Free Forces of Nature by Nate Ball Page B

Mom.”
    What Zack couldn’t say was that, while he knew Olivia would make this camping trip a lot more fun, the thought of leaving Amp unsupervised for a whole three-day weekend made him nervous. Amp was like a disaster magnet.
    â€œZack also likes to sleep in his underwear,” Taylor said. “Now he can’t.”
    â€œThat’s not true,” Zack said.
    Mom continued to try to fix up Zack’s hair. “Olivia and I can sleep in the small tent, and you, Taylor, and your father can sleep in the big tent.”
    â€œDad! He snores like a volcano,” Zack protested.
    â€œVolcanoes don’t snore,” Taylor said, shaking his head at his brother’s lack of basic science knowledge. “But they do sort of burp. Mostly water vapor and carbon dioxide. But also lots of different sulfur compounds. It’s a long list and varies by volcano.”
    Zack stared at his brother like he was the alien in the house, and then began flapping his arms again. “It’s bad enough that Taylor laughs in his sleep, now I get snoring on top of it?”
    â€œI don’t laugh in my sleep!” Taylor shouted, apparently insulted at being accused of sleep-laughing.
    â€œShe’s already coming,” Mom said with a firm nod. “Now let’s have fun, you two.”
    What Zack couldn’t explain was that Olivia was going to feed Mr. Jinxy and walk Smokey while they were gone. Now somebody else would have to come into the house to take care of the cat and the dog, further risking the accidental discovery of Amp.
    Zack closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. Camping had always seemed inconvenient, but this year there was so much more at stake.
    Zack had a bad feeling about this trip.
    He wished he were the one who had come down with pinkeye.
    But he was not the lucky type.

Carsick
    T he car ride was long and filled with twists and turns.
    Zack kept yawning sleepily to pop his ears as the car climbed into the mountains on a curvy, looping road.
    They stopped three times so Taylor could vomit on the side of the road. His carsickness was part of the tradition, and more often than not he wound up vomiting alongside Jimmy. Already the trip felt odd without Taylor’s co-vomiter.
    After his third puking episode, Taylor fell asleep against Olivia and began laughing. Nothing was creepier than a kid laughing at invisible dreams. It gave Zack the willies.
    Zack watched out his window as the trees became bigger and wilder.
    Olivia, surprisingly, didn’t speak much. Usually she could chatter on about stuff until your ears fell off. But Olivia had never been camping, just fishing and hiking with her grandpa. So, before they left she had grabbed some books about camping from her grandpa’s shelf and now she studied them like her life depended on it.
    Zack’s dad had decided to bring Smokey. Nobody was available on such short notice to take care of him. He slept on Zack’s feet, jerking occasionally while dreaming about squirrels, bacon, or whatever it is that dogs dream about.

    Mr. Jinxy wound up being the lucky one. He got to stay home with plenty of food and water, a fresh litter box, and a few balls of yarn to keep him company.
    Zack’s feet began to fall asleep. He stared out the window. He was worried about Amp. Although Amp was from a far-off, far more advanced civilization, he was lost on Earth. He needed close monitoring and constant attention. And even then, trouble always seemed to follow him. Without Olivia around to watch him, Zack shuddered to think what kind of mischief he could get into.
    Zack eventually fell into an uneasy sleep. He dreamed about eating a salami-and-earthworm sandwich at the front of his classroom. He hated that dream.
    It was the dream he usually had just before things went terribly wrong.

Ranger Davis
    â€œY ou didn’t order a permit for the dog?” a park ranger with a wide-brimmed hat was asking through the open