The students’ voices were closer now,
Zach climbed on to the two wire supports and held tightly to the rope railings above, shuffling his way across to the next obstacle. He made his way across the two parallel logs with ease, finding himself at the zip line.
With no harness, Zach could not attach himself to the line. He studied the mechanism, then looked back to the rest of the course. He could go back the way he came. He examined the zip line again. He would have to hang on to the karabiners with his hands.
The kids were closer now.
Zach grabbed the karabiners on the zip line, took a deep breath and leaped from the platform. His eyes watered and the metal of the karabiners scraped his hands. Gravity punished Zach’s stretched arms.
Reaching the ground safely, he dropped his hands, letting them fall loosely to his sides.
The pack of students walked down the trail toward the course. Zach didn’t recognize any of them. From another school, probably.
He turned back toward the course and ran as fast as he could to the obstacle where the rock had fallen. He crouched to his knees and scoured the ground, looking for the stone. Its white color would make it hard to find in the snow. He slid his hands along the cold slush. Pebbles. Pine needles. And then … a rock. It sat on top of the snow like a trophy, waiting to be retrieved. Zach grabbed it and it instantly warmed his palm.
Zach stood tall and jammed the stone back into his pocket. The group of students trickled into the grounds of the ropes course.
Zach walked past the group, finding his way back to the trail. He kept his eyes straight ahead, feeling the stares of the students upon him.
“Can I help you?” It was the voice of a Pine Ridge employee. She wore the mandatory green vest.
Already part way up the hill, Zach turned to face the woman who had called to him. “No, thanks. I’m okay. I gotta get back to my group.”
The woman jogged up the hill to speak to him. She had short, brown hair with long, skinny legs. Her nametag said Jocelyn. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Zach.”
“Zach Sutton?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank goodness. There are a lot of people looking for you. Let me walk you back to your group.”
They hiked side by side, Jocelyn asking all sorts of questions. “Where did you go? Did you get cold? Hungry?”
Zach put his head down and walked silently.
“Zach, we’re going to need to know if you’re okay. Are you all right?”
Zach froze. His hands had been in his pockets while Jocelyn had bombarded him with questions. The stone never left his palm.
He gazed off into the shadows of the woods. Still staring at the trees, he said, “I’m all right. For now, at least.”