The Adventure of the Magic Chia Plant

Chapter 14: Follow the Footsteps

"What do we do?" Beth asked fearfully.  "I want to go home!"

Brent exhaled.  He wanted to go home too, but in the first place, they couldn't leave without Bench.  In the second, they couldn't leave without creating the magic portal, for which they needed the soft drink bottle, for which they needed the chia tea, for which they needed...what? They'd tried the giant clamshell, but it had only exploded, nearly seriously injuring them both.  It was a wonder that Brent had gotten away with only scattered second-degree burns.  He could try the coconut husk and the whelk shell Bethie had found, but he didn't think they'd do any better to contain the boiling water.  They really needed Bench, whom he suspected to have gone off into the forest for exactly this reason: to find a container for the blasted tea.  But Bench had been gone for hours.  He could have gotten lost in there already.  The problem was, Bench had the things that would be useful if one were to hike into the woods: the penknife and the flashlight.  

He had matches, though, and the sanitizer spray.  Maybe they could make a torch. That would be helpful.

Fired with fresh hope, Brent started back to their campfire.  "Help me look for some good, strong sticks, will you, Beth?"

His little sister trotted along behind him like a puppy.  "What for?"

"You'll see."

Brent rooted among the embers and the small pile of firewood, and eventually came up with two branches that looked long and sturdy.  Beth hurried back and handed him two more that she'd scrounged from the beach.  

"These are perfect. Thanks, Beth!"  He stowed the extra sticks inside his backpack.

"Now, what?"

"Now, I'm going to need some cloth."

Brent hesitated, then tore a long, two-inch strip from the hem of his shirt.  Fortunately, the material was thin and easy to tear.  He then wrapped the cloth around the tip of the longest, thickest stick they had and knotted it so that it would stay in place.  

"Is that a weapon?" Beth asked interestedly.

"Well, not exactly, but I guess it could serve as one."

"Oh, I know what that is!" Beth clapped her hands in recognition.  "I remember that from my games! It's a torch!"

"That's right!" Brent gazed at his sister in pride.  He'd forgotten that she liked to play RPGs.  Maybe the knowledge from those games would come in handy after all.  "Do you want me to make you a torch, too?"

"Oh, no," Beth said, shrinking away.  "I'm afraid of fire.  I remember what it did to that leaf, and what it did to you!" She pointed at his numerous band-aids.  

Brent shook his head.  Under any other circumstance, he wouldn't let Beth within ten feet of fire at all.  Her fear was entirely justified.  But these were extraordinary circumstances.  They were trapped quite literally in the middle of nowhere, possibly surrounded by dangerous creatures, with no real weapons on hand.  Beth had to grow up, and fast.

"It's still better if you have one, Beth, even an unlit one," Brent said soothingly.  "I trust you.  Remember you're so good at those medieval RGP games? You're even better than Bench and me!"

Bethie nodded reluctantly. "Yes..."

"See? Now, get a stick, and let's make you a torch of your own."

Together, they picked out another branch that was almost as long.  Brent was about to tear off another piece from his already shortened shirt when Beth stopped him. 

"Let's get the cloth from my shirt, this time."

Brent shrank back.  "No--"

"Really, look." With one strong tug, she started tearing at her own hem.  "My shirt is much longer than yours."

She was right when it came down to that.   Brent helped her with her torch until she had one just like his own.  

"Do we just set fire to this, then?" Beth asked, looking at it.  

"No, it needs some kind of accelerant," Brent answered.  "Luckily, we can use the alcohol spray sanitizer.  I don't want to spray it just yet, though, or it will evaporate."

Beth nodded.  "That makes sense.  Are we making one for Bench too?"

"He shouldn't need one.  He has the flashlight," Brent reasoned.  At least, I hope he still has it. "Come on, let's fix our bags."

Together, they divided everything equally among the three knapsacks so that even if they lost one, the remaining ones would still contain food, water, medicines, etc. Brent also put two sticks in each backpack, along with five waterproof, strike-anywhere matches and a small sanitizer spray.  Thank goodness their mother was a fan of redundancy.  After some thought, though, he put all the seeds in a pouch and stuffed it deep in his pocket. Those little black balls were their most valuable possessions, and he would not risk getting separated from them.  Brent took his and Bench's backpacks, while Beth shouldered hers. 

After a quick snack and drink of water (they would have to forage soon), Brent stood up and gestured at Bench's footsteps.  "We're going to follow those and look for Bench.  I think he went into the forest."

Beth looked at the forbidding-looking woods ahead of them and shivered.  "Do we have to?  Can't we just wait for Bench to come back?"

"We tried that.  He would have come back already if he could have.  It's time for us to look for him." Brent put a hand on his sister's shoulder.  "I'll need you to be brave, okay?"

Beth squared her little shoulders.  "Okay!"

Brent started forward, following in the footsteps.  He certainly hoped he was doing the right thing.  Once they reached the edge of the forest, there would be no turning back.