by K. E. Rocha
B.D. grumbled, standing impatiently beside the open door. “Did you expect us to walk to Stantonville?” he asked gruffly. In an only slightly kinder voice he added, “Even a train can’t take us anywhere unless we get on it. Shall we go down?” B.D. waved them all into the hollow tree.
Kate, who so far had been following Spencer’s lead, staying quiet and well-behaved, bounded forward onto the platform.
“Reggie’s going to be so jealous!” she gushed to B.D., who pretended not to hear her. “I don’t think any of the other Bearhaven cubs have seen the TUBE! Not the ones born here, I mean.” She chattered on. Spencer followed, then Uncle Mark and B.D., who took up the last of the space inside the tree trunk. “Spencer!” Kate called as the door slid shut and they were cast into darkness. “Do you know what TUBE stands for?”
Before Spencer could answer, the platform started to drop, just like the one in the Lab, faster than any elevator he’d ever been on. He held his breath. It almost felt like falling—
“Traveling. Underground. Bear. Explorers!” Kate chirped into the dark. Uncle Mark laughed, and B.D. gave an exasperated sigh, then the platform lurched to a halt.
“Actually,” B.D. said as the door slid open, “it’s Transcontinental Underground Bear Expressway.”
Spencer stepped off the platform and into a train station buzzing with activity. Three bears stood beside a sleek white train, polishing its tinted windows until they gleamed like new pennies, pinkish-brown and shining. Rolling carts stacked high with boxes sat on the smooth stone platform, waiting to be loaded. Some of the boxes were marked with a red cross. Medical supplies, Spencer assumed. Some were marked as containing food or drink, and the rest were marked with various symbols that Spencer couldn’t take the time to decipher.
A medium-sized black bear who Spencer didn’t recognize stood at the first car of the train, talking animatedly and motioning toward the sloped front window. A silver cuff on her wrist caught the light. A member of the Bear Guard. The bear shifted, revealing Aldo, who stood beside her.
“Aldo!” Kate squealed. B.D. quieted her.
“Better let him focus, young lady,” he explained. “Aldo’s learning to run a TUBE security check.”
B.D., Uncle Mark, and the cub had filed out of the elevator behind Spencer. He turned just in time to see the door slide shut. Underground, the entrance to the elevator didn’t look anything like the wide tree trunk that they’d entered above ground; instead it had stainless steel doors with a button beside them. We’re really far below ground, Spencer thought, and looked up. The ceiling, which at first looked like it was painted a marbled brown, was actually made of glass, allowing the natural webbing of intertwined roots to show through. The roots spread out above them like a canopy.
Uncle Mark slung an arm around Spencer’s shoulders. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” He beamed at the train.
“Yeah,” Spencer said. He had to figure out how to get onto that beauty without anyone else noticing, and then he had to figure out how to stay on that beauty long enough for turning back to be out of the question.
And before he could stop himself, he had to ask. “But how? Where did it come from?” Had Mom and Dad built Bearhaven and a railroad? Out of the corner of his eye Spencer could see Kate sneaking down the platform toward Aldo. B.D. grumbled and went after her.
“Your parents and I refurbished an old rail line,” Uncle Mark explained. “It had been out of use for years. I bought it at auction, posing as an old geezer who collected train stuff as a hobby.” He paused and then, in a wavering old man’s voice, said, “It was my ‘crown jewel.’” Spencer thought his uncle sounded pretty convincing, and he would have loved to see Uncle Mark in disguise. He was so used to seeing his uncle look like he’d just stepped out of a men’s fashion magazine that he couldn’t imagine him as an old man. “It’s got tunnels and arteries all over the country and up into Canada,” Uncle Mark continued. “We closed or hid all of the aboveground entrances, basically taking it entirely off the map. The hidden tunnel I mentioned the other night? That’s one of the old stations. I parked the Porsche there and rode the TUBE the rest of the way into Bearhaven.”
“Wow.” Spencer couldn’t help but be impressed. “Can I see the inside?”
Uncle Mark glanced down at his watch. “We can do a quick tour, but you have to stick with me. Exploring on your own will have to wait for another time, got it?”
Spencer’s excitement threatened to give him away. “Got it,” he said, sounding as serious as he could.
“Good. Then let’s start in the front. You’re never going to believe what your mom did with the interior.”
Careful to look as glum as possible, Spencer thanked Uncle Mark for the quick tour and stepped out of the train. He set off down the platform to find Kate. Having memorized the order of the train’s cars as Uncle Mark showed him around, Spencer had a plan, but they had to move fast. B.D. and Uncle Mark were heading up to the engine car to confirm the route, the last of the boxes had been loaded into the cargo car, and the crew of bears who had been preparing the train for departure had disappeared through a door on one side of the platform that read Maintenance Staff Only.
He looked around quickly and spotted Kate sitting on a wide stone bench swinging her legs, listening to Aldo recite the guidelines for a TUBE security check to his supervisor.
“Come on,” Spencer whispered urgently when he was close enough. Kate hopped off the bench and followed him back toward the train. Spencer headed straight for the cargo car. The last car in the row, the cargo car’s door was open and locked into place above the car, like a beetle’s open wing ready to fly.
On the walk from the Weavers’ house to the TUBE, Spencer had been able to tell Kate that he was going on the mission, he just wasn’t sure how yet. She’d shaken her head, trying to dissuade him, but they’d been too close behind B.D. and Uncle Mark, and Spencer had gestured for her to be quiet.
“I need your help,” Spencer whispered now as they approached the cargo car. “I’m going to hide on the train.”
“Are you crazy?” she asked quietly. “What if they’re right? What if it is too dangerous?” she rushed on. “Aren’t you scared to leave Bearhaven?”
“I’m not scared.” Spencer stopped walking. He looked up and down the platform, but only Aldo and his supervisor were in view, and both bears had their backs turned. This is it, he thought. If they got caught now, he wouldn’t have another chance.
He gave his jade bear a quick squeeze. Bears are devoted animals, Spencer, Mom had written in the letter, and so are the Plains. No matter how far or how often we travel, your father and I will always come home to you. Spencer pulled his hand from his pocket. This time, he was going to have to bring them home.
As soon as the thought came, he shook it away. This mission wasn’t really meant to save Mom and Dad, but it was a start. For now, he’d have to help his parents by finishing the bear rescue they’d begun.
Spencer checked once more that nobody was watching, then looked at Kate, jerked his head toward the cargo car’s open door, and jumped through it. The cub hurtled in after him, landing so hard that the car shook underneath them. He glared at her.
“Sorry,” she whispered, but was too captivated by the inside of the train to seem very apologetic. This isn’t even one of the cool cars, Spencer thought as Kate sniffed at the boxes piled high around them.
He went to one of the stacks and started moving things. “What are you doing?” Kate asked. Spencer took a medium-sized box off a larger one and put it on the floor, then opened the large box and started pulling out the blankets he found inside, stuffing them back behind other stacks of boxes.
“I’m going to get in here,” he answered once the box was empty and the blankets had all been hidden. “Once I’m in, close the top, and put that box back on the pile.” He pointed to the box he’d put on the floor. “It’s not heavy. It won’t crush me or anything.”
Spencer started to scramble up the sid
e of the box, but it was harder than he’d thought. Kate pushed her head against it, holding the box steady so that Spencer could climb all the way up and slide in. “Thanks,” he said once he righted himself. “Oh, I almost forgot. Once you’ve hidden me, go to the engine—the front car—and find Uncle Mark. Tell him I was so upset that I wasn’t allowed to go with them that I didn’t think I could even say good-bye. Say I took the elevator up and went back alone.”
Kate nodded slowly, like she hadn’t decided yet if she would let Spencer go hidden away in the boxes.
“This is what we trained for,” Spencer urged the cub. She was the only chance he had. “I’m ready, anbranda.”
“Okay,” she said at last.
Spencer crouched down while Kate closed the box flaps over him. He heard her replace the other box and then pause. “Good luck, Spencer Plain,” she whispered, then stepped away. Spencer listened to the light thumping of her feet as she ran off the train to deliver his message.
Long minutes passed. Spencer waited silently in the dark of the box, desperate to feel the train begin to move. The plan had to work! Uncle Mark had to believe that Spencer returned to the Weavers’ alone!
After what felt like hours, Spencer heard a faint hushhhh and then a muted click. It took him a moment to place the sound, but when he did, he had to stop himself from letting out a cheer.
The door of the cargo car had slid down and locked into place.
Spencer felt a gentle lurch, and the boxes shifted around him. The train was leaving the station. They were on their way!
“Welcome aboard.”
Startled, Spencer looked up into the friendly eyes of a bear he didn’t recognize. Only seconds ago he’d heard someone enter the cargo car and approach the box he was hiding in. He’d stiffened, his box shifting around him as the one on top of it was removed. Before he could do anything, the flaps of cardboard above him had been pulled apart.
“I’m Marguerite, and my nose never lies.” She gave an exaggerated sniff. “Right now it’s telling me that you’re not supposed to be here.” With a little blue cap perched on top of her head and a smile on her face, Marguerite looked practically cheerful to have discovered a stowaway on the train. Spencer sighed. Uncle Mark and B.D. wouldn’t be nearly so happy to see him, but being discovered was part of his plan. He just hoped they were far enough along in the trip that they couldn’t turn around and take him back to Bearhaven.
“Hi,” he answered, standing up and brushing himself off. “I’m Spencer.”
“Is that so?” Marguerite replied, and in one quick movement, she scooped Spencer out of the box with a clawless paw and deposited him on his feet in front of her. She straightened her navy vest and patted a few of the gold-trimmed pockets lightly as though checking that all of the contents were still securely in place. “Pleased to meet you, Spencer.” He blinked at her, reeling from having been moved around like a sack of potatoes. “This way!” Marguerite trilled as she left the cargo car. Spencer followed. Here we go . . .
They left the cargo car, passed through the medical car, and entered the wardrobe car—at least, that’s what Uncle Mark had called it on his whirlwind tour of the train. Full-length mirrors and makeup tables lined either side of the car, and on each end there were closets. Uncle Mark hadn’t told him what was in the closets, and Spencer couldn’t imagine why the TUBE needed a wardrobe car at all, but he didn’t ask Marguerite. He was too busy coming up with ways to make a case for himself.
Marguerite and Spencer entered the passenger car together, but Spencer stayed tucked behind the bear, trying to delay the moment when Uncle Mark and B.D. realized what he’d done.
“There you are, Marguerite. We thought we’d lost you.” The voice was B.D.’s, but the tone was one that Spencer had never heard the authoritative bear use before. He sounded . . . playful. But then Marguerite stepped aside, revealing Spencer, and any possibility of playfulness was sucked right out of the train.
For a moment, everyone was silent.
Avoiding B.D.’s eyes, Spencer looked around. On the tour with Uncle Mark, he’d been impressed by how cool the passenger car’s interior was. The seats were pearl-colored and looked like huge nautilus shells. Each chair was topped with a segmented hood and outfitted with a ton of high-tech features. Mom had done an awesome job, but now, under B.D.’s furious gaze, Spencer wished he were anywhere else.
Uncle Mark’s legs were poking out of one of the cocoon-like seats. He didn’t have a view of Spencer from where he sat, but something about the deathly silence that had fallen over the car got his attention. He leaned around the side of his seat, his neck craning to follow B.D.’s glare.
“Spencer!”
“As you can see, gentlemen,” Marguerite said quickly, “I’ve made a new friend. Now, I think I’ll leave you three alone to sort this out. But don’t you worry, I’ll be back in, say . . .” She looked at a huge gold watch on her wrist. “Half an hour? Refreshments and snacks then, all right? All right!” With that, she turned and sashayed out of the car.
“I’m . . . I’m sorry.” Spencer broke the silence.
“Are you?” B.D. snarled.
“Spencer, this is really crossing a line.” Uncle Mark’s tone was hard. “I thought I’d made myself clear.”
“You did . . .” Spencer began. “But . . . I guess . . . Well . . . I don’t think I made myself clear.” His voice shook a little. B.D. gave a low, warning growl.
Follow your instincts.
Spencer pulled the jade bear from his pocket and held it out for B.D. and Uncle Mark to see. “This is the bear Mom and Dad gave me when I turned eight. It’s always with me, because they aren’t. When I’m nervous or scared, I hold on to it and remember that I can be like a bear.” He looked B.D. in the eye. “That I can be brave and strong and smart. But this bear is more than that.” He looked at his uncle. “I’ve been learning about bears my whole life. In our family, bears are at the center of everything. I mean, Mom and Dad call me their cub. Bears are just . . . They’re in my blood.” He took a deep breath. “The Plains rescue bears, and I’m as much a Plain as Mom and Dad. I’m coming on this mission. For my family. To help bring them home.” He clutched the jade bear and put it back in his pocket. Then he looked from Uncle Mark to B.D., waiting for the verdict.
B.D.’s demeanor softened ever so slightly. He nodded, then looked to Uncle Mark. Uncle Mark ran a hand through his hair.
“I understand, Spence,” he said quietly. “Your determination . . . It’s really . . . your parents would be proud.”
“Please. I can help. I’ve even trained to be here.”
“If you get hurt, your mom will never forgive me.” Uncle Mark shook his head slowly.
“Just wait until you and Dad give me Grandpa’s Mustang . . . Might as well get a head start on things she’ll never forgive you for, right?”
Uncle Mark laughed. “All right, Spence, you’re in.”
“All right,” B.D. said. “But there’s one more thing. I’ve had just about enough of you showing up in places you’re not supposed to be. You need to be where we tell you to be from now on.”
Spencer flopped into the seat next to the bear. He was going on the mission. B.D. could have the last word.
Spencer woke up inside the pod that his seat had transformed into. Marguerite had showed him how to pull the segmented hood down all the way, then press a button, causing the seat to unfold into a cozy, covered bed. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep—he’d just wanted to test out the bed—but now he had no idea how long he’d been sleeping or what time it was.
Pressing the button that had made the seat unfold, Spencer felt his bed rise, tilt forward, and return to its original shape. Pushing the hood up, he opened his pod to the passenger car around him.
Earlier, when they’d all eaten Raymond’s boxed dinners, the train car had been bright and inviting. Now, the lights were dimmed.
The hood of Uncle Mark’s seat was closed and Spencer could hear soft snoring coming f
rom within. Spencer turned to B.D.’s seat, expecting to see the hood drawn and hear the muted thunder of bear snores. Instead, he found the neighboring chair upright and B.D. awake, sipping from a mug cradled between his front paws.
Something about the way the bear’s eyes never left the train’s window, even as he sipped his drink, made Spencer think that he shouldn’t interrupt B.D.’s thoughts, but instead of pressing the button to turn his chair back into a bed, Spencer accidently pressed one that made music blare out of his headrest. Startled, B.D. turned as Spencer fumbled to shut the music off.
“Sorry,” he whispered, once he’d quieted his headrest. “I didn’t mean to interrupt . . .”
“There wasn’t much to interrupt,” B.D. answered, his voice free of its usual gruffness. The bear lifted his mug to his lips, and Spencer noticed that the familiar flash of silver was missing.
“Where are your Bear Guard cuffs?” he asked.
“I don’t wear them outside of Bearhaven. If I have to slip into the woods, they can hinder Bear Stealth, or if I have to blend in with other bears—whatever the case may be, it’s best if I’m not wearing the cuffs. Marguerite has already put them away for me. She’s an important part of the rescue team, you know,” he added.
“Well, she’s definitely good at sniffing out stowaways.”
B.D. chuckled. “Yes, Spencer, she is good at that . . . Of course, not all of the rescue missions use the TUBE, and not all of the rescued bears make Bearhaven their home, but for many, Marguerite is an important part of their journey.” B.D. turned back to the window. “A lot of bears have entered Bearhaven on this train over the years, and each of them was greeted with Marguerite’s kindness.”
“Have you and my parents rescued every single bear who lives in Bearhaven?”
“Besides the bears who’ve been born in Bearhaven, yes,” said B.D., turning back to Spencer. And then, “No, that’s not right. There is one bear who came to Bearhaven on his own—who wasn’t actually rescued, but who escaped from a terrible situation and managed to find us himself. No other bear’s done that. Very unusual and very brave. But then, Yude is an unusual and brave bear.”
