Alexis and the Lake Tahoe Tumult

by Erica Rodgers

  © 2011 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

  Edited by Jeanette Littleton.

  Print ISBN 978-1-60260-406-3

  eBook Editions:

  Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-60742-415-4

  Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-60742-417-8

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.

  Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

  Cover design: Thinkpen Design

  Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683, www.barbourbooks.com

  Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  Dickinson Press Inc., Grand Rapids, MI 49512; April 2011; D10002783

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Cat’s Out of the Bag

  “Only about twenty more minutes to the hotel!” said Mr. Howell. Alexis’s dad hummed as he guided their rented car up the winding road that would take them to Lake Tahoe.

  The flat, icy landscape scattered with sagebrush had turned into snowy peaks. As Alexis gazed at them, her imagination started to go wild. She decided the snowy peaks reached into the bright blue sky like the jagged teeth of a crocodile—like the crocodiles she’d seen in a documentary on the Discovery Channel earlier in the month.

  And of course her thoughts of documentaries and the Discovery Channel made her think of the real purpose she and her friend Bailey, a fellow Camp Club Girl, had for going to Lake Tahoe with Alexis’s mom and dad and twin brothers.

  “Hey, Dad?” Alexis called. “Can we go straight to the animal reserve?”

  “I don’t see why not,” Mr. Howell said. “It’s too late to ski today, anyway. I’ll drop your mom and brothers off at the hotel. They can check in and hang out while I drive you out there. We’ll be back by dinner.”

  Alexis yawned and closed her eyes. She thought again about those big teeth on the crocodiles.

  Suddenly the car began to swerve and shake as if those crocodile teeth had gotten hold of the Howells’ car.

  “What’s going on?” asked Mrs. Howell.

  “Not sure!” said Mr. Howell. He was struggling to keep his hands on the steering wheel. Alexis looked out the window and realized that the car wasn’t all that was shaking.

  “Dad, is this an earthquake?” she asked.

  Mr. Howell didn’t answer. He was focused on dodging the rocks that had begun rolling down the hill above them.

  But almost as suddenly as the bouncing of the earth had begun, it stopped. Within a matter of minutes, the car was driving smoothly again.

  “What a way to start a vacation, huh?” Mr. Howell laughed nervously. “I think that was a small earthquake.”

  Alexis turned to Bailey, but her fellow Camp Club Girl was fast asleep, face pressed against the window. The breath from her gaping mouth was fogging the glass. Alexis peeked into the back of the van where her little brothers were also sleeping.

  There was no way Alexis could have slept, even before the earthquake. She was too excited about her documentary.

  The owners at the Tahoe Animal Reserve and Rescue at Lake Tahoe had agreed to let her tour and film their facilities. Her video would be about remembering nature in the middle of our world full of cement and SUVs.

  She was planning to enter the video in a contest for young amateur filmmakers. The winner of the contest would not only see the film shown on the Discovery Channel but would also receive scholarship money. And knowing how much her mother’s youngest sister was still paying on loans she’d taken out for college, Alexis knew it was never too early to start saving money for college!

  So even though she was only twelve, Alex, as most of her friends called her, was going to get started. She loved movies. She knew when she grew up, she wanted to work with films in some way, perhaps as a director. She’d lived in Sacramento all her life and knew of several good colleges that offered classes to prepare students for the film industry.

  Since she loved to operate a camera, Alexis was very excited to enter the contest.

  And what better place to record nature than in Lake Tahoe? From the time pioneers had discovered the lake in 1844, it had been a tourist attraction. People from all around the world visited the area to enjoy its beauty.

  The lake sat in a bowl of earth surrounded by mountains and pine trees on every side. Tahoe was the world’s third clearest lake. Alexis had been waterskiing here before, and she remembered how she could see the bottom in places that were over one hundred feet deep. The lake was on the border of Nevada and California, with half of the lake in each state and the border running from north to south.

  No matter which side of the lake you were on—the California side or the Nevada side—the lake was lined with plenty of resorts, vacation homes, and convention centers. In the winter, the area was also a popular place to ski and snowboard. Olympic medal winners had even been known to practice there.

  Alexis had even seen these award winners practicing the last time she’d been at Lake Tahoe. Her dad attended conventions once or twice a year at the lake. And whenever they could, the whole Howell family accompanied him. They enjoyed the activities while Mr. Howell went to his business meetings.

  Alexis recognized the landscape and held her breath for her favorite part of the drive. One last corner, and there it was. The view before them was a wonderful panorama. The brilliant lake shone in the sunlight like a perfectly smooth sapphire. The sight made Alexis gasp, even though she’d expected it. Suddenly the view was gone, replaced by walls and darkness.

  Beep! Beep! Beep-Beep! Alexis’s dad honked the horn.

  “What’s wrong?” Bailey jerked out of her slumber. “Are we falling off the cliff, Lexi?”

  “Lexi? I’m Lexi now?” Alex asked with a smile. Bailey was well known for the nicknames she gave others.

  Bailey didn’t answer. She just grabbed Alexis’s coat in fear. She frantically looked around. “It’s dark!”

  “No, Bailey! We’re not falling off the cliff. We’re passing through Cave Rock. It’s a tunnel that has been around forever.”

  “Well, why was your dad honking the car horn?” asked Bailey, still a little dazed. “Scared me to death!”

  “Sorry about that,” said Alexis. “My dad honks every time we go through a tunnel. This wasn’t bad because the tunnel was short. You should have seen this one time! We were on the East Coast, and we went through this tunnel that was about a mile long. Dad honked all the way through! Doesn’t your dad honk the car horn when you go through tunnels?”

  “You really need to come to the center of the nation,” Bailey answered. “Where I live, we’re in the middle of the United States. The land is pretty flat there.”

  “Flat? You mean like the desert?”

  “Well, we have hills and stuff. But we don’t have mount
ains—especially not with tunnels,” Bailey explained. “You have to go up to Wisconsin to see the bigger hills and huge rocks. They might have tunnels up there. I don’t know.”

  Bailey lived near the middle of the state of Illinois, outside a city named Peoria. She was also still a preteen and the youngest of the group who called themselves the Camp Club Girls. The girls had all met when they shared a cabin at Lake Discovery Camp. They had become the best of friends as they solved a mystery together. And since then, the Camp Club Girls had continued to solve mysteries—mysteries that had baffled many adults!

  As they drove into the resort area of Lake Tahoe, Alexis pointed out the hotel and convention center where they’d be staying. “It’s called a hotel, but it’s really a resort,” she said.

  “What’s the difference?” Bailey asked.

  “I’m not sure,” said Alex. “I think resorts have more activities going on, and this place has a ski run and all sorts of fun stuff.

  “And we can also enjoy any of the activities in town. They have a great transportation system—it’s a cute little shuttle bus that has places to get on and off it. So we can explore the whole city if we want,” Alex explained.

  In no time they had dropped off Mrs. Howell and the twins at the hotel. The girls waited in the car while Alexis’s dad checked in Mrs. Howell and the boys and helped them get their luggage to the room. Then he returned to the van.

  “Chauffeur’s back,” Mr. Howell announced cheerfully as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Next stop: Tahoe Animal Reserve.”

  Bailey and Alexis had their eyes wide open, trying to take in all the sights as Mr. Howell drove through town and out into land that was still on the brim of the lake, but not as filled with resorts.

  In only moments they were pulling up a long, snowy driveway to the animal reserve. A large wooden sign topped with snow read TAHOE ANIMAL RESERVE AND RESCUE. Mr. Howell parked in front of a small cabin that was painted a light shade of moss green. There was more than a foot of snow piled on the roof.

  “I guess this is it!” said Mr. Howell. He got out of the car and immediately slid, nearly falling to the ground.

  “Ouch!” he called. “Watch out for the ice!”

  Just then the front door to the cabin opened, and a lady in a parka came running out.

  “I’m so sorry!” she said. “I must have forgotten to put the salt out this morning!”

  “Salt?” Bailey asked Alexis. She shut her door gently, trying to keep her footing. “Did I miss something?”

  “Salt melts ice,” said Alexis. “Something to do with lowering the freezing point of water.”

  “Very good!” said the woman. She reached down to help Alexis and Bailey up the steps. “You’re a smart one! You must be the documentary girls.”

  “That’s us!” said Bailey. “Are you ready to be famous? If we win, our video will be on the Discovery Channel!”

  “That would be fabulous! I’m Karen Ingles. My husband and I own the reserve.” Karen Ingles reached out to shake Mr. Howell’s hand and then the girls’ hands. “Come on in, you three! I’ll show you around, and you can tell me more about your video.”

  The inside of the cabin was very cozy. Alexis noticed that it looked to be half house and half office. A roaring fire filled a beautiful stone fireplace. A few old couches were near the fire, and Alexis felt it would not just be a comfortable place to sit but would be a great location to film an interview or two. Looking toward the side of the cabin, Alexis could see a small kitchen and a large desk with papers strewed all over it. A door behind the desk led deeper into the cabin. Karen hung her parka on a coatrack and told the rest of them to do the same.

  “Thank you so much for allowing us to do this, Mrs. Ingles,” said Alexis.

  “Please, Karen is fine. And don’t mention it. We don’t usually give tours, let alone allow people to film our animals, but your e-mail was so wonderful that I couldn’t refuse. I could tell you two girls really cared about the animals, and it’s a chance for college scholarships, too! Besides, you made me laugh.”

  Alexis smiled and was about to say something when her father yelped.

  The girls spun around to see Mr. Howell jump up on the couch. He was shaking and pointing to something on the floor.

  There, curled up on a rug in front of the fire, was a full-grown bobcat!

  “Don’t worry, sir,” said Karen. “That’s only Bubbles. He’s kind of a pet.”

  Bubbles opened his eyes and lifted his nose in the air, sniffing.

  “Dad, get off the couch!” said Alexis, embarrassed. “I don’t think he’s going to hurt you. Besides, you do know that bobcats can jump, right? The couch won’t do you much good.”

  Everyone laughed. Mr. Howell even chuckled nervously as he stepped down off the striped cushion.

  “Why do Bubbles’s eyes look strange?” asked Bailey. She had crept closer and was sitting on the stone of the fireplace, only feet from the large cat.

  “He’s blind,” said Karen. “That’s the only reason he’s kept as a pet. The vet couldn’t fix his sight, so he’ll never be released into the wild again. He’d die out there, so we let him stay here.”

  “That’s so cool!” said Bailey. “I want a bobcat!”

  “Well, some people do keep them as pets, but it’s dangerous. They are wild, no matter how sweet and fluffy they look. See Bubbles’s poufy paws? The claws in them are three inches long and could cut your throat in seconds.”

  Bailey backed slowly away and coughed.

  “Oh, don’t worry,” said Karen. “He won’t hurt you. We’ve had him for years. But that is something you need to remember while you’re around the other animals in our sanctuary. No matter how cute they are, they’re wild. They will react according to their instincts, no matter what your intentions are. Things like bats and raccoons can give you rabies, not to mention nasty scars. The owls’ talons aren’t very friendly either. If you’re going to do this documentary, you have to remember to follow our rules, and never—never—approach any animal without us. Got it?”

  “Yes, ma’am!” said Alexis. Bailey nodded her head so fast Alexis thought it might pop off. Alexis dug her little pink notebook out of her backpack. She wanted to write down the rules Karen gave her, as well as any information that might be great for the documentary.

  Bang! Suddenly the door behind the desk burst open. A tall man in a flannel shirt stumbled into the room, his eyes bulging.

  “Karen! The deal’s off! Call those kids, and tell them that they can’t film here! The mountain lions are out of their cages!”

  Mischief and Mystery

  It was obvious from the look on the man’s face that he hadn’t known the girls were there. He glanced around frantically.

  “It’s okay, Jake,” said Karen. “Let’s go get those cats back in their cages!” The two owners turned and ran out a back door.

  “Wait!” said Alexis. “We can help!”

  “What?” shouted Bailey, glancing at Bubbles nervously. “Didn’t you hear? They said mountain lions!”

  “I know! Come on!”

  Before her father could stop her, Alexis followed Karen and Jake out the back door. Bailey was just behind. They followed a trail in the snow to a small barn structure not far away. Alexis reached out to open the door, but her father’s large hand pushed it shut again.

  “Dad!”

  “Listen first, then open,” said Mr. Howell. “The last thing we want to do is let a sick mountain lion out of this barn.”

  Alexis was shocked. She thought for sure he was going to keep her from going in.

  She and Bailey crept closer and put their ears against a small crack in the wood. They only heard the tramping of heavy boots and Jake’s and Karen’s panicked voices.

  “Get that one! He’s by your elbow!”

  “No! Ow! The other one! She’s too high up. You’re going to have to get the ladder!”

  But Alexis couldn’t figure something out. She couldn’t hear the mount
ain lions at all. Bailey seemed to be thinking the same thing.

  “What? No ripping of claws? No earth-shattering roars?” she asked. Alexis shrugged and pushed the door open enough for the three of them to slide through. Just as she entered, something landed on her head and leaped ten feet to the top of one of the cages. It looked like a ball of fur with a tail.

  There were six of them, and they were everywhere.

  “They’re kittens!” cried Bailey. “How cute! Come here, kitty, kitty. Come here.”

  Another ball of fluff tore by them, snagging Bailey’s shoelace with a tiny, sharp claw.

  “Oops. I forgot they had those things,” said Bailey.

  Alexis watched as Karen and Jake chased the litter of mountain lion cubs around and around the barn. They managed to get one back in the cage, but when they opened it again to put in another one, the first one escaped.

  “It’s useless!” cried Karen. “We’ll be doing this all day!”

  Another cub leaped from a rafter onto Alexis’s head. This time it tried to stay put, but it was too heavy and slid to the floor instead.

  “Ouch!” Alexis cried. “What’s the deal?”

  Bailey, who was reaching behind a barrel for one of the cubs, looked around.

  “Lexi!” she cried. “It’s your hat! The kittens like your hat!”

  She was right! Alexis had forgotten about her hat. She had picked it out especially for this trip. It was a cozy striped winter hat with a huge fluff-ball pom-pom attached to a string at the top. Of course the lions would like it! The way the pom-pom bobbed, it looked like a huge cat toy!

  Alexis studied the cage. She thought she could get the kittens in with her big pom-pom hat. If she walked in the cage, they would probably bound after her to get the fuzzy cap. But she couldn’t figure out how she’d get out again without releasing them.

  The cages in this barn were for larger animals. They were made of simple chain-link fencing—something Alexis could easily reach her arm through. Before anyone noticed, Alexis was climbing up the side of the mountain lion cage.

  “What are you doing, Alexis?” asked her dad. He was following Jake around the barn trying to help. Instead, he ran into Jake every time he stopped, causing him to miss a kitten more than once.