White Cave Escape Read Online Free Page B

should run from that thundercloud over there,” Craig said, pointing. A low black cloud roiled menacingly, curling into the sky over the quarry.
    â€œWhoa. That wasn’t there a few minutes ago,” said Shawn.
    â€œI don’t think that’s a thundercloud,” said Petra. She sprinted back to the crest of the hill and looked down. “Uh-oh.”
    The boys dashed to her side.
    The quarry was on fire. A huge bank of smoke was tumbling into the sky like an upside-down avalanche of black snow.
    â€œThose guys with their cigarettes!” exclaimed Shawn. “I’ll bet you anything that’s what started it!”
    The friends stared as flames swept across the dry, scrubby landscape like a tsunami. Shrubs, bushes, and the tall yellow grasses were swallowed in a wave of fire. The wave swelled and spread, sending new ripples of orange flame flowing down into every hollow and crevice. The red-orange wave rushed across the open ground of the quarry. Then, as they watched, it crested and crashed against the forest’s edge.
    Trees became torches.
    The wave of fire became a wall.
    Run! Shawn tried to say, but his throat was suddenly so dry it came out as a voiceless whisper. He swallowed. The wall of fire was moving towards them.
    â€œRUN!” This time it came out as a half-strangled sort of squawk.
    â€œBut the golf course is on the other side of the fire!” yelped Craig. “We’re cut off!”
    â€œGet back into the woods! Go!” yelled Shawn.
    â€œBut the woods are on fire !” protested Tony.
    â€œYeah, I noticed!” said Shawn. “But we don’t have a lot of options here. Run!”
    The four young people whirled and bolted up the trail, deeper into the forest.
    â€œI guess my dad was right,” Tony panted as they pounded up the forest path.
    â€œAbout what?” gasped Shawn.
    â€œWell…my dad… always says…that cigarettes can kill you,” puffed Tony as he ran. “But I never thought they would kill me quite this soon. Especially since I don’t smoke !”
    Shawn stole a quick glance behind him. Smoke was boiling into the sky above the quarry like lava from a volcano. It formed a seething, churning cloud whose dark underbelly glowed orange from the flames. Here on the trail, long, ghostly fingers of smoke were already clawing at the friends, reaching for them as if to pull them back into the fiery belly of the beast. Shawn’s eyes were stinging. He could feel the smoky fingers wrapping themselves around his throat. The smell fogged his brain, filling him with panic.
    The forest fire was gaining on them.

chapter
7

Run, Run as Fast as You Can…
    It felt like a nightmare.
    Shawn was running through the woods as fast as he could.
    Bushes tore at his clothing. Branches lashed his face and hands. He didn’t know where he was. He didn’t know where he was going. He only knew that he must run . The sound of pounding sneakers and ragged breathing filled his ears. He felt, rather than saw, his friends running beside and behind him. The trail flashed past under his feet, sometimes dipping and twisting, as if trying to buck him off. Smaller trails snaked off to the right and left. Shawn ignored these, staying on the widest trail, the path of least resistance. He was panting in painful, whistling gulps now…but the air was laced with smoke, and he couldn’t catch his breath.
    Then, just ahead, the trail split in two. Shawn veered right, unthinkingly. His friends swung onto the new trail with him, running hard.
    No. Not running , Shawn thought suddenly. Stampeding . Just like the deer did from the ATV. The realization flashed through Shawn like an electric shock. We’re going to run ourselves to death—
    The ground fell away from beneath his feet. Shawn threw out his hands to catch himself, but nothing was there. He hit a sharply sloped bank with a grunt that forced the last of the air out of his