Ben was happy to see Jack up on his feet—and even happier to see his two closest friends getting along.
“You’d better get that leg back in working order before practice starts,” Ben joked.
Jack rolled his eyes. “You just worry about your pitching arm,” he said. “That should keep you busy till spring.”
Ben and Noah laughed. Same old Jack.
Jack shivered. Ben noticed that he was wearing a thin raincoat—not much heavier than a Windbreaker—that was matted to his body with water.
“You must be freezing,” Ben said. “Here—I brought your sweatshirt.” He tossed Jack’s hoodie to him. Jack caught it and looked at it for a second.
“Is this what you—I mean, is this what Hero used to track me?”
“Yup,” Ben said, patting Hero on the head.
“I’m sorry, Ben,” Jack said, his voice cracking. “I’m a total idiot.”
“Well, now you’re a total idiot who’s been rescued,” Ben said.
“Wait, I really mean it,” Jack said. “Thank you.” He looked at Ben and then Noah. “Seriously, guys, I should have listened. This was the worst idea ever, and I was just—my dad and I used to go camping all the time, so I figured I’d be fine. Plus I really thought they were exaggerating about the hurricane . . .” He trailed off. “This sounds lame considering that you guys just saved my life and Scout’s, but . . . thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Ben and Noah said at the same time. Ben punched Jack lightly on the shoulder.
“You must really miss your dad,” Noah said softly. “I had no idea.”
“I really do,” Jack said with a nod.
“What’s he like?” Noah asked.
“He’s fun.” Jack shrugged. “I don’t know—he just—he understands me. My mom is great, don’t get me wrong. She’s the best. But my dad can make me laugh even when I don’t want to. I don’t have to explain anything to him. He just gets it.”
“That’s cool,” Noah said.
“But since we moved here, I don’t get to see him very much. It’s kind of hard for me to visit him,” Jack said. “He works a lot, you know?”
Ben did know what it was like to have a dad who worked a lot. He flashed on an image of his dad in his police uniform, and suddenly he was struck by an intense urge to head home. Now that Jack and Scout were safe, a wave of worry washed over Ben, and he was anxious to get going. He swallowed a painful lump in his throat. He wanted to see his dad with his own eyes and make sure he was okay. And how badly had Gulfport been hit? Was their house still standing?
Ben wished he could climb a hill and see the town from where they were, but they were way too deep into the woods. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been this far into the forest, in fact. He just wanted to get back home quickly, but it was going to be a long trek through some rough conditions.
Every second they were out here was another second when something terrible could happen to his dad—or when his dad could discover that they were gone. And once that happened, Ben thought with a shudder, he knew he was going to be in major trouble.
Ben realized he hadn’t checked his phone in a while. He pulled it from the sealed pocket in his rain slicker, where it had been safely stashed. He’d been right about the time—it was 11:50 P.M.
But Ben’s stomach plummeted as he looked at the top of the screen. Small letters spelled out NO SERVICE. The storm had probably knocked out cell and Internet service in the entire region. Maybe his dad had already tried to call or text him, but there was no way for Ben to know.
They had to get out of here before the lack of cell service became a real problem.
“Hero, Scout,” Ben said, “let’s go.”
The rain was coming down steadily, but the thunder had subsided—for the moment, at least. If they were lucky and the weather held out a little longer, they might have a shot at getting back before anyone even noticed they were gone.
The dogs got to their feet. Ben was relieved to see that Hero was walking normally and didn’t seem like he was in any pain.
Ben hoisted his heavy pack onto his back and stepped over the fallen tree. Jack took a few steps, each one steadier than the last.
“I’ll be fine,” Jack said in response to the worried look on Ben’s face. “Let’s get out of here. I’m done with nature for a while.”
Ben pulled out his compass and steered the group back in the direction they’d come from.
“Hey, Noah,” Jack said.
“Yeah?”
“What color is that outfit you’re wearing? Is that pink?”
Ben had forgotten that Noah was wearing his mom’s rain gear. He burst out laughing.
“Cute, Jack,” Noah snorted. “Who just lifted a forty-million-pound tree off your leg? Should I put it back on top of you?”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Jack said.
Ben used the compass to guide them southwest, but he didn’t really need to—Hero knew the way home. They followed the dogs through the debris-strewn forest. Ben felt the ground sloping downhill as they headed back in the direction of town. He stumbled under the weight of his pack, struggling to find his footing in the dark. Exhaustion was slowly starting to set in.
Hero and Scout weaved back and forth just ahead of him, their noses low to the ground, perking up their heads at every sound. Hero led them safely around the swollen river—and the alligator—which added a quarter of a mile or so to their trip. But better to walk a little extra than to see their reptilian enemy again.
They were still about a mile from the edge of the woods when Ben realized they had descended into a small valley, with wooded hills rising on either side of them. Ben regretted not grabbing a map from his dad’s supplies. He pulled out his compass and studied it for a second. He tried to remember what he knew about the national park’s geography. Based on where he figured they were, Ben thought Hero had picked a good path: If they followed the valley all the way, they would come out of the woods very close to town.
Except for the sound of the rain and steady wind, it was quiet, and the canopy of trees above them was thick. Ben took a deep, slow breath. His nerves started to feel a little less frayed. He just wanted to get home and get into some dry clothes.
Ben turned to say something to Noah and Jack, but before he could speak, an earsplitting crack! pierced the air. The sound rattled Ben’s teeth. It wasn’t a tree falling—it was a bigger, deeper, and scarier sound than that. He looked around frantically for the source of it but couldn’t spot anything. Hero had stopped walking and stood on high alert, his muscles twitching, his head and ears up, tuned into sound frequencies the boys couldn’t hear.
“What was that?” Noah asked nervously.
“I don’t know,” Ben said. “But I didn’t like the sound of it.”
They were silent for a moment, waiting. Listening.
Jack squinted into the darkness, looking into the woods back the way they had come.
“Guys . . .” Jack started to say.
Ben and Noah followed his gaze. Ben couldn’t see anything, but he could hear a low sound, like a whoosh . . . and it was getting louder. A lot louder.
“Guys!” Jack said, louder this time. “This isn’t good.”
“What is it?” Ben asked. His heart pounded hard in his chest, and his throat felt constricted.
“I think it’s—” Jack paused. Suddenly his eyes grew huge and round. “It’s water! RUN! Uphill! Now!”
Ben didn’t stop to think.
“Hero! Scout! Come!” Ben shouted. He scrambled after Noah and Jack up the hill to their right. The dogs shot up the steep, rocky slope. Ben glanced behind him to see a wall of water barreling through the valley. It was a flash flood.
Rushing toward them at lightning speed was a body of water unlike any Ben had ever seen—tree trunks and boulders spun and somersaulted in the churning white tide, which swallowed everything in its path. The water roared so loudly that Ben’s eardrums vibrated.
Ben and the others
huddled together just a few feet above the waterline, clinging to tree roots so that they wouldn’t slip down the soggy hill. Water splashed everywhere.
Ben kept his eye on the water level, making sure it wasn’t rising any farther toward them. He stayed alert, ready to run uphill if necessary, but it looked as if the river wasn’t getting any higher. At least not for the moment.
From his perch, Ben could tell that the water had to be at least six feet deep. Ben was glad they were all safe, but he couldn’t believe that the spot where they’d been standing just seconds earlier was now totally submerged. And he knew something that Noah and Jack did not: Their quickest path home was now completely underwater.
13
NOAH FOUND HIS VOICE FIRST. “THAT was close.”
“A little too close.” Jack shook his head.
Below them, the valley had been completely destroyed in the flood.
“We can’t go back down there,” Noah said, pointing at the rapidly moving water.
“We have to find another way home,” Ben said. “You guys stay here. I’m going to see what’s at the top of the hill. Hero, come.”
Ben slogged up the muddy slope while Hero darted ahead of him. Hero paused at the top and looked back at Ben, waiting. The wind and rain were stronger up there, but there was just enough faint moonlight breaking through the gray clouds for Ben to see in all four directions.
To his left, the ridge angled upward, narrowing at the top and zigzagging to the east and west—a winding route that would add a mile or more to their trip home. And with the sludgy, wet ground and scattered debris, the path would be dangerous—and maybe even impossible.
Ben knew what he needed to do. His stomach churned, but there wasn’t much choice. Ben pulled out his phone and swiped at it. They needed help.
He had to call his dad.
One look at his phone, though, and the pit in Ben’s stomach got worse.
There was still no signal.
They were stuck, and it was all Ben’s fault.
They had no way to get back, and no way to tell anyone where they were. And now, Ben realized, this wasn’t just about getting busted for going out in the hurricane. This was about their parents not knowing where they were—and whether they were okay. The last thing Ben wanted to do was make his dad worry.
Ben had to get his friends home. But now he could only see one way out—and that was to go straight up.
“Hey, guys,” he called down to Noah and Jack. He gestured for them to join him. They headed up, Scout following. Ben noticed that Jack was limping a little as he climbed the slippery hill.
“What’s up?” Noah asked, huffing and puffing as he summited the hill and stood next to Ben. Scout leaned out and sniffed around the edge.
“Do either of your phones work?” Ben asked.
“Mine’s soaking wet,” Jack said sheepishly.
Noah pulled his from his pocket. It was dry, but, like Ben, he had no signal bars.
Ben racked his brain for a minute, trying to figure out what to do next. They were in a tough spot and his friends were counting on him. Finally, Ben said, “I have a plan.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, toward the skinny path that led upward. “We’re going that way.”
Noah groaned.
“Yikes,” Jack said.
“I know. It’s not pretty,” Ben said, “but we need to get a cell signal. And unfortunately heading up and out of the forest is the only way to do that.”
“All right, then,” Noah said, “let’s start climbing.”
It was going to be a long hike. It had taken them hours to get this far, and it was going to take even longer to get back. Plus, they were exhausted—it was well after midnight—and Jack was injured. As Noah passed around a few granola bars, Ben bent over and picked up a long, thin tree branch. He handed it to Jack. “Maybe this’ll work like a cane?”
“Thanks,” Jack said, hefting the stick in his hand. He stuck the pointed end into the mud, leaned on it, and took a step forward. “Perfect.”
The boys fell into a single-file line and began walking up the steep hill. They lifted their boots out of the heavy mud, then plunged them down again, step by step. Noah kept pace in front, then Jack, and Ben brought up the rear. Hero and Scout darted around their legs, sniffing at the terrain. It was hard work, and for a long while no one spoke.
Every few minutes, Ben checked his phone. Still no service. He hadn’t said this to Noah and Jack, but he wasn’t entirely sure going higher would get them any closer to a cell tower signal. It was possible service in the entire area was out. Either way, based on that flash flood, Ben figured getting to higher ground wouldn’t be a bad thing.
They kept walking. There was no sound except the suctioning of their boots. This couldn’t have been further from how they usually spent their Friday nights. They normally threw a ball around, watched a movie, or went to a friend’s house. And by midnight, Ben would be in his room with Hero, falling asleep while watching baseball videos on YouTube . . . which sounded pretty good right now.
Ben stared down at his feet, looking for tripping hazards and sharp drops off the side.
“Take your time, Noah,” Jack joked from his spot in the middle of the pack. “It’s cool. We’re not in a hurry.”
“Seriously?” Noah stopped and spun around to face Jack.
“Dude,” Jack held up both hands in front of him. “I was just messing with you.”
“Well, it’s not funny,” Noah snapped back.
Ben was surprised by the level of irritation in his friends’ voices. “Guys—it’s cool,” he called from the back. Noah and Jack had just started getting along at last, and he wanted it to stick. “We’re all a little fried. Can we just keep going?”
“Fine,” Noah grumbled.
“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” Jack said.
The ground started to level off. Ben hoped they had reached the summit, at least, so the trek would get a little easier. He sighed and checked his phone. There was the flicker of a bar—Ben’s chest fluttered with hope.
Then, from up ahead, there was a thunk, a grunt, and a series of pained cries. Ben looked up to see Noah on the ground, with Jack half sitting, half lying on top of him.
“Dude!” Noah snapped.
“Sorry—I tripped.”
“Can you get off me, please?”
“Noah—I’m sorry. It was an accident.”
“Guys!” Ben interrupted them.
“Were your eyes even open?” Noah went on. “Because I’m right in front of you.”
“Guys! Stop it!” Ben tried again. “I have service!”
Noah and Jack forgot their argument and hurried over. Ben held up his phone to show them the single signal bar. He hoped it was enough.
His fingers were puckered and cold, but he managed to swipe at his phone and tap his dad’s number. Ben lifted the phone to his ear and held his breath.
There was silence on the line while it tried to connect. Ben waited, his heart pounding in his chest. Noah and Jack watched his face hopefully.
He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen. CONNECTING, the screen read.
The boys held their breath. Even Hero and Scout sat still at their feet, waiting.
Ben lifted the phone to his ear again. Still, nothing happened.
The call wouldn’t go through.
Ben tapped the red button to disconnect. He typed out a quick text to his dad to see if it would send. No luck. He tried an e-mail. Again, nothing.
Noah and Jack turned away. Each of the boys stood by himself for a few seconds.
Finally, Ben spoke.
“Let’s keep moving,” he said. “We need to get home.”
14
THE WIND GUSTED AND HOWLED. THE boys planted their feet firmly on the uneven path and kept their balance as best they could, while the dogs moved steadily ahead.
The ridge had flattened into a path, with woods spreading out on either side of them. The ground was soaked but not flo
oded. Hero brushed against Ben’s leg as they walked. Ben reached down and ran his fingers through the fur on Hero’s back.
Suddenly, Hero froze mid-step, and Ben felt the dog’s body tense. Ben stopped short and watched Hero, who stared off into the woods, his ears and tail up.
“What is it, buddy?” Ben asked. Hero’s ear twitched at the sound of Ben’s voice. They all stood in silence, waiting.
Hero shot off so fast that Ben didn’t even have time to call out his name. Hero disappeared into the darkness of the trees in the blink of an eye. At Jack’s side, Scout went nuts—he barked and howled frantically.
“Scout, stay,” Jack commanded him. Scout scurried back and forth along the tree line, but he didn’t go after Hero.
“Hero!” Ben called into the woods. Shock and frustration rattled his nerves. “Hero, come back!”
But there was no sign of his dog. Ben felt close to panic. His heart pounded in his chest. It wasn’t like Hero to disappear like that—was something wrong with him? “What do we do?” Ben asked Noah and Jack.
“How can we follow him if we can’t even see where he went?” Noah asked.
“Scout can lead us,” Jack said. “Right, Scout?”
“Is he ready for that?” Noah asked.
“I’ve been working with him,” Jack said. “And Ben and his dad are always telling me he’s a natural search-and-rescue dog.”
“You’re right,” Ben agreed. “Scout’s good. He’s our best chance of catching up with Hero.”
“Sounds good to me,” Noah said, giving Scout a scratch behind his ears. The puppy wagged his tail, ready to go.
“Scout, find Hero!” Jack said firmly. Without a moment’s hesitation, Scout ran into the woods, following Hero’s scent.
Scout darted around trees, his nose to the ground. He hurtled forward, his front and back legs tucking under him with every stride. Ben had never seen Scout so focused—it was like he had suddenly become a real search dog.
The boys tried to keep up, the mud pulling at their boots and slowing them down. Noah slipped on the slick ground, and Jack stopped to give him a hand. Noah grabbed it, and Jack pulled him to his feet. They took off running again, Jack with a slight limp.
Hurricane Rescue Page 6
