Hidden Rock Rescue

by K. E. Rocha

Then Spencer remembered the stone bear in his pocket. He grabbed it and in one smooth motion pulled it out of his pocket, wound up, and chucked it hard at the approaching guard. It hit the guard square in the nose. He let out a yell and stopped where he was. Spencer turned back to the helicopter.

  Mom leaned out of the open door and grabbed Spencer’s arm, pulling him into the helicopter. Dad and Uncle Mark turned, fighting two more guards. The guard attacking Uncle Mark fell to the ground. Uncle Mark turned and joined Dad in his fight.

  “I’m leaving. Now!” Evarita yelled.

  “Dad!” Spencer screamed. They were starting to lift from the marble courtyard.

  “Now!” Dad yelled. At the same time, both Dad and Uncle Mark turned and launched themselves into the rising helicopter. The guard beside them reached for Uncle Mark’s leg through the open door, but Mom kicked his hand away.

  Evarita propelled the helicopter straight up. As they rose, Spencer caught sight of Pam. He was standing on the top of the waterless waterfall. A guard was on one side of him. Dora was on the other. Pam’s arms were crossed. His long claws curved into view, and his face was stony as he glared furiously at the helicopter. Dora rose onto her hind legs. Spencer guessed she was huffing and baring her teeth. She raised a clawed paw, striking out into the air toward Bearhaven’s escaping team.

  Spencer smiled. To Pam, Dora’s gesture would look like a threat, but Spencer knew she was really giving them a victorious wave good-bye.

  Spencer’s hands were still shaking from the mayhem of the escape when he unzipped his mission pack on his lap to check on Dora’s frightened cub. Darwin had ducked his head inside the bag and was curled into a little ball. Spencer stroked the bear’s ear.

  “Don’t worry, we’re safe now,” he whispered, but his words were drowned out by the deafening sound of the helicopter. It was so loud nobody had said a word since lifting off at Hidden Rock Zoo. But Spencer didn’t mind that they couldn’t talk just yet. For now, having Mom strapped into the seat on one side of him, and Dad strapped in on the other side, was all Spencer really needed. Mom had one hand on Spencer’s knee. The familiar gold bracelet she always wore was on her wrist, and the sight of it made Spencer feel safer than he had in weeks.

  Dad had an arm around Spencer’s shoulders. One bandaged hand hung down beside Spencer’s face. Spencer tried to peek at the hand, worried about what might have happened to Dad, but he couldn’t see anything. I don’t have to worry anymore, he told himself. Dad’s hands would heal at home.

  Uncle Mark was at the front of the helicopter, sitting in the copilot’s seat beside Evarita. As though feeling Spencer’s eyes on his back, Uncle Mark turned and gave Spencer a wink, then glanced at the bears on the floor of the helicopter.

  Spencer followed Uncle Mark’s gaze. Aldo was starting to stir. The tranquilizer Pam’s guards had shot him with was just beginning to wear off thanks to a second shot Uncle Mark had given the bear just a few minutes ago. Aldo stretched out his legs, his ears twitching. B.D. also watched the younger bear with a look of concern, but of everyone on the helicopter, B.D. was definitely in the worst shape. Spencer could tell the Head of the Guard was putting on a brave face, but the run from the pool shed to the garden, and then pulling Aldo’s body onto the helicopter had obviously taken a toll on B.D. Even in the helicopter’s dimly lit cabin, Spencer could tell the wounds on B.D.’s shoulder had opened and started to bleed again, and his leg was swollen so big it made Spencer’s stomach hurt just to look at it.

  After a few more minutes, Evarita landed the helicopter and cut the engine. The deafening noise stopped, and everything was quiet.

  “Are you okay, honey?” Mom asked Spencer right away.

  “Yeah.” Spencer nodded, looking back and forth between Mom and Dad’s faces. “I’m great.”

  Dad chuckled. “Well, that makes two of us.” He gave Spencer’s shoulder a squeeze and then unstrapped himself from his seat.

  “Three,” Mom added with a smile.

  “Justin just gave me the all clear sign,” Evarita called from the pilot’s seat, before hopping out of the helicopter through a door in the cockpit.

  “All right, let’s move.” Uncle Mark stood up and rolled open the helicopter’s wide side door, revealing Bearhaven’s plane a short distance away. There was a man Spencer didn’t recognize beside the plane. Spencer could just make him out in the early dawn light. Evarita was walking over to him.

  “Who is that?” Spencer asked.

  “Justin. He’s a friend to Bearhaven, but he works at this airport,” Mom explained. “He’s helped us on quite a few occasions.”

  Spencer looked back at the man. He’d heard Uncle Mark and Evarita mention an “airport contact” before. He wondered if Justin was the same one. He’d have to ask Mom and Dad later just how many “friends to Bearhaven” there really were.

  “Keep an eye on the bears for a minute, Spence,” Uncle Mark said. “We’re going to get ready to move them.” Uncle Mark, Mom, and Dad left the helicopter through the side door.

  “Okay.” Spencer looked down at Darwin. His eyes were closed, and his belly rose up and down evenly. The cub had fallen asleep. Quietly, Spencer rezipped the bag. He unstrapped himself and stood, easing the backpack on carefully. B.D.’s eyes were closed. He looked like he was trying to fight off pain.

  Aldo’s ears twitched again. Spencer knelt beside him and put a hand on Aldo’s shoulder. Aldo opened his eyes. He looked around groggily, then slowly growled a few words of Ragayo. Aldo wasn’t wearing an Ear-COM. Spencer couldn’t understand what the bear was saying, but there would be plenty of time for them to talk later. Right now, all Spencer wanted Aldo to know was that they had done it. They had escaped Hidden Rock Zoo. They were safe.

  “Wanmahai,” he growled to Aldo, hoping the bear would understand. “We make a pretty good team.”

  Spencer was just settling himself in a seat in Bearhaven’s plane when Evarita poked her head into the cabin.

  “Spencer!” she cried, rushing over to wrap him up in a quick hug. “Finally! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

  “Thanks to you I am,” Spencer answered. It seemed like Evarita got cooler every time he saw her these days. “How did you know to come in a helicopter?”

  “I didn’t.” Evarita laughed. “We didn’t have another truck big enough to fit everyone.” She ruffled his hair and headed back toward the cockpit. “I have to get us ready to fly,” she called. “But I just had to hug you. I’ve been worried sick.”

  “She’s been worried sick?” Mom remarked walking up from the back of the plane to take a seat beside Spencer. Her arms were loaded with Raymond’s fuel bars. “Imagine how I felt when I saw you in the aquarium with all those alarms going off! You, my dear, have had me scared to death since the moment I realized you were going on these rescue missions.”

  “Sorry,” Spencer said sheepishly, remembering the first mission he’d gone on when he and Mom had spotted each other through a conference call between Margo and Pam at Jay Grady’s. That was less than a month ago, but now it seemed like another lifetime.

  “If I’d only known you would make such an incredible operative.” Mom handed him a fuel bar. Spencer puffed up with pride.

  “ ‘Incredible operative?’ Now that’s an understatement,” Dad said, joining them. “You know what else is an understatement? That we’ve missed you like crazy, Spencer.” Dad dropped into the seat in front of Spencer and spun around. “We’ve thought about you every minute of every day we’ve been gone.”

  “Me too,” Spencer answered. “I don’t know what I would have done without Bearhaven.”

  “Without Bearhaven?” Uncle Mark joked from behind Spencer. “What about your dear uncle Mark?”

  “That’s what I meant!” Spencer laughed, looking over his shoulder. “I don’t know what I would have done without Bearhaven and my dear Uncle Mark.”

  Uncle Mark smiled from where he crouched beside Aldo, buckling the sleeping bear in for the flight. Opposite th
em, B.D. and Darwin were settled together. Dad had already helped them get strapped in, and now Darwin was snuggling up against B.D., who was sitting back on his haunches, gnawing a large knob of ginger root.

  “All right, everyone, what do you say we get out of here?” Evarita called back from the cockpit.

  Uncle Mark dropped into the seat beside Dad. “I’d say the sooner the better,” he called back as he accepted a few Raymond’s fuel bars from Mom.

  As Evarita steered Bearhaven’s plane down the tarmac, Spencer leaned his head back against his seat. He was suddenly so exhausted that the idea of unwrapping and eating a Raymond’s fuel bar was too much for him. He closed his eyes. Just for a minute, he told himself.

  * * *

  Spencer woke up on the TUBE with the smell of peanut butter wafting into his nose. He opened his eyes, and for a second, he thought he might be dreaming. Mom and Dad were standing in front of him. Dad was holding a tray of peanut butter toast, and Mom had a pitcher of milk in one hand and a stack of glasses in the other.

  “I thought the smell of peanut butter might wake you up,” Mom joked.

  “You’re really here!” Spencer exclaimed. It wasn’t a dream! Mom and Dad were really standing right in front of him!

  “You bet we’re really here.” Dad laughed. “Come on, we’re almost at Bearhaven, and it’s about time you ate something.” Dad headed for the door to the dining car.

  Spencer leaped out of his seat. “How did I get on the TUBE?” he asked Mom as they followed Dad into the dining car.

  “You walked,” she answered. “But you were so tired, I think you might as well have been sleepwalking. I’m not surprised you don’t remember.”

  Spencer was happy to see Aldo and Evarita sitting at the table where Dad had just set his tray of peanut butter toast. Evarita had a bowl of macaroni and cheese in front of her, and Aldo looked like he was savoring every bite of his berries and honey.

  “You finally woke up!” Aldo exclaimed happily when he saw Spencer. His BEAR-COM had been returned to his neck.

  “I could say the same to you!” Spencer rushed over and gave Aldo a huge hug. “What happened?!” He took a seat next to Mom and reached for a piece of peanut butter toast.

  “Well, it was fine at first,” Aldo started, licking a smear of honey from his snout. “I was keeping the guards a good distance behind me, leading them all over the zoo property. I didn’t want to lose them too quickly, or else they might have gotten back to the guardhouse too soon. But I didn’t realize they had a tranquilizer gun … ” Aldo shook his head. Spencer couldn’t believe they hadn’t thought Pam’s guards might have tranquilizers. He hadn’t even known how much danger they were putting Aldo in!

  “Since all they did was chase me in the beginning, I figured the longer I ran them around the better,” Aldo went on with a shrug. “But I’m guessing they didn’t use the tranquilizer gun right away because they hoped to get me over to the Caves and back in an enclosure without Pam finding out. My mistake was running too close to Pam’s house. Once I did, they started shooting.” Aldo paused to slurp up some berries. “Next thing I knew, you, Mark, and Shane were trying to get me to the helicopter. I could hear you, but I couldn’t really get my legs to move. I think I went in and out after that.”

  Spencer washed down a big bite of peanut butter toast with a gulp of cold milk. “I’m sorry, Aldo,” he said. “I didn’t even think—”

  “Don’t worry, little man,” Aldo cut him off. “The important thing is we did it! Our plan worked.”

  “Yeah, the plan did work.” Spencer smiled. “Where’s everybody else?”

  “B.D. is in the medical car, and Darwin refuses to be separated from B.D., so Mark is feeding him in there,” Evarita explained. “And Marguerite’s making sure everything is in order for our arrival in Bearhaven.”

  Dad pulled an extra chair up to the table and accepted the glass of milk Mom offered him. She set a glass in front of Spencer, too.

  “Making sure what’s in order?” Spencer asked, wondering what Marguerite, the TUBE attendant, would need to arrange for their arrival. “Like letting everyone know we’re coming?”

  “No, the opposite,” Mom said. “And eat, Spencer, we’re arriving soon.”

  Spencer took a big bite of peanut butter toast and waited for someone to explain.

  “Marguerite is making sure the TUBE’s arrival in Bearhaven doesn’t get announced,” Evarita started. “Well, actually, we don’t want anyone to know about our arrival at all, except for the bears working in the TUBE station. It’s going to be just after dinnertime when we get in. If word gets out that the TUBE has arrived and the team has returned from Jane and Shane’s rescue mission, we’ll have all of Bearhaven waiting to welcome them. And welcome all of us, too.”

  “What’s wrong with that?” Spencer asked. He couldn’t wait to see Kate and tell her all about the mission. What was so bad about her and the rest of Bearhaven being ready to celebrate their return?

  “Darwin has been through a lot already,” Mom answered. “We don’t want to shock him with an enormous crowd of bears as soon as we get him to his new home.

  And B.D. doesn’t want all of Bearhaven to know about his condition just yet. This way, he can get some medical attention before anyone sees him.”

  “B.D.’s going to be okay, though, isn’t he?” Aldo asked.

  “Yes,” Dad said. “B.D.’s going to be okay, but his wounds look pretty bad right now. We’ll have a town meeting in the morning once Pinky has had a chance to give him some stitches and bandage him up. And once we’ve all had a chance to get some rest.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” Spencer finished his first slice of peanut butter toast, and was just reaching for another when the TUBE pulled into the station in Bearhaven. “I thought you said nobody was supposed to be here to greet us?”

  A bear was standing alone on the TUBE platform. There was no BEAR-COM around his neck. At first, Spencer didn’t recognize him, but then he spotted the furless patch of skin at the bear’s jaw.

  Spencer peeked through the window into the medical car. Aldo was beside him. They’d been told to give the Benally family their privacy, but Spencer and Aldo couldn’t resist a closer look.

  “I’ve never seen John Shirley before,” Aldo whispered.

  “Me neither,” Spencer replied. He didn’t want to mention seeing John Shirley’s photo in Pam’s auction. Spencer stared at the bear who had been waiting on the TUBE platform. The furless patch of skin at his jaw had led Spencer to guess his identity. It matched the same marking on B.D.’s and Dora’s jaws, the one that Dora had explained came from having to push their snouts through the bars to get food when they were the property of Gutler University.

  “How do you think he knew Dora was supposed to be on this train?” Aldo asked. Inside the medical car, John Shirley was playing with Darwin and grunting Ragayo back and forth with B.D., who lay on a bear-sized hospital bed.

  “B.D. told me once that when he needs to, he can get a message to John Shirley. B.D. must have told him he’d found Dora.” Spencer watched as Darwin climbed up John Shirley’s back and playfully nipped at his uncle’s ear. “At least he has Darwin to make him feel better about Dora not being here,” Spencer whispered. And at least Darwin has family to make being separated from his mother again a little less painful … he thought.

  “I wonder how long he’s been waiting on the platform.”

  “He got here yesterday,” Uncle Mark said. Both Aldo and Spencer jumped, startled, and spun around.

  “Uhh … ” Spencer tried to think of an excuse for why he and Aldo were there.

  “We were … just checking … ” Aldo stammered.

  “You guys will have a chance to meet John Shirley,” Uncle Mark interrupted. “It just probably won’t be tonight. Aldo, will you run home and let your parents know we’ve arrived?” Uncle Mark went on. “I’m sure Bunny would appreciate some warning before the Plains, Evarita, and I all show up in her living r
oom.”

  “Sure!” Aldo exclaimed, obviously relieved Uncle Mark wasn’t mad to have found them looking in on John Shirley.

  “Evarita and I are going to go get Pinky for B.D.,” Uncle Mark added. “And Spencer, your parents are waiting for you on the platform. I’ll see you back at the Weavers’.”

  “Great!” Spencer and Aldo made their way off the train. Spencer spotted Mom and Dad immediately. They were at the far end of the platform, talking to the bears who had set to cleaning the TUBE.

  “I’ll see you at home, Spencer,” Aldo called. The bear was already stepping onto the elevator up to the clearing inside Bearhaven. Spencer waved as the elevator door slid shut.

  “Spencer!” Dad called. “There you are!” Mom and Dad started toward him. Even though Mom’s glasses were missing and she looked more exhausted than Spencer had ever seen her, and even with Dad’s hands freshly bandaged and his beard grown in, Mom and Dad looked happy.

  “It’s so good to be back,” Mom said when they’d reached Spencer.

  “We haven’t even made it out of the TUBE station yet,” Dad chuckled. He slung an arm around Spencer’s shoulders and steered him toward the elevator. Spencer stepped inside first, excited to see all the coolest parts of Bearhaven again with Mom and Dad by his side. The elevator door slid shut, then opened again not a minute later.

  Spencer led the way into the clearing inside Bearhaven. It was dusk, and the honeycomb shaped lanterns bordering the clearing were already on. “This is where I snuck out of Bearhaven!” He exclaimed, realizing his parents didn’t even know about that. Mom raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t worry, I learned my lesson,” Spencer said quickly. “I got me and Kate in big, big trouble that time.”

  “Sounds like we have a lot of catching up to do,” Dad said. He followed the honeycomb shaped lanterns down a dirt path.

  “Oh, yeah,” Spencer agreed. Suddenly, his mind was overflowing with stories he had to tell Mom and Dad. “I have to tell you about the time Kate and I accidentally took one of Fred Crossburger’s water aerobics classes.”