Hidden Rock Rescue

by K. E. Rocha

  Spencer scanned the bright one-room building. One wall had a huge bank of surveillance screens. It looked like there were fifty camera feeds. He ran over, scanning each one quickly. At first, Spencer was confused. He didn’t see any of the buildings or pathways he knew made up Hidden Rock Zoo. The footage on almost every screen looked the same: dry empty land dotted with shrubs and a few trees. Then he understood. Pam’s surveillance was like Bearhaven’s. His cameras were trained on the exterior of Hidden Rock Zoo. It looked like they lined the top of the tall stone wall surrounding the property, and they were all pointed out, searching for possible intruders. Dora had been right. Pam’s security was focused on not letting anyone into his secret zoo. From what Spencer could tell, there wasn’t any surveillance of the inside of the zoo.

  The screens weren’t a threat to the mission right now, so Spencer couldn’t waste time on them. He ran to the opposite side of the room where there was a high-tech panel that looked like a map of the property. The outer wall was lined with little red lights, as was the aquarium and Dora’s home. The tiny bulbs outlining each of the other buildings on the property were dark. “This must be the alarm system,” Spencer whispered. There were switches running all along one side of the control panel. They were labeled in numbers Spencer didn’t recognize, but three of them were switched on. He snapped them off. The red lights went dark.

  “Team!” he whispered urgently, connecting to the Ear-COM in Uncle Mark’s ear.

  “Now, Spence?” Uncle Mark said immediately.

  “Now!”

  “All right, we’re moving,” Uncle Mark said. “Disconnect.”

  Spencer spun around. He needed to find the signal blockers. There was another control panel to his right. He moved over to it and quickly found the button to open the front gates, but he didn’t need that yet. All the buttons or switches were labeled, but none of them read signal blocker.

  Spencer frantically searched the room. A big metal box hummed in one corner. Spencer raced over to it. A small label on the top corner read 800 MHz Large-Range Blocker.

  “Yes!” Spencer cheered to himself. But a thick plastic case was secured over the on and off switches, sealing them into a protective box of their own. A row of tiny screws held the switch cover to the metal signal blocker. It would take Spencer forever to unscrew them all!

  Spencer dropped his mission pack to the ground. He quickly pulled out his screwdriver and hammer, then pushed his night-vision goggles down over his eyes.

  “Here goes nothing,” he whispered. Spencer pressed the point of the screwdriver to the center of the plastic box covering the switches. He wound up and hit the handle of the screwdriver with the hammer as hard as he could.

  Crack! A crack appeared in the plastic.

  Spencer hit the screwdriver again.

  Crack! The crack deepened.

  Again Spencer put all his muscle behind slamming the hammer down on the butt of the screwdriver.

  Crack!

  “Yes!” The screwdriver broke through the plastic. Spencer twisted it in the crack he’d made until the tip of the screwdriver was positioned over the OFF button and jammed it down. The metal box stopped humming.

  “Evarita,” Spencer said. Please work.

  After a moment went by without an answer from Evarita, Spencer’s hands started to sweat. What would they do if they couldn’t reach her? How would they get away once they made it through the front gates?! “Evarita!” he called, getting desperate.

  “Spencer?! Oh, thank goodness! Spencer, where are you? What’s going on?” It was Evarita. Spencer had done it! But before Spencer could respond, another voice was in the room.

  “Guards!” It was Pam, blaring out of speaker beside the door. “Meet me at the Aqua Theater right away.”

  Spencer’s heart started to pound. Pam was on his way to the Aqua Theater! He must have found out about the escape!

  “Spencer?” Evarita was in his ear. Spencer opened his mouth to answer her, but Pam’s voice filled the room again. There was a sharp edge in his usually syrupy tone.

  “Guards! Did you hear me?”

  “Evarita, hold on,” Spencer whispered. He was standing in the guardhouse, his hands sweating and his heart hammering in his chest. He stared at the intercom system beside the door. Pam was waiting for an answer to his demand that the guards meet him at the Aqua Theater. But the guards weren’t here, only Spencer was.

  Spencer reached a shaking finger toward the button marked TALK. He pressed it.

  “Got it, boss,” he said in his deepest possible voice, desperately hoping he would sound like one of Pam’s guards. He took his hand off the button, and braced himself for Pam’s answer.

  “Good,” Pam said. “And step on it. We have a problem.”

  Spencer tried to calm down, but he couldn’t. His Got it, boss had fooled Pam, but now Pam was on the way to catch Mom, Dad, and Uncle Mark in the middle of their escape!

  “Evarita!” he gasped remembering he needed to tell her what to do. “I don’t have long.”

  “Okay, I’m listening,” Evarita replied. “What’s going on?”

  “We’re all okay. B.D. is injured, but we’re all okay,” the words poured out of Spencer. “We’re escaping tonight but the Creative Pastry truck is gone. Can you get a new getaway vehicle? There are going to be four humans, three bears, and one cub. I’m about to open the front gates. Can you be ready to get us out of here?”

  “Yes,” Evarita answered. “How long do I have?”

  Spencer raced over to the signal blocker. He shoved his hammer back into his mission pack, zipped the bag, and slung it onto his back.

  “An hour, maybe.”

  “I’m on it,” Evarita answered.

  Spencer ran to the control panel with the button for the front gates. He slammed his palm down on the button and heard the gates creaking open outside.

  “Great. I have to go,” Spencer said as he pushed open the door to the guardhouse and sprinted outside. “Disconnect.”

  Spencer turned left and ran as hard as he could down the front drive, under the tree tunnel. He had to head Pam off. Luckily, he could guess what route Pam would take from his house to the Aqua Theater. Spencer turned left at the massive bear fountain. He didn’t have time to think about his legs burning, or his chest heaving as he sprinted past the pools, then past the Caves. He forced himself to keep moving.

  He hurtled up Pam’s front steps, then cut off toward the pear grove as soon as he’d reached the hilltop. He pushed his night-vision goggles up onto his forehead as he ran. The entire pear grove was illuminated. Lights twinkled from each tree. At the very end of the grove, he could see Pam, with Dora padding on all fours beside him. They were heading for the Aqua Theater. They were about to break out of the trees and walk into plain sight.

  “PAM!” Spencer screamed. He kept running straight at Pam and Dora. They both spun around to face Spencer.

  WHY DID I DO THAT?! Spencer started to panic. He didn’t have a plan yet, but he didn’t want Pam to get a view of the Aqua Theater. He had to keep him in the pear grove. But now Pam was staring at Spencer, and he didn’t look happy. Dora huffed beside Pam.

  “You can trust Dora,” Mom had said. Spencer really hoped she was right. Dora huffed again as Spencer approached. She rose onto her hind legs, staring at Spencer. Spencer wished he could reach for his jade bear now, but he knew all that was in his pocket was the crowned bear figurine. And that definitely wouldn’t make him feel better about what he was about to do.

  “Now, now, Dora,” Pam said, his singsongy voice returned. “You can’t eat a child as a midnight snack.” Dora remained on her hind legs, looming beside Pam, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Spencer.

  “Black bears don’t eat humans,” Spencer said spitefully, slowing to a stop a few yards from Pam and Dora.

  “Maybe not in Bearhaven they don’t.” The way Pam said Bearhaven made Spencer’s skin crawl.

  “What do you know about Bearhaven?” he shot back.
>
  “A lot more than you all want me to know.” Pam used one of his clawlike nails to put a lock of black hair back into place. Spencer saw him cast an anxious glance toward the Aqua Theater. He’s looking for his guards, Spencer thought. Pam’s eyes snapped back to Spencer. “What I haven’t figured out yet is why you and your family insist on delivering yourselves to me on silver platters. Don’t you realize your bear friends need you now more than ever?”

  Spencer could feel himself boiling with anger. “Leave Bearhaven alone!” he shouted furiously.

  Dora huffed again. She dropped to all fours and lunged toward Spencer, stepping between him and Pam.

  Pam laughed from behind Dora. “Maybe a midnight snack wouldn’t be so bad after all.” Dora rose back onto her hind legs, chuffing threateningly.

  It took all of Spencer’s willpower not to scream and run from Dora, but something about the way she was looking at him made him think the scene she was making wasn’t what it seemed. And Mom had promised that Dora was trustworthy.

  She huffed aggressively again. Spencer couldn’t see Pam behind her. Dora was completely blocking Pam’s view, too.

  “Shala,” she growled. At the bear’s word for “safe,” Spencer knew Dora was working with him, not against him. The bear let out a loud whine and suddenly went rigid. She staggered on her hind legs, then collapsed to the ground.

  “Dora!” Pam cried. He glared at Spencer. “What did you do to her?” he snarled.

  Spencer’s mouth went dry. What was Dora’s plan?! What did she want him to do next?! “I … I … ” he stammered, trying to figure out how to make Dora’s collapse help him. His mind raced. Pam was frozen in place, glaring at him.

  “Guards!” Pam yelled.

  Then Spencer had it. He grabbed one of the coils of rope that was clipped to the side of his mission pack. “If you’re going to hurt my bears, I’m not going to be any nicer to yours,” he said through gritted teeth. He started to tie a knot in his length of rope as he moved closer to Dora.

  “My guards will be here any second,” Pam threatened. “If you so much as lay a finger on my bear—”

  Spencer lunged toward Dora with his rope tied in a running knot, the loop at the top left open. Pam lunged forward, too, falling for Spencer’s fake move. He reached out a hand to stop Spencer from tying Dora up. Spencer slipped the loop over Pam’s outstretched hand and yanked it tight, knotting it around Pam’s wrist.

  “What are you doing?!” Pam screamed. “Guards!” he yelled again.

  “Your guards are busy!” Spencer yelled. He charged forward, launching himself over Dora’s slumped body, and grabbed Pam around the knees, toppling him to the ground.

  “Dora!” Pam yelled, but Dora didn’t move. “Guards!” Pam tried to scramble to his feet. Spencer rushed to the closest tree. It was only a few feet from where Pam had fallen. He tossed the rope that was tied tightly around one of Pam’s wrists, over a low tree branch, then pulled it back down. He did a lap around the trunk with the rope. Pam was struggling to his feet when Spencer got back to him. But there was nowhere Pam could go, with one of his arms already bound to the tree. Spencer ran straight into Pam, knocking the man back against the tree trunk. Pam slashed out with the nails of his free hand, but Spencer dodged the blow from Pam’s claws. He had Pam pinned to the tree now with his rope. He did another lap around the trunk, then grabbed Pam’s free arm and tied that wrist, too.

  “Ahh!” Spencer cried as Pam’s long creepy nails pierced the skin on the back of his hand. He continued to tie knots, ignoring the blood, until he’d bound Pam’s body and both of his hands to the tree.

  “I don’t know what you think you’re doing,” Pam hissed. “But this will be the end of you. When I take Bearhaven, nobody will be spared.”

  Spencer tried to ignore Pam. He took off his mission pack and dug the long blond haired wig out from the bottom of his bag.

  “You better be careful what you say to me,” Spencer threatened, trying to sound as dangerous as possible. “Or you may never see Dora again.” With that, he yanked the blond wig down hard on top of Pam’s head, making sure it was on backward. The mass of blond hair blocked Pam’s sight.

  “Guards!” Pam yelled at the top of his lungs.

  Spencer grabbed his mission pack and returned to Dora’s side. He knelt down beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Dora opened her eyes. Spencer jerked his head in the direction of her home, then took off at a run. A second later, Dora caught up with him. The sound of Pam yelling for his guards over and over again drowned out their footsteps.

  As soon as Spencer and Dora reached Dora’s home, Spencer pulled Aldo’s Ear-COM out of his pocket and held it out in the palm of his hand. Dora stepped closer to Spencer, offering him her ear, and he placed the translating device inside.

  “Aldo,” he said right away, connecting his Ear-COM with the one that had been programmed for Aldo, but was now in Dora’s ear. “Thank you, Dora,” he went on. “That was a genius move! I don’t know what I would have done without you. We’re leaving tonight,” he rushed on. “All of us.” Dora looked away.

  “How?” she asked, her eyes on the Caves at the bottom of the hill.

  “Everyone’s meeting in the pool shed. We’ll escape from there,” Spencer explained quickly. “I’m going to get Darwin now—”

  “Take me to B.D. first,” she interrupted. “Then bring Darwin to us there.”

  “But it’s faster if—” Spencer started to protest.

  “Please do what I’m asking,” Dora’s eyes locked on Spencer. He hesitated. “It’s time I spoke to my brother.”

  Spencer looked down at the Caves. “You won’t hurt him?” Dora had proven Spencer could trust her, but could B.D.?

  “I promise.” Dora’s voice was solemn.

  “All right, then we’d better hurry.” Spencer pulled his night-vision goggles back down over his eyes. He turned and ran out of Dora’s home, careening down the hill as fast as he could to the Caves. Dora stayed right beside him the whole way.

  When they reached the door to B.D.’s cave, Spencer dropped his bag to the ground and started searching for his lock-picking kit. Just as he pulled it from his mission pack, a ring with eight keys on it dangled in his face. Dora was holding it in her mouth.

  “Thank goodness.” Spencer cast the lock-picking kit aside and started trying the keys. B.D. watched through the glass window. When Spencer fit the right key into the lock, he paused. He could hear B.D. grunting, probably urging him to open the door.

  “You promise you won’t hurt B.D.?” Spencer repeated. Dora’s eyes were locked on her brother. She didn’t even glance in Spencer’s direction when she answered.

  “Yes.”

  Spencer swung open the door and let Dora step through. He grabbed his lock-picking kit and used it as a doorjamb, propping the door to B.D.’s cave open. At least if Dora lost her temper, B.D. would have some chance to escape.

  Spencer glanced into B.D.’s cave as he put his mission pack on. B.D. was saying something in Ragayo Spencer couldn’t understand. Dora looked calm.

  “Disconnect,” Spencer whispered, then turned and left the Caves. He ran back up the hill to Pam’s house, his legs burning with every step. “B.D.,” he said, trying to connect his Ear-COM to the one he’d dropped into the tank for Mom, Dad, and Uncle Mark.

  “Spence,” Uncle Mark replied. “We’re out. About to arrive at the pool shed.”

  The news that Mom, Dad, and Uncle Mark had escaped from the Aqua Theater gave Spencer a sudden burst of energy. He charged through Pam’s front door and headed for the stairs.

  “Have you seen Aldo?” he asked.

  “We heard the guards chasing him a few minutes ago. Did you talk to Evarita?”

  “Yes,” Spencer answered, stepping onto Pam’s second floor. “She’ll be ready.” He was breathing hard, and his side was cramping. Spencer walked into Pam’s office and leaned against the desk, trying to catch his breath. “I have to get the cub, Uncle Mark. I’l
l see you in the shed.”

  “All right, Spence. Disconnect.”

  When Spencer had finally caught his breath, he pushed himself away from Pam’s desk. Before he could step toward Darwin’s room, a flash of movement on Pam’s computer screen caught his eye. He leaned closer to the computer. Its screen was filled with a surveillance feed.

  “This explains how he knew about the escape,” Spencer whispered. The video on Pam’s screen was of the Aqua Theater. Pam had his own personal security camera trained on the area where he was keeping his captives. There was another flash of movement on the screen, and a guard raced in front of the glass building. The first movement must have been Aldo. They haven’t caught him yet! Spencer thought, heading for Darwin’s door. He switched on the light and immediately set to work making a rope sling for the cub.

  “Anbranda,” he growled softly as his fingers knotted and wound the rope over his shoulder. A second later, Darwin’s fuzzy head poked out of the cave. He blinked sleepily at Spencer as he trotted over, sniffing curiously the whole way. He snuffled against Spencer’s hand where blood was drying from the slice Pam had given him. “Just a scratch,” Spencer said, tying the last knot in the sling. “Ready to go meet your uncle?” Spencer reached forward and picked up Darwin. The cub wriggled around and flailed his paws, but after a few tries, Spencer had Darwin securely tucked into the rope sling at his chest.

  “All right, let’s just tell your mom we’re on the way,” Spencer whispered as he stood up and headed for the door.

  “Aldo,” he said, connecting his Ear-COM to the one Dora was borrowing.

  “You don’t understand,” Dora was saying. “You couldn’t possibly understand what it has been like.”

  Uh-oh. Spencer picked up his pace. It didn’t sound like things between Dora and B.D. were going too well.

  By the time Spencer arrived back at B.D.’s cave with Darwin securely strapped to his chest, things between Dora and B.D. seemed to have improved. The two bears were facing each other, Dora on all fours and B.D. sitting back on his haunches. Spencer had listened over the Ear-COM to Dora’s side of the conversation for only as long as it took to get from Pam’s house to the Caves, but in that time, the anger had faded from Dora’s voice. It sounded as though she was finally accepting that B.D. had never meant to abandon her.