Secrets of the Seven

By Royanne Boyer

Secrets of the Seven, Long Summary Book ID125854


A secret adventure to prove that Girls Rule is planned by seven long time friends during the summer prior to entering high school. Setting out into the deep forest behind their hometown, they search for a completely hidden space to set up a cool retreat from life at home. A place of secret freedom.

While many use the forest for varying reasons, these friends manage to find and set up a truly secret space to call their own. Hiding their tracks, they meet the challenges of keeping their nature room a secret.

To maintain their secret, they must find a way to lift lawn chairs out of sight and up into a massive gnarled tree; hide food, water and personal items from animals and humans; come and go, leaving no trail. Having met those challenges, they believe that they have proved, once and for all, that Girls Rule.

They remain, unaware that someone is closely watching them, someone considered quite dangerous. As summer progresses, life at home becomes more complicated, especially for Clare, the story teller, who will face the greatest heartbreak of her young life.

As summers end draws near, the girls are caught in a brutal storm that changes their lives forever. Lost in the forest after dark, with their secret still intact, they face real fear for the first time. Panic sets in. Will they lose their lives because they didnt know the difference between secrets that should be kept and secrets that must be shared?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781479751730

Royanne Boyer

Royanne Boyer was a university and college educator throughout her career. She served as a past dean of advanced technology and president of a 22,000 student body Technology College. Mother of three children, six grandchildren and three great grands, she resides with her husband in St. George, UT. She is the author of Secrets of the Seven, a pre-teen book for all the young girls she loves. May all their dreams come true.

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Copyright © 2012 by Royanne Boyer.

ISBN:               Ebook                 978-1-4797-5173-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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125854

For my beloved granddaughters, Natasha, Haley, Brinley,

Stephanie and Madelyne and great granddaughters,

Amelia and Emmy.

Don’t wait for the storm to blow over, run out

and dance in the rain.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Afterword

CHAPTER 1

SHE RAN LIKE a young gazelle, her long slender legs flying down the trail. Though a natural-born runner, her breathing was quickly becoming labored from fear. Heart pounding, she turned her head to look back. As fate would have it, she tripped on a thick root that snaked across her path.

She did not fall. She dropped like a sprinter. With one knee down, and the other bent, she pushed off with both hands and started running even faster. She didn’t realize that her knee was bleeding badly, she knew that her friends were in trouble.

Leaf sensed the darkening sky and heard a roll of thunder. How much farther can it be? I’ve got to get help. Please, God, make me strong enough to make it to town. By the time she reached the bikes, she felt drained. She grabbed the first bike available.

Thoughts, one after the other flashed through her head. Was the old man a murderer? Were any of the girls wearing whistles? How can they find their way in a storm when it’s hard enough in good weather? Oh my gosh, my folks are gonna kill me. Who do I call first?

Her legs were beginning to tremble, but she pumped ever harder on the dirt road toward town. Surely, she was in range now. With one hand on the handle bar, she pulled her cell from her pocket and called home.

Mom, I’m in trouble, we all are! The girls are lost in the woods, and there’s a big storm coming. Please don’t ask any questions, just get dad and get in the car. And call the sheriff! Meet me in front of the high school. I’ll tell you all then. She automatically closed the phone and shoved it back in her pocket. Racing on, she started to think about how she could get them to act without telling them everything. If they didn’t move quickly enough, lives might actually be lost. As she neared the high school, she could see both their cars. Thank you, God.

They were standing on the school steps. Her dad said, Leaf, what’s going on? What’s happened? Why do we need Sheriff Baum?

Before she could say a word, her mother said, Leaf, you’re bleeding. We have to stop that bleeding right now. For heaven’s sake, girl, tell us what’s happened.

Let’s get in the sheriff’s car, and I’ll try to tell you. Sheriff, we’ve got to hurry! We can’t lose any more time! Once in the car, the sheriff handed Leaf a small towel to help stop the bleeding. Her mother immediately put pressure on Leaf’s knee. There’s so much to tell that I’m not sure where to start.

As they moved down the road, Leaf said, We’ve been spending time in the forest all summer, and we pretty much know our way around certain parts. She could hear her parents’ intake of breath. Please don’t say anything, just listen! We found a place in the woods to spend afternoons. This afternoon, we were coming back to our place from the falls, and when we got there, there was a big brown bear down on all fours, kicking and nosing around in our lunch sacks.

Oh, Leaf, you could have been mauled! What about the other girls! What on earth were you girls thinking? said her mother.

Leaf ignored her. I think the bear was looking for food. We were so stunned that we stood there like statues for a few seconds. Pepper whispered for us not to run, to just stand still. We all did for a few more seconds – which seemed like hours – and then four of the girls turned and ran. The noise made the bear stand up – then a gruff old voice started talking in an almost foreign language. It sounded like ‘Quiet yerse’f, Griz! Set yerse’f down, right now.’ The bear sat. Then he turned to us and said, ‘Don’ yer be afraid, girlies, Ole Griz’s almosts old as me and jesas harmless as me. Jes stand still and I’ll calm Griz and then you go get them other girlies. He was jus’ a cub when I come on him, his maw been kilt.’

Leaf’s heart felt like it had stopped. Oh, Mom, I’m so scared.

Where are the girls now? asked the sheriff.

"That’s just it. I don’t know. The three girls Cassie, Callie, and Mary Beth just ran. I think Cassie and Callie may have been together, but I don’t know. Clare, Lilly, Pepper, and I stayed in the opening, terrified.

That old man, he was fearsome to look at. He started talking to the bear again, and Clare whispered to me that I could run fastest and to go for help. Oh, Dad, maybe he’s a murderer. I’m so scared! There are six girls out there alone with a big bear and an old raggedy man. It’s nearly dark in the forest and, look, it’s getting really dark.

You’re right, Leaf, there’s a big storm coming, said her dad. I know. I heard thunder, and there was wild lightning and thunder when I was on the trail.

Leaf’s parents were in shock. Sheriff Baum said, Look, folks, let’s try to be calm. I’m calling for backup right now. Leaf, exactly where did you leave the road, and which trail did you take?

See. It’s just up there, Sheriff. It’s not really a trail. I’d say it’s more like an animal trail.

We’ll leave the car here so my deputy will know where to find us. Leaf, do you think you can get us to where the bear and the old man were?

I think so, though I’ve never done it when it was this dark. We did leave little white strips on some of the trees a while back. Maybe they will help. Mom, my knee has quit bleeding, and I have to lead the way.

I think you folks had better stay here with the car. Leaf and I will start down this no-trail trail.

No, I’m going with you, said Leaf’s dad.

Hilly, Leaf’s mom, said, You’re crazy, if you think that you’re leaving me here alone – not on your life. I’m going too!

Please, ma’am, said the sheriff, we need someone to tell those coming which way we’re headed. I’ve got a two-way radio, a flashlight, and a gun on me, and I’m pretty sure the radio will work when my deputy gets here. You can come with them when they get here.

All right, that makes sense, so go!

Leaf quickly started up the trail, leading her dad and the sheriff.

CHAPTER 2

IF YOU ARE wondering how this scary tale plays out, I’ll tell you because I’m Clare, and I’m the person telling this story. First things first. You need to know about who, what, where, when, why, and how, as they say in journalism class. I love to write, and I’ve kept journals since I was ten.

So here’s a little background about the whos, and so forth As I said, I’m Clare Carson, and I’ll be fourteen come mid-October. Before this tale began, I spent a lot of time with my very best friend, Leaf. Together, we have other special friends that we spend a lot of time with too. There are Callie and Cassie (twins), Mary Beth, Pepper, and Lilly.

Actually, we’ve been friends all through grade school and junior high. We will all be high school freshmen in September. We’ve known each other so long that half the time, we can finish each other’s sentences. We even created a name for ourselves. We are the Order of the Sisterhood for Good. See the double meaning? Doing good and being friends forever.

It’s not that we’re a clique, at least not the kind my older sister, Heather, talks about. We don’t shut people out. In fact, we go out of our way to be nice to kids that are given a hard time at school.

It’s true that we all go to the same church. But there aren’t many churches in town, and most of the kids hang with those from their own churches. For us, service to others is very important. Our church teaches everyone to reach out to others. So we try to do service projects, especially for old people because they really need our help.

It makes us feel good about ourselves. It gives us a chance to see how different their lives are from ours and what we can expect when we’re as ancient as they are. We didn’t start as seven close friends. First it was just Leaf and me. Leaf’s family lives next door. Then we got better acquainted with Pepper, and we became a threesome.

Next came the twins, Callie and Cassie. They look so much alike, but they aren’t. One is outgoing and the other quiet and shy. Our classmates didn’t seem to get them at all. Meaning that the kids went out of their way to avoid or tease them. So we decided to pull them into our group. Once they relaxed, we realized that they are really fun and likable.

Lilly’s folks moved here just as she started elementary school. Everyone knew she was smarter than most every girl or boy in class because she always knew the answers. Still, if she hadn’t had this uncanny ability to make people laugh, we’d all have been jealous of her. She was just so much fun that she could keep our whole class laughing. Everyone wanted to play with her, but she chose us.

CHAPTER 3

FINALLY, THERE WAS Mary Beth. Now, Mary Beth is quite unique. Her folks had lots of money, and she had everything she wanted. Her mom is really beautiful, and she wanted Mary Beth to be just like her. Neither one of them hardly has any friends to speak of.

Mary Beth wanted to run everything in grade school, and when she didn’t get her way, she was just really nasty.

Everyone was interested in the things she wore and brought to school to show off, but no one wanted to play with her because she was really mean. I think she was mean because she was unhappy. We talked about trying to make friends with her, but we just weren’t willing to put up with her antics.

She was such a problem that we all talked to our moms about her, resulting in very different takes on how to handle the situations that she created every single day. After sharing what we learned, we came up with a kind of combination plan of our own.

One day, she was throwing one of her tantrums, and we gathered around her in a circle, and