The Longest Day

Hopeful murmurs rippled through the crowd.

  Toklo went on. “But we must walk through the trees, ahead of the fire.” He nodded to the far side of the lake.

  “We can’t go back into the forest!” Anarteq growled.

  Kallik stood beside the old bear. “Toklo says we’ll make it if we keep moving.” She blinked at Toklo. “If he says it, it must be true.”

  Toklo stared back at her. Did he really deserve such trust?

  Muna turned in an anxious circle. “Elki can’t walk. She’s still hurt.”

  “Holata can carry her.” Toklo looked around. Where was Elki’s father? Where was Elsu? Only Elki was with Muna, leaning against her flank, her wounds showing through her wet fur.

  Muna nodded toward the cluster of rocks. “Holata took Elsu. I stayed with Elki.”

  Toklo dipped his head. Sometimes splitting up meant the best chance of survival. “Then you must carry her as far as you can,” he told her. “If you get tired, others will help.”

  He didn’t wait for a response. She had no choice. None of them did. He glanced around the bears. “Will you come with me?”

  Taqqiq stepped forward. “If Kallik says we can trust you, then I’m coming.”

  “Me too.” Shila nodded.

  “Lusa?” Toklo looked at his friend. “Can the black bears do this?”

  Lusa lifted her muzzle. “Black bears were born to walk through forests.”

  Grunts of agreement sounded from her camp-mates.

  Toklo’s fur prickled along his spine. “We should leave now.” He turned, flinching against the blast of heat from the blazing forest. He forced himself to walk slowly. There were injured and elderly bears to think of. If he just kept them moving, they could beat the flames.

  He heard Kallik’s voice behind him. “Up you go, Tibik. You can ride on Yakone’s back.” He glanced over his shoulder and saw her boost a young black bear onto Yakone’s shoulders. “Hold on tight,” she urged.

  Aiyanna was carrying Yas while Izusa and Makya walked beside her, their cubs pressing close.

  Pawsteps crunched on the stones as Shesh caught up to Toklo. “Oogrook was right about you,” the old bear murmured. “You caught that salmon for a reason. You were destined for this.”

  Toklo grunted. “Let’s decide that after I get us to safety.”

  They reached the trees. The fire was burning steadily around the curve of the lake, but the forest here was still green and unscorched. The wind was driving the smoke out across the water, leaving clear air. Toklo breathed the musty scent of the forest, his heart twisting. Even if the bears made it to the waterfall, he knew the fire would come. Was this the last time he’d smell the lush fragrance of leaves and moss?

  He paused, looking back. A few black bears were straggling, but Kallik had stopped to hurry them on. He waited for them to catch up before heading into the trees. Fear was heavy in his belly. Would he remember the way to the waterfall in time to beat the fire?

  “Lean against me.”

  Toklo heard Shesh’s rasping growl behind him. He glanced back and saw the brown male press his shoulder against an old white bear’s flank. Behind them, he saw Muna stumble. Elki was clinging to her back, but the she-bear looked exhausted. Toklo lifted his muzzle. “Will you carry Elki?” he called to Kallik.

  Kallik was walking beside Illa, encouraging Kissimi to keep moving with small nudges of her muzzle. She looked up as he spoke, but it was Taqqiq who hurried forward.

  “I’ll carry her,” the white male offered.

  Muna’s eyes shone with relief. “Thank you,” she croaked as Taqqiq crouched beside her. Dropping her shoulder, Muna let her cub slither onto the white bear’s back.

  “I’ll walk beside you,” she promised Elki. “I’ll make sure you don’t fall.”

  “I won’t fall,” Elki barked. “There’s lots of room here.” She wriggled into the thick fur between Taqqiq’s shoulder blades.

  Toklo pushed on, following a deer track he thought he recognized. The ground sloped up, and as it grew steeper, he smelled smoke. He heard the roar of flames. He peered through the trees, his heart lurching as he glimpsed a bright-orange glow in the distance.

  “We must hurry!” he called over his shoulder. He veered off the path, suddenly unsure where to go. The river was beyond a ridge, but which ridge? The forest seemed to slope in every direction here.

  Small pawsteps pattered behind him. He turned to see Akocha hurrying toward him.

  “It’s this way!” the young bear barked. “I remember that tree stump.” Akocha cut across the slope, clambering over a fallen tree, and raced to where a mossy lump of wood stood beside a deer track. “This track takes us straight to the top of the rise. The river’s just beyond it.”

  Toklo stared at Akocha. “Well remembered!” As hope flickered in his heart, smoke rolled between the trees.

  He heard wood crackle. Behind him, frightened growls rose from the bears. He turned and saw flame moving like a wave toward them.

  “We’re nearly there!” he urged. “Akocha, show them the way!”

  Akocha bounced past him. “We’re going to make it, aren’t we?”

  “Of course.” Toklo tried to sound convincing, but smoke was stinging his eyes. The crackle had become a roar, and he could feel the first heat of the flames as they raced closer. He stood beside the mossy stump, shooing the bears past. “Climb to the top of the rise and head down to the river,” he told them.

  Following, Toklo reached the top as Shesh and the old white bear disappeared through the undergrowth beyond. Lusa, Kallik, and Yakone plunged down the slope after them, Akocha at their heels. Toklo felt relief wash over his pelt. They had reached the valley where the river cut through the woods. Trees grew thickly on the slope, and undergrowth spilled down to the river’s edge.

  Aiyanna was waiting for Toklo as he reached the bank. She touched her muzzle to his cheek.

  Toklo noticed the empty space on her shoulders. “Where’s Yas?”

  “She wanted to walk the last part.” Aiyanna glanced toward the trees. The roar of the fire was so close that she had to raise her voice. Smoke billowed over the ridge and rolled down to the river. “We are nearly there, aren’t we?”

  Toklo looked upstream, but trees and brambles blocked his view. “I think so.” As he spoke, he heard a rumble. He recognized it at once. Not the roar of the flames, but the thundering of water. “The falls!” Breaking into a run, he pushed past the bushes and saw the waterfall tumbling into the pool where the river widened.

  The other bears were standing on the edge of the pool, staring at the tumbling water.

  Shesh looked confused. “Is this the place?” Ash fluttered down onto his patchy fur. The hiss and crackle of green wood sounded just beyond the ridge.

  “There’s a cave behind it!” Toklo barked. “Quick! Get into the water.”

  “I’ll show them!” Akocha leaped into the pool.

  The black bears teetered at the edge, half falling, half jumping as the others pushed from behind. Shesh jumped in clumsily. Ossi guided Chula farther along the bank, where it was less crowded, then helped her slither into the water and followed her.

  “I can’t swim!” Yas wailed.

  “That’s okay. I won’t let you drown!” Miki scooped Yas up by his scruff and bounded in.

  Muna hurried to Taqqiq’s side. Elki was still clinging to the white bear’s back. “Hold on tight, Elki!” Muna panted.

  “Don’t worry,” Taqqiq told her. “I’ll keep her safe.” Carefully he eased his front paws down the steep bank and slid into the water. Muna plunged in after him, her gaze fixed on Elki.

  On the far side of the pool, Akocha disappeared beneath the wall of water. The other bears ducked in after him.

  Pain jabbed like claws into Toklo’s back as embers scorched his pelt. He turned to Yakone, Lusa, Aiyanna, and Kallik. They were the only ones left on shore. “We’ll be safe once we reach the cave.” He had to bellow to be heard over the roar of the flames. Heat blast
ed over him. He glanced up the slope behind them.

  A shape had appeared at the top.

  Toklo narrowed his eyes. Had they left someone behind? Then he recognized the outline.

  Nanulak!

  Flames illuminated the brown-and-white bear.

  Yakone growled beside Toklo.

  “He’s back!” Aiyanna gasped.

  “Get into the water,” Toklo ordered. “It’s me Nanulak has come for.”

  A few bearlengths upstream, a tree toppled and bounced down the slope. It crashed into the water with a hiss. “Go!” Toklo barked.

  As Lusa, Kallik, and Yakone scrambled down the steep bank, Aiyanna pressed against him. “Don’t leave me now,” she whispered.

  “I won’t.” Toklo nudged her away and climbed toward Nanulak. The heat of the fire scorched his face. He stopped a muzzle-length away. “You attacked your own family, Nanulak,” he growled. “You betrayed everyone who loved you. You can’t blame me for what happened.”

  Nanulak curled his lip. “I thought you were my friend. But as soon as you learned that my father was a white bear, you hated me just like everyone else.”

  “That’s not true,” Toklo shouted over the hissing of the fire. “You lied to me from the start. You betrayed our friendship. You’ve done terrible things, Nanulak. Stop blaming everyone else!”

  With a roar, Nanulak shoved Toklo backward.

  Toklo slid down the slope, brambles tearing his belly fur. As he found his paws, mottled fur flashed ahead of him. Pain seared his cheek as Nanulak ripped into him with a swiping blow. Toklo lashed out with a forepaw, swinging it hard against Nanulak’s muzzle. Nanulak staggered but regained his footing and leaped at Toklo. Rearing, they clashed together, their chests thumping. Smoke swirled around them, stinging Toklo’s eyes. Barely able to see, he grappled desperately with Nanulak, his hindpaws slipping on the muddy bank.

  Teeth sank into his shoulder. He swung his head, knocking his skull against Nanulak’s with such force that Nanulak let go. Flames flashed at the edge of his vision as a burning branch crashed down beside them. “Get into the water, Aiyanna!” Toklo roared. He could see her hanging back, her eyes streaming as smoke swirled around her. “Now!”

  As she plunged in, Nanulak swiped at Toklo again. Toklo ducked, pain searing through his paw as he trod on the smoldering branch. Nanulak’s claws dug into his back. He whipped around, shaking the brown-and-white bear off, and dove beneath his belly. Pushing up with all his might, he flung Nanulak backward. Nanulak staggered. His hindpaw slid off the bank. Flailing wildly, he fell into the water.

  A crack rang through the hot air. Toklo raced to the edge and leaned over. Nanulak lay still, his body limp in the ash-speckled water, his head bleeding where he had hit a jagged rock.

  Toklo froze.

  “Watch out!” Aiyanna barked from the pool.

  He glanced over his shoulder. Fire was swarming down the slope. Its heat seared his muzzle. Heart lurching, Toklo hurled himself into the water beside Nanulak.

  “Leave him, Toklo!” Aiyanna’s teeth sank into his scruff, and she tried to haul him away.

  “But he’ll burn!”

  Aiyanna let go and stared at Toklo. “So what?”

  “He was my friend once!”

  “He’s your enemy now!”

  As Aiyanna stared at him in disbelief, another burning tree rolled down the bank. It hit the water with a crash. Fire spat from the trunk and stung Toklo’s muzzle. Bristling with shock, Toklo pushed Aiyanna backward as flaming twigs showered around them. The tree had cut across the pool between him and Nanulak.

  How could he reach the brown-and-white bear now?

  Aiyanna splashed the water in terror. “If we stay here, we’ll die!”

  Toklo stared at the burning tree, grief scorching his heart as he pictured Nanulak behind it. I can’t save you. Determination charged through his pelt. But I can save Aiyanna.

  “Hurry!” He hurled himself toward the falls and dragged Aiyanna with him as he ducked beneath the crashing water. Hugging her tight, he let the current tumble them to safety as behind them the fire surrounded the river in a wall of flame.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Kallik

  Kallik huddled closer to Yakone. “Will the rain stop the fire?”

  Yakone gazed through the shimmering wall of water as thunder rumbled outside. “I think so,” he murmured.

  The storm had begun in the night, lightning outshining the flame beyond the hazy falls. The bears had huddled at the back of the cave when the rain started, and it wasn’t until the sun had begun to sink that the hiss of embers finally died and the bears were able to emerge from behind the waterfall and swim back across the pool to the forest.

  Now, Kallik walked among the others in silence. Like them, she had no words as she crunched over the charred debris of what had once been a forest. Their forest. This land had belonged to the bears. And fire had destroyed it.

  A fine drizzle still darkened the far side of the lake, but here late sunshine was breaking through the clouds. Blackened tree stumps stretched along the hillsides. Ash covered the beach. The acrid smell of charred wood filled Kallik’s nose. The only glimpse of green was in the distance.

  As they neared the shore, Lusa brushed Kallik’s flank. “We’ll be leaving after the ceremony.”

  Of course! Today is the Longest Day! “Then these are our last moments together.” Kallik scanned the mass of pelts for Toklo’s. He had reached the spot where brown bears were wading from the shore. They’d begun swimming as soon as the others had emerged from the blackened remains of the forest. The white bears who’d found refuge on the islands were already out of the water and trekking toward the brown bears’ shore.

  Kallik walked closer to Lusa, wanting to feel her soft pelt for a little longer. She could hardly believe that in the coming moons, she would wake up every day without her friends. At least I have Yakone. Who would Lusa have? “Will you be okay?” she asked. “By yourself, I mean.”

  “I won’t be by myself,” Lusa promised. “I’ve made friends here.”

  Kallik touched her nose to Lusa’s head, hoping that the little black bear would always be as loved as she had been on her journey.

  Toklo and Shesh had climbed onto a wide, flat rock. They were talking quietly with Kunik and Anarteq as the others caught up.

  “Come on.” Izusa shooed Wapi and Yas toward the water. “Let’s wash the soot from our fur.” She waded in behind them.

  Kallik saw tension ease from the brown bear’s shoulders as water washed around her paws. Before long, she was splashing Yas and Wapi playfully. As the cubs barked with delight, the others began to join them. Illa waded in with Kissimi, and soon most of the bears from the cave were rolling in the water, rinsing the ash from their pelts.

  Kallik leaned against Yakone. “We survived.” The forest behind her had been destroyed, but the lake rippled toward the horizon, darkened by ash and dotted with burnt branches and splintered wood. The forest would grow back. In seasons to come, the fire would become no more than a story.

  Yakone rubbed his muzzle along her cheek. “We survived together. We all did.”

  Kallik saw his gaze flit toward Toklo. Aiyanna had joined him on the rock. Warmth filled Kallik’s heart as she watched the pair lean closer. “Do you think she’s a good match for him, Yakone?”

  “Yes.” Yakone pressed against her. “Like you are for me.”

  Shesh lifted his head and barked to the crowd. “It is time for the Longest Day ceremony.”

  “Who will lead us?” Izusa called.

  Hattack pushed his way to the front. “The trials didn’t decide a winner.”

  “Do we need bears to lead us?” asked Illa, raising her damp white head.

  Taqqiq stepped to the edge of the rock. “We survived because we joined together and helped each other. We should perform the ceremony together.”

  Several bears murmured in agreement.

  “No!” Salik shouldered his way f
rom the crowd. “It’s never been done that way.”

  Hattack was nodding. “We should celebrate separately as we’ve always done.”

  “Black bears have never celebrated with white bears and brown bears,” Rudi grunted.

  Yakone’s muzzle brushed Kallik’s ear fur. “At least they agree on something,” he murmured.

  “No.” Toklo was standing beside Shesh, his shoulders braced as if he was ready for battle. “We must celebrate together.”

  Hattack frowned and dropped his gaze. Salik stomped from the lake, scowling.

  As Rudi looked away, Dena stepped forward. “This Longest Day is different from the others,” she rasped.

  “We should give thanks together,” Illa called from the water.

  Barks of agreement rose from the groups, and the bears shuffled into a wide arc around the stretch of rock where Shesh and Toklo stood beside Aiyanna, Anarteq, Kunik, and Dustu.

  Toklo beckoned Hattack to join them. “Will you help say the words for our ceremony?”

  Hattack narrowed his eyes for a moment, then padded forward. Taking his place beside Toklo, he began. “This lake has been here since the time before bears. It was a cold and barren place. The wind swept over it, snow and rain and sunlight fell onto the ground, but no creatures dared live here.”

  “Then the Great Bear Arcturus came this way.” As Shesh took up the next part of the story, Kallik noticed Lusa leaning against a black bear. She recognized Miki, the young male who had dozed beside Lusa in the cave while they waited for the fire and the storm to leave. Miki was whispering into Lusa’s ear. Lusa blinked at him, her eyes lighting up. Kallik’s heart pricked with hope. Had Lusa found more than just friendship among the black bears?

  Toklo was speaking now. “And ever since then, we bears have taken this lake for our own, and every suncircle, on the Longest Day, we return and give thanks to his spirit.”

  Kallik felt a nudge from Yakone. Anarteq was staring at her. “Join us, Kallik,” he called.

  She glanced at Yakone. Pride warmed his gaze. “Go,” he urged.

  Her pelt spiked self-consciously as she climbed onto the rock. Toklo caught her eye as she took her place beside him. “This is quite an ending to our journey,” he whispered.