up beside Colton. “Bret...”
He was stumbling toward them as fast as he could on the uneven sand. Even in the fading glow of the sunset, she could see his chest heaving, and tears running down his cheeks.
Colton grabbed Bret’s arm to steady him. “What happened?”
“I don’t know.” Bret was gasping for breath as he slid down onto the sand in front of them and jerked up his pant leg. “Something...something stung me. But the pain... I think I’m going to pass out.”
Colton knelt down beside him and looked at the spot just above his ankle. The site was already red and swelling.
“Did you see what it was?” he asked.
“Yeah... It...it looked like a scorpion.”
“Can you describe it?” Colton asked.
“It was...I don’t know...three, maybe four inches. And a strange color. Yellow, maybe green.”
Colton drew in a sharp breath at the familiar description. If Bret really was describing a Deathstalker, it was one of the most toxic scorpions in the desert.
Can this day get any worse, God?
“Do you know what it was?” Lexi asked.
Colton shook his head. “I could be wrong, but I had a coworker who was stung by a scorpion a few months ago, and his description sounds like what you’re describing. It’s called the Deathstalker, or sometimes the Israeli desert scorpion.”
“How deadly is the sting?” Lexi asked.
“Reactions vary depending on the person.” He didn’t want to tell them that if he was right, it was extremely toxic. And with Bret’s immune system already compromised...
“Well, the name Deathstalker doesn’t sound encouraging,” Bret said. He clenched his jaw then threw back his head.
“What’s your pain level?” Colton asked.
“On a scale of one to ten? Off the charts,” he said. “And I don’t know if you remembered this, but I’m allergic to everything. Bees, wasps, fire ants—you name it.”
Colton caught the fear in Bret’s voice. That meant his risk of a serious reaction had just multiplied.
“Do you have an EpiPen?” Lexi asked.
“Yes...” He was rocking back and forth now, with sweat glistening across his forehead. “In the front pocket of my backpack. For some reason they let me keep it.”
“Okay. I want you to stay here and try to stay calm.” Colton stood up, then turned to Lexi. “I’ll go grab the first aid kit and a couple blankets. You can get the EpiPen.”
Lexi jogged beside him toward the plane. “What else do you know about this kind of scorpion?”
Colton hesitated a few seconds before answering. “From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t normally do any permanent damage to a healthy adult. But not only is Bret allergic to stings and bites, his immune system and health have been compromised over the past few weeks. Hopefully the EpiPen will counteract the fact that we don’t have access to any antivenom.”
Neither of them needed to state the obvious. In a best-case scenario, the swelling from a sting would subside after a day or two with no medical help. But if Bret had a severe reaction, this was an entirely different story. If the venom started moving rapidly through the body, his airways could be blocked. A reaction that could occur in a matter of minutes.
“And if the EpiPen isn’t enough?” she asked before heading into the plane.
“Then we both better start praying harder.”
Because in a few minutes any lingering light from the setting sun was going to vanish, to be replaced only by the white light of the moon. And striking out on their own across the desert looking for help in the middle of the Sahara at night wasn’t an option.
This day just keeps getting worse and worse.
Colton hurried to where he’d stashed the first aid kit, trying not to think about how his sister was doing right now. He’d promised to get in touch as soon as he got to Morocco, which meant she was going to start wondering why he wasn’t calling. And not only was he unable to reach her, he had no idea when he’d even have access to a phone.
At least he knew that her pastor was there with her, as well as their son, Noah. Bret’s parents had booked a flight to Atlanta from Michigan, but they wouldn’t get in for another few hours. He tried to push away the deepening worry for Bret and his family for now and forced his mind to focus on what they needed to do for him. And pray that what they were doing was going to be enough.
Grabbing the first aid kit and a couple blankets, he hurried back to the front of the plane, where he found Lexi holding the backpack and a bottle of water.
“Today hasn’t turned out the way either of us expected, has it?” she said as they hurried back to where Bret was lying on the sand.
“No, it hasn’t.”
Darkness was slipping quickly across the desert, save the light of the moon that was rising in the night sky, as they knelt down beside Bret.
“How are you doing?” Colton pulled out the EpiPen from the front of the backpack. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”
Bret