Night of the Ninjas (4 page)

How?
wondered Jack.
How do we find the east?

Before he could ask, the master bowed. Then he disappeared into the shadows.

The two ninjas led Jack and Annie out of the cave, into the moonlight.

The tall one pointed at the pine forest. Then they too disappeared into the darkness.

Jack and Annie were all alone.

Jack and Annie stood still for a long moment.

Annie spoke first. “Well, I guess the tall ninja was pointing to the east,” she said. “I guess that's the way we go.”

“Wait,” said Jack. “I need to write some stuff down.”

He took out his notebook. In the moonlight, he wrote:

Look, Jack,” whispered Annie. “Do I look like a ninja?”

He looked at her. She had pulled her sweatshirt hood over her head and tied the strings tightly.

She did look like a ninja—a very small one.

“Good idea,” Jack whispered. He pulled his hood up, too.

“Okay, let's go,” said Annie.

Jack put his notebook away. Then he and Annie headed east into the woods.

They slipped between trees. And more trees. And more trees.

All the trees looked the same. Jack got confused. Were they still going in the right direction?

“Wait,” he said.

Annie stopped. They both stared at the woods around them.

“Do you think we're still going east?” asked Jack.

“I guess so,” said Annie.

“We can't just guess,” said Jack. “We have to know for sure.”

“How do we do that?” said Annie. “We don't have a compass.”

Just then the master's words came back to Jack.

“The ninja master said to
use nature
,” he said.

“How do we do that?” said Annie.

“Wait, I remember something—” Jack closed his eyes.

He remembered something in a camping book.
Now what was it?

He opened his eyes. “I've got it! First we need a stick,” he said.

Annie picked up a stick. “Here—” she said.

“Great, now we just need a space with moonlight,” said Jack.

“There—” said Annie.

They moved into a moonlit space between the shadows.

“Now push the stick into the ground,” Jack said.

Annie pushed the stick into the ground.

“The stick's shadow looks like it's more than six inches,” said Jack. “What do you think?”

“It looks like it,” said Annie.

“Okay. Then that means the shadow's pointing east,” said Jack.

“Neat,” said Annie.

“So
that way
is east!” Jack pointed to a
new direction. “At least I hope it is.”

“We're real ninjas now!” said Annie.

“Yep,” said Jack. “Maybe we are. Come on!”

They took off—heading east, they hoped.

Soon they were out of the pine woods and walking down the rocky mountainside. They moved slowly from rock to rock. Finally they rested against a giant rock.

“Let's check our direction again,” said Jack.

Annie stuck another stick into the dirt.

“There,” he said. He pointed to the shadow on the ground. “That way—”

Annie peeked over the rock, down the mountain.

“Yikes,” she said softly.

Jack looked, too. His heart nearly stopped.

There were flames of fire coming up the mountain. The samurai!

Jack and Annie ducked behind the rock.

Squeak
, said the mouse.

“Quiet, Peanut,” said Annie.

Jack reached into his pack. He pulled out the ninja book.

“I hope something in here can help us,” he said.

Jack flipped through page after page until he found what he was looking for. It was a picture of warriors wearing bamboo armor. They were holding swords. He read:

Annie tapped Jack on the shoulder.

Jack looked at her.

She pointed up the mountain.

A figure was coming down toward them. He was very near.

In the moonlight, his bamboo armor was shining. His two swords were gleaming.

It was a samurai warrior!

Jack and Annie crouched together. Samurai were on both sides of them now. They were trapped!

Jack pressed against the rock.

The warrior stepped closer and closer. He looked to the right. He looked to the left.

Jack held his breath.

“
Be nature
,” whispered Annie.

“What?” Jack whispered back.

“
Be nature
. Be a rock.”

Oh brother, thought Jack. This was nuts.
But he squeezed his eyes shut. Then he tried to be part of the rock.

Jack tried to be as still as the rock. As solid as the rock. As quiet as the rock.

Soon he started feeling as strong as the rock. As safe as the rock. He wanted to be the rock forever.

Squeak
.

“He's gone,” said Annie. “They're all gone.”

Jack opened his eyes. The samurai warrior was gone. Jack stood up and looked over the rock. The torches were gone, too.

“Let's go,” Annie said.

Jack took a deep breath. He felt great—he was getting more and more like a ninja every minute. Maybe even like a ninja master.

“East!” he said.

And they went east. Down the mountain, between the rocks. Until they came to the wide, icy stream.

The water seemed even wilder than before.

“I don't see the tree house,” said Annie.

Jack looked across the stream to the dark grove of trees. Moonlight shone on their pale flowers. But where was the tree house?

“I don't see it either,” said Jack. “We have to cross the water first. Then we'll try and find it.”

The water was crashing and rushing over the rocks.

Squeak
. The mouse peeked out from its pouch.

“Don't be afraid,” said Annie. She patted
the mouse's little head. “Be like us. Be like a ninja, too.”

“Let's go,” Jack said.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the stream. The icy water swirled up to his knees. The current knocked him over.

Jack grabbed some weeds. He held on tight as water swirled around him.

He was freezing to death!

“Jack!” Annie grabbed Jack's arms. She helped him back onto the bank.

“That was close!” said Annie.

Jack wiped his glasses. Luckily, they hadn't fallen off in the water.

“Are you okay?” said Annie.

“N-not really,” said Jack, his teeth chattering. He was chilled to the bone.

“We'll never get across,” said Annie.

“We'll drown if we try.”

“Or fr-freeze to death,” said Jack.

He pulled off the hood of his sweatshirt. He didn't feel much like a ninja anymore.

Annie pulled off her hood, too. She sighed. “What can we do?” she said.

Squeak
.

Peanut climbed out of Annie's sweatshirt pouch and leaped onto the ground.

The mouse scampered away.

“Peanut, come back!” Annie called.

“No,” said Jack. “We have to follow Peanut.”

“Why?” asked Annie.

“We have to do what the master said!” said Jack. “
Follow nature!
”

“Oh. Right!” said Annie. “Follow Peanut! But where is Peanut?”

In the moonlight Jack saw the little mouse. It was running through the grass along the stream.

“There!” he cried. “Come on!”

Annie hurried after Jack. Jack hurried after Peanut. They ran beside the rushing waters.

A moonlit branch had fallen across a narrow part of the stream. It touched both shores.

The mouse was running over the branch.

“Peanut's going over a bridge!” said Annie. She started to follow.

“Wait!” cried Jack. “We can't go on that branch. It's too small! It'll break!”

The mouse vanished into the tall grass on the other side of the stream.