A Measure of Disorder
Book One of the Mother-Earth Series
by
Alan Tucker
Smashwords Edition
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialog are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright ©2010, 2012 by Alan Tucker
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address MAD Design, Inc., 212 Fair Park Drive, Billings, Montana 59102.
Smashwords Edition License Notes
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ISBN 978-0-9826864-0-9 (ebook)
For Corey and Rea
All the magic stems from you
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Acknowledgements
This project has fluttered around in my mind for years and it took the efforts of many people to make it more than a series of disjointed thoughts in my cluttered head.
First, I must thank my family for putting up with a muttering raving lunatic — and those were my good days!
My alpha and beta readers were outstanding and without their support and encouragement, this book would never have happened. Linda, Andrea, Kay, and Logan, your efforts are much appreciated, and especially Mercedes whose unwavering enthusiasm gave me the resolve to finish. I thank you all.
My long-time friend and editor, Stace Johnson needs to be thanked for turning my mess into a nearly error free finished product. For those seeking similar services, he can be found at http://www.lytspeed.com/consulting.htm. Any errors or miscues still hiding in the book should be attributed solely to me!
1
The bus lurched forward after a loud protest from the transmission. “If you can’t find ‘em, grind ‘em!” someone shouted amid laughter and conversational chaos.
Jenni barely managed to keep her head from banging on the seat in front of her. Man, I hate the bus, she thought.
“Good catch,” Sara Wilson said, giggling next to her.
Jenni laughed in return and gave her best friend a playful punch in the shoulder.
Morning sunlight warmed her face, and Jenni heard birds chirping, even over the din inside the bus. Green and full trees lined the streets near the school and the smell of freshly cut grass mingled with diesel fumes. They had less than a month left of eighth grade and everyone was primed for summer vacation.
Jenni bent down and rummaged through her denim book bag. She had packed all the essentials for the field trip: her MP3 player, digital camera and cell phone. She’d also packed some snacks, an extra jacket, her science notebook, a couple of pens, and the lunch her mom had made. A lock of brown hair slipped out of a barrette and into her eyes as she found her bag of red licorice.
She sat up and fought with her always troublesome hair.
“Here, let me,” Sara offered and pulled a small brush out of her purse. Jenni turned her head so Sara could work her magic.
Jenni never knew what to do with her hair. She was trying to grow it out again after cutting it short in frustration a couple of months before. Now it was at that awkward, in between length and impossible to deal with.
Seems like I’m always “in between.” Jenni sighed. Just an average, grade B, nobody. She had tried a few sports and done okay, but not great. She did okay in school, but not great. There was nothing remarkable about her looks. Mousey hair, brown eyes and a small build didn’t stand out in a crowd.
Jenni didn’t want to be average. She wanted to be someone special.
“There,” Sara said with a flair, “how’s that?”
Jenni looked in the pocket mirror Sara produced and smiled at what she saw. Not half bad! Sara was always creative with her hair and clothes. “Thanks. What would I do without you?”
Sara looked up through her wire-frame glasses and put a finger to her cheek, “Hmm, probably die of embarrassment!”
Jenni laughed. “Licorice?”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Sara said with a broad grin, showing braces with multicolored rubber bands.
Jenni repacked the candy and pulled out her MP3 player. She and her science class had a date with the National Forest in the mountains outside Boise, Idaho, where they lived. Jenni was just glad not to be stuck in a hot classroom for the day.
Music from her player shoved aside the noise of the bus and she glanced around at her classmates. She’d spent the last two years or more with most of them, but what did she really know about any of them? Carrie played in the band, Marco was good in school, Vic liked soccer — she could go on — but Sara was the only one she really spent time with. The only one she shared secrets with.
Her eyes landed on Brandon Thom, sitting two rows up, with a couple of his jock buddies. Brandon was as close to a Greek god as could be found here on Earth. He was the star player in every sport and had been on the honor roll since preschool. Jenni stared dreamily at his brown hair with blonde highlights as he joked with his friends. His broad shoulders and muscular arms shook with laughter and Jenni let herself wonder what it would feel like to be wrapped up in them.
“Earth to Jenni Kershaw, come in please.” Sara poked her in the ribs. Jenni jumped and blushed brightly. “Out of our league, sister,” Sara sighed, noting the direction of Jenni’s gaze.
“I know, but a girl can dream, can’t she?”
“Most definitely,” Sara responded, “and delicious dreams at that!”
Jenni giggled. “You are so bad!”
The shaggy mop of dark, curly hair belonging to Todd Blakely rose up from the seat behind Jenni and Sara. He sucked some yogurt from a tube and leaned in between them. “You girls got room for me in your group?”
“No!” Jenni and Sara said together.
“Aw, c’mon.”
“Aren’t you working with Denny?” Jenni asked.
“Yeah, but he’s so busy drawing cars all the time —”
The bus turned onto a gravel road, hitting a huge bump and lifting them out of their seats. A massive dollop of Todd’s yogurt landed in the middle of Jenni’s lap.
She looked down in disbelief, and Todd snickered behind her.
“Oops,” he said. Sara put her hand on his forehead and shoved him back in his seat.
“Does anyone have a napkin?” Jenni asked.
“Wardrobe malfunction, Kershaw?” Across the aisle, Alisha Hester, otherwise known as Miss Perfect, laughed with a voice the boys considered angelic. Fingernails on a chalkboard was more pleasant in Jenni’s opinion. Alisha’s tall, slender figure was decked out in designer jeans and an expensive, trendy top that showed enough skin to make guys drool, but stay within the dress code. Her blonde hair and makeup were flawless, as usual, and she wore a small diamond stud in her nose that probably cost more than a year’s worth of Jenni’s allowance. “It’s okay, Jenni. Those bargain rack pants needed a splash of color.”
Misses Not-Quite-Perfect Maggie Worth and Lori Parsons, laughed just long enough not to draw attention from Alisha. The moment of amusement gone, the three returned to their previously scheduled gossip.
Jenni’s attempt to fry the three of them with laser eye-beams failed, as it always did, but it made her feel better to try.
Sara rescued her with a tissue and helped Jenni clean up.
The bus finally bumped to a stop at a small campground. There were ten fire pits spread out in a large semicircle, bordered by a low log fence. The students piled out and stretched their legs, greeted by fresh, crisp air. Pine trees surrounded the campground and filled the foothills rising toward mountains in the west. Birds chirped and sang again after the noise of the bus had startled them quiet.
“Everyone gather ‘round,” their teacher, Ms. Pap, known to everyone outside her classroom as Judy Papplebaum, announced. She wore a thick khaki button up shirt, a pair of faded jeans with some sturdy hiking boots and a wide-brimmed floppy hat. Roger Kain, a student teacher who had been working with their class for the last six weeks, stood next to her. He was tall — at least a couple inches over six feet — with dark hair and a healthy tan. Bright white teeth flashed in a smile that melted many hearts in the class every time they saw it.
“We’re going to hike up that path,” Ms. Pap said, pointing to her left, “about a mile and you can start collecting samples. Everyone ready?”
Nods, smiles, and several grumbles answered her while everyone shouldered their bags and followed up the trail in a line. Two mothers had come along to chaperone, and they fell in at the back, chatting with each other.
Much as she loved her, Jenni was glad her mother hadn’t decided to come. Teresa Osorio, Marco’s mother, seemed pretty cool though, and he didn’t mind having her along. Carrie Minch’s mom, Kathy, was another story. She was a short, heavyset woman who wore a summer dress with a bright floral print and white sandals with two-inch heels. Carrie was clearly embarrassed by her and stayed as far away as possible.
About twenty minutes later, the group crested a short rise and looked out on a small blue lake set in a valley of wildflowers of many colors. The purpose of the field trip was to gather a number of plant samples to identify and report on the following week.
A small stream gurgled nearby, runoff from the lake, which headed in the general direction of the campground. The hills on either side of the valley were covered in pine trees much larger than those closer to the road. Birds and insects chirped, buzzed and flew everywhere.
Ms. Pap and Mr. Kain moved among the students, handing out papers. “This is Lake MacElroy, and these are maps of the area,” Ms. Pap said. “You have an hour or so before we’ll meet for lunch on the east shore of the lake. The spot is marked on your map.” She held one up and pointed to an “X” on the page. “Remember to mark the locations of any samples you take and don’t leave the valley. Any questions?”
Everyone shuffled into groups and fanned out around the lake. Jenni and Sara were joined by a small, shy girl named Tori Griffin, who was their lab partner in class.
They wandered through the bushes and flowers, Jenni snapping pictures with her camera, and Sara and Tori snipping and bagging flowers and small plants. The cloudless day warmed, forcing the girls to remove their jackets and sweaters. Talking and laughing, they eventually made their way to the lunch site marked on the map, stomachs rumbling in anticipation.
Ms. Pap had chosen a spot where the trees were close enough to the lake to provide shade from the last of the morning sun. Fish jumped, snatching bugs, and a chorus of birds sang to them while everyone sat on logs and rocks, eating their lunches. Todd and Denny were the last to find their way there; Todd walked with a half-eaten bologna sandwich and Denny munched on an apple.
“Ah, good, that’s everyone isn’t it, Mr. Kain?” Ms. Pap asked and sat down.
“Yes, ma’am. Everyone accounted for.” Mr. Kain sat down cross-legged and unwrapped a large sub sandwich.
No one talked much except for Mrs. Minch who complained about the bugs. And the sun. And the dirt. She had come early and had already finished her lunch. Carrie sat miserably next to her mother, features downcast while she ate a sandwich. Jenni wondered why in the world Mrs. Minch had come on a nature hike when she obviously didn’t like being outdoors.
Jenni ate some potato chips and turned her attention to the lake. The water was a perfect mirror for the sunlit western side of the valley. She then noticed tendrils of light mist creeping up from the shoreline.
“Hey, let’s count up and see how many more samples we need to get,” Sara said with her mouth full of cookie.
Jenni scooted closer and Tori got out her map, which had their sample location notes. A quick count showed they were only two short of what was required.
“Well, that won’t take long,” Jenni said while trying to stifle a yawn. “Wow, I’m tired all of a sudden.”
“Fresh air and a big lunch I guess,” Sara added with a yawn of her own. Tori nestled down using her pack as a pillow.
Jenni glanced around their picnic site and saw many others had decided to have a quick siesta. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to catch a few Zs,” she said, maneuvering her bag into a comfortable position. As she closed her eyes, she saw more mist, this time curling around the trees behind them. Strange, she thought, as she drifted off.
2
Jenni woke and stretched, feeling refreshed. Around her, others did the same while some continued to nap. She saw wisps of mist dissipating around the picnic area as she sat up. Some of her classmates and Ms. Pap looked perplexed, as if they hadn’t intended to sleep, but had anyway.
Sara and Tori woke and sat up with surprised looks on their faces. Jenni shrugged, “Weird, huh?”
“Very,” Sara said.
“Class!” Ms. Pap announced, checking her watch. “You have some time to finish up before we need to leave, but don’t stray too far. I have a horn,” she said, holding up a canister air horn, “that I’ll sound when it’s time to head back to the bus. Please come straight in when you hear it.”
“Let’s get our last two clippings and maybe we’ll have time to explore a little bit before we have to go,” Jenni said while she stretched once more and picked up her bag.
The three girls headed to the north side of the lake to find their final samples.
Tori stopped and pointed. “Doesn’t that cloud look like a dinosaur?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Cool!” Sara said. “It really does.”
That’s weird, Jenni thought, noticing more clouds besides Tori’s dinosaur, the sky was clear before. We didn’t sleep that long — did we?
They continued walking along the edge of the lake. As Jenni looked around, everything seemed brighter, the colors more vivid, than before.
“Whoa,” Jenni heard Sara say off to her right. “Guys, come look at this.”
Sara had moved a few yards away from the shore and stood before a large leafy bush. As Jenni and Tori jogged over, Sara pointed to some fruit that dangled from its branches. They were the size of big plums, deep blue in color, and grew in clusters of three or four. Leaning in closer, Jenni saw the skin also had swirls of dark red and maroon.
“Have you ever seen anything like that before?” Sara asked.
Tori shook her head and Jenni answered, “No. Never.”
Jenni took her camera out and snapped a couple of pictures. Sara found her clippers and snipped a branch with a few leaves and the fruit, while Tori made notes on their map about the plant and its location. Sara placed the sample in an empty sandwich bag, like the others they’d collected, and carefully put everything back in her pack.
“I’m sure Ms. Pap will know what it is,” Jenni said. “Let’s go find one more then we can go back and show it to her.”
Sara and Tori nodded and they resumed walking.
Jenni untied the sweater she had around her waist and stopped to put it in her bag. A flash of orange and red caught her eye on the ground and she crept over for a closer look. A flower stood by itself in a patch of dark green grass. It was a vibrant orange with red and pink blotches on the petals and shaped like a daffodil, only bigger than any she’d ever seen. She stared at it for a few seconds, then called Sara and Tori over to look.
“It’s beautiful,” Tori said, wide-eyed.
Jenni brought her camera out again and snapped a shot. “Do you think we should take it? I haven’t seen any others.”
“Me either,” Sara said, shooing a large fly away from her face. “I don’t want to clip it if it’s the only one around.”
The fly buzzed lazily toward the flower. Suddenly, the petals expanded and a small red tendril shot out from the center of the bloom and snatched the fly out of the air. Tendril and fly disappeared into the flower.
Jenni yelped and jumped away from the plant, her friends following suit. The three took a few more steps back and huddled together, staring at the beautiful, seemingly innocent flora.
“You guys saw that, right?” Jenni asked with a tremor in her voice. Sara and Tori both nodded. “Okay, so I’m not insane, but what the heck is going on here?”
A sound blared in the distance from the direction of the picnic site. Ms. Pap was blowing the air horn for everyone to return. The girls took one more look at the fly-eating flower, then grabbed their things and hustled back to the group.
Ms. Pap blew the horn several more times before they made it back. Everyone looked nervous or upset, and many, including Jenni, Sara, and Tori, were out of breath.
“Head count please, Mr. Kain,” Ms. Pap said, wrapping a bandage around the forearm of Deena Martz, another girl from the class. Deena’s hazel eyes were wide with fear, and she was pale beneath her long dark hair. She sniffled a couple of times and took big, shuddering breaths, trying to calm herself down.
“What happened?” Jenni asked, looking at Deena’s arm. The wrap was already seeping blood from a nasty wound.
“Something bit her in the forest behind us,” Ms. Pap answered. Then she said louder to the group, “Everyone pack up, we’re heading back to the bus.”
“Looks like we’re all here,” Mr. Kain reported. “No other injuries.” Jenni thought he was going to say something more, but he didn’t.
Ms. Pap adjusted Deena’s dressing. “Roger, check your cell phone and see if you have coverage; mine doesn’t.”
Mr. Kain pulled his phone from a small pocket on the side of his pack and flipped it open. “No, nothing.”
They helped Deena to her feet, and Ms. Pap folded up the first aid kit and slung her pack over one shoulder. “Let’s get moving — quickly, but don’t run. Also, if you have a cell phone, please check to see if you have any signal. If you do, come see me or Mr. Kain. Head south along the shore here and we’ll cross the stream and get back to the trail.”
Jenni found her phone and turned it on as they followed the edge of the lake. It chirped through its startup and then flashed a “No Signal” message. No one else had anything either.
“Too far up in the mountains,” Sara said as she put away her phone. “We never get anything when we go camping in the summer either.”
“Does the other side of the valley seem farther away than before?” Tori asked, looking across the lake.
It did. Jenni shivered slightly when she gazed across the water. The mountains in the distance looked bigger, menacing in her imagination. Something very strange was going on, and she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The class moved rapidly around the lake, except for Mrs. Minch, who twisted her ankle and nearly fell when the heel of her shoe got caught between some rocks. She refused to walk barefoot, so Mr. Kain had to take her arm and help her along.
They stopped short at the stream.
What had been a small, babbling brook, no more than six feet across, was now more accurately called a river. It was at least forty feet to the other side, though it didn’t look very deep. Because of some rocks and a couple of large tree branches stuck in the middle, it looked passable, but not without some work.
Ms. Pap, still helping Deena, was the last to join them and stare at the transformed waterway. Her mouth fell open in amazement.
Mrs. Minch babbled something about being lost in the wilderness and plopped down on a small boulder by the edge of the river. Carrie sighed and went over to quiet her.
Mr. Kain walked back to where Ms. Pap stood and said, “I don’t understand. There was no other outlet from the lake. This wasn’t here this morning!”
“I know,” Ms. Pap said, worried, “but whatever’s going on, we need to get Deena to a doctor.” She looked around at the class. “Take Brandon and one of the other boys with you, cross the river and find the trail to the campground. The bus driver should be able to reach someone on his radio and call for help. If not, maybe there’s something in the bus we can use as a litter to carry Deena back down there.”
Jenni looked at Deena, whose brow was wet with sweat and she shivered now and then. She certainly didn’t appear up to crossing the river without help.
Mr. Kain nodded and turned to the group. “Brandon, you and Todd are coming with me down to the bus.”
“What about the rest of us?” Mrs. Minch piped up. “What are we supposed to do?”
“Just wait here until we get back. The three of us can go quicker than the whole group and Deena needs attention as soon as possible.” Mr. Kain stepped into the river, testing rocks as he went. Brandon and Todd secured their packs and followed him.
Mrs. Minch took a breath for a retort but Carrie cut her short. “Mom! Would you relax? You’re not helping.” Mrs. Osorio moved over to calm Mrs. Minch and they talked quietly.
Jenni guided Sara a couple steps away from the others and said, “This is crazy. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but Deena doesn’t look too good. My dad said there aren’t any poisonous snakes up here; what do you think bit her?”
“Maybe there’s worse things out here than snakes … or carnivorous flowers.”
Mr. Kain, Brandon and Todd reached the far side of the river, each dripping to various degrees, but safe. They then headed into the trees.
Ms. Pap helped Deena sit down and pulled a water bottle out of her pack. Deena sipped gratefully and then rested on the sand at the river’s edge. The rest of the group found places to sit and collect their thoughts. Mr. Kain returned to the far side of the river a couple of minutes later and called across.
“The trail is gone!”
Ms. Pap digested this information before replying. “Follow the river down the hillside! You shouldn’t be able to miss the campground!”
Mr. Kain gave her a thumbs up and jogged back to where Brandon and Todd were waiting in the trees. Once again, the three disappeared from view.
Jenni looked back at her friends. Sara had pulled out her MP3 player and was listening to music with her eyes closed. Tori had her back to the group and stared out at the lake. Jenni got up and stepped to where Ms. Pap sat with Deena’s head cradled in her lap.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Jenni asked, crouching near her teacher.
Ms. Pap exhaled and said, “Deena’s resting quietly for now. Why don’t you go around and take an inventory of what we have available from everyone? Food, water, tools — anything else you think useful. I don’t know what’s going on here but we’d best be prepared.”
“We found some fruit earlier — from a bush,” Jenni offered.
Ms. Pap’s eyes widened. “Did you eat any of it?”
“No.”
“Good. Make sure you don’t. Some wild fruits and berries can be poisonous.”
Jenni nodded. “Got it. I’ll go work on a list of supplies,” she said and went back to where her bag lay. She found her notebook and a pen. Turning to a blank page, she drew three columns, and labeled them: Food, Water, and Other. After digging through her bag, she wrote down two cereal bars, one bag of red licorice, one banana and half a bottle of water on her list. Jenni got up and worked her way through the class while they waited for Mr. Kain and the others to return.
They had a decent amount of food and water, Jenni thought, at least enough to last until tomorrow, but she didn’t come up with many other useful items. Matt Durston had a small GPS device that was supposed to work anywhere in the world, but it wasn’t displaying any information. That hadn’t helped Jenni’s anxiety in the least. Charles, Will, Zoe, and several others had portable communication devices of one type or another: mini laptops, video games, cell phones — all of which worked, but had no signals from an outside source. The twins, Nate and Ethan, each had pocket utility knives, which Jenni added to her list. Mrs. Osorio had packed a small camping cookware kit. It folded out into a miniature pot and frying pan, and had a single set of silverware.
Her last stop brought her to Alisha, Maggie, and Lori. They had set themselves up on a fallen tree that had been stripped of its bark, making it a comfortable bench compared to the rocks and other logs that were available. The three girls sat with their heads together, whispering and giggling occasionally.
Jenni steeled herself and stepped up to them. “Alisha, I’m making a list of our food and water and stuff. What do you guys have?”
Alisha glanced up briefly. “Buzz off, Kershaw.” Maggie and Lori tittered.
Jenni suppressed a growl. “Alisha, Ms. Pap asked me to take an inventory of our —”
“I don’t care if she crowned you Queen of the Geeks,” Alisha snapped. “What’s mine is mine. Not yours or anyone else’s. Go away.” Alisha turned away and put her over-priced MP3 player’s buds in her ears.
Jenni didn’t bother asking Maggie or Lori — Alisha had just stated their opinion for them and they were too shallow to form their own. Jenni spun on a heel and walked back to Ms. Pap.
Deena was still sleeping, her head in Ms. Pap’s lap. Jenni sat down quietly next to them. “Okay, I’ve got a list,” she said. “Alisha and her pals wouldn’t tell me what they had though.”
Ms. Pap briefly looked over the items and nodded. “Thank you, Jenni. I’ll have a talk with Alisha later, but this will do for now.” She glanced at her watch. “The boys should be back soon I would think.”
“Okay, but I still don’t understand why the GPSes and stuff don’t work. It doesn’t make sense. I mean, this is what they’re for, right?”
“Yes. My understanding is they should work, even out here. We’re not that far from —”
They noticed movement across the river. Mr. Kain and the boys ran to the bank and picked their way back across to the group. Todd slipped on a mossy rock about halfway and fell into the cold water. Brandon and Mr. Kain grabbed his arms and helped him up. Any other time, Jenni would have laughed at his misfortune — he was soaked head to toe and shivering — but she was too anxious about their predicament.
The three made it across and sat down near Ms. Pap and Deena. Mr. Kain and the boys were breathing hard and had a few cuts and scrapes on their arms and faces.
“It’s gone,” Mr. Kain said, trying to catch his breath. “We followed the river for a few hundred yards. It ends in a waterfall with a drop of at least a couple hundred feet down into a gorge … with another river at the bottom.” He paused and Ms. Pap stared in shock. “We scouted west along the edge of the gorge for at least a quarter-mile and it just keeps going. The bus, the campground, the road — everything’s gone.”
3
Stunned silence reigned. Ms. Pap spoke first with a slight tremble in her voice. “All right. It looks like we might be here for a while, wherever ‘here’ is. We need to take care of the basics: water, food and shelter,” she said, ticking them off with her fingers, “until we can figure out what’s going on. I don’t want to move Deena any more than we have to, so we’ll set up a camp here.” She addressed Mr. Kain. “Roger, have some of the kids group up and bring back some firewood. Others can collect rocks and dig out a small fire pit here near the shoreline. No one goes anywhere alone.”
He nodded and went to assign students to the tasks at hand.
Ms. Pap turned to her left. “Mrs. Osorio?”
“Teresa, please,” she answered.
Ms. Pap smiled briefly. “Teresa, we’re going to need that little cooking kit of yours. We should have enough water to last through tomorrow, but we’ll need to start boiling more right away to keep up with our needs. Would you please take charge of consolidating the water we have and use the empty bottles to collect more to boil?”
“Of course,” Mrs. Osorio said and took Marco to help her round up bottles.
“Why do we need to boil water?” Jenni asked.
“The water from the lake and river may be drinkable or it may not, but we have no way to test it, so we have to assume it’s not safe. That means we have to boil it first.”
“Oh, okay.”
“That reminds me. Jenni, you said you and your friends found some fruit earlier. Would you bring it to me, please? Oh, and something Deena can use for a pillow too, if you can.”
“Sure.” Jenni jumped up and jogged to where Sara was eating the last of a banana and packing up her backpack.
“What’s going on? Are we leaving?” Sara asked.
“No,” Jenni replied, “Mr. Kain said everything’s gone. There’s like a big gorge or something where the campground used to be.” Sara’s eyes grew huge and she stopped chewing her last bite. “Ms. Pap wants to see the fruit we found.”
Sara stared at her blankly. “Oh!” She dug in her pack and handed the sample they had cut to Jenni.
“Thanks.” Jenni took it, along with her own bag, and ran back to Ms. Pap with Sara following close behind.
“I know it’s not a pleasant task,” Ms. Pap was saying to Mrs. Minch, “but it needs to be done.”
“Not a pleasant task, hmph! Come on, Carrie.” Mrs. Minch huffed and turned away, dragging Carrie with her.
“What’s not pleasant?” Sara asked. Mrs. Minch continued to mutter and complain as she stomped off into the trees with Carrie trudging after her.
“We need a place to, um, do our business,” Ms. Pap answered. “Not too far away, but far enough to afford some privacy. And contained, so we don’t risk contaminating our water supply.”
“Oh. So, will boys and girls be like, separate?”
Ms. Pap chuckled. “No, Sara, we’ll be sharing. In the army, they call it a latrine.”
Sara shuddered, and Jenni handed the plum-like berries to Ms. Pap. Jenni then pulled out her extra jacket, and they maneuvered Deena’s head onto it so Ms. Pap could get up and stretch.
They backed away from Deena, and Ms. Pap took the fruit out of the plastic bag for a closer look. The swirled colors were bright and rich in the sunlight. She felt the texture of the leaves. “I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this before. Go ahead and keep it with the rest for now, but don’t eat any.”
Sara took the fruit and sample bag and replaced them in her pack.
Jenni looked around their makeshift camp. Everyone was busy with the projects Ms. Pap had assigned. Except Tori. She was still sitting by the shoreline, staring out at the lake. Jenni frowned, concerned for her.
“What else do we need to do, Ms. Pap?” Sara asked.
Ms. Pap considered. “Well, we still need to address the food situation. From the looks of it, we only have enough to last until tomorrow. If we’re stuck here longer than that, we’ll need something to eat.” She caught the direction of Jenni’s attention. “Why don’t you gather up Tori, and the four of us will scout around and see what we can find?”
Jenni and Sara nodded, and walked to where Tori sat. They approached on both sides and crouched beside her. Tori had her knees tucked under her chin with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. Tears flowed freely from her blue eyes and droplets had darkened her pants. She continued to stare at the water while Jenni and Sara struggled to find something to say.
Tori, surprisingly, was the first to speak. “I’ve thought a lot of times about running away from home.” Jenni and Sara exchanged a look of astonishment. Tori sniffed and blinked more tears away. “But I never had the guts to actually do it.” She paused, looking at Sara and Jenni. “Now all I can think of is how bad I want to go home.”
Jenni reached out and hugged her as she cried quietly. “We’ll figure it out,” Jenni whispered. “Somehow, we’ll figure it out.”
Sara joined in the hug.
Hugs are good, Jenni thought. People really should hug more.
Tori sniffed again and wiped her eyes. “Thanks, you guys. You’re the only friends I have in school.”
Surprised by this admission and Tori’s earlier words — she couldn’t remember Tori saying so much at once all year long — Jenni simply said, “Hey, that’s what friends are for,” and gave her another good squeeze.
“How are we doing over here?” Ms. Pap stood behind them, smiling.
“I think we’re gonna be okay,” Jenni replied and the girls helped each other up.
“Good. I’ve got Charles watching over Deena for now, so let’s see if we can find anything to eat in this place.”
“Sounds good,” Sara said. “I’m starving!”
Jenni laughed. “You just had a banana.”
“So?” Sara said, adjusting her glasses with a smile. “I’m a growing girl.”
* * * *
The four of them spent the better part of an hour hiking around the area within a few hundred yards of the east side of the river. They found a few more bushes with the plum-berries and some trees that bore nuts, but they were too high for any of them to reach. They also saw signs of small animal activity, but nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing to indicate what might have bitten Deena.
Ms. Pap told them the wound hadn’t looked anything like a snake bite — snakes leave punctures in the skin. Whatever it was had taken a two-inch wide, ragged chunk out of Deena’s arm. The bleeding had been hard to control. Deena told her, right before she’d fallen asleep, it looked like a little man with very large ears, but Ms. Pap dismissed it to her being fevered and a bit delirious.
Jenni, Sara, and Tori listened intently, with more than a little fear, to Ms. Pap’s account, but they didn’t see any big-eared little men during their search.
The sun had crossed most of the valley and was nearing the peaks on the west side when the four of them returned to camp. The fire pit was completed and working. Mrs. Osorio’s small pot and frying pan were filled with water and hung over a lively fire from a tripod of blackened tree branches. A hefty pile of deadwood sat off to the side of the pit. Most everyone was seated and resting. Mr. Kain saw them approach and came to meet them.
“Find anything?” he asked, dark eyes flashing with a hopeful smile on his tanned face.
“Maybe,” Ms. Pap answered. “There are some trees with nuts we couldn’t reach. We can try to get some of those tomorrow if we need to. And these fruits the girls found earlier, but I have no idea if they are safe to eat.”
Mr. Kain frowned. “Hmm. Well, everything is set up here. We’re boiling water and Denny and I have been trying to rig up something we can fish with.”
“Excellent. How’s Deena?”
“The same. Mrs. Osorio and Marco have been watching her since they finished with the water.”
“All right, thank you,” Ms. Pap said. “I should probably check the dressing on her wound. How are you holding up, Roger?”
“Me? I’m fine. Just frustrated. This is crazy. I’m supposed to be learning how to teach science, not auditioning for the next season of Survivor,” he said, chuckling nervously.
Ms. Pap smiled. “I think you’d do quite well.” She turned to Jenni and her friends. “Why don’t you girls get some rest and maybe something to eat?”
“Thanks Ms. Pap,” they said in chorus, plopping down where they had earlier.
* * * *
The sun sank behind the western ridge and the temperature dropped noticeably with its absence. By twos and threes, the class crowded around the fire pit. Water boiled. Sweatshirts and jackets were donned, and friends sat a little closer to each other. Some tried to nap when they could get comfortable. Others listened to music or halfheartedly played video games. They moved Deena close to the fire, and she whimpered occasionally in her sleep. Ms. Pap changed the bandage on her arm, but the wound looked worse.
Twilight gave way to darkness and stars filled the sky. Unfamiliar stars. Jenni had received a small telescope one Christmas when she was younger and had spent many evenings in her back yard with it pointed at the sky. She had learned the names of some of the stars and several constellations — the Big Dipper, Orion’s belt, the distinct “W” shape of Cassiopeia — all had been replaced by a much brighter assortment of strange twinkling lights.
“Well, that tears it,” Mr. Kain said, also looking at the stars. “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
“Kansas?” Todd interjected. “We live in Idaho.”
Sara snorted. “Wizard of Oz, you dork.”
Several kids snickered and Todd opened his mouth to retort when Ms. Pap held up a hand. “All right. Enough.” Todd scowled but remained quiet. “We have some decisions to make and I think we should discuss our options, such as they are.
“We have no idea how it happened, but we’re obviously very far from home with no apparent means to get back. We haven’t seen any signs of civilization and the land around us has changed. We need information.”
Mrs. Osorio asked, “What do you propose?”
“I think, in the morning, we should have one or two groups do some extensive scouting and find us a likely direction to travel,” Ms. Pap said, looking around at the class.
“Travel!” Mrs. Minch cracked. “What if whatever brought us here happens again and we’re not around when it does? We may have already missed it by moving here to the river!”
The class exchanged uneasy looks.
“I saw a movie like that once,” one of the twins, Ethan or Nate — Jenni could never tell them apart — said. “These guys got transported back in time —”
“Oh, yeah,” the other twin chimed in. “It was so cool when they —”
“Would you shut up?” Brandon said, glaring at the twins.
Everyone began talking, offering opinions.
“Let’s focus, please.” Ms. Pap regained their attention. “Kathy, while I understand your apprehension about leaving the area, we have other things to consider.” She held out a finger. “One, we have a very sick girl here who’s in desperate need of medical help. Two, we will shortly run out of food, if not water. And three, we are very exposed here if the weather should turn bad, so we need to find some form of shelter. We have little in the way of tools or resources to work with.”
Mrs. Minch sighed and grumbled. “All the more reason to wait back there and hope we get sent back.”
“I suppose the possibility exists, but I’m not willing to gamble all these lives on that chance.” Ms. Pap held the woman’s gaze before Mrs. Minch’s shoulders slumped and she looked away. Next to her, Carrie held her head in her hands.
The fire popped and water bubbled in the pot. Ms. Pap’s eyes searched the class. “Does anyone have anything to say or add?” Frogs by the lakeshore gave the only response in the form of croaks and song.
“Okay. We’ll work out the details in the morning. I think we need to set up watches for tonight. We need to keep the fire burning for heat and protection. Mrs. Minch, would you be willing to take the first?”
Surprised to hear her name, Mrs. Minch looked like she might refuse, but then said, “Sure.”
“Thank you. Teresa, Roger, any preferences?”
They glanced at each other and Mr. Kain nodded to Mrs. Osorio to pick first. “I’ll take the last spot, I guess,” she said. “I’m an early riser anyway.”
“I’ll take third then,” Mr. Kain said.
“Very well, Kathy, if you will wake me up in a couple of hours or so, I’ll relieve you. Also, please keep an eye on Deena and let me know if her condition changes.”
Mrs. Minch nodded with a sullen expression.
“As for the rest of you, get as much sleep as you can.”
The knot in Jenni’s stomach didn’t feel much like sleeping.
4
What little sleep Jenni got was filled with strange dreams she couldn’t quite remember when she woke, but left her feeling uneasy nonetheless. Her family had never camped much and she found herself waking at every little noise or movement from those around her. From the bleary-eyed looks of the others in the morning, no one else had fared much better.
Jenni went to the shoreline and splashed a little water on her face. The bracing cold served to perk her up somewhat. She walked back and sat with the others to nibble on snack food and have a drink. Their food was running out quickly — they needed to find something edible soon or they’d be in bad shape.
Ms. Pap got Deena to sit up for a few minutes and take some water and crackers, but she looked worse. She had thin, black lines crawling down her arm to her wrist and up toward her shoulder. Her whole arm was red, in contrast to the paleness of the rest of her skin. Afterward she lay back down into a fitful slumber.
After everyone had eaten, and taken turns at the latrine, they organized two groups of three people as scout parties. The first group, consisting of Mrs. Osorio, Marco, and Todd, would head up and over the eastern ridge. The second group of Ms. Pap, and Will, and Vic, would go to the northern end of the lake. They already knew a gorge ran to the south, and the western mountains looked too difficult to climb. Mr. Kain and a group, including Jenni, Sara, Brandon, and two of the other boys would try to collect some of the nuts they had seen the day before. Mrs. Minch would stay at the camp with the rest of the students, gather more firewood, and keep the water supply in good shape.
Jenni and her group headed to the nut-bearing trees. They found them after just a few minutes, and stood below, looking up at the leaves and branches that held their objective. Smooth bark, like an aspen tree, only much darker in color, surrounded trunks one to two feet in diameter. They grew straight up and the first branches were at least fifteen feet off the ground.
Brandon and the other boys — Mike and Scott — each tried their hand at climbing, but without much to hold on to, they couldn’t reach the lowest branches. After a few attempts, Mr. Kain had them stop. He looked up at the tree, then back to the students, focusing on Jenni and Sara.
“Have either of you done much tree climbing?” he asked the girls.
They both nodded and Jenni said, “Sara had a tree house in her back yard that we used to play in all the time when we were little.”
“Okay, good,” he said. “Jenni, you’re a little smaller than Sara, do you mind if we try something?”
“Sure, what?”
“Take off your shoes and socks and we’ll give you a boost up the tree as far as we can. You should have better grip with your bare feet.”
Jenni took off her tennis shoes and placed her socks inside.
Mr. Kain turned and stood facing the tree. “Brandon, can you get her onto my shoulders?”
“Sure.”
Brandon stepped behind her. Jenni’s heart raced as he held her by the waist and lifted her up. She could feel Sara smiling behind her, and Jenni was glad no one could see her blushing. She wrapped her arms around the trunk, and Mr. Kain guided her feet so she stood on his shoulders.
“Now, I’m going to hold your feet and push you up as high as I can. From there see if you can climb the rest of the way.” He paused and grasped her feet. “Ready?”
Jenni checked her grip and nodded. “Yep.”
“Okay, one, two, three.” Mr. Kain pushed Jenni up to the extent of his arms. She guided herself along with her hands until she stopped rising, then she hugged the trunk hard and placed her feet on either side to get a grip.
Once secure, she looked up and saw she needed to go up a little farther to reach the first of the branches. She made sure not to look down and she tested her feet. They held, and she scrunched and pushed, moving like an inchworm, up the tree to the lowest branch.
“Well done, Jenni!” Mr. Kain praised. “Can you reach any nuts from there?”
Jenni looked around, holding tightly to the trunk. She spied a few clusters of nuts. “Yeah, I think so.”
She hauled herself up some more, reaching the nearest branch. It felt sturdy and she managed to get to a sitting position. She had a scary moment when she accidentally looked down at Sara and the others. Jenni quickly closed her eyes and let the small wave of dizziness pass, then refocused her attention on the nuts. They were long, about three inches, curved like a banana, and dark, almost black. She reached out and plucked four bunches, letting them fall to the ground.
Jenni heard the rustle of activity below as the others scooped the prizes up from the forest floor. She gathered herself and glanced down at them.
“Not anything I’ve ever seen before, but maybe Ms. Pap has,” Mr. Kain said hopefully. “Drop as many more as you can easily reach, Jenni, then we’ll get you down and go back.”
Jenni nodded and pulled more nuts from the tree. She was even able to work her way around to some branches on the other side before her legs and arms started to tire.
“That’s it I think. I’m coming down.”
Even though the bark was smooth, Jenni still scraped the inside of her arms painfully when she slipped on her descent. After what seemed an eternity, Mr. Kain grabbed her feet. He and Brandon then helped her down the rest of the way.
Brandon gave her a half smile and said, “Nice job, Jenni,” setting her on the ground.
Jenni’s face became hot again, this time in front of everyone, but she didn’t care. She smiled and whispered, “Thanks,” to him. Slightly weak in the knees, she sat down and put on her socks and shoes. After she finished, Sara offered a hand up and gave her a wink. Jenni let out a small giggle.
“Okay,” Mr. Kain said. “Let’s head back and see what else needs to be done.”
Movement to her left caught Jenni’s eye. “What was that?”
Everyone stopped to look in the direction she indicated, but nothing appeared. “I thought I saw something by that bush,” Jenni said.
Mr. Kain and the others went over to investigate but didn’t find anything. “I’m sure you’re just tired from the climb, don’t worry about it,” he said.
Jenni shrugged and they hiked back to camp.
They had collected almost half a backpack full of the nuts. Mr. Kain sat down and examined them while the group watched. After being unable to break one open with his hands, he resorted to using a couple of rocks to crack the shell. The meat inside was peanut colored, but had a dark center.
“Will we be able to eat them?” Brandon asked.
“I don’t know,” Mr. Kain sighed. “We’ll wait for Ms. Pap to get back and see what she thinks.”
They spent the next few hours going out in groups to collect firewood and refill bottles from the river to be boiled. Those that stayed in camp rested, or busied themselves with games or music, trying to take their minds off their predicament.
Earlier in the day, Denny had tried to catch fish by using a bobby pin bent into a hook shape. He used one of the utility knives to cut one end off and make it sharp. One of the other girls, Faith, had a knitted sweater he unraveled to use for line, tying it to the end of a sturdy branch. He used a piece of cheese as bait, and cast out into the lake. After a few tries, he managed to get a bite and set the hook. When he tried to pull it in though, the line had snapped and his catch had gotten away. Similar lack of materials foiled other attempts at making nets or snares to catch something to eat.
Jenni and some others built a small lean-to out of branches and jackets to help Deena stay out of the sun in the afternoon. It was warmer than the previous day and she seemed more uncomfortable. They took turns giving her water and adjusting the shelter as the sun made its way across the sky.
Late in the afternoon, they heard a shout from the west. Jenni looked up and saw Mrs. Osorio and Marco, with Todd stumbling along between them. They each had one of his arms over their shoulders and had to drag him toward the camp. Mr. Kain jumped up and ran to meet them along with some of the boys. They took Todd from the Osorios and carried him back to the fire pit where Deena lay.
Todd had a green tinge to his skin, and he sweated profusely. His eyes weren’t focused on anything and sometimes rolled up, back into his head. Someone brought water, but they couldn’t get him to drink.
“What happened?” Mr. Kain asked as Marco and his mother dropped next to the group, exhausted.
“We went over the eastern ridge. We were partway down the other side when we decided to take a break.” Mrs. Osorio paused. “Todd wandered off for a minute, then we heard him cry out. We found him on the ground like this with one of those fruits next to him — he had taken a bite from it.”
Todd moaned, rolled on his side and started coughing. Several drops of blood colored the dirt beneath him. Mr. Kain managed to get him to drink some water, but then Todd rolled back and fell asleep. Mr. Kain checked his pulse, then placed a jacket under his head for a pillow.
He looked up and addressed the students. “No one, I repeat, no one, is to eat or drink anything you find out here until Ms. Pap, or I, say it’s okay. Got it?”
The class gave silent nods in response.
Mr. Kain turned back to Mrs. Osorio and asked quietly, “What did you find?”
“Not much.” She leaned back and took a water bottle with a small smile of thanks. “It looks like we’re at the edge of a mountain range, kind of like back home. We saw big, snow-covered mountains behind us to the west, and to the east were rolling hills and plains as far as we could see.”
“No cities, or towns, or anything,” Marco added.
“Yes, just open space. But, it would be the easiest direction to go from what I could tell.”
Mr. Kain sat back and let the worn out Osorios rest and drink. “Ms. Pap should be back soon. I really don’t like this sitting around and doing nothing,” he said.
A few minutes later, someone spotted the other scouting party. Will, Vic, and Ms. Pap all looked tired, but whole and healthy. The three made their way into camp and everyone shared reports. They had followed a river to the north as far as they could. Tall, snowy mountains surrounded the valley on the north and west, and looked impassable without serious equipment and training. They hadn’t encountered any signs of civilization and only minimal signs of wildlife.
Ms. Pap checked on Todd and shook her head.
Mr. Kain showed the nuts to Ms. Pap, and Jenni watched her study them. Ms. Pap took one that had been opened over to the fire pit and held it close to the flames with her fingertips. After a few seconds, the dark center of the nut melted and dripped onto a rock that bordered the fire. It sizzled and dissolved a hole in the stone.
“Well I’d say that’s a big ‘No’ on the edibility of these,” Ms. Pap stated with wide eyes.
She tossed the remainder of the nut into the fire and sat down, defeated.
“What the hell are we going to do?” Mr. Kain asked her quietly, but Jenni was close enough to hear. He looked at the end of his rope, as did many of them. Jenni shivered in fear.
“I have no idea,” Ms. Pap sighed. “We have two kids that could die without medical attention, no food, and no idea of where we are. I’m at a complete loss.”
Jenni crept back to where Sara and Tori sat, quiet and subdued.
A loud bang, like a firecracker, made her jump and small chunks of burning wood went flying from the fire pit. A couple of kids screamed.
Mr. Kain picked something off his shirt and exclaimed, “The nut! The nut freaking exploded in the fire!” He turned and stomped off toward the latrine.
Jenni closed her eyes and silently prayed to whomever would listen. Somebody please help us. We’re in big trouble here.
5
Sleep hadn’t come any easier that night, even though Jenni and the others were exhausted from their efforts and stresses of the day. The adults had continued their pattern of watches through the night and kept the fire burning. Stomachs growled and grumbled. At least they had water.
Jenni groaned and rolled over, hoping to wake up and find out that everything had been a dream. The rock poking her in the ribs said otherwise, and she opened her eyes to a pink sky with a few wispy clouds. She got up and stumbled down to the shore for a splash of cold water. It helped to clear her thoughts somewhat and alerted her to another need. Sighing, she turned and walked to the latrine.
They couldn’t make a proper one, having no tools to dig with, but the Minches had found an abandoned rabbit hole near the camp. It was sheltered by a couple of small trees, making it somewhat private. They had dug it out some more by hand, then surrounded it with some of the rocks from the river. Most of their supply of tissues sat in a small bag next to the hole. It stank to high heaven after two days of use by nearly thirty people, but it was contained, and down wind from camp.
Jenni plugged her nose, closed her eyes and did the deed.
“What are you?”
Jenni’s eyes flashed open and she found herself staring at the face of a small, pudgy man with large blue eyes and a scruffy blonde beard.
She screamed, and he vanished.
She quickly pulled up her pants as she heard footsteps coming from camp. Her heart pounded while she tried to decide if what she saw was real.
“Jenni, what happened? Are you okay?” Sara asked, out of breath.
Jenni took a second to collect herself and redo her capris. “I’m … I’m fine,” she stammered. “Just thought I saw something, it startled me … probably a rabbit or something.”
Sara looked at her. “You sure?” A couple of others had arrived to see what the commotion was.
“Yeah,” Jenni said, composing herself a bit more. “I’m okay. Just let me, um, finish up here.”
“Sure,” Sara said, and she collected the others. “She’s okay, let’s give her a minute.”
Jenni watched Sara walk back to camp with Tori and Marco, the others who had come running. Sara looked back once and Jenni gave her a thumbs up before returning her attention to the latrine.
She replayed the incident in her mind and realized the little man hadn’t just disappeared as it seemed at first. She looked around — There! That rock wasn’t there before. She took a step closer and knelt down. A blue eye winked open and quickly closed.
Jenni breathed a small sigh of relief — she hadn’t gone completely out of her mind. Curiosity took over. “It’s okay, I see you there. I won’t hurt you,” she said quietly.
“Them gone?” the rock asked.
Jenni checked the camp again. “Yes, we’re alone.”
The image of the rock disappeared, revealing the tiny man again. He stood perhaps a foot and a half tall with a round face, overly large nose, and plump arms that ended in only three fingers and a thumb. His skin had the tan of someone who spent a lot of time outdoors, but with few wrinkles. The wiry blonde hair on his head was covered by a simple beige cap that looked to be finely spun wool. His other clothes were of similar weave, but darker in color, and he had dark leather shoes that reminded her of Indian moccasins.
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