by Zoe Quinn
“I used the time to do some research,” said Howie. He reached into the pocket of his electric green slicker and pulled out a communication device. “It's Sam's,” he explained. “He was showing me how to use it last night. Very intriguing piece of technology. Hope I get one of my own someday.”
“Aww,Howie.” I gave him an encouraging look.“I'm sure you will. Someday.”
“Well, while Dave and Zander were giving each other the silent treatment, I connected with your pal Thatcher. Turns out he's one of Grandpa Gil's biggest fans! Anyway, I asked him to do me a favor and log on to the Internet from the communications hub. I can only imagine the computer setup they've got in that place. So I managed to do a little research on the Sweep.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It's a fascinating story. Good being sucked in by evil and all that.”
“What did you find out?”
“Well, what Amanda neglected to mention is that the Sweep is still a fugitive from superjustice.” He opened the door to the mess hall and held it for me as I walked inside.
“What are you saying?”
“I'm saying,” said Howie, peeling off his slicker, “that the Sweep is still out there somewhere!”
Lunch was depressing. Megan and Casey arrived, followed soon after by Dave and Zander, but no one sat at our regular table. Instead, Zander and Casey took a table near the fireplace, Megan ate with the kids from the Integrity cabin, and Dave went off by himself to have his lunch while watching sitcom reruns in the rec room.
Howie and I took a table near the window that looked out over the lake.
“I found out some other stuff, too,” he said, dipping his spoon into his bowl of chicken noodle soup. “The Federation thinks there's going to be another all-powered hero very soon.”
“You mean another Super with every power, like the Sweep?” I wasn't sure if this was good news or bad.“What if this new one turns evil, too?”
Howie shrugged.“Highly unlikely. The Sweep had a big-time character flaw—a major ego. My guess is that when this new hero emerges, the Feds will keep a close eye on him or her to be sure he or she doesn't get too full of himself.”
“Or herself.” I munched a crouton from my salad. “Didn't Amanda say that a hero with every power was a once-in-an-eon thing?”
“Generally,” said Howie. “I guess we're having a particularly powerful eon. Anyway, the Feds are always on the watch for the Sweep, but so far, there hasn't been any sign of him. They're hoping the new all-powered one will show up soon so they'll have someone to battle the Sweep. Hey, if you're not going to eat your cole slaw, can I have it?”
I pushed my tray toward him so he could scoop the cole slaw onto his plate. I wished the rest of the team were here, but everyone was still angry about the nasty things that had been said at breakfast. I turned to look out the window at the rain, thinking about the Sweep out there in the world, waiting to use his powers to wreak havoc.
“How about your cupcake?” Howie was saying. “Gonna eat that?”
“You can have it.”
I handed Howie my dessert, then went back to staring out at the rain. The weather seemed to fit my mood—gloomy. I was confused and even a little scared and found myself wishing, just a bit, that instead of being here at Camp Courageous learning how to fight evil and protect the planet, I were somewhere far away with Emily, picking out hair ribbons and learning how to bounce soccer balls off my head.
Since we couldn't clean outdoors because of the rain,Amanda switched our punishment to indoor cleanup. Howie and I were on dish-washing duty. Casey and Zander got stuck going through the trash, searching for an orthodontic retainer one of the campers had accidentally thrown away.
“Gross,” said Zander, digging under a banana peel.
Megan was flying around with a feather duster, dusting the ceiling fans, while Dave swept the entire mess hall. Lucky for him he could do it standing in one spot, just stretching his arms as they moved the broom.
Over in the rec room, we could hear the other campers having a blast playing charades.
“I hope everyone forgives and forgets by tomorrow,” I said to Howie, drying my seventy-fifth plastic plate.
“Me too!” said Howie, rinsing a pile of silverware.“Otherwise, the underdogs are going to lose big-time!”
The next day, the Intrepid team, plus Howie, all chose Bertram's wife's arts and crafts workshop. Matilda was terrific—tiny but high-energy, with silvery blond hair and a booming voice. She looked familiar to me, and it took me a moment to remember where I'd seen her—Electra had used her as the inspiration for a character in a Lightning Girl comic once: Glue Gun Girl. She'd saved the world by hot-gluing a superbad guy to a brick wall.
“Saving the world is a wonderful pastime,” Matilda told us, handing out heavy white cord for the macramé project. “But even Supers need some relaxation. Now, watch carefully.”
She began to demonstrate the intricate skills involved in making a hanging plant holder. My hope was that the workshops would get my friends out of their angry moods. But even after two hours of knotting string into macramé plant holders, the dark mood of our team was lingering. Everyone—with the exception of Howie and me—was still mad about what had happened the day before.
During the arts and crafts, Howie and I attempted to make pleasant small talk. I told him all about Emily's letter and the fun she was having at soccer camp. I tried to get the others involved in the conversation, but nobody would join in. As soon as we finished with our plant hangers, Amanda hustled us outside to continue our training along with the rest of Bravery cabin.
Amanda was too focused on making up for lost training time to notice the dissension in her ranks. I was pretty sure Simon noticed, but he seemed unbothered by the team's attitude problem. In fact, he was in a pretty upbeat mood; maybe he was hoping to jolly us all of out of our gloom. If so, he'd set himself an uphill task.
“Here is the schedule of Courageous Cup events,” he said. “Wednesday: River Rapids Race. Thursday: Mountain-Climbing Challenge, and Friday: Scavenger Hunt.”
“Sounds like fun,” I said brightly, looking from Megan to Casey. “I've always wanted to try white-water rafting.”
“Hmmpf.” Megan rolled her eyes.
Casey folded her arms across her chest. “Psssht.”
“I bet the view from the mountaintop will be amazing,” Howie offered, grinning at Zander and Dave. Dave frowned. Zander turned his back.
“And hey,” I said, forcing a cheery tone, “who doesn't love a good old-fashioned scavenger hunt?”
Nobody answered.
Amanda gave a loud blast on her whistle, and everyone dropped to the ground to do push-ups.
We spent the rest of the day training in silence.
Before sunrise on Wednesday, I heard a gentle tapping on the screen door. I looked across the cabin to see if Casey had tuned in, but she was still sound asleep. I guess she'd shifted out of superhearing mode to get a good night's sleep before the cup contest.
Quietly, I climbed down from my bunk and opened the cabin door.
Howie was sitting on the front stoop, his chin in his hand.
“Sorry to wake you,” he whispered.
“Nah.” I shook my head. “I was already awake. I've been up worrying for hours.” I sat down next to Howie.
“Think we stand a chance today?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Not if the team doesn't have a major attitude adjustment before the challenges begin. And it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. Megan and Casey ignored each other all through dinner last night, and when we got back to the cabin, I couldn't stand the silence, so I suggested we play a game of cards.”
“Did they agree to play?”
“Yeah.” I frowned. “But only if we played War.”
“Ah. And how did that go?”
“I should have stuck with the silence.”
Howie let out a long rush of breath.“I would have liked to be on the winning team. Not for m
e, you understand. But for my grandpa Gil. I mean, I've been here four days and there's still no sign of me turning super. At least I could have made him proud of me by winning a trophy.”
“I'm sure your grandpa is already proud of you,” I said.
Howie nodded. “I know. But…”
His voice trailed off. We sat for a while, listening to the last chirps of the crickets as the sun rose in a pale shimmer of pink and gold beyond the lake.
I wanted to tell Howie that I was proud of him. I wanted to say that even if he never got his powers, he'd always be a winner in my book, just for being smart and kind, and fun, in his quirky way. Just for being Howie.
But it was one of those moments when it seemed better just to share the silence.
Besides, even if I didn't say those things to Howie, deep down, I think he probably already knew.
At nine a.m. sharp, the entire camp gathered at the flagpole for opening ceremonies. Music blared through the PA system as Bertram stood on the highest step of the main lodge, holding the huge unlit torch.
“And now, with the ceremonial lighting of the torch,” he announced, “the Courageous Cup contest will officially commence.”
One of the counselors joined Bertram on the step and rather unceremoniously proceeded to light the giant torch with an ordinary wooden match. I felt a pang of sadness, knowing how much Melanie had been looking forward to igniting the flame that would begin the contest. I glanced at my teammates; I had a hunch they were feeling the same way.
Once the torch was blazing, Bertram held it up high and the whole camp cheered.
The Courageous Cup contest was under way.
Amanda led us down a wooded path we hadn't seen before. Simon brought up the rear, making sure no one got lost or left behind.
I caught up to Amanda.“I was wondering,” I began in a whis-per,“what happened to Sam? I mean, I know he took off, but is anyone searching for him?”
Amanda shrugged.“Bertram isn't saying much about it except that the Federation has put an all points bulletin out on him.”
“Do you think he'll come back to camp?” I asked. I felt a twinge of fear. As hard as it was to believe, I had to allow for the fact that Sam might have gone over to the dark side, and he might be lurking in the woods right now. I guess what Howie had said about the Sweep's being on the loose was making me jumpy.
“Doubtful. He knows he'll be captured if he does.”
But how do you capture someone who's stronger than superstrong? I wondered.
The path ended at the river. The bank sloped steeply down to the water, which was rough from the previous day's rain. The rapids swirled and foamed over the large rocks jutting out from the shallower spots. A few yards away, several inflatable yellow rafts were set out along the bank. I could see the one with the Intrepid/Bravery flag attached.
“Our first event is the white-water river race,” Amanda said, consulting the contest program. “We'll be competing against Team Integrity/Fortitude. The object of the race is to navigate the rapids and be the first team to cross the finish line, which is two miles downriver.”
Simon pulled a large rolled-up piece of paper from his backpack and handed it to Amanda.
“This map charts the river,”she told us.“It will tell you where the stronger rapids are, where the water is deepest, where the tributaries branch off, and so on. You will study this map as a team. Knowing what to expect is the best way to stay in control on your raft.” She handed the map to me, then turned to Simon. “Come with me, please,” she said. “I want to do a safety check on our raft before we begin.”
I sat down on the ground and unrolled the map. Howie crouched beside me.
“Gather around, everyone, let's have a look,” I said.
Nobody budged.
“That's it!” Howie snapped. “I've had it!”
His shout startled me; it startled all of us. He was scowling at our four teammates. “Yesterday we were all upset about Sam, and some of us said some things we didn't mean. But c'mon! We're superheroes. Well, you guys are, and I sure hope I'll be one soon. I know that Supers stand up for what is right and just in the world! They're supposed to be forces of good, but how can you be an example of goodness if you can't even forgive your own friends? Now I want all of you to stop acting like morons and start acting like teammates. Superteammates. Got it?”
For a moment there was absolute silence. Suddenly, Zander grinned his crooked grin. “You know something? He's right…again.”
I let out a huge sigh of relief as the four of them shook hands and apologized. I gave Howie a high five. Then they all gathered around the map and we studied it together.
Zander pointed to the spot that showed the most powerful rapids. “We'll have to look out for this one,” he said. “And here…it drops off pretty quickly. That's the deepest point in the whole river.”
“And it occurs at the widest spot,” Casey observed.
“There seem to be some pretty nasty rock formations over here,” said Dave.
“We'll have to look out for those,” said Megan.
Amanda and Simon came back, carrying our raft. Inside it were six life jackets.
“Who's ready for a little ride?” asked Simon.
The Integrity/Fortitude team arrived with their counselors. We all shook hands and wished each other luck, then put on our life vests and climbed into our rafts.
“On your mark, get set…go!”
Zander shoved us off from the bank and jumped into the raft.
The power of the river was amazing; right away I could feel the strength of the current pulling us along, with the Integrity/ Fortitude team right beside us.
“Paddle!” cried Zander. “Now, lean left, everyone….”
We leaned together, guiding the raft with our weight. The oars slapped the surface in perfect rhythm, splashing cool, clean water. We were moving quickly, pulling ahead of the other raft.
“We've got the lead!” cried Dave. “We're leaving them in the dust.”
I looked behind us and saw the Integrity/Fortitude raft lagging. They couldn't seem to get their paddling in sync. One of the girls wasn't even bothering to paddle; she was reapplying her lip gloss while two of the boys argued over which of them got to sit next to her.
Teamwork, I thought. That's why we're winning!
Suddenly, Howie was pointing ahead, where the river flowed through a narrow gully. The water swelled and parted in the center, revealing jagged dark shapes just below the surface.“Hey, guys, I don't remember those rocks on the map.”
“Neither do I,” said Megan.
“Well, at least they're in a calm spot,” observed Dave. “We should be able to paddle our way around them.”
Just as he said it, though, the water around the rocks began to roil. Waves kicked up and tumbled furiously, worse than any of the rapids we'd seen so far. As we floated toward them, they became more violent. The noise they made was nearly deafening.
“Does anyone hear that?” asked Casey.
“All I hear are the waves,” I shouted. “What do you hear?”
“Air. Hissing. You know, like a leak. In a raft.”
Sure enough, the raft was deflating…and fast. The rounded sides were wrinkling and shrinking as the air poured out of them. Water began to spill in.
“We have to abandon ship!” cried Casey.
“Do we have to?” Megan looked nervous.“I know I'm super, but I've never been crazy about deep water!”
I knew how she felt. Even a superhero wearing a life vest could swallow too much water and choke. And what about Howie? He wouldn't be able to keep his head above water in a current like this.
“Howie,” I shouted, “is your life vest buckled tight? You're going to have to swim! Stay close to me and I'll help you.”
“I have a better idea,” yelled Howie. “Dave, stretch yourself toward the bank, and we can all grab on to you.”
Dave immediately reached out with both arms and wrapped them around a sturdy tre
e on the riverbank. We all took hold of him and clung like crazy. The shriveling raft bobbed on the rough surface for only a moment before sinking into the depths of the wild water. A giant wave crashed over us; the force of it almost knocked Howie off Dave, but Megan grabbed Howie's life vest just in time.
Dave retracted his arms without letting go of the tree and pulled us onto the bank. Now we were all soaking and cold, but at least we were safe.
Amanda ran up a few moments later. She looked confused and worried.“I saw what happened,” she said.“What went wrong?”
“I don't know,” said Zander. “One minute everything was going great, and the next it was chaos. What I don't understand is why those rocks weren't on the map.”
“Or why our raft deflated,” I added, looking at Amanda.“You and Simon just checked it.”
Simon came running out of the woods. He was dripping wet and he looked terribly worried.“I was downriver waiting for you when I saw your paddles come drifting past. What happened?”
Amanda explained it all to Simon. He was quiet for a moment, thinking.
“As far as I know,” he said,“no team has ever used their powers during a cup challenge before. I don't know what the rules are, but I'm afraid you may be disqualified from the entire contest because Dave used his power.”
Dave seemed ready to squirm, and his face went bright red.
“I used my power, too,” Casey said quickly. “I heard the raft leaking with my superhearing. So don't blame Dave.”
“Yeah, don't blame Dave,” said Zander.
“If it hadn't been for Dave,” I said, “we all could have drowned! Howie especially, because he doesn't have any powers that might have saved him.”
“Did I sound as though I was blaming him?” said Simon, looking apologetic. “I didn't mean to.” He patted Dave on the shoulder.“Good work, Dave. Really.”Then he gave Howie a big smile. “Would have hated to see you go under, Howie. I mean that. But still, rules are rules.”
“Hey, look,” said Zander, pointing back toward the river.