Hidden Rock Rescue

by K. E. Rocha

  Spencer paused outside the door, afraid to interrupt the bears, but they didn’t have time for a long reunion now. They had to leave Hidden Rock Zoo before Pam got free and found a way to stop them. Spencer pushed open the door. Just as he entered the cave, he heard B.D. growl.

  “Yi hu aro valu,” he said.

  “With you I am home,” Dora’s growls to B.D. translated through Spencer’s Ear-COM.

  A moment passed in silence. Then B.D. and Dora seemed to notice Spencer at once. B.D.’s eyes snapped to Darwin, who started to bawl for Dora. B.D. said something in Ragayo that Spencer couldn’t understand.

  “My cub,” Dora replied. “Darwin.”

  “We should go,” Spencer said urgently. He motioned to B.D. that they needed to leave quickly. The bear tried to conceal a wince as he moved to all fours, approaching Darwin.

  “I want you to take him to Bearhaven with you,” Dora announced. B.D. turned back to his sister, then started to grunt and growl a steady stream of Ragayo.

  “You’re coming with us,” Spencer said once B.D. had finished.

  “No.” Dora’s eyes were on B.D. “Pam is planning his attack on Bearhaven. I want to help you stop him, but I can be more help to you if I stay here. He trusts me and keeps me close to him; I can learn information that could help you protect yourselves. I can weaken him and his plans if I’m here—”

  B.D. interrupted her, urgent Ragayo pouring out of him.

  “B.D., what’s the point of my leaving now to live in Bearhaven, if I only have a few weeks of freedom before Pam destroys it and captures us all? I’m not leaving with you tonight. But I need you to take Darwin.”

  Spencer wrapped his arms around Darwin, clutching the cub closer to him. How could they separate Dora and her son? Darwin needed his mother. “He should be with you,” he said. Darwin’s cries got louder, and Spencer couldn’t help but think the cub understood the conversation and was protesting now, too.

  “He will be, when I’m free from Pam, when we’re all safe in Bearhaven. I have lived in captivity for almost fifteen years,” Dora said. “We were only a little older than Darwin is now when we were captured at Gutler, B.D. I don’t want the same life for Darwin. Pam has humans raising him here. I want my cub with bears. With you, B.D. You can keep him safe. I can’t. Not while I belong to Pam.”

  Spencer looked back and forth across the three bears. B.D. growled something.

  “He’s worried Pam will know I’ve already helped you,” Dora translated for Spencer.

  Spencer looked at B.D., the bear’s face was pained. He had to look away. It must have been settled between the bears already, Darwin would leave Hidden Rock Zoo tonight, but Dora would stay behind.

  “We can leave you tied up in here,” he said quietly. “He won’t suspect you then.”

  “Spencer will tie my paws and close me in here when you leave,” Dora repeated Spencer’s plan. B.D. nodded solemnly. He stepped forward and lifted Darwin out of the sling at Spencer’s chest, grabbing the cub gently by the scruff of the neck. He set Darwin down on all fours, and the cub scrambled over to Dora immediately.

  Spencer pulled the rope off himself as quickly as he could. Dora lay down, then rolled onto her side, extending her legs. Darwin pounced on her, playing.

  “Disconnect,” Spencer whispered, crouching down beside Dora. He didn’t think he could bear to hear what Dora would say to Darwin now, before parting with him for who knows how long. Spencer stayed focused on Dora’s paws and the knots he was tying in the rope so it would look as if Bearhaven’s team had captured her and left her in B.D.’s cave in his place. When Spencer was done, he stood up and looked at B.D. The bear was watching Dora and Darwin together. Even with her legs bound, Dora was affectionate with her cub.

  We’re running out of time, Spencer thought. He reconnected with Dora’s borrowed Ear-COM. “It’s time for us to go,” he said.

  “All right, good luck,” Dora answered. “Hopefully”—she paused as Darwin poked his snout right up against hers—“it won’t be long until we’re all together again,” she finished.

  “Thanks for all your help, Dora,” Spencer said, unsure of what else there was to say. He leaned down and took the Ear-COM out of her ear, slipping it back into his pocket as he stepped away to give B.D. room to say good-bye.

  B.D. stepped forward a little unsteadily. He headbutted Dora gently, growling, then picked Darwin up in his mouth and turned to Spencer, passing him the cub. Spencer took Darwin in his arms. The cub tried to wriggle free. A lump rose in Spencer’s throat. He turned and headed for the door. B.D. padded along beside him.

  Darwin cried out for Dora loudly when they stepped out of the cave and Spencer started to panic. If they couldn’t calm the cub down Darwin would give them away immediately. B.D. started to growl softly, and after a moment, Darwin was quiet.

  Spencer led the way into the alley behind the Caves, then broke into a jog, watching carefully to see if B.D. could keep up. The bear limped but stayed right beside Spencer as they crossed the short, dark distance between the Caves and the Seaport Pools.

  Spencer pushed open the door to the pool shed and someone immediately grabbed him.

  “Ahh!” he gasped, struggling to keep hold of Darwin as arms wrapped around him. Just as he was about to panic and tell B.D. to run for it, a scruffy beard scratched his forehead and bandaged hands gripped him by the arms.

  Dad wrapped Spencer up in a tight hug as Darwin scrambled out of Spencer’s arms and jumped to the floor. “You’re okay,” Dad said.

  “I’m fine,” Spencer answered, hardly believing he and Dad were finally together. Over Dad’s shoulder, he saw Mom, looking on. She crouched to scoop up Darwin who was running around the shed, tripping over his own paws. Once she had a firm grip on the cub, she stood up and rushed over to Spencer. Dad stepped aside, and Spencer was wrapped up in another tight hug.

  “Where’s Aldo?” Spencer asked, forcing himself to stay focused.

  “He hasn’t gotten here yet,” Uncle Mark said.

  Hasn’t gotten here yet? Aldo should have been able to outrun the guards by now. Where was he?

  “Where’s Dora?” Mom asked.

  B.D. grunted beside Spencer. Dad was shining a flashlight on the bear’s wounds. Spencer reached into his pocket and retrieved Aldo’s Ear-COM. He handed it to Dad.

  Dad said something to B.D. in Ragayo, then fit the Ear-COM into the bear’s ear.

  “Team,” Spencer said once the device was in, “Dora’s not coming.”

  Mom protested, but Spencer couldn’t hear her. Evarita’s voice was suddenly in his ear.

  “Team, are you ready?” she said. “I’m on the way. Coming for you now.”

  “We don’t have Aldo,” Spencer answered. His heart started to beat faster. “We can’t leave without him.” Spencer saw Mom and Dad exchange a look, and for the first time, he realized his parents had geared up for the escape. Uncle Mark had, too. They each had a coil of rope crossing their chest, and a flashlight, and tools poked out of their pockets. They must have searched the shed for anything they might use. They were operatives after all.

  “How long can we wait, Evarita?” Uncle Mark cut in.

  Please say we can wait … But Evarita didn’t say anything.

  “Evarita,” B.D. barked. “How long do we have?”

  “She’s gone.” Uncle Mark lifted a hand to his ear as though adjusting the translating device. “We’ve lost our connection with her.”

  “What does that mean?” Spencer looked to his parents.

  “It means the signal blocker is back on,” Mom answered. “Pam and his guards are regaining control of the property.”

  “We have to move now,” Uncle Mark said, taking charge. “Evarita’s on the way,” he updated Mom and Dad on the plan. “We have to get to the front gates while Pam and his guards are still trying to get things under control.”

  “What about Aldo?!”

  Before anyone could answer, Pam’s voice filled the pool she
d, blaring out of a speaker beside the door:

  “Now. I’m. Angry.”

  Spencer balled his hands into fists, trying not show how scared he was. Suddenly, blinding light poured in through the shed’s windows. He ran to the closest one. Outside, it was as bright as day. Spotlights were blasting down on Hidden Rock Zoo. The wall surrounding the property was topped by huge lights. He backed away from the window, dropping his night-vision goggles to the floor. Mom reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him toward her. Darwin gave a frightened cry.

  “Every door and window on this property is alarmed,” Pam practically shouted through the intercom. “The minute you move, my guards will find you. And I promise they will NOT be friendly.”

  Spencer gulped. He didn’t know how they were going to get out of here, but Uncle Mark was right, they had to move now.

  “I can only hope your beloved bears in Bearhaven are this easy to defeat,” Pam went on. “And by the way. The front gates. Are. Closed.” The speaker went silent.

  “What did he say?” B.D. asked urgently.

  “The front gates are closed. When we open a door or window, the alarm will go off, and they’ll know where to find us. He’s mad,” Uncle Mark quickly updated the bear. “We have to make a move now. If they’re waiting for an alarm to go off to locate us, the guards will be sent here as soon as we open the door. They’ll expect us to head straight for the front gates.”

  “But we’ll loop through the garden and head for the gates from the opposite side,” Mom cut in. “We’ll search for Aldo on the way.”

  “Right,” Uncle Mark agreed. “B.D., can you run? We have to take the long way to the front gates.”

  “I can run,” B.D. answered.

  Spencer slipped his mission pack off his back. He unzipped it and turned it upside down. Emptying the contents onto the floor. He grabbed his hammer, his slingshot and his flashlight and shoved them into his pockets. He’d have to do without the rest of the supplies.

  “Spencer, what are you doing?” Dad asked.

  “I need to be able to carry Darwin.” Spencer put the backpack back on. “Mom, can you put him in the bag?”

  “Good thinking, Spencer,” Mom said, settling Darwin in the backpack. The cub sniffled at the back of Spencer’s neck and nipped at Spencer’s ear.

  “He’s in.” Mom zipped the bag up to hold Darwin’s body inside.

  “What happens when we reach the front gates?” Spencer asked.

  “We fight our way through,” Uncle Mark said solemnly.

  “How?” Spencer looked around the room. Everyone’s expressions were grim.

  Dad spoke up. “However we have to.”

  “Everyone ready?” Uncle Mark asked, looking back over his shoulder. Behind Uncle Mark, Mom and B.D. stood side by side, and behind them, Spencer, with Darwin on his back, stood next to Dad. They were going to stick together, all of them running from the pool shed to the opposite side of Hidden Rock Zoo, then to the front gates from there. Uncle Mark would take the lead. Mom was to stay with B.D. If his pain got too bad to keep running, Mom would stay with him and alert the others that they needed to find a way to move him. Spencer was in charge of getting Darwin to safety, and Dad would be last, watching for guards who might pursue Bearhaven’s team from behind.

  “Ready,” Spencer said. His answer was quickly followed by readys from everyone else. Dad reached over and squeezed Spencer’s shoulder reassuringly with one bandaged hand. Just then, Uncle Mark pushed open the pool shed door. An alarm screeched on, red lights flashed throughout the shed, and Uncle Mark broke into a sprint.

  Mom and B.D. followed Uncle Mark. B.D. stumbled when he lunged forward but regained his balance and took off after Uncle Mark at a pace Spencer wasn’t even sure he could match. But now was the time to try. Spencer and Dad burst out of the pool shed, into the bright lights blasting down on Hidden Rock Zoo. Darwin started to hum, scared.

  Behind him, Spencer heard Pam’s voice yelling through the intercom. “We have you now!”

  “That’s what you think,” Spencer muttered picking up his pace. As he ran, Spencer stayed close to B.D. and Mom, but he searched the zoo around him for Aldo. Where was his teammate?

  As they were approaching the garden, Spencer saw Uncle Mark disappear through a break in the trees surrounding it. Mom and B.D. weren’t far behind.

  “Hey! Stop where you are!”

  “This way!”

  “They’re heading for the garden!”

  “Stop right there!

  The sounds of guards yelling and running hit Spencer. He tried to turn, to see how close the guards were.

  “Keep running!” Dad shouted. Spencer hurtled through the break in the trees and onto the white stone path that wound throughout the garden. His legs were starting to burn, but he couldn’t stop now. He could feel Dad right behind him, and Darwin bouncing against his back. They were halfway across the garden when Spencer heard Uncle Mark yell.

  “Head for the fountain,” he ordered. Spencer craned his neck to see what was going on up ahead. Two uniformed guards were barreling through an opening in the trees on the far side of the garden. Spencer looked over his shoulder. Guards were rushing in from that direction, too. He turned, ready to race down the steps curving around Pam’s giant bear fountain, but a huge guard was there, running straight at him.

  “Stay where you are, kid!” the guard yelled.

  Spencer panicked, he took a step back.

  “Jane!” he heard Dad yell. A rope flew in front of Spencer, and an instant later, the guard fell, smashing face-first into the stone steps. Mom and Dad were crouched on either side of the steps, holding a rope taut.

  “Nice!” Spencer cheered, seriously impressed.

  “There are more coming!” Mom yelled. Uncle Mark turned back.

  “We’re surrounded!” Spencer screamed.

  “Not yet!” Uncle Mark pointed to the marble courtyard at the middle of the garden. If they ran straight across it, they may still be able to get away. Spencer sprinted straight for it. But a moment later, the deafening sound of a helicopter and a sudden strong wind stopped him in his tracks.

  “Get down!” Dad shouted. Spencer crouched to the ground. Dad was on one side of him, and Mom was on the other. They wrapped their arms around Spencer and Darwin. Spencer looked up. The helicopter was hovering over Hidden Rock Zoo! It was getting lower and lower.

  “It’s landing on the courtyard!” he shouted over the sound.

  “Do you think it’s—” Dad started to yell back, but a voice in Spencer’s Ear-COM drowned him out.

  “All right, team,” Evarita said. “Let’s get you out of here.” The helicopter set down on the marble courtyard.

  The noise of the helicopter was deafening, and the wind it created in Pam’s garden threatened to throw Spencer off his feet. He ran straight at the helicopter anyway. Uncle Mark reached the helicopter first. A big door in the side was open. Uncle Mark leaped into it, then turned to help B.D. in.

  Mom reached the helicopter next. She climbed in, then turned back. Spencer could tell she was yelling his name, but he couldn’t hear her. He was a few paces away from the helicopter when suddenly the waterfall stopped flowing, just like it had on the night of Pam’s auction. This time, though, when the waterfall stopped, it didn’t reveal Pam at the bottom of the slick black marble slab. It revealed a bear.

  “Aldo!” Spencer screamed. His voice was drowned out by the helicopter. Spencer ran faster. When he reached the helicopter, he slipped the backpack off and handed it to Mom, who was leaning out, reaching for him. She grabbed Darwin, then called for Spencer to get in. “Aldo’s over there!” he yelled back, pointing to Aldo’s slumped body.

  Spencer raced toward the bridge. As he ran, he realized his sneakers were splashing through water. The moat around the marble courtyard was rising. Pam must have sent the water from the waterfall into the moat! If it got too high too quickly the helicopter would get trapped here!

  “Spencer!” Dad yel
led right behind him. Spencer didn’t turn back. He wasn’t leaving without Aldo. Even if that meant he wasn’t leaving tonight. When he reached the bear, he knelt beside him.

  “Aldo!” he yelled. Aldo blinked groggily at Spencer.

  Dad fell to his knees beside them. “He’s tranquilized!”

  “We have to get him to the helicopter!” Spencer looked over his shoulder. Uncle Mark was running toward them.

  “We have to get out of here!” Evarita yelled over the Ear-COMs. “The water’s getting too high! I don’t have more than a minute!”

  “We’re coming!” Spencer got to his feet and hooked an arm under one of Aldo’s legs, trying to pull the bear. Dad took the other side, and then Uncle Mark was beside them, grabbing hold of the bear.

  “Come on, Aldo!” Spencer screamed as he, Uncle Mark, and Dad dragged Aldo forward. They pushed and pulled him as fast as they could. The water on the marble made it easier. Aldo’s body skimmed across it, and in just a few seconds, they were at the door to the helicopter. But the guards were almost there, too. Four of them had already crossed the rising moat and were wading through the water, shouting.

  “Ten seconds!” Evarita yelled.

  B.D. reached his head down and grabbed Aldo by the scruff of the neck. Dad and Uncle Mark pushed from the ground, hoisting Aldo into the helicopter.

  “STOP WHERE YOU ARE!” someone shouted.

  Spencer spun around. One of the guards was racing straight at him. A scream got choked in Spencer’s throat. He wished he could reach for his jade bear now for strength, and bravery—