Mission to Moon Farm

by K. E. Rocha

  But Uncle Mark also had an important role in Bearhaven. He had founded Bearhaven along with Mom and Dad and was a member of the Bear Council. Apparently, whatever the council was meeting about tonight was more important than talking to Spencer.

  “Mi mi mi mi miii.” Kate suddenly burst into her vocal warm-up, interrupting Spencer’s thoughts. Here we go again. Spencer couldn’t even count the number of times he’d heard Kate practice her twelve-word solo. He knew the cub was excited, but the concert wasn’t for another few weeks!

  “I’m going to my room,” Spencer called to Lisle over the sounds of Kate’s trilling. “I have to write in my STORM journal.”

  “All right,” Lisle called back.

  “I smell FLOWERS, dandelions, DAISIES, the sun is rising through the EVERGREEEEEENS,” Kate sang.

  Spencer slid off his seat and hurried into the living room. He grabbed his backpack and headed for the stairs. “Good night, Kate.”

  The cub waved a paw at Spencer. Her lungs were already filling with air to launch into another round of her solo.

  The next morning, Spencer pushed his wooden plate across the table toward Aldo and Kate. The two bears suspiciously eyed what was left of Spencer’s breakfast.

  “Try it,” he urged, licking a smear of Bearhaven Butter off his fingers. He had to admit, Raymond, Bearhaven’s chef and the owner of Raymond’s Cafe, had done a great job on his first attempt at making human-style peanut butter. Of course there were some other non-peanut kinds of nuts in the butter, and a few too many seeds Spencer didn’t recognize, but for a first batch, this definitely satisfied Spencer’s craving for his favorite food.

  Aldo used his claw to pierce a slice of apple slathered with Bearhaven Butter. He popped it into his mouth. Kate looked on expectantly. Once it was clear Aldo wasn’t going to spit out the apple, she reached for her own slice.

  “Not bad,” Aldo said as he smacked his lips. “It could use some honey, though.”

  Spencer laughed. Aldo was known for his sweet tooth. Kate ran her tongue over her teeth and opened and closed her mouth several times.

  “Sticky!” she finally said.

  “Sticky and delicious!” Spencer grabbed his STORM notebook from the table and stood up. “I have to give your dad my training update.” He headed downstairs. Professor Weaver was probably waiting for Spencer now, ready to sign off on Spencer’s STORM training progress before school.

  The bottom floor of the Weavers’ home was belowground and spread out around a honey-colored hallway. The big wooden door to Professor Weaver’s study stood halfway open, its entrance framed by two beehive-shaped lights Bunny Weaver had designed. Bunny was Bearhaven’s architect. She’d designed all the bears’ homes and most of the other buildings in the hidden valley, but she’d also designed cool extra things for the Weavers’ own house, like the beehive-shaped lights and massive dining room table.

  Spencer was just about to knock on the door when Professor Weaver moved into view. Spencer froze. His hand hovered an inch from the wood. Usually Professor Weaver was a calm and patient bear. Spencer trusted him more than he trusted anyone else in Bearhaven. Today, though, Spencer could tell Professor Weaver was upset. His tan jowls were set in a firm line, and his blaze mark—the white triangular patch of fur on his chest—flashed in and out of Spencer’s view as he paced back and forth.

  “So we’re back where we started then,” Professor Weaver said.

  “I’m afraid so.” Uncle Mark’s voice carried out of the room.

  Uncle Mark?

  Spencer let his hand fall to his side. He moved closer to the opening in the door to peek into the room.

  Professor Weaver was still pacing back and forth, and Bunny was sitting back on her haunches looking up at a big screen. Two faces were projected on the screen: Uncle Mark’s and his parents’ assistant, Evarita. They were on a video conference call, just like the one Spencer and Uncle Mark were supposed to have had last night.

  Uncle Mark ran a hand through his wavy blond hair. Uh oh. Whenever Uncle Mark ran his hand through his hair like that, it meant he was worried, and Uncle Mark was hardly ever worried. Something must be wrong. Spencer looked to Evarita’s familiar face. She had dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t slept all night.

  “I still don’t understand,” Bunny said. “We should have heard something by now. If Jane had any way of communicating … ” Bunny’s voice drifted off.

  Spencer’s entire body tensed. Jane was his mom, which meant that whatever was making Professor Weaver pace and Uncle Mark run his hand through his hair had to do with Mom and Dad. But what could Bunny mean? If Jane had any way of communicating? Professor Weaver said he got a message from Mom yesterday!

  “I know, Bunny.” Professor Weaver’s voice was grim. “But we’ve been going over the details for hours now, and the situation is still the same: There hasn’t been a single sign of the Plains in days. Things must have taken a turn for the worse. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing what happened.”

  A turn for the worse? No sign of Mom and Dad in days? Spencer’s heart started to pound. His mind was racing. He had to have heard the professor wrong. Just yesterday morning, Professor Weaver told him about a message from Mom. It said Mom and Dad were making their way back to Bearhaven. They were supposed to be arriving any day now.

  Spencer wanted to scream and demand an explanation, but there was a huge lump rising in his throat. He didn’t think any words would come out even if he could get his mouth to open.

  “Well then, it isn’t right, dear,” Bunny replied. The BEAR-COM translated the tension in her voice. “The reports you’ve been giving Spencer—”

  “Professor Weaver and I agreed together to give Spencer those reports,” Uncle Mark interrupted. “We thought it would be better not to tell him that there’s been no sign of Jane and Shane since the last mission. It’s important that he doesn’t lose hope right now.” Evarita shook her head and looked away from the camera.

  Spencer’s stomach knotted. He could feel tears welling in his eyes. Uncle Mark and Professor Weaver had lied to him.

  “They’re his parents,” Evarita said. “It’s not right to keep the truth from him.”

  Tears started spilling down Spencer’s cheeks. His teeth clenched. He was furious at Uncle Mark and Professor Weaver for lying to him, and terrified by what he was hearing. Nobody knew where Mom and Dad were, which could only mean they were in trouble. Big trouble.

  “Spencer’s just a cub. It’s our responsibility to protect him,” Professor Weaver stated, leaving no room for discussion. “We didn’t tell him things have gotten worse because there’s no use. He can’t leave Bearhaven until his parents return. All he can do is stay here and wait. Scaring him with the truth won’t change anything. And it won’t get his parents back any faster.”

  Spencer had heard enough. He looked at the STORM training journal clutched in his left hand. He’d been gripping it so hard there was a deep crease in the cover. He shook his head angrily, trying to make the tears go away. What good would STORM training do him if he could never leave Bearhaven to use it? And who cared about rescuing bears when Mom and Dad were the ones who really needed saving? Spencer flung the journal on the floor and stormed off down the hall. He didn’t want to be anywhere near Professor Weaver. The Weavers were supposed to be his family in Bearhaven. He’d even started to feel like they were his family.

  The thought unleashed a new wave of anger. His real family was missing, and all the Weavers—and everybody else—had done was lie to him. Spencer’s family wouldn’t be arriving any day. That had all been part of the story he’d been told so he wouldn’t fight having to stay in Bearhaven when Mom and Dad obviously needed help. Well, Spencer was done with being lied to. He was done with trusting the Weavers and Uncle Mark. And he was really done with being kept in Bearhaven when Mom and Dad needed help. His help.

  “That took forever!” Kate said when Spencer arrived at the top of the stairs. She was still at the kitchen
table, licking her bowl to catch any last drops of honey. “Was Dad happy you beat your river rescue record yesterday?”

  Spencer swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump lodged in his throat. He nodded. Hopefully, Kate wouldn’t see that his eyes were red and his nose was running. He swiped his hand across his face.

  “Are you ready to go to school?” He was so angry at Professor Weaver and Uncle Mark, and so worried about Mom and Dad, he barely managed to get the sentence out. Kate didn’t seem to notice. Thank goodness. Spencer needed time to make sense of everything he’d just overheard.

  “Ready!” Kate slid off her seat. She trotted past Spencer and out the Weavers’ front door. Spencer followed.

  The bright morning sun made the moss-covered homes that stretched out in a row on either side of the Weavers’ house look welcoming, but Spencer wasn’t impressed anymore. He wasn’t a guest in a cool valley filled with bears who invented amazing technology. He was a prisoner. He stomped down the Weavers’ front path.

  How was he supposed to sit in class and concentrate when he knew his parents were missing and in danger somewhere outside Bearhaven? And why should he even go to school? Doing what everyone told him to—going to school during the day, training with Aldo and Kate in the afternoon, waiting for news about his parents—wasn’t getting him any closer to seeing Mom and Dad again. Did everyone expect him to just stay in Bearhaven forever? Actually, now Spencer knew that’s exactly what they expected. “All he can do is stay here and wait,” Professor Weaver had said.

  “That’s what they think,” Spencer muttered.

  Kate stopped walking and looked over her shoulder at Spencer. She eyed his legs suspiciously, as though something might be wrong with them. “Why are you walking so slowly?”

  Spencer sped up. “I can’t go to school today, Kate,” he said once he’d reached her.

  “But you have to.” Kate frowned. “Mom and Dad and your uncle Mark all said you have to go to school with me.”

  “I know that!” Spencer snapped, and instantly felt bad. Kate was his best friend in Bearhaven. She’d never let him down. He needed her on his side, especially now that he knew nobody else was. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m … I’m sort of upset about my parents still being missing, and I need some time to think.”

  “What do you need to think about?”

  What I’m going to do to get them back myself, Spencer wanted to say, but he couldn’t. If he said that then he’d have to explain everything to Kate, and he wasn’t ready to repeat what he’d heard. Spencer just shrugged.

  “Well, can’t you think in school?” Kate’s voice was hopeful.

  Spencer shook his head. “Not with all the other cubs staring at me. They’re not used to having me around. I feel like I’m a clown or something.”

  “You’re just a new animal.” Kate pawed at the ground. Spencer knew she loved bringing him to school. Her friendship with a human impressed the other cubs. But this was more important than showing him off. She had to understand.

  “Will you help me, Kate? Will you cover for me?”

  “How am I supposed to do that?” Kate huffed and started walking again.

  “Tell them I’m sick! Tell them I’m not feeling well and had to go back to your house.”

  “What if I get in trouble?”

  “You won’t. I promise.” Please say yes. When Kate didn’t answer, Spencer tried pleading with her. “I’ll do the dishes every night for a week.” The cub kept walking. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I’ll wake up extra early this weekend and guard Salmon King so you can play instead of Winston and Jo-Jo.” Kate’s ears perked up a little bit at that. Winston and Jo-Jo always hogged Salmon King, especially on weekends. Still, she didn’t answer. “Kate, please—” Before he could think of anything else to bargain with, a familiar cinnamon-colored ball of fur barreled out of a house on their left. It was Reggie, Kate’s friend and one of Spencer’s biggest fans in Bearhaven.

  “Kate! Spencer!” Reggie raced toward them.

  Not now, Reggie! Spencer stared at Kate, begging her with his eyes to agree to cover for him before Reggie caught up to them. Kate twitched her snout back and forth, like she was trying to sniff for the right answer, but hadn’t found it yet.

  “Hi!” Reggie scooted to a stop in front of them. “Spencer, check this out!” All of a sudden, the cub turned and ran back the way he came. He spun around to face Spencer and Kate, then rose onto his hind legs. He wobbled a little as he swung his paws out in front of him. “Bam!” Reggie yelled. He lurched forward, dropping back to all fours. He ran straight at Spencer and Kate, then jumped clumsily up into the air and tumbled to the ground in a disheveled summersault. His round, furry body flopped this way and that. Finally, he skidded to a halt on his belly at Spencer’s feet, his front legs stretched out before him.

  Spencer laughed despite his terrible morning and his determination to skip school. Reggie’s performance—or whatever that was supposed to be—had been so unexpected Spencer couldn’t help himself.

  “What do you think?” Reggie asked. He was panting as he scrambled up to all fours.

  “What do I think?” Spencer had no idea what Reggie was talking about.

  “That was like stealing a base in baseball, right?”

  “Oh,” Spencer stifled his laughter. He didn’t want to hurt Reggie’s feelings. Yesterday, after school, Reggie had asked him all about his life at home. When Spencer told him about baseball, the cub had asked question after question until he’d heard every detail of how the game was played. Spencer must not have explained things as well as he’d thought. “Yeah, baseball is something like that,” he finally said. The cub gave a happy shake.

  “Should I show you again? You know, to remind you of your home?” Reggie turned to run off and give his “baseball” demonstration over again. At the word home, the lump returned to Spencer’s throat. He shot Kate a look. See? There was no way Spencer could think in school, where almost every cub was as fascinated by him as Reggie was.

  “Spencer’s sick!” Kate blurted out.

  “Are you okay?” Reggie whispered with concern. He turned back around and stepped up close to Spencer, searching him for signs of illness. “Do you need to go to Pinky’s?”

  “No,” Spencer answered. He definitely didn’t need to go to Pinky’s Rehab Center and Salon. “It’s just my stomach or something. I think I’ll be fine after I lie down.”

  “He’s going back to bed,” Kate said. “But we should go to school before we’re late.” She motioned for Reggie to go ahead of her and lead the way down the path toward school. As soon as Reggie turned, she whispered to Spencer, “Dishes all week and Salmon King all weekend.” Before Spencer could answer, she’d taken off at a run. “Feel better, Spencer!” she called over her shoulder.

  Spencer stayed behind, at a safe distance, as he followed Kate and Reggie down the main path toward Bearhaven’s center. The cubs took a left at Raymond’s Cafe and trotted through the grassy clearing, past the flagpoles, and out toward the school building. Spencer cut off in a different direction.

  He’d told Kate he wanted time to think, but that wasn’t the whole truth. He’d been doing nothing but thinking, running through all the facts since he overheard the Weavers, Uncle Mark, and Evarita talking, and thinking wasn’t making him feel any better. He needed to prove to himself that the Weavers and Uncle Mark couldn’t keep him here, not when Mom and Dad were in danger. He wasn’t their prisoner, and if he could show they were wrong about keeping him locked up in Bearhaven, maybe they would realize they were wrong about other things, too. Maybe he didn’t need them to find Mom and Dad at all. Maybe he could find them himself. It was time Spencer took matters into his own hands. He’d start by breaking out of Bearhaven.

  Spencer came to the base of a hill and started to climb. He found the path that led through the trees at the top of the hill to a clearing. The clearing held a hidden elevator that went two ways: either it rose up to a secret bridge a
bove the trees, or it went down to Bearhaven’s train, the TUBE. He’d taken this path two weeks before, when Uncle Mark and the team of bear operatives were leaving on the mission to rescue Ro Ro and her two cubs from Jay Grady’s crummy carnival. Spencer had to sneak out of Bearhaven then to join the mission. But this time was different; now he needed to sneak out alone.

  He stopped at the edge of the clearing. The huge tree that hid the elevator stood directly across from the path, but Spencer wouldn’t be taking that route out of Bearhaven today. The minute the elevator started to move, the bear guard would know about it. Spencer eyed the long row of tightly packed trees that bordered the far side of the clearing. It was Bearhaven’s outer wall, and it surrounded the entire valley. The trees created a natural barrier, keeping any unwanted visitors out. Squeezing between the rows and rows of closely planted trees would be impossible for any adult human. And if someone were able to get into the wall of trees, then they’d have the extra challenge of finding solid footing on the ground beneath them, which was a dangerous tangle of roots. Spencer knew it would be hard, but if he wanted to get out of Bearhaven without raising any alarms, finding a way through the wall of trees was his only option.

  Spencer returned his attention to the clearing in front of him. There was no one in sight, but the bears’ security had positioned surveillance cameras everywhere. If Spencer stepped into the clearing right now, his image would appear on a screen in front of whichever Bear Guard member was on duty.

  Spencer looked up into the trees. He didn’t see any cameras, but he didn’t think the bears would have been that obvious anyway. They were much more sophisticated. There was no way B.D., the head of Bearhaven security, would have left a camera out in plain sight where anyone could see it. Spencer scanned the big sturdy limbs. There were just leaves, a beehive, a bird’s nest …

  Wait! The beehive was so perfectly shaped it had to be fake, just like the lights in the Weavers’ house Bunny had designed. Spencer crept up to the tree.