Wildcat Run

by Sonya Bates

  “Unconscious,” Jake said. “Knocked out.”

  Lexie groaned. Her eyelids f luttered and then opened. “What happened?” she asked.

  Jake was relieved to hear her speak.

  “You missed the corner,” said Tommy. “I yelled out to you, but Jake was in the way. So you ran into the tree.”

  Jake glared at Tommy. “That’s not what happened,” he said. “I didn’t make Lexie run into the tree. The trail was too narrow, and she went off the run.”

  “But she could have made it around the corner, if you hadn’t been there,” said Tommy.

  “And she would have seen it and slowed down in time if she hadn’t been worrying about you,” said Jake.

  “It was an accident,” said Lexie. “And I’m fine. It’s just a bump. I’ve had worse.” She tried to sit up, and then put a hand to her head. “I’m dizzy,” she said.

  Jake studied Lexie’s face. She looked pale. She took her helmet off. Wisps of hair poked out all over her head. “Have you got your cell phone?” he asked.

  Lexie nodded and rummaged in her pocket. Jake punched in 9-1-1.

  “Hurry, Jake,” said Tommy. “She doesn’t look good.”

  Jake shook the phone and held it to his ear again. He frowned.

  “What’s wrong?” said Tommy.

  “The phone’s not working,” said Jake. “The battery must be dead.”

  Chapter Five

  EMERGENCY

  Jake felt sick. Lexie was hurt. They had to get help. But they couldn’t leave her on the ski hill alone.

  “I’ll be all right in a minute,” said Lexie. She closed her eyes.

  Jake wasn’t so sure. “We should try to get you warm,” he said.

  “How? We’re on the top of a mountain, remember?” said Lexie, not opening her eyes.

  “Maybe Dad’s got something in his backpack,” said Tommy.

  “Good idea,” said Jake. He shrugged off the pack and started searching through it. “Here’s a flashlight,” he said, “and a first-aid kit, a Swiss Army knife, a candle and matches.” He pulled Dad’s cell phone out and switched it on. “This one’s dead as well. We must be too far away from the lodge to get phone coverage.” He tossed it back in the bag and pulled out a long slender object. It was red and white with a plastic cap on top. “A flare!”

  “Hurray!” said Tommy.

  “There are instructions on the side,” said Jake. He squinted at the words. The light was fading fast. “Get the flashlight.”

  Tommy shone the light on the flare while Jake read carefully.

  “Okay, I got it,” Jake said. He took the cap off the top of the flare and stared at the hard black substance beneath. “It’s like striking a match, I think.”

  Lexie opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Don’t hold it too close to you,” she said. “And get out in the open.”

  Jake moved toward the run and held the flare at arm’s length.

  “Be careful,” said Tommy.

  Jake took a deep breath. He fixed the cap onto his finger and positioned it on the igniter button. Pushing down, he flicked the scratchy surface of the cap across the igniter.

  Bright light burst from the end of the flare. It spit and spluttered like a giant sparkler. Jake turned his eyes away.

  “Whoa!” said Tommy. “That is so cool.”

  Jake stood holding the f lare as far away from himself as possible. It was brighter than he had thought it would be. He could feel the heat, even through his glove.

  Lexie struggled to a sitting position. “Aren’t those things supposed to shoot up into the air?” she asked. “How is anyone supposed to see it?”

  Jake frowned. Lexie was right. They were high on the mountain. It was almost dark, and the lodge was far away, on the other side of the hill. Jake didn’t even know if enough time had passed for Dad to send out a search party. If no one was looking for them, the flare wouldn’t do any good.

  “You have to get it up above the trees,” said Lexie. “Throw it.”

  Jake looked toward the treetops. They were awfully high.

  “Throw it, Jake,” said Tommy. “Quick, before it burns out.”

  Jake moved farther up the hill and climbed onto a big rock at the edge of the run. He needed to get as high as he could before he threw the flare.

  I am a world-class javelin thrower, he thought. This is my last chance for a world record. I must throw higher and farther than I have ever thrown before.

  He aimed for the top of the tallest tree he could see, swung his arm back and let it fly.

  It was his best fielder’s throw. If he had been on the baseball field, the flare would have made it to home plate, easy. But in the forest, throwing straight up, it barely made it to the top of the nearest tree.

  Jake watched the flare light up the branches. The snow glowed bright orange-red. Then the flare fell back to the ground. The lighted end stuck in the snow, and the flare went out.

  Chapter Six

  SHELTER

  Jake groaned.

  “You didn’t throw it high enough,” said Tommy.

  “Well, next time you do it,” Jake said. He climbed down from the rock.

  Tommy plucked up the dead flare and held it in the air. “Okay, I’ll have a go. Light it again.”

  “You can’t light it again, genius,” said Jake. “Don’t you know anything?”

  Tommy looked hurt, which made Jake even more annoyed.

  Lexie tried to stand and sat down again with a thump. She put her head in her hands. “Someone should go get help,” she said. “I don’t think I can ski.”

  Tommy shook his head. “Dad always says to stick together. We have to stay here with you.”

  “But—” said Lexie.

  “No, Tommy’s right,” Jake said. “We should both stay here. Besides, it’s almost dark. It would be too dangerous to ski down now. We’ll have to wait for someone to come and find us.”

  “How long will that be?” asked Tommy.

  “Not too long,” said Jake. “They’ll send out a search party once Mom and Dad report us missing. But we need to keep warm.”

  “We could light a fire,” said Tommy.

  “Where would we get dry firewood?” said Jake.

  “Everything’s covered in snow.” Then he remembered something he had seen in a documentary. “That’s it,” he said. “We build a snow fort. It keeps the cold air out, and the warm air in. That’s why Dad had the candle in his pack. The candle warms up the air in the shelter.” He grinned. “Let’s get building.”

  Jake knew Lexie shouldn’t move too much. She was sitting against a fallen tree, so they used the tree as the back wall of the snow fort and built the other walls around her. It was hard work. After they had used up the snow close by, they had to carry snow from farther away.

  Jake had made lots of snow forts before. He hoped the roof wouldn’t cave in, like it did at Lexie’s last winter when they had a big snowball fight. All the kids in the neighborhood joined in, and just when Jake and Tommy finished restocking their fort, the roof caved in and they lost all their snowballs.

  I am a master builder, thought Jake. I am building the foundations for a great building. A pyramid, a cathedral, the Coliseum. This building will stand for centuries to come.

  “We have to reinforce the roof so it doesn’t cave in,” he said. He dug through Dad’s pack until he found the Swiss Army knife. “I’ll get some branches.”

  He stepped into the trees and shone the flashlight into the darkness above. Most of the lower branches were weak and spindly. The higher ones were too thick to cut with the knife. Jake moved farther into the forest. He couldn’t hear Tommy anymore. The woods were quiet. The snow squeaked beneath his ski boots, and his breathing was harsh and ragged. He tried not to think about the cougar.

  Jake stopped in front of a small bushy fir with slender branches along the lower part of its trunk. He propped the flashlight against the tree, grabbed a long feathery branch and sawed at it with his knife. Th
e scent of fresh sap stung his nose. Before too long, the branch broke away. He hacked off five more and gathered them into his arms. As he turned to go back, he saw something move in the dark. He spun around, shining the light in that direction.

  Nothing was there.

  Jake hurried off, following his tracks back through the trees. It was hard to run in the deep snow.

  He f lashed the light around, hoping to scare off anything that might be watching him. Was the cougar still out there? he wondered.

  Tommy and Lexie were huddled together, waiting for him.

  “What took you so long?” asked Tommy. “We thought the cougar got you.”

  “Of course it didn’t,” said Jake. He glanced back into the trees. “I just wanted to find the right kind of branches.”

  Tommy helped Jake place the branches across the top of the shelter to make a roof. They carefully packed snow on top to seal the cracks. As they crawled through the opening, it started to snow.

  It was dark inside the shelter, even darker than outside, and cold. Tommy huddled next to Lexie as Jake stuck the candle into the snow and lit it. A soft glow filled the shelter. The candle flame was small. Jake didn’t know how it would keep them warm.

  I am an Inuit fisherman, thought Jake. I shelter from the storm in my igloo. It keeps me warm and snug through the night.

  It was very quiet inside the shelter. The falling snow smothered any noise from the forest. Jake knew they should try to stay awake. He remembered hearing you shouldn’t let someone go to sleep if they had hit their head. Besides, if they all fell asleep, they wouldn’t hear the search and rescue team. Jake told jokes and tried to get Lexie talking about school and the new computer she had been given for Christmas. But it had been a long exhausting day. Before long, Tommy and Lexie fell asleep.

  Jake told himself he had to stay awake and keep watch. Each time his eyes closed, he pinched himself and rubbed his hands over his face to wake up. Finally he couldn’t fight it any longer, and he drifted into a heavy slumber.

  Chapter Seven

  THE LAST RUN

  When Jake woke, it was still dark, and the candle had burned almost halfway down. He was cold. Really cold. Jake took off his gloves and blew on his hands. His fingers were white and ghostly in the light from the candle.

  Lexie and Tommy were curled up against the tree. Were they as cold as he was? he wondered. He knew it was dangerous to get too cold. They could get hypothermia. Jake nudged them with his foot.

  “Lexie! Tommy!” he said. “Wake up.”

  Tommy sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Are we rescued?”

  “No,” said Jake. “You fell asleep. We all fell asleep. We have to stay awake, remember?”

  “We’re lucky the candle didn’t go out,” said Lexie.

  Jake nodded. “How do you feel?” he asked.

  Lexie pulled herself up and frowned. “My head hurts,” she said. “But I’m not dizzy anymore.” She turned her head from side to side to make sure. “Yeah, not great, but better. And I’m starving.”

  “Me too!” said Tommy. “Is there any food in Dad’s bag?”

  Jake searched the pockets of Dad’s backpack and found two granola bars. He split one of them into three and gave everyone a piece.

  “We should save the other one in case we need it later,” he said.

  Lexie shuffled over to the opening of the shelter.

  “It’s stopped snowing,” she said. She crawled out, and Jake and Tommy followed.

  The snow had stopped, and a full moon shone down through a break in the clouds. Jake stretched his tired muscles. He had thought it was cold in the shelter, but it was nothing compared to outside. If they hadn’t built the shelter, they would have frozen.

  “What are we going to do now?” asked Tommy. “I don’t want to stay here anymore. I’m scared.”

  Jake didn’t want to stay either. Even in the shelter it was freezing, and the woods were dark and spooky. Dad thought they had gone down Easy Street. No one would be looking for them on Wildcat Run. It could be hours before anyone found them.

  He looked up at the sky. The clouds were clearing. The full moon lit up the trail like floodlights.

  “Do you think you could make it to the lodge?” he asked Lexie.

  Lexie hesitated. She glanced at Tommy and nodded. “Yeah, let’s get out of here,” she said.

  Jake led the way down the hill. It had snowed a lot while they slept. It was hard skiing in the fresh powder. Their skis sunk into the snow, and it was hard to turn. Tommy fell three times going around a steep curve. Lexie looked tired and weak.

  Jake liked the feel of the powder. He liked making tracks in the new snow, and he liked the way it swirled around his skis as he shifted from side to side.

  I am an alpine heli-skier, he thought. The helicopter has dropped me at the top of a mountain. No one has ever skied these slopes before.

  He plowed around another bend, and that’s when he saw it. The cougar.

  Jake slid to a halt and raised his arms to stop Tommy and Lexie. He put a finger to his lips and pointed.

  The cougar stood at the edge of a stream. The moon shone on its tawny coat. It was looking away from them, into the trees. Jake didn’t think it had seen them. Not yet.

  They watched as the cougar slowly lowered its head to drink. Jake thought he could hear it lapping the water, like his cat Ginger did at home.

  The cougar raised its head. Jake held his breath. Could it smell them? Would it look around and see them? He kept as still as he could. The cat seemed in no hurry. It licked a paw and then put it down again. Its ears twitched, and for a moment Jake thought it could hear them. Then, without warning, the cougar leaped across the stream and disappeared into the trees.

  Jake let out his breath.

  “Did you see—?” Tommy started, but Jake shushed him.

  “Let’s go,” Lexie mouthed.

  Jake sped down the hill as fast as he dared.

  He kept one eye on Tommy and Lexie, and the other on the forest around them. The new powder, which he had enjoyed before, now seemed to catch at his skis and drag him down. The wind was icy cold on his cheeks.

  They skied around bend after bend, down long slopes and through steep dips. They didn’t slow down for anything. Finally they came to an open area, and Jake saw the ski lifts.

  “Look!” he shouted. “There’s the lodge.”

  Chapter Eight

  RESCUE RIDE

  Below them, a cluster of snow-covered buildings sat at the bottom of the hill. A group of people wearing bright orange jackets was gathered near the lifts.

  “Over here!” Jake shouted, waving his arms.

  Someone from the search party turned in their direction and started up the hill toward them.

  “Mom! Dad!” Tommy cried.

  Soon Jake, Lexie and Tommy were surrounded. The three of them were wrapped in silver-lined blankets, and a medic took Lexie aside to examine her head.

  “We searched Easy Street and Gentle Giant three times,” said Dad. “We even sent a team down Lollipop Lane, although I couldn’t imagine you going down there.”

  “No one remembered seeing you anywhere,” said Mom.

  Jake gulped.

  “We went down Wildcat Run,” said Tommy. “It was awesome. I went so fast, and then Lexie ran into a tree, and she was un-un—”

  “Unconscious,” Jake said. Dad’s face was turning red. He always went red when he was angry.

  “Yeah, unconscious,” said Tommy. “And we built a shelter and used the candle from your bag to keep us warm.”

  “Did you say Wildcat Run?” asked a man who seemed to be in charge. The badge on his jacket said Ed Lowrey. “That run was closed late this afternoon. Someone said they spotted a cougar.”

  “It’s true,” said Tommy. “We saw it, didn’t we, Jake?”

  Jake nodded. “Twice,” he said. “We were trying to get away from it when Lexie hit her head.”

  Dad frowned. “You should never have gon
e down Wildcat Run in the first place,” he said.

  “That was dangerous,” said Mom.

  “I know,” said Jake. He couldn’t look at his parents. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t blame Jake,” said Lexie, squeezing through the crowd of rescuers. “It was my idea.”

  “Thanks, Lexie,” Jake said. “But I wanted to do it as much as you. I could have said no. I didn’t think anything would happen.”

  “No one ever does,” said Mom. She drew them into a group hug.

  “We’ll talk about it later,” said Dad. “I’m just glad you are safe.”

  “And making a shelter,” said Ed Lowrey, “that was good thinking, kids.” He gestured toward the rescue sleds. “Now, how about a ride down to the lodge?”

  “Hurray!” said Tommy. He jumped on the nearest sled with his skis still on. Dad laughed and unclipped them.

  Jake and Lexie took off their skis and hopped on another sled. Jake was surprised at how tired he was. He was glad he didn’t have to ski anymore. He was glad to be back, and he was glad he didn’t have to be brave anymore.

  Tommy turned around and tugged on his mom’s coat. “Jake said we could have hot chocolate. Please?”

  Mom laughed. “Yes, Tommy. You can have hot chocolate.”

  “With extra marshmallows?” Tommy said.

  “With extra marshmallows,” said Mom.

  Jake grinned at Lexie. Maybe little brothers weren’t such a pain after all.

  Sonya Spreen Bates was born in the United States but moved to Victoria, British Columbia, when she was very young. She began writing children’s fiction in 2001, inspired by her two daughters and their love of the stories she told them.

  She is the author of Marsh Island and Smuggler’s Cave (Orca Book Publishers). Her short stories have been published in school magazines in Australia and New Zealand. Wildcat Run is her third book with Orca. She currently lives in Adelaide, Australia.

  More Orca Echoes