The Forbidden Trilogy(146)

Now satiated by the water, a desperate hunger clenched her stomach. "I'm starving. We need to find something to eat."

"Don't think there's fast food here, Luce."

She smacked her brother in the arm. "We'll find our own food, smartass."

He rolled his eyes. "Right. With what, handmade spears and bows?"

"If we have to. I have no intention of starving to death, do you? Besides, we can look for berries or fruit. Something to tide us over while we figure out our next step."

He sulked and didn't reply, but he followed when she stomped off.

Lucy didn't know what his problem was, but he'd better get with the program or she'd have to kick his ass.

They retraced their steps into the jungle, heading along the shore as much as they could to avoid getting lost in all the trees.

While Lucy and Luke had both been trained in outdoor survival, so much depended on knowing the unique plant life of the area. Which berries would kill you, and which would save you? Which roots were edible and which would make you sick? Lucy had never been that interested in it, so she retained only bits and pieces of the training.

"We should stick to eating fruits or vegetables that we recognize, so we don't poison ourselves by accident."

"Wouldn't want that."

Normally, Luke was sarcastic or funny or witty... but though his words were pure Luke, his tone was more like angsty emo teen. Nothing like her brother's normal disposition. It had been a hard day and a half, but he needed to snap out of it and focus. Nothing would be gained by sulking.

Lucy ground her teeth to keep from saying something she'd regret later, and put her attention back on the jungle. What looked edible? Nothing. She couldn't imagine putting anything in her mouth that lived in this damp, stinky place. Maybe they could try fishing, or maybe hunting would be better. Catch some meat, roast it over a fire. She'd had to skin an animal before—not fun, but she could do it to placate the gnawing hunger in her gut.

The jungle moved around her like a living thing. Bugs scuttled through the thick layers of leaves and mulch under her feet. A few flying scoundrels bit at her. At least they could find a ready meal on the go, she thought, as she slapped herself silly in an effort to kill them.

After another two hours of hiking through the dense foliage, Lucy collapsed against a tree. "I need to rest. I'm dying."

Luke sat next to her, shoulder to shoulder. The warmth of his body felt comforting and familiar. Whatever weird thing he had going on, he was still her twin and best friend. She was glad not to be alone.

She nudged him playfully. "If we don't find food soon, I might just have to eat you."

He tried to laugh, but it came out sounding broken. "Sure. Go ahead and try. Besides, I've got too much muscle, I'd be chewy. You, on the other hand, have some nice soft spots right there." He poked her in the stomach and she squealed.

"Did you seriously just call me fat? You're such a dork. I'm not fat. My abs are tighter than yours."

The banter would have been comforting, if it hadn't felt so forced. She wanted her normal brother back.

Her sphere pulsed softly, the first time she'd felt it all day, and the vibrations of power soothed her. A stillness descended on her, and she wondered if this was the stillness Bethel had spoken of.

The moment shattered at the sound of something above her head. On a branch sat a giant.... It looked like a butterfly, but about five times bigger than any she'd ever seen. It had large soft wings colored in a swirl of jewel tones, and it looked right at her.

She nudged Luke and whispered, "Check it out. A freakishly large butterfly. Catch it!"

"I'm not catching it. And besides, that's not a butterfly, it's a moth. Butterflies have skinny antennas, while moths have furry ones, like that."

"And since when do moths have colorful wings? Huh, smarty pants?"

"It's not a butterfly, and what do you want it for, anyway?"

"I don't know. Maybe we could cook it. It's huge."

"Seriously? You want to eat some kind of weird moth? What if it's poisonous? Thought we were only eating things we recognized?"

"You're the big bug lover, and you said it was a moth, so you recognized it. And I'm hungry. People eat bugs. It's not unheard of. Did you know that apes share a very similar genetic makeup to humans, and that if humans ate more like apes, they'd be much healthier? Well, apes eat a lot of green leafy vegetables, but guess where they get their protein?"

Luke shrugged.

"You're not going to guess? Fine. I'll tell you anyway. They get it from bugs found in their greens. Bugs like this one. I'm not saying we should start serving it for dinner at home, but for now, when we're so depleted from using our powers, being attacked, jumping from a plane, swimming through an ocean and passing out on a deserted island, yeah, I think we need to get some protein in us however we can. And since you are apparently too chewy, it's Bug Brunch time."