Island of Shadows (16 page)

Soon the snow began to fall again, whirling down in a dense white screen that blotted out the landscape. The bears spent the day huddled together in the makeshift den, sleeping until the pangs of hunger roused them.

“We've got to hunt,” Kallik declared. “Yakone and I will go. It's not so bad out there now.”

Toklo glanced out at the drifting flakes of snow. He still couldn't see more than a bearlength from the entrance. “All the prey will be hiding down in their holes,” he pointed out discouragingly. “And if there are other bears around here, they'll know all the best places to look.”

“Well, we've got to try,” Yakone responded. “Come on, Kallik.”

Toklo watched the two white bears go, then settled down beside Lusa, who was still sleeping. Anxiety pricked him like a thorn; if Lusa had to stay stuck in this den for much longer, she would fall into the longsleep.

And then what will we do?

When the snow eased off a little, Toklo left the den and clambered up the bank to fetch some twigs and leaves from the thorn tree for Lusa. Setting them down beside her, he prodded her awake.

“Oh, thanks, Toklo.” Lusa stretched her jaws in a huge yawn. “Where are Kallik and Yakone?”

“Hunting,” Toklo replied shortly. “They'll be back soon.”

Privately he was getting worried. Kallik and Yakone had been gone for long enough to find prey, if there was any prey to find.

What if they've fallen into those tunnels again?

But Lusa happily accepted what Toklo told her, crunched up the thorn twigs, and curled up to sleep again.

Kallik and Yakone returned soon after; Kallik was carrying a scrawny-looking goose.

“This was all we could find,” Yakone said. “I think its wing was hurt; it couldn't take off with the rest of the flock.”

“It's better than nothing,” Toklo replied, mainly because Kallik was looking so depressed. He had known prey would be hard to find, but it wouldn't help to say so.

Days went by and there was no lull in the falling snow. Toklo, Kallik, and Yakone went out to hunt, but prey seemed to be even scarcer as time went on.
It won't be long before we've hunted everything in this area
, Toklo thought.
And Lusa will have eaten the whole thornbush!
He was beginning to lose track of time, except for the hunger in his belly that roared louder and louder.

“We can't go on like this,” he stated finally, after having been out all day and most of the night without making a catch. “There isn't a sniff of prey left around here. We have to move on.”

Kallik and Yakone glanced at each other; then Yakone slowly nodded. “You're right. If we wait much longer, then we'll be too weak to move at all.”

“I just wish the snow would stop,” Kallik said. “It's Lusa I'm worried about. She's sleeping so much, and I'm not sure she'll be able to get through the snow now that it's belly deep.”

“She has to,” Toklo snapped, anxiety for the small black bear making him brisk.

“I'll carry her,” Yakone said, surprising Toklo with the offer. “She's not much bigger than a cub, anyway.”

Kallik nudged Lusa awake and explained to her what they were going to do.

“Whatever,” Lusa muttered blearily, clambering onto Yakone's back. She blinked several times; Toklo could see her determination to stay awake. “Thanks, Yakone.”

Toklo took the lead as they left the den and started trekking through the snow. Dawn light was beginning to trickle over the landscape. The bitter cold probed deep into his fur with icy claws, and he sank into the freshly fallen snow, which reached almost up to his belly fur. Kallik and Yakone plodded along behind him, with Lusa drowsing on Yakone's shoulders.

Before they had been traveling for long the wind rose, whipping snow into their faces. Toklo had a pang of regret for the den they had left behind, but he knew they had made the right decision. They would have starved to death if they had stayed there much longer.

Hunching his shoulders, he headed into the depths of the blizzard. Snow clotted in his fur and weighed him down. The mountain slopes stretched in front of them, higher and higher, the ridge invisible now beyond the eddying snow. There was no sign of shelter. Toklo began to think they would go on forever, trudging into the featureless white. Then he spotted something disturbing the surface of the snow, a couple of bearlengths to one side. Curious, he veered over and peered at the marks.

“Look at this!” he called to Kallik and Yakone, his excitement rising as he realized what he was seeing. “Pawprints!” he continued, as the two white bears waded through the snow to his side. “I'd guess they were made by brown bears.” He made a pawprint of his own beside the ones he had just found, and demonstrated how alike they were.

“Brown bears, here?” Yakone sounded dubious. He bent his head and sniffed at the marks in the snow. “You could be right,” he admitted.

Looking more closely, Toklo realized that there were several sets of pawprints. A whole group of brown bears had passed this way, and not long before, or the snow would have covered the prints.

“We ought to follow them,” he said eagerly. “These other bears might know where to find food.”

“But who knows if they'll want to share it with us?” Yakone pointed out. “They might be hostile.”

Toklo felt a sudden stab of irritation, partly because he was afraid Yakone might be right. He had fought before with brown bears who were angry that he was invading their territory. But his excitement was stronger. Finding bears like himself in this desolate place was worth the risk.

“I'm following them,” he told Yakone. “You can do what you want.”

“You know we can't split up,” Kallik said.

“I agree with Toklo,” Lusa put in, peering down from Yakone's shoulders. “At least it gives us something to aim for. It's better than just wandering around in all this snow.”

Yakone hesitated, then shrugged. “Okay. But if we all get our fur ripped off, don't blame me.”

Toklo immediately set off in the direction of the pawprints. As if at a signal, the wind died away and the snowfall faded to a few drifting flakes. The prints stood out clear against the white ground. They led straight on, over a gentle hill, across a frozen stream, and up a steeper slope beyond. Toklo's hopes rose; it looked as if the bears knew where they were going. At every pawstep he hoped to see familiar brown shapes ahead of him, but as the light of the short day died, he had seen nothing moving in the landscape.

“We'll have to stop,” he said reluctantly, as it grew so dark he couldn't see the pawprints anymore. The sky was still covered with cloud, too thick for the light of moon or stars to penetrate. “We'll carry on in the morning.”

“Stop here?” Yakone sounded disgusted. “We should be looking for somewhere to make a den.”

“If we do that, we might not be able to find the pawprints again,” Toklo pointed out.

Kallik let out a sigh and flopped to the ground. “All right. I'm too tired to argue. But this had better be worth it, Toklo.”

Lusa rolled off Yakone's back, shivered as she huddled down beside Kallik, and was asleep almost at once. Toklo felt another pang of anxiety; what the black bear needed was warmth and the right sort of food, and she wasn't getting either out here.

Maybe the brown bears will be able to help, when we catch up to them
, he told himself as he settled down on Lusa's other side. Yakone stood looking at the others for a moment, then let out a snort and lay down beside Kallik.

Toklo slept fitfully, worried that another fall of snow would wipe out the pawprints. But as the sky gradually grew pale and he woke from his troubled sleep, he saw they were still there, a clear line stretching across the snow.

“Come on!” he urged the others, giving Lusa and Kallik a prod. “It's time we were on our way.”

“Oh, yeah,” Kallik yawned, stumbling to her paws and shaking snow off her pelt. “Following brown bears who might be friendly or might not. I can't wait.”

Ignoring the grumbling, Toklo headed off, tracking the line of pawprints. Kallik and Yakone came after him, with Lusa once more riding on Yakone's back.

All the bears were cold, hungry, and bleary-eyed, but rising excitement was spurring Toklo on. He stood waiting when the others insisted on stopping to rest, his paws shifting impatiently. He didn't even want to make time to hunt, though he chased a hare that happened to cross their path, and he helped Yakone creep up on a flock of geese and bring one down. All the while the dark line of pawprints seemed to be beckoning to him.

Toklo wasn't sure how many days they spent following the trail. He was afraid that snow would fall again and blot it out, but the sky stayed clear. Only the wind swept across the snow, blurring the edges of the pawprints. Once or twice, trekking across bare rock, Toklo thought that they had lost the trail, but he managed to pick it up again, always leading upward.

His companions didn't even protest anymore; he could see in their eyes that they were resigned to following him.
And why not? One way is as good as another. Besides, I want to see my kin.

The trail was leading up a steep hillside now, zigzagging across the slope. A stronger wind was rising, blowing down from the ridge ahead, carrying flakes of snow with it. As the snow grew heavier, it began to fill the pawprints, and the wind erased the last of them.

“Now what do we do?” Yakone asked. “We've lost the trail.”

Toklo raised his muzzle and sniffed. “I can pick up their scent on the wind,” he reported. “It's telling me what I've known all along: Brown bears are at the end of the trail. Come on—I don't need the pawprints anymore.”

Gathering the last of his strength, Toklo leaped and scrambled through the whirling snow, up the last few bearlengths to the top of the ridge. Kallik and Yakone kept pace with him, gripped by the same urgency.

Panting, Toklo reached the peak and looked down the other side. He was aware of Kallik next to him, her pelt brushing his. A rocky slope led down to a narrow, snow-covered valley. At its foot, crouching behind a boulder as if he was trying to hide, was a small brown bear. He was shaking, and his eyes were wide with fear as he gazed up at Toklo and the others.

“Great spirit!” Toklo exclaimed. “What's a brown-bear cub doing all by himself out here?”

Kallik followed Toklo as he headed
down into the valley. Lusa and Yakone brought up the rear. The small brown bear tried to back away as they approached, pressing himself against the boulder.

“No!” he squealed. “Don't hurt me!”

Toklo halted, well out of range; Kallik could see that he didn't want the younger bear to feel threatened. “Don't be afraid,” he said.

But the bear wasn't looking at Toklo. His terrified gaze was fixed on her and Yakone. “White bears!” he whimpered. “Big white bears! Keep them away from me!”

Blinking in bewilderment, Kallik stopped just behind Toklo and exchanged a glance with Yakone. She had no idea why the young bear should be so afraid of white bears. Looking at him closely, she realized he wasn't the cub she had thought at first. He was smaller than Toklo, but looked only a little younger than the rest of them.

As he stood shivering in the snow, Kallik began to think that there was something different about him; something about his head and shoulders didn't look quite right for a brown bear.
I'm probably imagining things
, she told herself with an inward shrug.
It's been a long time since I've seen any brown bears other than Toklo and Ujurak.

The strange bear was slowly backing away, sidling around the boulder as if he was about to make a run for it.

“The white bears won't hurt you,” Toklo reassured him. “None of us will. We'll give you help if you need it, but we can't do that if you run away from us.”

The brown bear stopped, his fearful glance flickering from one bear to the next. Kallik saw his eyes widen in shock as he spotted Lusa; she guessed he had never seen a black bear before.