Gary Paulsen by Escape from Fire Mountain

Author:Escape from Fire Mountain [Mountain, Escape from Fire]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-307-52296-2
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 1995-04-09T21:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Frank had laid the sleeping bag just outside the tent's opening. His sleeping body blocked any escape through the door.

Nikki could hear him snoring. James and Molly were huddled in one corner, using each other for pillows. She pulled out her pocketknife and scooted to the back wall of the tent. Quietly she slit the canvas all the way down, then stepped out and moved around to the front. The moon gave her enough light to see where she was going.

To the four-wheelers.

They were so sure of themselves the men hadn't thought to remove the keys. She unfolded her knife and punctured the tires of one of the vehicles. Then she threw that set of keys into the woods.

Frank made a choking, sputtering noise and sat up. Nikki crouched behind one of the four-wheelers. The big man looked around a moment and then lay back down facing her. In the darkness she couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed.

She waited for what seemed like hours until she heard his even snoring.

Then she moved to the guns.

One was a high-powered rifle with a bolt. Her dad had one just like it, and she'd seen him use it many times. She slid the bolt out and put it in her pocket. The other gun had a lever action. Nikki felt on the ground for rocks the size of the barrel. With a stick she forced three of them down into it.

Time was running out. Nikki made her way back to the slit in the tent and gently awakened James. “Time to go.”

James didn't say a word. He helped her pick up Molly, grabbed the pack, and followed her out of the tent.

They sat Molly on the seat of the four-wheeler, put it in neutral, and pushed it down the valley. They hadn't gone far when Nikki heard yelling. The men were awake and had obviously discovered the empty tent.

“Get on, James!” Nikki put Molly on her lap, turned the key, and pushed the start button.

Nothing.

It wouldn't start. “Come on …” She pushed the button again. The machine made a grinding noise and then slowly worked its way into motion.

Nikki kicked it in gear, found the headlight switch, and roared into the forest. She had to pick her way carefully. Even though she had driven her uncle Joe's four-wheeler many times, there wasn't much room to maneuver, and she didn't want to make any mistakes.

Behind them they heard the two men bellowing and cursing over the other disabled four-wheeler. Nikki smiled. Wait until they checked out their guns.

On through the dark night she drove without stopping. After a while James tapped her on the shoulder. “How can you tell which way we're going?”

She pointed at the sky. “Up there. See the Big Dipper?”

“I think so.”

“Line up the two stars at the top of the dipper. See that shiny star off to the right? That's called the North Star. You can find your way around at night if you know which direction to travel.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.