When Scarlett glanced at her watch, she couldn’t believe it was only 10:00 a.m. It felt like they’d been walking for days, not just two hours.
“I’m starving,” Anya said, sitting down on a rock to rest her aching feet. “Gracie, give me some of that cereal.” Gracie shook the box; it was empty.
“You ate it all?” Liberty exclaimed. “That was supposed to be for all of us to share!”
“I couldn’t help it,” Gracie replied. “I was really hungry.”
Scarlett took the tote of food out of her hands. “I’m sure there’s a lot of other stuff in here.” She pulled out a crumpled granola-bar wrapper, a near empty sports drink, and a bag of pretzels that had only crumbs left. “Gracie, how much did you eat?”
Her little sister shrugged. “I dunno. You can have these.” She handed Anya a bag of freezedried green beans.
“Eww!” Anya said. “How am I supposed to eat this?”
Gracie held up a bean and smiled. “With your mouth?”
The next few hours didn’t go much smoother. Bria was being eaten alive by mosquitoes, and Rochelle’s hay fever was acting up.
“My eyes are so itchy I can barely see,” she said. She sneezed into the sleeve of her hoodie.
“Gross!” Liberty pushed past her. “Keep your boogers to yourself.”
“I can’t help it,” Rochelle said. “I’m allergic to something.” She bent over to examine the tiny yellow flowers lining their path. “Maybe it’s these guys.” One whiff sent her into a sneezing fit.
“Hey! Quit it!” Liberty yelled. But Rochelle couldn’t stop. Her last sneeze sent her colliding into Liberty, who bumped into a tree, then slipped and fell. When she looked down, there was a huge gash in one of the knees of her leggings.
“Oh my gosh! I’m bleeding!” Liberty screamed. Her knee was scraped and covered with dirt and gravel. “Ow, it hurts! It really hurts!”
Scarlett kneeled over her. “It doesn’t look too bad. We just need to clean it. Someone hand me a canteen of water.” Anya obliged, and they flushed out the wound. “We need to cover it with something. Anyone have a Band-Aid?”
Rochelle held up a clean tissue. “This is all I’ve got. Any idea how we can hold it in place?”
“Silly Putty!” Gracie suggested. “If I had any with me …”
“There’s a roll of pink leopard-print duct tape in my backpack,” Liberty said, choking back tears.
“Really? You didn’t bring a first-aid kit but you brought duct tape?” Rock asked in disbelief.
“I thought if I got bored, I would make a cool bracelet or a headband,” she answered. “Instaglamour.”
It turned out it was also insta–first aid. Scarlett secured the tissue over the wound with the tape. It matched Liberty’s pink sneakers. “I think it’ll stay put for a while,” Scarlett said. “Can you stand on it?” She helped Liberty to her feet.
“Ow!” she yelped. “It hurts! I don’t think I can walk.”
Rochelle couldn’t take much more. “You are such a drama queen! It’s barely a scrape.”
“You did this!” Liberty fired back. “Your stupid sneeze knocked me down.”
“And your ridiculous sneakers slipped on the gravel! Why couldn’t you wear hiking boots like the rest of us?”
Scarlett blew her whistle in the air. Ranger Sam had told her to use it in an emergency, and this seemed like a good enough one. The girls were fighting, and Liberty was injured. She waited for him and Toni to race in and rescue them.
“Where are they?” Liberty moaned. “I’m dying and no one cares.”
Bria laughed. “You are not dying. You just have a little boo-boo. Get over it.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Liberty pointed out. “You’re not the one who’s hurt.”
They waited and whistled but still no one came. Scarlett had to do something. There was no one coming to their aid, and this arguing was getting them nowhere. “Rock, remember how you felt when you hurt your ankle and had to be on crutches?” she asked. “Maybe Liberty’s really hurt. Maybe it’s serious.” She pointed to Liberty who was now in tears and cradling her bandaged knee.
Rochelle pouted. “Fine. Lean on me,” she said. She offered her arm to Liberty, who looked positively horrified. “Come on. Do you want to stay here all day?”
“I don’t think I can put pressure on my leg,” Liberty said through gritted teeth. “I think you’ll have to carry me.”
Rochelle’s eyes grew wide. “Carry you? Are you nuts? There is no way I’m gonna carry you!”
“We’ll all take turns,” Scarlett volunteered. “We can make a chair with our arms and carry Liberty down the mountain.”
“Ooh! Can I get carried, too?” Gracie asked. “That sounds fun.”
Rochelle rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She linked arms with Scarlett, and Liberty sat between them. “This is the worst day of my life,” she said as they struggled to make their way with their teammate in tow. She sneezed again, this time in Liberty’s hair.
“Eww! Cut it out!” Liberty screamed.
“Would you like me to cover my nose and drop you?” Rochelle asked her. “ ’Cause that’s my only option.”
Liberty made a face. “This is the worst day of my life! A bloody knee and a shower of boogers.”
Three hours later, they were nearly at the bottom of the trail. “It says to bear to the right,” Bria pointed out. “Past Chickasaw Cave.”
“Did you say chicken and slaw?” Anya asked.
Bria shook her head. “I said Chickasaw. It’s an old Native American tribal name. Not a KFC!”
“Oh.” Anya sighed. “I’m so hungry, I’m hearing things. I think I’m delirious.”
Liberty dug into her purse and pulled out a box of Belgian chocolates. “Here. Have one,” she said.
“OMG! You have truffles in your purse and you didn’t say anything?” Anya grabbed them out of her hand and began stuffing them in her mouth.
“I forgot,” Liberty explained. “I was a little busy bleeding.”
“This is heaven,” Anya said, licking her fingers. “Liberty, I never thought I’d say this, but I love you!”
“Hey, save some for me!” Gracie said, trying to wrestle one away from her.
“Are you kidding? You ate everything in our food bags! You were as piggy as your pink piggy, Gracie!” Anya held the box of chocolates high above her head so she couldn’t reach it.
Gracie’s eyes welled up. Oh, no, Scarlett thought. Here we go …
Anya saw the look on the little girl’s face and stopped herself from popping the last one in her mouth. “I’m sorry, Gracie. Here, you can have one. Please don’t cry!” She handed her a dark-chocolate candy with a hazelnut-cream center.
Gracie gobbled it down and smiled. “Thank you. That was yumilicious.”
Scarlett was too busy trying to figure out the map to think of food. “I’m not sure what this little red leaf symbol here means,” she said, showing it to Bria. “It’s not anywhere on the key.”
Bria shrugged. “Well, it’s pretty. It must be those pretty red leaves over there.” She pointed to a patch growing around the base of a tree. “Maybe I’ll pick one for my scrapbook at home.”
She was bending over a leaf when Anya suddenly screamed “Nooooooo!” and tackled her to the ground. Bria landed facedown in a pile of leaves and mud with Anya on top of her.
“Get off!” Bria said, spitting out a mouthful of dirt. “Just because I made costumes you didn’t like doesn’t mean you have to beat me up!”
“No, I wasn’t trying to beat you up,” Anya said, helping Bria to her feet. “I was trying to save you from getting poison ivy. I remember it from my Girl Scouts guidebook.”
“Poison ivy?” Bria gasped. “As in the stuff that makes you all itchy and rashy?”
Anya nodded. “You’re welcome.”
“Oh, so that’s what the red leaf on the map meant,” Scarlett said, making a note with a black pen on the side of the paper. “These map drawings could be a little better.”
“Our map reader could be a lot better,” Liberty said.
“Do you want to give it a try?” Scarlett said, throwing the map at her feet. “Honestly, I have had enough of everyone complaining and blaming me!”
Rochelle placed a hand on Scarlett’s shoulder. “If you lose it, we will all lose it,” she reminded her. “Scarlett, you’re our leader. We need you to lead.” She picked up the map and handed it to her.
“I’m just so tired,” Scarlett moaned. “And it’s getting darker.”
“Then let’s get where we’re going,” Rochelle said. “Anya and Bria, you’re on ambulance duty.” She pointed to Liberty. “If she talks too much, just drop her.”
“Not funny,” Liberty said through gritted teeth. “I am injured. Can we show some respect?”
“Let’s all show some respect for each other,” Scarlett said, picking up her bag and resuming the walk down the trail. “It’s the only way we’re going to get out of this mess.”