Free Lost Cipher by Michael Oechsle Page B

joined Lucas.
    â€œI guess that makes two dead idiots,” Zack hissed, taking a step toward them.
    Lucas knew it was the moment of truth. “You really gonna fight us both, Zack?”
    The question halted the bigger boy’s charge, and Lucas kept talking.
    â€œLook, we ain’t got no cause to fight no more, Zack, but we will if that’s how you want it. The way I see it, we’re square for what you done to George. And I might even consider callin’ it even on what you done to my pa’s pack. You leave us be, and maybe we’ll do the same for you.”
    Zack stood for a few seconds, fists clenched and arms taut, glaring back and forth between the two younger boys. Lucas tried to keep from shaking and braced for the big kid’s charge. But suddenly George was at his side too. He was red faced and breathing hard from running down from the office, but he stared Zack in the eye, looking about as mean as a pudgy, freckle-faced twelve-year-old could and letting Zack know he’d have to take on all three of them if he wanted a fight.
    Zack stared hard at George, knowing that he was the most vulnerable brick in their shaky wall.
    â€œWhat are you gonna do? Sit on me?”
    â€œMaybe I will,” replied George, though it didn’t sound too tough.
    Suddenly Zack took notice of the two counselors rushing up on them.
    â€œYou should get on your knees and thank them,” he said, still steaming. “They’re the only reason you’re all not bleeding right now.” He turned toward his cabin.
    Lucas grinned at Alex and George and called out to Zack, “Hey, don’t forget breakfast.” The older boy glared over his shoulder, reversing course toward the path that led up the hill to the dining hall. Lucas watched him go, then turned back to his roommates, laughing out loud, even though the counselors were now within earshot.
    â€œYou boys want to tell us what’s going on this morning?” Maggie asked sharply. “What was Zack doing up there? And how did you get in the office, George?”
    Lucas started to explain, but the goofy grin on his face did little to ease Maggie’s anger.
    Half an hour later, all three of them were wearing aprons and shoveling out pancakes in the dining room right next to Zack.

CHAPTER 12
    By the time they made it back from kitchen duty and packed what they needed for the backpacking trip, the rest of the campers were waiting around the fire ring. In Cabin One, George had made a grunting and groaning spectacle of trying to heft his overloaded pack, so Lucas and Alex sifted through it and tossed everything he didn’t need onto his bunk. By the time they left the cabin, the pile included two crushed packages of mini doughnuts, an oversized plastic air mattress, enough bug spray for an army of jungle explorers, and a huge hunting knife. George had whined mightily about leaving behind all of his luxuries, especially the knife, which he claimed he would need for fending off wild animals. But when he shouldered the much lighter pack, he happily forgot his extra gear.
    Lucas’s own pack was freshly patched with a couple layers of duct tape—something his father had always told him to carry in the field, just like he had in the Marines.
    With Aaron and Rooster in the lead, the twelve boys headed up the trail past the dining hall and into the forest. The way out of the valley that morning was not as steep as the trail they’d taken the day before, but it took twice as long to reach the same kind of high, airy views. Around midmorning, Aaron pointed out a worn, wooden Forest Service sign that marked the boundary between camp property and the wilderness area, and soon they were traversing a lofty ridge of lightning-scarred trees and ledges that opened up to vistas across a deep gorge, with another ridge and distant flatlands beyond.
    Most of the hikers were carrying big packs for the first time, so the counselors gave them