Blizzard Night Read online

  “And look how good my head healed!” Rory said, pointing at the scabbed over gash on his forehead. “The doctor said it wouldn’t even leave a scar. You did a good job putting the bandage on.” He frowned slightly, like he was suddenly disappointed. “Though it would have been kind of cool to have a scar. Like Harry Potter.”

  Everyone laughed, and then Connor got up and took the last cookie that sat on a plate on the kitchen counter.

  “Hey, I was going to eat that! No fair. You had, like, three this morning before we went snowmobiling!” Maggie yelled.

  Connor stuffed it in his mouth and sat back down at the table.

  “Dad!” Maggie wailed.

  “Okay, Connor had the last cookie, but you get first dibs on the radio on the way home,” Mr. Walcott announced. “How does that sound?”

  Maggie beamed and Connor started to protest, but all that came out was muffled gobbledygook because his mouth was stuffed with cookie.

  Jayden looked around the table. As the good-natured bantering continued, a huge smile lit up his face. He felt really glad the Walcotts had invited him into their family. Yes, he was different from them in many ways, but somehow after all they’d been through together, the differences didn’t matter so much. He complemented the family in his own way. And he felt more and more comfortable with them with each passing day. Even when they bickered over silly things like the last cookie. He hoped with all his heart that he would be with the Walcotts for a long, long time.

  All too soon, they’d locked up the cabin and loaded the last of the bags into the new van.

  “We aren’t expecting any snow on the way home are we?” Maggie asked as she swung open the sliding door and climbed inside.

  “No, thank goodness!” Mr. Walcott said. “It’s supposed to be fair weather all the way home.”

  As Jayden buckled himself in, Mr. Walcott turned to him and said, “Next time we come up here, it’ll be early summer and a totally different experience. There’ll be boating, swimming, fishing, and cookouts. Mom will be coming along.” He grinned. “And I promise you won’t be caught in a blizzard. How does that sound?”

  “Perfect,” Jayden said. And it was. As long as he was with the Walcotts, he was ready for any adventure headed his way.

  • According the US National Weather Service, a blizzard is a snowstorm with winds of at least 35 miles per hour and visibility of less than 1/4 mile lasting for 3 hours or more. However, the term is commonly used for any heavy snowstorm accompanied by strong winds.

  • Blizzards that form along the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic region up to New England are called nor’easters. These storms move slowly, have incredibly strong winds, and can dump enormous amounts of snow over the region.

  • The most snow to fall in any 24-hour period happened in Silver Lake, Colorado. Its record-setting snowstorm of 75.8 inches began on April 14, 1921. The blizzard continued well into the next day, ultimately leaving 95 inches of fresh snow on the ground.

  • The year 1978 was famous for blizzards. Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana were blasted by a storm called the Cleveland Superbomb. Wind gusts approached 100 miles per hour, temperatures dipped below -50°F degrees, and snowdrifts reached 25 feet high. National Guard helicopters flew 2,700 missions to rescue stranded motorists. Doctors and emergency personnel were forced to use skis and snowmobiles. Weeks later, the New England Blizzard of ’78 struck, dumping 4 feet of snow on parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Incredibly strong winds pushed ocean water onto the shore and caused severe coastal flooding, destroying nearly 2,000 homes.

  • Though many wild animals can survive blizzards, squirrels and quails have trouble finding their buried stashes of food. Domestic animals are also in danger if they can’t find shelter. In early October 2013, for example, a rogue blizzard caught cattle ranchers in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming by surprise. Because they had not yet moved their livestock from summer pastures to more sheltered areas, close to 100,000 head of cattle were lost.

  • However, not all animals suffer during blizzard conditions. Mice, shrews, and voles keep cozy in tunnels and insulated areas under snow-covered vegetation. And Emperor Penguins can handle wind chills as cold as -76°F degrees and swirling blizzards of 124 miles-per-hour!

  • If a blizzard or winter storm is in the forecast, here are a few things you can do to stay safe:

  • Stay inside. Wind, ice, and snow can bring down power lines, so make sure that your parents have on hand candles; matches or lighters; a battery operated radio; emergency food supplies; and warm blankets.

  • Don’t travel during a blizzard. But if you do get stranded in a car during a snowstorm, make sure you have plenty of warm clothing and packaged snack foods. And since snow can block the exhaust pipe and fill the car with deadly fumes, leave one window cracked.

  • If you get caught outdoors, stay hydrated and nourished so you won’t get hypothermia. Move around to keep your blood flowing. If your clothes are wet, try to start a fire to dry them. Create a snow cave or find a sheltered area to block winds. And don’t eat snow — it’ll only make you colder!

  Noah looked toward the summit of the volcano. It seemed peaceful under the blue skies, but he turned toward his sister for reassurance anyway. “It’s not going to erupt, is it?” he yelled over the roar.

  “I don’t know, but I’m not sticking around to find out!” Emma yelled back. “We need to head back to the boat.”

  “I’m with you. This is freaking me out. I’ve never heard anything like it before!” Alex said.

  They scrambled down the mountainside as best they could, the scary-loud rumbling sound chasing after them. But it was slowgoing. Painfully slow. Running down the uneven, sloping ground was next to impossible.

  “Dad said this volcano might not blow for a hundred years,” Noah called out to the other two in ragged huffs. “Maybe thousands.”

  “In other words, it’s totally unpredictable!” Emma barked back. “We can’t take any chances. There’s no telling how dangerous it may be!”

  But Noah wasn’t listening anymore. Because just then, he lost his footing on the rough terrain, fell to the ground, and slid down the slope feetfirst. His body twisted, and his stomach scraped the ground as he skidded farther down the slope. Rocks ripped at his jacket, and he clawed at everything he could to stop his momentum.

  Finally he slowed enough to struggle back to his feet. He looked up the mountainside to where they’d just come from and stood paralyzed for a moment, not quite believing what he saw. “Guys! Stop! Look!” he screamed.

  A deep vertical crack in the earth was cleaving the ground before his eyes. Steam and smoke sprang from the crack, which expanded quickly, snaking down toward them.

  The other two stopped in their tracks and turned to see what Noah was screaming about.

  “It’s a fissure,” Emma shouted. “And it’ll make its way to us in a matter of seconds. We need to keep going! It could start spewing lava!”

  As they hustled toward the shoreline, which still seemed impossibly far off, Noah kept glancing behind them. The fissure seemed to be catching up. It was spreading faster than they could run.

  Maybe we should be running sideways to escape it, Noah thought. But by that time, they’d reached a dip in the slope that suddenly deepened and narrowed — a natural crevice that had formed years ago. They’d have to climb up a steep embankment to go sideways, which would take too much time.

  “Hurry!” Alex screamed at the twins.

  But Noah couldn’t help craning his neck to look at the rift again. Lava was already spraying into the air where it’d first opened up. And just feet behind them, the earth continued to crack open. “It caught us! Jump to the side! Jump to the side!” Noah bellowed.

  Alex and Emma jumped to the right. Noah jumped to the left. In an instant they were separated by the fissure, which had split the earth between them.

  They couldn’t continue the way they’d been going. The crack was too close. And th
ere was no telling when lava and gases would come pouring out of it.

  Noah watched as Alex, in a move like Spider-Man, climbed up the steep incline on his side of the crevice. He waited at the top for Emma to follow. But Emma was tiny and not athletic at all. She kept slipping as she tried to claw her way up. Noah watched helplessly as Alex knelt down with his hand extended, trying to pull Emma up. But she couldn’t reach his hand.

  Steam started to rise from the opening, and Noah knew his best chance to reach the shoreline was to climb up his side of the crevice and get as far away as possible. Still, he remained frozen in place, watching his sister struggle.

  Emma spun around and looked at him. “Go,” she shrieked. “Just go. Don’t worry about me.”

  By now molten lava gushed from all along the fissure, a glowing serpent racing toward them. But Noah couldn’t leave Emma behind. He wouldn’t. On instinct, he got a running start and leapt over the deep split in the earth that held a cauldron of boiling lava. Lava ready to spew up and incinerate anything in its way …

  As Noah landed his giant leap, he heard an ominous hiss and felt a warning wave of heat at his back. He wrapped his arms around Emma and lifted her toward Alex’s outstretched hand.

  “Almost. Just another inch!” Alex yelled.

  Noah strained and grunted until Alex finally got a good grip on her hand. Alex pulled as Emma dug into the earth with her feet, desperately trying to get some traction. The next few seconds seemed to last forever, but eventually she managed to clamber up the side of the crevice, and Noah scurried up after her.

  They’d made it just in time. Lava violently shot up from the opening, splattering all around them like a fiery orange hailstorm. Poisonous gases began to fill the air, and they coughed and sputtered but wasted no time stumbling over the rugged terrain away from the lava and its venomous show of force.

  Noah had seen lava at Kilauea plenty of times before, but it’d been nothing like this! Visitors were always kept a safe distance away from the stable eruptions. His dad was one of the select few allowed past the barriers. Sometimes he’d even don a fireproof suit and collect lava from trails that oozed at a snail’s pace. But even his dad wouldn’t mess around with a fast-moving fissure like the one they’d just escaped!

  With pounding hearts driving them onward, the kids ran at full speed until Emma stopped to catch her breath a good fifteen minutes later. She bent over, hands on her knees. “We should be safe now,” she panted. “Fissures aren’t as explosive as when the summit blows. We should be far enough away now to be okay.”

  As Emma talked, Noah noticed his arm was stinging. The front of his jacket had ripped when he fell, and now it had a quarter-sized burn on the sleeve. A blob of lava must have singed its way through the jacket. His shirt sleeve was intact, but the intensity of the heat still managed to burn his arm. It hurt, but he knew it could’ve been so, so much worse. Silly with relief, he couldn’t help but crack a joke. “First time I’ve worn this jacket. Ruined already.”

  “Yeah, wait until Dad sees it. You’re going to get in so much trouble!” Emma played along. She’d finally caught her breath, and now she stood up straight. “Thanks, Noah.” She walked over and hugged her twin.

  They bickered a lot, being so different, so it was something she didn’t do often and it caught Noah off guard.

  “It was truly stupid of you to try to rescue me, but I’m awful glad you did,” she said.

  Noah grinned and hugged her back. He was glad, too. He couldn’t have lived with himself if he’d left her.

  “Thanks for pulling me up, too, Alex,” Emma said, pulling away from her brother. “You’re brave. You could’ve left us both in the dust. And I’d be toast right about now.”

  The volcano’s rumbling seemed quieter … for now. “We should probably go down to the boat and meet up with Dad,” Noah said, looking around. He frowned. “But which way do we go to get back to the boat?”

  Emma crooked her neck in both directions, and Noah grew concerned. What if they were lost? Dad was probably already waiting for them and he’d be worried.

  “We ran straight down from the eagle’s nest, then veered to the right when the fissure caught up to us.” Alex took his compass out of his pocket and looked at it, then squinted toward the coastline in the distance. “If we head down from here, I think we should be near the boat.”

  Suddenly the volcano’s constant grumbling grew louder. The earth shook once again, with much more force than before. But before Noah could wrap his mind around what was happening —

  BOOM!

  An ear-shattering explosion rocked the earth and blackened the sky.

  The bright sunshine disappeared. Instinctively Noah looked toward the top of the mountain. Instead of the usual trail of white puffy smoke coming from the summit, a dark expanding mushroom-shaped ash cloud loomed overhead.

  For a second, Noah, Emma, and Alex remained still, spellbound at the sight.

  Then a large smoldering chunk of rock came hurtling toward them, landing with a loud crash only feet away from where they were standing.

  Emma screamed. “That could have hit us!”

  “We need to get out of here!” Noah urged. “Right now!”

  “But where?” Emma looked at Noah, her eyes desperate. “There’s nowhere to go!”

  Bits and pieces of what was once the top of the inside of the crater began to rain down on them.

  “Over here!” Alex called. “Quick!”

  Noah and Emma followed him, holding their hands over their heads to protect themselves from falling debris.

  Alex led them to a small cave similar to the one Noah had peeked inside earlier. The opening of this one was narrow, with room for only one person to crawl inside at a time.

  Alex shooed Emma inside first and waited for Noah to follow her before scuttling in himself.

  Past the small opening, the cave widened. It was about five feet high, ten feet wide, and not deep at all. The kids huddled on the cold, damp ground and listened to the sky falling outside. Noah knew there was nothing to do but get used to their new surroundings. Only he didn’t like the thought of being stuck in the cave. He was starting to feel claustrophobic.

  “So how long do we stay in here? Are we safe?” Noah asked Emma. For once he was glad his sister was a know-it-all. She always took an interest in the science of volcanoes, just like their dad, so out of the three of them he figured that made her the expert.

  In the dimness of the small cave, Emma pushed at the bent plastic frames of her glasses, trying to straighten them without much success. “Safer than being outside,” Emma said. “We need to stay put until the rocks from the blast stop falling. But we can’t stay here for long. Flows of lava could be headed our way. Or worse, a sudden mudslide.”

  Noah shuddered at the thought of being entombed by lava or mud. Sealed up for eternity, never to be found. It didn’t help his feeling of claustrophobia. “I hate volcanoes,” he said. “They’re terrible.”

  Even in the scenario they found themselves in, Emma couldn’t resist. “That’s true. But they’re also responsible for creating eighty percent of the land in the world. There would be no Hawaii if it weren’t for volcanoes erupting,” Emma said. “And they make the soil rich for farming. So there’s a bright side.”

  Before Noah could get exasperated at her, Alex exclaimed, “A bright side for us? Right now?”

  “Nope. For us, volcanoes stink. Big-time,” she admitted. After that, there was nothing much left to say, and the kids settled into an uncomfortable silence.

  After a while, the chatter of falling rocks seemed to fade. When Noah peeked through the opening of the cave, he saw only delicate ash drifting down like a gentle snowfall.

  “I think it’s time to get going,” Alex said. He started for the opening, but Emma grabbed him. “Wait.”

  “Why?” Noah asked. He was anxious to get out of the cramped cave, too.

  “It’s dangerous to breathe in the ash that’s coming down,” she
said.

  “Yeah, but it’s better than being buried alive in here,” Noah replied.

  Marlane Kennedy is the author of Me and the Pumpkin Queen and The Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes. She has lived through one tiny earthquake, the blizzard of 1978, and a tornado that swept through Wooster, Ohio, where she lives with her husband and daughter. Though she is having a blast writing about disasters, she is hoping not to add any more to this list! You can find her online at www.marlanekennedy.com.

  Text copyright © 2015 by Marlane Kennedy.

  Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Scholastic Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  First printing, November 2014

  Cover art by Erwin Madrid

  Cover design by Nina Goffi

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-53300-3

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