Thirteen
I glanced at the small footprint in the muddy puddle one more time, and then I headed down the narrow trail. I saw another footprint, this one in the dust. I was on the right track. I looked up behind me. I couldn’t see Nate, could only see the tall lodgepole pines, looking like teenage boys again, and the black clouds behind them.
I was walking away from the lava beds. This was a relief. It might mean my compass and phone would work. As I got further from the lava beds, the ground leveled off. I walked for a while in the merciless sun, trying not to trip over pieces of stray lava. Then the path I was on curved, and I walked out of the sun and into the forest again.
I heard thunder and looked behind me, back in the direction of the lava beds. Lightning sliced the black sky, and
