Summer Lake by Jennifer Liss

Author:Jennifer Liss [Liss, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saddleback Educational Publishing
Published: 2018-02-18T05:00:00+00:00

Dream World

Cora was filled with hope. Something waited for her at Summer Lake. Maybe not treasure. But something special.

As she walked, she felt a rush of good feelings. There was beauty in everything she saw. The oak trees with their tangled roots. The way the branches cast shadows across the trail. Even the creepy-looking turkey vultures.

This is why she loved hiking. Any problems she had were small. There was more to life.

Then she remembered the camera. It was in her shirt pocket. The best parts of the trail were coming up. She wanted to get some pictures.

Her mind wandered to what was ahead. Her campsite. The sunset. Sleep. Then Summer Lake.

Summer Lake What if she did find treasure? Lucas and Rayna would die of shock.

Suddenly Cora felt herself slip. Her ankle twisted. She’d stepped on a loose stone. Now she could see that the whole trail was stones. This was a creek bed.

How long had she been off the trail? When she looked back, it wasn’t even in sight.

It’s okay, she thought. Just turn around. Go back the way you came. But part of her was scared. What if she couldn’t find her way back?

Now it was early afternoon. The sun beat down. Without a breeze, the air was heavy. It made it hard to breathe.

Cora’s mouth was dry. She took a sip of water. Then she took out her map. Her finger traced the trail. Off to one side was Berry Creek. That had to be where she was. The trail was west of there.

Easy enough. Just head west back to the trail.

Cora looked at her compass. She started walking. A voice in her head said she was lost. But she tried to ignore it. Maps didn’t lie. All she had to do was trust herself and keep walking.

Up ahead, the path seemed to end. Plants covered the trail. Their leaves were in groups of three. They had pointed tips. Poison oak! Brushing against it could cause a painful rash.

She took out the map again. There was only one path to the trail. It was through the poison oak. Going around it would just get her lost again.

Cora’s mind raced. What if she was wrong? If Rayna was there, they would decide together. If Lucas was there, they wouldn’t have gotten lost at all. But she was alone. It was up to her.

She’d come too far. The heat hadn’t killed her. A little poison oak wouldn’t either. The worst that could happen was to get a bad rash. She could deal with that. Right now, the important thing was to find the trail.

She tried to walk quickly. But this was more than a little poison oak. The area was thick with shrubs and vines. With each step, her pants brushed against the leaves.

Cora was so focused on the ground that she almost missed the trail. But then she saw the dirt path. Tears filled her eyes. She didn’t realize how scared she’d been.

This was a good time to take a break.

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