The Longest Day

by Erin Hunter

  Sheena was staring at Tibik. He was standing at the edge of the forest, moss dangling from his mouth. Lusa watched grief spread from his gaze to Sheena’s. She tried to move, to explain, but her paws seemed to have taken root and the words dried on her tongue.

  “Hala?” Sheena’s growl was husky with horror.

  Tibik turned his head and stared at the space among the logs where Hala’s body lay. Sheena walked slowly toward it, her shoulders stiff. Tibik dropped the moss beside Ossi and hurried after his mother. “I thought she was running behind me,” he told her, his voice cracking.

  Sheena stared into the gap, her eyes clouding.

  “If I’d known she wasn’t running, I’d have stayed with her.” Tibik sounded desperate. He watched his mother lean over his sister’s unmoving body. “I’m sorry,” he croaked. “I should have saved her.”

  Sheena swung her head toward him. “How?” Anguish glittered in her eyes. “How could you have saved her from this?” She swung her nose toward the fallen firebeast, her gaze flashing over the spilled logs. “How could any bear save her from this?”

  Tibik flinched. Sheena looked at him, a sob shuddering through her, then she swept him close with a paw and sheltered him beneath her belly. “I’m glad you aren’t hurt,” she murmured thickly. “We’ll take Hala back to camp and give her a proper burial where her spirit will be safe.”

  Lusa heard more firebeasts. This time, it was not the distant, steady rumbling. Their growling was getting louder. They were coming this way. “We must hurry,” she told Yakone. “We have to get everyone away from here.”

  Kallik pricked her ears. “Firebeasts?”

  “They’ll be coming to collect this one,” Lusa guessed.

  Sheena leaned into the gap and gently picked up Hala’s body, then walked slowly toward the trees, Tibik pressing against her, and laid the dead cub—hardly more than a bloody scrap of fur—on the grass.

  “Rudi’s over here.” Lusa ignored the pain twisting in her heart. They didn’t have much time. She climbed the log pile and poked her paw between the logs that trapped the old bear.

  Yakone sniffed around the edge of the pile, his gaze flicking over the trunks. “If we move this one first,” he told Kallik, “the others should stay where they are.”

  Kallik nodded. “Then we can move the two underneath,” she suggested. “It should make a big enough gap for him to squeeze out.” She turned to Lusa. “Is he wounded?”

  “Just a few scratches, I think.” Lusa hoped it was true. The firebeasts were rumbling closer, and she hadn’t even found Miki. Her heart lurched. They had to get these bears away from here first.

  She went over to Ossi. “How’s Hashi?” The fresh moss was already stained with the old bear’s blood. Ossi’s face was stiff with worry.

  Behind Lusa, wood creaked as Yakone and Kallik began to shift the logs. Kallik grunted with effort. Yakone called through gritted teeth, “One more heave!”

  The log clattered noisily as it rolled away from the pile. Lusa spun around, alarmed. But the white bears had pushed it safely away from the group of dazed and injured black bears. Yakone reached a massive paw between two logs and began to heave away a second trunk.

  The firebeast’s growling grew louder.

  “How is Chula going to make the journey?” Lusa looked at the injured she-bear, whose leg still stuck out stiffly.

  “I’ll carry her,” Ossi growled.

  “What about Hashi?” Lusa fretted. “He can’t walk.”

  Ossi nodded toward Yakone and Kallik as they moved the last log clear. “Would your white bear friends carry him?” Was that an edge in his growl? Did Ossi resent their help? Lusa’s pelt prickled. But she held her tongue. Getting everyone away safely was more important than how Ossi felt about white bears.

  “Rudi!” Chula gasped with relief as the old bear hauled himself out from the logs. Shakily, he limped from the pile and slithered onto the grass.

  Lusa ran over to him. “Where are you hurt?”

  “Where aren’t I hurt?” Rudi grunted, shaking out his pelt. His eye was swollen and tufts of fur stuck out along his flanks. He lifted a paw and shook it, then limped toward Chula. “Are you okay?” He sniffed at the leaves wrapping her leg. “What’s all this?”

  “Lusa did it,” Chula explained. “It’s helped to ease the pain.”

  Yakone lifted his snout. “The firebeasts are close,” he warned. “We should leave.”

  Ossi left Hashi and hurried to Chula’s side. “Come on.” He crouched down. “Climb on my back.”

  “Are you sure you can carry me?”

  “As long as you haven’t been gorging on berries all the way here.”

  Grunting, Chula heaved herself onto her brother’s back and clung there like an oversized cub.

  Kallik padded toward Hashi and sniffed his wound. “This one can’t walk.”

  Yakone joined her. “Can you lift him onto my back?” Kallik nodded. She gently grabbed Hashi’s scruff and heaved him up onto Yakone’s shoulder. Draping him over the larger bear’s back, she steadied him with a paw. “Walk steadily,” she told Yakone.

  Yakone shifted his weight from one paw to the other until Hashi fitted snugly between his shoulders.

  Lusa looked at Sheena. “Are you ready to leave?”

  “Yes.” Sheena leaned down and picked up Hala’s body and headed for the BlackPath. Tibik followed, his head down. Yakone and Kallik walked in their wake.

  Lusa looked anxiously along the trail. The firebeasts were roaring closer. The hard stone trembled beneath her paws. Quickening her step, she guided Rudi after the others. Ossi plodded heavily behind her, Chula gripping on tight to her brother’s fur.

  “What about Miki?” Tibik stopped and turned toward Lusa. “We never found Miki!”

  “He wasn’t under the logs. He must have run into the trees like you did.” Guilt swirled in Lusa’s belly, and she prayed to all the spirits that she was right. She felt as if she was abandoning Miki, choosing to save his friends over him. But what else could she do? The firebeast was clearly visible on the long stretch of BlackPath now, roaring closer.

  She nosed Tibik forward. “Quick!”

  Kallik and Yakone disappeared into the pine trees on the far side; Sheena hustled Tibik after them, Hala’s body dangling like limp prey from her teeth. Lusa moved aside to let Ossi carry Chula into the shadowy woods. As Rudi shambled after them, Lusa glanced back at the stricken firebeast. I hope Miki ran clear before it fell.

  The ground started to shake as the living firebeast bellowed toward its friend. Heart lurching, Lusa darted between the pines.

  Rudi was glancing nervously over his shoulder.

  “If we keep walking, we’ll be okay,” Lusa promised him. She noticed the old bear was limping. “Kallik, can you carry Rudi?” she called.

  Kallik looked back. “Of course.”

  Rudi snorted. “No white bear’s going to carry me.” He glanced at Hashi with a flash of disapproval in his eyes.

  Lusa felt a rush of anger. “Would you rather we left Hashi for the flat-faces to find?” she snapped.

  Tibik tugged Lusa’s fur. “Can Kallik carry me?” he whispered.

  Lusa blinked at the little cub. His shoulders drooped with exhaustion. She glanced questioningly at Sheena. “Tibik’s tired,” Lusa told her. “May Kallik carry him?”

  Sheena stared at her blankly. Hala swung from her jaws, and grief welled in her eyes.

  Lusa decided not to wait for an answer. “Come on, Tibik.” She led him over to Kallik and dug her snout beneath his hindquarters to boost him up. Tibik snuggled into Kallik’s fur. The white she-bear nodded to Lusa and began to walk gently forward.

  Yakone was several bearlengths ahead. Lusa quickened her step to catch up. Unease flowed through her pelt as she reached him. The white bear’s flank was red with Hashi’s blood.

  Yakone turned his head and looked at her. “I think he’s gone,” he whispered.

  Lusa lifted her muzzle toward
the old bear and sniffed his leg as it dangled against Yakone’s side. It hung stiff and strange, no longer the leg of a living bear. Sadness tightened Lusa’s throat. Unable to speak, she met Yakone’s gaze.

  “Let’s not tell the others until we reach camp,” he murmured.

  Lusa glanced back at the bedraggled group. They needed encouragement now, not more grief. She nodded at Yakone.

  The trek to the camp seemed endless. Lusa stayed close to Yakone, glancing anxiously at Hashi, fearful that the others might notice how limply the old bear lay upon Yakone’s back. The sun began to sink behind the distant hills. Its dying light flared through the forest like flame, and Lusa lowered her gaze to avoid its glare.

  Her thoughts strayed back to the BlackPath. Where was Miki? Was he alive? Was he injured? She pictured him hurt and bleeding, alone among the pines. Perhaps he was dazed and wandering in circles. We haven’t given up on you! I’ll come back, I promise! Lusa hoped that wherever he was, Miki knew that.

  Movement among the trees ahead pulled her from her thoughts. A familiar scent washed over Lusa, and she sagged with relief. They had reached the camp.

  “White bears!” A frightened wail rang through the forest. Black shapes darted between the twilit trees, barking urgently at one another.

  “We’re being attacked!”

  “Climb the trees!”

  Lusa ran forward on legs that seemed crumpled with exhaustion. “The white bears are helping!” She stopped at the foot of a tree where Dena was scrambling up the trunk. “There was an accident on the BlackPath. Chula is injured and Hashi—” She stopped.

  Dena lowered herself gingerly down the tree, her gaze on Yakone as he stopped beside Lusa. Dena looked at the blood on his flank and lifted her head to stare at the dark shape on the white bear’s shoulders. “Who is it?” Then she recoiled in horror. “He’s dead!”

  “Dead?” Rudi had reached them, Ossi, Sheena, and Kallik close behind. Chula was clinging wearily to Ossi’s back.

  Lusa faced them, wishing with all her heart that this day was over. She couldn’t stand more sadness. “He died on the journey,” she told them quietly.

  More bears were approaching, their curiosity clearly overcoming their distrust of the strangers in their camp.

  “Lusa!” Pokkoli’s bark rang through the trees. “Ossi! You’ve been gone for ages. Did you find Chul—” He stopped when he saw Yakone and Kallik, his pelt twitching as his gaze flicked from them to the others.

  Sheena stepped forward and placed Hala’s body on the ground. “We must bury her,” she murmured.

  “No!” Tibik slithered off Kallik’s back and crouched beside his sister. “She needs to stay with me.”

  Kallik touched Tibik’s head with her muzzle. “She’ll always be watching you, little one.” Glancing up, she nodded toward a swirl in a trunk beside them. “I think I see her face in that tree already.”

  Tibik shot an angry look at the swirl. “That’s not Hala!” he snapped. “She’s here! Dead! She’s not in a tree!”

  Sheena wrapped herself around both her cubs, a low moan in her throat. Lusa closed her eyes. The forest seemed to spin as bears streamed around her, guiding her and the others into the camp. Suddenly weary, she fought to focus. She was dimly aware of Kallik and Yakone saying good-bye before slipping away, leaving Hashi’s body lying in the center of the clearing, silvered by the darkening sky.

  Lusa spotted an unused dip at the edge of the clearing, wide and shallow and already filled with dry leaves. “Ossi, put Chula here.” She nodded to the other end of the dip. “Rudi, rest here. Sheena, stay beside him—I haven’t checked you for cuts and bruises. I must make sure every bear’s wounds are treated. The weather’s warm, and they could turn sour.”

  There was no point checking the bears for injuries until she had collected some herbs that would help. Summoning the last dregs of energy, Lusa pushed her way out of the cluster of bears. They were all firing questions at the injured bears now, demanding to know what had happened.

  Lusa felt a stab of relief as she left the chatter behind and plunged into the quiet forest. Her nose twitched as she sought out the herbs that Ujurak had shown her before. Was he watching her now, urging her toward the leaves she would need? I’m doing my best!

  Guilt pricked her fur. Her best wasn’t good enough.

  Darkness settled on the forest like a heavy pelt. All around Lusa, the black bears were asleep, even the wounded. Lusa had found enough herbs for all their injuries. She’d rewrapped Chula’s swollen leg. She’d even found a precious plant that would bring them sleep, despite their pain and grief. Sheena had been the last to close her eyes, insisting that Hala sleep between her and Tibik for one last night. Lusa had sat beside her, pressing close until the she-bear’s breath had finally deepened into sleep. Now Lusa stared into the trees, aware that she was the only bear left awake. Her body was weary, but her mind buzzed with worry. Miki was still out there. He must be so afraid.

  She pushed herself to her paws and crept out of the hollow where the injured bears slept. Ossi was snoring at the edge, his nose dangling over the rim. Chula rested against Rudi, who snuffled gently beside her.

  Lusa picked her way between the nests of the other bears, treading lightly over the leaf-strewn forest floor. Through the trees, the lake was starting to gleam milky-pale, heralding the return of dawn after the short night. Lusa turned her back on the water and walked into the forest. Following the fresh-made trail, scented with the blood of her friends, she headed toward the BlackPath once more.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Lusa

  As Lusa wove through the trees, her pelt tingled anxiously. What if she found Miki dead? Fear pushed back her exhaustion, and she kept moving through the forest, her gaze fixed on the trail ahead. I have to find him.

  “Lusa?”

  A soft bark made her jump.

  She recognized it at once and spun around in delight. “Toklo!” She ran toward him—a dark shape between the trees—and rubbed her head along his jaw. “It’s been such a terrible day!” Her throat tightened.

  “I know.” He rested his muzzle on her head for a moment, and then pulled away. “News traveled along the shore like wildfire. That’s why I came to find you. I was scared you might be hurt.”

  “I’m fine. But I have to find Miki.”

  “Miki?” Toklo repeated the name thoughtfully. “Was he the bear you made friends with at the last gathering?”

  Lusa nodded. “He was traveling with the group that was injured today. But we couldn’t find him. We had to leave without him. So I’m going back.” She lifted her chin, daring Toklo to change her mind.

  “I’ll come with you.”

  Lusa blinked. She thought he would try to persuade her to wait until morning.

  Toklo went on. “I know what it’s like when a friend goes missing. We nearly lost you, remember?”

  “I couldn’t forget.” Lusa’s thoughts flitted back to the final part of their journey. Mules had stampeded through their group and kicked her in the head. Dazed, she’d wandered in the forest until flat-faces had found her and taken her away in a firebeast. It had taken nearly a moon for her friends to find her again. Was that what had happened to Miki?

  She stared wide-eyed at Toklo. “I don’t know what would have happened if you’d stopped looking for me!”

  Toklo met her gaze. “We would never have stopped looking for you.” He straightened up and looked around. “Which way do we go?”

  “This way.” Lusa began to lead him along the blood-scented trail.

  Toklo’s nose twitched. “I can smell Kallik and Yakone.”

  “They came to help,” Lusa explained. “They moved the logs we couldn’t shift by ourselves.”

  “I wish I’d been there to help, too.” Was that jealousy edging Toklo’s growl?

  Lusa glanced at him. “So do I.” Beside them, the undergrowth rustled as a weasel scurried along the ground. An owl hooted in the distance, and down by the lake, a snipe be
gan to chirp. “How are you getting on with the brown bears?”

  “Okay, I guess.” Toklo sounded unsure. “Oogrook died during earthsleep.”

  Lusa remembered Pokkoli’s warning about the tension among the brown bears. Was it because of Oogrook’s death?

  Toklo went on. “It’s strange that the black bears have lost their leader as well.”

  “But they’re only leaders during the Longest Day gathering,” Lusa pointed out. “Do we really need a leader to help us share with the spirits? They’ll hear us anyway, won’t they?”

  Toklo grunted. “It’s not the sharing with spirits I’m worried about. We need a strong bear to keep peace among the others. It feels like everyone is arguing, trying to prove who’s the best.”

  Lusa nudged him. “But surely you’re the best bear,” she teased. “Shouldn’t you be the leader?” She was only half joking. Toklo was young, but he was as strong and brave as any bear she’d ever known. And good-hearted, too. He’d make a great leader.

  Toklo snorted and pushed through a web of broken branches. Lusa slid through after him, ducking to stop the twigs from flicking her muzzle. “Toklo?” Her mouth felt numb with tiredness. “Slow down.”

  “You must be worn out.” He hurried back to her. “Lean on me.”

  Relieved, she rested against his shoulder and they moved on, walking more slowly. The warmth of Toklo’s pelt seeped into hers, making her drowsy; but she didn’t mind, so long as she had him to lean against.

  “Can you follow the scents?” she asked.

  “Of course,” he answered. “I’d recognize Kallik’s and Yakone’s scents anywhere.”

  Drowsily, Lusa let him lead the way until light glowed through the forest ahead. They were nearing the end of the trees. They had reached the BlackPath.

  Shaking sleepiness from her pelt, Lusa ran out of the forest and looked up at the dove-gray sky. A few stars shone faintly, but she couldn’t make out Ursa or Ujurak. The BlackPath was silent. Only the calls of night birds broke the still air. Lusa gazed toward the place on the shoulder where the firebeast had fallen. The great creature had gone, leaving gouges in the grass. The logs had been stacked into a neat, straight pile.