Maybe I should just forget it. I’ll get her back at camp, even if everyone sees it. Ashley frowned hard. No, I need to get this done in secret. I can’t have her taking me on in the boxing ring tomorrow. She might get mouthy. She might get sneaky.

She might beat me.

Ashley shook her head. No, she needed to make sure Laura never made it to the ring tomorrow.

***

Dee pushed away from the table, stood up and stretched. “No need to wait until tomorrow, babe. Now is the time. Time for me to get a rollin’, that’s the truth. I’m going to go find a phone booth in a nearby town. Payday is around the corner, Becca, my girl.” He pulled on his coat. “You know, kidnapping is not as hard as they say it is.”

Becca frowned and shook her head. “Please use another term, Dee. Kidnapping has such a brutal connotation.” She held out a large yellow notepad. “If you’re going to make contact with her parents, they are going to ask you for some proof that it is really Laura. I found this in the back of the car. She’d been scribbling notes during the ride to the camp. There seems to be plenty of material here for you to read to prove that it’s really Laura.” Becca flipped a few pages. “Plenty of stuff, Dee. You really get to know the girl by what she wrote.”

Dee smiled and took the pad, casually gazing at the notes as he walked toward the door. He stopped as he read the third page, frowning as he read it. “Well, let me just read over this a bit more,” he said, finding a chair.

He sat there for quite a while.

***

Wake up. Seems like your whole life is nothing but one big dream anyway. The way you treated those kids in that youth group. The way you mouthed off at authority. You call yourself a Christian? Wake up.

Laura swept her hand across her face and glanced up quickly. Had she gone to sleep? Had she passed out from the dizziness? She looked around and saw the other girls with their backs against walls, bowing their heads. They were drooping, Laura thought, either from fear, frustration or fatigue.

Yes, I may have had a fantasy type of Christianity, Laura thought, but that’s ending. Here and now, Jesus, I mean business. No matter what kind of an idiot I was, I’m starting fresh. She was angry—angry at herself for the stupid things she had said and done, all while hiding under the banner of Jesus. Hiding was the best way to describe it. Well, she was hiding no more. Laura bowed her head and prayed deeply. When she raised her head, she had a small smile on her face. I can handle this now.

Kim slowly raised her head and blinked. “Laura,” she said, “you’re pretty sure you’re going to heaven, aren’t you?”

Laura raised her eyebrows in thought and looked back. “Yeah, I am. It goes beyond amnesia, Kim.”

“How so?”

“I can’t explain it in too much detail, but it’s like I know Jesus is not only my Savior, but He’s also my best friend,” She paused a moment, deep in thought. “He made a promise about His children going to Heaven, and that’s something you just don’t forget. I made a lifelong commitment to Him.”

Tracy groaned aloud. “I don’t need a lecture on religion.”

“And I agree with you, Tracy, because it’s not about religion,” Laura answered. “Religion is rites, exercises and rituals. My relationship with Jesus goes beyond that. He’s my center of devotion and friendship. I center my life on Him.”

“Great,” Tracy groused. “Just what we need, a fanatic. I’m not surrendering; I told you that.”

“You’re so stupid,” Liz growled. “Here we are, on the brink of death, and all you care about is fighting the faith of someone who at least knows where she’s going when she dies.” Liz turned and faced Tracy. “Admit it, you’re scared about facing death.”

“Terrified,” Tracy admitted.

“And not just the reality of death itself, but the afterlife as well,” Liz added.

Tracy looked down for a second. “I try to keep it out of my mind, but, “ she broke into a sob, “it drives me crazy. But I can’t surrender, so stay away.”

“You seem to have a good memory about this Bible, what with all that amnesia stuff,” Liz accused.

“Amnesia doesn’t let you forget about using a knife and fork to eat, does it? It doesn’t make you forget how to drive a car or write a letter, does it?” Laura asked. “Look, salvation in Jesus Christ is simple, but important. It’s an invitation . . .”

“Stop,” Kim said, crawling forward.

“What? What’s wrong?” Laura asked.

“Just stop,” Kim said, narrowing her eyes.

“Was it something she said?” Liz asked.

“Not at all. In fact, it’s the first sensible thing I’ve heard all summer,” Kim replied, still squinting. “I’ve seen the light.”

“You’re making a decision about all this?” Tracy asked.

“No, I mean I’ve seen the light,” Kim answered, pointing ahead of her toward a low spot on a wall. “Right there, behind that desk and pile of papers. A vent. See the light shining through?” The other girls crept forward and strained their eyes. Laura nodded. There, right behind the desk and stack of fallen papers, was a small but distinguishable stream of light poking through a grating. She saw that the grate had been hidden by a desk that presumably was shoved against the wall in haste whoever had been doing experiments in here.

“There might be a way to escape this virus atmosphere,” Kim said. “Maybe we don’t have the sickness too bad. Anyway, let’s get out of here and find a doctor so we can get a cure before we all get infected.”