Chapter 7

Chapter seven The rain was pounding down on us. And to make things worse, fog was rolling in, as thick as pea soup with ham. I tried to follow the path of our tent as it rolled down the hill toward the lake. It was hard to see with all the fog and the rain. We were soaking wet, and even our sleeping bags were getting soggy. "I'll go down the hill and get our tent," Mom said. "Everyone stay just where you are." "No!" Emily screamed. "Don't leave me, Mommy." Emily threw her arms around my mom. She held on so tight, she almost put her in a

headlock. That girl could be a wrestler on TV. It was clear my mom wasn't going anywhere without Emily attached to her like a fanny pack. "I'll go after the tent," I said. I couldn't believe that those words had come out of my mouth. But there they were. "Frankie!" I yelled over the wind. "You stay here and stand guard. Cheerio, you come with me." Cheerio yipped and looked at me as if to say, "You've got to be kidding. Do I look like I'm wearing a raincoat?" He dived into my sleeping bag, and all I could see was the shape of a long body burrowing into the deep end of my bag.

"Okay, I guess it's just me," I said. "Here, take the flashlight," my mom said, rummaging around in her duffel bag to find it. "And come right back with the tent." "Don't worry," I said in the most confident voice I could come up with. "I'll handle this." I turned on the flashlight and jumped off the wooden platform. What had been solid ground in the afternoon was now a sea of slippery mud. I'd like to say I landed on my feet, but I didn't. I'd like to say I landed on my knees, but I didn't. That leaves only one possibility, and you guessed it. I landed smack on my backside.

"You okay, Zip?" I heard Frankie call out. "No problem," I hollered back. "I meant to do that." Since I was already on the ground, I thought I'd just stay there and crawl the rest of the way. I waded through the mud on my hands and knees. Every few feet, I'd stop and shine the flashlight ahead of me, looking in the distance for our tent. The flashlight didn't help much, because all it did was light up the fog. Just keep going forward, I said to myself. You can't be scared now. Everyone is counting

on you. It's too bad that I was too nervous to answer myself. I continued crawling down the muddy hill, trying to listen for the sound of a flapping tent. I was so busy listening that I crawled right into a big puddle of muddy water. I lost my balance and dropped the flashlight. I reached out to search for it, digging my hands into the mud in front of me. I grabbed on to something that I hoped was the flashlight, but it wasn't! It was long and thin and slimy. "Yikes! A snake!" I yelled as I pulled it out of the ground.

It took me a few seconds to realize the snake wasn't moving. That's because it wasn't a snake at all. But it was a snake-shaped old tree root, so you can't blame me for being a little scared. I decided to leave the flashlight behind. Through the howling wind, I thought I heard the tent flapping in the distance. I had to get to it. Just the thought of my mom and Emily and Frankie sitting out in the open was enough to push me forward. I crawled past swaying trees and empty campsites. Up ahead, I saw the shadowy outline of something wide and dark. Because of the thick fog, I couldn't make out what it was. It could have been our tent. Or it could have been a bear. I stopped moving and held my breath, waiting for it to roar. It flapped instead. Phew! It was our tent! I crawled toward it at top speed. I don't think I've ever crawled so fast in my life, not even when I was a baby. Just before I reached