The children face a hazardous journey to school in the late autumn. What sort of conditions do they face ? What effects does the storm have on the landscape and the road?

One day, the weather starts out looking beautiful but quickly turns into a thunderstorm as the Logan and Avery children walk to school. A water-filled gully separates the road and the forest bank, which is too slick with mud in some places to climb. At first they wait on the bank where the gully is narrow and easily passable, but they figure that they have left too early to meet the school bus.

At TJ's suggestion, they set off down the road rather than wait in the rain, and five minutes later the bus passes, veering close to them and forcing them to jump in the slimy, muddy gully to avoid being hit.