Free The Hunted by Gloria Skurzynski

binoculars so we can spy on them through the trees.”
    â€œSpy on who?”
    â€œWhoever’s out there playing that loud music. If we use the binoculars, we don’t have to get too close, just in case it really is—uh—the P word.”
    Luckily, Miguel didn’t panic this time because he didn’t connect “the P word” to “police.”
    Jack was about to remind his sister that they weren’t supposed to stray from their campground, but he was a little curious, too, about who might be out there in the woods.
    â€œOK,” he told Ashley. “Go get the binoculars.”
    The sun had long since burned off the early morning mist, and now the noon sky beat down in a stifling wave of heat. As they waited for Ashley, Jack and Miguel stayed at the picnic bench, huddled at the end where tree shadows offered shelter. Miguel’s fingers picked tiny splinters from the wooden tabletop; every few seconds, he scanned the trees, watching for any movement, and then, like curtains being shut, his lids would drop down again. He looked scared, Jack thought. And why not? If Jack and Ashley couldn’t make sense of the strange sounds, what must Miguel be thinking?
    â€œCome on, Ashley,” Jack called. “Hurry up.”
    â€œI’m trying. Just hold on—I can’t find them.”
    â€œDad said he left them in the trailer.”
    â€œI know, but he didn’t say where. Give me a second.”
    Flies punctuated the stillness as they buzzed around the picnic table. “Ashley, come on!” Jack yelled impatiently.
    â€œI give up,” she said, emerging from the trailer. “They’re not in there. Dad must have taken them with him by mistake.”
    â€œGreat. No binoculars. Now what?”
    â€œWell, I was thinking that if we hike up to the top of the loop in the road, maybe we could see who’s back there,” Ashley answered. “There’s a lot of trees t o hide behind.”
    â€œUmmm, I don’t think so,” Jack told her, shaking his head. “That’s pretty far away, and we’re supposed to stay right here in our own campground. If Mom and Dad found out we left here, we’d be grounded for life. Spying with binoculars from far away is one thing, but—”
    â€œIt’s not that far! Look at Miguel, he’s afraid the you-know-who are going to arrest him, which is my fault for bringing it up in the first place. I know that was dumb, but he’s still scared. Don’t you want to show him it’s safe?”
    Jack looked at Miguel, whose eyes flicked back and forth from Jack to Ashley to the road.
    Weakening, Jack countered, “Maybe we ought to wait until Mom and Dad get back.”
    â€œBy then whoever is doing whatever they’re doing might be gone! Come on, Jack, we’ll be like spies. We’ll find them, we’ll watch, we’ll leave. Do it for Miguel if you won’t do it for me.”
    That convinced him. “OK, but you have to do exactly what I tell you, and go back when I tell you to, no questions asked.”
    â€œAbsolutely!” Ashley agreed.
    â€œAll of us need to stay close and keep quiet. Shhh,” he told Miguel, his finger to his mouth.
    Miguel had barely taken three steps from the picnic bench before he fell, sprawling in the dust. “Shoes too big,” he said, kicking off Ashley’s sandals. He went to where Jack had left the garbage bag to retrieve his old, torn sneakers.
    â€œNo, they’re too dirty,” Ashley protested.
    â€œI think he wants to be able to run if he needs to.”
    â€œWell, if he has to wear those nasty shoes, then at least I’m going to scrape some of the dirt off.” Ashley snatched the shoes from Miguel before he could sit down to put them on. “I’ll take them to that green pump over there and squirt water on them. That’ll help.”
    â€œHe doesn’t care about the dirt,”