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Authors: Christopher Carlson Mark Jean
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shelter, Root steered the sled right between the Troggâs legs and sped down the slope. The hornetsâ fury couldnât last in the bitter cold. One by one, they fell out of the air and perished in the snow. The Trogg, its face swollen with red welts, charged after the sled. With pounding strides, the behemoth caught them from behind and yanked the sled into the air, tumbling Root and Runnel into the snow and dangling the helpless raccoons from their harness. The Trogg plucked Shawn out and prodded him with a scaly finger and sniffed him with its disgusting tail, mucus dripping from the nostril. The tiny human wailed.
Root and Runnel jumped onto the behemothâs hairy leg, but the Trogg shook them off like bugs. Desperate, Root sped up a birch tree to a branch eye level with the beast. The Trogg dangled Shawn over its mouth, ready to eat him in one gruesome bite, when Root drew a nugget of sparkling quartz from a pouch and showed it to the beast, then made the stone disappear. The Trogg hesitated, distracted by the Jumperâs sleight of hand. Out of the corner of his eye, Root spotted a ten-pronged deer charging down through the woods behind the Trogg. Buying time, he revealed the quartz again, then made it vanish as the brave animal lowered his head and drove his antlers into the behemothâs leg. Howling in pain, the Trogg dropped the boy into the snow and lunged at the deer. The animal stamped backward, snorting, readying another charge, with Buck riding high on his neck. Buck drew the cattail plunger from its quiver and fired a torrent of cold water. The geyser struck the Trogg in the neck, momentarily stunning it.
While Buck sparred with the Trogg, Runnel and Root dug Shawn out of the snow and escaped on their sled toward a frozen lake at the bottom of the ravine. Once they were away, Buck began his retreat, but the vengeful Trogg sent him catapulting through the trees with a vicious swat of its tail. The deer bounded away as the screeching Trogg careened after the sled, ripping trees and bushes out of the ground as it went.
Root forced the coons onto the icy lake, where they slipped and slid, their paws barely catching hold. Knowing that Troggs couldnât swim, Runnel scattered a pouch of rock salt and sulfur dust off the back of the sled. As soon as the beast stepped onto the patch of softened ice, it crashed into the water. The Trogg bellowed in panic, flailing and kicking and furiously breaking ice all the way back to shore. Grunting and heaving, it crawled onto the snow. Two Puddlejumpers wriggled out of its pouch, the bristles softened by water, and fled into the woods. The prehensile tail snatched the third Jumper just before he reached the trees.
On the other side of the lake, Root followed a deer trail up a steep gorge into the woods. When the sled reached the plateau, gathering clouds obscured the stars and snow began to fall. Root and Runnel could hear Buckâs mournful cry in the distance. He was hurt, but they couldnât go back to help him.
In a hollow, two ridges away, Runnel stripped off Shawnâs wet clothes, then bundled the shivering boy in the warm fleece. The storm showed no sign of letting up. Shawn drank the last of Pavâs tea while Root fed the coons some honeycomb. Before departing, the Puddlejumpers brushed the snow to make it appear that no one had ever been there. They wondered what had happened to Cully and Chop. They hoped they could make it on their own.
Root and Runnel were farther from their den than theyâd ever been, and the journey had barely begun.
Root and Runnel sledded through the night in a terrible blizzard. When the raccoons could no longer bear the weight of their prized load, Root was forced to abandon most of their supplies. Even with the Jumpers trudging alongside, the coons still struggled. They were beyond exhaustion.
On a treeless plain, icy and bare, the raccoons finally collapsed. Refusing to quit, Root and Runnel grabbed
Root and Runnel jumped onto the behemothâs hairy leg, but the Trogg shook them off like bugs. Desperate, Root sped up a birch tree to a branch eye level with the beast. The Trogg dangled Shawn over its mouth, ready to eat him in one gruesome bite, when Root drew a nugget of sparkling quartz from a pouch and showed it to the beast, then made the stone disappear. The Trogg hesitated, distracted by the Jumperâs sleight of hand. Out of the corner of his eye, Root spotted a ten-pronged deer charging down through the woods behind the Trogg. Buying time, he revealed the quartz again, then made it vanish as the brave animal lowered his head and drove his antlers into the behemothâs leg. Howling in pain, the Trogg dropped the boy into the snow and lunged at the deer. The animal stamped backward, snorting, readying another charge, with Buck riding high on his neck. Buck drew the cattail plunger from its quiver and fired a torrent of cold water. The geyser struck the Trogg in the neck, momentarily stunning it.
While Buck sparred with the Trogg, Runnel and Root dug Shawn out of the snow and escaped on their sled toward a frozen lake at the bottom of the ravine. Once they were away, Buck began his retreat, but the vengeful Trogg sent him catapulting through the trees with a vicious swat of its tail. The deer bounded away as the screeching Trogg careened after the sled, ripping trees and bushes out of the ground as it went.
Root forced the coons onto the icy lake, where they slipped and slid, their paws barely catching hold. Knowing that Troggs couldnât swim, Runnel scattered a pouch of rock salt and sulfur dust off the back of the sled. As soon as the beast stepped onto the patch of softened ice, it crashed into the water. The Trogg bellowed in panic, flailing and kicking and furiously breaking ice all the way back to shore. Grunting and heaving, it crawled onto the snow. Two Puddlejumpers wriggled out of its pouch, the bristles softened by water, and fled into the woods. The prehensile tail snatched the third Jumper just before he reached the trees.
On the other side of the lake, Root followed a deer trail up a steep gorge into the woods. When the sled reached the plateau, gathering clouds obscured the stars and snow began to fall. Root and Runnel could hear Buckâs mournful cry in the distance. He was hurt, but they couldnât go back to help him.
In a hollow, two ridges away, Runnel stripped off Shawnâs wet clothes, then bundled the shivering boy in the warm fleece. The storm showed no sign of letting up. Shawn drank the last of Pavâs tea while Root fed the coons some honeycomb. Before departing, the Puddlejumpers brushed the snow to make it appear that no one had ever been there. They wondered what had happened to Cully and Chop. They hoped they could make it on their own.
Root and Runnel were farther from their den than theyâd ever been, and the journey had barely begun.
Root and Runnel sledded through the night in a terrible blizzard. When the raccoons could no longer bear the weight of their prized load, Root was forced to abandon most of their supplies. Even with the Jumpers trudging alongside, the coons still struggled. They were beyond exhaustion.
On a treeless plain, icy and bare, the raccoons finally collapsed. Refusing to quit, Root and Runnel grabbed
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