Madison’s chin sank even lower now. She was staring at her feet.
Pastor Bo asked us to look up Romans 3:23 in our Bibles and asked someone to read it out loud.
Parker offered.
“For everyone has sinned. We all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
Madison glanced up for a moment to look at Parker, and I watched as their eyes met.
“So, who does it say sins?” Bo asked.
“Everyone,” Parker repeated.
Madison straightened back up and I watched as she scanned the crowd.
What’s going on in her head, God? But more importantly, what’s going on in her heart?
My heart was pounding at that moment, remembering the time a few years ago at camp when I felt God telling me that I needed to deal with my sin. Is this what Madison was feeling right now?
She’s lost, God. Leave the 99 and go get her!
Pastor Bo turned a page in his Bible. “Yes, boys and girls, sin is a terrible thing. And it has a much worse consequence than six weeks of long division.”
Bo then asked for a girl to read Romans 6:23. Ruby offered this time.
“The wages of sin is death . . .”
Bo held out his hand. “Stop there. Death! Let’s think about that. How many of you want to die?”
No one raised their hands. And the whole camp was quiet.
“You mean there isn’t a person here who wants to pay the consequence for their sin?”
“I’d rather do math,” a boy said.
Pastor Bo smiled. “I agree. I don’t want to die either. But I know someone who did want to die. For me, for you, for everyone who ever lived in the past, and for everyone who will ever live in the future. And that’s God’s son, Jesus. He willingly paid the penalty for our sin so we could have a chance to live forever as God’s children.”
Still dead silent.
Pastor Bo pointed to Ruby. “Okay, my friend, you may read the whole verse now.”
Ruby cleared her throat and read loudly and proudly.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
“Whew, that’s a relief,” another boy said.
“Yes, it is.” Bo smiled. “For those of us who ask for forgiveness and choose to receive that gift, we are forgiven. When God looks at our hearts, he no longer sees the sin. He just sees Jesus. And in case you were wondering, after Jesus died, he didn’t stay dead. He rose from the grave three days later—proving that he has power over everything—sin, death, sickness, sadness, hopelessness, fear, and every bad thing that happens in this broken world that we now call home.”
Madison was scribbling again on her notepad. When she noticed me looking over her shoulder, she held it up so I could see the big word she wrote:
DIVORCE.
I nodded.
“He promises to make all things new.” Pastor Bo just sat there, looking out at the crowd.
Maestro began strumming on his guitar and Bo told us that he was going to talk more about the “new” part tomorrow night. Then he prayed and he challenged us to go back to our cabins and talk about how we had personally been affected by sin in our world, and if we were brave, to talk about the sin in our own lives that separates us from God.
He asked us to leave quietly, and to not talk with anyone until we returned to our cabins.
While we were walking away from the amphitheater, Bliss pulled me aside.
“I’m going to go talk to Blaze for a minute. When you get back to the cabin, tell the girls that I just want them to lay on their beds and write down their thoughts about all they heard tonight. No talking. When I get back, we’ll pray.”
I nodded. “Got it.”
And that’s what we did. Everyone snuggled into their sleeping bags. You could hear the scribbling.
And from Madison’s bunk, I heard a little sniffling too—and lots of writing and page turning. I kept sneaking a look up there. She must have filled up ten pages in her journal.
CHAPTER 18
Operation Dinger
It was 11:55 p.m., and I was scared out of my wits.
And I had a little dilemma.
Which headlamp should I take with me?
I wanted to take Nathan’s—the brown one. But if he saw me with it, would he ask for it back? I wasn’t ready to give it up.
I brought both.
“Are we ready, girls?” Bliss—who had her face covered with camo paint, and her hair all tucked in a dark green beanie—gathered our whole cabin of girls together in a huddle. She squirted our hands with sanitizer.
“This little operation could get me eaten by the Allibeaver at the end of the week so I want you to know, just in case this is my last week on earth, that I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls to be in my cabin. And I hope to see y’all in heaven.”
We all giggled just a bit. And then we put our hands out for a quiet cheer.
“Princesses in camo, on three,” Bliss whispered.
We pumped our stacked hands three times, up and down.
“Princesses in camo!” we gave our most enthusiastic whisper-yell.
Then Ruby, Madison, Bliss, and I exited our sparkly pink princess cabin, and entered the dark, shadowy, swampy night, tiptoeing our way to pick up Lola and Kendall at the girls’ lodge.
Two bushes moved as we approached the lodge and it made me jump about a mile.
“Gotcha!” Kendall said. “How do you like our camo?”
Kendall and Lola giggled and I shushed them.
“If you keep that up we’ll get caught and Bliss will be Allibeaver dessert.”
Lola snapped a picture and the flash from her camera blinded me.
“This is not starting off well,” I said.
“Madison, you look tough!” Kendall reached over and punched a camo-clad and painted up Madison in the arm.
She smiled. “Thanks. I’m ready for action.”
“Good,” Bliss said. “You’re all here. Let’s go meet the boys. NO more talking from here on out. Remember—Johan sleeps outside in a hammock.”
Oh, yeah. The old hammock trick. Luckily it was near the entrance to the boys’ village.
At exactly 12:05, we approached the bell. But no boys were in sight.
We stood there for another five minutes—with no lights and in the pitch black, no-moon night.
I reached out to get Bliss’s attention. “Should we just do it ourselves?”
Bliss flicked her flashlight up toward the inside of the bell.
“No, we need everyone to lift Ruby up there.”
A shiver went up my neck and tingled my head. We waited five more minutes.
And then, with absolutely no warning, Nathan Fremont was standing right next to me.
“Hi, Allie. Sorry we’re late,” he whispered.
I almost screamed. In fact, I opened my mouth to scream, but Hunter put his gloved hand over my mouth just in time.
“We had to crawl past Johan—one by one,” Blaze said. “That guy moves a lot in that hammock. But these guys made less noise than a lizard.”
Bliss sighed. “Okay, let’s move it. Do we have the note and the tape?”
Kendall held up a paper. Hunter produced the tape.
“I’ll take those,” Ruby said, and she strapped a headlamp on to her head.
“Boys,” Blaze whispered. “We’ve got the bottom.”
Blaze, Parker, Nathan, and Hunter dropped to the ground in a crawl position to become the bottom row of our pyramid. Then Kendall, Lola, and Madison hopped up, forming the second level. Bliss—the gymnast—and I—the flyer on my cheer squad—took the third level.
“Okay, I’m climbing up,” Ruby whispered and she began to ascend the human ladder. When she got to the top she stepped on Bliss’s back so she could stand up and reach into the bell.
But she didn’t come right down with the dinger.
“Ruby, what’s going on?” I asked.
She c
rawled back down. “My arms are too short. I need about twelve more inches.”
My cheerleading instinct popped in. “What if Bliss and I stand and clasp hands and you stand on that?”
Ruby shook her head. “I don’t think I have the balance.”
“You can do it, Allie,” Nathan said. “I’ve seen you on the show. You’re a killer gymnast.” Then he gave me a thumbs-up.
And who can say no to that?
So, we formed the pyramid again. Same guys on the bottom, but Ruby changed places with Lola so she could help Bliss lift me up. She’s got strong arms and legs from all her volleyball playing.
I looped the duct tape around my wrist, put the note in my teeth, and pulled out a headlamp from my pocket to strap on my head. It was the brown one.
Oh, well.
I shrugged and began to climb. Lola and Bliss formed the perfect team, lifting me up a little too fast. I almost clanged the bell with my head.
“A little lower,” I said.
I was all-in now. If Johan woke up and found us, he’s probably pick us all off with a paint-ball gun.
Don’t get distracted, Allie. Just get the dinger.
First, I taped the note to the inside of the bell. Then I reached up with my hand, and tried to unhook the dinger. It was in there tight and it took me a minute, since I had to make sure I didn’t hit the side of the bell with it which could send the entire camp running out of their villages for breakfast.
Finally, after a little wiggling and turning, it came loose and Lola and Bliss lowered me down.
“Got it,” I whispered. I flicked off my headlamp and climbed down.
“Okay, let’s go throw it in the pool,” Madison said, while brushing herself off.
And as we took off down the road to the pool house, we heard a voice yell, “I CAN’T SEE YA, BUT I’M GONNA GET YA!”
Johan.
“Scatter!” Blaze said. “Stay with a buddy and get back to the cabins any way you can.”
My pulse raced, and I grabbed the person closest to me. Madison.
She looked over—terror in her eyes.
“Stay with me,” I said. “We’re NOT getting caught.”
Bodies ran in all directions and I headed back toward the girls’ village, but not on the dirt path. I pulled Madison through the woods on the side of the path while ducking and weaving between the pine trees. I heard footsteps, running, echoing through the camp.
We had made it to the entrance of the girls’ village. About a hundred yards from the lodge—where female guests of the camp stay.
“Let’s get over there. Maybe the doors are open.”
We waited until things were quiet and then darted to the lodge, flew up the steps, checked the door.
Locked.
A flashlight beam shone in the distance. Who knew if it was friendly light or enemy light?
I grabbed Madison. “Quick, we’re goin’ under.”
“Under the lodge? I’ll die.”
I pulled her by her clothes down the steps and behind the lodge. Then I got down on all fours and crawled under a corner, feet first, into the space between the lodge floor and the concrete foundation. It was a squeeze but I managed to get all the way in and pull Madison in next to me.
I was glad to have my arms and legs covered by clothes and my hair wrapped up in a beanie. Spiders, you know.
It took a minute or two for us to get settled, laying there on our stomachs, peering out at the darkness. I heard Madison breathing a little hard and was surprised that I—the asthma kid—wasn’t. And it was a good thing because I realized that in all the excitement of getting ready for “Operation Dinger,” I had forgotten to strap on my wrist pack.
“How long do we need to stay here?” Madison whispered.
“Until we’re sure Johan is gone.”
“Can snakes bite through your clothes?”
“Let’s not think about that right now, shall we?”
“Do you still have the dinger?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
We waited. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. I kept hearing noises, which could have been lizards darting around in the leaves, but we couldn’t take that chance so we didn’t move. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, I flicked on my light.
“Madison, I think the coast is clear . . . Madison?”
Her breathing had settled down a while ago. She was asleep!
“Huh?” She yawned. “Where are we? Oh, yeah, the snake den.” She lifted her head a few inches and looked around. “Am I dead?”
I giggled. “Not yet. I think we can go now.”
I flashed my light around again just to make sure. Then I strapped it to my head so I could use my hands to crawl out of our hiding place. As I was strapping it on, Madison grabbed me by the arm.
“Allie! Look!”
My heart started pounding, and I turned my head in the direction Madison was pointing. My light shined on the corner of the concrete where something had been carved into it.
G6.
“This is it,” Madison said. “This is the place where girls’ Cabin Six used to be—before it disappeared, or burned down, or whatever happened to it.”
I flashed my light a little closer. Sure enough, it said G6 and it had a circle drawn around it. Probably carved into the concrete when it was poured, before it dried.
Madison smirked. “I told you I’d find it.”
It took Madison and me another hour to make it back to Cabin Four. First, we had to climb the fence at the pool, and plop that silly dinger in.
“We should get a hundred million points for that,” Madison said. “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “I don’t think I’d try it again, that’s for sure.”
“What time is it?”
I checked my sports watch.
“One-thirty.”
“Do you think we have time to go check under the other cabins to see if they have numbers engraved on the concrete?”
I shrugged. “It’s on the way back. Let’s be quick about it.”
So we climbed back over the fence and crept down the path from the pool. The camp was dead silent now. We passed by the girls’ lodge on our way into the entrance of the village.
Wow, God. Of all the hiding places I could have chosen!
We checked cabins one, two, and three. Sure enough, they all had G1, G2, and G3, carved into the concrete, right on the corner of their foundations. And we also noticed that all the cabins had a matching mark carved on the bottom left corner of the back wall.
“I think that’s enough proof,” I said, and we both ducked into the bathroom to make a pit stop before returning home.
“Oh, thank the Lord!” Bliss was at the sink, washing camo paint off her face. She ran over—with her wet hands—to hug us. “I’ve been searching for you girls everywhere.” She wouldn’t let go. “I didn’t care if Johan found me or if I got thrown into the swamp, I just prayed, Lord, help me find my two little lost sheep.”
Then she pulled away and gave us a once-over. “Are y’all okay?”
“Oh, yes,” Madison said. “We’re better than okay. We just found the foundation of Cabin Six.”
CHAPTER 19
Survivor Day
An airhorn pierced the early morning quiet. That was followed by the voice of Johan on the bullhorn.
“Wake up, campers, and get to the box in fifteen minutes. Oh, yes—it’s SURVIVOR DAY!”
“Oh, Lord, let this be a dream,” Bliss said.
I turned in my sleeping bag, lifted my head, and my dark-blonde tangles covered my eyes.
“Survivor Day? On a Tuesday?”
Johan continued on the bullhorn. “Yes, on a TUESDAY! HAHAHAHAHA . . .”
Next came a thud. Ruby had rolled off her bunk onto the cushy princess rug.
“Owww.”
Good thing she was totally inside her fluffy sleeping bag.
“PREPARE FOR MUD! LOTS OF IT!” More la
ughing from the bullhorn.
“Somebody go shove him back in his hammock.” Bliss wiggled out of her sleeping bag and starting flinging clothes out of her suitcase.
The girls in Cabin Four emerged from their sleeping bag cocoons, one-by-one, all stretching, yawning, and full of questions about last night’s shenanigans.
“Did you get the dinger?” Shelby asked, eyes wide.
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “And we almost got caught so we had to hide out and sneak around until two o’clock.”
“Youch,” Hayley said. “You must be really tired.”
A thought dawned on me.
Johan’s doing Survivor Day this morning to get back at the dinger thieves.
In less than five minutes, everyone was dressed, buffs in place, and ready to go. All except for Madison, who was still a lump in that purple paradise in her top bunk.
“Madison!” I shook the lump. “We gotta go! It’s Survivor Day!”
Madison stirred, turned, and peeped out of her blankets, waving her white fleece blanket.
“I surrender.”
I shook her some more. “NO! Don’t you see? Johan’s doing this on purpose to flush us out! We can’t let him win!” I checked my watch. “Notice how he didn’t ring the bell? That’s because he couldn’t without a dinger.”
Madison popped her head out a little more, wiped her eyes with her hands, and smiled.
“Breakfast is in FIVE MINUTES! AND IT WILL BEHOOVE YOU TO EAT A LOT OF PANCAKES. You’re gonna need the strength! HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“He sounds hostile,” Kayla said. “I’m scared.”
“No need to be,” I pulled the girls into a huddle. “We’ve got each other. And no matter what happens we have to promise not to give up any information about what happened to the dinger. Got it?”
Julia put her thumb and index finger together and pulled them across her lips like she was closing a zipper.
“They’re not getting anything outta me.”
The rest of the girls did the same.
“Great,” I said. “Let’s go eat and then win this Survivor Day.”
The girls let out a yell and charged out the door toward the box. All except Madison.
“C’mon, girl! I’m not leaving any friends behind.”
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