Free The Trip to Raptor Bluff by Annie O'Haegan

and Leanna northeast in search of roads leading away from the coast.  Brenda is heading south towards those remote neighborhoods in the hills that we passed right before we got to Hammer Mountain Park. She and Shelly will take Libby and Pepper with them.  Once they find refuge, they will stay there and wait for rescue.  Lucy, you and Dakota are taking Kate and Sarah with you.  Brenda and I are already taking on the responsibility for two of the students.
    “Excuse me?” sputtered Lucy. “You decided all of this without my input?  I’m a member of the Zeem family and an officer of the company and you didn’t even consult with me?”
    “It makes no sense to head towards the devastation in Port Fortand, Lucy, and I’m done arguing this point with you,” snapped Rick.  “Besides, if we all go in different directions, we have a better chance of finding someone with a satellite phone.  Whoever finds help first can point the rescuers to where the others are.” He glanced at his watch.  “We need to head out. We’ve wasted enough time already.”
    “Fine!” said Lucy.  “Then I am taking Leanna with me and you can have Sarah or Kate, Rick.  Leanna is my foster child and my responsibility.”
    “We divided the students by fitness levels for a reason, Lucy.  The faster that one of our teams finds help, the sooner the other teams are rescued.  Leanna is the only kid who is fit enough to keep up with Abby and me.”
    “Exactly!  And that’s why she’s coming with me.  She is strong enough…”
    “To be your Sherpa,” cut in Brenda.  “I don’t believe you, Lucy.  A slower kid will hold up Rick’s whole team, but that’s OK as long as it makes things easier for you!”
    “Knock it off!” barked Rick. “It’s settled!”  He and Brenda both walked away abruptly, effectively cutting off Lucy’s objections. 
    Brenda called Shelly, Pepper, and Libby into a huddle to explain the plan, and then guided them to the spring where they drank as much water as they could.  They carried their baggage to the south end of the clearing to wait for Rick, who was writing Joshua’s satellite number on strips of paper. 
    When Rick crossed the clearing and handed Brenda the phone number he said, “Lucy is determined to take her team to Port Fortand, against my better judgment and advice.  She’ll be going the same direction as me until we get to the split where I go east and she goes west, but my team is going to rush ahead; I have to put some serious distance between us before Lucy plays the foster mother card and tries to steal Leanna away again.”  His eyes grew misty as he wrapped Brenda in a hug.  “Lucy should be in Port Fortand by tomorrow night at the latest.  If my team is really lucky, some Good Samaritan will pick us up on the road and drive us inland.  We’ll send help your way as soon as we can.  God bless you all and good luck.  Now get out of here before Andrea has another meltdown, or worse, Lucy tries to seize control again.”
    “Wish Lucy and her team good luck for me, Rick,” said Brenda.  “I hate Lucy’s guts but I do want her team to make it out of here safely.”
    “She sent me over with the exact same message for you, including the ‘ I hate Brenda’s guts’ part,” smiled Rick.  “It’s all good.”
    Brenda watched as Rick crossed the clearing and led his team towards the woods.  Lucy’s team was right behind. Both Lucy and Rick turned at the same time to wave farewell.  Brenda waved back and headed south with the sounds of Andrea’s hysterical bawling at her back.

Chapter 6              The Teams Day Two
Andrea, Tara, and Reba
    Andrea, Tara, and Reba sat morosely on the damp ground a few feet away from the spring that trickled down from the rocky hillside.  The area in which they sat faced a small copse of old-growth forest that stopped abruptly at a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  A steep, fern-covered hill rose behind them and