Zach barged through the door of room number four. Logan had already claimed the bottom bunk and was lying with his head buried in his book. Michael and Tristan were playing rock, paper, scissors to see who would get the bottom bunk on their side. Logan peered over the top of his book.
“I see you took the bottom bunk,” Zach said sarcastically.
“That’s what you get for trying to sneak to the front of the line. You had to know Mr. Loeb wouldn’t let you get away with that,” he said, hiding a sly smirk behind his novel.
“Did any of you guys see something out there in the woods?” Zach asked.
Michael sat on the bottom bunk, having won the contest. He slouched forward, trying not to bump his head and rested his elbows on his knees. “What do you mean?” he asked.
Tristan climbed the ladder to the top bunk, his sleeping bag under his right arm. “What did you see?” he asked softly, tossing his tiny body and bag on to the bed.
“Let me guess,” Logan chimed in. “Like the last sleepover we had, you saw the ghost of Bigfoot, followed closely by Frankenstein, carrying what must have been a corpse.”
Tristan snickered from up above.
“That’s hilarious,” replied Zach, chucking his sleeping bag at Logan, knocking the book out of his hand. “Seriously, there was something out there, past the campfire and then it disappeared into the trees.”
“It was probably just a deer,” Michael said. “This area is crawling with them. Or, it could have been a wolf.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Or …” Zach paused for a moment. “It could have been zombies coming to eat us all!” he screamed, jumping on Logan. Logan and Zach laughed hysterically as they fell to the floor, wrestling. “Don’t … mind … us!” Zach said to Michael and Tristan, gasping for air.
Tristan climbed down the ladder, laughing. Michael turned to Tristan, ignoring the wrestling match. “I think we’re supposed to meet Mr. Loeb, Mr. Foster, and Mr. Preston in the lobby. Our first session is coming up soon. Come on.” Leading the way, Michael walked out of the room with Tristan close behind.
“We better go too,” Logan said.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute. You made me climb up on this stupid top bunk, so it’ll take me a second to get ready. Go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“All right, but you better hurry or Lomeier will be pissed,” Logan warned.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be right there.”
Logan left the room.
Zach sat quietly on his bed. The dense woods created a serene picture out the window. The second hand of the clock on the wall ticked rhythmically.
Zach took his eyes off the window. The odor he had smelled earlier had somehow crept into his room, finding Zach’s nostrils once again. He grimaced. It was as if the smell waited until everyone else had left him alone. What is that smell? he wondered. He sat for a moment, breathing in the strange odor.
Gasoline.
Burnt rubber.
That was it. A strange mixture of gasoline and burnt rubber. It was nauseating. But as quickly as it had come, the smell disappeared.
What had caused it? And what was that figure in the woods? It was no deer, and it was no wolf. He was sure of it.
Before joining the others in the lobby, Zach rifled through his backpack, pulling out a course, glittery, white rock. His brother, Chris, had collected rocks. The day he went missing, Chris had found this one on the shore of Lake Superior. There were millions of rocks along the lake’s banks. A sea of red and gray. One rock on top of another. But Chris only chose one.
One unlike all the others.
It sat on top of the pile, its gleaming white surface sparkling in the sun.
The perfect rock.
Chris had planned to add it to his collection when he got back to the hotel. He rarely left home without his rocks. Chris’s collection only consisted of six stones, but they were all perfect to him. When he found one, he would tell Zach all about it, explaining its perfection. He had been really excited to add the seventh rock to his assortment. “This is the best rock of all,” he told Zach.
Zach had found the stone in the hotel room before he and his parents left Duluth. No one knew Zach had kept it. Not his parents. Not even Logan. He kept it with him wherever he went.
Zach sat on the floor, the rock firmly in his left fist. He opened his hand, revealing the graininess of the gem. The rock propelled him back to the day Chris had disappeared. He gazed at the surface of the stone, remembering. Just as his thoughts drifted to a scene he had played over in his mind a million times, the foul odor returned, pulling Zach from his reverie. Plugging his nose, he shoved the rock in his pocket and hurried out to the lobby.
When he got to the lobby, no one was there. Zach ran out the front door. Everyone was huddled around Mrs. Lomeier at the campfire pit. He slowed to a walk and strolled leisurely over to the crowd.
“Nice of you to join us, Zach,” Mrs. Lomeier said. She gave him a fierce once over, the brow above her left eye touching her bangs. “I was just busy telling everyone else who made it here on time, that before we head off to our first class we need to assign KP duties. Kitchen Patrol. That means you get to clean dishes, set tables and serve food. All that fun stuff.”
Mrs. Lomeier read off the names of the students. Each group of roommates would have KP together. Zach, Logan, Michael and Tristan were assigned Thursday during dinner. It was Wednesday, so they had a full day before they had to clean dirty dishes and slop nasty food on other students’ trays.
Mr. Foster slowly made his way over and put his hand on Zach’s shoulder. “Hey, Zach. Why were you late?”
“I don’t know. Just had to get my things in order I guess. I took a little longer than everybody else.”
“You sure everything’s okay?” Mr. Foster had tried on several occasions to speak to Zach about his brother. Zach was always conscious of his mood swings in Mr. Foster’s presence, knowing that he was watching him closely.
“I’m fine.” Zach liked Mr. Foster. He was cool and Zach always loved social studies, but he had gotten tired of having to answer his questions. He didn’t want to talk about Chris and he wished people would just leave him alone.
The students were split into two groups to attend classes. Girls and boys would be together, unlike the dorm assignments. Jenny Heeland was assigned to the same group as Zach and Logan. When her name was called, Zach nudged Logan with his elbow.
Logan grinned.
Jenny was cute. Her long, blond hair seemed to flow in the wind, even when it wasn’t windy. Zach had been teasing Logan about her for weeks, ever since he had been lab-partners with her in Mrs. Lomeier’s science class. She was the only person in their grade that rivaled Logan’s intelligence, other than maybe Michael.
Jenny also came to Zach and Logan’s first baseball game the week before. Zach was used to girls coming to his games. They came to cheer him on all the time, but when Jenny came she only watched Logan. She cheered for him when he got up to bat and even though Logan didn’t get a hit that game, she came right up to him afterward and said, “You played great, Logan!” It had become one of Zach’s many missions to get Jenny and his best friend “together.”
Jenny’s best friend, Tanya Robinson, ran over to Zach and Logan. “Hey guys! What’s up?” Jenny followed behind, letting Tanya do the talking.
“What’s up, Taaaaanyaaaaaa?” Zach replied playfully.
“Hey, Tanya. Hey, Jenny.” Logan peered over Tanya’s shoulder at Jenny’s hidden face.
“Hi, Logan.” Jenny slowly moved out from behind Tanya. The conversation ended there.
“All right. Let’s go learn about some outdoorsy stuff, shall we?” Zach said, relieving the uncomfortable silence between Logan and Jenny.
The two groups went in opposite directions. Accompanying the fifteen students in Zach’s group were Mrs. Lomeier, Mrs. Pliska, Mr. Preston, and Mr. Foster. Mrs. Lomeier led the students to a rocky path, which curved down a small hill. At the end of the path, was a short, green building with a triangular roof. A girl in a green vest met them at the entrance. As the students and teachers approached, she smiled. “Hey everyone! I’m Melanie and I’m going to be your teacher for wildlife class today.” Her gold nametag confirmed her position. “Come on in.”
The students and teachers filed through the door, following Melanie into one of the classrooms. Twenty chairs, facing an old, brown chalkboard, were lined up in three rows. Photographs of wolves and deer hung high on the walls.
Zach led Logan, Adam, and Mitch into the back row of chairs. Tanya and Jenny sat directly in front of them. Michael and Tristan found their way to the front row, just a few feet from the chalkboard. The teachers and Mr. Preston stood at attention in the back of the room.
Once the students were settled, Melanie began. “So, how is everyone today?”
They responded with a chorus of, “Good.”
“We are so excited to have you up here at Pine Ridge. We’re going to have tons of fun and learn a lot too! So, who’s ready to learn about animals?”
Tristan’s hand shot up in the air.
Adam and Mitch giggled at Tristan from the back of the room. Adam’s dad walked up to his son and put his hand on his shoulder. The giggling stopped.
Melanie pulled out pictures of wolves, deer, and rabbits, explaining their eating habits and behaviors. She tried asking questions and engaging the students, but Michael and Tristan were the only ones participating, so she tried to speed things up. “Okay, who’s ready to go outside and see if we can track down some of these animals?”
“Are we gonna get to see wolves?” Tanya asked excitedly.
“Seeing a wolf is pretty doubtful, but we may see some other cool things. Let’s go out and see what we can find.”
The students grabbed their jackets and followed Melanie outside. On their way out the door, Adam leaned in close to Zach. “Michael and Tristan are such dorks. It must suck rooming with them.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Zach said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Mrs. Lomeier surprised them from behind. “Zach and Adam! Come over here.” She was serious. Adam’s dad watched and listened, a concerned look on his face. “Don’t you ever let me hear you talking about other students like that again. Do you understand?”
“But I didn’t even say anything,” Zach argued.
“Don’t give me that, Zach. I heard what you guys were talking about and I don’t want to ever hear it again.”
“Okay, Mrs. Lomeier. Sorry,” Adam said, stealing a glance at his dad.
Zach stared off into space, saying nothing.
“Zach, did you hear me?” Mrs. Lomeier asked.
“Yes. I’m sorry,” Zach replied, refusing to look at his teacher.
Zach and Adam walked out the door together. Mr. Preston was already waiting outside for them. He pulled Adam aside, but Zach could still hear him scolding Adam. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said.
Mr. Preston walked ahead and Adam returned to Zach’s side. “Sorry, man,” Adam said to Zach.
“Yeah,” Zach muttered.
When Zach and Adam caught up with the rest of the group, they were already in the woods, huddled on a trail surrounded by a horde of green pine trees, some of which still carried snow. Melanie was at the front of the group pointing at something on the ground. “Look everyone. Tracks.”
Michael and Tristan were right up front again, bending over trying to get a closer look. “Those must be deer tracks, right?” Michael asked.
“Very good,” Melanie said. “You must know your wildlife.”
Michael didn’t respond. He outlined the track with his finger. Tristan watched carefully.
“I want to see,” Jenny said, making her way to the front of the group.
“I’ll go with you,” Logan said.
Zach stood in the back, still upset about Mrs. Lomeier. Adam had found his way through the group and was talking to Mitch.
“Hey, Zach.” Mr. Foster’s voice was unmistakable. Zach didn’t look at him. “Zach, don’t you want to check out the tracks?”
“No, thanks. I’ve seen deer tracks before.”
“Yeah, but if you look real hard, maybe you’ll find something else. Come on!” Mr. Foster circled around the outside of the group to get a closer look. Zach stayed toward the back by himself.
“Okay, everyone. Let’s keep moving and see what else we can find,” said Melanie, rising from her crouched position. But before moving ahead, she stopped in front of the entire group and spoke in a serious tone. “By the way, it probably won’t ever be an issue, but be sure that you always stay with the group. Never take off on your own out here. It can be very easy to get lost in these woods. You can completely lose your sense of direction. But if you do ever get separated, my best advice is to do everything you can to find one of the trails. There are a ton of them in this area. Eighteen miles worth in fact, and just about all of them are connected in some way. So, if you stay on the paths, even though it may take a while, eventually you should be able to find your way back. But again, just stay together and you won’t have to worry about it. Got it?”
A handful of students nodded.
As the pack of students followed Melanie, Michael and Tristan down the path, Logan found his way back to Zach. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, right. Come on. Tell me. What did Lomeier say to you?”
“Ah, it doesn’t matter, man. She’s just all over my back again. Come on. Let’s go up by Jenny and Tanya. Dude, she likes you. I can tell!”
By the time Zach and Logan had found their way through the crowd to Jenny and Tanya, Melanie had stopped the group again. She was pointing up at one of the tall birch trees. A spider had forged a massive web. Melanie seemed impressed, but most of the students were not. Even Michael had strayed away from the group. He was bending over, holding a jagged rock in his hands. Tristan was looking over his shoulder in admiration of the geological find. Zach watched Michael carefully as he took the rock, brushed the dirt off of it, put it up to his eyes to examine it carefully, and then jammed it into his pocket.
Zach put his own hand in his pocket. Chris’s rock felt rough and cold to the touch. He gripped it tightly, assuring himself that it was still there.
Melanie guided the students through the land, curving in and out of the frost-covered woods, pointing out all the tracks, berries, nests, and animal dung she could find. The land rolled up and down, creating a seamless roller coaster. Fully recovered from Mrs. Lomeier’s scolding, Zach lost himself in the terrain, sliding down slippery hills and trudging up the steep inclines, carrying his “rifle” and “taking the hill from the enemy.”
Others, like Tanya, complained. “When can we go back?” she said over and over.
When the end of the class was near, the group began the trek back to the classroom. They had walked almost all the way to the other side of the camp, nearly a mile. “Wait till we get all the way to the end,” Melanie yelled. “The best is yet to come!”
The students and chaperones began trudging up a small incline. Melanie stopped and pointed. “Check it out!” The hill was enormous, virtually a ninety degree cliff. Attached to it was a wooden staircase. “When you climb up the stairs, count each one. We’ll see who gets the exact number when we get to the top.”
“We have to climb that?” Tanya asked, exhaustion in her voice.
“Let’s go!” yelled Zach, bursting through the crowd of tired campers, running into the shoulders of students.
“Zach, get back here!” Mrs. Lomeier’s voice rang from the back of the troupe.
Zach stopped. He turned around, circled out from the middle of the pack, and ambled back to Mrs. Lomeier. “What did I do now?”
“Zach, you can’t just run through a crowd of people like that. You have to wait your turn. You can follow everyone else up the stairs now.” Mrs. Lomeier moved to Mr. Foster, who was talking with some other students. She whispered something in his ear, but Zach couldn’t hear her.
Mr. Foster didn’t respond.
Zach was the last one on the staircase. He casually made his way up to each landing, stopping to look out over the tops of the trees. He counted each of the steps like Melanie had told them to do. He was on 130 when he stopped at the next landing, turned, and leaned up against the railing. The higher up he got, the wider the land expanded. Lake Superior made an appearance between the trees. It was miles away. Then, through a clearing, there was a sparkle. Something metallic, maybe?
The rest of the group was almost to the top, but Zach was curious, so he sprinted back down to the bottom, skipping over stairs whenever possible. He scurried into the forest. Mud and snow splashed up on his boots as he ran. The trees hid much of the sunlight, so he stopped for a moment to let his eyes adjust. It took him a few minutes to find the glimmer he had seen before.
Finally, there it was, rammed up against a thick pine tree. As Zach got closer, he could make out its shape. An old, beat-up pick-up truck. It looked like it might have come from the 1940s or 1950s. The hood was partially open and no engine inside. Rust covered the bottom edges of the truck’s frame and it sat, wedged among the trees and brush, on dirty, metal wheels.
Zach crept closer. “What a weird place for a truck,” he said. Circling it, he brushed across the rough hood with his hand, picking up dust and snow. Suddenly, he realized how long he had been gone. “Lomeier’s gonna kill me.” But as he started to jog back to the trail, something startled him.
A tapping. Like fingernails on metal.
Zach quickly turned around.
Nothing. No sound.
“Must have been a twig snapping.” He walked more slowly, waiting to hear it again.
But again, nothing.
“Yeah, just a twig,” he repeated. Then he ran as fast as he could to the trail, found the staircase and sprinted to the top, counting each stair again.