The campers were supposed to meet on the parade grounds, at least that’s what Marty called the common area in front of the lodge, at oh-ten-thirty hours. They were one of the first to arrive, but most of the other kids showed up soon too. Of course, Ford and Shannon were the last to arrive a couple of minutes after everyone else. It was like they had to be late, and Marty couldn’t figure that out either. Their dad always said being on time showed you were prepared and fit for duty.

Chase Fielder came out of the lodge along with the counselors and Dr. Davenport.

“All right,” Chase said, “let’s everybody gather around.”

Marty hung back just a little while everyone shuffled into a loose circle, then found a spot in the crowd with a good sight line to the leaders. They’d learned—after needing to change schools a lot when their dad got assigned to a new base—how to fit in without really drawing much attention. That really helped recently—until they got here. Marty shrugged off the distracting thoughts they couldn’t do anything about and concentrated on the briefing.

“So today,” Chase said, “we’ll take a short hike up to Blueberry Pond—it’s about three miles. Temperatures are projected to be in the low seventies. You’re not going to feel particularly hot, but you will be sweating, so you need to drink every fifteen to twenty minutes. Once we get there, we’re going to set up camp using only what you brought in your backpacks.”

“What’s the point of that,” one of the older guys from cabin two said with just a hint of derision in his voice. A few of the other campers laughed. “If you’re gonna camp, you’d bring everything you needed.”

“If you planned to camp,” Chase said calmly, “you’re right. Although chances are you’d forget something.”

A couple of other kids laughed. Marty smiled, because that’s what lists were for. You didn’t forget things then. That was another thing they’d learned early—their dad always posted lists all over the house, lunch lists, grocery lists, first day of school lists, checklists for camping. Lists just made sense.

Chase went on, “But this isn’t about the planned outing. This is to show you what to do if you find yourself out overnight without having planned to be there.”

One of the younger girls from cabin seven squeaked a little and blurted, “We aren’t staying out overnight, are we? Because I don’t think I have the right things.”

Chase shook her head. “No, not this time. This is just a trial run, so you can learn how to do this if you have to with just what you have today. We’ll be back by dinner.”