CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

THE VISION IN THE TOILET

Meanwhile, back on the ranch…

Jonah, dude, you okay?” asked Pablo.

“I’m fine.”

“You’ve been in there for two hours. People are getting worried, man.”

“I said I’m fine. Go away.”

“Plus, you know, they need to go. You’re not the only guy in camp who has bodily functions to take care of.”

“Tell them to find a tree.”

“Let me talk to him,” said Kwan.

They were standing in line in front of every camper’s favorite outhouse. Favorite because it was isolated on a hill and therefore more private than the others (usually). Also because it had no roof and therefore was not smelly and even had a bit of a view.

“Jonah, if you can’t pinch a loaf in two hours, it ain’t happening,” said Kwan. “So pull up your pants, open the door, and get your plugged-up butt over to Puke Yurt. Nurse Cora will give you something that will straighten you out in no time.”

“And if she can’t, I’ve got more of that exploding gum I made,” said Pablo. “That might help.”

“You guys are disgusting,” said Jonah from the other side of the door. “And, FYI, I’m not trying to poop, okay?”

His friends looked at each other. “You’re not?”

Leira and Brett walked up.

“I think he’s worried about Clay,” whispered Leira. She held up the conch shell walkie-talkie. “We told him the phone line went dead.”

“He’s probably crying in there,” Brett mouthed. “But don’t say anything, okay?”

“Jonah, are you crying in there?” asked Pablo loudly, grinning at the others. “Brett thinks you are.”

Brett rolled his eyes.

“We don’t care—you can cry in front of us,” said Kwan. “There’s no shame in that.”

“Yeah, just man up and own those tears, bro!” said Pablo.

“Anyway, it’s just us. It’s not like there’s”—Kwan looked down the line and counted—“ten kids waiting to use the toilet or anything.”

“Okay,” said Jonah. “You really want so badly to know what I’m doing, come in and see for yourself.”

“No, that’s okay, some other time,” said Kwan quickly.

“Yeah, man, your business… is your business,” said Pablo.

The door opened, and Jonah beckoned them inside. He was standing up and fully dressed.

“No, please, come on in,” said Jonah. “I insist.”

Reluctantly, his friends all squeezed inside.

“Well, this is cozy,” said Brett cheerily. “Thanks for inviting us in.”

“Look—” Jonah pointed to the toilet.

“Do we have to?” said Leira.

“Yep.”

Jonah’s four guests looked into the toilet and were relieved to see nothing except water.

“So what are we looking for?” asked Brett. “Just out of curiosity.”

“You don’t see any swirling shapes?”

“Not really.”

“Or, like, sparkles or shimmers?”

“Nope.”

“I guess that’s ’cause you guys don’t have second sight.” Jonah pushed his friends out of the way and looked down at the toilet himself. “I didn’t want to say, because it’s kinda embarrassing, but this is where I have my best visions.”

Leira laughed. “Oh, so you weren’t crying in the toilet. You were—”

“Scrying, yeah. And it’s not a joke,” said Jonah. “I’ve been trying to see what’s happening with Clay, but he’s half a world away, and I’ve never been there, and that makes it harder.…”*

Then Jonah leaned farther in. “Wait, I think I’m seeing something!” he said excitedly.

“Is it yellow or brown?” Pablo snickered.

“Shut up, I’m serious.”

The water in the toilet bowl, which had been reflecting the clear blue sky, now seemed to darken.

Jonah peered in, trying to discern what the darkening gray blob in the water could be. “I think that might be the body of an animal, and those—could those be wings?”

The others gasped as the vision in the toilet bowl suddenly became clear.

“It’s a dragon!” Jonah shouted. “But what’s happening? Is it attacking Clay?”

Heart in his throat, Jonah concentrated still harder on what the toilet bowl was showing him. The dragon’s features became clearer and clearer, and closer and closer, as if it were coming right at Jonah. “It’s getting bigger, and it looks vicious!” he shouted.

Leira tapped him on his shoulder, but he ignored her.

“Where is it?” he asked frantically, still staring at the water. “Where’s it going? Has it already attacked him? Clay, can you hear me, buddy?”

The shoulder tapping turned to shaking.

Finally, Jonah leaned back. “What do you want?! There’s a dragon out there somewhere, and I think it might be eating Clay!”

“There’s a dragon, all right, but it’s nowhere near Clay,” said Leira.

“Huh?”

“That wasn’t a vision you saw. It was a reflection.”

Jonah glanced around; his friends’ faces were all turned upward, their necks craned.

“Oh, wow,” he said when he finally saw what they were seeing. “Sure looked smaller in the toilet.”

Swooping low over the island, like a great eagle returning to its nest, was a dragon—the dragon known as Ariella.