When they had
finished eating and cleaning up Sally said, “Well what next?”
“I think we should explore!” Joelle said.
“Alright.” Sally
agreed. “Let’s take a hike.”
“I said
explore, not hike.”
“Same difference.”
“Come on, you two!”
Hadassah laughed.
They walked along
the shore of the lake.
“Don’t you think you
have enough shells?” Sally asked.
Joelle bent and
retrieved a purple shell from the sand. “Nope!” She laughed.
Hadassah leaned
against the wall of the bluff. “You might have to carry some, Sally. Our hands
are getting full.”
Sally shook her
head. “I will not. I don’t mind admiring beautiful shells by the lake, but I
have no use for them anywhere else.”
Hadassah glanced up
at the sky. “Those are nasty clouds.”
Joelle looked up.
“Where did they come from?”
“We’ve been down by
the lake for several hours.” Sally said.
“I believe it’s
going to rain.” Hadassah observed.
“We’d better head
back then.” Joelle said.
They hadn’t gone far
before the shower started.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Hadassah asked.
“Us, wet to the
skin?” Sally laughed.
“No, silly. The rain
on the lake.”
The rain began to
pour down hard.
Joelle started to
run back to the camp but slipped in the slick mud and splashed into the lake.
She came up laughing. “Brr! That’s cold! I won’t try that again.”
Sally and Hadassah
pulled her to her feet.
“We’re going to be
slush before we get back.” Sally said.
“Sally, we won’t
melt.” Hadassah laughed.
The rain was
pounding the earth, creating small canyons in the mud.
The three girls
slipped and laughed their way toward the camp. They were wet through and
splattered with mud.
Suddenly there was a
loud boom.
Joelle and Sally
covered their ears as the whole sky lit up in a flash of lightening.
Hearing a noisy
crack Hadassah looked up…just in time to see a huge tree falling towards them.
“Joelle! Sally! Look out!”
Hadassah
scrambled forward through ankle deep mud. Sally and Joelle turned when Hadassah
shouted. Both their eyes widened and they turned to scramble out of the way.
Hadassah felt a
great weight on her back that forced her to her knees.
And then she felt nothing.
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There is one more piece of the story that I wish was complete for you to enjoy. :)