Earthquake Terror Read Online Free PDF

hundred miles away and he didn’t think earthquakes covered that much territory.
    He would get Abby safely into the camper and then he could listen to Game One of the World Series while she took a nap. There might even be a newsbreak, telling about the earthquake. He would learn how strong it was and whether it did any damage beyond Magpie Island.
    “I’m tired,” Abby said. “My legs hurt.”
    “We can’t stop now. We have to get back to the camper.”
    The earth shuddered again. Another aftershock. Moose whimpered. Abby and Jonathan clutched each other and waited for it to pass.
    He wondered how long they had been walking. It seemed hours. Abby was slow when she had her walker; it was far worse now. They climbed over several more fallen trees. Each time, it was harder for Jonathan to hoist Abby up and over. Each time, his muscles strained and he grunted from the effort.
    His right knee was swollen and discolored where he had landed on it after being tossed in the air. I need an ice pack, he thought. I need to put my foot up and stay off that leg.
    Jonathan wondered again what the road into camp was like. Probably crews with chain saws would have to come and cut through fallen logs before Dad could drive the car back into camp. How long would that take? At least the bridge to the mainland, arching high above the Tuscan River, would be clear of trees.
    Abby stopped. “I can’t go any more.”
    “I think we’re almost there. See that big oak tree up ahead? We passed that when we first started down the trail this morning. I remember because it reminded me of the oaks in Grandma’s yard.”
    Was it only this morning? It seemed days ago that they had started out, the five of them, for an ordinary picnic lunch at the lake.
    “I can’t walk. My legs hurt.”
    “Then I’ll carry you. Piggyback.” Jonathan bent over. “Put your arms around my neck,” he instructed. Abby did.
    Jonathan tried to straighten up but he couldn’t lift her off the ground. His back ached as he strained to raise his shoulders. Sweat trickled from the back of his neck into the corners of his mouth.
    He tried three more times, but she was too heavy, and he was too weary.

A nother aftershock rumbled beneath them. It was a small shake, not even enough to make Jonathan lose his balance.
    “Make it stop!” Abby cried.
    Even small shakes, Jonathan thought, create fear, because we don’t know until it’s done that it is small. Every tiny tremor might be the start of another big one.
    “Let’s eat the rest of our lunch,” Jonathan suggested. Maybe food and a short rest would give both of them new energy.
    At least he didn’t have to worry about saving any food for later; there was plenty to eat in the camper. Dad always said Mom packed enough to feed an army.
    They sat on a log and Jonathan opened the backpack. He handed Abby a sandwich bag.
    “It’s all smashed,” Abby said. She held the flattened sandwich bag by two fingers, as if it were something rotten. The sandwich looked as if someone had used a rolling pin on it. Tuna salad oozed out from between the slices of bread and clung to the plastic bag.
    “I must have squashed the backpack, when we were under the tree,” Jonathan said. “Sorry.”
    The grapes were a mush of stems and juice.
    Abby wrinkled her nose. “Yuk,” she said.
    “I’m going to eat my sandwich anyway,” Jonathan said.
    When Abby hesitated, he added, “You can lick the tuna off the sandwich bag.”
    Abby brightened. Her favorite treat was a chocolate cupcake but whenever she started licking the frosting or crumbs off the wrapper, Mrs. Palmer said it wasn’t polite to lick the wrapper, and made her stop.
    Abby opened her sandwich bag, turned the bag inside out, and enthusiastically licked all the tuna salad off.
    Jonathan broke his sandwich in two and gave one half to Moose.
    “I’m sure that’s the only big oak tree we passed,” Jonathan said. “Our camper will be just beyond that. Once we get there,