Five minutes later, Cady was up the tree and belly-crawling along a thick branch. She turned when she heard a hissing noise. Her arms froze on the limb when she heard Pete Danson shout, “It’s them!” She half turned to see Jeff King and Boomer Ward in the tree next to hers. Her stomach started to heave as she tried to slide backward. Who cared if they called her a sissy chicken. All she wanted to do was to go home and sit on the swing.

“Get down! Back off, Cady,” the three on the ground shouted.

“I can’t. My overalls are caught on something!” she shouted. She risked a glance over her shoulder in time to see Jeff King do a Tarzan leap to the tree she was in.

“Hurry up, Cady, do it now before he pushes you,” the three on the ground shouted in unison. “Hurry up! He’s almost up to you.”

In her panic, Cady closed her eyes. Maybe she was having a bad dream and would wake up any second. She heard her friends shouting to one another to throw rocks at the bully climbing out on the branch behind her. She risked opening her eyes to see rocks of all sizes sailing through the air. One hit her ankle, but she barely felt the pain. Amy Hollister had the best pitching arm in Indigo Valley. She was even better than the boys.

They were all screaming now at the top of their lungs, “Go! Hurry up! He’s right behind you! Boomer’s out of the tree. Go, Cady, go!” Pete yelled.

Cady wiggled and squirmed just enough to see that Jeff King was almost up to her. “Don’t you dare come out on this branch, you big creep.”

“Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it?” the bully blustered. Out of the corner of her eye, Cady could see movement. That had to mean Boomer Ward was doing something to the zip line. Fear, unlike anything she’d ever felt before, consumed her, but she reached for the wooden handle. Then she did exactly what her friends told her not to do: she squeezed her eyes shut. She felt Jeff behind her, felt his hands on her shirt, heard him saying stuff in her ear she didn’t want to hear. His hold was secure, she couldn’t shake him off. She saw the rock whizzing through the air, felt the pain.

“No! No!” the kids on the opposite side of the pond shouted.

“Don’t do it, Jeff! The cable won’t hold you both!” Boomer shouted.

His warning came too late as the wooden handle slid down the zip line, Jeff King hanging on to her skimpy yellow tee shirt. She felt it rip, felt his grappling hands. She heard the screams, heard the splash, then she was in the water herself. Pain ricocheted up and down her body. She wanted to cry out, but she couldn’t move.

“They’re dead! Look at all the blood on Jeff’s head. One of our rocks got him good. Cady isn’t moving either. We have to get help! Pete, run to town and get help!” Andy shouted, his face registering horror and terror.