The camp was chaos: flashlights bobbing in the dark and voices calling out “OVER HERE!” and “OVER WHERE?!” and “OVER HERE!”
Owls sitting on their perches hooted and tipped their heads at impossible angles, annoyed because making weird noises at night was their thing.
The counselors, still in their helmets, peered out from behind trees and from rooftops as the rest of the scouts foraged their brains for a hint as to where the planets might be hidden.
Zodiac beat Roanoke to the next orb, Saturn, which was tucked in next to the wool-crafting area in the arts and crafts cabin. Because Saturn, as owners of the Astrono-meme-me as well as the Wool You Be Mine badge know, has shepherd moons.
Kind of a stretch but, you know, okay.
“Garr,” April fumed as they tromped away from arts and crafts, the cheers of Zodiac cabin melting into the dark behind them.
“At least we guessed the right place,” Molly offered hopefully.
“These clues are . . . curious,” Jo said.
Molly blinked, looking into the darkness. It was strange, she thought, how the dark was like its own thing to see, a whole extra world of shadows and shapes.
“What we need,” April said, pointing her flashlight at her own determined face, “is a super-amazing PLAN-et.”
“HEY!” Mal snapped her fingers. “Isn’t Mars the god of war?”
“Amongst other things,” noted April, who had done her research.
“What’s the closest thing we have to weapons here?”
Molly squinted. “Are you thinking archery?”
Mal smiled. “I’m very much thinking archery.”
April raised an eyebrow at their mind-reading. This was a new couple-y thing.
“The archery targets are all the way on the other side of camp,” Jo said, taking off at a sprint.
“We can make it!” Molly knew the archery section of camp well, since discovering she was actually a pretty crack shot, something she never would have guessed about herself before becoming a Lumberjane.
Several minutes of sprinting later, April spotted their targets.
“I see it,” she squealed excitedly, reaching out to the glowing orb in the distance. “Come to me, you great glowing orb of triumph.”
Mal, in mid-run, looked over her shoulder. “Do you hear that?”
April’s eyes widened. “Did I just say all that out loud?”
Mal shook her head. “Not that. THAT!”
Everyone skidded to a stop.
Actually what Mal heard was several sounds: breaking branches. A thunderous thump thump thump. And a distinct, victorious yipping.
Jo frowned. “What the junk.”
With a glorious flash, the members of Zodiac, astride a massive majestic moose, leapt over the crouching members of Roanoke and gregariously galloped toward the targets, where Hes, balancing on her moose’s massive curved horns, reached down and plucked the glowing red orb from a set of crossed arrows embedded in the center of the target.
“WOOOT! WOOOOT!” Zodiac cheered collectively.
“THE ORB IS OURS!” Hes cheered.
“YAAAAS!” Wren cried.
And with that, Zodiac galloped off into the night.
“What the actual JUNK!” April growled, shaking her fists.
“Now that stings,” Molly added.
Bubbles growled.
“Exactly,” Jo said.
“COME ON! MOOSE POWER?!” April fumed. “They’re using MOOSE POWER now?! Is that even a thing?! Can you just randomly call upon the power of MOOSE just like that?”
“I don’t think there’s a rule that says you can’t use moose power,” Jo mused, knowing full well that there probably wasn’t, although there were a lot of rules for being a Lumberjane, most of which Jo knew, because that was kind of her thing.
There was a yip yipping from over by the kitchen, where Roswell found Earth in the garden. Because EARTH.
“Not aMOOSing,” April said, arms crossed crossly.
Jo tapped her chin. “So that’s two planets for Zodiac, one for us and . . . from the sounds of it, one for Roswell.”
“All right, Lumberjanes.” April stood up. “We’re in the thick of it now. Mooses on the left, unfound planets on the right . . .”
April clenched her fist and bowed her head slightly. “Now is a time for greatness . . . Now is the time for . . . PLANET B.”
Jo smiled. “Well punned my friend.”
April, fist still clenched, grinned. “I have SOOOOOO many planet puns left, you guys.”
Sheep 