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    Guys Read: The Scout: A Short Story from Guys Read: Other Worlds
    Guys Read: The Scout: A Short Story from Guys Read: Other Worlds
    Guys Read: The Scout: A Short Story from Guys Read: Other Worlds
    Ebook48 pages43 minutes

    Guys Read: The Scout: A Short Story from Guys Read: Other Worlds

    By D. J. MacHale

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    It was just your typical, run-of-the-mill scout field trip—that is, until Kit spotted an object from space plummeting to Earth. A short story from Guys Read: Other Worlds, edited by Jon Scieszka.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 17, 2013
    ISBN9780062289650
    Author

    D. J. MacHale

    D. J. MacHale (""The Scout"") is a bestselling author and is also a director, executive producer, and creator of several popular television series and movies. He lives in Southern California with his family, where they spend a lot of time backpacking, scuba diving, and skiing

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    Reviews for Guys Read

    3.5/5

    23 ratings2 reviews

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    • 3/5
      On content alone, I'd give the anthology 4.5 stars, but I'm knocking off points for labeling a sci-fi/fantasy collection with the gender-specific label of "GUYS Read." Science fiction needs more women, not less.

      Most of the stories in this book are excellent. Standouts are Frost and Fire by Rad Bradbury and The Dirt on Our Shoes. There was one story involving cats that didn't stick it's ending, but most of the stories were well written.

    • 5/5
      This was one of those novellas that you'll end up just giggling through. I don't mean it as an insult, and if you read Rick Riordin's works you would know that. He's very good at balancing humor and drama. This story is pretty much humor/comedy and well worth the quick read. It has Apollo in it, so what could possibly go wrong? ;) I would recommend this story. 5 out of 5 stars.

    Book preview

    Guys Read - D. J. MacHale

    THE SCOUT

    BY D. J. MACHALE

    Kit was on his own.

    That was his first mistake.

    He was the kind of guy who didn’t follow the rules, especially if he saw no good reason to. He wasn’t a troublemaker, but unlike most of his friends, who blindly bowed to authority, he made his decisions based on what common sense told him was right . . . even when he was the only one who felt that way.

    His latest misadventure began innocently enough on a camping trip with his Scout troop. The plan was to leave their base with a group of thirteen Scouts and two Leaders on a two-day excursion through rocky, desertlike terrain to practice survival skills. Kit didn’t see the point other than to earn a badge that he couldn’t have cared less about. He laughed at the Scouts who proudly displayed their awards on a sash that proved they could swim a mile or treat wounds or repeatedly hit a bull’s-eye. Kit could do all those things, better than most. He just didn’t feel the need to show off his accomplishments by sporting colorful badges. He knew what he was capable of and that was good enough for him.

    The Scout Leaders didn’t agree. They wanted their young charges to compete with one another, which was why Kit found himself trudging across the blazing desert with a light backpack along with twelve other sweaty Scouts. He wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere else, but with two Leaders keeping a watchful eye on every move they made there was no way he could dodge what was sure to be a grueling, pointless couple of days.

    It was hot. Torturous, nasty, pass-out hot. That didn’t stop the Leaders from driving the boys deep into the desert. Five miles, ten miles. They passed towering cliffs and crossed bone-dry riverbeds. Rationing water was crucial. Each Scout started off with a small bottle of water that had to last until they found resources in the desert, which wasn’t easy. The Leaders instructed them to keep their mouths moist by sucking on small pebbles to activate their salivary glands. Kit was way ahead of them. He had been working on a couple of pebbles long before the Leaders offered the tip. He wanted to point out that if this were a true survival situation they wouldn’t be hiking, like idiots, during the heat of the day. Instead they would be resting in the shade to conserve energy and reduce their sweat output. But this wasn’t his show, so he quietly went along.

    He made a point of veering into the shade whenever possible, even if it meant adding a few extra steps. He didn’t talk, unlike the others, who were laughing and joking from the get-go. Kit wondered if the Leaders realized how much precious energy they were wasting. It seemed to him that they were driving the Scouts hard and letting them make dumb mistakes. But why? Was it another test? Another competition? Or did they just want to push them to the brink of dehydration and exhaustion for fun? It sure seemed that way. Or maybe the Leaders were just as clueless as the Scouts. Whatever the case, Kit wasn’t about to do anything that would make the adventure any worse than it already was, so he kept his mouth shut and sucked on his pebbles.

    Once they had hiked farther into the desert than Kit had ever been before, the true rules of the excursion were revealed. It was indeed

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