Great Bear Rainforest (13 page)

Anyway, that’s where the dream ended. Now, I believe that most dreams have some kind of meaning. But if this dream has a meaning, I don’t have the slightest clue what it is.

The fire is really blazing now and Alu is whipping the tarp around to make these little clouds of black smoke, three at a time.

“Three puffs of smoke means someone is in distress,” she explained. “Hopefully, Joe and Liam will see the smoke and send help.”

“But what if the gunmen see the smoke?” I asked.

“We have to take that chance. There is no other way to call for help.”

Fingers crossed the wrong people don’t see our smoke signals. If they do, we’re done for.

5:12 PM


I thought we would be here for hours, or even days, before anyone saw our smoke signal, but a boat just came around the point at the end of the cove and is headed our way!

I can hardly believe it!

It’s the Canadian Coast Guard!

We’re saved!

I wonder if they’ve already found my parents, the captain, and Dr. Brezner? If not, at least they are on the case. With the Coast Guard involved, it’s only a matter of time.

They’re pulling up to shore.

Will give an update later….

A bright red zodiac boat came drifting onto the beachhead and five Coast Guard officers jumped out. The man in charge said his name was Officer Briggs and he went around checking to make sure that no one was in any immediate danger. Of course, I’m the worst off and before I knew what was happening a couple medics were hovering over me, shining lights in my eyes and cleaning my wounds with alcohol swabs and wrapping up my arm in a soft cast.

“It’s a relief to see that you are okay, Alu,” Officer Briggs said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

“You know I can hold my own in the forest,” Alu said.

“You two know each other?” Wyatt asked.

“Alu’s father was just hired to help train the Coast Guard officers in the Great Bear Rainforest.”

“The Coast Guard was smart to hire someone like my father,” Alu said with a modest smile. “Is he worried about me?”

“Of course he’s worried. You should have told someone exactly where you were going.”

“I’m sorry,” Alu said. “I just thought I’d come alone and try to figure out what had happened before I troubled anyone.”

“We tried to radio for help,” Wyatt explained, “but our radios haven’t worked since we got to the island.”

“Something is jamming the frequencies,” Officer Briggs said. “When we’re on the island, our radios don’t work either.”

Officer Briggs said that we were the first of the missing to be found and that no one else had been heard from since leaving the Pacific Yellowfin. Wyatt told the Coast Guard about the fishing boats and the camp and the gunmen and how they fired at us and how we went up the cliff and all that. I thought about explaining my theory that Dr. Brezner was in charge of the whole operation and responsible for everyone’s disappearance, but I decided that opening my mouth would only start an argument with Wyatt and that wouldn’t get us anywhere.

Officer Briggs decided that he and two other officers would set off on foot in search of the gunmen or the camp, assuming that if they found one or the other, it would lead them to everyone else. The two other officers would take me back to the Pacific Yellowfin, where they could do a full medical examination and call in an airlift to the hospital, if necessary. They asked Alu to be part of the search team, seeing as how she knows the island as well as anyone. Wyatt insisted he be allowed to go, too, but Officer Briggs wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

“You have to let me go with you,” Wyatt pleaded. “My parents are out there. They’ve been missing for a few days now. I won’t be able to rest until I know what’s happened to them. Besides, Gannon and I are the only ones who have seen the camp. I can lead us there. I know I can.”

Officer Briggs thought for a moment and finally agreed to let Wyatt join the expedition. Right away the men went to work preparing for the mission, strapping on their packs and checking their equipment and, most important, making sure their weapons were locked and loaded. I mean, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind, a showdown with the gunmen is almost certain.

I wanted so badly to be going with them. I wanted to be there to protect my brother if anything happens. I wanted to help them find my parents. But, obviously, that just wasn’t in the cards for me.

After they put me on the boat, I lifted my head from the stretcher and watched the search party climb the rocks and move back toward the forest. Bravely leading the way was my brother.

Just before they disappeared into the trees this crazy idea sprang to mind. I yelled to Alu:

“Are there any poisonous trees in this forest?”

“Yes!” Alu yelled back. “Several!”

“Is there one that looks like a small pine tree?”

“There is! It’s called a Yew!”

The meaning of my dream struck me like a bolt of lightning.

“If you find the camp,” I said, “try smoking them out with the Yew! May sound totally crazy, but the toxins in the smoke might incapacitate the gunmen and that might prevent anyone from getting hurt!”

INTERIOR OF PRINCESS ROYAL ISLAND
8:34 PM


Sometimes my brother amazes me. How he came up with the idea to smoke out the camp, I can’t even imagine. At first, I thought that he must have bruised his brain during the fall and now thought he was a First Nation medicine man.

I asked Alu what she thought of his plan.

“I think it might actually work,” she said.

“Are you serious?” I asked, totally shocked.

“I honestly think it might.”

“I wonder how he knew about the poisonous tree?”

“I believe the spirits have spoken to Gannon. They have shown him the way.”

Spirits?

Well, I’m not so sure about all that, but I held my tongue. There has to be a logical explanation. There always is. Then again, I’ve witnessed some strange things in this forest, things that don’t seem to have a logical explanation. One thing I can’t deny, the Great Bear Rainforest is a mysterious place.

Within the first ten minutes of the trek, we came across a Yew tree and filled an entire backpack with its branches. I guess Gannon’s plan is worth trying. All things considered, it’s probably our best option at preventing a shoot out.

Within the first twenty minutes of our trek, I was lost. Tall mountains seemed to be closing in on all sides. I was disoriented and didn’t know which way to go. Alu could tell I was lost and several times came to my rescue, raising her arm and pointing to an area of the forest where a trail might be made. At that, the trek would continue.

Daylight was fading. Heavy wind gusts swirled in the trees overhead, making a whooshing sound like waves crashing on the shore. I was struggling to put one foot in front of the other when Alu came across a footprint in the mud. She must have the eyes of a hawk, because the footprint was hardly visible in the dim light.

“One footprint usually leads to another,” she said, quietly, and continued ahead.

We did find another, then another, leading up the gulch to a narrow ridgeline, but before we made it to the top more rain came, washing away the rest of the footprints. By the time the front passed through and the rain stopped, it was dark.

Officer Briggs halted the search, so that we could all rest and discuss our options. As we talked, the skies cleared. I glanced up into the trees and noticed a star flickering in the sky, the first star I’ve seen since we arrived in the Great Bear Rainforest.

The temperature is falling. Mist tumbles from our mouths with each breath. On the low horizon, rising over a distant peak, a full moon sends a soft light through the trees. It’s a night that perfectly describes the meaning of our new friend’s name—
Alu
!

“On clear nights when the moon is full, travelers are promised safe passage,” she said with a smile.

I hope this is true.

If the skies stay clear, it will definitely help our search.

On we go …

SEPTEMBER 24, 9:57 AM


I wish I could write that it all went perfectly to plan, that we bravely rescued my parents without incident, that I scoffed in the face of death, but it sure didn’t go down that way. Truth is, we needed help.

So, here’s what happened. We were hiking along under the stars, when Alu stopped us and pointed into the woods.

“Look,” she said with excitement in her voice.

About a quarter-mile away, standing next to a tree, was a spirit bear, its white coat glowing in the moonlight like a beacon in the dark forest. The bear stepped around the tree and walked slowly up the hill. When it had climbed to the top of the ridge, the bear stopped and turned back to us.

A spirit bear leads the way

Without saying a word, Alu moved down the slope in the direction of the bear. We all followed her, quickly making it to the bottom of the ravine, and began climbing the opposite slope. When the spirit bear saw that we were moving up the hill toward him, he turned and disappeared over the ridge.

Within a few minutes, we made it to the ridge where we had last seen the bear. There was no sign of him.

“Where did he go?” I asked.

“There,” Alu said, pointing.

The spirit bear had traversed a steep slope and was standing at the edge of a rock outcropping. He stood perfectly still, his eyes fixed. Following the bear’s line of sight, I noticed something at the base of the valley.

“There it is,” I said, tapping Officer Briggs on the shoulder. “The camp.”

“Well done,” he said. “Let’s get closer and assess the situation.”

When I looked back to the outcropping, the spirit bear was gone. It almost seemed like he had led us to the camp. Could that be true? I only had a split second to ponder this thought, as Officer Briggs and the others were ready to set out for the camp.

“If we climb up and over these rocks,” Officer Briggs said, “we can move down the slope through the trees on the other side. Once we’re there, we’ll find a safe place for you and Alu to take cover behind the rocks before the men and I move into camp.”

Alu followed close behind and I brought up the rear. I stopped and turned back for a moment, hoping to catch sight of my parents somewhere in the camp. I was dying to know that they were okay.

The camp was quiet.

I saw nothing.

The rest of the group moved up a steep gulch and disappeared from sight behind some rocks. I had fallen behind and set out to catch up.

Just as I started the climb, a hand came over my face, clutching my nose and mouth so hard I couldn’t breathe. I kicked and squirmed with all my might as I was pulled back down the gulch, but I was in the grasp of someone much stronger and couldn’t break free.

The man carried me behind a rock and threw me to the ground, his hand still pressed hard over my face. He was dirty and disheveled, with long shaggy hair and a beard. I immediately recognized him as one of the gunmen. With his free hand he pressed his index finger to his lips and then lowered it.

“If you try to get away,” he said, pointing to a gun stuck in his waistband, “it’ll be the end for you.”

Judging by the looks of this guy, he was more than capable of following through on his threat.

“Get up,” he said and yanked me to my feet.

He shoved me and we began marching toward camp. We went down the hillside to an area below the main camp, where a single large camouflage tent had been set up. The gunman pushed me through the door, forced me into a chair, and quickly tied up my hands and feet with rope.

“Don’t try anything stupid,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

At that he gagged me with a bandana and disappeared through the door.

My hands were tied behind my back. With all the strength I could manage, I tried to wiggle them loose. When that didn’t work, I leaned forward and tried to pull an arm free. I could feel the skin beginning to tear at my wrist.

Just then, a voice startled me:

“Going somewhere?”

Flanked by the two gunmen, stood Dr. Brezner.

He knelt down and looked me dead in the eyes. His stare sent a chill down my spine. In his eyes, I saw a different Dr. Brezner than the one I had come to know. His eyes seemed to burn right through me, like the eyes of a madman.

“Listen to me,” he said, sternly. “When I remove this handkerchief you do not make a sound unless you are answering a question that I have asked. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

Dr. Brezner reached up and removed the gag from my mouth.

“Who else knows the location of our camp?” he asked.

“No one,” I said.

“You’re alone?” he asked.

Again, I nodded.

“A young boy trekking across this dangerous island on his own. I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s true.”

“I know Alu and your brother were with you!” Dr. Brezner said with agitation in his voice. “Where are they?”

I paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Almost certain that the gunmen had seen Gannon slide off the cliff, I decided to lie again.