The map rustled as I flattened it out on the floor. I found what I was looking for in a corner of Montana way out on its own. Bull Lake. A dot of a town next to a blue patch of water. I pulled the pen out of my pack and circled it in red.
Looking at both of the marks on the map, Bull Lake and Wellesley Island, I felt something snap into place, like my path had emerged before me, clear and straight.
I left the house with an old song turning in my head, its melody bright but distant. I hummed it out loud as I got into the car and set my pack and Bear’s collar on the seat next to me. I looked down the road and then I started the engine and drove away.
MAP: SEPTEMBER 2026
Acknowledgments
Like with every book, I’d be absolutely nowhere without the peerless agenting of Sara Crowe, and without the fine, fine folks at Scholastic, especially Cassandra Pelham, David Levithan, and Lauren Felsenstein. For early and absolutely essential constructive criticism, thanks to Eliot Schrefer (if you haven’t read Endangered yet, go get it!), Phoebe North (if you haven’t read Starglass yet, go get it!), Ken Weitzman, and Ryan Palmer.
Thanks also to every teacher and librarian who invited me out to their school this past year. One of the best parts of this job is getting out there and meeting the next generation of readers!
Beyond these usual suspects, an awful lot of new folks helped me out on this one. Appropriately enough they largely fall into one of two categories — military folk and animal folk.
As for the military folk, who fielded questions big and small from this hapless civilian, I want to say thanks to Sergeant Major Kevin Spooner, U.S. Army; Specialist Heather Zenzen, U.S. Army Reserves/Minnesota National Guard; and Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Daniel Bramos, U.S. Navy (retired).
On the animal side, thanks to Jeff Hiebert, President of Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States. Also, huge thanks to all the nice folks at Pets Alive in Middletown, NY, for rescuing a little mini pinscher with gigantic ears from the side of a highway in Puerto Rico. If they hadn’t, my wife and I would have missed out on an awful lot of fun this past year and I never would have had the inspiration for Bear. It was pretty awesome to spend a year writing this book with my inspiration cuddled up to me every day.
Talking with these folks got me thinking about how much great work they do and how they can always use a bit of a hand. If you’d like to join me in lending one, I hope you’ll consider making (or pestering your parents until they make) a donation to Pets Alive (www.petsalive.com) or Operation Homefront (www.operationhomefront.net).
About the Author
Jeff Hirsch is the USA Today bestselling author of The Eleventh Plague and Magisterium. He graduated from the University of California, San Diego, with an MFA in Dramatic Writing and now lives in New York with his wife. Visit him online at www.jeff-hirsch.com.
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Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by Jeff Hirsch
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hirsch, Jeff.
The darkest path / Jeff Hirsch. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Since he was captured by the Glorious Path, a militant religion based on the teachings of a former soldier, fifteen-year-old Cal has served the Path in its brutal war with the remains of the United States government, and tried to survive and protect his younger brother, but when he kills an officer to protect a stray dog, Cal is forced take his brother and the dog and run.
ISBN 978-0-545-51223-7
1. Dystopias — Juvenile fiction. 2. Militia movements — Juvenile fiction. 3. Cults — Juvenile fiction. 4. Survival — Juvenile fiction. 5. Escapes — Juvenile fiction. 6. Brothers — Juvenile fiction. [1. Militia movements — Fiction. 2. Cults — Fiction. 3. Survival — Fiction. 4. Escapes — Fiction. 5. Brothers — Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.H59787Dar 2013
813.6 — dc23
2013004367
First edition, October 2013
Cover art & design © 2013 by Phil Falco
e-ISBN 978-0-545-51225-1
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.