by K. E. Rocha
“There she is again! It’s Kirby!” Spencer shouted suddenly, pointing to the computer screens. Aldo rushed over and pushed Spencer aside as he sat at the console.
“Where?” he asked, a claw poised above his BEAR-COM, ready to radio.
“Camera four,” Spencer answered quickly. They looked at camera four’s monitor. Aside from trees and a few clusters of large rocks, there was nothing there. “I just saw her, I swear,” Spencer insisted. “She must’ve jumped behind the rocks!”
Aldo leaned forward to search the screen, grunting a string of untranslated Ragayo that Spencer took for cursing. Spencer began to back away.
“She couldn’t have seen the camera . . .” Aldo muttered, adjusting the camera’s angle, trying to get a better picture of the rocks.
Now!
Spencer sprinted toward the silver platform, slamming his hand against the white button camouflaged on the wall. The platform instantly began to lower. Aldo growled in protest and bounded across the room, skidding to a halt at the edge of the opening to the fast-dropping platform. He tried to scoop Spencer up, but Spencer flopped to his belly and lay just out of reach.
Spencer rolled off the platform as soon as it stopped, and bounded to his feet. He was in a hallway identical to the ones aboveground, sleek and white, except this one had only one door, a great wooden one, at the very end of the passage.
He took off running. B.D. could appear to take him away any moment, and he didn’t know how Aldo might try to stop him.
If I could just get into that room, I could convince them . . .
He was almost to the door when it swung open and B.D. stepped out to block his way. Spencer skidded to a halt, facing the enormous bear, and searched for a way he might dodge past him. “Council meetings are closed, Spencer. I understand you want to help your family, but I’m afraid that I still cannot—”
Before Spencer could make his best attempt at getting by, Bunny Weaver appeared and slipped in beside B.D. Spencer looked up at her pleadingly. Please understand.
“Perhaps we can make an exception this once, B.D.,” she said, patting the larger bear’s forearm. “He’s gotten this far. We can at least speak to the boy.” Spencer held his breath, waiting for B.D.’s reply.
After what seemed like forever, B.D. nodded, as though relieved not to be responsible for keeping Spencer out or letting him in. He shrugged and turned back into the room.
“This way, Spencer,” Bunny said warmly, and led him through the ominous door.
Clutching the jade bear in his pocket, Spencer entered the council room. He expected a room as forbidding as the door that led to it, or as sterile as the Lab, but instead he found himself in a cozy room. It looked like a bear’s den, or at least what he imagined a souped-up bear’s den might look like. A long wooden table heaped with huge mugs and bowls of food stretched through the middle of the room. On either side, broad couches, high-backed armchairs, and wide, cushioned seats flanked the table, bears filling every one. Well, almost every one.
Uncle Mark sat by himself on a plush-looking couch, space for two other people, or one other bear, empty beside him. Mom and Dad must sit there, Spencer thought, and removed his hand from the jade bear, his confidence returning.
If not for the wall at the opposite end of the room, Spencer would have had no idea that he was anywhere more official than the Weavers’ house. A bank of huge monitors covered the wall. Some displayed maps, others showed surveillance video feeds like the ones Aldo manned upstairs. A few showed messages, or lists of information, and on the screen at the center, straight across the room from Spencer, as though staring him down, was the image of a woman’s face.
Goose bumps rose on his arms, and the back of his neck prickled. Who is she? Her expression was stony, her muddy brown eyes cold and ringed in dark circles, making her look hollowed out. Her hair hung straggly and thin around her bony face, blond, but greenish, too, as if her own hair was nauseated from having to be attached to such a creepy-looking person.
“Spence!” Uncle Mark called his attention back to the council. Bunny and B.D. had returned to their seats, and Spencer stood at the head of the table. He scanned the faces staring back at him. There was Professor Weaver, Bunny, B.D., a few bears he didn’t recognize, and then Yude. As their eyes met, Yude sat forward in his seat, placing his claws firmly on the table in front of him, the green cloak hiding the rest of his body. Spencer tried not to shudder, but there was something about the way Yude looked at him . . .
“He shouldn’t be here,” Yude snarled, eyes still locked on Spencer. His snarl turned into a thundering growl. “B.D., this is unaccept—”
“I allowed Spencer in, Yude, not B.D.,” Bunny interrupted, her tone sweet but authoritative. “Though I feel certain that if we were to vote, the majority would allow him to stay long enough to speak his mind.”
“He’s a child—and he’s a Plain,” Yude spit in response, but it seemed to be the last he’d say on the matter. He sank back into his chair, allowing the hood of his cloak to fall forward, covering most of his face.
“Spencer, I don’t believe you know all of the council members.” Professor Weaver took control of the situation. “This is Raymond, our culinary expert and the chef behind Raymond’s Café,” he began casually, and Spencer felt the tension ease a little around him. A bear wearing a bandanna around his neck and a chef’s hat the size of a fire hydrant raised a paw to salute Spencer.
“This is Pinky,” Professor Weaver continued, interrupting a bear as she reached for a bowl of grapes. Her claws were painted electric pink. “She runs the rehab center.”
“And salon,” Pinky added, waggling her shockingly bright claws at Spencer. “I like to say we help our bears inside and out.”
Professor Weaver continued around the table, introducing Mr. Bee, the school principal, who eyed Spencer appraisingly, and Dr. Dominica Fraser, Bearhaven’s dentist, who nodded politely.
Professor Weaver gestured to an older-looking bear sitting in a plush chair beside Uncle Mark. She chimed in before the professor could say anything. “Saving the best for last, I see,” she said, smoothing the rust-colored blanket on her lap. “I’m Grandmama Grizabelle, dear. Now come take a seat and tell us what it is you have to say.”
Pleased to have identified the bear as older than the others just by looking at her large but unmuscled size and the thinning fur around her eyes and muzzle, Spencer dropped down beside Uncle Mark. He didn’t want to give anyone else a chance to protest his being there, particularly because he wasn’t sure whose side Uncle Mark was on.
“I’m here to find out what’s happening with my parents. I want to help find them,” he blurted out, and then looked into each bear’s eyes, trying to make the council see his determination.
Yude switched off his BEAR-COM. “Ig ha ru afanval-yar!” He spewed a steady stream of angry-sounding grunts and snorts into the room.
Grandmama Grizabelle spoke over the squabbling that had erupted in the council room. “As members of this council, we are united under all circumstances. Plain”—she put a sharp emphasis on the word—“and simple. Now, let’s all get ahold of ourselves.” With pursed lips and a stern look, she scanned the room, challenging anyone there to continue the debate that Yude had begun in Ragayo. Spencer didn’t need to know what Yude had said to know that the bear didn’t want him there. Luckily, the matter seemed to have been settled.
At least that’s over. Spencer let out a loud sigh of relief, and at the sound, everyone turned to stare at him. Oops.
“As for you, young man,” Grandmama Grizabelle went on. “You’re absolutely right that this concerns you.” She sat back in her chair, satisfied with her decree, and waited for someone else to step in. Spencer was glad to see that it was Professor Weaver who took charge again.
“All right, Spencer, you may stay as long as the conversation relates to your parents and their safety,” he said sternly. “However, everything that you hear in this room must remain in this room, do you understand?”
/>
Yude huffed as he switched his BEAR-COM back on, and Uncle Mark shot him a warning glare. Spencer didn’t know why Yude was so angry with him—or his parents.
“Yes, I understand,” Spencer answered, resisting the urge to launch into his string of questions. From what he could tell, he was only barely being allowed to stay. Demanding a bunch of information all at once might not be the best way to start.
“Good. Now, B.D. is the Head of the Bear Guard. He’ll bring you up to speed.” Professor Weaver turned to B.D. Head of the Bear Guard? No wonder B.D. takes everything so seriously . . .
With a nod, B.D. went to the wall of monitors, pointing to a large map. “Jane and Shane—your parents—were on a bear rescue mission in Stantonville at the time of your father’s capture. The last communication we received from your mother was sent from a location a little farther south, but as you know, she wasn’t able to tell us where your father was being taken.”
Spencer couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Is that who took my dad?” He pointed to the creepy woman whose face was still displayed at the center of the wall.
“We don’t believe so, no,” B.D. answered.
“That’s Margo Lalicki, Spence,” Uncle Mark spoke up. “I told you about her last night, remember?”
“The bear handler from Gutler University? The one in the Corvette with the football giant?” Spencer stared back at the woman on the screen. Uncle Mark had said that Margo Lalicki didn’t have a good bone in her body, but he didn’t know she’d look so . . . scary.
“Yes,” Uncle Mark continued. “Your parents have been investigating her for years now. They’d hoped that the mission in Stantonville might lead them to whoever Margo and Ivan work for.”
“The people behind the network of bear abuse,” Spencer added.
“That’s right,” confirmed Professor Weaver.
Mr. Bee cleared his throat. “To explain,” he began formally, straightening the blue-and-silver-striped tie around his neck. Definitely a principal. “At the top of this ‘network of bear abuse,’ someone is implanting bears with microchips. Once implanted, the bears can be controlled physically, and, we suspect, mentally. Shane and Jane—pardon me, your parents—have made progress toward uncovering exactly who is behind the microchipping. At the time of your father’s capture, they were working to understand the motivation and technology behind the control.”
“We believe that your parents may have gotten much closer while on this latest mission,” B.D. added.
“So the boss has my dad?” He’d come to the council hoping for good news and a rescue plan. This was sounding worse by the second. Microchipped bears?
“As of now, we think so.” B.D. moved to a different screen, where a picture of an adult bear and two cubs was displayed.
“But what does she have to do with it?” Spencer pointed back at Margo.
“About to get there, Spence.” Uncle Mark put a hand on Spencer’s shoulder reassuringly.
“This is Ro Ro Rubin and her cubs.” B.D. nodded to the bears on the screen. “About a month ago, Ro Ro decided that she and her family would leave Bearhaven to return to the wild—”
“They lived here and they decided to leave? But why?” Spencer remembered what Uncle Mark had said about some bears being rehabilitated and then returning to the wild, but after seeing how comfortable Bearhaven was and how safe it seemed, he couldn’t imagine why a bear would ever want to leave.
“This life isn’t for every bear.” Bunny sounded sad. “It can feel too . . . overwhelming for some.”
“Too human, you mean,” Yude said sourly.
Bunny ignored him. “Margo Lalicki managed to snatch Ro Ro almost as soon as she left Bearhaven.”
“And the little ones, too.” Pinky shook her head. “Terrible.”
B.D. continued, “We believe Margo sold Ro Ro and her cubs to a man named Jay Grady for his weekly bear-baying show at Grady’s Grandstand in Stantonville. He pays a lot for bears, and we’ve had a hard time closing in on him. Your parents’ mission was to rescue Ro Ro and her cubs from Grady’s Grandstand, and search for more leads on Margo and her brother and whoever they’re working for.”
“What’s bear baying?”
“Oh, it’s just barbaric!” Pinky growled, throwing her electric pink–clawed paws up in the air.
“It is cruel. Bear abuse,” Bunny said, shuddering.
“Ladies,” Grandmama Grizabelle broke in, “let’s give the boy some information.”
“Allow me,” Mr. Bee said. “Essentially, bear baying is a forced fight in which a bear is chained down while hunting dogs attack. The bear defends itself, hurting the dogs in turn. It’s an ugly scene from start to finish.” The principal paused, seeming to steel himself for what he had to say next. “Along with being chained, the bears are often defanged and declawed, so that they are defenseless. The bears suffer incredible pain when their teeth and claws are removed, and then there are the wounds they suffer from the dogs during the bear baying. The psychological toll is also extensive.” Mr. Bee shook his head, then smoothed out his tie with one great paw and continued. “Spencer, bear baying is a practice that dates back hundreds of years, and even though it is illegal in most places, there are communities across this country that have kept it around.”
Spencer felt sick. “But why? Why would anyone do something like that to a bear?” Spencer looked at the bears around him, trying to imagine someone who would want to treat any of them so horribly.
“For entertainment and for money,” Uncle Mark answered gravely. “Greedy people know that crowds will come to watch the fight. It’s criminal.”
“So that’s what’s happening to Ro Ro? And the cubs? How will the cubs survive that?” Spencer looked to B.D. If Mom and Dad hadn’t made it back from the mission, Ro Ro and her cubs must still be there . . .
“It’s not likely that Grady would involve the cubs in the baying,” B.D. said, “but unfortunately, your parents weren’t able to get any of them out before your dad was captured. Ro Ro will be in the show Monday evening; that only gives us forty-eight hours to prepare and a day to travel.”
“We have to get to her first,” Uncle Mark finished.
“And Mom and Dad?”
Uncle Mark looked to B.D., who motioned for him to go on. “Rescuing your parents is obviously a top priority, but I promise you, your mom and dad are also working to get themselves out of whatever trouble they’re in. They’ve been doing this a long time, Spence. They’ll be okay. We can’t say the same for Ro Ro. Rescuing her and her cubs has to come first.” Uncle Mark continued calmly, holding up a hand to urge Spencer to wait before protesting. “That said, Grady’s Grandstand was the last place we know your parents were. We’re going in to save Ro Ro and the cubs, but while we’re on the premises, we hope to find clues that can lead us to your parents.”
“Great.” Finally, a plan. “When do we leave?” Spencer’s question hung in the air.
A flurry of looks were exchanged across the table, and before anyone could answer, Spencer knew. They don’t think I’m going.
Spencer stomped down the dirt trail to the riverbank. He didn’t care if Uncle Mark and the Weavers had promised Mom and Dad that they would keep him safe. He was going on that mission.
He wished the council had kept up their habit of disagreeing when it came to him. Instead, as soon as the silence had broken, everyone had clamored to give a reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to help with the rescue.
“It’s much too dangerous,” Bunny had said.
“You’re not trained,” Uncle Mark had added.
The list continued:
“Your parents want you safe in Bearhaven.”
“We’re not even certain what we’re up against.”
“You’re just a child.”
And on and on, until even Mr. Bee had said his piece. “You should be starting your studies here. There will be quite a bit of catching up to do, particularly in the Fish and Forestry courses.”
No way! He wasn’t about to stay in Bearhaven to learn about fish and forests while Uncle Mark and B.D. went out to find his mom and dad and help the bears that his parents were trying to save.
Spencer knew he could help. He was smaller and lighter than Uncle Mark, so he could hide and fit into tight spaces, and he was good with computers and gadgets. True, he was a kid, but nobody would notice a kid! He could do and see and hear things that Uncle Mark couldn’t.
He reached the river. Fred Crossburger and his exercise class were gone. He had the dock to himself. He walked out to the end and sat down to think. It seemed like every other week Mom and Dad were away somewhere, busy with something he didn’t know much about. But the way he missed them now was different. Before, if he asked when they’d be home, the answer had always been “just a few more days,” and in a few more days they’d be there. Now, he couldn’t even ask.
Sitting in the council room, hearing about the disgusting bear baying, Spencer had really understood why Mom and Dad did what they did. He’d felt the ferocious anger that he figured they must feel every time they heard about a bear being abused, and he’d felt the determination to do something about it. The council had to let him help finish the rescue mission that Mom and Dad had started.
“I’m a kid, but I’m also a Plain,” Spencer said aloud. “And the Plains rescue bears.”
“Who are you talking to?”
Kate! If she could help change Professor Weaver’s mind, maybe he’d have a shot!
Kate was standing on the grass at the head of the dock, looking around and sniffing.
“Oh, nobody,” he answered.
Kate bounded down the dock, causing it to wobble and sway under them. Lowering onto her belly, she stretched out beside Spencer, her head poking over the dock’s edge, snout close to the surface of the water.
“Why didn’t you come to school with Reggie and me this morning?” Kate’s eyes followed the fish in the river. “Have you been here all day?”
“No.” Spencer shrugged. He wanted to tell Kate all about the Lab and the council meeting, but he wasn’t sure yet if she could keep a secret. Still, he needed her help.
