Raven's Mountain Read Free Page B

gasping, wheezing noise. It sounds like when Amelia has an asthma attack. It’s Lily. She’s doubled over as if she can’t breathe.
    When Amelia sounds like that she has to have her puffer fast . If it was her wheezing like this she might die because we don’t have a puffer and we’d have to carry her all the way down the mountain before we could take her to a hospital.
    I’m so scared I’m almost having trouble breathing too.
    â€˜Keep calm,’ says Scott. ‘It’s just the altitude   – there’s not much oxygen in the air so you need to breathe more to get it.’
    Lily glares at him as if she wants to scream. Then she collapses onto the ground.
    Scott sits down beside her. ‘Take some deep breaths: nice and full. If you don’t feel better we’ll go down   – you’ll be okay as soon as we’re lower again.’
    Lily goes on wheezing and glaring. ‘It’s stupid to get this far . . . and not go to the top!’
    â€˜What’s stupid is going on when your body’s telling you not to. Enjoying the day is what matters, not reaching the summit.’
    Which we all know is a lie; no one ever says that someone had a wonderful day almost climbing Everest or Mt McKinley, and they wouldn’t say it about this mountain just because it’s not as tall and doesn’t have a name.
    Lily stops wheezing, but she’s still hunched over, breathing deep like he told her.
    â€˜You and Raven can go on and I’ll wait here.’
    â€˜Okay!’
    â€˜We’re not leaving your sister alone on the mountain!’ Scott snaps. ‘We do this as a family or not at all.’
    â€˜It doesn’t matter,’ Lily mutters. She’s wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, and suddenly I feel it inside me: how much she wants to get to the top, and how much she hates being the one stopping us. It’s probably even worse for her because she’s not used to the being the one who does things wrong.
    â€˜The bears were better than getting to the top,’ I   say.
    Then Scott pulls out the snack bags, and Lily feels better again after the dried fruit.
    We’re going on.
    The last bit up to the head is so steep it’s nearly a cliff. Scrambling up it really is proper mountain climbing. It’s nearly as good as riding, except for no horses.
    I pull myself up onto the bottom lip. The cliff side is hollowed out so the trail goes deep under the big beaky rock of the mountain’s nose. I wave down at Lily and Scott. Scott’s stopped to tighten his bootlace; I think he’s taking rests for Lily.
    â€˜Not too far ahead!’ he shouts. ‘Don’t go out of sight!’
    We’re nearly there; I can hardly go out of sight for more than a minute   – and for once in my life, I’m going to do something before my big sister.
    I wave back, and race along the ledge under the overhanging lip of rock.

4

2:23 FRIDAY AFTERNOON
    I’m alone on top of the world.
    That’s why I scrambled up the mountain’s face as fast as I could. I door-climbed up the steep crack beside the nose, jamming my arms and legs against the sides. Scott showed us how to do that before he and Mum even got married. I didn’t know I’d get to do it on a mountain.
    The eyebrow ridge was pretty flat so there was snow on it, but after that the trail curved around to the top and got really steep again. I had to stop to get my breath a few times.
    Then I came around another bend   – and I was on the top of the mountain.
    I don’t know anyone else who’s climbed a mountain, except Scott. I didn’t even know the word summit till last week! The highest hill in Cottonwood Bluffs is the toboggan run in the park.
    And I’ve done it before my sister. Lily and Scott were still on the cliff below the lip when I waved to them again from the eyebrow ridge. It’ll take them a while to get up