Book 1, Chapter 7
This chapter we have a first. The vote ended up in a dead tie for Options 2 and 3.
Option 2: Alex calls Jorge and learns he really did send Santiago. Santiago drives them to Pichari where they check into a hotel. The next morning, they visit the DAI office and get Rafael’s suitcase.
Option 3: Alex calls Jorge but can’t get through. Since she can’t confirm Santiago’s story, they refuse to go with him. He’s frustrated but leaves them alone. They stay the night in a nearby hotel, rent the car in the morning, and head to Pichari. When they arrive, they find out Santiago really does work with Jorge at DAI, which makes things awkward as they start their search.
Each of those options got 46 percent of the vote, while only 8% of voters chose Option 1 (Option 1: Santiago’s story doesn’t add up, and Alex knows something isn’t right. With some evasive maneuvers, Alex and Olivia escape through another exit of the airport. The car rental is closed, so they get a room at a hotel and plan what to do.) Additionally, there were comments from a few readers that they didn’t want to see Alex start the trip with a lot of struggles or that they wanted the mysterious character to be good.
I figured no one would be interested in a run-off vote, so I aimed to make a hybrid out of Options 2 and 3. Alex calls Jorge, but he doesn’t answer so they stay the night in a hotel (variation of Option 3). They get Jorge’s confirmation in the morning and go with Santiago to Pichari (variation on Option 2)…although the whole exchange makes things awkward as they start their search (Option 3 again).
The chapter has some other quirks of Peruvian travel thrown in—like altitude sickness, coca leaf chewing, and jungle landscapes—to give you a feel for the place. In point of fact, I really did have a strange man come up to me at an airport and try to convince me he was there to pick me up, although Peruvians will feel vindicated to know it was in Quito, Ecuador, not Peru. His ruse was not sophisticated enough to include the name of someone I knew to say they had sent him, and I clearly did not go with him, or I might be writing a different story now.
Enjoy Chapter 7. Hope you like the hybrid!
