Secrets of Bearhaven (5 page)

Moss-covered homes spread out in widening crescent-shaped rows, their curved roofs transforming the valley below into a sea of green waves. Lantern-lit brick pathways spiraled throughout, dividing the town into sections, like a great, glowing honeycomb. A broad river snaked through the valley, as dark and gleaming in the moonlight as the black jade in Spencer's pocket, and a path running from a dock at its edge encircled the perimeter of the town before cutting directly to its center. A round clearing stood in the very middle of the illuminated network below, bordered by a string of stone buildings, and at its center, atop a long metal pole, flew two flags. Spencer could just make them out, drifting back and forth in the darkness.

Professor Weaver emerged through the break in the trees and stood beside Spencer. “Welcome to Bearhaven,” he said, throwing a heavy paw around Spencer's shoulders. Bunny and Kate filed in around them, but Spencer didn't take his eyes off the scene below.

In the combined light of the moon and hundreds of lanterns were bears. Lots and lots of bears.

“What
is
this place?” Spencer whispered.

“This is our home,” answered Bunny warmly. “And yours, for the time being.”

“Home, home, home,” sang Kate as she started down the hill toward Bearhaven, her brothers already far ahead and disappearing along one of the town's arching paths. Spencer hesitated.
His
home?

“Are . . .” he began awkwardly, not wanting to be rude. The Weavers were wonderful and all, but . . . “Are all of the bears down there—”

“Like us?” Professor Weaver offered.

“Yeah, or . . . safe?”

“Of course they are, Spencer! You're safe here with us,” Bunny quickly replied, but Spencer saw her cast a sideways glance at her husband before adding, “With
all
of us.”

As the Weavers started down the hill, Spencer reached into his pocket to grip his jade bear. If his parents and uncle knew about this place, why had they never mentioned it? Just once he wished someone would tell him the whole story.

Spencer saw Kate turn back, and in the hopes of avoiding another meeting with her teeth, he jogged down and joined the Weavers. Together, they entered the streets of Bearhaven.

The homes were set into the earth and looked like rounded caves, varying in height and shape as the land they were built into rose and fell. Spencer noticed that each one had a wide wooden door etched with claw marks and a circular window cut roughly into its upper half. Chimneys poked out of the rooftops, many of them puffing smoke, and lanterns hung beside the doorways, casting light over the stone benches or collections of plants and rocks that the bears had arranged in front of their homes.

As they drew closer to the center of Bearhaven they began to pass more and more bears. All of the bears wore BEAR-COMs, and many nodded to Spencer and the Weavers, murmured greetings, or stopped to watch, their expressions stoic and mysterious.

“There will be plenty of time for tours and introductions, Spencer,” Bunny explained, shuffling him steadily forward. “For now it's time we got you home.”

Turning onto one of the paths that bordered Bearhaven's center, Spencer noticed shops, a meetinghouse, and a restaurant called Raymond's Café.

Outside of Raymond's, a couple of bears sat on stone benches around a wooden table. The bears were so deep in conversation that when Spencer passed, flanked by the Weavers, they didn't seem to notice, but continued to grumble to one another. To Spencer's surprise, he couldn't understand anything they were saying. Their BEAR-COMs were dark. No translations came through at all.

Spencer turned to ask Professor Weaver about the silent BEAR-COMs, but the older bear was already a few paces ahead, greeting a scrawny bear in a hooded green cloak.

“Evening, Yude,” Professor Weaver said to the approaching bear.

“Nagauio,”
the bear answered, before meeting Spencer's gaze with a cold stare.

Uneasy, Spencer stepped closer to Kate, giving the bear called Yude extra room to pass. He'd seen dozens of bears since entering Bearhaven, but none of them had looked at him like that.

“Wait till you see where we live, Spencer!” Kate didn't seem to notice Yude as he continued down the path, but Spencer felt a lasting chill from the cloaked bear's gaze. It was clear that Yude didn't want anything to do with him, but why? Spencer knew that bears could be unpredictable and dangerous, especially when provoked, but he hadn't done anything to provoke this bear.

“Doe Ray MEEE!” Spencer's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Kate's voice booming beside him. When she finished her off-pitch trill, she said, “And
that's
why they call us the Weaver Family Singers.” She looked very pleased with herself.

“Uh . . . what?” Spencer gaped at her.

“The Weaver Family Singers. We're like a
band
!” Kate made a series of small sniffs and huffs. Nothing came out of the BEAR-COM, but looking at the wide smile on the cub's face, and her bouncing gait, Spencer realized that Kate was giggling. He'd have to ask her what the Weaver Family Singers was later.

Up ahead, Professor Weaver was pushing open the door of one of the domed dwellings. Spencer squinted at the wooden door, examining the claw marks that seemed to slash threateningly across its surface.
It's a design!
he realized. The claw marks weren't accidental or scary, as he'd first thought when he noticed that they marked every door in Bearhaven. Instead, they seemed to be a carefully carved design.

“Come on, you two!” Bunny called. She stepped into Spencer's view of the door and turned to usher him and Kate into the Weavers' home.

“We're here!” Kate sang as she burst into the house. “Aldo! Lisle! I brought Spencer Plain!”

Stepping through the doorway, Spencer braced himself to meet more bears. Instead, he was relieved to find Bunny quieting Kate. “Aldo and Lisle aren't here. We didn't want to overwhelm Spencer tonight.” Turning to Spencer, she added, “You'll meet the rest of the family tomorrow.”

The rest of the family?
How many more Weavers could they fit in this place?
Spencer thought, then realized his mistake.

He was standing in the entryway of an enormous amber-colored room. Professor Weaver was stoking a pile of glowing embers in a fireplace so big that Uncle Mark could park his Porsche in it. A fluffy moss-colored carpet spread across the floor, and four oversized couches were positioned to face the hearth. Spencer briefly wondered what a bear looked like sitting on a couch, but waved the thought away, guessing it wouldn't take long for him to find out.

Along one side of the room stretched a kitchen. Stone counters varied in height and depth, as though they'd been carved from a boulder that was there long before the
house, maybe even before Bearhaven. Shelves climbed the walls, piled high with wooden platters, jars of thick-looking liquids, and bowls full of nuts and berries. Spencer couldn't tell if any of the shiny devices throughout the kitchen were actually used for cooking, but decided that with the BEAR-COMs, state-of-the-art culinary equipment would fit right in here.

Through a curved doorway on the far side of the room, Spencer could just make out a set of broad steps leading down, deeper into the ground.

Of course! The bears' home was built
down,
not up. The rows of rounded roofs that had looked so small from above were just the beginning. He'd only seen the very surface of Bearhaven.

Professor Weaver stepped back from the blazing fire. “Why don't you come sit down, son,” he said. “I'm sure that Bunny wants to get you straight to bed, but something tells me you're not going anywhere until your uncle arrives.”

Spencer nodded, glad that he wouldn't have to wait in some guest room alone, and went to settle himself on a couch patterned with overlapping leaves. Kate followed and flopped down onto the carpet in front of the fireplace, stretching out on her back.

“You must be starving, Spencer,” Bunny said, but before Spencer could answer her, a sharp knock rattled the door. Spencer jumped, his bare arms and legs suddenly covered in goose bumps as the memory of Yude's cold stare raced into his head. Professor Weaver rose on his hind legs, his head only a few inches from the ceiling when he stood at his full height, and Bunny bustled to the door.

Spencer reached for his jade bear, pushing Yude's image out of his mind. There was nothing to be afraid of. He was safe here, he told himself, with a stone bear in his hand and a real one standing between him and whoever was out there.

“Spence!”

Uncle Mark stood in the threshold, a duffel bag in one hand and Spencer's backpack in the other. He winked at Spencer. “I see you found the place.” He dropped the bags, crossed the room, and pulled Spencer up from the couch into a hug.

Stepping back, Uncle Mark looked him over. “I'm glad to see you're still in one piece. I know I've got some explaining to do.”
Some
explaining to do? That was an understatement.

“How are Mom and Dad?” Spencer blurted out.

“Why don't we all sit down,” Uncle Mark said, dropping onto the leafy couch. “Professor, Bunny, you'll need to hear this, too.”

Spencer sank back down onto the couch next to Uncle Mark, Professor Weaver reclined on a couch facing them, but Bunny, crossing the room, suddenly cried, “Kate! That's not yours!”

Everyone turned to see Kate pull her head out from the depths of Spencer's backpack, a brown paper bag hanging from her mouth. Ignoring her mother's glare, Kate trotted over to Spencer. She dropped the bag in Spencer's lap.

“I smelled it!” she told him cheerfully.

Surprising himself, Spencer laughed. “My lunch!”

He was exhausted and anxious to hear news about his parents, but he was also starving. He'd forgotten all about the extra peanut butter sandwich that Evarita had tossed into his backpack that morning. “Fuel for the rope,” she'd called it.

“Thanks, Kate,” he said.

“You
said
he was hungry!” Kate bounded out of the room before Bunny could reply.

Unwrapping his crushed, soggy sandwich, Spencer saw Bunny shoot Professor Weaver a look as she sat down beside him. The professor stifled a chuckle, then turned his attention to Uncle Mark, an expression of total seriousness on his face.

“What can you tell us, Mark? How are Jane and Shane?”

“Where are they?” Spencer asked through a mouthful of sandwich. Uncle Mark ran a hand through his hair and turned to face Spencer. And at that moment, Spencer knew. They hadn't pulled the emergency brake as a precaution. Something was really, really wrong.

“Spencer, your dad's been captured.”

“Spencer, dear, are you all right?” Bunny exclaimed.

Spencer was coughing, choking on bread and peanut butter. Gulping for air, he finally managed to swallow. “Maybe it's too much,” Bunny said protectively.

“No!” he gasped. “I'm okay.” But he was definitely
not
okay. Dad was . . . captured?

“Do you want me to go on, Spence?” Uncle Mark asked gently. Spencer nodded, setting the sandwich, half-eaten, in his lap.

“He was taken from the mission site around ten o'clock this morning. Your mom wasn't with him at the time, but she's gone undercover so that she can stay close by.”

“Where are they?” Spencer asked again.

“We don't know.” Uncle Mark ran a hand through his blond hair once more. That was the only way Spencer had ever been able to tell that his uncle was upset. Catching his eye, Uncle Mark dropped his hand, quickly regaining the air of total coolness that Spencer was so used to.

“The rescue mission seemed to have been going fine. Then things went haywire. There's no way of knowing when Jane will be able to send further communication. Obviously,
the security surrounding whoever's behind all of this is higher than any of us had expected.”

“Behind all of what?” Spencer broke in, getting the feeling that they were talking about more than just his missing parents. Uncle Mark hesitated, and then seemed to decide against telling Spencer that he'd explain later.

“For the past several years while your parents have been on rescue missions, they've also been working to uncover who's behind a large network of bear abuse.”
Years?
All of this had been going on for
years
?

“We think they've gotten much closer, as of late,” Professor Weaver added, rising off the couch and starting to pace behind it. “We're well equipped, Spencer. We're going to bring your parents home safely.”

“Of course we are!” Bunny assured him, as though any alternative wasn't worth considering. But it was all of those alternatives that kept popping into Spencer's head, bringing him closer and closer to really freaking out.

“Spencer, you look absolutely exhausted,” Bunny said with concern. She stood and dropped to all fours. “It's time we got you out of those filthy, wet clothes and into bed.”

“But—” Spencer tried to protest. Uncle Mark had promised to tell him everything! Before he could say so, Bunny was beside him, using her strong muzzle to gently push him off the couch and onto his feet.

“No buts, dear. I promised your parents that I'd look after you, and that's exactly what I intend to do. Off we go.” Spencer felt himself being carefully navigated toward the stairs, but he wasn't ready to leave Uncle Mark yet. He
would never be able to sleep, not with so many questions unanswered. He tried again to make Bunny wait.

“Bunny's in charge, Spence,” Uncle Mark chimed in. “But we can talk before you go to bed. I'll meet you in your room.”

Before Spencer could say anything else, Bunny had him descending the stairs, which were almost more than his exhausted body could handle.

Bear-sized, each step demanded four strides for Spencer to cross, and the drop from one to the next took him as far as three steps at home would. Patiently, Bunny followed along behind.

When Spencer dropped down off the last step, he found himself in a long hallway. Beehive-shaped lights lined the walls, illuminating the cavernous space, and doors stood open along both sides. As he followed Bunny down the hall, she pointed out various things about each room they passed.

Spencer kept hold of his jade bear and swiveled his head back and forth, trying to be polite. He could tell that Bunny wanted to make him feel at home or take his mind off his parents, or both, but Spencer didn't need to feel at home here. He
had
a home, and nothing could distract him from the fact that he didn't know when he'd see his parents again.

Voices spilled out into the hallway from the family room as they passed. “It'll take more than that to be the Salmon King!” someone taunted. Spencer was surprised to recognize the sounds of a video game being played. Interested despite his determination not to be, he stopped to look in.

Winston and Jo-Jo were tussling in the middle of the large room. Surrounded by slouchy chairs and oversized toys, both wore sleek silver helmets and gloves that looked like
oven mitts. On a gargantuan screen in front of them, two animated 3-D bears fought to catch salmon as they leaped from a raging waterfall.

“I am the Salmon
King
!” Winston howled, ramming his shoulder into Jo-Jo's.

“You'd be lucky to catch your
reflection,
” Jo-Jo answered, darting away.

On the screen, the bears fought over the leaping fish. Each time a virtual bear hugged a salmon to its belly, the fish glowed silver, then transformed into a skeleton before evaporating into a sparkling mist.

“Ten more minutes, boys,” Bunny called over Spencer's shoulder as she passed.

“Winston's going to bed hungry!” Jo-Jo replied without taking his eyes off the game. His on-screen bear snatched another salmon.

As Spencer turned to leave, Winston called out, “Come play, Spencer!”

“Tomorrow,” Bunny said from the hall.

“Thanks,” Spencer added. “I'll definitely play tomorrow.”

Bunny was standing beside a closed door, waiting for him. “And this is your room,” she said as he approached. “It's been your mom's project for some time now.”

His
mom? What could Mom have to do with a guest room in the Weavers' house? Bunny opened the door to reveal Spencer's room.

Spencer gasped.

“She wants you to feel like you're home.”