This fear of mine is a deep, dark secret. Everybody thinks I'm fearless, but the truth is that I never feel totally at ease during a thunderstorm. I'm always reading these articles about people being struck by lightning and having their zippers welded shut and stuff, and the idea just scares the daylights out of me. But, because I'm scared of lightning, I've also learned a lot about it. I know how to stay safe during a storm (don't go under a tall tree, for example, since lightning is attracted to the tallest point in a landscape), and it just so happens that one of the safest places you can be is in a car. Because of the rubber tires, I think. So anyway, I felt pretty confident in telling Patty that we were safe. The rain poured down harder, and the thunder boomed even louder. I saw lightning flash to the ground up ahead, and I winced. Some of the other kids were beginning to whimper a little now, and I felt Karen's hand sneak into mine. She was sitting on one side of me, and Bart was on the other. I turned to him. "Some storm, huh?" I said, trying to sound casual.

He nodded, but he seemed distracted. He was looking ahead, through the windshield. "Charlie," he said, suddenly. "Weren't we supposed to turn right at that light?"

"I don't think so," said Charlie. "Our turn is near a big fence with vines climbing over it. Isn't it? I've been watching for it."

"I saw that fence," said Jackie, who was sitting in the front seat next to Charlie. "It was way back that way." He pointed in the opposite direction. "Are you sure?" asked Charlie.

"Pretty sure," said Jackie.

"Well, I'm just going to keep going for a mile or so," said Charlie. "Maybe there's another turn we can take."

By this time, we'd left the town of Redfield and were driving along a road with fewer houses. Big trees arched over the road, their branches tossing in the wind. We were practically crawling along, since Charlie could hardly see to drive. The windshield wipers just could not keep up with the rain that was washing down over the van. Charlie was hunched over the wheel with his face close to the windshield. "I think we can turn up here," he said. He sounded kind of tense, the way he does before his team has a big football game.