“That won’t help!” Trip shot back.
“Do
something!”
she cried. Tears were streaming down her face.
Moving like a robot, Mariah got up off the couch. Her eyes were wide with terror.
“Close the door!” Cassie yelled again. “Lock it!”
Mariah stood in the center of the cabin. She was only a few feet away from the door, yet she seemed unable to cross the short distance.
“Mariah!” Cassie’s voice was shrill. “Close the door!”
Mariah let out a low, fearful moan.
In a small voice, Trip asked, “Can’t we get somebody to help us? Isn’t there a radio or something?”
“There’s one at my house,” Danny suggested. “Maybe I should run out and tell my mom and dad—”
“No!” Cassie instructed. “Stay right where you are, Danny! Don’t you dare go outside. All we need is for the bear to see you. He’ll be after you in no time.”
“I can run fast,” Danny insisted. “Maybe if I can outsmart him—”
“Danny, no!” Cassie cried.
Trip broke in, his voice shaky. “Why not? If the kid can get to a radio and get us some help—”
“You can’t send him out there!” Cassie exclaimed.
“Well ... what else are we going to do?” Trip demanded.
Mariah stood in the middle of the room, her entire body shaking. “Maybe—maybe he’ll give up and just go away.”
The four of them stood staring at the doorway. Through the mosquito netting, they could see the dark hulking frame of the bear as he banged against the building.
And then, as suddenly as the terrible noise had begun, it stopped.
For a few seconds there was silence. They all stood very still, barely breathing.
And then, in a flash, a monstrous paw came through the doorway, cutting the mosquito netting. A loud ripping sound accompanied the swift motion of the bear tearing with his sharp claws.
Cassie screamed. “He’s coming in! He’s after us!”
“Quick, up the ladder,” Danny instructed. “We can get out through the window in the loft!”
Trip was already rushing toward the ladder. He ran up it without once glancing back. The girls sent Danny up next. Mariah followed, letting out a yelp of pain as she put her weight on her sprained ankle. Cassie was right behind her.
“Come on, Mariah,” she muttered. “Come on!”
“I don’t know if I can!”
“You’ve
got
to!”
When the four had safely made it to the top, Cassie and Mariah pushed the ladder away. As it was falling to the floor, the bear crashed through, splintering the door frame with his massive body. The wooden ladder fell on top of him, and he let out a loud bellow.
“Okay, Trip. Open the window,” Cassie instructed as calmly as she could. She kept her eyes glued to the bear. The grizzly was huge, his shoulders looming above the table, his body so long he nearly filled the front room. He moved his tremendous head from side to side as he surveyed the cabin, making an ominous growling sound. “Open the window!”
“It’s stuck,” Trip
returned. “This screen is so rusty it won’t budge!”
Cassie watched in horror as the bear moved about the cabin. Almost immediately he lumbered toward the kitchen. With one powerful paw he reached up and swatted at the collection of cans and boxes that lined the counter. They fell to the floor with a loud crash. He remained undaunted, sticking his nose into the mess as he searched for food.
“He’s so big,” Mariah whispered, her voice edged with panic.
“Please, Trip. Get that window open!” Cassie begged.
“It’s stuck. I can’t—”
“Trip,
please!”
“Got it!” he finally shouted.
The sound of his voice caused the bear to look up at the loft. Standing frozen to the spot, he stared blankly at the four people hovering high above him. Slowly Cassie backed away from the edge, moving closer to the window.
“We’ve got to get out—
now!”
she commanded.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Trip was already doing just that. He climbed out the window, disappearing from sight as he dropped to the ground.
“I can’t do it!” Mariah screamed. “My ankle hurts too much!”
“You have no choice,” Cassie insisted. “Jump, Mariah!”
“But what if he follows us outside?” Mariah grabbed hold of Cassie’s arm, clutching it so tightly it hurt. The two stood frozen to the spot, their eyes following the bear. He already seemed to have lost interest in them, instead turning his attention back to the food piled up on the floor.
“Mariah’s right,” Danny said in a thin voice. “Maybe we’re better off staying up here.”
Cassie looked first at the bear, then at the open window. She hesitated, not knowing what to do. It was so hard to think clearly when her mind was clouded by such a deep, sickening fear. The one thing she was sure about was that she had to make a decision fast—and that making the right choice could well determine whether or not she’d survive.
* * * *
Laurel and Russ were silent as they drove down the bumpy dirt road toward the cabin. It had been a long, tiring day. Having discovered that Ben Seeger was behind the bear poachings had been devastating. Yet, thinking about what still lay ahead—having to tell Dr. Wells the truth about his longtime friend and turning him in to the proper authorities—was almost as overwhelming.
“I wonder if Dr. Wells will be back from town yet,” Laurel mused as the Jeep rounded the last bend in the dirt road and the roof of the cabin came into sight. “In a way, I hope he won’t be. I’m not exactly looking forward to telling him,”
“We have to,” Russ said gently. “It’s the only way.”
“I know.” Laurel bit her lip. Not only was she upset over how wrong she’d been about the conservation officer, it was also hard for her to accept the fact that someone in authority, whose job it was to
protect,
could actually be guilty of committing the very crimes he was supposed to be preventing. Her heart was heavy from the lesson she’d learned: things weren’t always as they seemed ... or as they should be.
She’d been ruminating during the entire ride back from Anchorage. Yet as the cabin came into view, all thoughts about Ben Seeger and the bear poaching instantly vanished. Automatically she jammed on the brakes.
Laurel could scarcely believe what she was seeing: Trip leaping out of the loft window, falling to the ground with a thud. She watched in astonishment as a look of pain crossed his face, then faded quickly to one of absolute terror.
From inside the cabin came a great racket. Thumps and crashes and the sound of glass breaking exploded through the walls. It almost sounded as if dishes and cans and jars were being thrown from the kitchen shelves. What was even more alarming was the low, uneven growling sound that accompanied it.
“What’s happening?” Laurel demanded, bewildered.
Trip was already rushing toward the car, moving so quickly over the rough terrain that he stumbled twice.
“Bear!” he gasped, his eyes wild. “There’s a bear in the cabin!”
“A bear?” Laurel repeated, gripping the steering wheel. “Where are the others?”
“Inside.” He was gasping for breath.
Russ leaped out of the passenger side. “Trip, is the pepper spray still on the shelf by the front door?”
“What?” Trip stared at him blankly.
“The pepper spray, Trip. Has anyone moved it?”
“I-I don’t know. I can’t think—”
Russ turned to Laurel, sitting paralyzed in the driver’s seat. “Laurel, I’ll get the others out. Help them into the Jeep. Once everyone’s inside, drive away from here as fast as you can.”
Terror was rising up inside her. “What are you going to do?”
“I’ll try to ward off the bear before he destroys the cabin, our notes, our equipment—” Russ was already darting toward the cabin.
“You’re not going in there alone!”
“Just do it!” He crossed the few yards that separated the Jeep from the cabin in a few long strides, yelling, “Cassie? Mariah? Get out! Get in the car!”
Only a few seconds passed before Danny Torvold’s head emerged from the loft window. He hesitated briefly, then jumped out. He fell to the soft ground, then scrambled to his feet and raced toward the car.
Cassie came next, moving more slowly and more awkwardly than the little boy. Her face was red, and she grimaced when she hit the ground. Instead of running toward the car, she turned her face up to the window, holding out her arms.
“Okay, Mariah. You can do it. Jump toward me, and I’ll break your fall.”
“But my ankle!” Mariah cried.
“Don’t worry about your ankle. Try landing on your other foot. You’ve got to get out of there!”
Mariah climbed out slowly, her face twisted with pain. When she finally leapt out of the window, she fell against Cassie. Both of them let out yelps as they tumbled over. Mariah’s leg was bleeding as she stood up, and she kicked away the sharp branch that had scraped her. But at least she was out of the cabin. Cassie grabbed her around the waist and helped her toward the Jeep.
Cassie and Mariah finally made it inside the car. Mariah climbed in front and Cassie got in back with Trip and Danny. But they weren’t all out of danger—at least, not yet. Laurel sat gripping the steering wheel as she watched the cabin anxiously.
“What are you waiting for?” Trip asked, his voice edged with hysteria. “Let’s get out of here!”
“Trip, Russ is in there!” Cassie reminded him.
“Get us out of here!” Trip demanded.
“We have to wait for Russ,” Laurel insisted. She kept her eyes fixed on the cabin. From inside she could hear the bear’s growls.
And then, suddenly, he let out a loud bellow. It cut through the forest like a gunshot. The earth seemed to tremble as the giant animal came crashing out of the cabin. All five of them watched as the bear took off, running into the forest, the dense growth of trees finally swallowing him up.
Laurel’s hands were clutched against her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. “Is everybody all right?”
“I think so,” Cassie assured her, panting.
“At least we are now,” Mariah added. “Laurel, if you and Russ hadn’t shown up when you did, I don’t know what would have happened to us.”
“Thanks, Laurel,” Cassie said. “You sure have good timing.”
Laurel peered at Trip through the rearview mirror. He was sitting slumped over in the backseat, his arms folded protectively around himself, his blue eyes wide. His face was completely drained of blood, his expression one of shock. Her first impression could well have been that he was just kidding around. But she could see that his terror was real.
“It’s okay now, Trip,” Laurel said soothingly, turning around to look at him over her shoulder. “You’re safe.”
“The bear’s gone,” Danny assured him. “With that pepper spray in his eyes, he won’t bother us again for a long time.”
Russ came out of the cabin then, his face red, his straight brown hair falling into his eyes. He walked with his shoulders slumped, as if he were completely drained.
“Is he gone?” he demanded, blinking hard as he looked around. “I-I couldn’t see out the window that well.”
“Yes, he’s gone,” said Laurel. “We saw him run into the woods.”
Now that Russ was close, Laurel could see his eyes were tearing from the pepper spray. “He was a big one.” His voice was shaky. “A full-grown male. I’d put him at well over a thousand pounds—”
“Get in the car,” Laurel suggested gently. “Let’s get out of here.”
Russ glanced back at the cabin. “We might as well. That pepper spray’s so potent it’ll be some time before we can go back into the cabin again.” He shook his head. “I’m anxious to see how bad the damage is. I’m afraid that bear really did a number on the place.”
“The only thing that matters,” said Laurel, “is that we’re all safe.”
It sounded like such a simple, obvious thing to say. Yet never before had those words seemed so true.
Chapter Twenty
“Wow.” Dr. Wells shook his head slowly, glancing up from the stack of notes he was putting back in order. “The five of you certainly had a harrowing experience.”
“You mean the six of us,” Russ corrected him. Sweeping up the refuse left behind by the bear, he paused. “Don’t forget Danny.”
Laurel nodded in agreement. “I’m sure last night was a night he’ll remember for the rest of his life.”
It was early the next day. After spending a restless night crowded into the Torvolds’ cabin, curled up on the floor with sleeping bags and blankets, the group had come back to their own cabin. Dr. Wells ventured inside first, wanting to see if the air had been sufficiently cleared of the pepper spray for them to enter. Once he’d decided it was safe, the others had gone in, curious to see just how much damage the bear had done.
For two hours they’d toiled. Cleaning up the kitchen turned out to be the most tedious job. Laurel and the others labored over the broken jars of honey and maple syrup that had mixed with the mounds of cereal and rolled oats spilled on the floor. Not quite as messy, but at least as frustrating, was putting their papers back in order. The bear had knocked over the table, sending files and neat stacks of notes sprawling across the floor in a state of complete disarray.
But that had been just the beginning of the destruction wreaked by the bear. Trip and Cassie took down the shredded mosquito netting that had once lined the doorway and would now have to be replaced. Russ and Laurel scraped muddy paw prints off the front porch and the floors. As for the long, deep claw marks that marred the exterior of the building, as well as the floor and the wooden table, they could not be cleared away as easily. That was also true of the torn couch. A single swipe of the giant beast’s claw had shredded the seat cushion from one end to the other. Foam-rubber stuffing was already spilling out.
Finally, Cassie and Trip volunteered to carry out the bags containing the broken bottles, spilled food, and ripped netting. Mariah retired to her room to rest her aching foot.
“Well,” said Laurel, standing in the middle of the living area with her hands on her hips, “maybe the cabin suffered a few scars. But at least none of us did.”
Dr. Wells nodded. “Thank goodness for that.”
The loud roar of an engine, moving closer and closer, came as a surprise, breaking into the otherwise peaceful silence that surrounded the cabin. Laurel glanced out the doorway and saw a floatplane hovering above Wolf Lake. Printed on the side were the words “Alaska Department of Fish and Game.”