Free Great Bear Rainforest by Patti Wheeler, Keith Hemstreet Page A

but we’ve found no other sign of them anywhere. No footprints. No clues. Nothing!
    Wyatt tried to radio Liam.
    “Wyatt to Pacific Yellowfin,” he said. “Come in, Pacific Yellowfin. We found the second tender.”
    Again, there was only static.
    “I can’t understand this,” Wyatt said. “I’ve tried every channel, but no radio transmissions are getting through.”
    Frustrated, I picked up a rock and chucked it into the woods.
    “None of this adds up,” I said. “I’m telling you, there’s something strange going on. Four people just don’t vanish into thin air without a single call for help.”
    “What are you saying?” Wyatt asked.
    “All I’m saying is that I wouldn’t be surprised if Dr. Brezner has something to do with all of this.”
    “Would you get that absurd idea out of your head?” Wyatt yelled. “I’m tired of hearing it. Our parents are missing and you’re trying to place blame. What good does that do? This is a huge wilderness. People go missing in the wilderness all the time! It happens!”
    “You have your theory and I have mine!” I shouted back. “I’m not going to argue right now! Bottom line, we have a decision to make!”
    And we did. A big one. Continue our search or return to the ship?
    Being able to talk to Joe and Liam would be helpful. I mean, the Coast Guard might be en route. Maybe a search is under way. Heck, for all we know, our parents could have been rescued already. Alone on this island with radios that don’t work, we have no way of knowing what’s going on and that’s driving me crazy. Then again, if our parents have been rescued wouldn’t they have already returned to pick up the tender? It’s this assumption that makes me think we have no choice but to keep searching.
WYATT
    11:47 AM
    With the hope that our parents were near, we hiked away from the cove. Soon our path along the shore became impassable and we moved inland. We’re tired and have stopped to rest and eat. I’m still having a hard time getting my bearings on this island. My GPS has been useless. I’m hoping to spot a geographical landmark, such as Whalen or Butedale Lake, so I can place us on the map because it’s pretty much impossible to pinpoint our location in this dense forest. Even along the last stretch of coastline, one cove looked a lot like the next.
    All this hiking has been more strenuous than we thought and we’ve already gone through most of our food. We’re down to one last energy bar and a bag of beef jerky. We’re going to ration what’s left, but if we’re on this island much longer, we’ll have to catch a salmon or collect mussels. A good meal will be needed to keep our energy up. Our canteens are also close to empty, but there’s plenty of fresh water on this island so that’s not a problem. After this break, we’ll continue our trek in the hopes of fi nding everyone … alive!

    A wolf print in the sand
GANNON
    LOCATION: NO CLUE!
    Our situation is becoming more serious by the minute. I haven’t wanted to admit it to Wyatt, but I can write it in my journal:
    We’re lost!
    Earlier, we made a big mistake when we wandered away from the shoreline and into the forest and now we can’t find our way out. We’ve been trying like crazy to make it back to the kayaks for the past two hours, but my guess is that we’re farther away from them than we’ve ever been.

    An unknown location in the GBR
    I mean, other than the tender, our search has turned up nothing, nada, zilch. There’s just no way to put a positive spin on things at this point. Our mission, so far, has been a total and complete failure.
    Okay, I admit I’m tired. Aggravated. Cold. Grumpy. My feet and legs are aching. In all honesty, I don’t think I could feel worse. So maybe I’m being overly critical, but I just have to get something off my mind so I can focus on the crisis at hand.
    Okay, here it is: my brother is driving me nuts.
    I know he’s a smart kid and aces most of his tests and his IQ is