Camp Nowhere by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

she whispered. “Should we put him out of his misery?”
    “I guess,” I whispered back. I took a step away from the tree.
    “No!” David tugged me back. “Let’s see what he does.”
    “Yeah,” Marty agreed. “Let him sweat it a whilelonger. I’m enjoying this!”
    I turned back to Ramos. He stood stiffly, one boot resting on an overturned canoe. He shouted for us again. His cries sent birds flapping from the trees.
    Ramos shook his head. He was muttering to himself.
    Finally, he turned and strode off. He jammed his hands into his jeans pockets as he walked. I watched him until he disappeared behind a thick row of shrubs.
    “Where is he going?” Erin whispered.
    “Upstream,” Charlotte answered. “He’s following the river upstream.”
    “He is definitely in a panic,” David said, grinning. “Wow. He is totally messed up.”
    “We let this go on too long,” Charlotte said. “I’m starting to feel kind of bad.”
    “Hey—I worried about riding over Forbidden Falls for months,” Erin replied. “I think it’s okay to make Ramos sweat for a few minutes.”
    “I just don’t think it’s nice. A joke is a joke. But—”
    I stepped between the two girls. “No problem,” I said. “Let’s catch up to him and show him we’re all right.”
    “But where is he going?” Erin asked.
    “Probably back to where all our stuff is,” Marty said. “Maybe he’s hoping we went back there. Or maybe he wants to get the supply canoe.”
    “Well, let’s go catch up with him,” Charlotte said.She started to lead the way down the sloping hill to the riverbank.
    “How about we sneak up behind him and yell ‘Boo!’” David suggested.
    “That’s awesome!” Marty exclaimed. “He’ll jump a mile.”
    We scrambled down to the rocky shore. The water shimmered under the bright sunlight. Our overturned canoes glowed as if on fire.
    I glanced one more time at the lame trickle of water that was Forbidden Falls. How many nights had I stayed awake for hours, worrying about the falls?
    With a sigh, I turned and followed the others. We jogged along the riverbank, jumping over rocks, our shoes sinking into the sandy ground.
    “Where is he?” Charlotte asked. She raised a hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun. “How did he get so far away from us?”
    “He must be running,” Erin replied. “The poor guy. He’s in such a total panic, he’s running all the way back to where we camped last night.”
    Four brown ducks floated by, heads straight forward, ignoring us. As we jogged, following the river upstream; the water began to toss. The current grew stronger. Waves topped with white foam slapped the shore.
    “Remember how rough this part was?” David said. “We thought it was only the beginning.”
    “Where is Ramos?” Charlotte repeated. “We should be able to see him from here.”
    The river stretched straight into the distance. We could see for miles. No sign of Ramos.
    “Maybe he decided to go for a swim,” David said.
    I wiped sweat off my forehead. “A swim is a great idea!” I exclaimed.
    “Do you think he crossed the river? Or took some kind of shortcut?” Charlotte asked.
    I shielded my eyes and gazed upstream. The trees were tangled and thick on the other side. Sunlight couldn’t poke through the leafy treetops. Beneath them, the ground was as dark as night.
    “Why would he cross the river?” Marty asked.
    “Why did the chicken cross the river?” David said.
    “No jokes, David,” Charlotte said sharply. “If Ramos is heading back to where we camped, we should be able to see him from here.”
    “Are you sure he went this way?” I asked. I turned and gazed down the shore in the other direction.
    “Totally sure,” Charlotte said.
    “Maybe he is already back at our campgrounds,” Marty said. He pulled off his baseball cap and scratched his head. “Think he’ll wait for us?”
    “Not if he thinks we crashed or something,” Charlotte answered.
    “Then we should go