Those Who Prey by Jennifer Moffett

Author:Jennifer Moffett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 2020-11-10T00:00:00+00:00

A Saved Soul

Our first big Bible study proves to be a complete failure.

Strangers with stickers show up. We smile. They smile back. Kara’s guest eyes her like a piece of meat, but leaves as soon as he realizes he won’t have the chance to be alone with her. She sulks in a corner most of the time—she’s been quiet and distant ever since our conversation during my panic attack yesterday. We sing. Some join in. We pray. They listen. We study with them, and then they leave one by one. They say they’ll come back, but we all know, even as the sun submerges into the Tuscan hills and bathes us in a golden light that should fill us with a sense of hope, that the chance of any of them returning will be unlikely.

Will stomps off to his office with Ben, as the rest of us disperse in silence. I sense the doubt and disappointment—it’s already infecting the group. What if the mission fails? I’m too scared to ask this out loud as Kara and I walk toward our building. I see two figures shifting in the vineyard.

“Look,” I say, nudging Kara.

Todd and the girl he invited are huddled in a private conversation.

“Well, look at that. Todd saves the day,” Kara says. “Or night.” She yawns.

“Why didn’t you talk to that guy you invited?” I ask Kara.

“What’s the point?”

“Maybe he would have committed to coming back.”

“I doubt it,” Kara says. “Anyway, the key is to stay just one step ahead. We’ll just invite some new people next time to keep our numbers up.”

Keep our numbers up? “I thought the key is to save people,” I say.

Kara shoots me a look. This time I can tell she’s studying my expression, looking to see if I mean it.

“Do you think anyone who showed up tonight will come back?” I ask.

“No,” Kara says. She sounds like she doesn’t even care.

I pause inside our doorway, scanning the corners of our room.

“Em, stop it,” she says. “How many times do I have to tell you? It. Was. A. Joke.”

“Yes, one that you never explained to me, and I’m still not laughing.”

“Trust me,” she says, climbing into the bottom bunk again. “See? You can have the top bunk permanently. That’s how worried I am.”

“I’m way too wired for sleep,” I say. “I think I’m going to take a walk.” I glance around the room again for any signs of movement.

“Whatever,” Kara says. She pulls her headphones from under her pillow and puts them on.

I step out into the night and look around. Todd and his friend are gone, so I decide to walk through the vineyard. I’m thinking about Josh, wondering where he is and if he isn’t too “busy” now to talk, when I see a figure between rows. My heart races as I try to focus. It’s a male, but too short to be Josh. I see a tiny light near his hand lift up to his mouth just as I smell the cigarette smoke.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.