Escape From Camp California

by Courtney Sheinmel

  “I—” Tess started.

  “Tell us later,” Molly said. “We need to get to the dock. Now.”

  “That’s right,” Finn said. “The boats are leaving in a few minutes.”

  “You need to go without me,” Tess said.

  “No way!” Molly cried. “We’re not leaving without you!”

  Tess didn’t reply.

  “I’m going to try climbing the tree again,” Finn said.

  But before he put his hands back on the tree, a rope ladder dropped down through the treehouse floor. Finn scrambled up, and Molly was right behind him.

  Tess was sitting on the treehouse floor. Her eyes were red and puffy. “I’m sorry about this,” she said. “But I can’t go on a boat.”

  “Why?” Molly asked. “Does your stomach hurt again?”

  Tess shook her head. “No. It’s worse than that. Way worse. I can’t…I can’t swim.” She buried her face in her hands.

  “Don’t worry, Tess,” Finn said. “That’s what life jackets are for.”

  Tess took her hands off her face, but she shook her head again. “I’m too scared of the water,” she said. “I can’t even dog-paddle. I didn’t take the swim test, because I didn’t want everyone to see. I never even got put in a swim group. I knew when they counted the guppies, dolphins, and kingfish, they wouldn’t know I was missing. If I stay up here, the fire might not be able to reach me. I’ll be safe from the fire and safe from drowning.”

  “Oh, Tess,” Molly said. “I understand how you feel about going in the water.”

  “You don’t know how to swim, either?” Tess asked.

  “No, I do,” Molly said.

  “So you can’t really understand how I’m feeling,” Tess said.

  “Maybe not about swimming,” Molly said. “But I know what it feels like to be scared to do something that everyone else wants me to do. It happens to me a lot. It even happened today.”

  “When?” Finn asked.

  “Remember back at the mess hall when everyone was trying to get me to dance?”

  “Oh yeah,” Finn said, and Tess nodded.

  “I like dancing,” Molly said. “But at that moment, it felt like my feet were glued to the floor. My face got hot. My heart was beating as fast as those helicopter propellers out there. What if I’m actually a bad dancer? I didn’t want anyone to see.”

  “That’s how I feel right now,” Tess said. “I guess you do know.”

  “I also know that you can get on that boat anyway,” Molly said.

  “But you didn’t even get up and dance!” Tess said.

  “I hate to agree with her on this, but she’s right,” Finn said.

  “I should have,” Molly said. “I should have faced my fears, and you should, too.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Tess said.

  “Think fast,” Finn said. “This treehouse isn’t going to keep us safe from the fire. Trees are made of wood, after all.”

  “Finn and I will be with you in the boat the whole time,” Molly said. “What do you say?”

  “I—” Tess started, and Molly and Finn held their breath. “I’ll try,” she said.

  “Great!” Finn cried. “Let’s go right now.” He scooted toward the hole in the floor. “This really is a great view of the whole camp. I can see Danielle.”

  “Hey, Danielle!” Molly shouted.

  But between the distance and the helicopters in the background, Danielle couldn’t hear.

  All together, they shouted, “HEY, DANIELLE!”

  Danielle turned around.

  “Wait for us! We’re coming!” they called, and then they scrambled down the ladder.

  Molly, Finn, and Tess sprinted across the grass.

  Danielle’s usually sun-kissed face had gone nearly as white as a sheet. “What were you doing up in the treehouse?” she asked.

  “I’m sorry,” Tess said. “It was my—”

  “It was my fault,” Molly broke in. “I heard the view was great up there, and I wanted to see it. Finn and Tess figured out that’s where I’d gone, and they came to rescue me.”

  “That was really dangerous of all three of you,” Danielle said. “What if we had left without you?”

  A gust of wind blew. The smell of smoke grew stronger. Finn coughed.

  “Pull your T-shirts over your mouths,” Danielle said.

  “How about these?” Molly asked. She pulled the last two blue and gold bandannas out of her pocket and handed them to Danielle and Tess. Everyone tied them over their noses and mouths.

  “It’s so dark,” Finn said. “I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.”

  “It’s not late,” Danielle said. “The smoke clouds are blocking the sun. We need to get out of here.”

  Tess put on a life jacket. She and the twins climbed into the very last rowboat. Then Danielle gave the boat a shove. She jogged through the water and climbed in with them. There were two oars at the bottom of the boat, and Danielle grabbed one.

  “I’ll take the other,” Finn offered.

  “You can switch off with the girls if you get tired,” Danielle said.

  “Don’t worry, you won’t have to do any rowing,” Molly told Tess. “Finn and I can take turns.”

  “I’ll be fine getting us all the way across,” Finn said. “I have a really strong pitching arm.”

  Molly and Tess huddled together. “It’s going to be okay,” Molly said. “All you have to do is sit here.”

  “Plus not fall in,” Tess replied.

  “You can do it.”

  Finn lifted his oar out of the water and dipped it in again. The water was choppy, and it was getting harder and harder to keep up with Danielle’s pace. Finn clutched the end of the oar with both hands and lifted it in and out, in and out.

  “Help,” Finn said. “Something is caught on my oar!”

  Danielle glanced over as Finn heaved it out of the water. “Looks okay to me,” she told him.

  “But it’s gotten so heavy,” he said.

  “You’ve been working hard,” Danielle said. “It’s okay to give one of the girls a turn.”

  “I’ll go,” Molly said. She got up on her knees to scoot over and switch seats. “Whoa,” she said.

  “What’s wrong?” Tess asked.

  “I feel dizzy,” Molly said.

  “Hmm,” Danielle said. “Your face looks a bit green.”

  “You’re seasick, aren’t you?” Finn asked.

  “I think so,” Molly said.

  “I’d tell you to breathe in the fresh air, but there isn’t much of that to go around. Try closing your eyes,” Danielle said.

  “But I can’t close my eyes and paddle for Finn at the same time,” Molly said.

  “It’s okay,” Finn said. He heaved the oar out again, panting. “I’ll keep going.”

  Tess took a deep breath. “I’ll do it,” she said.

  “No…I can…,” Molly said. But she swayed in her seat.

  “It’s okay, Molly,” Tess said. “I can do this.”

  Finn pulled his oar back into the boat and handed it to Tess. She settled into the seat across from Danielle.

  Finn moved to sit beside his sister. “You’re not going to puke on me, are you?” he asked.

  “I’ll try not to,” Molly said. She kept her eyes closed. The air still smelled of smoke, and the waves hadn’t quieted down. But at least the breeze on her cheeks made her feel a little better.

  A few minutes passed. “Molly,” Finn whispered. “Look.”

  Molly’s eyes popped open, and she looked across the boat where Finn was pointing. Tess was dipping her oar in and out, in and out. She didn’t look scared. She looked determined.

  And just a few yards behind her was the best sight of all—the shore.

  Jeremy w
aded into the water and helped pull the rowboat to shore. Danielle and the kids climbed out and joined the rest of the Camp Eureka campers and counselors.

  “How are you feeling, Molly?” Tess asked.

  “Better now that we’re on dry land,” Molly said. “How are you feeling?”

  “I feel good.” Tess smiled.

  “You did great,” Finn said. “You’re really strong—and brave.”

  “You’re all strong and brave,” Danielle said.

  “What took you so long?” Jeremy asked.

  The twins and Tess looked at each other nervously.

  “We accidentally took the scenic route,” Danielle said. She winked at the twins and Tess.

  “It still smells like smoke,” Finn said. “I thought we came here to escape the fire.”

  “Crossing the lake was step one,” Jeremy said. “Now we need to get on the buses.”

  “But you said the roads weren’t safe,” Tess said.

  “The roads out of camp weren’t safe, but there’s a clear path to San Francisco from here,” Jeremy explained. “I arranged for your parents to meet us there.”

  “Our parents?” Molly asked.

  She and Finn shared a worried look. Had Jeremy told their parents they were in California? What would they think? Would they even believe him?

  “I sent an email to every parent of a camper on the Camp Eureka roster to let them know about our change of plans,” Jeremy said.

  The twins breathed a sigh of relief. They weren’t on the camp roster. That meant their parents still didn’t know where they were.

  But what about PET?

  “Maybe we shouldn’t get on the bus,” Finn whispered to his sister. “After all, we already found Tess and helped her across the lake. Wasn’t that our work?”

  “Definitely,” Molly said. “But the helicopters are so loud over here, we probably won’t hear PET’s beep.”

  “Let’s go, friends,” Danielle called. “We’ve got to hit the road!”

  She jumped up the bus steps, and the campers started to climb on behind her.

  “If PET can’t find us, then we’ll be stuck in California,” Molly said. “How will we explain that to Mom and Dad?”

  “C’mon, you two,” Danielle called to the twins. “I’m not leaving you behind again.”

  “We have to go. We have no choice,” Finn told Molly.

  He and Molly climbed aboard. Danielle had saved two seats for them up front. Molly closed her eyes again and let the breeze from the air conditioner dance on her face. The campers sang the Camp Eureka song:

  “Camp Eureka is the best place to make new friends. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we’ll be together till the end!”

  Without even trying, Molly realized she’d memorized all the words.

  A little while later, Finn shook her shoulder. “Wake up!”

  “I’m not sleeping,” Molly said, opening her eyes.

  “Look out the window!”

  Bridge columns were zipping by—orange-gold-colored bridge columns—peeking through thick clouds.

  “Oh my goodness!” Molly cried. “Are we on the Golden Gate Bridge?”

  “We sure are,” Tess said from the row behind them.

  The bus crossed the bridge and wound through the city streets. “Holy guacamole, this is the steepest street I’ve ever been on,” Finn said. “I hope the bus can make it to the top.”

  They got to the crest of the hill.

  “Uh-oh,” Molly said. “Now we have to go down. The brakes better work!”

  “You guys haven’t been to San Francisco before, have you?” Tess asked.

  Finn and Molly shook their heads. The bus turned into a parking lot and rumbled to a stop.

  “Everyone out,” Jeremy said, and the campers bounded outside.

  “Smell that?” Danielle asked.

  “What?” Finn asked.

  “Fresh, smoke-free air!”

  “I’m surprised we can’t smell the fire anymore,” Molly said. “The bridge was so smoky.”

  Danielle laughed. “That wasn’t smoke,” she said. “That was the famous San Francisco fog. Don’t worry—we’re a safe ways away from the fire.”

  “Your parents are meeting us here in Golden Gate Park,” Jeremy told the crowd. “But since we’re early, I’ve arranged a surprise for you. Come this way.”

  “Friends, please stick with your buddies,” Danielle added.

  Molly and Finn stuck with Tess and followed the crowd to a carousel. There weren’t just horses to ride, but also frogs, dogs, roosters, and pigs!

  “I claim the dragon!” Toby said.

  “I claim the ostrich,” Serafina said.

  “I think we should ride horses, for old times’ sake,” Molly told Finn. “That one looks like Dasha, don’t you think?”

  “Who’s Dasha?” Tess asked.

  “Oh, just a horse I once rode,” Molly said.

  “It does look like Dasha,” Finn said. “But don’t you have something else you need to do first?”

  “Huh?”

  “Oh, right,” Tess said. “You definitely have something you need to do—you need to get DOWN!”

  Tess was so loud that the other kids all turned to watch.

  Molly felt her cheeks burning and her heart racing. She knew it was partly because she felt afraid. But there was another part: she felt brave.

  Brave from when she’d ridden Dasha in Colorado.

  Brave from when she’d flown in a helicopter in New York.

  Brave from when she’d shinnied up a rope ladder in Texas.

  And brave from watching Tess paddle the rowboat safely out of Camp Eureka.

  Molly had been afraid all those times. But she’d faced her fears, and it had been worth it. Now she was ready to face them again, and she shuffled her feet like in a square dance.

  “D-O-W-N,” all the campers cheered. “That’s the way we get down!”

  Molly linked elbows with Tess. They spun in a circle. Molly laughed so hard that tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

  “That was great,” Finn said.

  “It sure was,” Tess agreed. “Let’s ride the carousel!”

  But right then, a honk sounded off in the distance.

  “Wait, Tess,” Molly said. “I have something to give to you.”

  Molly untied the blue-and-gold bracelet from her wrist and handed it to her new friend.

  “Thanks!” Tess said. “I love it.”

  PET honked again.

  “C’mon!” Tess said. She skipped over to the ride and picked a fierce-looking lion to sit on. The music started to play, and the carousel began to turn.

  Once Tess’s lion had spun out of sight, the twins took off toward the parking lot to catch their ride home.

  The camper was parked on the far side of the parking lot, under a tall, lean redwood tree. When Molly and Finn got closer, the door swung open and they climbed in. They clicked their seat belts into place. PET’s screen lit up like a fireworks show. The camper rocked from side to side. Finn pressed his face to the window as they rose into the air.

  “The bridge looks so small from up here,” he said. “Like the size of a Lego.”

  As they flew on, dark gray clouds made it impossible to see anything. “Wow, the famous San Francisco fog is even thicker than before,” Molly said.

  “Unfortunately, that’s smoke from the wildfires,” PET said.

  “The fire is so much bigger than I thought it’d be,” Finn said.

  “I know,” Molly said. “All day long, we were trying to figure out the work we had to do. But now I’m thinking about the work the firefighters are doing down there.”

  “They cut back the brush and grass to try to stop the fire from spreading farther,” PET said. “And they battle it f
rom the sky, too—they drop water and chemicals from planes and helicopters.”

  “That’s why we heard all those helicopters!” Finn said. “I thought they were just up there to see where the fire was.”

  “Hey, PET. Do you think the firefighters will be able to finish their work soon?” Molly asked.

  “It takes a long time to contain a wildfire,” PET said.

  “More than a day?” Finn asked.

  “Sometimes weeks.”

  “Weeks?”

  “Or even months.”

  “Months?”

  “I wish there was more we could do to help,” Molly said.

  “You can do your best to prevent them in the future,” PET said. “Never play with matches or lighters.”

  “We won’t,” Finn said. “We promise.”

  “And if you go camping, only start fires in designated campfire areas. Watch the fire carefully, and make sure to extinguish the flames completely before you leave.”

  A few minutes later, the camper landed with a thud. Molly peeked out her window and saw their familiar white house and hunter-green mailbox.

  “Thanks for the ride home, PET,” she said.

  “My pleasure,” PET said. “You did your work well today, kids.”

  “Thanks, PET,” Finn said.

  “You’ll be back tomorrow, right?” Molly asked.

  “I am not allowed to say,” PET said.

  “Not allowed?” Molly asked. “Who made that rule? Professor Vega?”

  But Molly never got an answer. PET’s screen shut off. Everything was quiet.

  Molly and Finn unbuckled their seat belts and walked through the camper, past the couch and the table and the television. They stopped in front of the map of the world. Molly picked up a red pushpin and stuck it in California.

  “Look at all the places we’ve been,” Finn said. “Colorado, New York, Texas, and now California. Can you believe it’s only Tuesday?”

  “Let’s go get some breakfast,” Molly said. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a busy week.”