These chapters provide a dramatic culmination of the author’s focus on The Unpredictability of Nature, and Tarshis employs a barrage of dramatic imagery to demonstrate the sudden changes around Mount St. Helens as the mountain begins to erupt. She writes, “This angry black cloud looked nothing like the wispy gray plumes they’d seen from Cedar. It boiled wildly and spread out all around until it had painted the whole sky a furious black” (65). This negative, emotional language renders the mountain itself the true antagonist of the story. Jess’s shock at the changed landscape on the mountain also drives home the reality of nature’s destructive potential. She is devastated to see the annihilation of a thriving forest and stares aghast at the tangle of burnt logs and ash, in which “[t]he trail was gone” and “[n]othing looked familiar. It was as though she’d crash-landed on a distant planet, a smoking, ash-covered land” (79). The author’s simile in this passage highlights the intensity of Jess’s surreal experience in the aftermath of the natural disaster.

Within this context, the final chapters focus primarily upon the children’s efforts to show Courage in Times of Crisis as the world turns to fire and ash around them. By describing Jess’s fear as well as her bravery, Tarshis creates a realistic picture of an average person navigating a dangerous situation with fortitude and positivity. Thus, even the novel’s climax acts as an educational tool that provides a wealth of practical information on how to react to unexpected situations. As Jess rapidly assesses the dangers and realizes that the hot winds coming down the mountain are part of a pyroclastic surge, she quickly saves the boys’ lives by pulling them into a pit for protection. As the narrative states, “She looked around with desperation, knowing that they wouldn’t last more than a few seconds if they stood here” (66). This passage shows that Jess is able to use her knowledge about eruptions to react appropriately and survive the emergency.

Her bravery is illustrated once again when she immediately resolves to find help for Sam and Eddie, who have both been gravely injured by the blast. In this key moment, Tarshis provides a window into Jess’s train of thought, showing that the protagonist actively works to overcome her fears and take action. The author uses a tense, almost frantic tone to convey Jess’s state of mind, as when the girl reflects on the importance of finding help and wonders, “But what if there was another eruption? What if another fiery hurricane swept over the forest? What if she got lost?” (77). However, she forces back this barrage of rhetorical questions with the resolution to find help for her friends, no matter the cost, and this decision reveals the true core of her innate courage and her dedication to The Power of Friendship.

This theme is also apparent in the fact that Eddie and Sam’s presence makes a positive difference in Jess’s experience of the disaster. As she and her friends “huddle” together in the midst of the debris, Jess knows that the “one thing worse than being in the middle of this horror” would be to endure the crisis “alone, without the twins” (74). In addition to comforting Jess with their presence, the boys’ urgent need for medical attention also motivates her to leave the pit and try to find help. Her love for Eddie and Sam inspires her to brave a whole new set of dangers in search of aid, and she is determined not to fail her friends. As the narrative boldly states, “Jess would do anything to help the boys. She would even face the volcano by herself” (77). These words emphasize the power of the children’s friendship as they continue to support each other, and this dynamic extends to the aftermath of the eruption as well. In the novel’s conclusion, when Eddie and Sam reunite with Jess at her new home, their strong embrace wordlessly illustrates the depths of their bond, and it is clear that even though Jess lives in a different town, her friendship will continue.