The Longest Day

by Erin Hunter

  “Does that mean it’s broken?” Ossi asked.

  Lusa shook her head. “I don’t know. It might be. But there’s a lot of swelling. We won’t know until that eases.”

  Ossi snuffled his sister’s cheek. “Don’t worry, Chula. We’ll look after you.”

  “What about the others?” Chula grunted. “Are they okay?”

  “Who was with you?” Lusa asked.

  “Hashi and Rudi,” Chula rasped. Lusa guessed she must be in a lot of pain. But they had to know who else needed to be rescued. “Sheena and her cubs, Tibik and Hala.”

  “And Miki?” Lusa asked.

  Chula nodded. “Miki, too.”

  “Is that all?”

  Chula nodded, her eyes clouding with pain.

  “I’ll find you some herbs,” Lusa promised. “But first we have to look for the others.” As she spoke, a growl sounded from the log pile. Lusa ran toward it, picking her way over the mess of strewn trunks.

  “Under here!” Ossi had squeezed through a gap where the logs rested against the fallen firebeast.

  Lusa clambered toward him. “It’s Sheena,” Ossi told her as she reached him.

  Lusa peered into the shadows. Sheena was cowering in a space between the firebeast and the logs. “Are you trapped?”

  Sheena blinked at Lusa as if she hadn’t heard. “My cubs?” she croaked. “Are my cubs safe?”

  “We haven’t found them yet,” Lusa told her. “But we’ve freed Chula. She’s hurt. Can you come and help her?” She softened her voice, hoping to coax the shocked bear from beneath the logs.

  Sheena grunted with effort as she hauled herself forward. Lusa backed away to make space, relieved that Sheena didn’t seem to be pinned by the logs. But the she-bear was badly scratched and bruised. Her fur stood out in clumps, her cheek was swollen, and she smelled of blood.

  As Sheena emerged into the sunshine, Lusa sniffed her pelt, checking for serious wounds. “Just cuts and swelling.” Relieved, she nodded to Ossi.

  Sheena narrowed her eyes against the brightness. “Tibik?” she called, fear tightening her voice. “Hala?”

  “Go sit with Chula,” Lusa ordered gently. “We’ll find your cubs.”

  Sheena stared at her. “When I saw the firebeast begin to fall, I told them to run,” she whispered. “It was going too fast and it lost its balance. I could see it was going to roll onto the shoulder, and I shouted to Tibik and Hala to run into the woods.” She stared helplessly at the pines. “I knew they’d be safe there.”

  “You did well,” Lusa reassured her. She glanced toward the woods, praying that the cubs had had time to make it to the shelter of the trees.

  Ossi scrambled over a log. “I’ll find them,” he called over his shoulder.

  “Go to Chula,” Lusa told Sheena again. Hopefully, the two shocked bears could comfort each other while she looked for the rest of the group.

  As Sheena padded heavily away, a husky shout sounded behind Lusa.

  “Help!”

  She turned, scanning the logs spilling from the firebeast’s back. “Where are you?” she called when she saw nothing but bark and shadow.

  “Here!” The call was gruff with age.

  Lusa picked her way over the logs, her heart pounding. What if she set the trees rolling? She might crush a bear beneath them. Testing each pawstep, she crept forward.

  “I’m down here!” The gruff voice sounded underneath her.

  Lusa peered down through a gap between the logs. Sunlight sliced through, showing black fur tinged red with age. The fur shifted and black eyes shone up at her. It was a male bear. Lusa could smell his scent now, tainted by blood. She recalled the names Chula had told her. She wouldn’t have recognized Tibik’s or Miki’s scent, but this bear was old, so she knew it couldn’t be either of them. And it definitely wasn’t Hashi, whose scent she did know. She guessed it was Rudi,

  “Are you hurt, Rudi?” she called through the gap.

  “Just a bit battered,” he told her. “A few cuts.”

  “Are the logs squashing you?” Lusa could hardly believe he wasn’t crushed beneath the pile.

  “They’re resting on the firebeast,” the bear told her. “I have just enough space to move, but there’s no way out.”

  “I’m Lusa,” she barked. “I’m going to help you.”

  “How? The logs are too heavy to move,” Rudi growled.

  Lusa looked down. Of course they were. She was standing on a trunk thick enough to take the weight of a brown bear. “I’ll get help.” If she could gather enough black bears, they could work together to shift the wood. She turned toward Chula and Sheena. “Someone needs to go back to the camp!” she called.

  Sheena looked up anxiously. “Have you found my cubs?”

  “It’s Rudi,” Lusa explained. “He’s trapped beneath the logs. We need more bears to move them. You must get help.”

  Sheena’s eyes widened with distress. “I’m not leaving until I find my cubs!”

  Lusa hesitated. They needed help, but how could she send Sheena away now? “Let’s wait for Ossi to get back,” she decided. If he’d found the cubs, Sheena could leave. If not, Ossi could go.

  “Is Rudi hurt?” Chula called.

  “Not badly,” Lusa replied.

  “Are the others okay?” Rudi growled below her.

  “We’re still looking for Hashi, Tibik, Hala, and Miki,” she told him. “Chula’s hurt her hind leg, but Sheena’s safe.”

  “I saw Tibik heading into the woods,” Rudi rasped.

  “Ossi’s there now, searching.” Rudi sounds parched. He needs water. Lusa looked at Sheena, who was scanning the forest, her eyes glistening with worry.

  “Search the forest for some moss,” she ordered. “Find a stream and soak it. Rudi is thirsty. Chula must need water, too.” She glanced at Chula. The she-bear’s eyes were dull with pain.

  Sheena blinked at her. “But what about my cubs?”

  “Ossi is searching for them!” Lusa told her sharply. Perhaps keeping Sheena busy was the best way to help her. “Rudi and Chula need water now!”

  “Okay.” Sheena stumbled to her paws and headed for the trees.

  Lusa wondered if she should leave Rudi and continue her search for the others. Before she could decide, she saw Sheena freeze at the edge of the trees. The fur rippled along the she-bear’s back. “Hashi?”

  Lusa followed her gaze. Sheena was staring at a lump of black fur beneath a swathe of ferns. Lusa jumped from the logs and raced to Sheena’s side. “Go find that moss,” she urged. “I’ll see to Hashi.”

  As Sheena disappeared into the woods, Lusa parted the ferns. Her nose twitched when she smelled blood. Pushing back the overhanging fronds with a paw, she saw the ancient black bear lying on the ground. His eyes were closed and blood glistened along his flank. Lusa crouched beside him and laid her ear against his chest. Relief swamped her as she heard his rasping breath. He’s alive!

  She sniffed Hashi’s wound, shocked to see how deep the gash ran. Blood oozed from it, dripping from his fur and staining the grass. Panic fluttered at the edge of Lusa’s thoughts. She fought it away. What would Ujurak do?

  He’d stop the bleeding.

  How?

  She listened for Ujurak’s voice, but heard only her own. “Pack the wound with moss.” Lusa straightened up and scanned the shadows beyond the ferns. Pushing through the fronds, past Hashi, she headed into the woods.

  Moss grew thickly among the roots of the trees. It was sodden near the earth, but drier where it reached up the trunk. Lusa peeled away pawfuls of the driest moss and hurried back to Hashi. As she pressed moss into his wound, blood seeped through and she pressed harder, relieved that the old bear was unconscious. At last the bleeding eased.

  Hashi’s flank twitched beneath her paws. Lusa stiffened as his eyes flickered open. “Are the others safe?” he croaked.

  “Sheena isn’t hurt, but Rudi’s got some cuts, and Chula has an injured leg. We’re still looking for the rest,” Lusa
told him.

  Hashi’s rheumy gaze rested on her for a moment. “You were at the last gathering,” he mumbled thickly.

  Lusa nodded. “Try not to move,” she urged. “I need to stop this bleeding.”

  If only she had some of those yellow flowers Ujurak used to keep the wound from turning sour. The moss was soaked with blood, but Lusa kept pressing, hoping that she wasn’t causing Hashi too much pain.

  Hashi grunted softly. “Take care of the others.”

  “I will,” Lusa promised. As she spoke, she heard pawsteps in the woods. Ossi? Are Sheena’s cubs with him?

  Ossi raced from the trees, a small male cub chasing after him.

  “Sheena!” Lusa barked. “Tibik’s here!”

  Sheena burst from a wall of ferns, dripping moss in her jaws. She dropped it and raced for Tibik.

  “Take the moss to Rudi and Chula,” Lusa told Ossi quickly, still pressing Hashi’s wound.

  As Ossi hurried for the moss, Sheena nuzzled her cub. Tibik reared up and clung to his mother’s head with his front paws, gnawing at her ears. “I ran just like you told me!” he chuffed. “I was superfast! Did you see?”

  Sheena lifted her snout, shaking Tibik off. “Where’s Hala? Did she run away with you?”

  Tibik hesitated. “I—I thought she was following me.”

  “Did you see her in the woods?” Sheena prompted.

  “No, I didn’t.” The cub’s voice was very small.

  Ossi had pushed dripping moss through the logs to Rudi and now dropped the last piece beside Chula. “She probably ran in a different direction. I’ll go back and find her.”

  “Wait!” Lusa called to him. She could hear firebeasts rumbling in the distance. Flat-faces might be coming to rescue this one. She had to free Rudi and find Miki and Hala. But her paws were full with Hashi. “Come and hold this moss in place!”

  Ossi’s eyes widened as he caught sight of the old bear leader. “Hashi! Will he be okay?”

  Lusa ignored the question. How could she know? “Keep this moss on his wound,” she ordered. “We have to stop the bleeding.”

  Hashi moved his head weakly. “See to the others first,” he croaked.

  “We will.” As Ossi’s paws replaced hers, Lusa leaped up and rushed to Sheena. Her ears twitched as she heard the distant firebeasts rumbling. “You have to get help,” she told her. She couldn’t risk sending Ossi. He was the only other bear who wasn’t injured. She needed him here.

  Sheena stared at her. “What about Hala?”

  “We’ll find her,” Lusa promised. “And Miki.”

  Tibik looked up at his mother. “I’ll help them,” he barked. “I know Hala’s scent better than anyone. I bet I can find where she ran.”

  Sheena glanced at him uncertainly.

  Lusa willed Sheena to understand. “We have to get Rudi free before flat-faces come. We can’t do it alone. We’ll look for Hala. You bring help.” She stared into Sheena’s eyes.

  Slowly, the she-bear nodded. “Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll go.” She glanced at Tibik. “Be careful.”

  “Don’t worry!” Tibik lifted his snout. “I’ll be fine.”

  Relief washed Lusa’s pelt as Sheena turned and headed across the BlackPath at a trot. She turned back to Hashi.

  Ossi was leaning over him. “He’s hardly breathing.”

  Lusa recalled Ujurak telling her about a purple flower that could speed up a bear’s breathing. Would that help a bear who was so close to death? “Wait there.” She charged into the woods.

  “What should I do?” Tibik called after her.

  “Find your sister’s scent,” Lusa barked back. She charged between the pines, searching for patches of sunlight where flowers might grow. A clump of furry leaves sprouted between the roots of a pine. They’ll help Chula. But there was no time to collect them now. She needed flowers to keep Hashi alive. Lusa’s heart leaped as she spotted a splash of purple among the trunks. Skidding to a halt beside the plant, she plucked a mouthful of petals and held them gently between her teeth as she raced back to Ossi.

  Tibik was sniffing among the spilled logs. Won’t Hala’s scent be in the forest? The thought flashed through Lusa’s mind for a moment before she reached Hashi. Hooking the petals from her mouth with her claws, she worked them between Hashi’s teeth. The old bear had lost consciousness again. Easing his mouth open, Lusa tucked the flowers beneath his tongue. She looked at Ossi. “Has the bleeding stopped?”

  Ossi nodded toward the wound. “Almost.” His paws were scarlet.

  Suddenly Hashi gasped, his chest heaving. Lusa froze. Were the petals working, or was he getting worse? She put her paw to the old bear’s chest, hollow with fear as she felt him shudder. Froth bubbled at his lips.

  Have I poisoned him?

  In a heartbeat the old bear relaxed. His chest began to rise and fall in a slow, steady rhythm. Lusa put her ear to his flank and heard his heart beating away. I did it, Ujurak! She listened for the rumble of firebeasts. They were still far away.

  “Can you keep holding the wound while I check on Chula?” Lusa asked. She remembered the wide, soft leaves she’d seen. They would ease the pain in Chula’s crushed leg if she wrapped them around it.

  Ossi glanced at Tibik, who was sniffing more frantically among the logs. “What about Hala?”

  “We’ll find her once I’ve seen to Chula.” There was so much to do! But someone had to press Hashi’s wound, and Chula was in pain. Surely a lost cub could wait a few more moments?

  Lusa plunged back into the woods, heading for the patch of soft green leaves. She tore off as many as she could carry in her jaws and ran back to Chula. “How are you feeling?” she asked gently, dropping the leaves beside the she-bear.

  Chula was sitting up with her injured hindleg sticking out awkwardly. “I’m okay,” she grunted.

  Working carefully, Lusa wrapped wide leaves around her leg, making a thick dressing. Then she reached for the wet moss that Ossi had left beside Chula and squeezed it over the leaves. Lusa hoped that the leaves would give out their healing sap faster if they were damp. “It should start to feel better soon,” she promised.

  Chula’s gaze was on Hashi. “He hasn’t moved,” she murmured.

  Lusa didn’t know what to say. The old black bear was badly wounded.

  “Hala!” Tibik’s bark made her turn. The cub was scrabbling at the logs, his pelt ruffled with panic. “Hala!”

  Lusa raced toward him. As she neared, she saw black fur beneath the pile. “I thought she was in the woods!” she gasped.

  “She didn’t run!” Tibik wailed, tugging at a piece of wood. “I thought she was behind me, but she never ran!”

  Lusa shoved her paws beneath the narrow trunk and helped Tibik heave it clear. They began working at another. The logs here were hardly more than branches, slender enough to lift, and they hauled a second piece away. Clearing log after log, they made a space in the pile.

  Lusa stared into it and felt her heart shatter.

  “Hala!” Tibik jumped into the gap and crouched beside the crushed body of his sister. “Hala! Wake up!”

  Lusa could see that the she-cub was dead. There was already stiffness in her small paws. Her dull eyes stared blankly at the logs that had killed her.

  “Tibik,” she whispered. “There’s nothing we can do for her now.”

  “She can’t be dead!” Tibik looked up at Lusa, panic-stricken. “She was alive just now! We shared blueberries and played chase.” His gaze clouded. “What will my mother say? I should have made sure Hala was with me!”

  “This is not your fault,” Lusa told him. “Firebeasts move quicker than bears. You did well to escape. Your mother will understand that. She will be thankful she still has you.”

  “Tibik!” Ossi called to the cub from Hashi’s side. “Come here. I need your help.”

  “Help?” Tibik stared at Ossi, bewildered.

  “We need to help Hashi now,” Ossi told him.

  Tibik glanced from Ossi to Lusa.
“But what about Hala?”

  Before Lusa could find an answer, Ossi barked again. “Hurry, Tibik! I need you.” He caught Lusa’s eye. She guessed he was trying to distract the cub from his grief. She dipped her head to him. They could grieve later. Right now, they had to take care of the living. And free Rudi before the flat-faces returned.

  As Tibik bounded toward Ossi, Lusa pricked her ears, relieved to hear that the firebeast rumble was still distant. Perhaps she was just hearing a faraway BlackPath. Perhaps the flat-faces weren’t coming after all.

  “I need you to go into the forest and find fresh moss,” Ossi told Tibik.

  Tibik nodded and headed into the trees.

  “Bring as much as you can carry!” Ossi called after him.

  “I’ll go with him.” Lusa glanced again at the dead she-cub, her heart twisting, and then followed Tibik into the forest. Ujurak? Are you still watching? As Lusa slipped into the shadow of the pines after Tibik, she felt fear close around her. Hashi was badly injured. Could moss and petals really save him? What about Chula’s leg? Could lame bears survive in the wild? Where was Miki? If they dug deeper beneath the logs, would they find his body like they’d found Hala’s? Lusa’s breath stopped in her throat and she stumbled to a halt.

  “Lusa! Quick!” Ossi’s growl distracted her. He sounded alarmed. Had the flat-faces come?

  “Stay with me!” Lusa called to Tibik as she whirled around. Crashing through the ferns, she broke from the trees.

  She stopped dead in surprise when she saw Yakone and Kallik lumbering across the BlackPath on the heels of Sheena. Lusa raced toward them, relief bursting through her like sunshine. “What are you doing here?”

  “We were in the forest looking for you,” Kallik panted.

  “We wanted to see if you had found the black bears’ camp,” Yakone explained. “We met Sheena and she told us what happened.”

  Chula crouched down, her eyes wide with fear. “White bears?” She glared at Sheena. “Why did you bring white bears?”

  “They said they could move the logs,” Sheena replied. “It was quicker to bring them here than go all the way back to the camp.”

  Lusa led Kallik and Yakone around the firebeast and nodded toward the slipped logs. “Rudi’s trapped under there. Hashi’s wounded. Chula’s leg is injured.” Lusa glanced at Sheena, her heart sinking. How was she going to tell the she-bear that her daughter was dead?