Surviving the Fog Read Online Free PDF

thought.
    “You think things are bad for us, don’t you
Desi?” Yuie asked.
    Desi’s face was bleak as she answered. “I
think we are going to die if someone doesn’t take charge, or if we
don’t get some help.”
    Yuie went to bed hoping that Desi was
exaggerating.
    In the following days, the boys started
running with Yuie. Instead of sleeping late like most of the
campers, they forced themselves to get out of their bunk beds early
in the morning. They had breakfast, and then they ran around the
track. At first they huffed and puffed, and they had to drag
themselves around the huge meadow. Mike refused to let the stronger
boys greatly outpace the weaker boys. He said that it would be more
fun to run as a group. By mid June, they could all run several laps
before they became too tired.
    After running, they spent an hour or so
practicing with their spears. Some of the other boys joined them,
but other boys just laughed at them. Privately some of the group
thought that Mike was just playing warrior, but they had to admit
that it was a lot of fun. Mike established three levels, white,
red, and black depending on individual skills. He asked the girls
for ribbons and cloth that the boys could use as pennants for their
spears. Some of the girls began to watch their practices and cheer
for the best throwers, especially if the thrower was Pete.
    The boys began to carry their spears
everywhere they went. Mike spent hours practicing, and he became
especially proficient at throwing and at hitting a target. Yuie
decided not to be a part of the Spears, saying that she didn't have
the arm strength for it, and besides if she was around, they
couldn't make naughty jokes about girls. Publicly they were
disappointed, but privately they were relieved. Yuie was already
proficient with her bow and arrows.
    Yuie convinced some of the girls to help her
use the barbeque to heat up the canned food, now that the stove had
mysteriously quit working. Other girls got exasperated at the mess
in the kitchen, and it was swept and mopped. The dishes were done
and everyone had clean plates and glasses again.
    The group held a meeting every night. Mike
always seemed to lead the meetings, and the others seemed content
to let him. Gradually, most of the boys started attending their
meetings, but except for Yuie and Desi, the few girls who attended
did so sporadically. Ralph would usually show up for a few minutes
at the beginning to make fun of them. He called them, the Tribe,
and he called Mike, the Chief. Ralph’s attitude had gotten worse
since Jacob’s return. Mike was sure that, sooner or later, Ralph
would cause him real trouble.
    It happened one morning while they were
throwing their spears at the bales. Mike noticed Ralph coming
towards them in a rage. Mike felt a pang of fear. He really did not
want to be punched by the older boy, and whenever he was around
Ralph, he thought that was a possibility. To Mike, Ralph seemed to
exude an aura of violence.
    "Hey, Chief Shithead, where's the part that
you took off the stove?"
    "I didn't do it," Mike protested, and then he
immediately felt ashamed. It was his idea. He should have taken
responsibility. "But I'm the one who told someone to do it. We have
to save the propane," he offered bravely, although his heart was
thumping.
    Ralph grabbed Mike by the front of his shirt.
"Who did it?" he demanded.
    John quickly shoved Ralph away from Mike. "I
did it, dickhead," he yelled.
    Ralph pushed John backwards and then, as John
tittered off balance, he slugged John in the face. John reeled
backwards. Suddenly Mike’s fear exploded into rage. Using the shaft
of his spear, he savagely struck the backs of Ralph's legs. The
taller boy cried out in pain, and he fell to his knees. Mike raised
his spear, but before he could strike again, Jacob slammed his own
spear against the back of Ralph’s head. A thin line of blood
appeared. As if it were a signal, the other boys began striking the
kneeling boy again and again