The thought of sitting in a huge, desolate, and possibly dangerous forest for hours on end with just Avi Shine for company was worse than the idea of confronting the criminals

“We’re in the wrong forest,” Avi repeated, staring at Elchanan. It sounded like he was trying to wrap his mind around it.

The wrong forest. Elchanan’s mind clicked rapidly. So that was why the trail was so hard to follow. That was why they hadn’t seen any sign of the guides, that was why the path was narrow, steep, rocky, and didn’t look anything like the path on the map they were given.

Then the ramifications hit: If they were in the wrong place, then their classmates were deep in another forest across the highway, and they were following a trail that might lead nowhere — and certainly wouldn’t have a barbeque at the end of it.

His stomach clenched, and he wheeled around in the direction they’d come from. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Hold on,” Avi said, peering back down the map. “We don’t want to head back that way. There were those people there... with the gun.”

“Maybe. It might have been... something else,” Elchanan finished lamely. “Anyway, they’re probably long gone from the forest. They were pretty near where the trail started, weren’t they?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Avi’s jaw was tight. “The point is, we need to think about what we’re doing, make a plan. Now that we know where we are, we can figure out what to do.”

Elchanan blew out a breath noisily. “Listen, I’m not sure there’s very much planning involved here,” he said. “I know we used the map to figure out that we’re in the wrong forest, but now that we’re here, we pretty much have two choices. Follow the path forward, or turn back to the beginning.”

“Or, we can stay right here, save our energy, and wait for someone to come find us,” Avi countered.

The thought of sitting in a huge, desolate, and possibly dangerous forest for hours on end with just Avi Shine for company was worse than the idea of confronting the criminals. Elchanan raised his eyebrows. “Why would we do that?” he asked. “I mean, let’s say they get worried and ask your father where he dropped us off... it would be ages until they get here. We’ve been hiking for hours.”