by Gail Nall
The bus bumps and rolls along. And then it stops. Again.
“Now what?” Shiver grumbles.
“What’s going on, man?” Sick Stu shouts up to Carl.
“Looks like they’re stopping everyone at the park gate,” Carl replies.
And that’s when my heart goes into overdrive. I’m ninety-nine percent sure that they’re stopping everyone to look for us.
Chapter 23
3 days until Dueling Duets auditions
The bus creeps forward.
“The bathroom,” Shiver whispers.
“What?”
“The second they see my hair, they’ll know. I’m going to the bathroom. Act like everything’s normal.” With that, she stands up and stretches. Then she rifles through her backpack. I inch sideways just a tiny bit, but all I can see in there is the food Bug packed. She pulls out a little zipped bag and puts her backpack on the floor again.
She makes a big show of opening her zipped bag and searching inside. Then she moans and clutches her stomach. “Midgie, have you got any car sickness medicine?”
“Midgie”? Really? What kind of name is that? I almost laugh, but I shake my head instead.
Shiver taps the woman in front of us on the shoulder and asks the same question, looking completely pitiful. She says no, but the woman in the next seat up hands Shiver what she needs.
“Be right back, Midgie,” Shiver says. The bathroom door in the rear shuts behind her just as the bus rolls up to the gate.
Carl rolls down the window, has a short conversation with the ranger, and then opens the door. When the ranger climbs aboard, I curl into a ball in my seat.
The ranger takes a few steps down the aisle and scans the faces on the bus. I shut my eyes and pretend to be asleep, though I’m pretty sure my heart is hammering loud enough for everyone to hear.
“All right,” the ranger says after what feels like a million years. “Thanks, and sorry for the hold-up.”
I open my eyes to see him talking to Carl. Everyone on the bus starts chatting again, so I can’t hear what the ranger says next. But it doesn’t last long, and then he’s gone. The bus lurches forward, and my body goes from tense to feeling so light I could lift right up from the seat and float in the air.
Shiver slides in next to me. She gives me a smile, and I smile back.
I think I’m actually happy to have her along for the ride.
When the bus stops again, it wakes me out of a sound sleep. I wipe drool from my face and am thankful Remy’s not here to see me like this.
“Why are we stopping again?” I ask Shiver.
“I don’t know.” She cranes her neck to see out the front. Parking spaces and a river sparkling in the sun make up the view from my window.
I click on my phone, keeping it low so no one will suspect Migraine Girl doesn’t really have a migraine. 5:40.
“We don’t really have time to stop,” I whisper to Shiver.
“Tell me about it,” she says. “Especially not when people are looking for us.”
Carl parks the bus across several parking spaces. “Buffalo Bill Dam!” he announces. “Everyone off who wants to take the tour.”
All around us, people stand up and stretch and make their way to the door. Everyone except me, Shiver, and Sick Stu, who’s passed out in his seat again.
“You guys coming?” Carl pokes his head back into the bus.
Shiver nudges Sick Stu across the aisle. He sputters and blinks, and says, “What?”
“Tour of the dam,” Carl says. “You want to go?”
“I think Midgie still has a migraine,” Shiver says.
We can’t sit here and wait for them to come back. Who knows how long that tour’ll take. It could be way past dark by the time we finally get to Cody, and then it’ll be too late for me to get a bus home tonight.
After all we’ve been through, that can’t happen. It just can’t.
So I stand up and step over Shiver. “I’m feeling so much better. Like, my headache is gone completely, and I’m totally up for some adventure. Aren’t you . . . Penelope?” I raise my eyebrows at Shiver.
“Sure, Midgester. Um, dam tour adventure?”
“Nah,” I say. “Too lame. I think we should get our bikes and make our own adventure. Maybe go down and check out the river.”
“Awesome,” Sick Stu says. “That’s what I want to do.”
I look at Shiver. She shrugs. I guess there’s no going back now. And besides, losing Sick Stu shouldn’t be all that hard. He doesn’t exactly seem to be with it.
“All right, then. This is the Adventure Seekers, after all,” Carl says. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Midgie. Let’s get your bikes out.”
We follow him off the bus. The other Adventure Seekers are across the parking lot by now, headed for the tour.
“Three bikes,” Carl says as he hauls out Sick Stu’s bike. (Which is bright green and orange, and has yellow flames. As Sick Stu would say, very sick.) “See the road that goes up behind the building?”
“The one with the gate?” I ask.
Carl waves his hand, as if gates can’t possibly stop Adventure Seekers. “If you follow that, it’ll take you between the river and the main road tunnel. There’s probably a way down to the river from there. Just be back here at six-thirty.”
“You got it,” Shiver says. “Hey, so does this river go all the way to Cody?”
“You bet,” Carl answers as he locks up the trailer.
I force my stiff and sore legs to climb onto my bike, and I plaster a smile on my face. “Let’s go get some adventure!”
Shiver and I pedal toward the road that Carl pointed out, Sick Stu right on our tails.
“We can follow this road,” I say to Shiver. “As long as it goes with the river, we should be okay.”
“And it’ll keep us off the main road where anyone can see us,” she adds.
Huh. When we’re not at each other’s throats, we actually make a good team.
After a quick check to be sure no one’s looking, we skirt the gate.
“Now, how are we gonna lose Sick Stu?” I ask.
“Maybe we can outpedal him?”
Fat chance. As it turns out, Sick Stu is in way better shape than either me or Shiver, plus he probably hasn’t already ridden a gazillion miles today.
“I’m going for a swim when we get down to the water,” Sick Stu says. The river below is churning and is probably freezing.
“Um, it looks cold,” I say.
“It’ll be an adventure!” he replies.
“How about you adventure and we stay warm, okay?” Shiver says.
Sick Stu shrugs and pedals onward. After about fifteen minutes, he slows up and points ahead at a dirt path that leads down the banks from the road. “I think that goes to the river.”
Shiver and I exchange glances. Then we put every ounce of energy (which isn’t much) into our legs and ride faster, past the dirt path.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Sick Stu asks from behind us.
In no time flat, he’s caught up and is riding alongside me. “Didn’t you hear me? That was a path down to the river.”
It’s clear we aren’t going to lose Sick Stu any time soon. So I stop.
“Maya! What are you doing?” Shiver brakes and turns around.
“The path’s back that way,” Sick Stu says, pointing behind us. “Wait, who’s Maya?”
“I’m Maya. She’s Shiver. Or Adalie, actually, but she calls herself Shiver for some reason,” I say.
Shiver gives me a Look. I’m not sure if it’s because I called her Adalie or because I’m telling Sick Stu our real names.
“Shiver. That’s a sick name. So, what, you guys undercover or something? Are you with the FBI?” Sick Stu actually looks a little nervous. Which makes me wonder why exactly.
“No, we’re just two girls trying to get to Cody,” Shiver says.
Sick Stu looks back and forth between me and Shiver. “So, I guess you aren’t going down
to the river?”
I shake my head. “No. We have to get to the bus stop, actually, and we—I—have to be there by eight. So we’re not going to the river. We’re not Adventure Seekers. We’re just . . . on a mission.”
Sick Stu looks completely blank. I’m about to repeat what I just said, when his whole face morphs into a huge smile and he says, “Awesome. That’s a total adventure. Can I go with you?”
“Um, what?” Sick Stu wants to go to Nashville? Wait, he doesn’t even know I’m going to Nashville. So he just wants to ride to Cody for, what . . . the adventure of it?
“No way,” Shiver says. “The police are looking for us. We have to stay as inconspicuous as possible.”
“I can be incons . . . inconc . . . that. Wait, the police? What did you do?”
“Nothing,” I say before Shiver can tell him we robbed a bank or something. “It’s just that my parents didn’t really want me taking a bus home, you know?”
Sick Stu nods. “I get it, man. They’re down on the adventure.”
Well, not really. More like Mom and Dad live for adventure and I just want to go home. Adventure. That’s what Bug called this whole idea. Thinking of her waiting at a lodge with Remy makes my eyes prickle. I blink fast and push the thought away. After all, I don’t have time to sit around and chitchat with Sick Stu on this road by the river.
“We have to go,” I say.
Sick Stu jumps on his bike and follows us.
“Really?” Shiver looks at me as we pedal along.
“What? He’s okay.” Sick Stu’s no Remy, but he seems eager to help us out.
“Hmpf” is all she says. I guess I’d be surprised if we agreed on everything.
We move along the empty pavement. Shiver’s plugged her earbuds in to listen to . . . whatever it is she listens to. Every once in a while, I can spot the main road up above us to the left. The landscape has changed from pine trees to dry, almost treeless hills that tower over the river and the two roads. I take a picture of the river with the steep hill behind it to send to Kenzie and Remy. And maybe Dad, later.
It’s not long before our little road travels up a hill to reconnect with the main road. We stop a little ways up, and I dig through my backpack for the map.
“Looks like we have to get on the main road. This one goes way off track,” I say, pointing to the line on the map that shows our narrow road disappearing into nowhere.
Shiver rolls her bike backward in order to see the map. “No way. Someone will spot us for sure.”
“Maybe not. I mean, they’re looking for three girls and one boy, all thirteen and under. Now it’s just two girls and . . . him.” I point to Sick Stu.
“Hmm.” Shiver studies Sick Stu. The guy could be twenty for all we know, but totally looks about sixteen. “Let me see that.” She holds out her hand for the map.
“I told you there’s no other way,” I say.
“Just let me check.” She pulls on the corner and I let it go to keep it from ripping. Even though Bug knows way more about nature stuff than I do, I usually get my way on pretty much everything. Which is part of being the older sister, I guess. So it’s kind of annoying to have Shiver act like . . . me.
Sick Stu peers over Shiver’s shoulder, and together they study the map. While I just stand there over my bike, waiting. Waiting. Waiting. And trying really hard not to think of Bug and Mom and Dad when I look at the rapids-filled river perfect for rafting.
“Come on, y’all. We don’t really have that much time.” The sun’s already beginning to lower itself behind the hills back toward Yellowstone.
“All right, fine. There isn’t any other way.” Shiver folds up the map and hands it back to me. “We’ll just have to risk it. It isn’t that far anyway.”
I’m the first one up the hill onto the main road. We’ve been biking for almost exactly five minutes when a police car passes us.
Chapter 24
3 days until Dueling Duets auditions
I stop. This is not good. That police officer will probably turn around and come back. “What are we going to do?” A panicky feeling rises in my throat. I have to make it. I’m so close.
Shiver looks back down the road where the car disappeared. “Maybe he won’t come back.”
I shake my head. “He will. And probably really soon.”
“All right, man,” Sick Stu says. “Here’s the plan. You guys go up that hill and down the other side till you pick up the river again, and then follow it. I’ll keep biking up here. When he comes back, I’ll tell him an Adventure Seekers bus came by, and you got on, but I’m staying out to complete the adventure.”
Sick Stu sounds so sure of himself that Shiver and I just stand there and blink at him for a second.
“Did you hear me, man?” he asks.
Shiver finally finds her voice. “What if he doesn’t believe you?”
Sick Stu pulls out an Adventure Seekers ID card from his pocket. “If that doesn’t work, I’ll tell him to drive me back to the hotel in Cody.”
“But the Adventure Seekers people won’t know who we are,” I say.
“Right. Then I can act like you fooled me. And by then, maybe you’ll already be on your bus home.”
“And we’re supposed to, what . . . bike along the river?” Shiver asks.
“All the way into town.”
It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s the only one we have. “Okay, let’s do that. And thanks, Sick Stu.”
“Good luck,” he says. “This was one sick adventure.” He high-fives us and takes off.
Shiver and I push our bikes straight up the sandy, rocky hill, through the few bits of sagebrush and scraggly bushes.
“Oh. My. God. How high is this thing?” Shiver pants as she drags along beside her bike.
I can’t answer her. My legs are burning, and I can barely breathe. But I can’t stop. Not until we’re at least on the other side, away from the road.
When we finally make it to the top, Shiver drops to the ground on the far side. I fall next to her, my bike sliding just a little in the loose dirt and gravel. One thing that’s good about having Shiver by my side—she’s just as winded as I am.
I peek over the top of the hill. I can’t see Sick Stu anymore, and who knows if the police car has come back. If it has, then I really, really hope the police officer was looking on the sides of the road and not up the hill.
I check my phone. 6:37. We don’t have time to hang around here catching our breath. “Let’s keep going. I can hear the river down there.” I point straight down the hill, toward the quiet gurgling sound below.
We stumble and slide down the mountainside, fighting to hold on to our bikes. I think for a second about leaving them behind, but we might need them again once we get closer to town. I also kind of wish for my hiking boots, which are sitting in Bertha. I never thought I’d miss those things. I try really hard not to think about what my family would normally be doing right now. Eating dinner, Mom telling me and Bug about Dad’s big adventure, Bug filling us in on all the animals she saw today, Mom reminding Bug not to talk with her mouth full. All of us squishing into Bertha’s tiny kitchen to wash the dishes.
Wait, am I actually missing Bertha’s kitchen? There is something seriously wrong with me.
Close to the bottom of the hill, my right foot slides out from under me. I fall and head straight down on my bottom, my bike beside me.
“You okay?” Shiver asks when she finally makes it down to where I’m lying sprawled out just above the river.
“Uh-huh.” It hurts. I hurt all over, actually, and I can’t really tell where the new hurt begins and the old hurt ends. I’m just one big ball of hurt. I cannot wait to get on that bus and stretch out and sleep, all the way to Nashville.
Shiver holds out a hand, and I grab it to pull myself up. It’s not easy moving along the river, because there’s barely a bank. Just a narrow ledge and then a little drop-off to the water below. We have to keep our bikes close to us. Bug would’ve loved this. A
nd Dad, too. Mom would be complaining the whole way, taking all the grumpy thoughts in my head and voicing them out loud.
“Wait,” Shiver says. “How do we know we’re going the right way?”
“Sick Stu said the river goes all the way to town.”
“Yeah, but how will we know when we get to town?” she asks.
“Um, I guess we’ll see cars and buildings and stuff?”
Shiver stops and holds out her hand. Never mind that we’re totally running out of time. I yank the map from my backpack and hand it over. Then I stand there and tap my foot while she studies it. Something moves in the brush behind me. I peek over my shoulder. Nothing there. Probably a snake, sitting there, just waiting to jump out and gnaw off my foot. Are there rattlesnakes out here? Bug would know.
I wish she was here.
Shiver turns the map toward me and points to a spot on the river where a road crosses it. “This is where the river meets the town. But it’s way past where we need to go. So what we should do is cut over here”—she points at a blank space of nothingness—“and then come out on this road and head to the bus stop. What do you think?”
It sounds okay to me. Who knew Shiver was so good at reading maps? “As long as we get there on time.”
She folds up the map and sticks it into her own backpack this time—which is fine by me. I turn forward and trudge on.
And then the ledge ends. Just like that. There’s literally no place to walk because this part of the hill turns into a steep drop-off.
“Now what?” Shiver asks behind me.
The last thing I want to do is look down, but I don’t really have a choice. I grab hold of the trunk of a lone pine tree and then peer down.
Okay, that’s not so bad. Yeah, sure, there are bone-crushing rapids down there, but it isn’t all that far down. Like, I could jump and it would be just like jumping off the low dive at the pool back home.