She's Got a Way (Echo Lake #3) - Maggie McGinnis Page 0,36
every single one of these plants and not be able to remember which one could sustain her and which one could likely kill her.
“What are we looking at?” Madison sighed, adjusting her backpack straps. Luke had insisted they all carry these old army-surplus bags, loaded with water and granola bars and flashlights and matches, among other things. They were heavy, even though he’d said they were only going out for a few hours, and the girls were starting to grumble.
“See those marks up there?”
Gabi looked up at the thin, vertical stripes, but she had no more idea what they were than the girls did. Luke stood on a log to reach up and touch the stripes, rubbing his fingers together after he stepped down.
“Fresh.” He smiled. “That’s bear.”
Waverly’s eyes suddenly darted around, and she pulled in closer to the group. “What do you mean, that’s bear?”
“Claw marks, and the sap’s still running out of them. Probably came by this morning.”
“It is this morning,” Madison screech-whispered.
“Yep.” Luke looked around casually, like he wasn’t at all bothered that they were sharing the woods with a creature that could pummel them with one paw and eat them for lunch. “Probably has cubs, too. Bears generally stay out of your way if they smell you first, but if you ever get between a mama and her cubs, you better say your prayers.”
Gabi gulped, looking around for little bundles of fur.
“Don’t worry.” He smiled. “You four walk like a pack of elephants. She’ll have taken her babies well out of our way by now. But just good to know they’re out here. If you see one, don’t run. Just back away slowly, like you’re not interested in hanging out today, and hope for the best.”
Wow, he really was pouring it on thick here. He wanted to scare the girls into staying at camp? Well, score one for him. He’d now scared her into peeing her pants before leaving the tent to use the outhouse.
“You ladies ever seen a moose?” His eyes were bright, amused, but the girls were anything but amused.
“How about we head back to camp?” Eve suggested. “You know, in case the bear is still around.”
“Nah. We brought lunch. I know a good spot.” Luke started forward, then stopped dead and put his arms out, scaring every single one of them. He looked at the ground in front of his feet. “Well, would you look at that.”
“What?” Sam narrowed her eyes, gripping her backpack straps. “What is it?”
“Can’t tell for sure. Scat. Lynx or catamount.”
Gabi felt her eyes go wide. Lynx? Catamount? In these woods less than half a mile from the tent? Their next project was going to be a sleeping cabin with walls and windows and a damn door.
“What is scat?” Eve whispered.
“Poop. Big cat.” He studied it. “Probably yesterday. Last night, maybe. They move around at night, mostly.”
He looked back at the girls. “Lots of action out here at night. Not all of them are big enough to take down a human, but some are. Make sure you don’t give ’em a reason, okay? Some of them don’t actually require one.”
Gabi turned backward, pretending to gaze behind her so the girls wouldn’t see her smile. She would now be willing to bet not one of them would consider taking off from camp. Bears? Moose? Lynx and catamount? Yeah, there was no way these girls were even going to sleep tonight, let alone stage an escape.
Score one for Luke.
An hour later, after an epic climb that Gabi would definitely be feeling in her thighs for days to come, the six of them were seated on a rocky outcropping at the top of the world. At the top of Echo Lake, Vermont, at least. Directly in front of them, far below, was the lake, shimmering in the noontime sunlight, and Gabi was pretty sure she’d never seen anything quite so beautiful in her life.
A breeze wafted over the tops of the trees and cooled her heated face as she drank from her water bottle, then wiped it across her forehead. The girls were splayed out over the rock, moaning and groaning instead of enjoying the view, but she could care less. If they didn’t want to take advantage of their hard work by looking around, that was their problem.
“Anybody want some chocolate?” Luke waved a couple of Hershey bars in the air, and the girls all snapped upright, making Gabi laugh.
Waverly practically drooled. “You have chocolate?”