Chapter One Chappy and Grandma Phumie. “Where do we go from here?” the smallest of the boys asked. An older girl spoke up quickly trying to catch her breath. “Come on Chappy she’s your grandma, you know her better than we do. Do you think she can catch us?” There they were, standing in front of a 50-foot, jagged boulder. Even though they were only teens, all seven of them were great rock climbers. They knew that climbing the boulder was the way they had to go. The smallest boy chalked both his hands, found a good starting grip, and started making his ascent. He had just found his first foothold when he heard her. “Jeffery Joel ... Jeffery Joel Michaels! Where are you?” With eyes wide in amazement, the whole group stopped still in their tracks and looked to the small boy. “She's close. We've got to hurry. Let’s go. We've got to get to the top!” So, faster and faster they climbed. Even though he was the smallest, he was the fastest climber in the group. He led the group up the wall quickly, smoothly, and (most importantly) safely, just the way he had been taught. It only took a few minutes to get near the top. They stopped to catch their breath before finishing the last little bit. Just as they were getting their second wind, they heard the older woman's voice again, except this time it was close, really close! “ JEFFERY JOEL, IF I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!!!…” At that moment the boy’s hand slipped off the rock, and he was hanging on with only the other hand. The group gasped. It seemed that they were looking past the boy, further up the rock. He then felt a strong hand grab him around his wrist. With a swift pull upward to the top of the rock, he was standing toe to toe with his grandmother. “Like I was saying little man, if I get my hands on you, ... I'll never let you fall.” She smiled and wrapped her small arms around him with a squeeze. One by one the entire group reached the top and gave the woman a hug and a smile. “No matter how hard we climb, she always seems to beat us up here”, laughed the oldest girl. Each one turned and stood in awe, as they looked out from the edge of the rock and watched the sun melt into the mountains. The sky turned into a beautiful sight of reds, oranges, and yellows, slowly swirling together. The moment was broken up by a softly spoken question from the grandmother, “Anyone want to give Him thanks?” They murmured in agreement,”Yeah, thanks... way cool... thank you... amazing ... big props to the King” “Okay, okay. Gather ‘round so we can get this party started.” They swiftly made their way around the fire as night blotted out the rest of the sun’s rays. The mountain air quickly cooled. They looked to the woman for what they were going to do next. Grinning ear to ear, she said,”I love coming up here with you all. Let's put those marshmallows on the coat hangers and roast ’em up. You know, I was trying to think about what we would talk about this weekend, and I just couldn't come up with anything. Is there anything you would like to talk about?” Only the chirping crickets seemed to be answering her. “No? Alrighty then, let's just hang out and roast some more marshmallows and sing campfire songs.” She pulled out her guitar and began tuning it. They had done this so many times before. It was everyone’s favorite thing to do, up on top of the mountain, camping with Chappy's Grandma Phumie. She was their Sunday School teacher, and had taken them on other trips through the years, as often as she could. This one was special though, because it would most likely be their last. Come Monday, Chappy would be leaving the group to go to The Adventure Academy for the entire summer. He was both excited and sad. Excited to have been chosen to go to such an important learning center, yet sad because he always looked forward to spending summers with his friends. After they finished eating marshmallows and singing some songs they started asking Chappy about the Adventure Academy and saying how excited they were for him. They gave Chappy their email addresses and asked him to make sure to send pictures. “Ok, kiddos. It’s time for you all to go to sleep”, Grandma Phumie said with a yawn. So she put the fire out and the kids trudged to their tents and warm sleeping bags. Chappy, the smallest boy, first up the rock (besides his grandmother, that is) had invited his new friend from school, Austin, to come on the trip. Austin and Chappy had become good friends over the last half of the school year. They were sharing a tent. Austin had a suggestion that they put their heads toward the entrance, sticking out of the tent so they could look up at the stars. Chappy thought that sounded really cool, so they lay there just talking and relaxing, with their hands folded behind their heads. “Chappy, your grandma Phumie seems really cool. Are your parents the same way?” Austin asked. Suddenly, out of the darkness they felt a hand press down over their mouths. Then, a bright light above them blinded their eyes. The light spanned upward to reveal a face. It was Timber, Chappy's best friend in the entire world, even though he'd never admit it to her. With their hearts pounding almost out of their chests, the two boys sat straight up. Chappy whispered loudly,”Timber, you scared us. What do you want?” “Chill or be chilled, Shorty,” Timber replied wittily. “I just wanted to hang out with you guys. So, new guy, ah... Austin right? You want to know about Chappy's parents, I'm the one you need to ask. Chappy will just give you some lame-oh short answer that doesn't do the story justice.” Chappy chimed in at this point, “Timber, if you wanna tell the story, that’s fine, I really don't mind. Just remember if I fall asleep, not to stay up all night. Grandma Phumie is like a rooster in the morning.” He laid his head on his pillow and closed his eyes as if he really didn't want to hear it all again, even though it was about him and his parents. Austin was totally sitting up now, looking right into Timber's eyes. She placed the flashlight under her chin to highlight her face and said in a deep voice, “Let the saga begin,” as though she was about to tell a ghost story. “Ethan Michaels was Chappy's dad. He was a chaplain in the military, and after marrying Chappy's mom Sara (who was a beautiful athlete, just like her mom Phumie) they became missionaries. A couple of years later, when Sara was pregnant with Chappy, they were moving to a new mission field so they could be close to Grandma Phumie. That's when it happened. Supposedly they were in an airplane crash and didn't make it out alive. The strange thing is that even though the plane is documented to have disappeared off the radar, no one ever found his parents or the plane.” Austin jumped in with a quick “WOW... that is strange.” Timber continued on. “What's so amazing is that before they got on the plane Chappy hadn't been born yet. No one really knows what happened after that except that someone left Chappy wrapped in his dad's backpack with a letter in it on Phumie's doorstep. She keeps the letter with her all the time, wherever she goes. The only thing anyone knows about what it says is that this little boy was born in a chapel. And that the people of the land who wrote the letter did all they could to save the parents but it wasn’t enough. So, because he was born in a chapel we all nicknamed him “Chappy”, although his full name was written down in his dad's Bible, which also was in the backpack. Jeffery Joel Michaels. The whole thing kind of makes you wonder if he is here for a special purpose.” Timber and Austin both jumped when they heard Chappy begin to snore. Timber laughed, and said, “I think he's got the right idea. We need to get some sleep. I'll see ’ya in the morning.” As she was crawling out of the tent, Austin stopped her. “Hey, Timber,” he whispered “one question. The backpack that Chappy carries all the time with the patch of a cross on it – is that his dad's pack?” “Yeah, it is”, she said with a sly grin. Timber then disappeared into the darkness, heading for her tent. Austin crawled back into the tent and wiggled into his sleeping bag, trying to get comfortable. Finally cozy, he let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. After a few minutes of resting, he partially opened his eyes. Looking over his own stomach, he saw the mysterious backpack in the back left corner of the tent. Austin sleepily wondered, “What special purpose is in store for Chappy?” Slowly, his eyes closed again. The last thing he saw as he drifted off to sleep was the patch of the cross on that faded leather backpack.