Secrets of Bearhaven (2 page)

“Spencer!” Ramona practically shouted in Spencer's ear.

“What?” He turned his attention back to his two best friends, Cheng and Ramona, who were standing next to a row of lockers, both dressed in khaki-and-white school uniforms, staring at him. Was it that obvious he hadn't been listening?

“Are you nervous about rope climbing again?” Ramona sounded impatient. Spencer had known Ramona his whole life. She wanted him to get to the top of the rope as much as he did, even if it was just so they could all stop worrying that he would never pass sixth-grade gym class.

“I guess so.” Spencer shrugged. He'd been dreading the climb since he'd gotten to school, and now that they were only minutes away from the start of gym class, his dread was getting way worse.

“Did you hear what I said?” Cheng asked. “About our game last night?”

Spencer hadn't heard, but he could guess what Cheng had said. His baseball-loving friend had already spent every free minute of the day rehashing each play of the Cougars' first game of the season.

“Look, it's your uncle!” Ramona exclaimed, starting to wave.

Uncle Mark?
Spencer spun around. Sure enough, Uncle Mark was striding toward them. Mrs. Stewart, the school's secretary, charged along behind.

Spencer couldn't believe his luck. Was he going to get out of gym class? Maybe Mom and Dad felt as bad as he did about the way their call ended and had arranged for him to skip rope climbing!

“Spence!” Uncle Mark called. “Grab your stuff. We've gotta go. Now.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Spencer saw Cheng and Ramona exchange a look. Was Uncle Mark just acting that serious so Mrs. Stewart would let Spencer out of school?

He gulped. He really hoped so.

* * *

Uncle Mark's red Porsche Cayman flew through the city streets, zipping between trucks and taxis at a speed that made Spencer check that his seat belt was fastened. He'd never seen his uncle drive so fast, and he wasn't enjoying it as much as he'd thought he would. The chance to miss school to race through the city should have been exciting, but right now his brain was too filled with questions for him to be having any fun. He'd been right that Uncle Mark's appearance just before gym class had something to do with his parents, but he'd been wrong about everything else.

“What's going on, Uncle Mark?” Spencer said, his voice coming out too high and a little shaky. “I talked to Mom and Dad this morning, and they were fine.” It was one o'clock now. How could so much have changed in only seven hours?

“Same here,” said Uncle Mark, slowing the car to idle at a red light. “But then I got a message from your mom around eleven, and I haven't been able to get in touch since.”

“What
kind
of message?” Spencer asked. He looked out the window, trying to get his bearings, but they were stopped at an intersection in an unfamiliar neighborhood in the middle of a long stretch of brownstones. None of them offered any clues.

“Your parents made an important plan a long time ago, Spence. Your mom's message today was that I should put that plan in motion . . .” The light turned green and Uncle Mark shifted into gear, quickly pulling ahead of a garbage truck. “So here we are. In motion.”

“What important plan?”

“I'm taking you to a safe place,” Uncle Mark answered.

A safe place?
None of this was making any sense, and the unrecognizable landscape whipping by them wasn't helping anything.

“Why wouldn't I be safe at school? Are Mom and Dad okay?” Spencer stared at his uncle, trying to gather more information from the expression on his face, but Uncle Mark just maneuvered the car around a slow minivan, looking as cool and collected as usual.

Uncle Mark took his hand off the gearshift and gave Spencer's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I'm sure they're fine, Spence.”

Spencer didn't feel reassured.

“Then why—?”

“Spence, do you know what this is?” Uncle Mark interrupted, pointing toward the center console of the Porsche. Spencer looked over.

“The emergency brake?”

“Exactly. You know when to use it?”

That's easy,
Spencer thought. “In an emergency.”

“Yes and no. If the brakes fail, you'd use the emergency brake to stop the car. But ninety-nine percent of the time you use the emergency brake once you've already parked the car, to make sure that it doesn't roll away. How many cars have you seen just rolling around, crashing into things?”

“None.” Spencer usually liked learning about cars, but right now he wished his uncle would just get to the point. “Uncle Mark, why do you have to take me to a safe place?”

“That's what I'm explaining, Spence. Ninety-nine percent of the time the emergency brake is just a precaution. This plan of your parents' is our emergency brake, and they asked me to pull it today. It doesn't mean anything bad has already happened, and it doesn't mean anything bad is
going
to happen, but we have to follow the plan, just in case.”

Jostled by the speeding car, Spencer kept his eyes on the emergency brake, considering his uncle's words.

“Are Mom and Dad . . .
missing
?” He reached into his pocket and took hold of the jade bear, comforted by the familiar warmth of the smooth figurine.

“Not missing.
Out of communication
is a better way to put it,” Uncle Mark said. “I'm taking you to a safe spot, and then I'm going to do what I can to get your parents home ASAP.”

Spencer gripped the bear tighter and looked out the window. Gradually, the highway they were on shed lanes until it narrowed to just two, and then became a rough local
road. It seemed like they'd been driving forever. How much farther could they be going?

“What are Mom and Dad afraid of?” Spencer finally asked, breaking the silence. That morning, Spencer hadn't thought that his parents could be afraid of anything, but now he felt like his world had turned upside down and anything was possible.

“Your parents are the bravest people I know, Spence. They're
not
afraid of anything, but they also know when to be cautious.” Uncle Mark paused. “I don't have all the info right now, but what I
do
know is that your parents are really good at keeping bears safe, they're really good at keeping you safe, and they're really good at keeping each other safe. The best way we can help them get out of whatever trouble they might be in is by following the plan they made. We'll talk more when we get to—”

“To where?” Spencer asked.

“Hang on, Spence,” Uncle Mark replied, his eyes on the rearview mirror. “There's a car behind us that I'd really like to lose. You buckled in?”

“Yeah.” Spencer checked his seat belt for the millionth time. It wasn't until he felt the car accelerate to an even higher speed that he realized what Uncle Mark had just said.

“Wait, is someone
chasing
us?”

The old country road was rutted and bumpy, and even with Uncle Mark dodging the most treacherous potholes, Spencer's body jolted back and forth as they sped along. He kept his eyes glued to the side mirror. A black Corvette with no front license plate, the car behind them was pockmarked with dents and rust. Its windshield was tinted, and its muffler, by the sound of it, was completely gone. Spencer didn't like the looks of the Corvette, but he kept watching, and as it got closer, his heart started racing. Uncle Mark had turned on music, trying to cover the roar of the car behind them, but they weren't getting away.

The jade bear clutched in Spencer's sweaty palm was only barely keeping him from panicking.

“Change of plans, Spence,” his uncle said calmly, watching the car behind them pick up speed. “I'd hoped to take you into safety myself, at least to make the introduction, but you're going to have to head into the forest without me so I can get this Corvette out of our hair.”

“Introduction? To someone in the forest?” Spencer searched the wall of trees to their right. There was a field between the road and the forest, but the sun was setting, and
it would be even darker once he got into the trees. Uncle Mark was just going to leave him here?

“When I find a place to stop the car, I want you to jump out.”

“No!” Spencer shouted.

“It's okay. I know you're scared, but you have to trust me. This is all part of the plan. I promise.” Uncle Mark grabbed Spencer's backpack from the backseat, pulled it forward, and dropped it into Spencer's lap. “Take your cell phone. I'll bring the rest of your stuff later, but you'll want to use your compass app once you get into the woods.”

Spencer frantically dug through his backpack until he found his cell phone. “How will I know where to go?” He shoved the bag to the floor and the phone deep into his pocket with the jade bear.

Uncle Mark glanced into the rearview mirror. “There's someone waiting for you inside the woods. He's going to find you and take you the rest of the way. He's a good friend and he's going to take care of you. You can trust him just like you trust me, okay?”

The forest probably stretched for miles. Spencer imagined himself stumbling alone through the darkening woods, looking hopelessly for some stranger.

“Who
is
this guy? What if he doesn't find me? How will he know where I am?”

“He'll find you. He's got . . . heightened senses.”

Spencer couldn't help but notice his uncle hesitate before going on. “And, Spence? This guy . . . he's . . . well, he's a bear.”

“WHAT?” Spencer yelled so loudly that for a moment he didn't hear the un-muffled car behind them.

“Yes. He'll take better care of you than anyone else can right now.” Uncle Mark scanned the forest. “He'll be north of here, so once you get into the woods, head north. He'll find you, I promise. You'll be fine.”

His parents were nowhere to be found, he was about to be dumped on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, and now his uncle had lost his mind.

“A
bear
?” Maybe he wasn't hearing things right. “Your
friend
who is supposed to keep me safe is a
bear
?”

“I know I probably sound crazy, but trust me. I'll meet up with you as soon as I can, and I'll explain everything.” Uncle Mark caught Spencer's eye. He was serious.

“Listen to me. We're out of time. You just have to trust me.” Uncle Mark's voice was unusually urgent. “I'm pulling over to the side of the road, and I want you to run as fast as you can into the woods. Do you understand?”

“No, I
don't
understand!” There was no way he was getting out of the car. There was no way he was going to let Uncle Mark leave him here. With a bear? No. Way.

“It's the emergency brake, Spence. Just stick to the plan. Trust your mom and dad.” With that, the Porsche fishtailed to a stop, spraying gravel and kicking up a cloud of dust. Uncle Mark reached across Spencer to push open his door. “Run!”

The car behind them was getting louder. Uncle Mark wasn't giving him a choice, no matter how crazy this plan sounded.

Spencer leaped out and ran.