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For the next few minutes, she concentrated on simply breathing deeply, inhaling and exhaling purposefully, trying to help her overloaded mind calm. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and discovered she was able to look around without the terror she’d experienced earlier.
Maybe she needed some water. Something cool to drink would help her recover from her near-panic attack. She rose unsteadily and walked across the terminal on legs that felt as weak and wobbly as if she’d been hiking at high elevation for too long. She found a vending machine and punched the number for bottled water.
BLEEP!!!The sharp tone made Avery jump as the machine flashed a warning on its screen.INSERT EXACT CHANGE.
She shook her head to clear her foggy mind. Duh, of course. Money first, then drink selection. Her hands shook as she fed a five-dollar bill into the slot. Hadn’t she learned that like the back of her hand in NYC? Good grief, was she so overwrought she’d forgotten how to work a simple vending machine?
“El Shaddai, please help me.” Avery looked up at the high-domed terminal roof and whispered the words. “I can’t do this alone. It brings back—too much.” Quarters rattled into the change slot as a misty bottle of water plummeted through the machine and clunked into the drawer. Avery pulled it out and opened it—as best as she could with her hands still trembling. A few sips of the cold liquid seemed to wake her mind back up.
Focus, Avery.She leaned against the machine. It was positioned in a quieter alcove, where the terminal noise wasn’t so intense.Focus on why you’re here.
She didn’t need to close her eyes to picture the face that was motivating her to make this trip. A laughing girl’s happy countenance—eyes bright with hope and promise, silky brown hair tossing in the breeze, features like Avery’s, only a shade softer, more delicate. Addisyn’s dear face.
Avery sighed. Nothing less than pure, shining love for her sister could have induced her to make this trip—to run pell-mell into the very chaos and confusion she’d fought so hard to escape.
That was why she was here in Chicago—in one of America’s busiest cities. She, the girl who hated cities of any description. She checked her watch. Nine fifty-one on Wednesday morning. She wondered what Addisyn was doing right then. Did she ever miss Avery? Ever think about her at all?
The thought reminded her again of how much distance truly yawned between them. What could she say when—if—she caught up with Addisyn? How could she bridge the gap? There were no words that could erase the pile of misunderstanding between them.
“FLIGHT 2673—CHICAGO TO NEW YORK CITY—BOARDING—BOARDING.”
That was it. Avery resolutely shouldered her backpack—no fancy rolling luggage for her. She pulled her favorite baseball cap on her head—the one with the embroidered mountains—and felt the back pocket of her cargo pants for the tiny New Testament therein. Face straight ahead, eyes wide and fearless, she joined the throng of people hustling toward the sky gate.
She didn’t panic anymore—not going through security, not boarding, not when the plane shot skyward with a force she wasn’t prepared for. Not even when she realized that in about two hours, she would be back in New York City—that place where she had once lived—and died.
She’d never wanted to see the horrible town again, the sprawling overgrown city like a hideous beast with claws and teeth. But her reasoning was sound. She was sure of it. It was the last place she knew of where Addisyn had been. It was the city where they’d both lived. It was a good place to hide in. And of course—Avery made a slight grimace—Brian lived there. It was highly possible they were back together by now.
No, there was no question in her mind. She had to go to New York City.
The jet made a slow circle over the City of the Big Shoulders. Avery pressed her face to the glass. She could see a beautiful park below her, a stain of bright green on the shoulder of Lake Michigan. A tug—it looked like a toy from here—had just entered the harbor. Just a short distance away, an elaborate ivory-colored hotel boasted another courtyard area. Skyscrapers in abundance danced below her eyes.
The plane banked gradually. Chicago was soon behind them. Avery faced forward in her seat and pulled out her pocket Bible.
She needed all the encouragement she could get. She was going back into New York City—into Hell itself.
But she would find her sister there. She just knew it.
