Chapter Eight: Kacey to the Rescue
At first, Kacey was startled, and cried, “Just come out of the tent quickly, everyone!”
As the kids left, she noticed that the snake didn’t move. She tapped the area near the snake with her toe, but the snake remained immobile. Just to make sure, she used a stick to touch it, and realized that the snake was made of rubber.
“Who brought this?” she asked, holding up the rubber snake.
The kids all stared wide-eyed at the snake.
“It’s fake!” Pedro shouted, “It’s the fake one that Bartley had in his suitcase!”
Kacey turned to him, “Is this yours?”
Bartley shook his head, “No, it’s not mine! He’s lying!”
“I am not!” Pedro shouted at him, “I saw it in your suitcase! You brought it to camp with you!”
“Liar!” Bartley shouted, and pushed Pedro to the ground. He pounced down onto him in a flash and pinned the boy’s shoulders to the ground.
Kacey dropped the snake and pulled Bartley off of Pedro.
“Stop that! No fighting!” she yelled.
Everyone rushed over to see what was going on. Matt took Bartley by the shoulders and said,
“That’s it, Bartley! You’re sleeping in my tent! Come on!”
Despite Bartley’s protests, Matt pulled him to the tent he shared with Andre and put him inside it. Kacey brought Bartley’s sleeping bag and gave it to him.
Matt warned, “Stay in there! And if I see you trying to leave, you’ll be in BIG trouble!”
Bartley said nothing, but did as he was told.
Once the kids were all in bed, the counselors sat around the fire together and talked. Andre slid his arm around Tasha, and she nestled up against him.
Matt asked Kacey about her life back home, and she told him that she was a full-time student at Westfield University, studying art and music. He asked if she had a steady boyfriend, and she told him about Joshua, who she had been dating since high school.
“You two must be pretty tight,” Matt said.
“Yeah, we are. We’re best friends and committed to each other. We’ll probably get married after we finish college.”
“That’s cool,” Tasha said, “I hope I get married someday. But first I have to find the perfect guy.”
Andre cleared his throat and scowled at her, “What do you mean? He’s sitting right here!”
Tasha laughed, “Oh, you mean Matt? Yeah, he’s pretty cool, but-“
“No! Me, you idiot!” he responded, shaking her playfully.
She laughed in return and the two of them hugged.
Matt told them that back home he worked for his father’s car parts business. Ava told the group that she was studying criminal justice and would be a detective someday.
“What about you?” Kacey asked Tasha.
She shrugged, “Oh, I don’t go to school. I’m just not into studying. I worked part-time at a store for a while, but then I got laid off. So I volunteered to come here for a week just to get away from my family. They drive me crazy!”
The conversation went long into the evening, and as the fire died down, they began to yawn. Just before midnight, they all turned in for the night.
Kacey slept like a rock that night. She hadn’t heard a thing during the night--no bears nor owls had kept her awake. She awoke to the sound of some of the campers talking in low tones.
Gradually, the campers emerged from their tents and the counselors started making breakfast. Kacey helped them each get something to eat, and then noticed that Bartley was not present. ‘He’s probably afraid to come out of the tent,’ she thought, and went to Matt and Andre’s tent. Both Matt and Andre were having breakfast with the kids.
“Bartley,” she called, “You can come out now.”
There was no answer.
“Bartley? It’s time for breakfast. Come on out.”
When silence was the only answer, Kacey opened the flap of the tent and peeked inside.
Bartley wasn’t there. She stood up and looked around the campsite, but didn’t see him, so she asked Matt and Andre where Bartley was.
“He was in the tent with us last night,” Andre said, “He was asleep when I came in around midnight.”
“Yeah, he was out like a rock,” Matt added.
“Was he there when you woke up?” she asked.
“No, but I heard some kids talking, so I thought he was out here. Hey, kids, has anyone seen Bartley?”
A camper named Dwane asked, “You mean Fartley? No, haven’t seen him.”
The kids all laughed in response, but Kacey gave Matt a worried look.
“I’ll check the latrine area,” she said.
“I’ll go look around the lake,” Andre volunteered.
Matt said, “Okay. Tasha, you keep an eye on the kids. I’m going to look around for Bartley.”
Tasha agreed. Most of the kids were still eating breakfast which would keep them occupied for a while.
Kacey and the others called Bartley’s name while they searched, but there was no response. Kacey became really worried.
She went up the trail toward the bear caves, but didn’t see or hear anyone. As she returned to camp, she worried that he may have gotten lost, or fallen in the lake somehow during the night. As soon as she reached camp, the others returned. No one had seen Bartley.
“If only we could get a signal out here,” Ava said, trying her cell phone.
“It’s no use,” Matt said, “We’re too far away from civilization.”
“We need to get help right away,” Kacey said, “Let’s get the kids packed up. Maybe one of us should run back to the camp and tell Mr. Shillings.”
“I’ll go,” Andre volunteered.
“I’ll go with you,” Tasha said, but Matt replied, “We need you with us to get these kids packed up and brought back to camp. Go, Andre, and hurry!”
Andre nodded, and ran down the trail heading for camp.
After the camp was broken down and packed, and the fire was completely put out, the kids were lined up for the hike back to camp.
“Maybe one of us should stay here in case Bartley returns,” Kacey said.
“Good idea,” Matt agreed, and was about to volunteer when she said, “Please let me! I feel responsible for him because he’s on my team.”
Matt was about to protest, but then he said, “Hey, anybody who can scare a bear away can stay alone in the woods.”
Ava said, “I’ll stay with her. You and Tasha can take the kids back to camp.”
Matt agreed, and he led the kids while Tasha followed at the end of the line to make sure everyone stayed together.
After they left, Ava and Kacey kept searching for signs of Bartley’s tracks, but could see none.
“This is bad,” Ava said, “What if we can’t find him?”
“We’ll find him, somehow!” Kacey insisted.
Bartley struggled to climb up to the top of the cliff, scraping his knee against a rock.
“Ow!” he cried, and looked down. He had climbed about twenty-five feet up the steep, rocky cliff, and had finally reached the top. Once on top, he could see the tops of the trees below and the lake in the distance. He looked at his knee, which was oozing blood, and wiped it off with his hand.
He turned and saw a trail leading down to a cave in the hillside.
“A bear cave!” he exclaimed. He recalled that Matt had said that the bears didn’t live in the caves during summer, and no bears had been in this area for years. He decided to take a chance and check it out. But he would be careful, he thought.
He stepped carefully over the edge of the cliff and edged his way along until he reached a large rock near the cave. Climbing up onto it, he peered cautiously inside the dark cave. It was too black to see anything, but just to be safe, he picked up a rock and tossed it inside.
Nothing stirred from within. He took a few cautious steps into the cave. It was bigger than he thought. It was big enough to hold a few bear
s in winter, and he wondered if bears ever shared their caves.
Toward the rear, there was a spot where dirt was compacted flat and hard. Bartley decided that was probably where the bears slept. The rest of the floor had dry leaves and pine needles scattered about.
He reached into his pocket to get some candy, and his fingers touched the wood stick matches that he had taken from Matt’s backpack early that morning. Matt and Andre had been sound asleep in their sleeping bags. Bartley had sneaked quietly to check out what Matt had in his backpack. He was thrilled to find the box of wood stick matches, and had decided to take a few on his hike into the woods.
Bartley wanted to start his own fire all by himself. He didn’t believe that any of the counselors would ever let him light one of their campfires.
The cave was the perfect place to make his campfire, he thought. He was high up on a cliff and far enough from the campsite that no one would see the smoke.
He pulled some dry twigs for kindling from the floor of the cave. After making a small pile near the opening of the cave, he took out his matches and swiped one against the rock. It burst into a beautiful blue flame, and then diminished to a steady yellow.
He touched the match to the kindling, and it started on fire immediately. Bartley smiled in satisfaction. He knew he could start a campfire, just like everyone else, and now he had proved it.
He looked around for more kindling, going deeper into the cave. As soon as he was inside, a gust of wind sailed up the side of the cliff, pushing air into the mouth of the cave.
The burning kindling flew up in all directions, and landed on the dry leaves and pine needles, catching fire.
“Oh no!” Bartley cried, realizing what had happened. There were small fires starting all around him. He began stamping on them as quickly as possible, but another gust of wind fueled the flames into a roaring fire.
Bartley backed away from the fire, and he soon felt the end wall against his back. He could go no further. The flames spread across the floor before him, filling the cave with smoke.
The heat of the flames burned the skin of his face, legs, and arms. As the fire was spread wider throughout the cave, Bartley pressed himself against the back wall. He turned his body away from the flames and crouched down as small as he could make himself. The smoke filled his nostrils and irritated his lungs, making him cough. It was getting hard to breathe. He needed his inhaler, but it was in his backpack back at camp. The smoke grew thicker and it became harder and harder to breathe. He wondered if he was going to die.
Ava and Kacey agreed to take turns looking for Bartley. One stayed back at the campsite while the other searched the surrounding area.
First Ava began searching farther along the path they had taken yesterday to the bear caves. Then to her left, she saw a trail leading to the waterfall where they had gone swimming. She left the trail to the bear caves and searched the creek and waterfalls, calling out Bartley’s name.
After half an hour, she returned to the campsite empty-handed.
“He has to be here somewhere!” Kacey insisted. Feeling desperate, she said,
“Ava, would you pray with me? I really need God’s help, and if we pray together, it would be better, I think.”
Ava shrugged, “Sure.”
“Thanks,” Kacey said. She took hold of Ava’s hands and they bowed their heads.
“Lord,” she began, “You know where Bartley is right now. Help us to find him now. He’s lost and needs our help. Please show us the way to find him. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”
Ava said, “Amen,” and then asked, “Well, what do we do next?”
“I’ll try searching. I’ll meet you back here in half an hour.”
Ava and Kacey looked at their watches and noted the time.
Before Kacey left, Ava said, “I went as far as the trail that goes off to the left toward the creek and waterfall.”
“Okay.”
Kacey set off at a brisk pace, calling Bartley’s name and searching the woods on both sides of the trail. In ten minutes, she reached the bear caves where they had brought the kids yesterday, but there was no sign of Bartley. She called to him again, and began looking in each of the two caves, but saw nothing.
Standing next to the bear caves, she wondered where to go next, and decided to say another silent prayer for God’s guidance. Looking up to pray, she saw smoke coming from the top of the cliff above.
She figured it was either a forest fire, or another campsite. She hoped it was a campsite and that perhaps someone there had seen Bartley. She began climbing up the rocky cliff.
The climbing was hard work, and several times her toe holds gave way as the stones slipped and tumbled down the bluff. She slid down a few feet and scraped her knees and hands on the rocks. Some were split with sharp edges. Looking up, she whispered, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”
She pulled herself up the cliff until she saw smoke coming from the cave just above her to the left.
Finding a foothold, Kacey pushed herself up the cliff as quickly as she could. To get to the cave, she had to slide along a ledge, hanging on to the rocks near her face.
Finally, she reached the cave where thick smoke billowed from the entrance.
“Bartley! Are you in there?”
No response came, but then she heard a noise. It sounded like coughing.
“Bartley! Can you hear me? Can you come out?”
She thought she heard coughing, and she knew she had to go into the cave. The smoke made her choke and stung her eyes. If Bartley was in there, he could be dying of an asthma attack. She knew she had to get him out.
Pulling her T-shirt neckline over her nose, she entered the cave, keeping her hand against the wall to guide her. Flames licked at her sneakers and socks, but she kept going, calling Bartley’s name.
She could see nothing in the smoke, and her eyes stung so badly that she could hardly keep them open for more than a split second.
Suddenly, her foot hit something solid. She reached out and searched blindly through the smoke. Her hands touched the top of Bartley’s shoulders.
Quickly, she grabbed him under his armpits and lifted him up. He was such a dead weight that she knew he was unconscious. She would have to carry him.
Tongues of flame stung her legs, but she lifted Bartley up into her arms, and carried him back through the blinding smoke to the entrance, keeping the cave wall to her left.
Soon, they were out of the cave, and she began coughing uncontrollably. She dropped to her knees and set Bartley down on the rocky ledge.
“Thank you, God!” she mumbled, “Please let him be alive!”
She looked at Bartley’s face, blackened by soot, and felt his pulse. She couldn’t tell if his heart was still beating or not, but she knew she had to get him medical attention as soon as possible.
Climbing down the cliff with the boy was going to be a challenge. She needed both hands to get down to the bottom safely. She needed to somehow put Bartley on her back. If only he were conscious, he could hang onto her. She needed a sling of some kind.
Using the only material she had, she pulled off her T-shirt and pushed Bartley’s feet into the armholes. She tied the hem of the T-shirt into a knot, and lifted the boy up. Sliding her head through the opening, the T-shirt stretched enough for her to get her arm through as well. She slid the boy onto her back, and began the climb down, wearing only her bra and shorts.
Climbing down was much more dangerous, because now she had a heavy weight on her back that threatened to pull her away from the cliff. She hunched over to keep her weight against the rocks as she took one step at a time down the bluff.
A few times, her feet slid, and sharp stones cut her shins. Sweat broke out on her forehead, and her hands became too sweaty to maintain a grip on the rocks. She slipped and began to fall. Sliding down over the rocks, her face bumped painfully against them. She feared that she and Bartley would fall back and straight down to the bottom.
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Her right foot caught against a rock, and she was able to stop her fall. She grabbed on to the nearest stones protruding from the cliff and held on. Her heart was galloping in her chest, and it was hard to breathe.
“God is my rock...my strength, in whom I will trust,” she stated, remembering the words from Psalms 18. She closed her eyes and sought to feel God’s peace with her. When she felt better, she opened her eyes.
She wished she could turn her head to see how much farther she had to go, but twisting her body would cause her to lose her balance and fall.
Kacey continued down the cliff and soon her foot touched flatter ground. When she was sure she had made it completely to the bottom, she turned and saw that she had indeed.
There was no time to rest. She slid the boy around to her front to get a stronger grip, then ran as fast as she could down the trail towards the campsite.
Ava heard footsteps pounding from the woods. She turned, and through the trees she saw Kacey running with someone in her arms.
“Kacey!” she shouted, running towards her. She was shocked when she finally saw her friend wearing only her bra, covered in dirt and streaks of blood. She could see that Bartley was unconscious in her arms, wrapped up in Kacey’s camp T-shirt.
“What happened?”
“He was in a cave filled with fire! He needs a doctor!” Kacey yelled, not stopping to explain. She continued running down the path towards the camp.
Ava ran ahead to try to get help faster. Both girls covered about half a mile when they saw Matt, Mr. Shillings, and the nurse coming up the trail towards them.