The Longest Day

  Lusa pricked her ears. The air around her seemed to quiver. A rumble like thunder sounded in the distance, growing louder as it swept toward her. Fear lurched through Lusa as the earth shook beneath her paws. She dug in her claws to steady herself, but the ground shuddered harder and the thunder filled her ears. Numb with terror, Lusa flung herself to the ground and buried her nose beneath her paws. “Ujurak, help me! Arcturus! Please!”

  Yelps of pain split the air. Were other bears here? Lusa lifted her head. “Where are you? Are you hurt?” A shriek of anguish sounded on one side of her, then the other. Lusa jumped up. Suffering bears surrounded her in the darkness. She could hear them! “Where are you?”

  Dust swirled around her, blinding her. Lusa staggered forward, trying to keep her balance on the quaking ground, flattening her ears against the roar. “I’ll help you!” Her eyes stung and tears streamed down her snout. An agonized bark screeched through the shadows. “I’m coming!” Lusa wailed.

  A paw grabbed her shoulder and shook it.

  “Lusa?”

  Ujurak! Relief swept through Lusa. He’d come to help her save the bears. She opened her eyes, surprised to find she was in the forest. Early morning sunshine dappled the nest, warming her pelt.

  Ossi stood over her, his paw on her flank. “You were dreaming.”

  Lusa stared up at him, still trembling. “Is everyone okay?”

  Ossi glanced around. “As far as I know.”

  “Was anyone calling out in pain?” Lusa couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible had happened. She heaved herself up, shaking off Ossi’s paw.

  “No.” Ossi looked puzzled. “Everyone’s getting ready to go for the dawn forage.”

  Leaves showered over them as Pokkoli slithered down the trunk. “Did someone say forage?” He sat back on his haunches and rubbed his belly. “I hope so. I’m starving.”

  “Lusa had a bad dream,” Ossi told him.

  “I have bad dreams when I’m hungry.” Pokkoli glanced at a family of bears as they ambled past. More black shapes flickered between the trees. They were heading upslope. “Come on.”

  Lusa hung back as Pokkoli and Ossi followed the others. “It wasn’t hunger that gave me a bad dream,” she called. “It was something else.” Ujurak was trying to warn me about something.

  Ossi glanced back at her. “Come and eat anyway,” he urged. “The berries higher up are really sweet. They’ll help you forget your dream.”

  Lusa climbed out of the dip and shook the dried leaves from her fur. She wasn’t sure she wanted to forget her dream. It had frightened her, but what if Ujurak was trying to warn her? She followed Ossi and Pokkoli through the woods, spruce and birch giving way to aspen and beech so sparse that sunlight streamed through the canopy. A she-bear was guiding a group of cubs toward an old beech tree. Its thick roots arched up off the ground.

  “Watch.” The bear began digging at the soft soil.

  One of the cubs leaned forward in delight as white creatures wriggled at the bottom of the hole. “Grubs!”

  The she-bear stepped away. “Try digging for yourselves now. There’ll be enough grubs for everyone.”

  The cubs began scrabbling in the dirt, shouting each time they unearthed a new writhing nest.

  Two older bears had stopped beside a patch of ferns and were hauling fronds from the earth and gnawing on the sweet roots. Another bear joined them, while two young males charged deeper into the forest.

  “There are blueberries this way,” called one. “I can smell them!”

  Others began to follow them, swiping their tongues around their jaws.

  Lusa called to Ossi. “Should we go with them?”

  “No.” Ossi glanced over his shoulder. “Pokkoli knows where there’s a cloudberry patch.”

  “Cloudberries?” Dustu’s rasping growl sounded behind Lusa.

  She turned and saw the grizzled old bear ambling after her. “Do you want to join us?” she asked.

  Dustu’s eyes sparkled. “Yes, please.”

  Lusa let him pass as she watched the black bears foraging around her. She’d never hunted like this. She was used to Toklo, Yakone, and Kallik racing away after deer or chasing down elk. She’d helped where she could. She’d even learned to catch fish and rabbits. But it felt good to be part of a group that hunted for food the same way she did. She could help the cubs dig up grubs, or search for roots with the older bears. Or she could follow Pokkoli and Ossi to a patch of juicy cloudberries.

  A bear’s roar echoed in the distance. The cubs rooting around the beech looked up, fear darkening their eyes.

  “Don’t worry,” the she-bear reassured them. “It’s just the brown bears showing off.”

  Dustu snorted beside Lusa. “They’re all roar and no claw.”

  That’s not true, Lusa thought. Toklo was the bravest bear she knew. She wondered how he was. Had he met bears he knew from the last gathering? Was he lonely without her? Did he miss Yakone and Kallik?

  Her dream flashed in her thoughts, and she wondered if Ujurak had been trying to warn her that her friends were in danger. I would have known if they had been calling to me, surely?

  Ossi and Pokkoli were heading away through the woods. Dustu hurried to catch up with them. Lusa trailed after them, her pelt tingling with anxiety. It was just a dream, she told herself. It didn’t mean anything. As she struggled to push away her worries, the scent of cloudberries touched her nose. Ossi had broken into a run. Sunshine pierced a clearing ahead of him, and Lusa saw berries glowing on the forest floor.

  She stopped and pulled at one with her paw, lifting the stem so that the berries dangled in front of her snout. Their tangy scent made her mouth water. “How did you know they were here?” she called to Pokkoli.

  Pokkoli was already stuffing berries into his mouth. “I remembered them from last suncircle!”

  Lusa took a mouthful of the fat, juicy fruit. With sunshine warming her pelt, she ate until her belly was full. Then she leaned against a tree trunk. Drowsy with food, she slipped back into her dream. The dust storm swallowed her at once. Bellows of pain surrounded her while the ground shook and thunder battered her ears. Flashes of starlight glimmered through the choking air.

  Ujurak? Was he trying to reach her through the chaos? She strained to see his starry shape. Then a voice Lusa recognized sounded beside her ear. “Help me! I’m trapped!”

  She awoke with a start. “Chula!”

  “Chula?” Ossi jerked his snout toward her. “Is she here?” He began scanning the trees.

  “No!” Lusa stared at him, her thoughts tumbling. “She’s in trouble! We have to find her.”

  Pokkoli frowned. “How do you know she’s in trouble?”

  “Did you hear something?” Dustu asked, his mouth full of berries.

  “I just know!” Lusa’s panic hardened to rage. How could she explain to these bears that her dream was a sign? Chula needed help. She stared at Ossi. “Which route would Chula take to reach the lake?”

  “The same one as me and Pokkoli, I guess.”

  “You have to show me.” Lusa ran to the edge of the clearing. “Come on! We need to find her as soon as we can.” Miki and Sheena were traveling with her—and possibly Hashi, too. And Sheena’s cubs! If Chula was in danger, they might be, too! Lusa raced up the slope, swerving between the trees.

  Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Ossi following. Her shoulder thumped into a trunk and she staggered sideways.

  Ossi overtook her. “This way.”

  Lusa silently thanked Ossi for not asking questions. As she ran, she searched for movement in the undergrowth. She expected Ujurak to appear at any moment—as a moose, or a hare—anything that might guide them.

  Brambles shivered to one side and a bird exploded from between the stems. Ujurak? It fluttered up toward the canopy, disappearing among the branches.

  Just an ordinary bird! They must have startled it from its cover.

  Ossi scrambled up a rise. Lusa was panting when they reached
the top. She drew in a gasping breath as she looked down the other side, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chula and the others. But only dense forest lay ahead, the pale leafy trees giving way to tight rows of pines.

  “Is this definitely the way you came?” she asked Ossi.

  He gazed around. “We definitely traveled through pine trees,” he told her. “But one pine looks the same as the other. I’m not sure which way to go from here.”

  “Is there anything you remember?” Lusa’s heart was pounding. “Did you stop to gather berries? Was there a clearing? Did you cross a river?”

  “A BlackPath,” he told her suddenly. “We crossed a BlackPath.”

  “Where?”

  Ossi tilted his head on one side. “I’m not sure!”

  Lusa began to pace. “You must remember. It was only two sunrises ago! Think!”

  Suddenly Ossi leaned forward. “There!” he barked.

  Lusa followed his gaze. She could see only trunks and shadows.

  “The stream!” Ossi plunged down the slope. “We drank there.”

  As Lusa followed, she saw a sparkle between the trees where water reflected a shaft of sunlight. Ossi swerved between the trees, Lusa at his heels. He skidded to a halt as he neared the stream. Lusa slid past him, her paws slithering on the pine needles. “Which way now?”

  “Upstream,” Ossi told her. He turned and followed the stream up a rise that lifted toward daylight. Lusa could see sunshine flooding into the forest where the trees ended.

  A rumble sounded from the gap. Lusa’s pelt tingled with fear. A firebeast. She recognized the sound too well. They were getting close to the BlackPath. At least they were heading in the right direction. Another rumble sounded, as loud as thunder. Lusa’s breath caught in her throat. That’s the noise from my dream!

  Brambles blocked their path, but Ossi forced his way through, and Lusa squeezed through the gap he’d made. Sunlight splashed across her face as she burst out the far side.

  The BlackPath lay in front of them, stretching far into the distance in one direction and disappearing around a curve in the other. Ossi stopped at the edge and stared into the forest on the far side. Fresh rumbling rolled toward them, and Lusa saw a massive firebeast approaching around the curve. It raced nearer, eyes flashing on its orange head and along its flanks. Slain trees were lying on its back, and Lusa shuddered.

  A second roar sounded from the other direction. A blue firebeast appeared, hurtling along the BlackPath toward the orange beast.

  Lusa pressed close to Ossi. “Are they going to fight?” Perhaps they should go into the woods until it was over.

  “Wait.” Ossi leaned backward. The blue firebeast was howling, splitting the air with a shriek that made birds fly up from the trees behind Lusa. The orange firebeast howled in reply, and both began to slow. Pulling toward the far side of the BlackPath, they rumbled to a halt, snout to snout, then fell silent.

  Lusa realized she was trembling. “We should go around them.” They couldn’t let the firebeasts get in the way of saving Chula. She started to head along the shoulder, keeping to the shadow of the pines.

  “Look!” Ossi hissed.

  The side of the blue firebeast’s head swung open. A flat-face climbed out, pulling a limp, bleeding flat-face after him. A moment later, the side of the orange firebeast’s head opened and another flat-face jumped out. It raced to help. Together, they half dragged, half carried the injured flat-face to the orange firebeast’s head, then pushed him inside. Climbing in, they pulled the opening shut. Smoke billowed from the firebeast’s tail as it rumbled to life. With a shudder, it jolted forward, its massive head rolling straight for the bears.

  Ossi backed toward the brambles. Lusa leaped alongside him as the firebeast lurched toward them, the three flat-faces locked inside. Crashing over bushes, snapping branches with its shoulders and haunches, the firebeast slowly turned itself around. It churned mud from the edges of the BlackPath as it straightened up and headed back the way it had come.

  “That flat-face was hurt!” Lusa yelped. The sight of blood had unnerved her. Chula might be bleeding, too.

  Ossi was crossing the BlackPath, his snout twitching as he approached the abandoned firebeast. Lusa followed him reluctantly. When he reached the firebeast, Ossi reared up on his hind legs, pawing at the trees stacked on its back. Lusa heard him whimper, and felt a stab of pity. The swirls in the bark of the trees showed the countless spirits of black bears, helplessly taken from the final resting places they had chosen for themselves.

  “We can’t save them,” Lusa whispered. “But we can help Chula.”

  Ossi swung his head toward her, his paws still resting on the side of the firebeast. “We can’t just leave them!”

  “We have to!” Lusa insisted. “Chula needs us now!” She grabbed Ossi’s scruff between her teeth and hauled him down. “You have to help me.” She turned away, not giving him time to argue, and began to run along the shoulder in the direction the firebeast with the injured flat-face had come from. She glanced over her shoulder. Ossi was lumbering after her, his eyes glittering with grief.

  Beyond the curve in the BlackPath, Lusa glimpsed the shiny skin of another firebeast. She skidded to a halt, confused. It wasn’t roaring. It wasn’t even on the BlackPath. It had rolled onto its side and lay helpless on the shoulder, black paws hanging in the air. Split trees spilled from its back.

  Ossi pulled up beside her, a wail rumbling in his throat. “Oh, those poor spirits,” he rasped, staring at the jumble of logs crisscrossing the ground. “I can hear them crying.”

  Lusa pricked her ears. He was right. Moans drifted from the cut trunks, wails of pain and terror. Just like my dream. Had Ujurak sent her here to witness the suffering of the tree spirits?

  Then Lusa smelled blood. She stiffened. There was the scent of death, too, and more fear than she’d ever smelled before. “That’s not the crying of spirits,” she breathed. “That’s the sound of real bears.” She stopped, feeling sick as she glimpsed black fur showing between the spilled trees. “Ossi! There are bears trapped under the logs!”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Lusa

  “Help!” The thin cries were getting louder.

  Lusa raced forward. Ossi pounded after her. She spotted Chula at the edge of the spilled trees, lying in the long grass with a log crushing her hind leg. Lusa’s heart lurched. But as she reached the injured bear, she noticed a rock jammed beneath the trunk, lifting some of the weight.

  Chula’s eyes rolled with pain and fear. “I can’t get free!”

  Ossi was already pushing his paws beneath the tree, grunting as he tried to heave it away from his sister’s leg. Lusa dug her claws into the bark and tried to help. The tree didn’t budge. “We’re not strong enough!” she hissed to Ossi. Chula must be in agony. Even with the rock supporting the log, she could see Chula’s leg was squashed tight between wood and earth.

  Lusa broke away, roaring with frustration. She froze as she saw fur shimmering between the trees. Was that a brown bear? Would he help? Rearing onto her hind legs to see better, she recognized Ujurak’s face among the shadows. Lusa felt a surge of hope. She waited for him to bound forward, or transform into a moose and help roll the log away. But he stayed where he was, watching her.

  Anger welled in Lusa’s belly. “Help us!” she roared.

  Ujurak’s voice sounded faintly in her mind, as though he were a long way off. “I can’t do anything, not this time.”

  Ossi glanced up at her. “What are you bellowing at?”

  “Hush!” Lusa waved at him to be quiet. She had to hear Ujurak.

  “You know what to do,” Ujurak went on. “Take a breath. Stay calm. Trust yourself.”

  The reassuring tone washed through Lusa like a cooling breeze. Her thoughts slowed. She looked down. There was a gap beneath the log where the rock pushed it up. Lusa’s paws pricked. “I have an idea!” Scrambling past Ossi, she crashed through the ferns and raced into the trees. She scanned the ground for sticks, i
nspecting them carefully until she found what she was looking for: a solid branch, newly fallen and still strong. She grasped one end between her teeth and heaved it into the sunlight. Hauling it past Chula, she dropped it beside the log.

  Ossi looked puzzled, but as Lusa began to thread the thickest end of the stick through the gap beneath the log, his eyes brightened with understanding. “We can lever the trunk off!”

  She nodded. “If we’re careful, the trunk will roll away without hurting Chula.”

  Once the stick was firmly beneath the log, she hurried to the other end and heaved it up with her forepaws. She wanted to pry the log away from Chula’s leg. It creaked as she pushed upward, but she could feel strength in the wood. Please hold! Ossi grabbed the branch and heaved, too. Between them, Ossi and Lusa lifted it high enough off the ground for Ossi to dive underneath and push up with his powerful shoulders. Groaning with the effort, he forced the branch higher while Lusa pushed with all her might.

  The tree trunk shifted. One more heave, and the log lifted a paw’s width from the rock.

  Lusa’s heart leaped. “We’re doing it.”

  Ossi grunted beside her, his eyes tightly shut as he strained at the branch. Chula whimpered with fear.

  “Can you pull yourself free?” Lusa called to her.

  Chula winced as she dragged herself forward. “Yes!” Her hind leg slid from beneath the trunk.

  The moment it was clear, Lusa barked at Ossi. “Get out!” she warned. “I’m going to let go.”

  As Ossi ducked free, Lusa jumped away from the branch. It slammed onto the ground, and the log rocked back into place.

  Lusa rushed to Chula and ran a paw over her leg. It felt stiff and swollen, and heat pulsed from it.

  Ossi leaned in beside her. “How bad is it?”

  “I don’t know.” Lusa looked at Chula. “Can you move it?”

  Chula grimaced as she strained. But her hind leg didn’t move.