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Spy Camp
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Chapters 5-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 5 Summary: “Orientation”
The students are bussed to the camp from “designated rendezvous sites in major cities” (47). During the drive, Ben worries about SPYDER and Murray Hill. He also wonders where Erica is, as he hasn’t heard from her since he showed her the letter. He isn’t sure if she is keeping an eye on him as she’d promised—and if she is, where was she when Murray Hill approached him at FunLand—or if something has happened to her, or if she is “merely being her usual, cryptic self” (47). When they arrive, Ben is pleasantly surprised by the Happy Trails camp. It has armed guards and an electrified fence, which Ben appreciates, but it also looks charming and like a normal summer camp. He had been worried it would be cold and imposing like the academy, but instead, it is cozy and homey.
Ben’s bus is the last to arrive; he is greeted by Zoe and Warren, who tell him all the good bunks are already taken. Zoe is Ben’s friend; she nicknamed him Smokescreen because she thinks his ineptitude is a cover he uses to make others think he is harmless when he is, in fact, lethally good at being a spy. Warren does not believe this and thinks Ben is actually inept. Warren has a crush on Zoe and resents the attention that Zoe pays to Ben.
Zoe and Warren lead Ben to the Muskrat cabin, giving him a quick tour along the way. On the trip, they meet a contingent of British exchange students attending the camp. Ben tries to be friendly by shaking the hand of the leader, Claire, who greets him by the name “Smokescreen.” Instead of a greeting, however, Claire uses the handshake to flip Ben onto his back and mock him for letting his guard down. Ben protests that he was being friendly, but Claire declares “these Yanks” are “weak” (52). As Warren and Zoe argue over whether Ben was really caught off guard, Chip Schacter arrives. Chip picks up Ben’s heavy duffel bag and joins the group walking toward the Muskrat cabin. Ben tells Chip that Hank Schacter is to be his camp counselor; Chip calls Hank a “dorkwad” and says, “When we were kids, his favorite hobby was sending me to the emergency room. Let’s figure out where his bunk is and put some fire ants in it” (54). Ben declines.
At the cabin, Ben discovers that the cabin is raised off the ground six feet on posts, which Zoe explains is to keep both wildlife and assassins out. The cabins have retractable stairs that can be lifted at night. Inside are two rows of four bunk beds, allowing 16 people to live in each cabin. Ben finds that 15 of the bunks are already taken and that the only remaining bunk is in the middle of the room beneath a student who “recently developed a stress-induced bed-wetting problem” (56). Warren gloats a little about Ben’s terrible bunk placement. Chip asks where Warren’s bunk is and then demands that he switch with Ben. This means that Ben ends up with a top bunk with a view of the lake, and Warren has the bottom bunk in the middle beneath the bed-wetter.
Ben notices the camp administration building. The camp administrator is “Woodchuck” Wallace; the others seem astonished that Ben has never heard of him. Before they can tell him more, Ben gets an urgent call from the CIA. When he answers, he recognizes the “Soccer Mom” agent’s voice. She introduces herself as Agent Hamilton and asks him to confirm the license plate number he saw on Murray’s getaway vehicle. She says she cannot tell him anything else, but Ben protests, pointing out that he’s the one who gave them the plate number and is also in danger from SPYDER. Agent Hamilton asks him to hold, but before she can get back to him, a lean man in a loincloth takes the phone out of his hand. Ben correctly guesses that this is “Woodchuck” Wallace. Woodchuck throws his phone into the lake and tells a protesting Ben that he doesn’t “need” a mobile phone.
Woodchuck is not apologetic even after he realizes who Ben is. He says Ben will be safer at camp because the facility is well-protected, and Woodchuck will be looking out for him. Woodchuck throws a knife at one of the wooden posts at the end of the porch. He tells Ben to look closer—Ben goes to the knife and finds that Woodchuck’s knife has “pinned a mosquito to the post by its wings” (61). Woodchuck says that he’s been “given special orders to whip [Ben] into shape” (61). Ben thinks this does not sound very appealing, but Zoe, Chip, and the others are impressed and jealous. Ben says it’s not a reward; Chip corrects him and says that learning from a real spy like Woodchuck is definitely a reward.
Warren comes out to the porch with an envelope that says “FOR BEN RIPLEY: CLASSIFIED” (62) on it. He says it’s from Murray Hill. The students look at the documents inside and realize it’s a contract. The first page is a letter from Murray. It says that SPYDER wants to recruit Ben for a special mission; Ben’s choices are to join or be killed. He has 24 hours to decide.
Chapter 6 Summary: “Protection”
Ben and his friends read the SPYDER contract, which is written in dense legal language. Several parts of the contract threaten Ben’s life. Zoe says they should show it to Woodchuck, who says he will contact the CIA for help—he claims he is an expert at survival tactics but not counterterrorism. Woodchuck tells Ben he should be safe for the next 24 hours and sends the group to the dining hall for lunch. Once there, they pretend that the SPYDER situation is a hypothetical exercise so that they can talk about it. Two other students overhear and join them: Jawaharlal “Jawa” O’Shea and Nate Mackey. Ben doubts that Jawa believes their cover story about the “hypothetical” scenario.
Jawa says that if the target of the enemy organization is Ben, then he should go to Erica Hale for help. Everyone else agrees, saying that Erica helped him last time, would enjoy being seen as the hero again, and seems to like Ben. Warren almost reveals that the scenario is real, but the British student, Claire, makes a loud noise like a gunshot behind them, causing them to jump in surprise. Warren screams and hides under the table. Claire, the other MI6 students, and some of the spy camp students laugh at Ben and his friends for being startled.
Warren points out that the British students should be high on the SPYDER suspect list. Before they can discuss this in-depth, a man in a tuxedo parachutes onto the lawn outside the mess hall. It is Alexander Hale, whom Ben has worked with before. Alexander is Erica’s father and a highly respected spy, but Ben knows the man is a fraud. The other students are excited to see him and gather around the windows. Alexander comes in and finds Ben; he says, “I hear you’ve received a death threat from our old friends at you-know-where” (78). Ben suggests they talk somewhere more private. They go to the kitchen, where Alexander makes a few contradictory claims about how he will keep Ben safe. He asks if Ben knows who SPYDER’s inside man is, but Ben says no. He thinks he wouldn’t tell Alexander Hale even if he did know. As Alexander leaves to find Woodchuck and review the contract, Ben thinks that his situation is worse than he’d imagined if the CIA sent a high-level spy to protect him and even worse because the spy they sent is incompetent.
Chapter 7 Summary: “Physical Education”
The Muskrat cabin is awakened early in the morning by Hank shouting and banging two metal trash can lids together. He announces that he intends to win the camp’s Color Wars that year and knows he will have to whip the cabin into shape first. He threatens punishments of extra physical exercise for anyone who complains or is too slow. He makes Ben do 50 push-ups; Jawa joins Ben in the push-ups and says he also wants to win the Color War that year. He explains that the activity is a full-on battle between the cabins. The winners of the war get A’s for the entire summer semester, and the losers get extra homework for the next semester. Hank tells the cabin that they will have to run the six-mile “Deadman’s Route” trail in under 40 minutes or they will earn his “unmitigated wrath” (86) for the rest of the day.
Ben is a good runner and soon finds himself alone on the trail. Just as he realizes that might not be safe, he is ambushed and dragged into the bushes. He quickly recognizes his attacker as Erica. She says they must maintain secrecy so no one knows they’re working together. As they talk, Erica begins to lead Ben on a shortcut back to camp. She says she doesn’t know how Murray managed to be both in prison and at FunLand simultaneously. She tells him that the license plate he got was for the real director of the CIA and that SPYDER stole it to prove that they know everything and can get to anyone. Neither Erica nor Ben knows what SPYDER is working on or why they want to recruit Ben so badly, but Erica says Ben must have some latent talent that SPYDER thinks is invaluable.
Erica and Ben talk about how SPYDER likely has one or more moles inside the camp. The mole had put the contract in the footlocker would have been Ben’s if not for Chip’s intervention in making Warren switch bunks with Ben. This means that the contract had to be placed while the last campers were arriving, so it had to be done by someone who would not look out of place or draw notice. Ben speculates that it could be the British MI6 students. Erica says they should consider Chip, Zoe, and Warren, too; Ben dismisses this, saying that he trusts Zoe and Warren isn’t “SPYDER material” (94). Erica points out that many people would have said the same about Murray Hill. Erica tells Ben that she checked the cameras around the cabins, and they didn’t show anyone going in or out of Ben’s cabin around the time the contract must have been placed.
Erica leads Ben to a zip line that will take them back to camp. On the way down, he asks how Erica knew it was there; she tells him she took time to familiarize herself with the grounds, as she had done at the academy. Ben says someone must have shown her around and guesses it was Joshua Hallal—Erica’s former academy friend whom SPYDER had killed. Ben heard rumors that Erica found Joshua’s remains after he was blown up in his dorm room. Erica becomes cool and distant, which makes Ben feel bad for bringing it up.
The zip line ends, and Erica and Ben run toward the camp so that Ben won’t miss Hank’s deadline. Ben asks if Erica found out what the speck on SPYDER’s first note was. She says analysis shows it’s coal, but the sample needs further testing to find out exactly where that kind of coal can be found. She says she has a friend who will run the tests for her, but it will take a little time.
When they are almost back to camp, Erica shoves Ben back out onto the running trail. Ben finishes the run and finds Hank, looking winded, and Jawa, who looks “almost serene” (101). Hank accuses Ben of not finishing the run. Ben says, “You’re right [...] I only ran the first mile, then cut out, somehow found a shortcut through a wilderness area I’ve never seen before, and then jumped back onto the trail with only a few minutes to go” (101). Hank says that perhaps they will do a 10-mile run later that day, but he is interrupted by Woodchuck. Woodchuck tells them that Ben will be leaving with him after breakfast and going “into some serious wilderness” (102) for his protection. Ben dreads this. He asks if Alexander Hale knows, but Woodchuck says he assumes so. Woodchuck tells Ben to eat a good breakfast because they’ll only be eating what they can forage for the next few days.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Wilderness Survival”
Ben and Woodchuck head out of camp on a bus full of students. The crowd is part of their cover, which will allow them to sneak off undetected by SPYDER, after which Woodchuck intends for them to spend several days in the wilderness. Because there are so many other campers on the bus, Ben and his friends can’t discuss the SPYDER problem. Ben enjoys having normal conversations with his friends and the other campers.
Eventually, when they think everyone else is adequately distracted, Ben and his friends discuss the SPYDER threat. The initial 24-hour period is almost up. Zoe asks why Ben doesn’t accept the offer and work as a double agent. Ben says, “I’m not even a single agent yet [...] I don’t think I’m quite ready to be a double agent” (108). As they try to guess where they are, a disagreement breaks out between Chip and Claire; Hank intervenes in defense of Claire. Woodchuck asks the group to work through a hypothetical scenario where the bus plummets into the ravine beside them. Claire says they should remain at the site of the accident; Chip thinks they should follow the river to help. Woodchuck says Claire is right, and he delivers a lecture about survival. Ben is distracted by the bus driver, whom he belatedly recognizes as Alexander Hale in disguise. Ben talks to him and protests that Alexander is along on the trip when he should be investigating SPYDER. Alexander tells Ben to “relax” and that “SPYDER isn’t going to be any trouble at all” (114). The chapter ends: “At which point, SPYDER attacked” (114).
Chapters 5-8 Analysis
The novel establishes the setting through descriptions of wilderness and rugged terrain, which helps develop the middle-of-nowhere sense that will be important in later chapters. This is particularly effective in Chapters 7 and 8; as Erica leads Ben along the shortcut in Chapter 7, Ben uses dramatic language to describe the landscape: “The bald area ended abruptly at a tall cliff. It plummeted straight down into the woods twenty stories below” (95). Using words like “abruptly” and “plummeted” gives a sense of the unpredictability and scale of the area. In Chapter 8, as the campers travel deeper into the forest, Ben’s descriptions detail the growing isolation of their location. He explains, “I had thought that spy camp was located as far from civilization as one could get [...] but it turned out I was wrong. Our bus was heading way off the grid” (106). Just before SPYDER’s attack, Ben explains: “We were chugging up a narrow track carved into the edge of a steep mountain with a precipitous ravine dropping away below us” and notes that the other students were “busily praying that we wouldn’t plummet to our deaths” (107). By selecting words with frightening or unsettling connotations, such as “precipitous,” Stuart Gibbs creates a sense of unease about the setting.
This feeling of danger is further developed when Woodchuck encourages them to imagine that “this road were to collapse right now and our bus were to plummet into the ravine…” (110), a scenario he says is “certainly” a possibility due to the terrible condition of the roads. Imagine, he urges the students: “The bus plunges into the river. The wreckage is hideous. The carnage is terrible. [...] Now, there’s only a few of you down there, stranded miles from civilization without any means of contact” (109). By emphasizing the dangers of the setting in this way, the novel prepares the reader to feel daunted by the task of surviving in the wilderness, which Ben, Erica, and Alexander will have to do in the next several chapters.
These chapters also develop the theme of the Importance of Teamwork. Woodchuck’s lesson on the bus makes explicit what the novel’s plot will support implicitly as the rest of the story unfolds. Spy Camp both “shows” and “tells” the theme; in these chapters, the reader is “told” about the importance of teamwork to prepare them to recognize the different outcomes that come from working alone as part of a team on the mission. Woodchuck tells the students, “The first key to survival is teamwork,” and warns Chip, “You’re not going to survive three minutes out here if you can’t be a team player” (109). Even his insistence that “in nearly a hundred percent of cases, staying at the crash site is the least risky option” (111) encourages teamwork in that it instructs the students to wait for the remainder of their CIA “team” to find them rather than striking off alone through the wilderness to find help. Another element of the teamwork theme is the idea of forced teamwork, as required by Hank in his quest to have his cabin win the Color Wars. Everyone is expected to give their all to reach this goal. There also is the ongoing teamwork between Erica and Ben, which stems from a connection they forged earlier in the year. At this point, Erica is helping Ben more than he is helping her, but they are working toward the same goals: to protect Ben and discover who is after him.
The presence and actions of Alexander Hale continue to develop the novel and series’ motif of incompetent adults. Though most of the spy camp students are impressed by Alexander’s presence and believe his dramatic stories, Ben is very aware that the man is a fraud who greatly exaggerates his accomplishments and abilities. Ben worries: “My situation was now dire enough that the CIA had sent in a high-level operative to protect me. Unfortunately, they’d sent the worst one possible” (82). He also thinks that SPYDER is aware of Alexander’s incompetence: “SPYDER seemed to know more about the CIA than the CIA did. Which meant they probably knew Alexander was as dangerous as a wet napkin” (81). Even Woodchuck, who seems to be a knowledgeable survivalist, is somewhat ridiculous. He wears what Ben describes as handmade animal skin clothing and eats opossum jerky. Woodchuck is able to impale a mosquito on a thrown blade, but he also takes Ben’s phone and hurls it into the lake when Ben is trying to get an update from CIA headquarters.
The person Ben can best rely on is Erica, a 15-year-old girl with more insight and sense than any of the adults in the book. His friends point this out in the mess hall during what they present as a hypothetical discussion of how to handle a threat against one of their lives; Zoe tells Ben, “If your life is in danger, you can’t just sit back and hope the administration here is going to protect you. They didn’t exactly do a great job of that last time you were in trouble” (73). Earlier, Chip also notes that “a lot of the professors at spy school don’t know squat, but Woodchuck’s the real deal” (62). This shows that even without knowing what Ben knows about Alexander Hale and the internal workings of the CIA, the other students recognize that many of the adults in charge of them are disappointingly inadequate.
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