Tomorrow, When the War Began Chapter 2 Summary

  • Leaving late, the crew takes off for Tailor's Stitch late morning. The road is in rough shape, showing how out of use it is.
  • The ride is hard and Fi vomits. Lee, on the other hand, says the ride is better than a roller coaster. To each his own, we suppose.
  • It so happens to be Commemoration Day (a big deal in Australia) and the day of a show in Wirrawee, where rural families have a fair. Ellie doesn't feel bad about missing out on the festivities.
  • Arriving at the top of a knoll near Mt. Martin where the road runs out, the gang stretches and looks around.
  • The view is beautiful—and then they see Hell, which looks impossible to get into.
  • Kevin wonders both how they will get into Hell and why they are trying to get there; then he gets into a spat with Homer over a tease.
  • The plan is to take Satan's Steps—a series of bare granite blocks—into Hell.
  • As others are doubtful about making into Hell, Ellie gives them a pep talk about how if a murderer can do it, surely they can, too.
  • Once they have their packs, Ellie notices that Fi's is too big. Since it looks like she brought some really useless things with her, the group repacks her bag. As they stuff the food in, they find they don't have enough room for all of it and, like the wise teenagers they are, they choose to bring the junk instead of the good stuff.
  • In the evening, the group begins their trek down Satan's Steps. Dun dun dun…
  • Making it down the first big block isn't too hard, but they don't know if they'll be able to get back up. That's a problem for a different day, though.
  • They use an old rotting log to get down the next block, which is crawling with bugs.
  • Everyone seems fine with the creepy crawlers except for Kevin, who freaks out as he frantically tries to get them off of him.
  • After that, there doesn't seem to be a way to go on—there's no clear way down. Ellie musters some courage to try harder for just one more step, though. You go, girl.
  • Corrie finds a gap to crawl through and they all push their packs through, then cram their bodies in, pulled forward by the sound of running water.
  • The gang finally makes it out; they're greeted by a running spring, and they stop to drink and rest. Lee and Robyn explore a bit, but Fi warns that it's late and they should head back up to camp at the top of Hell since there isn't any room down here.
  • Then Robyn comes back with a stunned look and says she found a bridge.