Great Bear Rainforest

by Patti Wheeler

  GANNON

  AFTERNOON OF THE 20TH

  Okay, there’s something strange going on and I need to stop everything for a second and get this down in my journal while it’s all still fresh in my head.

  Not long after we ducked inside to escape the storm, Liam hit us with our next set of chores. Wyatt was to mop the kitchen and I was to clean the guest quarters. This was all to be done before the captain returned, Liam’s orders.

  “Jeez,” I said quietly to Wyatt, “if I’d known we were going to have to work this hard to visit the Great Bear, I might have declined Captain Colin’s offer.”

  “Oh, come on, Gannon,” Wyatt said. “If we get a chance to see a spirit bear, it will all be totally worth it.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  “Now, get going,” Wyatt said. “They’ll be back soon.”

  I was going to start with my parents’ room, but my dad was in there working on some sketches and my mom was lying on the bed reading a novel and they said they were comfortable right where they were and weren’t moving, so I told them that’s just fine by me, they could clean the room themselves.

  Next, I moved to Dr. Brezner’s cabin.

  When I walked in, it reminded me of Wyatt’s room, annoyingly perfect, with all his clothes neatly folded and his shoes arranged in the closet and his books and paperwork all organized and stacked on the desk, but the nice thing about cleaning up after a neat-freak is that there’s really nothing to clean up. His bed wasn’t completely made, that was about it, so I thought I’d straighten it up and be on my way, but that’s when I came upon something interesting. It was a total accident, I swear. I wasn’t snooping or anything; it just so happened that my hand brushed against something under the mattress, so, naturally, I slid it out from under the bed. It was a stack of files that looked just like the ones I knocked out of his hands. The ones he’d been so protective of.

  I checked the hallway to make sure no one was coming and spread the files out on the desk. There were several maps and salmon spawning routes and grids with numbers and formulas that I couldn’t understand and a report with the title:

  AN ANALYSIS OF NATURAL RESOURCES:

  PRINCESS ROYAL ISLAND

  The report was organized into sections and each section had a title like, “Analysis of Salmon Populations,” and there was another one I remember called, “Economic Prospects of Timber,” which was from Halliman Timber, and then there was one titled, “Pipeline Proposal,” which I opened up.

  Okay, at this point I’ll admit, I did kind of feel like I was snooping, but this stuff was way too suspicious to ignore, so I read a couple pages about Pacific Oil’s proposal to build a pipeline that runs from Alberta, far to the east, all the way to the western coast of Canada by way of the Great Bear Rainforest. Here on the coast, all the oil would be loaded into supertankers and shipped all over the world.

  The thought of supertankers in these parts brings to mind all those catastrophic oil spills that have happened around the world and for that reason alone the plan seems off-the-charts nuts to me. I mean, why would anyone want to risk ruining this one-of-a-kind place?

  Before I put the files away, I noticed a letter written to Dr. Brezner that was typed and unsigned. Looking over the letter as quickly as I could, I read the following:

  “PER AGREED UPON TERMS, FOUR EQUAL PAYMENTS WILL BE WIRED TO SPECIFIED INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNT UPON COMPLETION OF EACH PHASE …”

  Before I could finish reading the letter, I heard footsteps overhead and hurried to put all the files back where I’d found them. I straightened the bed sheets and moved on to the next room, wondering what the doctor was really up to. I just can’t ignore my gut, and my gut tells me something fishy is going on.

  Anyway, I cleaned the rest of the rooms as fast as I could and ran to look for Wyatt and ask him his thoughts on what I’d found. He was rinsing his mop on the deck.

  “Wyatt,” I whispered, “Would Dr. Brezner have any need for reports from oil, timber, and fishing companies?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Why?”

  “I found some files under his bed.”

  “Please tell me you weren’t snooping!” Wyatt shouted.

  “No, I wasn’t,” I said. “Honest.”

  “I can’t believe you, Gannon! You know you shouldn’t go through someone’s personal things!”

  “I came across the files when I was cleaning, all right? Get over it and listen to me for a second! He has timber estimates, oil pipeline drawings, information on the area’s natural resources, maps showing salmon routes around Princess Royal Island, and all kinds of other stuff.”

  “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation,” Wyatt argued. “Maybe he’s trying to disprove something that’s in the reports so that he can protect the Great Bear Rainforest.”

  “The rainforest is already protected though.”

  “But it’s a constant battle to keep it that way. The resources in the forest are worth a fortune.”

  “Which brings me to the most suspicious thing of all. There’s a letter in his files that mentions wiring money to an international bank account.”

  “Dr. Brezner gets paid for his research, Gannon. That’s how he makes a living. What’s so suspicious about that?”

  “Go take a look at the letter for yourself.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “The letter is unsigned. There’s no information that could be used to trace it back to anyone. It was obviously written by a person who wants to remain anonymous. I’m telling you. Dr. Brezner is up to something.”

  “And I’m telling you, the doctor’s intentions are honorable. He’s spent his life protecting the environment. He’s one of the good guys, Gannon!”

  Liam came onto the bow with a worried look on his face.

  “Just drop it,” Wyatt said. “Here comes Liam.”

  “Fine,” I said. “To be continued.”

  “We’re all done, Liam!” Wyatt yelled into the wind.

  Liam didn’t say anything. He was staring into the fog, a radio in his hand.

  “Liam!” I said, “Is everything all right?”

  Liam put the radio to his mouth.

  “Pacific Yellowfin to Captain Colin. Captain Colin, do you copy?”

  There was no response.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Liam paused and took a deep breath before speaking:

  “I’ve lost radio contact with the captain.”

  WYATT

  10:53 PM

  Minutes have turned to hours and we still haven’t heard from the captain. Naturally, everyone is afraid. The front that blew through brought some high winds and heavy rains, but it wasn’t anything the captain hasn’t seen a hundred times. Liam is confident they took shelter on the island and waited out the storm.

  That may be the case, though it still leaves certain questions unanswered. If they did wait out the storm, which passed through several hours ago, why haven’t they returned to the ship by now? It also doesn’t explain why we haven’t heard from them on the radio.

  I hate to be pessimistic, but the outlook is not good.

  We gathered in the galley with Liam, Joe, and my parents to discuss our options. Liam made it clear that as long as it was dark, the efforts of a search party would be futile. According to the weather report, another line of squalls is moving in from the northwest. These storms would make nighttime navigation difficult and extremely dangerous.

  Bottom line, there is nothing we can do until daybreak. We’ve agreed that my parents will take the second tender and search the shoreline at first light.

  I keep analyzing the situation, running it over and over in my mind. The fact that they have not communicated at all with the ship is strange. They left with two radios. That both radios would become inoperable is unlikely, but I guess not completely impossible. It’s also possible that the tender was damaged in the storm while they were on shore. Still, each of the tenders has a flare gun
. I am sure we would have seen one streaking through the sky if they were in trouble.

  With each passing minute I am more convinced that Captain Colin and Dr. Brezner are in grave danger. I wish there was something I could do. But anchored off the coast of a dark, foreboding rainforest, I am powerless to do anything more than wait and hope for the best.

  GANNON

  SEPTEMBER 21

  EARLY MORNING

  All through the night I kept listening for the sound of a boat motor and I couldn’t fall asleep and just sat there in my bed hoping that the captain would come pulling up to the ship at any moment with some incredible tale of adventure. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

  Everyone was awake and nervous and packing up the tender before the sun even came up. This is a search and rescue mission, nothing less. My parents took two radios and several days worth of food and water and a waterproof bag with sleeping bags, tarps, and all kinds of other survival gear. They aren’t planning to be out overnight, but neither was the captain.

  As my dad revved up the motor and backed away we tested the radios.

  “Wyatt to Radio One … do you copy?”

  “I copy,” my mom said.

  “Radio Two, do you copy?”

  “Loud and clear,” my dad said. “We’ll keep regular contact. You boys help Joe and Liam take care of the ship. When we bring the captain back, you know he’s going to inspect it with a fine-toothed comb.”

  “We’ve got it under control,” I said. “Please be safe out there.”

  “You know we will.”

  My mom blew us a kiss as my dad turned the boat and started slowly toward the island over choppy waters and the whole time I just stood there on the bow watching until they’d disappeared into the thick fog. Soon after, the sound of the boat motor trailed off and fell silent. Since then I’ve been a total wreck, just sitting here in the galley bouncing my leg and biting my nails and waiting to hear something.

  WYATT

  SEPTEMBER 21, 9:12 AM

  Overrun by nervous energy, I walked the ship, desperate for some positive news. Each time I passed the bridge I’d holler up to Liam: “Any word?” The answer was always the same. “Nothing yet!”

  I have to be honest, Gannon’s discovery of what he felt were “suspicious” files in Dr. Brezner’s room is troubling and my curiosity is getting the best of me. With my parents away, Joe occupied in the kitchen, and Liam stationed on the bridge, I considered slipping into Dr. Brezner’s cabin to have a look. I even made my way to his room, but stopped just short of entering. It would be wrong. I know it. In fact, I just yelled at Gannon for doing what I’m anxious to do myself—snoop!

  The thing is, I’m desperate to prove Gannon wrong. But to debunk his accusations, I need proof that Dr. Brezner’s intentions are ethical. For that reason, maybe I could forgive myself for violating the doctor’s privacy. Maybe I should take a look.

  I’m torn.

  Don’t know what to do.

  Wait, Gannon’s yelling to me from above. Maybe there’s news …

  GANNON

  My parents have trolled the shoreline and what they found is not good.

  “Are you sure the debris is part of the captain’s tender?” Joe said into the radio.

  “Yes,” my dad said. “We’re sure. We’ve found a large section of the aluminum hull floating offshore. It looks like the boat was smashed to pieces in the rocks. And there’s more.”

  My dad was quiet for a minute before continuing. Liam paced the bow. I held my breath.

  “We also found the captain’s hat.”

  Joe closed his eyes and Liam ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Okay,” Joe said, after regaining his composure, “but it’s possible that they swam ashore. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  “It’s definitely possible,” my dad said. “We’re going ashore to search the coastline. Hopefully, we’ll find them safe and sound.”

  “We’ll stand by for more news,” Joe said.

  “Okay,” my dad said. “We’ll keep you updated. Over and out.”

  That’s the last I’ve heard of my father’s voice.

  About a half an hour has gone by and Joe’s tried several times to reach my parents on the radio, but there’s been no response. Nothing at all. Just silence on the other end. Again, I feel sick to my stomach. This time I might seriously throw up. My brain is being bombarded by all sorts of terrible thoughts and I’m totally panicked, about to flip out, really. I mean, my mom and dad have to be okay. They can’t be dead. They just can’t!

  WYATT

  4:47 PM

  Joe and I found Gannon outside.

  “We have to find them,” Gannon said, his voice cracking with despair. “We need to get to the island right away.”

  “So you can disappear, too?” Joe said. “I won’t allow it. It’s far too dangerous. Very few people have ventured into the interior of Princess Royal Island. And some that have were never seen again. It will be dark in four hours. Even in the daylight hours the forest can be so dense you can’t see the sunlight through the trees. It’s easy to lose all sense of direction. You can literally be a hundred meters from the shoreline and be completely lost.”

  “But we can’t just leave them out there,” Gannon continued. “They need our help. They could be hurt. We might be the only ones who can save their lives!”

  “I’m calling the Coast Guard. I should have called them right after we lost radio contact with Captain Colin and Dr. Brezner, but I was confident they would be okay. To me, the captain’s always been invincible.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I said. “We all thought they’d be okay.”

  WYATT

  5:53 PM

  Another hour has passed and I don’t think we have a choice anymore. We have to take action. To be honest, I’m scared. But, there are lots of reasons for Gannon and I to go in search of the captain, Dr. Brezner, and my parents—all of them good. The best of which is that right now we are their only hope.

  Turns out, the Coast Guard is responding to another Mayday call. A cargo ship is taking on water off the western coast of Haida Gwaii, a group of islands more than one hundred miles away, and that mission is putting to use the only rescue boat and helicopter in the region. Right now, we’re in one of the most remote parts of the Great Bear Rainforest, almost a day’s travel from civilization. Even in the best circumstances, it can take a long time before help gets to you.

  As further motivation to go ashore, Gannon reminded me that, according to seafaring folklore, a ship whose captain has been lost at sea becomes a “ghost ship.” Legend has it that a ghost ship is doomed to float adrift at sea … forever! Now, I try not to be superstitious. Gannon, on the other hand, can’t help himself and sometimes he can be pretty convincing.

  “Did you hear that, Wyatt?” he asked.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I just heard the captain’s voice.”

  We ran to the starboard side of the ship. Then the port side. There was no sign of the captain. No boat. No anything.

  “You’re losing it,” I said.

  “No, I’m not!” Gannon yelled. “I’m telling you, I heard the captain!”

  Gannon paused, as if thinking.

  “Oh, man,” he said, “I just remembered something.”

  “What?”

  “This was a hospital ship at one time. Jeez, you know how many ghosts are probably floating around us right now? I can literally feel them breathing down my neck!”

  Gannon shuddered, spun around, and hightailed it through the galley. I followed him to our room, where he haphazardly went about packing a waterproof bag with supplies.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I’ll never forgive myself if we don’t do everything we can to save Mom and Dad,” he said. “Plus, there’s no way I’m staying aboard this ghost ship any longer than I have to.”

  “Do you understand how dangerous it would be to travel to that island alone?”


  “I don’t know about you, but I learned a lot about the rainforest from Alu yesterday. I’m confident I’ll be okay.”

  I folded my arms and paced the room.

  “Let’s just take a minute to think this through,” I said.

  “I don’t need a minute. My mind is made up. The way I see it, you have a choice. You can either come with me or enjoy a night aboard a haunted ship.”

  “You know Joe and Liam aren’t going to let you go anywhere.”

  “They aren’t going to know. The next time they go down to the engine room, I’m going to sneak off the ship.”

  “And just how do you plan to sneak off the ship? Both tenders are gone and you can’t unload the skiff without Joe’s help.”

  “I’ll take one of the kayaks. I’ll be on the island before they know I’m gone.”

  Gannon wasn’t giving me much of a choice. He was going ashore no matter what.

  “Okay, fine,” I said. “Give me ten minutes to pack. I’m coming with you.”

  As the THIRD LAW OF EXPLORATION states: Make certain you are properly equipped before embarking on an adventure.

  The difference between a properly equipped explorer and a poorly equipped explorer can be life or death. It’s that simple.

  Much like preparing for travel, packing for a search and rescue mission isn’t something you want to do in a hurry. But again, I had no choice. Time was short. I grabbed another waterproof backpack and quickly went to work.

  After packing, I pulled the latest weather report from the bridge and read that there’s another front coming off the Pacific Ocean. We can’t catch a break. These storm fronts keep coming at us, one right after another. And this one is bringing colder temperatures.

  In the captain’s library, I found a topographical map of Princess Royal Island and some general information about the area to take with us.

  We have to be careful not to raise the suspicions of Joe or Liam. If they catch us preparing for this mission, we won’t be going anywhere.