Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire

by John August

  Arlo’s dad asked to meet his friends, so he panned the camera over to Indra, who was sitting with the two Drs. Srinivasaraghavan-Jones. (Indra’s mother was a psychologist.) Indra asked Arlo’s dad about a moth that the Field Book said could only be found in Asia. “The moth is less interesting than the cocoon,” she said. “You can make a tea out of it that repels scorpions.”

  “Why would scorpions drink tea anyway?” asked Wu.

  Wu’s father took the phone and began speaking Chinese with Arlo’s dad. Arlo had no idea what they were saying, but there was a lot of nodding and laughing.

  Meanwhile, Wu’s grandfather sat sullenly at the end of the table, picking at a piece of key lime pie. Arlo asked Wu if something was wrong.

  “He thought we were going to take him for a ride in the sled again. It’s the only reason he came. He doesn’t like big groups.”

  Arlo could understand. A few days earlier, he had invited Uncle Wade. Sort of. “We have the Court of Honor on Sunday night if you want to come.” Wade pulled a soda from the fridge and shook his head. “That’s not really my speed.” Then he walked out.

  Wade was spending nearly all his time in the workshop. Arlo hadn’t been inside it since the Night Mare incident. He was curious to see what his uncle was building, but didn’t want to risk their tenuous friendship by pushing too hard.

  Was friendship even the right word? Arlo had no other uncles, so he wasn’t sure what was normal. But Wade felt less like a parent and more like a giant, surly kid. Arlo was convinced Wade had secrets that went beyond the contents of his workshop, but didn’t know how or if he would ever uncover them.

  Wu’s parents handed the phone back to Jaycee. When asked about Benjy, she sighed. Arlo knew they had been fighting, but he didn’t understand what had actually happened. Eavesdropping on Jaycee’s side of their kitchen-phone conversations, all Arlo heard was “You’re not listening to me,” and “It’s not what you said, it’s what I heard,” and “Why would you think I meant that?”

  Arlo felt tremendous sympathy for Benjy.

  On the other side of the table, Arlo’s mom was talking with Indra’s parents about boring stuff like potholes and college tuition. But then Indra’s dad asked, “So, Celeste, why did you decide to move back to Pine Mountain?”

  Arlo snapped to attention. He pretended to still be eating, but every brain cell was dedicated to eavesdropping on his mother’s answer, filtering all other chatter.

  “So, you know the situation with Clark”—Clark was Arlo’s dad—“and the government, right? I assume it’s town gossip.” Indra’s parents nodded. “It’s been a crazy couple of years. After Clark went to China, we moved around a lot, because it turns out places don’t want to hire an accountant who is married to an FBI fugitive. Or rent you an apartment. Teachers tell your daughter that her father is a traitor in front of the whole class.”

  “I’m so sorry,” said Indra’s mom, touching her arm.

  Arlo glanced over at Jaycee, who was happily video-chatting with their dad.

  “Don’t get me wrong; I’m proud of Clark,” his mom continued. “He stood up for what was right. And eventually, everyone’s going to see that. But it hasn’t been easy.” She took a sip from her paper cup of orange punch. “But you asked how we ended up in Pine Mountain. Basically, I sort of lost it one day.”

  Arlo tensed up with anticipation. His mom was about to answer the question he had assumed was unanswerable: What had actually happened?

  “I was working a temp accounting job in Chicago,” she said. “They had me in this back office with a window that looked over the parking lot. So one night, it was a Tuesday, a little after six, and the lights suddenly go out. That’s odd, I think. I go up front and I realize that everyone’s left. They’ve locked the door and set the alarm. They had forgotten I was in the back. I don’t have a key. I don’t have the alarm codes. I’m just a temp. I don’t know who to call. Do you call the police? It’s not an emergency, but it sort of is. I’m supposed to be picking up Jaycee from practice, and Arlo from after-school, and I need to make dinner, and here I am trapped in this terrible office with no way out.”

  “What did you do?” asked Indra’s father. Arlo leaned in to listen.

  “I threw a chair through the window. I climbed out, got in the car and picked up my kids. A few days later, we moved here.”

  Indra’s mother smiled and took her hand. “Why didn’t you come sooner?”

  Arlo watched his mom’s reaction. She seemed to be struggling to remember something, like a word on the tip of her tongue. But it never arrived. “I don’t know. Pine Mountain was the last place I thought I’d end up. I can’t explain why, but I had this fear of it. Like there was something buried here. But honestly, it’s been amazing. I’m happier than I’ve been in a really long time.”

  Arlo wanted to lean across the table and hug his mother, but that would mean admitting he was eavesdropping. So instead he just watched as Indra’s mom squeezed her hand. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He was pretty sure Wu spotted it.

  Standing up on a chair, Christian announced it was time to start the ceremony. Everyone began clearing the tables so the patrols could put them back on the wheeled racks. Jaycee passed the phone to Arlo. “Dad wants to talk to you.”

  Arlo stepped over to a quiet corner. His dad moved the camera a little closer. “Hey, so. In case we cut out, I just want you to know how proud I am of you. It’s great what you’ve been able to do there.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I promise I’m going to find a way to see you and your sister again.”

  “And Mom.”

  “And your mother. I know these last few years have been tough. But we Finches are strong. We’ll get through this.” Arlo nodded. “Never give up, okay? The only way you lose is when you stop trying.”

  * * *

  After the Ranger’s Vow, Arlo sat with his patrol. It was strange to be sitting down for a meeting. Usually they didn’t have chairs. “It’s mostly for the parents,” explained Wu. “Adults just can’t stand that long. They have weak bones.”

  Christian stepped up on the tiny stage.

  “Before we get started tonight, I have an announcement. As some of you know, and many of you probably suspected, I’ve started working on my Bear.” Indra made told you glances at Arlo and Wu. “I’ve done everything I can in Pine Mountain, so when school is out, I’ll be heading off to complete my training. I want to thank all of you for letting me serve as marshal of Pine Mountain Company. It’s been an honor.”

  Amid the murmurs, Russell Stokes shouted what everyone was thinking: “Who’s taking over?”

  “That’s up to the council of patrol leaders.” A new round of whispered conversations erupted. Everyone had an opinion.

  Diana Velasquez, the Green Patrol leader, stood up and saluted. “To Christian! May his path be safe.”

  The Rangers responded in unison: “May his aim be true.” The other Greens joined Diana in salute. Indra was the next to stand. Connor joined her, a little embarrassed. Arlo, Wu and the twins stood as well.

  Senior Patrol followed shortly thereafter. Only Red Patrol stayed in their seats. Arlo could see some of them rolling their eyes. Russell pretended to throw up.

  The adults and other guests started applauding, uncertain of the protocol.

  Indra leaned over to whisper to Arlo and Wu. “Diana is totally going for marshal. So obvious.”

  “What about Tyler in Red Patrol? I know he wants it,” said Wu. “Or one of the seniors?”

  Indra agreed with Wu’s picks. “It’s going to get messy.”

  Arlo couldn’t even conceive of the company without Christian in charge. Even though it had only been a few months, Arlo was confident no one could do the job as well. He didn’t want anything to change: not here, not at home, not at school. He felt like he had just figured out how everything worked, and now the rules were being rewritten.

  It was time to award badges and ranks. Each patrol went in turn
, standing on the stage while the patrol leader handed out patches.

  Senior Patrol went first. Two boys had earned their Trailcraeft badges, while a girl with thick glasses collected her Serpentry and Barklore. But she didn’t look at all happy to receive them. “She failed her Ram trial,” whispered Indra. “She’ll have to try again.”

  Arlo was suddenly panicked, the same dread he felt when a teacher announced a surprise quiz. His own Trial of Rank had gone well, or so he thought. He had completed his Dark Walk on his first attempt, even though he’d drawn the most difficult figure (the star). He had recited the Ranger’s Vow and explained what it meant. He had saluted properly and tied all the knots. He couldn’t think of anything he had done wrong, and yet they’d never actually said he had passed.

  Next up was Red Patrol. They mumbled and rushed through the presentation as if too cool to care. Russell Stokes collected his Wards and Arrowing badges. Kwame Wilson earned his Wolf. His mother stood up behind Arlo, taking lots of photos with her phone.

  Kwame had been one of the five Rangers on Arlo’s trial, but asked him no questions. Maybe because he already knew he was voting no. Arlo looked at Connor, three seats away. He was holding all of the patrol’s new patches in his hand. Was one of them Arlo’s Squirrel? He was certain Connor would have told him if he’d failed. That is, if he was even allowed to.

  Green Patrol went next. Instead of simply reading the names and badges, Diana Velasquez had incorporated them into a rhyming poem. It was clever in places (“Watch Hope graft her Ropecraeft with Forestry for dope rafts”), but ultimately exhausting. The adults applauded much louder than the other Rangers.

  Blue Patrol was last. Connor didn’t attempt anything fancy as he announced Wu’s badges for Watching and Pathing, and the twins’ badges for Signaling and Tracking. Indra had earned all four of those as well, along with her Owl rank. As Connor handed her the patch, Arlo could see the next one in his hand: Squirrel. “Congratulations,” said Connor, shaking his hand.

  The Squirrel patch was brand-new and stiff. Arlo ran his thumb over the threads that formed the squirrel and its acorn, thinking back to Uncle Wade’s old patches he had taken off the shirt that first night. He looked out to the audience, where he saw his mom applauding. His sister was holding up the phone so his dad could watch.

  All of the patches had been handed out, but Connor wasn’t finished. “We have some special awards as well.” From his cargo pockets, he pulled several stones. Arlo recognized them as the red stones Connor had used to build the wards in the Valley of Fire.

  “First up, we have the award for Most Indefatigable, which is a vocab word that means ‘unstoppable.’ The winner is Indra Srinivasaraghavan-Jones.” He handed her the rock. She smiled. They both saluted.

  “Next up is Most Optimistic. This can only go to Henry Wu.” The rest of the patrol cheered as Wu accepted his rock.

  “For the Most In Sync Award—wow, we actually have a tie. Jonas and Julie Delgado.” The twins took their stones at the same time. Then, without a word, exchanged them. Some of the parents laughed.

  Connor held the final stone. “Last, we have the Special Prize for Heroism and General Bravery. No question, the award goes to Arlo Finch.” Arlo accepted the rock and saluted with it in his hand. Connor saluted back.

  “Patrol dismissed.”

  33

  A VISITOR

  “IT’S CUTE. I LIKE THE TAIL.” Jaycee handed Arlo his Squirrel patch back. “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks.” They were standing in front of the church, waiting for their mom, who had gone back in to retrieve the casserole dish she’d forgotten. Most of the cars had already left the parking lot.

  Jaycee’s phone buzzed. She checked the message. A glance to Arlo—

  “It’s fine,” he said. “You can call Benjy.”

  Jaycee untangled her headphones and wandered off.

  The moon was a sliver, a fingernail clipping in a sea of stars. Arlo stared at it, keenly aware of the fullness of the sphere. The shadowed section of the moon was always there, even if the light didn’t fully expose it. He imagined himself standing on it, looking back at the Earth. Would he recognize the country beneath him? Or was “beneath” even the right way to think about it?

  The moon was the moon. The Earth was the Earth. They were bound together, but there was no clear “above” or “below.” They were simply sideways to each other, forever spinning through the darkness.

  “Quite a moon tonight.” A man was standing beside him. Arlo hadn’t heard him approach. He was small for a grownup, with a mustache that twisted up into points. He was wearing a wool jacket, leather boots and a fur hat. “That’s a hunter’s moon if I ever saw one.”

  Arlo didn’t recognize him, but he didn’t know most of the Rangers’ parents. “Actually, a hunter’s moon is full.” Every Ranger knew that. It was in the Field Book.

  “Try hunting during a full moon and you’ll go hungry. Your dinner will see you coming.” He had a trace of an accent. Arlo couldn’t place it, but it sounded old-timey. “Congratulations, incidentally. Quite a thing you did.”

  Arlo had forgotten he was holding the patch. “Almost everyone gets Squirrel.”

  “Not that. The bit in the Woods. That was unique.” The man looked over. His eyes were pale, almost silver. It wasn’t just the moonlight.

  “You’re one of them, aren’t you?” asked Arlo. The man smiled. His teeth were perfectly white. And sharp. “You’re one of the people beyond the Woods.”

  The man shook his head. “I’m not people. I just dress up sometimes.”

  “What are you?”

  “You can call me Fox.” There was no “mister” in front of his name—if it even was a name. Arlo suspected it might be his true form.

  “What do you want?”

  “To meet the hero! Quite a thing, defeating a hag. That very one nearly took my tail when I was a pup.”

  Arlo turned to face him directly. “Why was she trying to kill me?”

  “For the bounty.” He rubbed his fingers together. “There’s a price on your head, Arlo Finch. At least there was. Now some are thinking you may be worth more alive than dead.”

  “Why? What do they want?”

  “Something hidden. Something you may be able to find. But that’s for another season. I’ll come back when it’s warmer.” He adjusted the collar of his coat, preparing to leave.

  Arlo grabbed the man’s arm. “Am I still in danger?”

  Fox laughed. “A squirrel is always in danger.” He lifted Arlo’s hand off his sleeve. “But keep your spirits up, Mr. Finch. This is where it gets most exciting.”

  The man took a step forward, pushing past him. With a gust of wind, he was gone. Arlo turned to see his mother approaching. She was carrying the casserole dish.

  “You ready?” she asked.

  Arlo nodded. He was.

  This book is dedicated to scouts and explorers—both the ones I grew up with and the ones who inspire me every day.

  —J.A.

  DON’T MISS

  COMING SPRING 2019

  THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES …

  SCHOOL’S OUT, AND SUMMER HAS BEGUN. Arlo and the Rangers of Pine Mountain Company are headed to Camp Redfeather for two weeks of archery, canoeing and investigating the ancient monster who lurks in the lake’s icy waters.

  But before they’ve even gotten on the bus, a major discovery puts Arlo, Indra and Wu in new jeopardy. Forces from beyond the Long Woods are after a mysterious item that only Arlo can recover. Meanwhile, the normally gentle forest spirits seem aligned against him.

  New faces and sudden departures change the dynamics of the Blue Patrol. But it’s the mystery of the long-lost Yellow Patrol that sends Arlo across the Lake of the Moon and into a thrilling new adventure. Once he uncovers the secret history Uncle Wade has been protecting, nothing will ever be the same.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  The Ranger’s Vow begins with the words “Loyal, brave, kind and true.�
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    1.  What does it mean to be loyal? Arlo describes loyalty as “a promise you never needed to make.” Is Arlo always loyal to his friends and family?

    2.  In what ways is Arlo brave? Does brave mean the same thing as unafraid? What does Arlo’s mom teach him about bravery?

    3.  Is being kind the same as not being cruel? What are examples of kindness in Valley of Fire? What examples can you think of from your own life?

    4.  What second meaning of true does Arlo learn from Christian? Are loyalty and truth related?

    5.  If you were writing the Ranger’s Vow, what other qualities would you add to this list?

  In Valley of Fire, Arlo learns about the Wonder, the mysterious force that helps keep the magic of the Long Woods a secret.

    6.  What have you encountered in your life that you couldn’t capture in a photograph?

    7.  The adults in Pine Mountain seem to be unaware of the magic in their own backyards. In what ways do you think kids and grown-ups see things differently?

    8.  If you could learn one of the skills demonstrated in Valley of Fire—such as snaplights, thunderclaps or slipknaughts—which would you choose, and why?

  Like many books, Valley of Fire is told from a third-person limited perspective. This means that as readers, we know only what Arlo knows, and can “look inside” only his mind.

    9.  How would the story be different if it were told from the point of view of Indra, or Wu? What would it be like from Jaycee’s perspective?

    10.  Uncle Wade seems to know more than he’s telling, particularly about the Yellow Patrol. What do you think the secret might be?