Page 125 of The Glass Girl

“Um, go into my bedroom?” Charlotte says. “I mean, comeon.”

“What if you don’t have that? Play along nicely, Charlotte.”

She throws up her hands. “I don’t know, man. You tell me.”

“You need to protect yourself. You need to start before it gets dark so you have something in place for the night.”

I raise my hand. “And we do this…how?”

Brandy raisesherhand. “I have spent a considerable amount of time watchingAlone,so I feel pretty confident in saying we need to start collecting branches and stuff to build a shelter.”

“Excellent,” Tracy says. “Though we do have tents, in case we need them.”

“Ohh,” Nick says. “Shelter building. I think this is where the knives come in.”

He looks positively glowing at that thought.

Everyone collects their knife from their pack. Tracy directs us to mesquite trees, warning us about the sharp stickers, and tells us to look for other types of fallen branches, like cottonwood.

Josh and I try to saw at some mesquite branches, but it’s not as easy as it sounds, because they are sharp, and it’s painful if you hit the wrong spot. We finally get some together and collect branches from cottonwoods. Everyone is fanned out, arms full, looking and wandering. We are allowed to use branches that have been left behind from other Fire trips, too. They’re scattered around the site in loose piles that Phil pointed out.

When it seems like we have enough, Tracy shows us how to make a kind of A-frame for our personal shelter by lashing branches together with long strands we shave off the mesquite branches. The strands act as a kind of long, thin rope. It’s very hard to cut the branches into decent strips, though.

After that, we have to drape our tarps over the A and secure them with actual rope, which Phil has been keeping in his own backpack.

This takes an incredibly long time. My A-frame falls twice, but I’m determined to get it back up.

“You need help?” Tracy asks.

“No,” I say sharply. I’m still testy at her about Holly.

She holds up her hands. “All right, then.”

“Well,” Billy calls out to her. “Ineed help.”

He’s gotten twisted inside his tarp. Tracy heads over to him.

“Voilà,” Josh says.

I turn around.

His shelter is perfect.

“A week in the Colorado wilderness,” he crows.

“A-plus, bravo, good for you, mountain man,” Charlotte calls out. Her frame is crooked, but she’s done. I look over at Brandy. She’s almost done, too.

My heart sinks. I’m on my third try. Why didn’t I let Tracy help me?

Finally, I think I get everything solid and throw the tarp over. I hold my breath.

It stays.

I loop the mesquite rope through the holes in the tarp, tying the ends.

It stays.

I feel a little bloom of accomplishment.

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