Count Me In

by Sara Leach

  “Cool,” Cedar said.

  She gave up on her zipper and collapsed onto the bench. “I guess.” If you were into a long painful death by dismemberment. She pressed one hand on top of the other to stop the shaking.

  “Where’s Max?” Ashley mumbled through lips that only opened a crack.

  Tabitha froze. She pressed her hands harder into the table. In her panic to get back to the hut, she’d forgotten about Max. “I was going to tell you.” Now it would sound like she hadn’t cared. “Max took off.”

  “You left him there?” Ashley’s voice grew higher with every word.

  “I called and called. I tried searching, but I didn’t want to get lost in the fog. I was on my way back to get you guys to help. That’s when I ran into the bear.”

  Tess stirred a package of soup into a pot. “Max is a smart dog. He’ll come back.”

  “What if he chases the bear?” Ashley asked, glaring at Tabitha.

  “What if he’s hurt?” Cedar asked.

  “Let’s eat lunch, and then we’ll go look for him.” Tess put out four bowls of soup with two crackers for everyone but Ashley.

  “Lunch?” Cedar asked. “Where’s the rest of it?”

  “At least you can eat,” Ashley said.

  Tabitha shivered in her damp clothes. The soup made from a package of dried organic veggie broth tasted delicious, but it didn’t fill her up. She thought about Max out there, cowering in the cold. Maybe he’d run off to find food. Maybe he’d had a fight with the bear and lost.

  After they’d cleaned out the bowls, Ashley waited until her mom crossed the room and put on her jacket. Then she leaned close to Tabitha and hissed, “Max better be okay. He was my dad’s dog. It’ll kill my mom to lose him too.”

  Tabitha nodded. She dragged herself to the door and reached for her jacket.

  Tess put a hand on her arm. “Why don’t you stay? You look like another search might do you in.”

  Tabitha stopped. She didn’t feel like going back out and searching anymore, but she didn’t want the others to think she didn’t care about Max. Ashley and Cedar had their backs to her as they put on their jackets. What did it matter? They would blame her one way or the other.

  “Maybe I could take a nap?”

  Ashley faced her long enough to roll her eyes, but Tess nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Ashley, you should stay too. You need to conserve your energy.”

  Ashley didn’t respond. She turned her back to her mother and stormed out the door. Tess sighed and followed her.

  After the others left, Tabitha climbed up the ladder, pulled on some drier clothes and collapsed on the bunk. Should she have gone to help? She didn’t know if she’d be able to sleep, but she’d barely put her head on the pillow before she was out like a light.

  Her nap ended with the sound of boots tramping up the outer stairs. She tiptoed to the edge of the sleeping loft. Cedar, Ashley and Tess came in. No Max. She crept back to her bunk before anyone saw her.

  “What do we do if Max doesn’t come back?” Cedar asked.

  “He will,” Ashley said.

  “But what if he doesn’t?” Cedar asked.

  Tabitha heard the thud of boots being tossed by the door.

  “Let’s think positively,” Tess said.

  “We’ll stay here until he does,” Ashley said.

  “We could run out of food before he gets back,” Cedar said.

  Tabitha’s stomach grumbled. Good point. They wouldn’t be able to wait forever.

  “Then we’ll eat Tabitha,” Ashley said.

  Tess gasped. “Ashley!”

  Tabitha blanched. Obviously her cousin wasn’t serious. But how far would she go?

  “She lost Max,” Ashley said.

  “It wasn’t her fault,” Tess said firmly. “He could have run away from anyone.”

  “She should have looked harder. It is too her fault.”

  There was a short silence, followed by a rattle. “Why don’t we play Monopoly?” Cedar said.

  “Sure.”

  Tabitha closed her eyes. They were back to their club of two. She never should have tried to be friends with them, or to think that she might be included. Just when things were starting to get better, she had to go and lose Max, who reminded them so much of their dad.

  A bench scraped downstairs. “Mind if I play?” Tess asked.

  Tabitha could almost hear Ashley’s shrug.

  Tabitha pulled her sleeping bag over her head. Wasn’t that sweet. A family game of Monopoly. She tried to fall back to sleep, but their voices intruded.

  Tabitha burrowed deeper into her sleeping bag and put her hands over her ears to block out the voices. What Ashley said was true. Didn’t her cousin know how guilty she felt over losing Max? She probably knew Tabitha was eavesdropping.

  She’d have to go out and look for Max. But her cousins had just done that. What would be the point? Maybe the fog would lift during the night and she could go look. If she slept in her clothes and put her boots on outside, she could sneak out without waking anyone.

  Now that she had a plan, she closed her eyes and her muscles relaxed. She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew it was dark and the others were preparing dinner. She went downstairs.

  “Rip Van Winkle’s awake,” Cedar said.

  Ashley glowered. Tabitha ignored her.

  Dinner consisted of a small bowl of mushy lentils and more watery soup. Tabitha never knew lentils could taste so good. If Cedar hadn’t eaten four brownies on their first night, they might have had something left for dessert.

  “D’you think we’ll get out of here tomorrow?” Cedar asked as they washed their bowls.

  “Not by hiking,” Tess said. “That river won’t drop until a day or two after the rain stops.”

  “How else would we get out of here?” Ashley asked.

  “They might send a helicopter,” Tess said.

  “Really?” Tabitha asked. That was the best news she’d heard in days.

  Tess nodded. “By now your parents will realize that we didn’t make it off the mountain in time. They’ll call Search and Rescue.”

  Tabitha chewed on a fingernail. Would her parents know what to do? They didn’t know anything about hiking. “Do they know where we are?”

  “I told them before we left,” Tess said.

  Tabitha frowned. How long would they wait to call Search and Rescue? What if they hadn’t written down the name of the mountain?

  With these thoughts still swirling in her mind, she began getting ready for bed. Nobody stayed up late. Stomachs growled as they brushed their teeth. Tabitha was so hungry, even the toothpaste looked good enough to eat.

  She had no trouble staying awake in her sleeping bag as her thoughts gnawed at her. After her long sleep during the day, she wasn’t ready for an early bedtime. One by one, the others fell asleep. Once she heard them all breathing deeply, she pulled back her sleeping bag, which she’d left unzipped, and crawled out. As she stood up, the room spun around her. She flailed her arm, reaching for the bunk behind her until her vision cleared. She often felt dizzy if she stood up too quickly in the night, but lack of food was making it worse.

  Grabbing her jacket, boots and headlamp, she stepped outside in bare feet. She shivered at the feel of the cold, slimy steps. A drizzle of rain splashed her face. On the bottom stair, she put on her boots. Her bare feet chafed against the insides, but it was better than getting another pair of socks wet.

  She flicked on the headlamp. The fog had lifted, but the black night pressed in on her. Was she up to this? She didn’t know anything about hiking in the dark. She’d stopped looking for Max during the day because she thought she’d get lost. Why did she think she could find him at night?

  What about the bear? It must sleep at night. That was one worry she could cross off her list. But what about all the other night critters? She didn’t know what nocturnal animals lived in the mountains, but she was sure they would be scary.

  Som
ething whizzed by her head. She ducked and swallowed a scream. As she slowly straightened and dared to look around, she saw small objects darting through the night air. Birds? They didn’t move like birds.

  Bats. Three of them flitted through the sky, like oversized butterflies that had eaten too much sugar. She cringed and pulled her hood tight around her head. Did bats suck your blood, or was that just a nasty fairy tale?

  She stepped onto the trail. She’d need to go far enough to call without the others hearing, but not so far that she’d get lost. She crept along, keeping her eyes down so as not to lose the path. The headlamp threw a circle of light in front of her feet. She tried not to think beyond that circle of safety. What lurked outside of it? Maybe hundreds of bats were mounting an attack. She swiveled her head around, shining the light across the bushes that lined the path. Nothing. She shook her head, making the puddle of light wobble. At the rate she was moving, it would take her all night to reach the spot where she’d lost Max.

  She lengthened her stride, still focused on the path. Eventually she was far enough from the hut to call.

  “Max,” she whispered. “Max.” Surely the whole mountainside could hear her. She stopped, held her breath and listened. Nothing but silence.

  She walked a few more paces and tried again. This time her voice came out as a low murmur. No response. She set her shoulders and breathed deeply, taking in the smell of moist dirt. This wouldn’t help Max. She strode along the path, the light bobbling in front of her, then stopped and hollered over and over again, “Max! Maaaax!” She stopped to take a breath. The rain pattered and bats swished, but no dogs barked. It was useless. Max could be anywhere. If she went off the path, she’d get lost. And if Max wanted to come home and wasn’t hurt, he’d be back by now.

  She turned around to head back to the hut. Her heart felt like a rock sinking to the bottom of the lake. Max would never come back. Ashley and Cedar would hate her forever.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Small waves from the lake rippled against the shore. Something splashed in the water. Tabitha froze. What was it? She strained to see. There was movement out there. Could it be Max?

  She shook her head. Of course not. Why would he be in the lake? But then, stranger things had happened. Whatever was out there made a small noise. Was it a whimper? Maybe Max had swum into the lake to hunt for fish.

  “Max!” she called. The animal made the noise again. It definitely sounded like a whimper. He could be hurt. Tabitha began unlacing her boots. She knew the lake would be freezing—after all, it had taken her breath away on a hot sunny day— but she didn’t care. If that was Max, she had to save him.

  She pulled off her pants and shirt. She’d need something dry to put on when she came out. At least she was the only one out tonight, and no one would see. Holding her breath, she splashed three steps into the water, trying her best to be brave. Her feet went numb almost immediately. Would she be able to swim to Max? She’d have to try.

  “What the heck are you doing?” a voice called from behind her.

  Tabitha jumped and almost fell in the lake. She spun around and was blinded by a spotlight. She threw an arm in front of her eyes. “Turn that off!”

  The spotlight snapped off, and Cedar came into view. Tabitha realized she was standing in her underwear. She crouched, trying to keep her butt out of the water.

  “So?” Cedar asked.

  “I felt like going for a skinny-dip.”

  Cedar crossed his arms, reminding Tabitha of Bruce. “Right.”

  She waved her arm at the island. “I heard something over there, and I think it’s Max. I’m rescuing him. If you don’t mind, I’ll get back to it.”

  He turned the headlamp back on and pointed it out at the lake. “All I see is a duck. You sure it’s worth swimming after in the freezing cold?”

  “How do you know it’s a duck?”

  “I see a long skinny neck and a beak. Don’t think Max has either of those.”

  Tabitha shuffled around, still crouching, and shone her light near Cedar’s. She couldn’t see anything.

  Quack. There was a small splash and then silence.

  Tabitha’s shoulders drooped. How could she be so dumb? “Can you turn off the light while I get dressed, please?”

  Without a word, Cedar did as she asked and turned away from her while she pulled on her shirt and pants.

  “Are you totally out of your mind?” he asked, his back still to her.

  “What do you care?”

  He whipped around to face her. “What do you mean?”

  “You and Ashley hate me. Now that I’ve lost Max, you’ve both ignored me all day. If I was lost or hurt, the only reason you’d care is because you’d have to spend your precious time looking for me.” She pulled on her boots and stomped down the trail. As her headlamp swung past his face, she caught a glimpse of his stunned expression.

  He grabbed her arm and spun her around. “I don’t blame you for losing Max.”

  She tried to look into his eyes to see if he was telling the truth, but his headlamp was back on. She pulled her arm out of his grasp. “Why not? I lost him.”

  Cedar began walking beside her. “It could have happened to anyone. Max has a mind of his own.”

  “Then why’ve you ignored me all day?”

  He sighed. “I was scared.”

  “Huh?”

  “Max was my dad’s dog. It’s kinda like losing my dad all over again.”

  Tabitha couldn’t think of anything to say. She nodded in the dark.

  “When Dad died, it felt like…like a crevasse opened inside me. You know, like the one he fell into. Except it was a crevasse that opened to all the dark, depressing feelings of the world, and I kept falling into it day after day.”

  Cedar paused. Tabitha nodded again, hoping he’d go on. “The only way to keep myself on the mountain, out of the crevasse, was to work hard…to do everything he used to do…be strong for Mom and Ashley.” He took a deep breath. Tabitha held hers, not wanting to spoil the moment.

  “Max started sleeping on my bed after Dad died. Like he knew that I could take his place.”

  Tabitha shivered. “You don’t have to take his place, Cedar. Your mom and Ashley are strong too.”

  She sensed him pulling at his ponytail. “Maybe I need to do it for me, not them. Anyway, with Max gone, I feel like I’m sliding toward the crevasse again.”

  They walked a few paces in silence.

  “Did you come out here just to look for him?” Cedar asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Thanks. Even if it was stupid.”

  “We’d better go in,” she replied.

  Tabitha didn’t bother sneaking around when she entered the hut. If Ashley or Tess woke up, she’d say she’d been at the outhouse. She crawled into her sleeping bag, happy to be cozy and warm.

  “Night, Tabitha,” Cedar whispered.

  “Night.” She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  It felt like only minutes later that she woke to the sound of the door banging open and grunting sounds below. Jumping out of bed, she ran to the ladder, hoping to see Max. Tess beat her there and flew to the first floor.

  “Get out of here!” her aunt yelled. “Now!”

  A strong smell of wet dog wafted up to the loft. Why would her aunt be chasing Max out? She started to climb down, followed by a groggy Cedar and Ashley.

  “Stay up there, it’s the bear!”

  Tabitha gasped.

  “Scram!” Tess was standing in the kitchen, waving her arms at the bear, who was dragging the food bag off the table with his mouth. It eyed her, then stood up on its hind legs and huffed a breath, the bag hanging from its jaws.

  “Mom!” Ashley screamed.

  “Get going!” Cedar shouted at the bear. He started to climb down the ladder.

  “Don’t you dare!” Tess called. “The last thing we need is to corner him.”

  Cedar stopped and climbed back up the top
two rungs.

  Tess leaped onto a bench, grabbed two pots and started banging them together. Tabitha’s mouth hung open. Her aunt never backed off for a second, even as the bear took a step toward her. She growled, shouted, banged her pots and stomped her feet.

  The bear huffed again and dropped back to four paws. The wet dog smell mixed with the smell of sweat and fear. Tabitha grabbed Ashley’s arm. The three cousins watched in terror as the bear charged at Tess. She flinched but held her ground.

  The bear stopped inches from Tess’s feet. She continued making her racket. The bear huffed again and reached a paw toward Tess. She jerked her arm back and clanged the pots closer to its face.

  At last it turned and ambled out the door, dragging the food bag in its mouth.

  Tabitha and her cousins flew down the ladder. Cedar slammed the door shut. Ashley ran to hug her mom while Tabitha hovered behind her.

  “Are you okay?” Ashley said.

  Tess sank to the bench. Her hands were shaking. “Yeah.” She laid one hand over her forearm and pulled away from Ashley. Motioning with her head to the bench, she said, “But he took the food.”

  Everyone stared at the table where the food bag had once sat. All that was left was a smear of hot chocolate powder that had sprinkled out as the bear shook the bag.

  “What do we do now?” Ashley asked.

  “We wait, and hope that the helicopter arrives soon,” Tess said.

  “There are a few berries outside, didn’t you say?” Cedar said.

  Tabitha stiffened. “We can’t go out there—the bear’s there.”

  “I’ll need to go eventually,” Tess said. “We need water. But you three aren’t going anywhere.”

  “What about the outhouse?” Cedar asked.

  Tess grimaced. “Hold it for now. If it gets too bad, you can pee in a pot.”

  “That’s gross,” Ashley said.

  “I suppose we could go outside in pairs,” Tess said.

  Neither idea sounded good to Tabitha. “What if the bear’s out there waiting for us?”

  “I doubt he’ll stand around waiting for us to come out. He’s got better things to do,” Tess said.