Smoke Mountain

by Erin Hunter

  Wearily Kallik climbed to her paws and helped Lusa up. Wet pine needles clung to her fur as they trudged behind Ujurak. The rain had washed away some of the mud, but Kallik didn’t think she’d ever feel clean again.

  The ground sloped up through the trees and she could see a glimmer of sunlight ahead. They emerged on to an open, pebbly stretch of earth with a mountain wall rising up on either side. Kallik blinked. Straight ahead of them, the ground ran smooth and flat between the mountains for almost a skylength. And beyond the mountain walls, in the distance ahead – just sky and rolling plains.

  ‘Where are the rest of the mountains?’ Lusa asked.

  ‘This is it,’ Ujurak said. ‘We just have to get through this gap, and we’ll be in the foothills. On the other side of Smoke Mountain.’

  ‘Really?’ Kallik gasped.

  Toklo’s eyes widened. ‘Let’s go!’

  Kallik’s paws thrummed with new energy as they sprang forward. It was amazing to run on flat ground again, instead of climbing, always climbing, on bare, sharp rocks. The wind ruffled her fur, and she felt the rain start to taper off. They ran and ran as the day wore on.

  The clouds parted and a beam of sunlight, low in the sky, cut across their path as they burst into the open air. The mountain walls were behind them, and ahead lay a rolling, grassy meadow that sloped down to a faraway forest. The setting sun lit up tiny spots of colour in the grass – bright yellow and blue wildflowers amidst the green.

  Kallik turned to look back at the tall ridge of mountains spread out against the sky behind them. They seemed blurry and unreal now, as if she were seeing them through a cloud of smoke. She inhaled deeply, realizing that for the first time in what felt like moons, the air smelled fresh and clean.

  ‘Did we make it?’ Lusa said wonderingly. ‘I think . . . I think we did. We survived Smoke Mountain!’ She buried her nose in the grass, then lay down and rolled with her paws in the air.

  ‘Goodbye forever, you horrible place,’ Kallik said.

  ‘We did survive the mountain,’ Ujurak said with a nod. ‘But we still have a long way to go.’

  ‘Oh, fabulous,’ Toklo grumbled.

  ‘Cheer up, you old walruses,’ Kallik said. The crisp smell of the air was almost like snow-sky, and she felt like running and leaping through the long brown grasses ahead of them. ‘We’re alive! We survived the flat-face hunters!’ She lifted her snout and saw the Pathway Star glimmering in the dark blue sky ahead of them. ‘All thanks to the ice spirits watching over us,’ she added.

  ‘And the bear spirits in the trees who helped us through that waterfall and saved me in the river,’ Lusa said.

  ‘Those were the river bear spirits!’ Toklo insisted. ‘They’re the ones who helped us the most!’ He and Lusa had been having this argument most of the past day, as they ran through the mountain gap.

  Ujurak let out a snort of laughter. ‘At least we can agree to be thankful, whoever it’s to.’

  Kallik nodded and yawned. Exhaustion was finally catching up with her. They all lay down right there in the grass and slept, fur brushing fur.

  Bright light woke Kallik, and she realised the sun was high in the sky. They had slept through the night and well into the next day. Lusa was still asleep, but the two brown bears were gone. Kallik squinted through the grass and saw Toklo trotting towards them.

  He dropped a rabbit at her paws and shook himself. ‘I’d forgotten what it was like to be dry!’

  Lusa’s nose twitched. ‘I smell rabbit,’ she mumbled with her eyes still shut.

  ‘That’s because I brought you a rabbit,’ Toklo said, poking her. ‘Squirrel-brain.’

  Lusa’s eyes popped open. ‘Food!’ she cried, scrambling to her paws.They each ripped off a chunk of flesh, saving some for Ujurak, who was bounding through the meadow not far away. Kallik wasn’t sure what he was doing, but it looked as though he were chasing a butterfly. He joined them after a few moments and they all lay in a circle, chewing contentedly.

  ‘Let’s keep walking while it’s daylight,’ Kallik suggested when the newkill was all gone.

  They walked through the foothills all the rest of that day and most of the night. The Pathway Star shone brightly ahead of them, guiding their path. Kallik’s paws stopped aching, and her body tingled with anticipation. Despite Ujurak’s gloomy prediction that they still had a long way to go, she felt sure that it couldn’t be much further. The Place of Endless Ice was calling to her. She could practically smell it in the air.

  When they stopped to sleep beside a shallow stream, Kallik dreamed of catching a plump seal, her teeth sinking into its rich flesh. The nights were truly getting longer now, giving them more darkness to sleep in.

  The next day she trotted even faster, wishing she could race across the grassland at full speed. They could see wooded mountains ahead of them, green and tipped with white snow. Was that it? Was that the Last Great Wilderness?

  The air was turning colder as well. Kallik knew she was the only one who was happy about this; the others glanced anxiously at the sky, and Toklo muttered about catching enough prey for the cold season. But her paws trembled at the thought of touching ice again.

  As they began to climb into these smaller mountains, a flurry of snow whirled through the air. Kallik could barely hold in her excitement. It was the first snowfall she’d seen in moons and moons. Even though it didn’t stick to the ground, she felt it drift across her fur and tickle her nose. She felt like the Great Bear Silaluk coming back to life.

  Lusa, Ujurak and Toklo were fascinated by it. They watched transfixed as their fur turned white. Kallik wondered if they’d be so enthusiastic if the snow settled up to their bellies and higher. These bears weren’t made for the cold like she was. Would it be her turn to feed them and look after them now?

  And then finally, as they came over the ridge of the mountains, they saw a great plain spread out before them, stretching for skylengths in all directions. They all stopped on a shelf of stone and stared down. From their high perch, Kallik could see animals everywhere – a herd of caribou grazing, long-legged moose strolling slowly through the grass, wild ducks and geese flying overhead. She even thought she spotted some furry shapes that might be other bears.

  ‘It’s beautiful!’ Lusa cried.

  Kallik’s gaze drifted to the horizon, where a vast sea of green-blue water sparkled and glittered in the sun.

  ‘Look at all that water,’ Ujurak said, blinking in astonishment.

  ‘That’s the biggest lake I’ve ever seen,’ Toklo agreed. ‘Even bigger than Great Bear Lake.’

  Kallik snorted. ‘That’s because it’s not a lake, seal-brains. That’s the sea!’ She stood up on her hind legs and stared at it. Suddenly she gasped. Ice!

  In the distance, sparkling pure and white against the blue ocean, she could see the sea-ice clearly. It was there, solid and real, even in the time of burn-sky. It didn’t reach all the way to the shore, but as the weather got colder, it would. And then she would be back where she belonged, among seals and fish and other white bears.

  ‘We’ve made it!’ she cried. ‘This is it! Look, Lusa, that’s the ice – that’s what I’ve been telling you about for so long.’

  ‘The Last Great Wilderness,’ Lusa whispered. ‘We found it! Ujurak, you did it – you brought us here!’

  Ujurak stared down the slope and didn’t say anything.

  Toklo shook his head. ‘I must admit, I wasn’t sure it was real,’ he said. ‘I thought we might be on a wild-goose chase. But here it is. You were right after all, Ujurak.’

  ‘Of course he was!’ Lusa said.

  ‘And Mother was right too,’ Kallik said. ‘She told me about the Place of Endless Ice. I wish she could be here to see it.’ And Taqqiq, she thought with a pang of sadness. I wish he could have believed enough in the ice spirits to make the journey with us.

  Lusa pressed close to Kallik’s fur. ‘Your mother is here,’ she said. ‘She’s watching you now; I know it.’

  ‘Y
ou don’t look as thrilled as I thought you’d be,’ Toklo said to Ujurak.

  The smaller brown bear turned his gaze slowly to him. ‘This doesn’t feel right,’ he said.

  ‘What?’ Kallik said. ‘Why not?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Ujurak said, shuffling his paws.

  ‘But it’s perfect!’ Lusa cried. ‘It’s the most amazing place I’ve ever seen! Ujurak, why don’t you love it?’

  ‘I do,’ Ujurak said, trying to sound bright. ‘I think I do, anyway. But . . .’

  Toklo poked Ujurak in the side with his snout. ‘What?’

  ‘If this is really the end of the trail,’ he said, ‘then why don’t I feel it?’

  ‘You’re a worry-face, that’s why. We’re here, and now we’re going to enjoy it.’ Toklo looked around at the others. ‘Who’s starving?’

  ‘Me!’ Lusa yelped, bouncing on her paws. ‘I’m starving!’

  Toklo nodded down the slope. ‘Come on; let’s hunt!’

  Without waiting for an answer, he bounded through the grass towards the herd of unsuspecting caribou below. Lusa shot after him, her ears perked forward. Kallik took a step down the hill, then glanced back at Ujurak.

  ‘Come on, Ujurak,’ she said. ‘Race you!’

  He nodded and got to his paws.

  Kallik bounded off after Toklo and Lusa, her paws feeling light as snowflakes. She could hear Ujurak pounding behind her.

  Everything was just as Qopuk had described it. Was there anything that wasn’t perfect about this place? There were herds of prey to eat, places to shelter, and ice.

  Kallik opened her jaws and breathed in the sharp, empty air. She could hardly believe it. After all this time, they had come to the end of their journey.

  They had reached the Last Great Wilderness.

  But as she ran, Ujurak’s words echoed in her mind.

  If this is really the end of the trail . . . then why don’t I feel it?

  Erin Hunter is inspired by a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. As well as having great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behaviour, shaped by her interest in astrology and standing stones. She is also the author of the Warriors series.