Cell phone references abound in The Fort. These everyday pieces of technology symbolize connection in the novel, and they relate to the theme of A Family of Friends. While most people remain in relatively close daily contact with friends and family, the boys of the fort depend on their cell phones as a lifeline that connects them to one another and protects their shared secret. When it becomes apparent that Jaeger and Luke are searching the woods for the group’s hiding place, they devise a calling circle to stay in constant communication in case the bunker should be discovered.

The boys track the location of Luke’s cell so they will know when he’s in the vicinity. They use the beams from their cell lights like lanterns when they need to travel together at night. During the period when Mitchell refuses to leave his house for fear of Jaeger and Luke, the other boys bring him along via FaceTime so he can obsess as they walk through the woods for their intervention with C.J. Earlier, when the group realized that the screen on Mitchell’s phone was cracked and he had no money to repair it, they chipped in from their silverware cash to get it fixed for him.